The Coppalicon shrieked, tussled and toiled at the city gates, but not too keen on trying to contain them, the guards let them pass once Aerin managed to calm them down. The creatures were a liability, but with the help of slave collars, they could easily be turned obedient or with a looser grip on their minds the birds could even be trained to better at behaving themselves.
"So where are you getting the slave bands from exactly?" Rose asked Brenna, unable to hold her curiosity any longer.
Looking out the curtains still–trying to spy a guard that had given them trouble before, Brenna couldn't remember exactly who it was and so her eyes scanned through every face as they passed through the gates, but none of them felt like the man she was looking for.
'Did I imagine it?' She thought, pondering if the event even happened. However, since she lacked all recollection of the man, she decided to let the matter go and instead focus on Rose's question.
"The witch Linkle, she apparently stocks that kinda stuff. We've been doing business with her for a while so who knows maybe she can help give us a discount even?" Having heard of that name, Rose knew exactly whom Brenna was talking about, and although she hadn't seen her yet, the frame of a wrinkly old woman came to her mind.
'A witch, huh? Old too so she must be experienced.' Making a mental note to meet the witch herself soon, Rose looked out of the fluttering curtains. The market was where she needed to be and it wasn't far away from the gates but before going there she had yet another task that needed to be taken care of.
"Can you drop me by the Boartooth Inn? I need to rent a room for the night," after walking nearly all the way to the city, Rose didn't want to make yet another trip on the same day.
"Sure, why not?" Brenna responded, and not a few minutes later the girls reached the Boartooth Inn.
Unfortunately, for the mother and daughter duo, however, the bird would just not shut up and so they were forced to leave for the Lifeclover just seconds after dropping Rose. However, before leaving, they handed her a pouch of coin to rent them a room with as they wanted to rest up in the Inn for the night as well.
Bidding their buys the two parties parted ways, one headed into the Inn and the other towards a shop that had been closed for days. In the meantime, at the Inn's counter, Moxy was sitting on a chair since the afternoon was the least busy part of her day. Balancing a pencil above her lip, she kept glancing across the tables while holding off from cleaning them just yet.
"I really wanna sleepppp~" Dropping the pencil with a yawn and a stretch of her hands, she lowered her head on the reception and tried to fall asleep, but then came the sounds of sandals approaching her rather quickly. "Who?"
Lifting her head again, she found herself staring at Rose through blurred vision, but as her eyes focused once again, she straightened her body from surprise and even got up on her feet.
"I need a room sweetheart," Rose requested, a gentle smile resting on her lips.
"Y-yes, I think we have a room…" Albeit confused as to why Rose was staying at the inn, Moxy quickly opened the register and began noting down a new entry. In between writing, however, her eyes darted between Rose's face and the pages, and finally, when she couldn't help it she decided to ask. "Are you visiting your son?
He's not her right now, the entire party went over to the woman's house that they rescued a few days ago."
"What…do you mean?" Not even aware that her son was in town, much less about the whole ordeal with Tanya, Rose was beyond confused as to what the fox-girl was talking about. Leaning forward on the desk with squinted eyes, she enquired further. "Amedith is here? In Athenia? Why didn't he tell me then?!"
Visibly upset, the young mother was growing more pissed by the second. Realizing what she'd done, Moxy gulped with anxiety and decided to steer the conversation in an entirely different direction.
"H-how about I show you your room? You can ask him yourself why he didn't tell you when he arrived, I'll let you know but you seem tired!" Moving around the table, Moxy grabbed Rose by her tired shoulders and gave them a comforting squeeze. Feeling the tension being massaged out from the pressure, the expression on Rose eased for a few seconds.
Taking advantage of that window, Moxy began moving her towards the stairs and kept massaging her shoulders. "By the goddess your shoulders are stiff. That farm work is really making your body age, but worry not! I give massages to the female customers from time to time, I'm sure I can ease the tension in your body while you wait for Amedith."
"Hmm?" Her eyes fluttered with a sense of easing, Rose was already feeling relaxed enough to fall asleep. "Okay, I think I'd like that massage…"
Completely unaware that she was affected by Moxy's fox charm, Rose did as she was asked and got to her room without further complaining. Once inside, Moxy gave her some time to rest and even take a bath soon, only after which she would provide the young mother with a soothing herbal oil massage.
'I'm pretty sure Raven mentioned her as being one of his girls once…I should take good care of her. Not to mention she's also Amedith's mum.' With that in mind, Moxy left for the counter. And although there wasn't much to do in the afternoon, she had to write down another entry for Brenna and Aerin–something Rose had informed her of just before leaving.
'I'll prepare the oil after that…' Thinking back to Rose's proportions for a moment, Moxy decided to make another note in her head. 'Those curves might need extra extra oil actually.'
Almost a bit jealous, she wandered back over to her desk, wondering if she too could have those birthing hips looks once she had her own babies. Which led to another note–nudging Raven to marry her and help her pop a few babies.