"I’ll get it!" Rymora responded, even as Aira nodded her head as they continued walking, with Aira walking slightly ahead and Rymora walking one step behind her.
If I get for her I can also get for myself! Rymora thought, agreeing with the fact that eliminating all possibilities of ever getting pregnant was the best.
It didn’t take a long time before they got to the dueling hall, even as Aira stepped in with Rymora behind her.
Aira didn’t ask her to stay outside, especially since their level of trust on both sides had increased right after Rymora transformed into a werewolf and back into her human form.
Aira had just stepped into the hall, lined with racks of weapons on each side, when Rymora moved to close the door behind her while Aira stepped forward.
Varret was already waiting in the center of the hall, seated there in a meditative pose that looked nice until he opened his eyes and smiled.
He had a face that couldn’t be considered ugly, but his eyes had a sly look to them that made it even worse every time he smiled—almost like he was up to something bad and was simply laughing at you behind your back.
"Dressed in that outfit, it’s clear that you’re not here to get an instruction of sword fighting!" he told her, even as he slowly scrambled to his feet elegantly.
He wasn’t holding a weapon, but the smug look on his face made Aira want to find one and use it on him.
But before she spoke, the first thing she did was release her ability, allowing the white Aira that was released from her to envelope him, relieved after a few moments when he didn’t in any way transform into a shapeshifting monster or seem to be in pain.
"Thanks for the healing!" he told her, even as Aira ignored his words and simply began to speak.
"I’ll make a deal with the houses, but I’m going to need that ritual first!" she told him, and was still speaking when Varret interrupted, pointing right at Rymora who was by the door but could clearly hear every word that was being spoken.
"You want us to speak in front of her?" he asked, and Aira shrugged.
"I trust her!" she told him, only to see a deep frown appear on his face as he glanced over at Rymora, who simply pretended that he wasn’t even there with a blank look on her face.
"I don’t!" Varret responded in a stricter tone, almost like he expected to be listened to, which successfully pissed Aira off—staring at the man in front of her who was nothing but a guard.
"I don’t care!" she snapped at him. "You forget your place! Just because I’m going to work with you doesn’t mean we’re equal!" she told him, with a deep look in her eyes that showed that she wouldn’t be taken lightly.
Varret’s frown deepened, but Aira didn’t care, annoyed at having been interrupted and spoken down to.
"I want the ritual done quickly! I’m no good to the houses dead, am I?" she said, confident that there was indeed a ritual considering the fact that she moved just as fast as a vampire and somehow Varret was able to match her speed.
For all I know their ritual could be just as barbaric as the temple’s own! she thought to herself as she stamped down the rising anger within her and fixed her eyes on Varret, daring him to keep insisting on Rymora leaving.
With a gentle nod of his head, he shifted his gaze back to Rymora, a smile returning back to his face almost like it never left.
"The elders reached out to me and indeed are willing to do the ritual for you, but they need something first!" he said, saying words that Aria had pretty much expected to hear even as she waited for the hammer to drop.
"We are planning to take advantage of the chaos, and we need you to stop using your powers to weed out the monsters!" he said, even as Aria’s eyes widened into shock that bordered on horror.
"Relax! It’s just for a while. A week at most!" he said, but even then Aira couldn’t help but glare at him as she heard him continue to speak.
"Say that you have trouble controlling it or make up an excuse. The vampires would have their focus shifted elsewhere and that’s what we need!" he said, with Aira expecting him to continue—only for him to make it clear that he had no intention of doing so.
"You’re going to attack!" Aira suddenly said, her face scrunched up in thought after thinking for a few moments, trying to wrap around her head why they would ask for something like that.
"That’s suicide!" she told them, with a confused expression on her face as she faced Varret, who simply shrugged, taking a few steps back and turning around in a happy twirl as he responded to her.
"I never said that was what we were going to do! We houses can take care of ourselves!" he said, with arrogance and confidence dripping in his every word.
But Aira didn’t have enough cares to give to continue dueling on the matter. If they wanted to get themselves killed, then they might as well do so.
"Completely?" she asked them, wondering if she could at least help the servants’ quarters to make them feel safer, only for Varret to nod his head and respond.
"Yes! Completely. It would be preferable if you don’t use it at all! If there’s any other message I’ll pass it across through a letter and a servant!" he said.
"...meeting like this in the open will only draw attention to us. Especially since you didn’t even take the pain to pretend to have come here to spar with the attire you have on!" he said, pointing out her wrong choice of clothes, indirectly berating her for not doing better.
Aira was tempted to roll her eyes, even as she turned around to leave. There was nothing that she had to discuss with him, even as Rymora opened the door for her to step out. But she was barely through the door when she heard Varret say one final thing.
"A warning: it would be in your interest to stop sleeping with the king! That ritual doesn’t benefit you as much as you think!" he said, saying words that made her frown. But she still did not stop walking as she walked out, Rymora closing the door behind her with a slight frown on her lips before Varret could say more.