“Of course!” Ayaa replied as she was asked for help. The young girl was used to helping out around the shop, so this was nothing. Besides, she loved keeping busy, as it kept her mind off of complicated things. The next few boxes felt almost weird going through. It was a mix of Simone and Lewis’ more personal things. Watching Simone get sentimental over the pictures of their wedding was quite something.

“I guess…everything happens for a reason.” Ayaa barely believed the words coming out of her mouth. Simone must have noticed, because shortly after she started to apologize about being boring. Immediately, Ayaa cheered herself back up. “Oh, no! Of course not Simone. You’re not boring at all. It’s just…” How to explain?

“I had a family…before all of this. And…now I don’t. They’re gone…” Ayaa tried to keep smiling, but she had to glance away for a moment. “Sorry. I just…need a second.” The girl lightly slapped herself on the cheeks to try and psych herself up, and then turned her attention back to Simone. “Let’s get this done and go out, right? We can get you some new clothes too….” Ayaa smirked. “You’re a really pretty girl, Simone…I’m sure we can get you into something WAY more interesting than those plain clothes. Something that Lewis might like?”

Sure, she may hate Lewis, but she actually didn’t mind Simone. At least, at the moment. Maybe this was good for both of them.

“I understand completely. My family was my everything and they got stolen from me.” She frowned a bit. “I have Lewis now and he’s all I need.” Her only family. “Someday you might encounter someone like Lew and when you do hold onto them tightly. Our meeting was unconventional… but I don’t regret it. I just regret how long it took.”

Simone patted her on the head and smirked, “You don’t need to apologize to me. Everyone has their own struggles. We just don’t always show it.”

She blinked a bit and then looked alarmed.

Want me to kill her? I can kill her?!

No! NO NO NO! Simone was suddenly laughing. “She called my clothes plain not me.” It took her a moment to realize she said it out loud and blushed as she put her hand to her lips. Looking down at her clothes she nodded. “I do suppose it can’t hurt. I was always raised in the castle so I got plain-looking clothes a lot so as not to attract attention. I’m just used to it. So change is good.”

Simone grabbed a pouch and daftly tied it to her waist. "Alright… Let's go on an adventure!"

Ayaa gave Simone a curious look when she started to talk. Despite the fact that it was only her and Ayaa, Simone seemed to be talking to a third person.

“Oh…is that Lewis?” It was weird, but it made sense. Simone was connected to Lewis at all times. Did that mean that Simone knew that Lewis asked her to be friends? Or was Lewis able to control it? The whole thing was way above Ayaa’s head, and in the end it really didn’t matter. What did matter was that Lewis could hear anything that Ayaa said to Simone.

The girl crossed her arms, and huffed. “Excuse me, Lewis…this is a girl’s date. Keep your business to yourself and what not. Simone will see you when you get home. For now, she’s mine.” As Simone readied herself, Ayaa took Simone’s hand and pulled her along confidently. “C’mon, Simone. I’m gonna get you something that’ll just BLOW Lewis’ tiny little mind…”

It was weird. For some reason, which Ayaa could not for the life of her understand, she wanted nothing more than to get Simone away from Lewis for at least the day. It wasn’t that she didn’t think they weren’t right for each other. More…she wanted to show Simone that there was more than just her life with Lewis. There were things to do, places to see, and people to meet! Ayaa wanted to see Simone happy. That was what it came down to.

“First stop…lingerie. It’s two blocks down.” Ayaa, of course, had absolutely NO idea what to do with lingerie. In fact, Ayaa was as innocent, if not more innocent, than Simone was. Yet, she wanted to show Simone off. Sure, it would be only to Lewis, but maybe it would give the poor woman some much needed confidence.

Simone giggled at Ayaa and gave her a smirk, “He’s minding his own business, for now.”

The housewife walked next to Ayaa and checked out storefronts as they walked. “Jayou is a wonderful city.” I’m almost gonna be sad if we leave. It was that feeling of familiarity but wherever they went she would adjust.

The comment on lingerie got a blush out of Simone as her gray eyes got large and looked Ayaa over. “I don’t know if I really have assets for that Ayaa…” Though… Lewis would like it. “But Lewis would adore it.”

Once they got to the lingerie shop Simone seemed to be fussing over everything. She didn’t know where to start. She never exactly had the freedom for such things and when she was in the castle she… would have never even dared to dream of it. “I don’t even know where to start. There’s leather and there’s lace…” She put her hand to her lips as she thought about it. “Lewis doesn’t prefer one over the other. He actually has no clue what he would like more.” She was digging into Lewis’s mind. “Simone is Simone.”

She blinked a bit and chuckled. “Of course. Well… Ayaa where should I start?”

Ayaa had only ever been in this particular shop once. At the time, she had been far too embarrassed to look around, and had immediately turned tail and ran. This time, though, she was there for someone else. She took a look at Simone, who had said earlier that she lacked the ‘assets’ for this.

“You’re one to talk,” Ayaa said, glaring at Simone’s chest. She definitely had a bigger bust size than Ayaa. “Besides…I think he’ll like just about anything on you.” Which was a shock for Ayaa to admit. Had it been a few years ago, Ayaa would have guessed that Lewis had little to no interest in anyone or anything.

The girl wandered down one of the isles, pulling Simone along. “Here…let’s try…” She picked out a rather racy corset, dyed a ruby red. Along with that, a pair of red lace panties. “Now…for something else…” She pulled the poor housewife along, and picked out a black, see-through nightgown with ‘easy access.’ “Anything that you want to try?” Ayaa was pushing a bit to see what else Simone would like.

“C’mon…my treat. Money isn’t an issue.”

“Oh,” Simone was looking it over and she was relatively speechless. Then again it wasn’t for her. She was training herself to cut the connection herself. She wanted it to be a surprise. After picking out a few more things Simone went to go try them on. She was fussing at herself. Her plain features weren’t so plain in the right attire.

Ayaa sat in the changing room with her so she didn’t have to leave. “This is embarrassing…” She turned to look at herself in the mirror. It was brand on her shoulder was still red and tender in some places with mild burns. It was slowly healing and with that, the tattoo glowed brighter. It was a bright azure where the brand was healed.

“I guess we’ll never know what ones he’ll like until he sees them… He’s got this habit of getting excited though,” she looked at Ayaa. “Just… be prepared for me to tell you they are ripped. Certain things just make him… More excited than normal.” Simone welcomed it and it wasn’t like she didn’t rip his clothes too. “Does everything look good?” She asked after she tried on everything.

She made a nice lightly before reaching to rub at the brand, “Still sore. Can you help me change back?"

Ayaa was a little surprised that there was little pushback for her trying on the new outfits. Sure, she didn’t think they worked for her, but she was more than willing to try. The girl sat back and watched as Simone changed. Though, ‘watch’ was not entirely accurate. Ayaa glanced away for most of it, still a little embarrassed herself at the woman changing before her.

Still, once Simone had changed into the outfits, Ayaa nodded with her approval. “And you think you’re plain,” the girl jibbed. “He’ll faint when he sees you. In a good way.” At the mention of her clothes getting ‘ripped’, Ayaa pretended to gag. “Ew…I don’t need to imagine that. It doesn’t matter to me what you do with them. I just want you to be happy.” The next few sets also got Ayaa’s approval, and when asked, she gave a thumbs up.

“Everything looks great on you. You could probably wear a potato sack and look good, Simone. You’re really blessed with good looks.” The girl glanced to the side. “And a chest…”

“Come here, then,” Ayaa said as she helped Simone get out of the dress. Now that she was closer, Ayaa could see the tattoo, including the intricate details of it. “Does…it hurt?” Even with her inexperience with magic, she could feel the power radiating off of it. She was half tempted to touch it.

“Anyway, let’s get these bought. We have your sizes now…so we can get a few other things on the way out. If you’re gonna rip clothes, might as well get a few extra things to spice up the wardrobe.”

Simone laughed a bit and waved her hand, “I’m sorry Ayaa. I didn’t think you would care.” Ayaa helped her change out and she thought about the best way to answer it. “It hurts when Lewis is away. He had his longer than I have had mine so he is already healed. At least I wasn’t alive when Lewis applied it… Lewis had to sit for his.”

She batted her eyes at Ayaa and thought about it, “It’s what links the two of us. The price of Lewis bringing me back. A promise. Even if we were to grow to hate each other… We’ll always have each other. Whether it be heaven or hell there’s no escape.”

Simone didn’t see it as a bad thing and the way she spoke about it didn’t carry that tune either. She was simply repeating the words told to Lewis. “It’s more annoying than anything… I’ve been through a lot and this doesn’t really hurt… Not compared to other things.” She physically shivered and picked up the lingerie to look at others.

“That is a good idea Ayaa… Let’s get a few more.” Once Simone had her fill she carried the boxes out and looked over at her companion. “Where to now? There was a cute dress shop not too far.”

Listening to the way Simone described the tattoo was almost alarming for Ayaa. The way she so nonchalantly talked about this bond made it seem like there wasn’t as much thought put into it as there should have been. She wasn’t sure about Simone, but Lewis was young. Was he capable of loving someone like this for the rest of his days? Still, it wasn’t her place to question it. All Ayaa could do now was support Simone.

Lewis could deal on his own.

As promised, Ayaa took care of the bill. Though, in her own unique way. “Throw it on Raile Talon’s tab.” It was like a magic spell, and the clerk bagged everything up without question.

“Oh! Yes! There was a new sundress there that I wanted to look at.” Ayaa didn’t have a large variety of things to wear. For the most part, she tried to go with the basic things, something casual that wouldn’t cause her to stand out. Simone, however, deserved to stand out. She spent her entire life thinking she was plain when she was far from it.

Ayaa took Simone’s hand, and practically dragged her towards the shop. “Let’s do it! There are so many dresses that I would NEVER try on myself…but you would look AMAZING in.” The young girl seemed to be really excited by the prospect of getting Simone dressed up.

As they entered the store, the first thing Ayaa did was head for the lowest cut, most scandalous dress she could find. “This. This is for you…”

Simone was shocked at the dress and she was looking it over with uncertainty. “Okay, I’ll try it on.” She felt like Ayaa’s personal doll as they spent a few hours trying on dresses. Simone practically had a whole new wardrobe by the time she was done. “Hopefully Raile doesn’t mind too much…” She had a sheepish smile. It wasn’t like Lewis couldn’t afford it but Ayaa was persistent.

“Do you think we can go to the smithy? I want to get a present for Lewis since he’s been good all day. He hasn’t turned on his nose into our business since he knows I’m okay. That’s a good step,” she smiled.

They browsed for a while before she found a nice pair of daggers with azure handles. It was the deepest blue that looked very familiar. She felt the weight and compared it to Lewis’s from his memories. That was when she noticed… Something or someone. She was quick on the draw as she launched the dagger dropping a man to the ground. The dagger was embedded in the wall.

“HEY BE CAREFU–” The shopkeeper noticed the man who was about to piss himself. “Thief!”

“I caught him for you,” Simone smirked a bit. “I’ll pay for the daggers of course.”