“Oh Velveeeet~!”
That irritating voice could only come from one person.
“Magilou…”
Rudely roused from her slumber, Velvet began rubbing her eyes upon sitting up in bed. Her long, dark hair had been tied up into a ponytail the night before to prevent it from getting tangled, but it had come half undone while she slept. Her head felt really groggy—like there were thousands of needles piercing her forehead, eventually making it go numb. Her vision had become slightly blurred from waking up so suddenly, too. God, my head hurts.
The annoyance that was reflected in Velvet’s eyes when she stared at Magilou matched that of a dagger being pointed at her throat.
“Why are you even here , Magilou!?” Velvet asked with a hoarse voice, continuing to stare daggers at her.
Magilou reacted as Velvet had expected—with that annoying , menacing laugh. “Did you really forget, Velvet? I’m so hurt! How will I ever recover from this pain?” Magilou responded, an air of dramatics in her tone.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Velvet inquired, the roughness of her voice increasing with every goddamn word that came out of Magilou’s mouth.
“Our date! Don’t you remember? You promised to treat me to breakfast since you lost our bet!” Magilou taunted, leaning down to be on Velvet’s eye level.
“Are you serious? That was just—“
“Ah, ah, ah!” Magilou interrupted, placing a finger on Velvet’s lips. So moist… “No bet is a joke with me!—you of all people should know that, shouldn’t you?”
Velvet groaned, regretting ever letting Magilou manipulate her into agreeing to a bet again.
Velvet had always just passively accepted them since she would continuously win anyway, but never really paid any attention to what she had ‘won’. But—for once—Magilou had won. The wager she made on a whim when she heard of Velvet’s supposed high alcohol tolerance.
“I’ll bet I can outdrink you! You’re gonna buy me breakfast tomorrow if you lose!” Velvet’s refusal only made Magilou pester her more so she agreed just to shut her up.
Big mistake there.
Velvet had woken up with such a hangover thanks to that, as if losing wasn’t enough. What the hell is her problem, anyway? She’s just so… loud.
“Ugh, fine. Where do you want to eat anyway? I can’t taste anything so I don’t really care where we go.”
Magilou’s face brightened up significantly at the news. She clasped her hands together, grinning like an idiot. She is such an idiot.
“There’s a new place in town that I’ve been dying to try! But no one will ever agree to go with me, so I’m forcing you to take me there!”
Another groan. “Geez, you’re so dramatic... Let me get ready and I’ll take you.”
Magilou laughed, unable to control herself from teasing Velvet. She just made it so, so easy. “Aw, you mean you’re not ready now? I was so sure the half done ponytail and bed head was intentional! Not to mention your breast protruding from your shirt.”
Embarrassed, Velvet’s face turned as red as a cherry. She adjusted her tanktop swiftly so that she wasn’t so exposed. “Fucking hell Magilou, you could have said something sooner!” Velvet screamed, the coarseness in her voice evaporating into a girlish squeak. Wow, I didn’t know her voice did that...
“What, you really expected me to? You know how much I love exposing your weaknesses.” She paused, attempting to think of a clever way to masque her next words. “Besides, who would give up a chance to look at those... knockers?—melons? They’re big enough—“
“Magilou, cram it!” Velvet roared, shoving a pillow in Magilou’s face with immense force.
The force was enough to knock Magilou back a fair distance, but she recovered before she could give Velvet the satisfaction of knocking her to the floor. “My, my, are we embarrassed? Your clothes don’t hide much, you know. Everyone knows you’ve got huge—“
“I said enough!” Velvet yelled, her face only flushing even brighter. Her hair flew right out of its ponytail in her rage, a good portion now draping over her face. “Get out!”
Knowing precisely when to retreat, Magilou rushed out of the room and shut the door behind her. She leaned back against it and let out a quiet chuckle, one of her hands covering her mouth to muffle the sound. Her cheeks had turned a soft pink upon retreating, but not enough to be noticeable by anyone else.
“She’s so cute when she’s mad...” Magilou whispered to herself, fondly reflecting on the view of Velvet’s breast she got a peak of before she was roared at. Hey, it’s not my fault it was peaking out.
Having finally forced Magilou out of the room, Velvet focused on slowing her breathing, concentrating on each inhale and exhale. In, out, in, out… Her anger and embarrassment had quickly caused her breathing to quicken, leaving her gasping for air that should have come naturally. Fucking Magilou.
After a few moments of this rhythm however, her breathing became normal again.
“Why the hell did I get so flustered anyway?” Velvet whispered to herself, her right hand hovering over her mouth as she spoke. Her face was still so hot even after her breathing slowed down. “What the hell…”
Regardless, she did want to keep her promise—no matter how annoyed she felt about the matter. Perhaps—she hoped—this would allow her an upper hand the next time she won a bet. ‘Don’t talk to me or look at me for 48 hours’ sounded like a magnificent bargain.
Velvet quickly put on her clothes and fixed her hair with a swift brushing. She didn’t really care to deal with the mess her hair was, so she just put it back up in a ponytail and called it a success. Some small stray hairs didn’t quite make it into the tie, but Velvet just… didn’t care today.
When she opened the door, Velvet was surprised to see Magilou leaning on the wall nearby. She really just… stayed there , huh.
“Why are you here?”
“Hm? Whatever do you mean, my dove?” Magilou cooed, her voice alluding that she was genuine.
Velvet saw right through it, as usual. “Don’t call me that.” She retorted, her face scrunched up. “Why are you outside of my room? There are plenty of better places to wait.”
Magilou grinned—her smile showcasing her pleasure in Velvet’s response. “Well, I wouldn’t want leave my date alone, would I?”
“Okay, enough.” Velvet groaned. “This isn’t a date, I’m just treating you to bre—“
“But does that not quantify as a date? Treating someone you love to delicious food?”
“I don’t think being manipulated into it counts, Magilou.”
“Oh! You wound me, dear maiden!” Magilou responded dramatically. “And to think I had believed my affections had finally been returned…”
Velvet could only sigh, walking past Magilou without a second thought. “I’ll be at the entrance when you’re ready.” She said, her voice becoming quieter with each step she took.
Magilou’s smile faded as the distance between them grew. She stood up from her leaning position and crossed her arms, sighing. “She won’t ever notice your feelings if you keep this up.” She began to whisper to herself. “It needs to stay that way.”
At the entryway, Velvet sat on a nearby bench and leaned back, letting her legs stretch and her head rest. With her arms crossed, she closed her eyes in her impatience. What is taking her so long?
Moments later, Velvet heard a familiar voice in the distance, growing louder by the second.
“Honey, I’m ready!”
Velvet rolled her eyes, shifting to a more propped up position on the bench. “Well honey , it’s about goddamn time.”
Magilou chuckled, amused that Velvet attempted to rattle her by returning the pet name. Not gonna work, sugar. “Sorry, sorry! Had to make sure my makeup was perfect, you know.”
“You don’t even wear makeup.”
“Oh, you knew?” Magilou exclaimed. “Well, I suppose it’s easy enough to figure out. No one would dare suggest that someone as stunning as me would need makeup, right?”
Velvet groaned . This was just a regular response every time Magilou opened her mouth. “You really can manipulate anything I say to flatter yourself.”
Another giggle, yet again. Magilou was so pleased with herself. “It’s a talent, you know.”
“Whatever. Let’s just go.” Velvet paused, pushing herself up and off of the bench she was sitting on. “By the way…”
“Hm? What is it, my dove?”
Stop calling me that. “What the hell is up with your hair?”
“Oh! You mean this?” Magilou asked, gesturing behind her head. Her hair had been done up in loose twintails, secured with bright pink ribbons. “Well, I decided if we’re gonna go on a date, I should at least make an effort to look more adorable than usual.”
“You look stupid.” Velvet shot back effortlessly.
That stung a little. Magilou wouldn’t let that show, though. She smirked, getting closer to Velvet and resting a hand on her shoulder.
“Magilou, what are you—” Velvet was cut off abruptly when Magilou leaned even closer into her personal space. Being this close to her was so uncomfortable… her face couldn’t stop heating up from just how little room there was between their faces. She averted her gaze by turning her head to the side, attempting to show her displeasure in an effort to make Magilou back off.
Surprisingly though, it wasn’t Magilou herself that made her uncomfortable.
Velvet didn’t like being close to anyone, and hell—Velvet hadn’t been this close to another human being since before her brother was killed. It was an awkward and distressing position for her to be in.
Just before Velvet was ready to smack her away, Magilou moved her face closer to Velvet’s, and whispered into her ear.
“Jealousy is a disease bitch, get well soon!”
“Magilou!” Velvet quickly retorted, roughly shoving Magilou away from her. She endured that uneasy feeling for this bullshit?
Magilou managed to get ahold of her footing, narrowly escaping the cruel fate of falling to the floor. She laughed in a way that made the hair on the back of Velvet’s neck stand up. This isn’t funny.
“My apologies, I couldn’t resist! Especially after that lie you told about the great Magilou not being adorable.”
Velvet balled one of her hands into a fist, resisting the urge to just punch her. “Just don’t do it again, or next time I’m going to devour you.”
Magilou tried to maintain a straight face, but it was painfully obvious she couldn’t. There was no way she could stop herself from making a comeback to that response. You’re making this way too easy, Velvet!
“Oh? Sounds like a sexy promise to me.”
Velvet was already out the door.
“Velvet! Wait!”
Magilou ran out the door as fast as she could, but Velvet was already so far down the street she could scarcely hear her name being called. Magilou ran as fast as she could but, well, Velvet had picked up quite a brisk pace. And she wasn’t slowing down in the least.
Stopping to catch her breath momentarily, Magilou shouted. “You don’t even know where the restaurant is!” She paused to catch her breath, yet again. “It’s not that way, you idiot!”
Finally, that seemed to be enough to stop Velvet—for now, at least. She didn’t move from her position, though. At all. She just stood completely still, not looking back, which... baffled Magilou to say the least. Is she gonna… come back? No? Maybe? You there, Velvet?
“Velvet?”
Still no movement.
Magilou called her name again. Nothing. It was as if she had been frozen to stone by a basilisk.
Even after waiting a few minutes, Velvet still didn’t move. It was starting to get... unsettling. Becoming somewhat concerned, Magilou jogged to Velvet’s position pretty quickly—stopping just before reaching her.
The streets were so empty today—not a soul was around to witness this exchange.
“Velvet?” Magilou asked, trying to get her attention again.
But still, no response.
Magilou began to slowly inch closer to Velvet, fearful of what she may find when she could actually see her face. Nevertheless, Magilou walked around her—her footsteps light and her mind racing. When she finally reached around so that she could see Velvet’s face, what she found was possibly the most horrendous sight she could have possibly imagined.
It was Velvet, completely fine, who began to erupt in laughter upon seeing her.
“Velvet? What the hell is your problem!?”
After a few more moments of heinous laughter, Velvet returned to her calm and cool exterior. “Just a little revenge, my dove. ” She answered with a smirk.
“Are you serious!?” Magilou screamed, the anger within her boiling over.
Her face had turned bright red.
It wasn’t like Magilou to let her emotions get the best of her—she immediately regretted letting that out, but knew she couldn’t just take it back or make it disappear. She let out a heavy sigh, and averted her gaze from Velvet. She had to somehow recover from this without looking like a goddamn idiot and losing her narcissistic facade.
Meanwhile, Velvet was completely astonished at Magilou’s sudden outburst, and raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“Ahem.” Magilou started, bringing her face back up to meet Velvet’s. “Well, wasn't that a show! Were you entranced by my superb acting skills?” Please buy it.
Velvet could only sigh. She honestly wasn’t even sure if Magilou was covering for herself, or if that outburst really was just another one of her stunts. Either way, she didn’t really care—she had succeeded in causing her at least a little bit of distress, which was a win in her book.
“Well, whatever. Let’s get going. Where is this place?”
Oh my god, she bought that? “It’s up the street in the opposite direction. If you went the other way, we could have been there by now!”
Hiding your insecurity, Magilou? Well, that is what I’m best at, after all. At least Velvet bought that half-assed excuse.
Following a short distance behind Magilou, who had begun to guide her towards their destination, Velvet felt immediate apprehension. Was dealing with her really worth the benefits? God only knows, I guess. She’d make sure Magilou wouldn’t be able to pull any tricks to keep them at the restaurant long—she’d just go in, eat, and get the hell out.
“We’re here!”
To Velvet’s surprise, the building she found herself in front of was fairly normal, if not a bit fancy. Ugh, this better not be expensive.
There was a small patio to the side, with intricately designed white tables and chairs—it looked like something you’d find in high class restaurants meant for nobles. It was encased in a mid-high fence that matched the aesthetic of the furniture. Magilou requested a seat in the area, to which the two of them were guided to by the hostess and given menu’s.
Upon sitting down, Magilou’s face lit up exponentially.
“Oh man, I can’t wait to try some of the gibbon steak! It’s been on my mind for weeks!” She squealed, her pitch teaching a tone that was deafening.
Velvet‘s eyes twitched as she attempted to gently pick up the menu in front of her. “Please don’t scream like that again, Magilou.”
A malicious laugh. As always.
“Sorry, sorry, I let myself get way too excited, didn’t I? Won’t happen again!”
She was just toying with Velvet at this point. It was painfully obvious to the both of them.
“You gonna get anything? They’ve got some drinks—“
“No way in hell.” Velvet interrupted. “My head is still throbbing from last night.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Magilou said, in the most normal tone of voice she had. “You can’t taste anything, but you’ve started drinking more, haven’t you? Have you gained some taste back, or do you just enjoy the intoxication it gives you?”
“I can only wish my taste would come back.” Velvet replied, a bitter taste in her mouth. “All I can taste is blood, you know that. Alcohol just makes me forget for a while.”
“Interesting.” Magilou responded. “So you have no taste, but you can still get drunk. You could drink straight whiskey and not taste a thing, huh? Guess that makes drinking with you a lot cheaper.”
Velvet winced at the idea. “I am never drinking with you again.”
Magilou let out a small chuckle, reveling in her triumphant victory. “Well, all that said, I guess you still can’t handle your alcohol, can you?”
“Shut u—“
Velvet was cut off mid sentence when she suddenly got a whiff of a familiar scent. The aroma filled her nostrils instantly, and without any hesitation she could place exactly what it was.
“This scent…”
“Hm?” Magilou questioned, noticing Velvet in a trance. The scent? Could she mean—
“You mean the prickleboar stew? It’s a speciality, why are you—“
The sight before Magilou was one she never thought she’d see. Velvet had her own head in a grip, her daemon arm showing signs that it was going to activate. Though she could not see her face fully, she could see Velvet’s pupils growing smaller and smaller. The girl had begun to shake, rattling the table a bit.
Magilou knew exactly what was going on. And she knew she had to get Velvet away from the restaurant as fast as possible.
She knew Velvet would fight back though—she knew, but there was no other way she could calm her down. Steeling herself, Magilou quickly got up from the table. She moved so that she was beside Velvet, and quickly grabbed her arm as tightly as she was able.
Velvet reacted violently. She began to throw her fists in Magilou’s direction, and roared. “Die, Artorius!” Over and over and over and over. Repeat ten times over, and even more. Magilou recognized immediately that Velvet was having a flashback, much like that she had guessed.
By now, everyone in the balcony would have been staring. Fortunately, they were the only ones outside.
“I’m doing this for you own good, Velvet. Hit me all you want, but we’re getting out of here.”
Magilou kept a firm grip on Velvet’s arm, barely managing to pull her away. She dragged her out of the balcony and into the street, where she attempted to push her into a nearby alley.
Staggering, Velvet was still holding her head and screaming. Magilou was not far behind, rushing to her once again. She managed to maneuver herself so that she could grip Velvet’s arms with a strong hold. She attempted to hold her still as much as she could, trying to calm her down as best as she knew how.
“Velvet, listen to me. You’re safe, I’m the only one with you right now!” Magilou had a hard time keeping her voice quiet while still being stern and attempting to control Velvet’s thrashing. She wasn’t very good at this kind of thing—this… kind and reassuring talk. She couldn’t remember the last time she talked to anyone in this manner.
Try as she might, it seemed words weren’t going to calm Velvet down.
Magilou swiftly moved her grip from Velvet’s arms to slip her own arms around Velvet’s waist. Her hands clutched Velvet’s back as tight as she could, her nails slightly digging into the fabric of Velvet’s cape. Magilou was close enough to feel Velvet’s warm body as she pressed herself closer to her. Her head rested on Velvet’s shoulder as she continued to clutch Velvet’s back with all of her strength.
Velvet continued throwing her fists around, pounding on Magilou’s back as she clung to her. But Magilou endured every hit. Geez, she sure could pack a hell of a punch.
Pulling her even tighter than before, Magilou finally felt Velvet’s shoulders relax as her punching coming to a slow but eventual stop.
“Magilou? What are you doing?”
Looks like she’s back to normal. But…
I can’t pull myself away from her.
Magilou didn’t even have a punchline to throw back, which was so unbecoming of her. Why can’t I just throw my feelings in the trash can and hide behind shitty jokes like I always do? Get a hold of yourself, you goddamn idiot.
“Magilou?”
Velvet sounded agitated. As she should well be, being clutched as tightly as she was by a stupid witch that only stuck around to antagonize her.
“Sorry, sorry, my bad!” Magilou apologized, barely forcing her voice to go back to its normal, cheery tone. She quickly released from the embrace, stepping away from Velvet with a stupid grin.
Please don’t pry too much.
“How… Why are we in an alley?”
Figures she wouldn’t remember. Makes a load of sense though. “Had a bit of an accident at the restaurant, that’s all! I dragged you here to get you cleaned up outside of the public’s view.”
Velvet had a hard time processing that information. If it was just an accident, why didn’t she remember it? Was she knocked out cold, or something? “What, did some Abbey soldier sneak up behind me or something? Nothing hurts at all.”
You’re asking too many questions, Velvet. You don’t want to know. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know. It was pretty frightening, even for a tenacious witch like myself.”
“And how am I supposed to trust you, exactly? Your nails were digging into my back, for god’s sake. What if you were at fault for this?” She crossed her arms, glaring at Magilou with animosity. “I wouldn't put it past you.”
Stay calm, Magilou. Just throw a stupid joke in there and she’ll give up. “You really wound me, you know! What could I possibly gain from that?” She paused, attempting to sway Velvet from asking any more questions. “You’re no fun if you don’t threaten to kill me at least once a day.”
Velvet sighed, but refused to admit defeat. “Alright, Magilou. You’re either going to tell me, or I’m going to devour you this instant.”
Despite how angry she may felt—and even looked—Velvet kept her composure. She made sure to glare at Magilou with the force of a daemonic beast, though.
Shit.
“Oh, devour, huh? Is that a promise, or a threat? Sounds pretty s—“
Velvet slammed her fist against the brick wall behind her, which activated her daemonic arm. Small shards of stone fell to the ground from where her fist was. “This isn’t a joke.”
No getting out of this one, it seems. Looks like this wager is lost.
Magilou closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them and staring at Velvet with a piercing gaze. “If you want to know so badly, then fine. I’ll tell you.”
Despite trying to hide her anger, it was pretty obvious that Magilou that was steaming. She continued shortly after. “You lost control of yourself when you got a whiff of the prickleboar stew at the restaurant. I had to drag you out of there kicking and screaming… it was such a drag.”
Velvet’s annoyance at Magilou’s persistence to make everything a joke made her clench her fists.
“I brought you here but no matter what I did you kept attacking me! The audacity, honestly. Maneuvering you into a clutch was hard work, you know.”
Processing this was a sure a time for Velvet. She didn’t believe Magilou at all when she first heard it, but knew she had nothing to gain by lying about something like this. That and it made… a lot of sense. She would wake up in a blind rage when she would have nightmares about Artorius. She would remember nothing, but the gaping holes in the wall and the bedsheets made it obvious what had happened.
It’s why she never let anyone sleep in them same room as her. Let alone the same bed.
Velvet also did avoid prickleboar stew like it was the plague. But there’s no way Magilou could have known about that. She didn’t speak of it to anyone.
“I'm honestly surprised you even helped me. And how in the hell did you even know what would work?” Curiosity got the better of Velvet. Of all people, Magilou seemed the least likely to help her in such a situation. Not to mention how she someone knew a hug would help snap her back into reality. It’s definitely not something Velvet would have come up with.
Magilou shrugged, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “Well, the reason why is a secret, of course! But I couldn’t just let you loose on the town, could I?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you, Magilou. You seem to enjoy creating chaos.”
Another chuckle. Velvet sure did see right through her. It’d been a while since she’d been read so easily. The vulnerability made her anxious, but she didn’t show it.
“Perhaps you’re right. I suppose I found my body moving before I could really make a choice. Call it instinct, I guess.”
Velvet sighed, again. As usual, Magilou refused to take anything seriously—but at least she was finally being honest—for once in her life. “Well, whatever it was that compelled you, I guess I should thank you. So… thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Magilou replied. “Because if you do, I’ll just use it against you and make you spoil me.”
Velvet let a small grin grace her lips, amused at just how quickly Magilou could snap right back into character. You know, maybe having her around wasn’t so bad. Harmless humour in the face of tragedy might be nice.
“By the way, you do still owe me breakfast, my dove.”
Actually, you know what? Nevermind.