A few days had passed, and Valentine was tired of waiting for Aura to send word so that she could enter the city. Thus, leaving behind her children in Gamorrah's care, she made for the town of Luminos by herself. Entering as a vagabond with tattered clothes, a brownish scarf that stretched into a cape, she held her collar tight and passed right through the entryway, which was now guarded by guild-hired adventurers.

Already, the surroundings looked foreign to her. The small village was changing into a larger town, with construction on an enclosing wall already beginning. Everyone was chiming in with whatever they could, labour, gold, and material, after all, if there was no town, what use would they have for anything?

'Wooden fences might keep goblins out, but anything larger will just tear through this place.' Although quite impressed by how fast progress was moving in the town, Valentine–being Valentine–kept trying to find ways to criticize them. 'No church either, no wonder the infiltration went so smoothly. Even someone as useless as Wallace couldn't have fucked this up.'

Wandering with her face covered and only her ruby red eyes visible from between the folds of her scarf, she walked further into town and somewhat admired the lamps and the remnants of the dead sage's work. Apart from the crucibles of magic, she didn't find anything else of interest. The people were weak, their blood smelled sweet, but even in that, there was no thrill nor a rush–the mark of a sedentary lifestyle.

Even the adventurers seemed meek. Scowling to reflect that disappointment, Valentine ran into a young child who was walking while running away from her mother. Falling down, the girl winced in pain, and her mom finally caught up with her.

"I'm sorry, she's a nuisance…" The mother complained before picking her daughter off the ground and walking away. While staring at the duo, however, Valentine heard. "Don't run up to people like that, they're nothing but trouble–those wandering folks."

A fear of the vagabond and the traveller was instilled deep, even here–at least that fact brought joy in Valentine's cold heart, for fear and hatred was exactly what she primarily fed on instead of blood. The richer the hate, the more tremendous the fear, the more the veins were coursed with adrenaline and every other hormone that altered the taste of a human.

Salivating at that thought, her hand reached towards the girl. Her mind, she tried to invade, but that's when a hand was placed onto her shoulder.

"Hunting already?" Grunting through her nose, Valentine turned around to face Aura.

"You have some nerve," pressing her lips shut, the vampiress gritted her teeth. "When were you going to send word? The end of winter or when hell freezes over?"

Looking around with her expression dropped, Aura grabbed Valentine's hand and started walking towards their shop. The vampire resisted her touch for a moment, but since a conflict between them might turn more violent than the audience could handle, she tried her best to keep her rage contained within.

"We will talk in the shop, for now–how about you just follow me?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? Cunni–fucking–lingus?" Jerking her hand away from Aura's grasp, Valentine quickly wiped her hand and continued to follow. "Touch me again, and I swear on my children I'll make you swallow your teeth."

Glancing sideways at her with her lips pressed flat, Aura heaved a sigh and kept walking forward. She'd never gotten along with Valentine and been her rival since forever. Why? She could not remember, but the countless vampiric familiars that she'd sent to the grave were a forever reminder for Valentine.

"Let's get something to eat first," trying to clear some air, Aura led them through the path that went through the everyday market. Valentine wasn't exactly happy about the choice, but since her walk had been long to reach this place, she didn't want to say no–at least not before seeing the options for snacking. "They serve honey-roasted meat in this one place that I've been going recently–"

"I don't like honey," Valentine interjected.

"Hmm? Then what about something spicy–"

"I can't taste spicy." Cutting her off once more, the vampire shook her head with a look of disappointment. "Nothing but disappointments in this city."

Lifting an eyebrow, Aura narrowed her eyes and glared at Valentine.

"How about–"

"Steak, rare and dripping preferably, or else we can cut this short and head to this 'shop' already."

Rolling her eyes with a scoff, Aura was reminded of another reason why they never got along. A vampire who only cared for blood and meat, and a succubus who desired the most delectable of any given thing–they were the exact opposite of each other, and while one simply hungered, the other hungered with a taste for quality.

"I prefer your children to you," Aura muttered to herself.

"I can't say the same; your children are just as annoying as you," Valentine shot right back.

The air between the two quickly stilled. Neither wanted to give the other even an inch to talk, and having the last word was their reward, but of course, since they wouldn't let go, the cycle of insults continued even as they walked through the bazaar.

Valentine's wish for dripping meat was the only thing that stopped their quarrel for a moment. A whole cow leg roasted so barely the shopkeeper could've sworn that he heard it moo before being forced to take it off the flame. In one hand, she held it and took small bites out of the large chunk of meat. Her eloquence, even in such an absurd situation, was apparent–in spite of the fact that she was eating a whole cow leg by herself.

'A cow eating cow, fitting I'd say.' Aura thought, even though she had just as large a plate full of food lying right in front of her. Sharing a quiet meal together, the girls finally held peace. But how long would that last? Only their visit to Zephyr's shop could reveal.

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