New Arrivals

Lilin and Annie both looked around, taking in the scene. They were in front of a stable for the carriage, and around them were the small buildings of a typical small town. They were mostly wooden buildings, the architecture looking like it came right out of Annie's childhood. A little ways in the distance were rows of cozy homes with just enough rooms for families, maybe an attic if they were well off. Closer to them were more service buildings, like for carpentry or pottery. They weren't massive buildings.

The most prominent feature of the town were the massive fields of farmland. Annie could see the leftover plant material from the harvest laying on the ground, left to decompose and replenish the soil. It looked like they had harvested quite recently, since the material had only minor signs of decomposition. She took a moment, grinning at how much her eyes could see from this distance. It truly never got any less wonderful to have such a youthful body again.

Annie and Lilin stepped out of the carriage, taking their bags with them. Lilin quickly slung her bag over her shoulder, carrying it with one hand. Annie awkwardly shuffled the bag around, then decided that Lilin's method was the best and replicated it. Lilin started to walk forward, clearly intent on doing something. Annie turned back, looking to the driver.

"Thank you for the ride," she called, quickly hurrying to follow Lilin.

"Anytime," the driver replied. He watched as the two girls left, then led his animals into the stable to rest up.

"So, what's the plan?" Annie asked Lilin.

"Well, we gotta find a place to stay first. Shouldn't be hard, nobody in these towns have as much as 3 pearls to their name, and we got plenty."

As they walked through the town, Annie started to notice things she hadn't seen previously. The town was in disrepair. All but the most important buildings had vines creeping in on their edges, and a sizeable number of the buildings were sagging or tilted. She was no architect, but it felt like the buildings were falling apart. 

"Hey, that building looks like an Inn."

Lilin pointed to a relatively tall building that had a sign on the front. It read, "Inn."
Well, Annie certainly couldn't say Lilin's appraisal was wrong. The two of them headed there.

Lilin opened the door and stepped in, being met by a welcome area that led to a front desk where a middle-aged woman was waiting. The moment she spotted Annie and Lilin, her expression darkened.

"Oh," the woman said, "great, just what I wanted to see today. Damned darkblood enforcers."

Lilin blinked, then groaned. "Ugh, damn it... I forgot to mask up."

"Mask up?" Annie asked.

"Yeah. Remember how you didn't know I was a demon? That."

That's right, Annie remembered. When she first met Lilin, she had more human skin and her horns and wings were completely hidden. She had grown so used to her demonic appearance that it hardly even registered as abnormal to her.
"Well, dear, I think that our uniforms would have given it away regardless," Annie says in a vague attempt at consolation.

"Yeah," The woman at the desk says, "And don't think you'll be winning me over with money. Gold don't mean anything to us if it's from that damned Tyrant!"

Lilin rolled her eyes, then lifted up a bag. She opened it, revealing at least a dozen pearls inside. "I'm not carrying gold, will this do?"

The woman's eyes widened, completely stunned. She looked around, trying to make sure nobody was around. The gears turned in her mind as she weighed her options. She hadn't ever seen that much money in one place, let alone been offered it all at once. Finally, she looked up at the devil in front of her and spoke quietly. 

"You mentioned something about hiding those devil parts, right?" Her words were a forced whisper, her entire being trying to stop her from accepting the money even as she accepted it.

Lilin scoffed, waving a hand. In a moment, everything demonic about her vanished. Her skin was the same color as Annie's, her hair turning golden blonde as her horns, tail, and wings all vanished. This wasn't quite the same as before, Annie noticed. Her hair was dark when they first met, and her skin was a bit more tan than this.

"Good," she hissed quietly, "And don't ever leave here wearing those uniforms, I can't have anybody knowing I let you stay!"

Lilin laughed. "Well, you got anything else for us to wear?"

The woman started to say no, but stopped herself. After a brief moment of consideration, she spoke. "Well, I don't think I have anything that would fit you, no, but... The young lady there, she could wear something of mine. For the right price, of course."

Lililn scowled. "The price of not telling anybody you let us sleep here, I assume? Or maybe the price of me not killing you faster than you can scream?"

The woman shook her head, her expression as furious as Lilin's. "You don't scare me, damned darkblood."

Lilin's eyes went wide as she stepped closer to the desk. "Really? Maybe I should make an example of you and-"

Annie stepped forward, gently pushing Lilin back. "Excuse her, ma'am. I would be happy to pay for clothing for the two of us, if it means we can stay here without issue."

The woman smiled. "That's more like it. How much are you willing to pay?."

Annie placed a few pearls of her own on the counter. "Will this do?"

The woman nodded as she counted the pearls. She mumbled something to herself, then spoke up. "I've got nothing that could fit the disgusting proportions of a demon, you'll have to find something for her yourself."

Annie sighed. "You know, her clothing sizing has nothing to do with her blood."

"It has everything to do with it," she spat, walking away from the desk.

The tension was so thick, Annie wished she could cut it with a knife. She looked to Lilin, who was still grimacing and now trembling a bit. Annie gently put a hand on her shoulder, but Lilin batted it away.

"Hate her," Lilin hissed, "hate her and that damned smug grin."

Annie felt terrible, completely helpless to stop the discrimination. All she could think to do was work through it, not sure if she'd be able to get anything done if she defended Lilin like she wanted to. If her "masking" was effective then this would be the only place she needed to worry about it, but the town would still likely treat them poorly as servants to the Demon King. She hung her head, sighing.

"I know, dear," she said, "I hate it, too."

"Why the hell do you care?" Lilin asked. "She's fine with you."

Annie didn't have a chance to respond, the woman returning quickly.
"This is all I have that isn't out to wash," she claimed, "it might be a loose fit for you, young lady, but you can find something else for yourself if you don't like it."

Annie took it with a forced smile. "Thank you," she said with a genuine spark of gratitude. "I'll make sure my superior has something discreet to wear."

The woman nodded, handing a key to Annie. "As you should. Now, off to your room. Second floor, third door on your left, look for the room number on your key. The stairs are to your right, mind your horns on the way, I don't want to see any scuffs!"

Annie bowed in thanks to the woman one more time before chasing Lilin up the stairs and to their room. Annie handed the key to Lilin, who looked at her weird for a moment before she unlocked the door. Inside, they were finally able to set down their bags, and Annie got to changing into a proper dress for the first time in what felt like ages- even if it was worn by a scummy woman like that.