Chapter 2.

Taking a moment to bask in the glory of having their own home now, the three looked up at the sign before sparing quick glances to each other and then bolting for the doors. Running past the two girls, Sling thought he was home free until his jacket was grabbed by both females and he was yanked backwards onto the ground, rolling down the stairs as the two giggling women flung the doors opened and ignored his screaming and flailing.

Stopping just inside the door, the girls were welcomed with a very gothic interior design. The walls were a crimson red highlighted by the candlelight from the huge chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling; the staircases on either side of the room were polished cherry wood with black runners going down the middle. The floors were gleaming obsidian that reflected the flickering of the candles, and along the staircases were each guild members’ portrait in elegant golden frames.

“This is fucking amazing!” Lio shrilled, running to the staircase on the right while Kahl went to the left and the two met up at the top of the banister, looking down on Sling as he entered holding his back. “Took ya long enough” Kahl sneered, receiving a glare from the male before he noticed the room and looked around in wonder. “I’m going to pick my room, adios” Lio mock saluted the two and spun around, going down the hall in the middle between the staircases and practically skipping her way through the mansion.

She peeked in rooms here and there as she went, finding absolutely huge rooms with amazing views and furniture, but none really stood out to her until she hit the very end of the hall and opened the double doors. Her mouth gaping and her eyes bulging, she took in the gigantic room that looked more like an open plan apartment than anything.

The walls were the same crimson as the rest of the mansion, and the wood furniture was cherry wood, but the floors were white instead of the obsidian and the ceiling was vaulted, chandeliers hanging in strategically placed spots to enhance the lighting. The entrance was a sitting room equipped with chaise lounges and a fireplace with a mantle in the middle, sectioning off the room from the bedroom behind it. Striding over behind the mantle, she took in the sight of the platform bed with posters and delicate canopy in soft white silk and chiffon fabrics. Unable to help herself, she ran at the bed and flung herself onto its plush comforter face down and flailed like an idiot. She was in heaven, this room was perfection and she was so excited to never have to sleep in an inn again.

Spending the next twenty minutes exploring the room and discovering it had it’s own kitchen, shower, and a wardrobe that could stock up to 250 full outfits, Lio was in the process of claiming the room when she got a ping on her Omni that both Shedim and Frudore had logged on and were in the guild hall. Quickly claiming the room and watching in amazement as all her belongings from the bank were transferred to the room and on the door her name was carved, she hurried down the hall and following the map on her Omni device, made her way to the group kitchen everyone was in.

Coming up to the double doors that were currently open, she heard bickering from inside and chuckled. Walking in, she saw Frudore with his hood up as per usual and sitting at a table casually while Shedim stood in front of him with his hands splayed wide like he was completely baffled by what he was hearing. Spying Kahl at the table behind Frudore with a cigarette in her hand, Lio went over and sat beside her quietly so as not to draw unwanted attention from the two males having a spat.

Leaning in to whisper in her ear, Kahl explained. “Frude walked into the room that Shed was picking and claimed it before he could ‘cause he’s a dick, and now Shed is bitching to the conveniently deaf Frude.” Nodding her head in understanding, she scanned the room and didn’t see Sling anywhere, as she was about to ask where he was, her Omni pinged her announcing that she had a visitor at her apartment in reality.

Sighing, she pulled up the camera at her door and saw that it was a delivery boy. “I’ll be right back, got someone at my door” she told Kahl and the elder girl nodded, gesturing to the two men across from them with a flick of her hand. “I’ll let you know if they start a duel again” laughing at the fact that she knew she wasn’t even joking, Lio temporarily logged out of Gahenna and jolted back to her body in the real world.

Sighing heavily, she plucked the visor from her face and blinked a few times to get used to the swap between virtual and reality. As happy as she would be with her vision clearing and her body feeling almost too heavy, she rolled out of bed and stood up, uncaring of her near naked appearance and shuffled to her door. Unlocking the three deadbolts she had and making sure her chain was on, she pulled the door open the few inches it was able and eyed the man on the other side.

A box about a foot and a half all around in his hands blocking his face, he pulled it down just enough for her to see his eyes and said. “Delivery for a Mrs. Davenport?” she rolled her eyes and closed the door, pulling the chain off and flinging the door back open. “It’s miss, where do I sign?” she corrected and put her hands on her hips. His eyes traveling down from her irritated face to her white tank top that was doing a terrible job at hiding the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra and even lower to her lacey black boy shorts.

She quirked a brow at his inspection until he lowered the box and tucked it under his arm, flashing her a grin and holding out a clipboard with a pen. “Nice ink” she snorted at his obvious appraisal, taking the clipboard from him and signing her name. “Do you always answer your door like this?” he asked, the grin never leaving his face. Looking up at him from under her lashes, she inspected his messy brown hair and amber eyes, taking in his boyishly handsome features and rather tall stature.

“Only for the cute one’s” she winked at him and held out the clipboard, watching as he reacted to her obvious flirting. Grin still in place, he took the clipboard and held out the package for her. “I’ll be sure to volunteer for all your deliveries, then. Don’t want to disappoint a lady” chuckling, she took the box and made sure she brushed her hand across his in the process. “I’ll save my lingerie for next time, Mr.?” she waited for him to add his name. “It’s Sir, and I’ll definitely look forward to it, Miss Davenport” he winked at her and bowed, receiving a laugh. “Very well then, sir. Until next time” she chuckled and closed the door, locking each deadbolt and replacing the chain before heading into her kitchen to grab a knife and open the box.

Packing peanuts were the first thing she noticed in the box, and after digging her hand inside and moving it around a bit, she finally found something inside. Pulling out the item, she was instantly grinning upon seeing the pair of black sequined stilettos she’d worn the previous day at a photoshoot and had complained about not owning. Digging around for the other shoe, she found a note rolled up inside the left shoe and saw that it was her Photographer that’d sent it as a thanks for being a good model.

Shooting off a quick thank you to him, she placed the heels on the counter and went back to her bedroom to log back on to the game. As soon as she was back in her body in Gahenna, she was flung backwards by a body being thrown at her. Looking down at the mess of white hair that was attached to a face currently between her breasts, she realized Shedim had been tossed across the room by Frudore in the middle of their duel.

Sighing, she pushed the idiot off of her and accepted the out held hand from Kahlan to pull her up. “I take it the duel started” she noted, glancing at the two men flinging spells and knives at each other. “Yeah, Frude called him a lil’ bitch and Shed lobbed a fuckin’ knife at him, Frude retaliated and now you’re here so we can laugh at their misfortune together” Lio laughed, moving over to the farthest table from the two duking it out.

“Oh, you’re back. Thank God” Sling exclaimed as he crawled out from under the table. Not even fazed by the odd behavior, Lio sat down and waited for the other two to sit before asking what he was doing hiding. “I may or may not have said something to get a fireball thrown at me” Sucking her teeth at the boy, she turned to Kahlan for the real story. “He called Frude a pussy for not hitting Shed like a man; it’s a pity, really. I wanted to see Frude take em both on” she pouted, resting her chin in her palm.

Patting her back, Lio murmured. “There there, maybe next time he’ll piss off Sval and we’ll get to see her summon a Golem to beat his ass” as if saying that had been a spell, through the doors came a pitch black owl with glowing blue eyes gliding into the room. Flying over to the table the three sat at, the owl hooted at the group and was instantly showered in attention from the girls. “This place is fuckin’ huge” the new voice came and everyone looked to the door to see Svaldana striding in. “I know, it took me half an hour to find the damn kitchen” Sling complained, his face scrunched up in distaste. “Oh, you two at it again?” Sval nonchalantly mused, walking past the two dueling in the middle of the room.

“I was just telling Kahl that you’d summon a Golem if Frude started his shit again.” Lio commented, ignoring the dirty look she could literally feel coming from the person in question. “I’ve had a shit day, don’t encourage me” Sval stated blankly, sitting across the table from the three. “Oh, hey – did you pick a room yet?” Kahl asked, launching into a conversation with the newcomer and leaving Sling and Lio to watch Shedim fling himself at Frude with a sword in his hand. “hundred bucks Frude throws a lightning bolt at him and Shed loses” she held her hand out to Sling. “Why would I give you my money? We all know Shed’s one weakness is lightning, that’s like saying Kahl or I would win against Sval’s Liger”

Stopping mid-sentence to send Sling a head nod of understanding, Kahl went back to talking to Sval like nothing happened. “Ya’ll really gotta get over that, y’know? It’s to the point that I think you’re scared of Vagina’s ‘cause they’re nicknamed Pussy’s” Lio shook her head, amazed by the weird hatred the two shared. Smirking at her, Sling replied. “Wanna prove that?” Quirking a brow at him in challenge, Lio shot back. “Can you handle this?”

“Oh, God. Ew. Can you two go get a room instead of defiling our ears with the terrible flirting?” Shedim complained, walking over to the table with his face contorted in disgust. “Oh, please. You’re just jealous she flirts with me” Sling stuck his tongue out at him and Shed rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the most female attention Shed gets” Frudore mocked, sitting beside Sval and earning an obscene gesture in reply from the man.