"This is good food..." Lars whispered as he and Qiqi sat on a bench. It was evening, and the two of them had each gotten their payments from the commissions they completed.
Lars had just bought some grilled chicken sticks from a street vendor. Now, he and Qiqi were just sitting down, watching the people pass by them.
Qiqi looked at Lars munching on the food silently. She learned to feel something new today, envy. She wanted to taste food too, but being a zombie, that seemed like a fantasy and would probably stay like that forever.
She found herself receiving sudden headpats from Lars. "Don't worry, Qiqi. I'll find a way for you to be able to taste again. That's a promise." Qiqi looked at him silently, before nodding and looking back down again.
"Thank you..." She whispered. Lars smiled, before he continued finishing his meal, glad that he made her feel better. It was a promise Lars planned to keep, after all, if the adepti were able to create a body for Qiqi, what's to say they aren't able to modify it?
"We should find a place to crash for the night. I saw an inn nearby, let's go check it out." Qiqi nodded, following Lars' lead. They found themselves passing by a marketplace, before being forced to squeezed through a large crowd.
"Hold my hand, Qiqi. I don't want you to get lost." He said. Qiqi stared at the hand before she immediately held it tightly as they slowly made their way out of the crowd. As they headed to the inn, Qiqi still hadn't let go of his hand, but Lars didn't pay any mind.
'It feels nice....' Qiqi thought to herself as she held his hand tighter. Not long after, they were standing in front of a modest inn entrance. Stepping in, they made their way to the receptionist.
"Good evening sir, how may I help you?" The female receptionist greeted him respectfully. Lars nodded at her. "Good evening, I would like a room for two please. We'd like to stay for the night."
"That'll be 50 Mora." After receiving the Mora from him, she then placed it in a locked box. "Wait a moment..." After a few moments of going through a drawer, she handed Lars the keys to his room. It was then she noticed Qiqi beside him holding his hand.
"Oh, is that your daughter sir? She's very cute." She commented with a smile. Lars just smiled in return, too lazy to deny her claim.
"Your room is just upstairs. Enjoy your stay."
"Thank you." He grinned as he and Qiqi headed upstairs. After unlocking the door, they entered their room for the night. Qiqi let go of his hand, her curiosity getting the best of her as she explored the room.
"This looks cozy doesn't it? The bed looks nice enough, perfect for the two of us to sleep on." Funnily enough, even though Qiqi is a zombie, she still requires sleep. Though sleep wouldn't be the best way to describe it.
It was more like stasis. Think of it less as 'going to bed' and more as 'pausing unnecessary processes to conserve mental bandwidth.' But there was also behavioral reason as to why Qiqi might imitate sleep.
She's lived among humans long enough to know that night time equals lying down and being still. And stillness is her comfort zone. So if one sees Qiqi lying down with her eyes closed, that doesn't mean she's dreaming, it means she's in idle mode.
'What's funny is she could probably just stay motionless all night, eyes open, fully conscious, just waiting...' Lars chuckled to himself as Qiqi sat on the soft matress.
"It's soft. Softer than beds at the pharmacy..." She muttered, patting the bed, before she laid down on it. Lars smiled at the scene as he entered the bathroom to take a quick shower.
A few minutes later, he exited while rubbing his head with a white towel only to walk in on an interesting scene. Qiqi was lying on the bed, staring straight at the ceiling. Noticing the dull expression on her face, he could help but laugh.
"What are you doing?" He asked, sitting on the bed after hanging the towel.
"I don't know." She replied as he laid down beside her. They laid together in silence before Lars started another conversation.
"So what do you think about your first day as an adventurer?" He questioned. Qiqi didn't answer for a few moments.
"Helping people is a really good thing, because they smile after you help them. And I feel good when I help them." She said afford a while. "I'm going to try my best tomorrow too."
Lars smiled and nodded, before they fell in another silence again. He was surprised at how much Qiqi grew up from the day they met. If someone told Qiqi in the canon game that she would leave Bubu Pharmacy she'd probably won't believe them, then forget them in the next minute.
But here, now she's excited about the future, a future she used to not care about. And it's all because she met him. 'Well, guess that means my presence really does change canon.' He exhaled. That's a pretty big responsibility, it meant that the future would be more unknown than it already was.
'Well who cares, it's more exciting this way.' He smirked as he closed his eyes. Qiqi noticed that he was falling asleep. She took the blanket and put it over him. She then stared at the sleeping figure in front of her, wondering what to do next.
She got in the bed and covered herself with the blanket. She closed her eyes. Today had been an interesting day, meeting new people(that she was probably going to forget), and playing with the cats was the most fun part of today, though it was hassle picking the cat hairs off her outfit afterwards.
She used to think living in Bubu Pharmacy was all there it was to her life, but what happened today proved herself wrong. She really could become something more than just a zombie.
"Thank you..." She whispered, smiling at the sleeping Lars.
She herself closed her eyes and slept a few minutes later.
.....
"Uh...." A groggy Lars rubbed his eyes as he realized the situation he was in. Qiqi had somehow found her way lying on top of him.
'Is she snoring?' He wondered if zombies snore, which would be weird since they have a different type of 'sleep' from humans.
"Oh, good morning." Qiqi opened her eyes immediately, before getting off his chest. Lars sat up and smiled.
"Good morning."
"I wanna shower, I stink." Qiqi stated as Lars raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you can't smell?" Qiqi looked at him, already a foot in the bathroom.
"I can smell, but it's very weak. I can only smell strong scents."
" Isn't body odor a subtle one?"
" If I don't shower, then won't it become a strong scent?"
....
Meanwhile at Bubu Pharmacy, it was another normal day for Baizhu, except something felt missing. He sighed, palming his forehead. 'I can't believe I'm missing her this much.' He thought, before noticing a customer walk up to him.
"Ah, Miss Hu Tao. What can I get for you?" He smiled at the brown haired director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
"The usual please." She grinned, staring at him with those unique eyes of hers, bright scarlet eyes with white, blossom-shaped pupils. The girl looked around the place, quickly noticing that something was missing.
"Hey Baizhu, where's Qiqi?"
"Oh, she went off to become an adventurer now."
"WHAT?!" Hu Tao's jaw dropped, staring at Baizhu in disbelief. Was she hearing things correctly? Why would Qiqi suddenly run off like that?
"Yes, if you don't believe me, you could just head to the Guild Post right now. Yesterday I heard she completed her first two commissions. Her unusual strength is the talk of the town it seems." Baizhu smiled at her.
"I see...."
"I hope you don't plan to exorcise her, director."
"What? No! No! I already promised to you and her that I won't do that anymore." Hu Tao shook her head as she paid for the items she ordered.
"That's good. When you see her, tell her I said hi. Though.." Baizhu chuckled a little. "She'd probably run away from you before you even get a word out."
"Ceh...." Hu Tao pouted as she exited the pharmacy. "You don't need to remind me..." She grumbled. The small child had a hatred and fear of her due to the director's obsession with wanting to seal her away. She's actually the creepy one here even though the girl was the zombie.
"Well, relationships can be mended. Let's say hi to her. Hihi!"
To be continued.....