"I have the takeout carriers right here for you ma'am… oh wow."
The waiter stood near their table holding two wooden containers meant to hold leftover food. However, Valerie didn't need them.
"Right? And I saw the whole thing."
Quies retorted to the waiter, causing Valerie to give him a hard look. The 'Dread Filet' that she had ordered turned out to be a section of rib from some gargantuan sea monster. In fact, a cohort of waiters had pulled it towards their table in a trolley, struggling to pull it. It was so heavy, in fact, that Valerie had to use both of her hands to move it instead of one. Meanwhile, Quies actually enjoyed his lionfish. It was some sort of exotic fish, or creature, which he had never heard of before. The taste was rather light, which left space for the sides to express their flavors.
"I was hungry, alright? Anyways, what's the bill?"
"Oh! I came here with that too, let me see…"
Quies took a sip from his nearly full water glass. Meanwhile, Valerie had nearly a dozen empty cups, which were now neatly stacked in a tower.
"Ah! 600 notes."
Quies nearly spit out his drink.
'Six hundred?!'
Valerie reached into her coat pocket, scrounged for a moment, and then pulled out a burlap sack that made a heavy noise when put down on the table. She untied the small sack and began counting.
"One hundred, two hundred… ah, I really need 500 bills… uhh, here, just take a thousand, keep the four hundred for yourself or something."
Valerie pulled out two beautifully engraved coins around a quarter the size of her palm. Quies wasn't sure whether to be more surprised about the cost of the bill, or the fact that Valerie paid nearly a 35% tip for it.
"A-are you sure ma'am?! You know I don't need this much money."
"Well? I don't need it either. Oh, if you want, I can give some notes to your colleagues as well. You know, there was this one time when I was visiting my colleague's friend's grandma's…"
The waiter kindly let Valerie finish her tangent before respectfully declining her generous offer. After a bit of back and forth, Quies and Valerie paid the bill, mostly Valerie, and made their way to exit the restaurant. As they passed through the narrow isle with tables packed with people on both sides, Valerie received a few glances. Not for how she looked, but for what she did. Not just anybody can eat a giant hunk of meat from a sea creature.
"Wooh! I'm getting the meat sweats."
"Really? I would have never thought."
"You know you're really making me want to slice your head off."
Quies and Valerie bantered as they walked down the busy streets of Etris. Establishments of differing sizes bordered both sides, the glow of everburning yellow lanterns being drowned out by the glistening sun.
"Anways, my plan was to visit an outfitter or boutique. I need something to cover up this black diver of mine, and you need a step up from that bummy tunic. Or, even better, something to cover up that ugly ass face of yours."
"You really shouldn't say things like that to your disciple."
"Who said you were my disciple?"
"Smart people."
Valerie took a while to process that joke.
"Oh! I get it! Because you're calling me stupid because I don't think you're my disciple! Hah! Good one! Am I right? Am I right?"
Quies wanted his face to scrunch into his skull.
"Are we close to the outfitter? Or are you just walking off eating an entire animal."
"Both of those, actually. It's right here."
Valerie took a sudden right turn into a mostly empty shop. It blended in with the others from the street, with large glass windows displaying the inner contents of the store. However, each store on the street was separated, which gave it some uniqueness. Quies promptly followed, wishing to escape the searing heat of the sun.
A small bell at the top of the wooden door rang as the two walked in, Quies behind Valerie. Quies immediately noticed the temperature change from outside. It went from burning hot to frigidly cold inside. He noticed Valerie's expression slightly changed as well.
"Ah, he's here today."
Quies observed the surroundings of the shop. He noticed mannequins wearing a variety of clothing. Dark and light, warm and cool, elegant and frivolous. He hoped that Valerie wouldn't buy him a frivolous looking outfit. Speaking of which, Valerie approached the empty front desk and rung a conveniently placed bell.
"Just a moment!"
A muffled voice resounded from behind a door. A moment later, it bursted open, and a rather tall Khan ran out holding a dress and a tuxedo which looked like it had just been tailored. He put them on a nearby roller rack and attended to Valerie at the front.
"Have you found something that interest you? Oh, that's a mighty fine coat you have on."
"Ah, well… we actually just walked in. Thanks, by the way. I'm looking for… ah, what do you call it."
Valerie snapped her fingers, trying to recall what she was thinking about.
"Well, maybe you should take a look aro-"
"Pips! Yes, do you have any pipped outfits? My… disciple… needs something for exploring, since that tunic just won't cut it."
"Well in that case, you asked at the right time! We just got a boat load of pipped outfits from a cohort of explorers. Let me bring them out really quick."
The kind outfitter hastily went towards the back, shutting the door on the way in. Valerie waited for a moment, and then looked at Quies, as if implying whether he thought the same thing. Quies raised his eyebrows and tilted his head down slightly, confirming her question. One of Valerie's ears dropped down, expressing an intriguing look.
"We're thinking about the same thing right."
"Hopefully. However, it could just be a coincidence, and why would it concern us?"
"Right. Still, those people took down a sea beast of the void sea, or at least took a good chunk out of it, that would be of some concern to us if they're still here on Etris."
"Why? I'm sure they would hate… him… too. I bet you that they're just explorers that had too much stuff to hold."
Valerie and Quies paused, digesting the information that had just been exchanged by the two.
"I'll sit with that answer."
Soon, the outfitter bursted from the door once more, holding multiple hangars that held a variety of clothes.
"Alrighty! Let's try on some fits!"