"Now this is very weird..." murmured Yori Maguna when he struggled free of the foil and left the shipping box. "I am sent to a new area of operations and nobody welcomes me?"
"I wonder if something happened to the inhabitants of this village? The silence is suspect." Yori took a deep breath. He didn't smell any demonic aura and his magic eyes also didn't spot anything, but he was still cautious. Those beasts could lurk in cover.
"Hello? Is anyone here?" he yelled and prepared for an attack.
- WOOOOOOOSH! -
A warm draught grazed him and suddenly he was without his clothes. The hair on Yori's neck stood on edge. "What kind of evil spell is this place under?!" he wondered in horror and lurked for another sign of the clothes stealing demon.
He still stood there like this and waited for an attack or a sign of life, when someone approached him from behind.
"Hello! Here I have your clothes, freshly washed and blow-dried!" Sinistra greeted cheerfully.
Yori spun around. "Who are your?" he snapped at the woman.
"Iiiiiiiiiks!" Sinistra squealed and promptly let go of all items. "That isn't a woman!" She blushed deeply and covered her eyes with the hands.
Yori tried to mend the precarious position by covering his bareness with his hat. "Err, I'm sorry you expected a woman." he said politely although in his opinion the current situation wasn't his fault.
Sinistra didn't even listen to him, her embarrassment was too big. "Oh my! Oh my! What if Eternia sees this!"
Yori seized the opportunity to grab his kimono and started to dress. He was completely puzzled.
"What if I see what, Sinis... Oh, helloooooooo!" Eternia whistled appreciatively.
Sinistra politely turned away but it was easy to imagine what her friend was doing. "Eternia! Stop staring at him! That's not respectable!"
"Tut-tut! I see no valid reason not to take a quick peek!" the blonde objected. "You're acting as if I was the one standing here naked."
"Now that you mention it, Eternia, perhaps you can explain to me in which way my clothes went astray and why they are in your and your friend's hands now?" Yori asked unmoved while reaching for his hakama.
"Clothes of newcomers gets collected, colourfasted and washed." Sinistra sheepishly explained from the back, while Eternia hung the beat leather robes of the man over the box. "The boss has undressed you and we bring your stuff back."
"I didn't notice anyone near me", the man said sceptically.
"Because the boss has a lot of training with this. These days she manages never to be seen on a photo." Eternia's explanation was so calm that the elementalist was surprised. But there was no doubt about it. Eternia's interest in Dolltopia's new guy in town had faded instantly when she saw the rest of his clothes. He reminded her way too much of home. Also, he was too old for her taste. The man seemed to be in his early 30ies. Bored, she turned away.
"In any case we welcome you to Dolltopia!" Sinistra said politely when the man closed the buttons of his robes and she dared to turn back to him again. "I am Sinistra and this is my impolite friend Eternia."
"Good day. My name is Yori Maguna. Please excuse my rudeness just now but I thought this was an attack."
"An attack?"
"Indeed. I'm an exorcist, you know."
"Oh, so you're a demon hunter? How fascinating!" Sinistra was deeply impressed. "If I may ask, what is your area of expertise?"
"Dragons."
"Ooooh, dragons?" Sinistra echoed, even more impressed than before.
"Dragons?" Eternia echoed too, with suddenly rekindled interest.
"Yori, that's exciting!" Eternia whispered alluringly while stepping closely towards the man.
"Hm?" Her change of mood took her by surprise but in a pleasant way.
"So, how many dragons have you defeated?" the blond asked and batted her eyelashes.
"Well, so far it was five. There was the big fire dragon of Quindal, for instance,..."
"Fascinating." Eternia huddled closer against him. "Will you tell me more of your adventures? While having dinner, perhaps? Please...!" Her breasts pressed against his arm and she looked deeply into his mismatched eyes.
"Hey... what... hey!" Sinistra protested tentatively. She would have liked to talk to a fellow adventurer too, but without scenes like this.
Yori was very surprised about the radical change in Eternia's behaviour. She looked at him with an adoring gaze. He watched her, then turned to Sinistra and asked silently: "Is she possessed?"
"Chance would be a fine thing! Sadly that's normal for her." Sinistra groaned and rubbed the root of her nose in despair.
"Are you sure? I could conduct an exorcism, just to be sure." The man wanted to reach in his robes to get a ban scroll, but Eternia's hand closed around his arm.
"Adventurers are so irresistible!" she whispered. "Let's go and you tell me more about you, yes, Yori?"
"Eternia!" Sinistra railed and stomped her foot. "You know very well that we don't have time for this! The move...!"
"Is that why nobody's here?" Yori asked. His arm burned like fire but he didn't want to come across unprofessionally right on his first night on the job. He didn't know Eternia at all, after all.
"Right, they are all gone." Eternia whispered. "We're the only ones left!"
"That's untrue! Actually, I see the next groups approaching in the distance!"
"Then we should postpone deepening our acquaintance. In no way do I wish to be responsible for you getting critized for neglecting your work." Cautiously Yori got away from the sighing woman. "First I will familiarise myself with my surroundings. But later I will gladly tell you about the dragons, Eternia."
"Hope so." She sighed deeply and could only hope that he really meant it and she left a lasting impression on him.