"Whee! Sinistra, look at this! New shirts!" Eternia chirped, happy about the help of the elementalist as well as about the unexpected new treasures.
"Err, yes, very nice... Not exactly my taste but it's really nice that the boss puts every free minute into sewing until we move."
"Ha ha ha! I hope she'll produce a ton more!"
"Oh well, I doubt that... she looks very worn out for the last days."
"Eternia and Sinistra, good morning!" Yori Maguna approached them in a very good mood.
Carelessly Eternia threw the glittery shirt in the box behind her and lifted her arms towards him. "Yori! Good morning!" Hoping that her advance was still fresh in his memory she smiled at him.
"Eternia, I'm glad to see you in good health." The merry sparkle in Yori's eyes showed clearly that he hadn't forgotten about her at all. He handed his hat and fan over to Sinistra and turned towards the blonde.
"Yori, why have you been away for so long? I thought we were going to go out before we get on our way to the new Dolltopia?" she chided mildly. Sinistra snorted behind her because once again she wasn't able to talk with Yori about his adventures. But since the man seemed interested in Eternia she stayed silent, as she didn't want to become an obstacle.
The exorcist grimaced. "Forgive me, Eternia, my sense of duty compelled me to survey on the whole location first and check for demons and other monsters."
"Very well, I guess it can't be changed. Now you are here, at last..." She looked him deeply in the eyes.
"Hey, hey, good morning!" Someone breezily approached the small group.
While the others repaid the greetings Eternia froze on the spot. 'Dear me! He looks even better than some days ago!' it shot through her head. And here she was, flirting with this run-of-the-mill looking country bumpkin...
Yori Maguna didn't miss Eternia's reaction. "May I ask who you are, sir?" he asked cooly.
"Hi! I'm Raiki!" When he smiled he showed a row of perfectly white, sparkling teeth. "I heard about you, you're the demon hunter, right?"
"Right..." Yori was suspicious. Was that a demon? Was that the reason for Eternia's flinching?
"Uhm", said Eternia, who braced herself, cautiously. "Yori, why don't you get instructions from Sinistra about the next steps while I ask Raiki what things he has to store?"
Yori looked at her intensely. As much as he listenend into himself, his monster radar did not get any signals from Raiki. Then it had to be something else which scared Eternia about this man. Something which seemingly was none of his business, since she rejected his help. "As you wish", he agreed and talked to Sinistra who was happy to finally have a little talk with him.
"Raiki!" Eternia's smile became more open. "I didn't expect to see you again this soon! I almost didn't recognize you, with pants and all."
"Ha, ha." the man said cooly, but he relaxed when he noticed her interested gaze. "What?"
"I didn't consider this possible, but with clothes you look at least as good as without." Eternia said softly.
The flattery worked. "I know", he said self-confidentely. His eyes blazed beneath his thick hair. "Good that you realise it!"
"Okay, okay, I guess I deserve this tit-for-tat response", she sighed.
Suddenly Raiki smiled at her in a way that filled her body from head to toe with a warm chill. He leaned over to her and whispered: "If you wear the other shirt, you know, the pink one, we could go to the club and attract all eyes to us."
"Is that so?" She liked his way of acting. When he wasn't playing the angry diva Raiki was damn charming, indeed. Eternia felt prickling in her stomach.
"Of course! I see how you move. I bet you're a hot dancer."
"Ehem!" Yori drew attention to himself by clearing his throat loudly. "If I remember correctly Eternia was about to go out with ME."
"What?" Raiki snorted amused. "This classy woman should prefer you over me? I don't think so, buddy."
"What you think is of no interest." Yori insisted.
Raiki scoffed and laughed.
There was chaos in Eternia's head. The thoughs thundered like a waterfall and she was unable to hear the quarrelling men. Now she had a problem. There was the man who was able to help her and the man who stirred up her blood. The older one and the very young. They were different like sun and moon, two men could not be any more different, actually. What now? The humming became more intense, made her head ache. Finally, the tension discharged in a high-pitched scream. "Aaaaaaiiiiih! First nobody wants to date me and now it's two at the same time! Why can't I be lucky, just once?!"