Raquel had woken up really late that day. It was as she read in a book about vampires. Newly turned vampires had a hard time keeping check of their sleeping schedule. They usually slept much longer than humans and if given the chance to, wouldn’t wake up for years. It was like how hibernation worked with certain animals. So to control and sway one’s timing, a newly awoken vampire had to spend a lot of days trying just to get it right. Raquel was currently at that stage. It had been a little less than a week since she woke up and the timing now was all over the place. She had slept for two days straight in the beginning but was now able to adjust it in a way that it didn’t hinder her much. Like today, she would have preferred to wake up at six but it was already close to eleven and half. She had wanted to take up the mission of protecting the shopping streets once again. But this time, she wasn’t sure if Venus would be with her. The fiery red haired beauty had said something about not wanting to deal with their clients again but Raquel was sure she would be back soon.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Raquel desperately needed money these days, she would have wanted a long break as well. Walking down the same road every single day was starting to get tiring. Besides, the clients always seemed to grow more and more in number with each day. It would have been perfect if she could take out the nobles that were the cause of all this trouble but that would bring about more trouble than the young mage or her clients could handle. So this indirect way of playing cat and mouse was their only choice.

308/2500

After going on a few quests, Venus had already racked up a good amount of jewels in her savings. The question was, how long would it last before she would spend them all? It was a pleasant day, the morning had drawn its first sunrise and while it wasn’t the hottest days, nor the coldest of the season, the freezing temperatures had already long drifted away to make way for the next season. It was the promise of winter lifting, the end of grey bitter days and ahead yawned the spring, blossoms and blooms.

By the time Venus was awake, it was almost the middle of the day and she didn’t wake up late because she had been drinking all night either but she preferred to sleep in longer on her days off when she had nothing planned or requests assigned to her. The red beauty fluttered her eyes open as she gazed up at the ceiling pondering about the many things she could do on her day off whilst she cuddled up to the fluffy fur of Blair’s who was rested in her arms.

”Do you think we should bother Raquel?” she asked her companion and she’d only receive an adorably heart-wrenching gaze in response. Venus always wondered if Blair had always been a shy cat, she’s rarely spoken to her despite her ability to communicate with her. ”Okay, let’s just leave her alone for today. I think she might need a break from my shit once in a while.” It was ridiculous how she was slowly turning into a cat-lady who would talk to their pet as if they were humans, but it wasn’t as though anyone would witness that silly side of hers.

Once she’d cleaned herself up, Venus decided to wait for her partner and housemate in the lobby until she would be awake. If Raquel were to exit her door, the first response of Venus would be her roaring, ”Let’s go shopping today!”

Raquel felt herself jump in surprise at the sudden voice. “Venus?” She looked towards the red haired lady with her cat and blinked several times as if to register that it was indeed her. Her loud voice had come out of nowhere when Raquel wasn’t expecting it at all. She was so sure the fiery mage would have been up and going about much earlier than the vampire who slept in till almost afternoon. But clearly she was wrong. “Oh Venus, you have to stop doing that,” Raquel poked the girl’s forehead playfully with the tip of her cold fingers.

“So shopping? Were you waiting for me here for that?” The vampire felt unusually happy with that. It was such a nice feeling to have someone do that for you. But Raquel was going to meet with the clients again. It wasn’t that she absolutely had to but it was what she thought a responsible person would do. ‘Do I have to go?’ She wondered wearing a confused expression. There was no way she would say no to Venus so it was just silently decided that she would have to ditch the clients for the day. Besides, after the last episode, things had calmed down quite a bit over there.

“Alright, let’s go! I need a new shirt anyway,” She finally exclaimed, grabbing the girl and walking out the door. There was this huge shop that opened recently in Magnolia where all the fashionable ladies seemed to go that Raquel noticed in passing a couple of days ago on her way home from a mission. “I heard the owner won some awards or something. Some of the clothes are oddly magical or whatever. I want to check it out for myself,” the girl would tell Venus all that she heard as they walked.

611/2500

Venus uncrossed her legs from where she waiting and stood up to her feet. The young woman was already dressed for the day; a rib cropped cami top, high waisted denim jeans paired with black pumps and a velvet purse draped over her shoulder. Having high tastes in fashion, it was necessary for the Siren to appear her best at all times and even if it was grocery shopping, she was one of those women who would show up at a market with stilettos. The only thing that looked out of place on her body was a large sheathed blade that clung to her back like a child to its mother.

As a mage, Venus would never leave the house without any equipment and especially since now she had a bounty on her head, she needed to be on guard at all times in case of an ambush. ”Of course. About time you’re out of your room, I’ve been waiting for a while now,” she spoke with her eyebrows frowned deeply into the center of her forehead with impatience. Perhaps Raquel had other plans for the day, but now she would have to schedule them for another day because what they were about to do now was obviously way more important than what her fellow guildmate had planned and she was certain Raquel would also prefer to have some time off doing what girls would normally do – shopping.

The day she had long awaited had finally arrived; a ladies’ day, where they do nothing but spoil themselves.

Apparently there has been a new mall that was established recently and of course, Venus being herself, she needed to check it out even if it meant losing her limbs. ”Magical clothes – that’s weird as hell,” she commented, blinking almost in confusion as they sashayed into the streets until they found themselves instead of a building that rose up through the skies. The number of stories that the building had: that she couldn’t tell. Inside, there were multiple shops of different kinds taking up almost every available space and even so, there’d be small vendors nearby selling street food. Undoubtedly, it was crowded, more so than ever as people pushed each other to get their hands on the latest trends.

Raquel was clearly hopeless at fashion. She thought so too when the difference in clothing between Venus and herself suddenly struck her. There the fire mage was dressed in fashionable clothes and here Raquel had barely thrown together an outfit consisting only a thin white shirt and black trousers. Although the bubble mage had recently purchased a weapon for herself –which looked oddly like an umbrella- she never really took it with her unless she thought she needed it. So watching Venus and knowing they were going shopping today, the young vampire felt hopeful. She wanted see how Venus chose her clothes.

Inside the large building reaching to the skies were smaller ones all built and renovated in different styles. Some of them, she immediately noticed not knowing whether she liked it or hated it, were extremely colorful splashed in bright pinks reds and oranges while some others carried a more mature charm to them. They were obviously different clothing brands with their own unique style and Raquel was immediately attracted to the store selling what looked like more mature and elegant dresses and items.

“We should check those out. No wait, maybe...” she said, not realizing that there was a certain light –one that most women wore when they went shopping- in her eyes that made her look like a child visiting a toy store for the first time. “What should I get? What do you want to get?” There was a tone of indecisiveness in her voice. She was truly torn between a lot of the brands that looked like they would suit her. “I don’t know anymore. You go first. I’ll follow,” The water mage finally gave up, admitting to the fact that she would never get anywhere if looking and gawking at the displays were all that she was going to do.

917/2500

It wasn’t difficult to notice that Raquel was struggling to decide which style of clothing suited her. On the other hand, Venus had already began flipping through one of the clothing racks, faster than a bookworm would be going through their novels. She would never be on to be indecisive on what to buy, because she tends to buy everything she likes without any hesitation. The redhead chuckled when Raquel bombarded her with questions and she looked so clueless that she reminded Venus of a lost child at a market. She laughed at the thought.

”Okay okay, let’s see.”

Her chestnut hues scanned Raquel’s figure up and down as she imaginatively dressed her guildmate in certain clothes within her head. ”I don’t know what you’re so indecisive about. You have a nice body, and you’d look great wearing anything.” But, if she were to leave her vampire friend just like that she had a feeling her head would explode at one point trying to pick those that were suitable for her. She sighed, ”I guess I have no choice. I’ll have to be your stylist for today.” Despite the frown on her face, there was excitement within her, for she had been looking forward to one of these days where she would be able to dress a friend of hers and be awed by her own work.

”Wait here.” She dragged Raquel by the hand and seated her down on one of the vacant couches made for the comfort of customers. With that, she darted off from rack to rack as she selected a different number of outfits that might suit her style, perhaps. She was no professional stylist to others, only to herself, so this would be a bet to see whether Raquel liked her choices or not. A few minutes went by and Venus would return with a pile of clothes draped over her arm, selected for each different occasion. From the duration that Venus has known her, she’d noticed how Raquel often wore simple clothes so she’d grab the most casual outfit from the pile.

A plain white top that fits the body just right, skin-tight black jeans and a leather jacket paired with a pair of mid-length high-heeled boots. Black was not only one of her favourite colours but it was also one that could be easily paired up with any other colour. She’d select a few more from her pile; lovely floral dresses and rompers that suited the spring season. ”I picked a few to start off with. Your hair would stand out in these. Go try them on!”

There, she did it. She had done it now. She had sold her soul off to the devil.

Over the past few weeks, if Raquel had gotten good at one thing, it was reading –expression and posture- and predicting what most people were thinking. And although it didn’t work a hundred percent on everyone and she had no mind reading powers yet, there was no missing, for the observant vampire, the bright glint in Venus’ eyes.

‘What did I do?’ The thought seemed to echo in the depth of her mind. No sooner did she ask the red haired beauty’s advice in fashion had Raquel found herself seated on a comfy couch waiting as the girl stormed through every rack and shelf of the shop in search for various tops, trousers, coats, overalls, accessories, and other items. Overwhelmed, the vampire managed to follow Venus with her eyes first but soon had to give up because she was way too fast for her.

At first, Raquel thought she would be dressed in Venus’ style. The girl seemed to like black but also some really bright colors which weren’t really Raquel’s thing. So looking at the pile of soft and pale colored clothes with a lot of whites and blacks, Raquel was surprised that Venus had gotten her style down so accurately. Guess she wasn’t the only one who was good at observing others. She felt herself smile wider and wider looking at all the different styles she had never even noticed before.

“I’ll try them on right now!” The young vampire uncharacteristically squealed before jumping off to the closest changing room. The white shirt was exactly the kind of style she liked; thin and airy but also just right the right size for her curvy figure. She didn’t know how she managed to look and stay so healthy during the lengthy sleep she was put in but it just did and Raquel didn’t question it either. The black jeans Venus got to pair with the shirt were a change from her usual; skin-tight that displaying all the shape and length of her legs in detail. But what definitely acted like the highlight of the outfit was definitely the jacket. It was simply beautiful and went so well with the ensemble that the water mage had to wonder why it took her so long to discover it.

“How do I look?” She gave Venus a twirl after coming out. Personally, she was in love with it but she also wanted to hear what her friend thought. “Maybe next time, I should try different patterns,” Raquel went though the other clothes in the pile to pick out a short white dress with simple blue floral pattern on it. “What about you? What are you getting? You talk of my hair but your fiery red hair will stand out with any color, especially in some of these soft colors you picked out for me.”

1,407/2500

It thrilled her to see that someone other than herself was excited to try out the clothes she’d picked out for Raquel and when she went into the changing rooms to try them on, Venus had to admit that she was nervous to hear the response of her guild mate and to see how it would look on her. It was as though she was waiting here for some kind of test result to come out and she was afraid she would fail; it was ridiculous but at the same time, she also didn’t doubt her sense of style.

As Raquel came out of the rooms dressed in one of the clothing that she’d selected, her brows rose in a pleasant surprise. ”Wow, look at you.” Her chestnut orbs scanned her from head to toe, satisfied with the choice that she’d made. The change wasn’t as drastic from what Raquel normally wore, but only accentuated her style and made her appear more chic. ”Gorgeous and very chic. You look way stylish and hotter in this.” She claps amusingly, clearly content with her own work. Perhaps Raquel might be her model for her whenever she was keen to try out new trends of styles, although that’d also be up to her decision.

”See, I told you. You’ve got great looks, anything will suit you.” She stood up quickly to get an item to complete the entire look; one that Raquel probably wasn’t expecting – sunglasses. Venus got a pair of really trendy ones that suited the shape of her face and slid it over her nosebridge. ”There, perfect.”

“Oh!” Raquel wasn’t expecting a pair of sunglasses to find its place on her nose. “How cool,” She said, posing with it in front of a large mirror. Now this was definitely a contrast to her usual style. Raquel had never worn glasses before, not even the trendy stylish ones like this one. She always thought that it would never suit her. But as they say, you’ll never know until you try something and Raquel definitely liked it. Now if only Venus would get something similar so that they could pose and giggle in front of the mirror together.

She would have returned the gesture and picked something out for Venus as well but it was quite clear that Raquel was incapable of it. So she looked around the store instead, somewhat lost in thought. “AH!” But her eyes landed on it the next second. The most perfect pair of shoes for Venus. “Look!” She pointed to a pair of black ankle boots with its front split open in a wave like pattern pulled together with the help of black strings and a small silver pin on one side. She quickly grabbed that along with a pair of faded blue jeans shorts. “I’m gonna leave the rest to you. But these would look great with anything!” She told Venus, half nervously because she wasn’t sure if the fire mage would like her suggestion. It was quite obvious that Venus liked black though.

Pity, they didn’t bring a camera with them. This was the perfect time for some selfies and a personal photoshoot. Perhaps she could ask the shop manager if they maybe had one. “Why don’t you go get changed while I talk to that lady,” Raquel placed the shoes and shorts on a display table as she turned around. But she quickly paused after hearing a roar of approaching screams and noises.

1720/2500

Her eyes followed into the direction of Raquel’s finger as her scarlet orbs glided over the rows and rows of beautiful shoes until it settled upon the one of her partner’s choice. ”Ooh~ Interesting choice,” she bemused. The style of the boots was not one that she would usually wear compared to the ones in her wardrobe, but Venus was always open to new fashion trends that she hasn’t tried before.

Wearing the ankle boots as well as the blue jeans that her shopping partner had selected for her, she looked upon herself in the mirror, performing a quick twirl and ended up liking them on her body. ”Oooh, I actually like them,” she nodded to herself in content as she grabbed a pair of sunglasses that she liked and slipped it over her nose bridge. ”Perfect.” The shoes would be a good addition to her collection and for jeans – well – there is never too many jeans for a person.

It was just then the fiery redhead heard several screams nearby, catching not only her attention but everyone else’s as well. ”Huh?” she placed her sunglasses over her head and searched the source of the ruckus. As she turned around to look, Venus would see a group of bandits crashing into the mall, all of them charging towards one store; the magical clothes boutique. Out of all the places that existed, they just had to choose the mall that was filled with customers. The woman almost let out a mocking laugh seeing how they came to steal from the shop in broad daylight where a lot of the mages are active.

The timing couldn’t be any worse as well, especially on her day off when she was enjoying her shopping with her guild mate. At the very least, the girls get to look stylish while fending off foes at the same time.

Raquel sighed, pursing her lips together in frustration. One day; Raquel asked for just one single day off from drama and trouble but they came knocking on her door anyway. It’s as if both Venus and herself were two giant magnets for things like this. She was only looking for a camera. She just wanted to take some pictures to remember the day. But why was she now watching a bunch of hooligans wreak havoc in a magical clothing store? “Why do they not ever learn their lesson?” Just one look at their fighting style was enough for Raquel to tell they were from the same exact group of thieves and bandits Venus and herself defeated the last two times.

It seemed they have gotten a little smart this time though. The shopping area that Venus and Raquel were currently in was far away from the place they encountered them the last time. So it was very likely that –after getting almost all of their men killed- this group was purposefully trying to avoid the two female mages from Daeva’s Eye. ‘Too bad,’ she thought. Luck was clearly not on their side. Out of all the places they could raid, it just had to be the shop right across from where they stood.

“Just how many men do these nobles have that they can send out these idiots almost every day for this,” She pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly annoyed at the fact that their time off was so rudely interrupted like this.

1975/2500

With how dressed they were for a mere shopping spree, Venus would’ve loved to at least enjoy a photoshoot with her shopping partner but of course, their day had to be ruined by some lunatics who decided that it was a good time for them to ransack a clothing store out of all places – not to mention – it was the same bunch that they’d encountered the last two times, which clearly showed that they haven’t learnt their place at all. It was either that or the stupidity and the greed of the noble that hired them.

”The things you do for money,” she’d say in response to Raquel’s statement.

The woman grabbed her weapon that she had laid on the side of the seating area and adjusted her grasp onto it. It was as though the Siren had predicted this was going to happen and knowing this, she’d brought her weapon. Venus wasn’t one to leave her house without being equipped but usually, she wouldn’t bring such an eye-catching item when she’s on her day off out and about doing shopping. Today was an exclusion.

”At least we’ll look pretty fighting them.”

The beauty flipped her long auburn hair over her shoulder as she took a stance, bringing her sword close to her as she held it with both of her hands, readying to charge into them. The bandits noticing their identities straight away, stopped themselves from whatever they were doing as they approached towards the females, with a smirk plastered across their mouths.

”Well well, if it isn’t the mages from Daeva Eye. I received quite a beating from you guys last time. It’d only be natural if I return the favour, right?”

At the sight of upcoming combat, the customers that once flocked the shops in the mall have dispersed, screaming as they did so as if there was a tiger chasing their tails. It was rather unfortunate that they were still inside the building, which meant that the battle might result in some chaos and destruction.

Raquel pulled her lips together, watching the men slowly walk up to them. ‘They really are just a bunch of idiots with no class or character,’ she sighed, placing one hand on her waist and the other on her head. This scenario was just starting to get tiring; the amount of times they had dealt with them felt innumerous. She was truly longing for a change of pace but that didn’t seem like it would happen. There was no room for the unexpected, they were just going to have to put these hooligans back in their place and move on. It won’t change the fact that their day was ruined though.

“For once, I want to see at least one of you acting smart,” She said to the guy who just spoke, emphasizing each word as if she was teaching a bunch of children their first letter. “Once, it’s a mistake, twice, it’s arrogance, thrice?” The young vampire approached one of them with a careless smile hanging on her lips. “That’s plain stupidity.”

The sole of her shoes landed harshly on his stomach as Raquel kicked the man a few feet away. She watched his back collide with a neatly arranged rack of shoes and fall pathetically down on the floor, crawling and clawing on the floor in an attempt to get back up. It was currently difficult for Raquel to use her magic since a few days ago, something about it had changed and she had had no time to actually sit down and analyze them. It felt as if she has become more powerful, and it seemed like it could do with her sudden transformation into a vampire. She wasn’t quite sure but it just meant that she had to take care of these hooligans with her physical strength alone. The good thing was that Venus was around.

2285/2500

There was no point in wasting time with these foolish bandits, though she had to admit that their persistence knew no boundaries. At times, it’s a good trait to have, but in situations like these, it was stupidity, like Raquel said. The blade screeched against the marbled floor as the woman dragged it over the ground, closing the distance between them. She would finish this in a single attack, or at least keep her efforts to the bare minimum, she hoped. There was much better things to do then tending to these idiots who didn’t know when to give up.

After they’d shared their bitter introductions, the other party did not hesitate to begin the assault, charging towards them without even coming up with a strategy. ”Foolish move,” she muttered under her breath, quickly looking over her shoulder to assure the distance between herself and her comrade, for she knew Raquel would wound up in her spell if she were close enough. The hunter made no move, but instead, stood her ground for a few seconds, almost as if she was waiting for something to happen.

She was, indeed – for the bandits to enter a close proximity within her, so that she could wipe them all out without any other unnecessary means. The swordswoman stabbed her weapon into the ground with a reckoning force that it pierced through the earth and its flames would come to life, pouring out from her blade as though fire was erupting from a volcano and engulfed her and everything within 16 meters area.

Raquel easily moved away from Venus to the furthest corner of the room. She was fully aware that The Burning Rose needed her space to use magic without worry. She even dragged a few worried employees away from the area and assured them that they wouldn’t cause nearly as much damage as the hooligans would have caused if they were left on their own. Indeed, Raquel was hoping to smoothen out any troubles that might come their way once the fight is over. Unlike the store owners that had requested Venus and Raquel’s assistance, these people had no idea what would happen to their store once this fight is over.

Afterwards, she pulled her own weight by catching and beating up some of the men that ran from Venus’s fiery blast. While Raquel wasn’t that fast, her strength made up for it as she could generally take the few of them down with one or two punches. “Next time, no, I hope there is no next time. Just learn your lesson already,” She spoke holding up one of the guys by their hair. Even Raquel doubted her own words; something told her they would be back doing the same business once more. The nobles were just too greedy that way. They could throw away any number of lives as long as their goal it met.

Then, as soon as she was done with the few that got away from Venus, she was once again looking over to where the frightened store owner stood and was relieved to see that she was more or less impressed by Venus’ display of strength. Perhaps they wouldn’t have to worry about any complaints; the woman looked like she was a fan of them already. Thank goodness this would end well.

2581/2500 - Exit -

The ones who ended up getting caught in her flames would be burnt to cinders, whilst the ones who managed to escape would be running with their ass on fire. No matter the number of times she’d set them on fire, these bandits keep coming back (apart from the ones who were clearly burnt alive) and she wondered where this bandit leader recruited his men from in such a short time. It only proved to her that the number of bandits in the town was more than she had anticipated.

Fumes of steam escaped from her lips as the woman exhaled and the flames from her sword finally settled around her, leaving a completely charred ground beneath her feet. It was as though she was the fire dragon, coming out of the flames unscathed and even her clothes were still intact. The shops in the surrounding area were also set on fire, burning some of the clothes along with it and Venus simply hoped that they wouldn’t get any complaints from all the casualties that they’ve caused. She retrieved her sword that was plunged into the ground and sheathed it back into scabbard while she left Raquel to clean up the last few bandits remaining.

The store owners looked as though their soul has left their bodies as they gazed at the result of their destroyed shops and forced out a laugh. Venus could only stand there silent, rubbing the back of her head nonchalantly. Albeit, none of them expressed their concerns or whatsoever, the Daeva Eye mages saved their lives after all. ”Don’t mind me, I’ll just take these clothes as my reward, alright?” she grinned, grabbing a few outfits that she liked from the rack and strutted away with her partner.