Today was a good day.

Lucretia had been traveling abroad for quite some time after her defeat at the hands of eternal nightmare. Not something that most would take lightly but she would eventually work her way over the defeat; admitting to herself that there were things she needed to improve on. That being magic, her own physical prowess… and perhaps training. But all work and no play would make for a grumpy wolf.

At first people of Joya seemed a little skeptical of her; standing a good three feet taller than most even full grown men as a wolf and marginally less so when otu of it. But she’d prefer to keep her human form out of sight for the moment. Unsure of what ties she’d be outing in that regard. That being said the Onsen that she had stumbled across didn’t seem to mind much as long as she was willing to allow them to hold onto her equipment; more so for the safety of their patrons.

Lucretia didn’t seem to mind much agreeing to it as long as they didn’t try to make off with it. Amusingly the shaka zulu assegai was the only thing that refused to be let go and the dragon-slayers necklace fit snugly around her neck. Partially worn into her fur that loosely draped over a sleeveless shirt which on itself was neatly tucked into a pair of fairly baggy pants, perhaps designed in a way to be fit for this form rather than her other...

Her drinking escapades in this rather over the top location started with their lighter sake; in which they at least convinced her to let her companion keep an eye on her belongings rather than keeping the spear close at hand. She’d begrudgingly allow them to let her companion do so; the mindrache swearing up and down that he’d keep a good eye on her stuff.

The gambling of her jewels didn’t really start until she had a good grasp on how hard the sake hit her. Which to say the least wasn’t as hard as she was expecting and probably not as hard as the owners of this establishment were either. She made good bets, won a few things. A kimono, a suit of armor, hell she had even won a free round of drinks several times over.

Dice was the name of the game and she had a good intuition even when inebriated. She’d lean on the table just a bit and watched the man shake the dice for a few moments, ears flicking and she’d make her bet. Grinning a bit as the dice gave her a good number yet again; the owners mumbling and talking with the man before walking off.

”Somethin the matter?”

”Just another win ma’am, you have a good intuition.”

Lucretia gave a shrug and would lean on one hand of hers, she’d be gambling and lazing about for most of the day and unless they kicked her out probably deep into the night. Not like she wasn’t spending the money she won on the establishment anyways…

Joya, the land of samurai and shinobi, not exactly the type of location one would find Esperia at most of the times. Certainly, she had her own interest in sightseeing and Joya did have a lot of wonderful sights and spectacles to enjoy, like the sakura trees for example when they were in full bloom.

But on this particular day the slime girl was not there simply for some sight-seeing. She had been traveling through Joya to meet with a trusted informant of her, who happened to be the owner of the establishment that Lucretia had been in right now.

Even without a direct line of sight she already knew the woman was there, no doubt a courtesy of the attention the Rune Knight had been gathering. Not that difficult to do, if you considered the idea of the person being a giant wolf-like humanoid, heck werewolves in general tended to prefer keeping to their human form when among civilization, unless the intention was to scare people shitless.

Then again, maybe Esperia had become a bit jaded on the concept, having been a vampire and a demon in the past, and having a werewolf as wife did make one a bit more used to the unusual. The slime girl had been seated at a table with her informant, even Haku, the informant himself felt somewhat... amused at Esperia's new form as they were discussing business.

"Indeed Eisenberg-dono, it seems that your uncle is indeed still alive, and has been sighted in the kingdom of Fiore. Recently it appears news of your survival reached his ears, and since then he has been inquiring about your whereabouts."

The news still had hit Esperia like a truck, to think that her uncle had survived the massacre of that night. Although a part of her wanted to meet the man right away, she was still doubtful, concerned about whether it was a cleverly prepared trap made by one of her enemies. Nonetheless, whatever it might had been was currently of no concern for Esperia. She had her wife and children to look after, reunions with the past were a secondary matter of concern for her.

Turning her gaze sideways over the arm of her throne, the slime's attention turned toward the gambling werewolf and for a moment she couldn't help but hum something. "Not who I would expect to see in a place like this."

Esperia's words earned the curiosity of her informant who inquired with a hint of amusement in his tone. "An acquaintance of yours? She has been drawing a lot of attention since her arrival in town." But the question made Esperia shake her head lightly. "Nope, don't know her~ At least... not yet~"

The slime chimed softly as she started to move the hovering throne closer toward the table Lucretia was gambling at, and while Haku followed after her Esperia called out to the werewolf. "I would abstain from participating in the next game Lucretia~ Your excitement is making way for telltales in your motions and... you'll lose the next bet if you participate~"

Indeed, it might had been curious to see the slime speaking with such confidence as it gazed up at the werewolf. "Not that I'd underestimate the rush of excitement such chance games tend to create, but it would do you little good for a new member of Fiore's knights to lose her first month's wage on gambling~"

She chuckled heartily as she bounced lightly in the throne. "Better to use it on drinks and food, and access to the best hot spring in the establishment, rather than lose it all in a single destructive rush of excitement~"

A small tendril rose from the blob, like a hand gesturing at the werewolf's back. "And if you keep wagging your tail a bit longer you'll start knocking over the other tables~"

Maybe the intent was to scare people, maybe the intent was to try to put forward the idea that just like everyone else werewolves were… Well people. The fact she made her presence known in this form and kept to it while being a paying customer hopefully would lend to the idea that she wasn’t a threat to the regulars or the citizens here. She joked and drank just like everyone else and paid by the drink rather than wait till the end.

It wouldn’t be fair to say that she wasn’t paying much attention to the crowd or those that came and went. A small flicker of curiosity played on her features as she saw who came in but with her still in the gambling game well… It wouldn’t be polite to approach someone like that now would it? She’d pay the slime little attention; even though there was nagging in the back of her head that said that she should at least greet them. Maybe after the game?

The throne stuck out a bit to her; she wasn’t sure if it was just a mode of transport, some powerful relic or just… Well. A magical host maybe? Hard to really tell and she wasn’t about to pry for that information especially out in the open. So she’d focus; watching the dice and a flick of her ear as… Well the person she was going to approach later decided to approach her now! The slime chimed in and Lucretia turned her head to see. The voice that came from the slime surprised her a little bit.

”I’d be… a fool not to take the advice of one such as you.”

Information about people spread like whispers on the wind; the other already knowing her name and her occupation didn’t surprise her. But the lack of information regarding the slime for lucretia’s sake did. A few moments and the information clicked.

”I get a little riled up from drinking and really into the games so… Maybe you’re right. Esperia correct?”

Lucretia chuckled and waved her hand, picking up her winnings from the prior games. She’d have to turn in the tokens for money to use them really but. That wasn’t something that worried her too much. Who’d steal tokens from someone like her anyways?

”I wasn’t aware there were hot springs here. Hmm. Guess it would make sense given the location… And you’re right there I ah. Hmm.”

She’d look down to the offending tail which had at least calmed just a little bit; but the nature of her enjoyment was still making it wag from time to time. She’d scratch at her head a bit. Had the information that the rune knights had picked her up after her leaving the infinity wolves already made its rounds in the information networks? If so she’d have to pay a little closer attention to them.

”Well I haven’t even gotten the first months wage, that fresh you know.”

It amused her a little bit; but the pay would be good she figured. As a captain at least it would be good pay. Though to her… she could toss the pay. Toss the titles and just do her work with the support the fiorian government gave her.

”I should probably cash these in. I’m surprised to see you here; not very often I run into mages out of fiore in other countries.”

The slime nodded her head lightly in approval to Lucretia's response. "Indeed~ I'm pleasantly surprised to see you're not one to take my advice lightly~" Too often people didn't give her wisdom enough credit, certainly the World's knowledge was at her disposal, but she felt people frequently tended to underestimate her potential power. Not that she minded that currently. Being left off the radar helped her keep a peaceful existence, and considering she now had a wife and children to take care of that was more than welcome!

"Oho~ I didn't knew my reputation spread that far into Joya yet~" She chuckled softly after which the slime shook her head lightly. "Alas~ I guess it might be because of my former associates in the Rune Knights. Fia did have a way of standing out among her colleagues and I'm not exactly the most subtle person around either~"


The mentioning of the hot springs earned a playful bounce of the slime in her seat, morphing her form back into a more humanoid shape as she declared playfully. "Indeed~ This establishment is actually primarily known for its hot springs, albeit some seem to enjoy the casino just as much~"

At the mentioning of having not received her wage yet the slime girl pondered for a moment. "Hmm~ Then you're either well-off, lucky or cashed in some juicy bounties after you beaten up some bad boys~"

Yet as she followed Lucretia to the counter to exchange her winnings for cash the comment about her presence made the slime girl hum softly. "I was merely paying an old friend a visit~ All the power and knowledge in the world means little when you don't have the connections to use it with, right?"

Meanwhile the throne turned slightly toward the staircase leading toward the outside of the complex. "The hot springs should be that way~ The owner had one prepared for me in advance since I enjoy some relaxation after a long trip~" Not that she had to travel long considering the teleportation powers of her chair... Nonetheless she was actually a bit curious what had brought Lucretia all the way to Joya.

"I guess you're on a little vacation then before starting the big work shifts in Fiore? I bet a Rune Knight is going to have a lot of work set out for her with all the stuff going on right now~"

”I’m not one to take any advice lightly.”

From those that she had as companions during her hunting days in iceberg to the individuals in infinity wolves lucretia was never one to ignore the words of others. Often more than not they saved her from trouble and she’d adjust slightly as she had to figure out how best to carry her ‘winnings’.

”Just a bit; nothing worrisome I assure you.”

Other than the mumblings of traders and those of passerbyers Lucretia didn’t know too much about the slime in front of her. The wolf adjusted herself again and moved on over to the counter; her ears flicking a few times.

”Mm. Maybe I missed the bit for the hot springs. Probably figured my wallet was a bit deeper. Oh uh. I just tend to do a lot of work so I get a lot of pay in and out is all. I’m a bit of a busy bee you could say.”

Lucretia gave a small wave of her hand; almost dismissively at the idea and would wait for her ‘payout’. Hearing the explanation Lucretia thought about her own connections that she might want to look back in on and would nod her head in agreement.

”You’re right there. Maybe I should check on my own or build some here. Bet they’d be happy to help haha.”

A soft chuckle and she’d follow the throne. The shift in posture and form didn’t really bother her too much; was esperia a slime that could turn into a human or a human that could turn into a slime? The world would probably  never know unless you asked but… She’d have to sometime later.

”Good way to destress for sure. Took you a while to get here then I take it?”

Was she on a little vacation before her ‘shifts’ in fiore? That was a good question and the woman pondered her answer for a brief instance. She’d bite her inner lip; truth be told she wasn’t out here to have fun. She was on the hunt. But all work and no play…

”Personal reasons led me here before the trail went cold. But all work and no play makes for a poor lifestyle. But my station back in fiore will grow colder if I don’t tend to it so I’m enjoying myself while I can before heading back I suppose.”

No harm in saying what she came here for. Not like her mother had eyes and ears everywhere, not like they were sitting in the gambling hall. Not like they had knives aimed at her back at every turn. Lucretia would curiously pad towards where the other had mentioned that there were hot springs. She had only been to one with one other individual… so so very long ago.

”Wonder…”

Was this another friendship that would make it’s way from meeting in a hall such as this? In a hot spring of all places? While she missed nadine dearly the world was a savage place and she earnestly hoped that the other mage was all right. Even if she hadn’t heard from them in a long time.