“That really depends on you.” Charlie shrugged. “What kind of adventurer you are, if you know what kind of adventure you're going to be on… things like that. I should probably restock my rations while we’re there too.” she mused.
Irae nodded. "I'll keep it simple for now, and I can get what I need when I know what I need." She said. "Rations come with the pack or need to be bought separately?" She asked.
“Both. Your pack should come with ten days' worth, but you can easily restock whenever you come back to one of these types of stores.” Charlie explained, pointing out the shop in question.
Irae nodded, staying slightly behind Charlie and letting her lead the way. "Alright. This is it? And we just need a kit and extra rations, right?" She confirmed.
“Pretty much.” Charlie nodded, opening the door for Irae. “Let's see, standard travelers' packs are… Ah! Right over there.” she smiled, pointing at the selection of backpacks before leading her towards them.
Irae looked them over. "They all look about the same- This one is slightly bigger-" she said, pointing to one that was, in fact, slightly bigger than the rest. "How much is that one? Cheap? Expensive? Somewhere in the middle?"
Charlie hummed as she looked at the one Irae had pointed out and shrugged. “Honestly, a standard pack costs ten gold so I'm not sure if this is going to be much more.” she admitted, mentally counting how much coin she had. “I think I have enough to cover this if you want it.” she admitted.
"Are you sure? I really don't care, I just figured the extra room might be helpful." She said, looking to see if there was a price sign or anything similar.
"I can get the cheapest one and still be fine. I really don't care."
Charlie shook her head and grabbed the larger bag. “I’m sure. And you're not wrong about the extra space being helpful.” she smiled. “Trust me. It can't be that much more than a standard unless it comes with a specialty item but we can always negotiate.” she shrugged.
Irae nodded. "Alright then, if you're sure." She said carefully. "And remember your rations." She reminded Charlie.
She looked around the shop, checking for any other gear they might need, and any threats.
“I will.” Charlie nodded, still smiling. Though her expression dropped slightly when she remembered something she wanted to ask Irae. “So… umm… What did you think of Elric?”
Irae shrugged. "He seemed shifty. Even so, I was more than glad to prevent his death. I might remedy his status of living if I need to though." She said simply.
Charlie couldn't help the surprised laugh at Irae’s last comment. “Well, hopefully, it won't come to that.” she quipped, looking up at her. “I agree he was a little shifty, but I can't think of many thieves who aren't. The fact that he’s a bard though makes me think he's more often, the support or the distraction or even an opportunist while the rest of his “team” handles any fighting.” she mused.
Irae nodded. "If you say so. I don't know much about bards. Very few worship me." She said, shrugging. As Charlie looked up at her, she smiled slightly.
“It's just a guess. Though I haven't had much experience with bards taking up the front lines so…” Charlie shrugged. “But I hope that if this item of his leads to us going on an adventure with him, that you two will get along.” she added with a slightly raised brow.
Irae shrugged "I won't start anything. If he does, I am not responsible for the outcome." She stated simply.
(I have a bad blister on my hand that makes it harder for me to type, sorry for short reply)
Charlie chuckled softly and shook her head. “That's a start. I just noticed… you seemed a little jealous earlier. I don't want you to worry or anything.” she pointed out.
(Oh, ouch! Sorry to hear that. Hope it heals soon)
Irae, glad for the hood over her face, blushed. Was she.. embarrassed? That wasn't supposed to happen. "No. I wasn't jealous. Just protective. You still need to teach me how to hunt. Can't have you dying."
(Thank you)
Charlie gave Irae a skeptical look… but shrugged. “I'm not going to die on you that easily. Especially after the fight is over.” she added with a playful smirk as she headed over to pay for Irae’s pack and restock her ration supplies.
Irae muttered something under her breath (nothing intelligible, even to her) and followed behind Charlie. "He could have decided you knew too much."
“Sorry. What was that, Rae?” Charlie asked, looking back at her.
Irae shook her head. "Nothing, really. Not even sure myself." She admitted. "Just noise, I guess." She shrugged. "I think my mind is adjusting to being a mortal and doing weird mortal things." She whispered, leaning closer.
Charlie nodded, a soft smile on her face. “That makes sense.” she whispered as she remembered what Irae said about feeling blind with only two eyes. “That's part of why you're with me. So I can help and explain these things.” she reminded.
Irae nodded. "Is it normal to feel protective over a person? Like, you don't see them as an object, but you still feel possessive and protective to them? Not that it's happened, but I've heard that it can."
“Depending on the relationship, yeah, it's totally normal.” Charlie nodded. “I've heard and imagined that many patrons feel that way… just as long as it's not overprotective or controlling possessive, cause that can happen too but it's not a good thing at that point.” she explained. “Otherwise, it can be almost… sweet having someone watching over you like that.”
Irae nodded. "Alright. So if it does happen, it's fine?" She confirmed. She still didn't like feeling these 'mortal' feelings, but she wouldn't worry about it if Charlie said it could be normal, and to try not to let it get out of hand.
“Yeah.” Charlie shrugged nonchalantly as she turned to look at Irae. “Are you sure you haven't felt this before? Cause it sounds like you’ve had this feeling but didn't understand it.” she asked gently.
Irae froze. It felt weird to lie when Charlie obviously knew, but it also felt weird to admit she had lied. "I may have. Just a bit." She admitted.
Charlie smiled softly and reached for Irea's hand. "It's ok to feel that way. Just as long as you know you can trust me. I know how to fight and I'm not going to abandon you or anything." she assured.
Irae nodded. "Okay. Let's move on." She said, going slightly red under her hood. "We've got a meet the guy. Lets be quick."