My mom was a sucker for everything romance.


    In our household, movie nights were frequently spent on the newest find in her vast collection of ros she had stowed in her personal library. Didn''t matter the asion - be it day, night, rain, shine - she never grew tired fawning and cooing over a new favorite pairing.


    Looking back now, knowing who she really is… yeah, Terestra had some pretty vani pastimes.


    You''d think maybe the literal manifestation of malevolence would prefer kicking babies in the faces as a hobby or something but no - love was in the air apparently.


    I suppose I should be grateful to her, actually. The many nights watching fictional characters be all lovey-dovey with each other wasn''t for nothing after all.


    The fabled ''first date'' was a staple in romance movies ever since the dawn of romance movies.


    Having witnessed the sacred act beyond the border of a camera lens many times over, I was essentially a master in the ins and outs of dating.


    In theory, that is.


    Out in the field, actually participating in said act, was a whole ''nother matter entirely.


    I''m not entirely sure walkingps around town counts as actually going out on a date… so why the hell are we already onp two?


    Attempted to strike up a conversation once.


    "Come to think, where did Ria and Adalia run off to?"


    "Mistress Ria was keen on visiting a friend nearby, she imed. The Matriarch… she shared the same sentiment."


    "Oh yeah? Anyone we know?"


    "I… I suppose so. Mr. ck and Mrs. White… it seems they have taken to them quite well…"


    "Ahh… yeah - yeah, they did."


    First conversation wasn''t much of a promising start, so I went for it twice.


    "How''s Asteria treating you, Ash? Been ying muchtely?"


    "No, not exactly. I find it still very much bewildering… even as I continue venturing forth. I''ve withheld ying again for now… it is much to take in so fast, it''s rather diforting."


    "Oh… I''m sorry to hear that."


    "Don''t be."


    Blundered the second try as well. Would have gone for a third, and I probably should have if I wanted to break the silence between us… but I''ve read a dictionary, I knew what the definition of insanity was - I ain''t all eager to go down that route.


    It''s all good though. Everything was already prepped and ready, Ria had already handed me the blueprints for the perfect date. All I gotta do was adhere the rest of the day to this n of hers.


    We had a bit of a discussion sometimest night - the zoo was a definite no-go, as was that evening carnival trip. Zoo''s in the next town over, and carnivals weren''t exactly a dime in the dozen round these parts.


    The only thing she suggested that was grounded in the realm of possibility was that dinner date at a restaurant, so we hopped on that bandwagon, called the fanciest schmanciest ce in town, and booked a reservation for two at exactly five in the evening.


    The conundrum I was facing now was that there were still three full hours of downtime to kill before the appointed time, and I wasn''t exactly brimming with options here to spend them on.


    Actually, wha - I don''t even have a blueprint! Hell was I saying? It''s more like a small torn out piece of a blueprint if anything. n? What n?


    We''repping the same freaking shoppingplex for the third time already. I swear, if I see that building one more I''m gonna…


    "How about we go in there, Ash?"


    Ash turned her focused gaze to the direction I pointed, her eyes soaring upwards to the looming scale of the building that stood before her.


    "I recognize this structure," She remarked. "I''ve always wondered of the wonders it must contain within. Why, I must have passed it a dozen times during my first few days in your care, before… before the incident urred."


    Didn''t dare tread further into more harrowing memories, goodness knows we have too much of that already. Instead, the present here and now, was what I intend to focus on today.


    In a spur of ignited audacity, I grabbed hold of her wrist, coyly smirking while pulling her along towards the entrance.


    She jerked back at first. "Master, what are you - ?"


    "First time for everything," I said in response to her startled expression. "How about we go find out together, hmm?"


    Immediately following my statement, I stopped feeling any more resistance from Ash. Her arm along with herself, she permitted to be pulled inward by me past the automatic sliding doors and into the extravagant space that was the shoppingplex''s front entrance.


    Come to think of it… pretty sure this was Ash''s first time in one. The outdoor one proved a glorious sess when it came to cheering her up. How would the indoor version fare, I wonder?


    Judging by her stare, widening by the second, mesmerized by all there was to see, I''d say it''s doing quite well for itself.


    Maybe… maybe walking around enjoying the sights wasn''t all that bad of an idea after all if it could get her to be looking so riveted at something so mundane as an esctor… speaking of which -


    "You''ve never been on one of those yet either, have you?"


    "Those self-moving staircases, you mean? The one with people on them?" She shook her head. "No, never…"


    "Hurrah for first times, then," I said, grinning again, taking hold of her hand once more.


    Off we went again to find another mesmerizing sight.


    Turns out there was a lot of them contained within these polished walls. Ash leaned over the guardrails of the esctor, craning her head so much and so fast that just watching her was enough to make my own neck stiff.


    Second floor, third floor, fourth… there were many first times to be had everywhere we went. It''s rather endearing seeing her try to restrain her enthusiasm over the most trivial of things maintaining a standard of elegance and grace that was expected of a Knight such as herself.


    Unfortunately for her, those ears on her sides don''t really hold any lies well. No hoodie on her head meant they were free to wriggle and squirm about unabated. It was actually quite a helpful indicator when it came to finding out the things that would intrigue her.


    And everything intrigued her.


    All the shing lights, the whirring of machines, all the wondrous essibilities presented to the public thanks to the era of modern civilization.


    She never asked for anything, never once did she tug on my shoulder to inquire about any strange artifacts she came across. It wasn''t like before when striking a conversation came as easy as snapping one''s fingers.


    Still very reserved, still very much holding back.


    Not on my watch.


    It was me now that began tugging at her shoulder. It was me now that both questioned and answered, trying to make her guess what device does what and exining their purpose.


    A pop quiz in the spur of the moment made for some entertaining few minutes.


    It was fun walking into a random outlet, pointing at a random object, and seeing what random bizarre answer she''de up with.


    A microphone in the music store became a ''hilt of a sword''.


    Mannequins. Those creepy, faceless things, Ash simply referred to as just ''Unsettling'', which, to her credit, wasn''t entirely inurate. Plus point for her I suppose.


    At a toy store, browsing through, looking for the next big thing to test her on, out of nowhere I spotted a model replica of a garbage truck sitting atop a shelf.


    I could practically feel myself sprouting some devil horns and tail as I turned around to face Ash smiling stupidly like a dumb kid in a toy store.


    "Hey, Ash…" I muttered to her already mortified expression, knowing what was toe next.


    "Oh no..." She whispered, shaking her head. "Master, don''t - "


    "I think this store might have a monster in it."


    "Oh by the Gods, why…"


    "Here, got you a sword here," I proimed, flourishing a stic de out from a rack full of the stuff. "Now go forth! Attack! y the fearsome creature, my good knight."


    Ash, inly unamused, had chosen to instead abandon the poor unfortunate store clerks and their customers to their harrowing plight, marching right out the store without so much as another word.


    Looks like the elusive garbage truck gets to live another day.


    Next up on the list was an impromptu visit to the game center on the sixth floor, this time under Ash''s request.


    The mor and chimes ring from the speakers was something she picked up on right away back at the ground floor - unsurprisingly, growing curiosity had wandered her over past the shing neon lights hanging above the entranceway and into a minefield of both sight and sound.


    The entire ce was basically one big overload on the senses. It nearly overwhelmed her keen hearing - the crackling sounds of gunfire, the sonorous boom of a grenade, the sudden kick of a car engine''s throttle - it was just her luck that she identally went stumbling into the arcade section.


    Admittedly, it did feel kinda nice swooping in to save her from all the racket, guiding her along to a section that was far more lenient on her delicate sensibilities.


    Like for example, the w machines, which I swear were rigged due to the fact I blew ten bucks over one and haven''t won a single prize at all.


    Life just ain''t fair man.


    Then Ash, hastily recovering from the shellshock, took the reins and got herself a bunny plushie first try without any assistance whatsoever.


    Yeah, life really ain''t fair at all. That was the same plushie I was trying to win her.


    "Here you go, Master," She said, walking up to my dispirited self and stretching out the bunny doll on one hand "It''s the one you wanted, yes?"


    Look, I knew she meant well. The sincerity in her voice just further affirms it. But really I felt so goddamned patronized having to take the plushie from her with a gratitude that I was far from feeling at all.


    Nevertheless, I just smiled and nodded. "Why, thanks Ash! That''s so nice of you - wow!"


    Ash smiled back, my tone of voice evidently going right by her head. "No trouble at all, Master."


    Just smile the pain away, yeah. You''ll survive.


    Hopefully.