698 Some Research Material
Aurelia didn’t know why she decided to come to this Masquerade Ball with Calypso, but she supposed that it was only fair for her to do so. After all, this was something that was arranged by her close peer and friend Jayra for one of their other friends in the form of Bella. Also, there was indeed cause for celebration, so she ended up going ahead with the invitation anyway.
[That and Calypso wanted you to come as well,] Aura supplied.
She inwardly chuckled. She couldn’t even retort against her other half on that point. She was indeed there because Calypso wanted her to be there. Not that she didn’t want to come, of course, but his input was the one factor that really tipped her towards deciding to come to the ball.
[It also helps that we have masks on,] Aurelia scoffed as she adjusted the black mask currently hiding her face. [At least I don’t have to exert excess effort trying to fake emotions.]
[Not that we even need to do so,] her inner wolf pointed out. [Your friends know what you’re like. Even our mate knows not to expect you to show the many emotions you’re feeling outwards.]
Aurelia shrugged to herself as she nursed the glass of grape juice in her hands. Her friends of course teased her for it, but she didn’t care.
She was never going to touch a bottle of alcohol in her life. Ever.
“Come on, Aurelia. Just one glass should be fine, right?” Bella teased, her friend looking far happier than usual as she sipped on her own glass of wine. “I’m sure you’ll be alright if you drink in moderation.”
“For the last time, I refuse to touch that devil’s drink,” Aurelia spat out with a half-hearted glare. “The last time I took a small sip, I ended up drunk out of my mind.”
“I would love to see you like that though,” Jayra teased. “To see the ever-infallible Aurelia acting so far out of character… That’s surely a sight to see.”
In an instant, Aurelia’s cold glare landed at Jayra, her friend thankfully wilting under her gaze as she sighed.
“Again, I refuse,” Aurelia sighed. “Can you all at least respect that decision?”
“Now now, let’s give Aurelia some space,” Queen Xenia mediated, her own glass of grape juice in hand as she broke up the constant teasing. “We can tease her on other things that would definitely not get us all killed later.”
Their friend group shared a bout of chuckles at the queen’s joke. It was all in good fun, but Aurelia wasn’t really the one to share laughter that easily. Not that she enjoyed it. She was having fun, but she just wasn’t the type to just chuckle.
“Why are you all laughing?” she jokingly scoffed. “If you all weren’t my friend I would’ve spiked your drinks an hour ago.”
“And that’s why we’re happy to be your friends, Aurelia,” Bella chuckled with a smile. “We know that underneath all of that cold and prickly exterior, you have lies a heart of gold.”
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“Sure, it is,” Clara sarcastically teased. “If anything, Calypso must’ve chipped away at you long enough to finally show everyone just how soft you can be.”
Aurelia blinked at the accusation. Nevertheless, she let Clara’s sentence hang as she shrugged. “Perhaps. I did allow it to happen, after all.”
“And clearly you two have been Bonded for a while now,” Clara added with a sly smile. “So, when can we expect pups from you two?”
“The better question to ask is when can we expect children from you?” Aurelia quickly remarked, deftly dodging the question by throwing her friend into the crossfire. “You’ve been… active longer than I’ve ever had.”
“Not fair,” Jayra pouted. “Don’t you dare pull me into this. And for the record, Bartos and I have been trying for a while now.”
A bout of silence settled at the table as Jayra’s sentence lingered between them. Inevitably, the mage blushed as she slowly realized what exactly she just said.
“Oh? Can we expect some kind of news in the coming weeks then?” Xenia teased, taking the opportunity given to her and running with it.
“W-Well… I hope so?” Jayra meekly replied.
“I’m sure you two have been busy then,” Aurelia casually teased. “By the way, I’m taking exclusive rights to your prenatal care once it happens.”
“In the same way that I’ll do the same once you get pregnant too,” Jayra wittily replied back. “And don’t you try and run away from us. You and your mate have been active, right?”
Aurelia rolled her eyes as she shrugged. “What do you expect? We’re mates, and it’s simply the logical conclusion of having such a relationship.”
“I can only imagine what Calypso must be going through whenever you two do it,” Bella mischievously chuckled. “You’re not the type to give away control that easily.”
“Of course,” Aurelia proudly scoffed.
“Eh, I think our friend here should let things happen to her for once,” Jayra suggested. “Why, I have a feeling that she’s getting rather… well, you’re running out of ideas, right?”
Aurelia blinked, caught off-guard by the accurate observation.
“Oh? Then why not give her one of your books?” Xenia quickly suggested. “It’s all gotten us this far. Might as well let yet another one of us benefit from your collection.”
Aurelia didn’t know what to think as suddenly, Jayra pulled out a rather thick tome from seemingly out of nowhere.
“Way ahead of you, my queenly friend,” Jayra smirked as she handed Aurelia the tome. “Here’s some research material for you.”
“Where did you even keep that on you?” Aurelia couldn’t help but ask even as her grip on the book tightened despite herself.
“I’m a mage, remember?” Jayra winked. “I have my ways.”
“We’ll be expecting results from you now,” Bella giggled. “You better give us an update on whether or not you get pregnant.”
Again, Aurelia didn’t know what to say other than simply nod and take the book from Jayra’s hands.
“I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind,” she awkwardly remarked.
She could only let out a smile as she watched her friends continue to interact with one another. Perhaps there really were times when being alone wasn’t the best she could do. It wasn’t much, but it was nice to be in the company of friends and loved ones.
[You’re going to be reading that book, right?] Aura eagerly asked.
[It’s research,] Aurelia justified. [It’s only fair that I give it a cursory read.]