"We're not going to argue about which place that serves the best food here, are we?" he teased as they trotted away from the inn.
"Uh...no, no, of course not. Don't be silly. Eh heh heh..." Lina scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
Zel found himself smiling as he started leading her down the streets. There was a nice steakhouse here he'd heard about, and he was glad they'd get a chance to visit it. It would be pretty expensive, but of course, Lina was more than worth it. "You like steak, ne?"
Lina nodded enthusiastically.
"Good. There should be a very nice steakhouse around here somewhere...ah, there!" he exclaimed as he spotted the place, "Destine's."
It was at that moment that Zel realised he'd forgotten his cloak in their haste. Bloody hell.
"Eh, don't worry about it, Zel. If anyone says anything to you..." The wicked gleam in Lina's eyes told Zel that she would do terribly unpleasant things to whoever said something about his loathsome form. He looked away from Lina. It wasn't like he could blame people. And with beautiful Lina there providing stark contrast...
"Oh, would you stop that? You do not look disgusting or frightening or whatever-the-hell you seem to think," Lina uttered, exasperated, as they stood in front of the restaurant.
Zel stared at her at length. They'd seemed to know generally what the other'd been thinking all day, but that could be attributed to simple observational skills. Nothing today, however, had been so outrightly like reading the other's mind. "How did you know that was what I was thinking?"
"Uh..." Lina's brow furrowed in concentration. How had she known? "I...well, you seem to think about that a lot, so it just made sense..." Yeah, that was it!
He shrugged after a moment, then asked, "Shall we?"
"Let's."
Zel, playing the gentleman, held the door open for Lina. "After you."
"Ano...arigatou," she murmured as she passed him.
Lina spotted the maitre d'hotel, a white-haired man with a rather unflattering mustache. "Hey, I need a table for two," she informed him matter-of-factly.
The maitre d'hotel regarded the oddly-garbed girl before him. He was about to mention the dress code when it suddenly occurred to him that this girl might be a powerful sorceress, whatever her stature. When a strange blue-skinned young man joined the girl, the maitre d'hotel's suspicions were confirmed, and he managed a calm, "Of course. Please, follow me."
Lina looked around her, making sure to throw her Look of Death at anyone who was rude enough to stare. The restaurant was small but not in a constricting way. All lighting came from twin candles on each table. It was a nice place.
They were led to a quiet booth toward the back. The maitre d'hotel gave them each a menu, and expressed his hope that they enjoy themselves.
"It's a pretty nice place," Lina commented as the maitre d'hotel departed.
"Quite," Zel agreed. The candles' light really highlighted her lovely hair, he noted as he opened his menu.
"Ooohh, it all looks so wonderful!" Lina all but squealed as she studied her menu.
"Order whatever you like," he urged absently as he looked over the menu.
Lina blinked. "Wha--you're gonna pay?"
Zel gave her a *look* from over the top of his menu. "Of course. What, you thought I'd make you pay for yourself?"
"......"
Zel shook his head as he set his menu down, a half-smile quirking his lips. "Just don't overdo it," he suggested. "You have been ill; you don't want to tempt Fate."
"Right, right," she agreed. After a moment she decided on only four dishes plus dessert. She felt oddly pleased with her self-restraint.

______

--Elizabeth, Trickster Priestess ~_~