Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

27: No Rest for the Feeble

The house was quiet when Elise rolled off the bed, regretting it as her body protested the harsh landing. She groaned and laid there, facedown on the carpet.

Good morning.

Morning, Elise!

Elise mumbled something intelligible and turned her head to the side to that her cheek squished against the floor, blearily gazing at her door. "G'morn'g."

A few minutes passed before Elise gathered enough motivation to push herself up. Her left arm buckled and she nearly face-planted again. "Fuck," she muttered, heaving herself up into a sitting position. She really could feel the repercussions of yesterday. Even breathing hurt. A few minutes of staring at the ceiling prompted her into action.

"Well I can't sit around forever," Elise sighed.

Are you planning to do anything?

Yep, I'm going to visit Akiyama-sensei and the Hasegawa's to pick up more fabrics. Then I'll probably go into the forest for a little while.

Don't overwork yourself.

Something bitter curled at the pit of her stomach. Eh. It's fine.

***

The music shop's door was propped open when Elise skidded to a stop on her bike, a little worse for wear. She could feel the slight concern of her companions but the girl pretended to not notice it. Hopping off the bike, Elise walked into the music shop to see Akiyama-sensei finishing up an exchange with some students. Elise silently moved aside to allow them to pass and then greeted the old woman with a 'good morning' and a respectful half-bow.

"Shouldn't you be at home resting?" Was the woman's reply.

Elise froze and sweated. "What do you mean, sensei?"

"Oh don't play dumb with me, I saw the sports festival yesterday," Akiyama chided. "I still can't believe you're friends with such an aggressive boy."

"A-Ah I'm fine, you don't need to worry. And please don't hold it against him," Elise laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "We really couldn't hold back in a competition."

The woman tsk'ed and simply gave her a clipboard and a pen, shaking her head. "Since you're so stubborn, grab your badge and a work apron and help me write down a list of items we need to restock then."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Elise grabbed said items and slowly moved about the store, jotting down the items.

Rosin, level two music theory books, maintenance guides for string instruments.

Don't forget that the display rack is a little low on the guitar string winders.

Ah, right. Thank you.

"Sensei, I'm going to the back room to grab a new box of winders, do you need anything from there?"

"Get me three more boxes of picks, please. Thank you."

Elise peered around the boxes. Let's see... third shelf... second rack.

It should be behind the box of violin music books.

Thanks!