PMD: Times of Strife

Chapter 7

"You got everything you need in your bag Tamao?"

"Yes Inari, I've even triple-checked."

"I'm just making sure, I don't want there to be any hiccups while we're there."

"We'll be fine, now come on. Our ride's waiting outside."

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"Ah Tamao, Inari. This is Maggie, she'll be your ride to Taviki!" Ignis shouted when he saw the two exit the guild. Maggie was a Mudbray that looked to be middle-aged.

They were going to be moving in luxury it appeared with them having a whole carriage to themselves, there was a window on each side with a door at the back. It was a simple rectangular shape with a sloped roof that would ensure any rain that fell would run off the roof.

As Tamao and Inari entered the carriage they immediately took note of the very comfortable-looking chairs that sat side-by-side on the far wall. Next was the rug, it was a simple honeycomb design with red and black colors. Then there was the coffee table in the center of the large room with a couch, beside the couch sat a chest and then there were 2 beds.

"This is the life," Inari said as she set her bag on one of the beds.

"You said it."

"You two settled in back there?" Maggie asked from the front.

"Yup, we're good to go."

"Alright, we should arrive in Taviki by tomorrow night. So get comfortable, it's gonna be a long trip." With that Maggie began pulling the carriage at a steady slow pace.

"So, what do you want to do to pass the time?" Inari asked Tamao as she sat on the couch.

"I don't know, there's not much for us to do in here... You just wanna chill on the couch for a bit and wait for an idea to pop up."

"Sure."

As they sat there in silence Tamao caught himself glancing over at Inari, he had never truly taken time to admire her appearance. She obviously spent a lot of time making her fur look nice, heck Tamao might even go as far as to say she looks beautiful...

Realizing what he was just thinking his pupils dilated in realization, I have a crush on Inari... don't I? Can't say it wouldn't be nice to have a mate one day, but there's also a strong chance I could die in the somewhat near future. Also would prefer to not have any distractions from my end goal, but I can't save this world alone. Heck three of us weren't even enough to even remotely help Zocarive. But also having someone you can lean on when things are calm would be nice. Though who am I kidding, she definitely isn't interested in me.

As Tamao continued his mind war, Inari was getting tired from the boredom of the ride in the carriage and began drifting off to sleep sitting up. Then by the power of some twisted entity, she ended up leaning against Tamao's shoulder to use as a makeshift pillow.

Well... This is quite an unfortunate situation for me, isn't it? I can't move since that would be plain rude... I might as well get some sleep too, yeah... That should clear my mind.

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Awaking to the gentle bumps of the carriage going down the road Inari opened her eyes yawning and stretching before feeling something furry both above and under her head. Looking over she saw Tamao sleeping with his head on hers, she then noticed her head was on his shoulder.

Thankfully with her red fur, her blush was concealed but that didn't make it any less awkward for her. What the heck happened? I was getting tired and fell asleep... but how did I end up in this position?