Our Secret (MCD Vylad X Reader)

Dream or Reality?

As promised by Cadenza, the rest of the trip to New Meteli only takes the rest of the day. By the time we make it, it's dusk out. The colors of the sky perfectly shape the village and it's large structures, Old Meteli barely a shadow of what New Meteli stands as. It's actually beautiful, as opposed to the dumpster fire that was Old Meteli in terms of infrastructure and setup. Even as we ride through town, I find myself admiring the buildings as we pass. Maybe it's for the best that we caused the burning of Old Meteli, if it means we got the beautiful infrastructure of New Meteli as a result.

"Well, here we are!" Cadenza happily announces as she hops off her horse, happily turning to all of us as we gather around, "Welcome to New Meteli!"

"Did you guys make all of this from scratch?" Aphmau asks in wondered amazement, still looking around. I don't quite blame her, with how beautiful it all is.

"We sure did!" Cadenza proudly responds, becoming bashful after a bit, "Well... That's to say we did under my father's rule. Though two years ago, I had the houses remodeled to look more stylized."

"Heh... I can tell. They look- I-I can't get over it. It's come such a long way from the little... shibby shack- Sorry... um yeah..." Aphmau rambles through, trying to put her thoughts into words.

I, however, don't hesitate, "Wow, you've brought Meteli a veeeeery long way, Cadenza. It's a completely new village and it's soooo aesthetically pleasing now!"

I can feel Aphmau sweating at my statement as she quickly laughs me off, "I-IT'S still beautiful nonetheless!"

"Thank you, Lady Aphmau!" Cadenza says through gritted teeth, a somewhat strained smile on her face. She takes in a deep breath through her nose, her smile a little less forced and a little more tired after, "Now, it's getting late and quite frankly, I'd like to get you girls cleaned up before we head to bed."

"Huh?"

"Uh, wha...? C-C-Cleaned up...? What are you talking about exactly?" Cadenza's eyes give Aphmau a once-over with absolutely no shame, not hiding the grimace on her face as she takes in more of her very dirty appearance. I feel insecure for her.

"What am I talking about? Look at you, Aphmau! I'm sorry to say this, but you're a mess," She makes a big gesture at her with her hand, "Plus, you were around the Chicken Shaman, which-" Her nose upturns in slight disgust as she catches a whiff of what I assume to be chicken coop that radiates off of Aphmau. She backs away from us a bit and Aphmau sends an apologetic look her way. It doesn't help that a stray feather that stuck itself in Aphmau's hair finally made its way through her long strands of black hair and floats through the air to celebrate its recent freedom, "-...Didn't do anything good for your scent. Laurance, (Y/n), you're both guilty of this as well"

"Hey!"

"Let's keep the focus of roasting on Aphmau, please" Cadenza's gaze suddenly has me feeling small and I'm unable to ignore the way my cheeks warm from it. I've never wanted to bury myself in a hole more than I currently do.

"Uh... So I take it that we aren't having that meeting tonight, Cadenza, are we?" Aphmau asks with a humorous laugh in an attempt to hide her shame. Cadenza doesn't miss a beat as she shakes her head with a reassuring smile, similar to that of a mother trying to console her child.

"Heavens no! Not smelling and looking like that..." Cadenza's eyes are obvious as they take in Aphmau's form again, her smile dropping into a disapproving frown, "In those unfashionable clothes especially..."

That last statement has me doing a bit of a double take myself, my attention turning to the attire Aphmau currently has on. Just as I remember, the outfit Aphmau received a mere few weeks ago, that was all the rage and heavily in season at the time, adorned her body. Sure, worn and torn, but there.