Nightfall

Chapter 6: A New World

I woke up to the amazing smell of bacon floating through the air of the small apartment. Still sleepy, I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to see Ruby standing in the kitchen. The enticing smell woke me up quickly, but when I tried to sit up, I found that I had somehow tangled myself up in the blanket so badly that I could hardly move. It took a while to untangle myself, but after a few seconds of peeling blankets back I got free, made my way over to the little island in front of the stove, and sat down on one of the stools underneath the bar.

When Ruby saw me, she laughed at my hair and said, "You sleep well? It's eleven in the morning, I've been up for like three hours."

I grumbled a few words back to her and she pulled a plate from one of the cabinets and handed it to me. It took a few minutes to get the food ready, but when it was Ruby threw two pancakes and a few strips of bacon onto my plate.

Once she had put the pans into the sink, she sat down next to me on the bar and said, "Nothing beats a good American breakfast in my opinion; I eat this a lot. So if you want to stick around at all, you better get used to eating it too."

I vaguely heard her, but at that moment the most important thing on my mind was the mouthwatering food in front of me. It only took me a few minutes to finish, but when I did, I turned to Ruby, who was now sitting next to me and said, "That was honestly the best breakfast I've ever had. Who taught you how to cook like that?"

Ruby laughed and replied happily, "Thank you! And I taught myself, I love food way too much to not know how to cook. Plus, I do a lot of outdoor stuff, and it's nice to be able to eat a good meal on the job ya know?"

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." I let the conversation come to a halt, then, after a brief pause, changed the subject, "Hey, once I get my gifts you should take me on a demon hunting mission or whatever they are. They sound pretty awesome."

Ruby twisted her mouth. "Hmmm, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I'm not going to take you until you have a little experience."

"Awh, that's lame."

"Well I get to make the rules so you can be quiet mister." She pointed playfully at me when she said that. Then, a second later she exclaimed, "Oh! I almost forgot, I went shopping this morning and got you some clothes to try on. I didn't know what size you normally wear, or what style you would look best in, so I just bought a lot. They are all better than that old tank top though." She stopped and looked around, "Hey, speaking of your tank top, where did it go?"

I looked down at myself. I was shirtless alright. I didn't remember taking it off, but I wasn't surprised. However, what did surprise me was how toned my body was. I hadn't really looked at myself, but going to the spirit plain worked wonders for my muscles. I guess my soul was in good shape or whatever.

Ruby broke up my thoughts, "Hey stop staring at yourself and get changing. Also find that filthy rag of a tank top and throw it out."

I looked around the apartment for the shirt but after a few minutes of searching I gave up and told Ruby I lost it.

She shrugged it off and pointed over at the bathroom door, "Oh well, I'll find it sooner or later. Now get changing. I'll tell you which one looks the best."

I walked over to the door way and looked for the first time at the stack of bags by the door. There were six bags completely stuffed full of clothes for me. I looked at Ruby, "Holy crap that's a lot of clothes, how much did this all cost?"

Ruby smirked as she took a bite of bacon, "Doesn't matter sweetie, I can't have one of my apprentices looking anything less than perfect. Plus, I make plenty of cash, so don't worry about it. In fact, I have so much at this point I could probably buy one of those skyscrapers you popped out of."