Loot for the Loot Hoarder! [Faaax, Emmi]

It was a warm, sunny day. A fine day to be lounging at the beach and enjoying the fresh air while listening to the gentle crash of the waves. But here she was, following behind Fox in Midtown toward what she understood as a comic book store. Fox still not fully accustomed to modern life, had to go into a great amount of detail before she finally understood what he was talking about. And a comic book store wasn't exactly something she planned on spending her day at. But apparently Fox had a friend that owned the place. She felt only slightly conflicted about Fox getting close to other people. Not in an overly paranoid way, he was free to make friends with whoever he wanted.

But there was still a part of her that... was uncomfortable, for more then one reason. She'd have to wait to form an opinion after seeing them. Maybe she was just jealous. In any case, apparently there was some kind of DnD day going on today. Adri had heard of the game before but had never played herself. And she was sure Fox had never even heard of it until this friend of his. This would be... interesting to say the least. "How much farther is this place?" Adri asked curiously. She was sure she had seen a comic book store around here from all the times she staked out a place to rob around here.

Fox was in a very fine mood as he led the way toward 'Kitsune Comics'. Sure he still went through all the trouble of enchanting his mask so he'd look human while he was outside, but he knew he could take off the disguise once he reached their destination. Yet that wasn't what had him in such a good mood, no, it was the fact that he was going to be able to introduce Adri to some of the friends he'd made since adjusting to city life.

As Adri asked how much further it was he turned around and grinned at her through his mask.

"Not far at all! It's just around the corner up ahead." He informed her, pointing down the sidewalk. Sure enough in only a couple more minutes they arrived at the shop and Fox happily entered, holding the door open for Adri as well.

Nina would look to the door from her usual position with her feet resting on the counter and leaned back in her chair behind the counter "ah Fox!" she would smile as she took her feet off the counter and sat up "and you've brought a friend? Welcome to Kitsune Comics, paradise for geeks and nerds alike~" she chimed happily.

Adri walked inside as Nina greeted them, calling Fox by name. So that was Nina. "Hello," Adri said simply, looking around the place more of a force of an old habit. It was also a matter of which old habit of hers it was. Satisfied with whatever it was, her attention returned to Nina and immediately that unease came back with a vengeance. She was then briefly distracted by Nina's ears. Were those real? Adri didn't ask but it was obvious by how she was staring at them inquisitively that she was trying to figure out if they were or not.

Fox waved happily at Nina as she greeted Adri and himself. He slipped his mask off and put it in his pocket, showing just how comfortable he was at this place. As he came in with Adri, Zil'costa came slithering in from the game room.

"Hey there Fox!" Zil'costa said in a cheerful manner, her tongue flicking out in her snake like way. The mere fact that she was working here showed anyone that came that this wasn't the usual comic and hobby shop.

"So what's up today Fox? Need more help learning English?" she asked him as her ears twitched a little in different directions.

Adri was still focused on Nina's ears and handling whatever slight unease she was feeling, when Nina mentioned something about Fox needing help with English. "So, this is how you learned how to read English better," Adri commented with a slight hint of playfulness. And then suddenly, a wild Arbok appeared! If not for the fact she really liked spiders, Adri would have shifted slightly behind Fox on reflex. But she was totally cool with snakes. She was not as cool with the fact that it was another female that seemed to know Fox- actually she just hadn't expected that there'd be two of his friends in one place, one of which was a snake lady. And the other one had to be a cosplayer; right?

Fox's ears laid flat and he made a face as Nina outed his little secret that he'd been trying to keep from Adri.

"That was supposed to be a secret!" Fox said with a little stomp of his foot. If anything the display only served to make him look cuter. After a moment he let out a sigh, knowing that the jig was up. He turned to Adri and smiled, giving a little shrug.

"Yeah, Nina's been helping me with reading English. I mean she has all these books in Japanese and English, plus she's a Kitsune too! I didn't think I'd run into another Kitsune in this city to be honest, but wasn't that lucky?" Fox said to Adri, grinning at her as his tails started to wag.

Zil'costa let out a little chuckle at Fox's display.

"Too bad ya don't have a babblestone like I do. Then you could read any language easily." She teased, tapping the little gem that was embedded in her scale.

"Give me a moment to take out this trash, I want to see Fox's friend better." Zil'costa added, revealing the two trash bags she was carrying. It was amazing how quick the trash cans in the game room could fill up when there were a bunch of people just snacking and gaming. She slithered down the hall and out the back to dispose of the trash before reappearing a few moments later.

She slithered right up to Fox and Adri, showing just how large she was. She wasn't trying to intimidate or anything, she was simply that big. The Serpentor warrior turned comic store employee leaned down to look at Adri better, smiling the whole time.

"So are you Fox's girlfriend?" Zil'costa asked bluntly, still smiling.

Nina blinked as her ears drooped a little "ah, sorry Fox" she said innocently, she would then watch Zilly take out the trash and go up closer to Adri and ask if she was his girlfriend, she couldn't help but smile at the bluntness of the question.

She was also a Kitsune, and Adri for some reason felt slightly self conscious. But they were just friends, which was an important distinction. Before she really had time to dwell on her musings, Zil's question may as well have been a wrecking ball. That was not a question she had been expecting, so suddenly, and while she was dealing with some jealousy. "It must be difficult to move around in such small space," Adri deflected the question with an observation, looking off toward the store aisles primarily to try and hide an actual blush.

Fox's ears stood straight up as his tails fanned out in surprise at how blunt Zil'costa's question toward Adri had been. It was basically his version of a blush mixed with shock.

Zil'costa on the other hand took a quick glance around the shop and gave a little shrug.

"Yeah, it took a bit of getting used to. But I am very very flexible." Zil'costa said with a laugh.

"You still didn't answer my question though." She added, not letting Adri off the hook so easily.

"I only ask cause I've got a bit of interest in the cute little fuzzball myself, but if you two are an item then I'll just keep things strictly at the friendship level." Zil'costa added, being even more blunt than she had before. Even Fox was surprised at hearing that come from the snake lady, mostly as he'd only met her once before and he hadn't thought that she saw him as someone she could 'get' with.

Nina would just smile and watch the scene calmly, enjoying the little social gathering.

Adri really had to stop doubting her paranoia, her jealousy surfacing again as she blinked at at the snake lady. "You shouldn't ask such personal questions of people you just met," Adri said simply. She and Fox had dated before, and they still went out on a fairly regular basis. Did that count as that? Why was she really asking? Adri's fingers wiggled restlessly as she stretched a couple invisible and aetherial wires to tap the brains of Zil and Nina. She had been so blindsided by the question that another of her old habits was forgotten. She wasn't going to take chances now after hearing that. "Fox is mine..." Adri finally said after what was probably an awkward moment, still blushing.

"Fair enough." Zil'costa said with a shrug after Adri claimed that Fox was hers. The Serpentor had simply wanted to get straight to the heart of things. If Fox had a girlfriend then she wouldn't try and seduce him herself. Simple as that. After all she didn't want to complicate the Kitsune's life, especially not with someone he was friends with already.

Fox himself got a little closer to Adri, grabbing her hand and giving it a little squeeze as if to reaffirm her words for her. He gave a little nod as well, confirming that he was with Adri.

"Welp, I guess I'll just have to find another cutie to go after then. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name's Zil'costa. As you might have guessed I'm not from around here. Crashed my ship awhile back and Nina here was kind enough to give me a job and a roof to sleep under." Zil'costa said, finally introducing herself properly.

Nina nodded "yeah, we're roomies, and she also helps out" she said smiling "its really nice to not have to use clones".