NOVA57

Reiyu took a breath as he stood in front of the door.  He'd been doing pretty good lately.  Almost every day he'd spend time at the item shop lending a hand, and as far as he could tell it's owner, the elf Sera, was happy to have him. And yet he still felt the same guilt that drove him to avoid her for the longest time.  Clearly she'd forgiven him by now for the loss of Cyrus (if she ever blamed him at all), but he just couldn't shake it.  Every day he was there he could see a hint of loneliness about her, although it was hidden behind her cheerful and often snarky demeanor.   So maybe that'

With the falling snow, glittering lights, and bumper-to-bumper traffic, the city at night was a cacophony of aural and visual stimulation. In other words it was Christmas Eve. Sera Walman strolled down main street like a woman possessed.  Everywhere she looked, another windowfront conspired to grab her attention and leave her wanting.  So much to choose from and so very little to choose with. She sighed and kept on walking. The red-haired woman had fallen out of her previous career when she got pregnant; that is, if you can call 'local shop model' a career.  And the bigger she got, the less likely it seemed she'd be getting a new job any