Rai was stunned. He watched as Sin walked down the stairs in what might’ve been the most beautiful dress he’d ever seen. Not that Rai had seen many dresses in his lifetime. In fact, Rai’s mother never wore a dress. Aunt Elly’s homeless-looking robe wouldn’t count as a dress either. But Sin, now, was definitely in a dress.

She’s... elegant. It’s like I’m looking at a queen...

Sin wore her hair up in a bun, and had black studs in her ears. She watched her step, as she wore a new pair of flats. Expertly applied makeup made Sin’s face pop in a way that made Rai’s knees weak, but it was still subtle enough to go under the radar had he not been paying closer attention to her right now. Her lip gloss reflected the soft artificial light of the penthouse, as did all of her shiny black nail polished nails.

Rai blushed. Heavily.

Sin got to the bottom of the stairs, and looked up at Rai.

She was stunned. Rai’s amazing tang suit made him look much smarter than he was. He seemed to have brushed his hair with extra care, as it looked incredibly smooth and silky to Sin right now. Rai’s lightning blue eyes made Sin’s heart jolt as he looked up and down her body. She loved the attention he was giving her, like she was the only thing in his eyes right now. Rai’s black seals sat snugly on his wrists, exactly where Sin expected to find them.

Sin’s eyes softened. She tilted her head a touch.

“Wh-... what do you think?” She asked him.

Sin lifted her arms and did a little twirl, causing the bottom of the dress to flare out a little. Since there was a cut going down her left leg, Rai couldn’t help but imagine the flaring skirt to be a partially-eaten pizza. Of course, this thought was simply at the back of his mind, while at the front of his mind was his amazement at Sin’s whole outfit and look.

He audibly gulped.

The left side of Sin’s torso was exposed, and she only had the one sleeve. Rai noticed that the only thing holding that left side together was a small chain link.

Her beautiful body blew him away.

“Well? I didn’t get all dolled up for nothing, did I?” She asked.

“S-sorry. You’re... unbelievable...”

“Mmm. That’s what I thought, haha!”

“What... do you think of me?”

“You’re handsome. Handsome enough to be my king.” Sin winked at Rai. Her cheeks were rosy red, just like her dress.

Rai took in the view for just another moment, before gathering himself.

Sin needed a moment as well. It wouldn’t be all that good if she leapt on Rai before their date even started.

*Ahem*

“Okay, shall we?” Rai asked.

Sin nodded profusely.

He held his hand out, and Sin took it.

They went to the lobby, for the sole person in said lobby to freak out.

“Holy shit!” Naam screamed as the lift door opened.

Naam and Sin squealed in delight together. Naam brushed Sin’s curly bangs behind her ears to look at the makeup that Lilly applied, then hugged her sister.

She was so encapsulated by Sin and her dress, that Naam didn’t even realise that Rai was right there.

Once Naam and Sin had their quick chat, Naam complimented Rai as they were leaving.

Both Rai and Sin managed to avoid all of the looks they got from the random people outside in the busy red light district, as their attentions were firmly planted on one another.

They followed the signs that led to the ports, managing to somehow avoid the slew of people that was around earlier. Since it was night time, the red light district was where a lot of the people in the city went, with some electing to attend bars and pubs for their nightly entertainment instead. Rai and Sin didn’t know exactly what to expect in the ports. As far as they knew, the ports were only used as an area exclusive to merchants moving good to and from other regions or cities. But when Kallad mentioned what the other use for the ports were, Rai and Sin found themselves imagining wildly different things.

After a while of walking together, arm in arm, Sin spotted the security gates. She pointed at them.

“There! That’s the entrance!”

“Looks like it. Let’s go.”

Rai followed her lead.

They showed their Academy ID cards to the security at the gate, and were allowed through.

There was a small walk from the gate to the area of the ports that Kallad was describing before. It was unmistakable.

They were here.

What amazed Rai was that this area was like a big ring, on the edge of Aurum’s capital. It seemed to be placed on the edge of a lake, which would explain why it was called the ports. In the centre was the portal hub, which one could arrive at by following the direct pathway connecting it to the rest of the capital city through the security gates. Around the edges of the ring were bars and pubs and clubs.

Rai figured that this was where the lighter fun happened as part of the city’s nightlife.

Interrupting his thoughts, music met Rai’s ears. He looked around to find the source. Which was impossible. There were multiple sources of music throughout the whole place, such that it was difficult to pinpoint a singular source of sound. Wooden decks were used as stage platforms, while just beside the decks there was an area for people to dance. The bars were just behind those areas, and most of them were outdoors-based with tables and chairs scattered around the ports ring. Rai saw multiple people from a vast variety of races and divine races dancing along to different types of music being played in pockets flowing around the ring. He couldn’t see past the centre structure, but Rai figured that there was even more on the other side.

He was excited.

Sin was amazed at all of the fun, love, and joy that the people here shared together. She’d never seen anything like this, at least, since she’d visited Rai in Acies. Whenever Sin visited Townsend and spent the day with Rai, she recalled some evenings where music and dance filled the streets. It was always a festive feeling that she’d longed for since not being able to visit Rai.

Tears filled her eyes. Sin wiped them away.

Rai noticed.

“You alright?” He asked.

“Sniffle. Yeah...” She turned and smiled at him. “This place is really cool! Let’s go to one of the bars first!”

Rai scowled at her.

“Your dad said no drinking!”

“They’ll offer non-alcoholic drinks I’m sure. Let’s go ask at least.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that. Yeah, let’s do it!”

Rai and Sin walked along the ports decks, hand in hand. They had very little attention on them here. Everyone was dressed to impress, which made it so almost no one stood out from the crowd. The rest of the bland city couldn’t keep their eyes off them, but here... Rai and Sin were just another part of the crowd.

They both liked it like that.

Rai spotted a couple of open seats at a bar, and gently pulled Sin in that direction.

They sat down and read the menu.

Rai furrowed his eyebrows.

“Uh... Sin?”

“Yes Rai?”

“The fuck is all of this?” Rai asked.

“Not a fuckin clue.” She replied.

“A fireball skeever? Isn’t a skeever like a rat? Why would you want to drink a rat?”

“Mushroom mayhem?! Are mushrooms made for drinking?”

“Oh... maybe this one would be alright... a... gorgon glacier?” Rai mentioned.

“Gorgon? They use gorgons for drinks?!”

“I can’t make sense of all of this...”

A hand slammed down on the counter in front of them.

Rai and Sin looked up at the grizzly man.

“No drinks for under-20s!” He growled.

“We... want non-alcoholic drinks though...” Rai said.

“Oh... then choose one and I’ll make it for ye without alcohol. I’ll cut 3 silver from the price too, since ye ain’t havin’ one of the major ingredients.” The bartender said.

“What’s in this gorgon glacier?” Sin asked.

“Real new to the ports, eh? Well, ‘at’s fine. The glacier’s got a snake’s head from a gorgon’s in the middle o’ the glass. We put a bit of cold bland juice round it in the rest of the glass. Then we use ice magic to freeze the inside of the snake’s head. As it melts, the sweet juices from the snake’s head ooze out from its snakeskin into the juice, making a delicious cocktail. Of course, ye won’t be havin’ that with alcohol so ye ain’t feelin’ any buzz. But it’ll still taste great, I guarantee!”

Rai and Sin looked at each other. They’d never heard of such a creative use for a dead gorgon.

“You wanna try it?” Sin asked Rai.

“Only if you do.” Rai replied.

The bartender patiently waited. The rest of the bar was already full and tended to, so he had the time to wait for their decision.

“Alright, let’s get one and share it between us.” Sin said.

“Great, I’ll do a large then. Ye want 1 straw or 2?” The bartender asked.

Rai blushed.

Sin noticed.

“1 please!” She said.

“Sorted. That’ll be 10 silver pieces.”

Rai withdrew 10 silver pieces from his seals with a flash of lightning. Given all of the bright lights already present in the area, his lightning didn’t make much of a splash on the people around them.

He handed the bartender 10 silver and waited.

The bartender went back and started preparing the drink.

Sin thanked Rai for paying, and they looked out over the dancers together while waiting.

Rai really enjoyed watching dances. Especially when the people that were dancing were experienced and knew what they were doing. It was like a display of flow in a way that reminded him of Jin’s Dance. Of course, nothing came close to that, but these were still fun to watch.

Sin just liked seeing all of the moves these dancers pulled out because they reminded her of Rai whenever he used the Sword Dance. She’d lost to the Dance multiple times in their spars, but it never stopped Sin from being amazed whenever he pulled it out. Her plan for her own kind of Dance would have to wait until she could speak with Jin to see if it was even possible.

*Clink*

Rai and Sin turned back around to the bartender.

“Enjoy!” The bartender said with a smile.

“Thank you!” Both of them said in unison.

The bartender smiled at them again, then began wiping down the counter where some other customers had just left.

They looked at the glass... which was smoky cold. It was like a fog of ice ran through the glass.

“When... when does the sweet stuff come out of the snake head?” Sin asked, to no one in particular.

“I’m not too sure...” Rai said.

As if perfectly on cue, the juice in the glass began to turn orange. It was a bright orange, which made the drink look much more appealing.

Rai tapped the straw to push it over to Sin’s side of the glass.

“Ladies first.” He said.

“Oh boy. Alright, wish me luck!”

“Good luck!”

“It’s rhetorical. You don’t have to actually... whew... whatever, it’s fine. I’m going in...”

Sin leaned in towards the glass, and gently sucked the drink through the straw. Her eyes widened. She swallowed the drink eagerly, and let go of the straw.

Sin held the glass and the straw up at Rai.

“You have to try this!” She said excitedly.

Rai was surprised. He didn’t expect the drink to taste good, but if Sin liked it so much, then he should at least try it.

Rai leaned in and drank from the straw.

His eyes widened as well.

Sin shot some short nods at him with a smile.

“Good, right?!”

Rai nodded in return, but didn’t let go of the straw.

“Oi! Don’t hog it all!” She said.

“Pwah. Alright fine fine, we’ll take turns. There’s enough in this huge glass for both of us anyway.”

“Yeah... I didn’t expect it to be this big.”

“Hehe...”

Sin quietly stared disapprovingly at Rai.

“Well... size difference aside, it’s almost like a pint, so I guess it makes sense.” Rai said.

“You... ugh. I’ll pretend you didn’t go there. SWIFTLY moving on! I could never drink a pint. That’s just so much liquid, my poor little belly couldn’t handle it.”

“You gotta be setting me up for these now, c’mon. Poor little belly? So much liquid? Sin...”

“Okay maybe that one was... just a bit of a set up.” She smirked.

“I feel the same about big drinks though. I tried a few pints of beer at Bort’s a few months before I left, and I just couldn’t handle the taste. It really wasn’t nice. Oh, and don’t tell mum I said that.”

Sin nodded.

“Sweet drinks are best. Or water. Those are my favourite types.”

“Agreed. Water or sweet all the way!”

“Know what else is sweet?” Sin asked.

“Hmm? Tell me.”

“C’mere.” Sin made a suggestive ‘come here’ gesture with her finger.

Rai leaned in close to her.

Sin kissed him.

She held the back of Rai’s head as she licked his tongue, savouring the aftertaste of the drink and Rai’s own taste.

Rai returned it.

The two of them kissed for a solid minute, before releasing their lips from each other.

Rai looked into Sin’s pleading eyes, knowing what she probably wanted. He’d read up on it in his spare time, and he was mentally prepared. But the night was early, and Rai didn’t want it to end so soon.

“Wanna dance with me?” Rai whispered.

Sin was just a little disappointed, but this wasn’t such a bad offer either.

“Yeah, sounds fun!” She said with a smile.