Alright, that's one errand done with. Next, cat ears. If I remember correctly, the shopping district was- 

Oh, wait, Inn. Apologize to the inn lady first. I don't like the idea of leaving an unpaid bill for long. I should probably get that done with first. 

After that, though, Cat ears. That's priority number 2, for sure.

"Oi, bro, I've got a question for you." Sis said as we once again walked through the streets of Starsford.

"Shoot." I said.

"Is your eyesight okay?" 

Eh? That's a bit of a weird question, isn't it? "Uh, I guess. Not like I need glasses, or anything."

"Huh. Then, are you just, like, comically unaware?" 

What? What kinda question is that? Actually, if that were indeed the case, would I even know? I mean, when you don't notice things, you don't notice when you don't notice, right? So, really, if I answer 'No' then there's a 50/50 chance that I'm either correct, or simply proving that I am, in fact, comically unaware. But if I answer 'Yes.', then that would confirm beyond all doubt that the answer is no, right? Because then I would at least be aware of the things I don't notice, meaning that I do notice things. Or, maybe that information could have been gained from peers who would be commenting on my hypothetical noticing-ness. In that case, the answer is still a 50/50. That is, unless I can confirm that the additional context of information from peers is not a factor in the answer, in which case, 'Yes' becomes a guaranteed 'No', making it the optimal-

"Bro? You there?" Sis asked.

"Uh, what? Oh, uh, yeah. No. Dunno. Maybe." I stammered out. "Why?"

"'Cuz it seems that every time you're in a public space you've got people glancing at you, yet I've never seen you react to it. I can't decide if you're just ignorant or apathetic. It's been bugging me." 

"Oh, that? Yeah, I've noticed. Hard not to, really. I mean, with a mug like mine, it's only natural people would peek." From what I've been told, people seem to immediately assume I'm depressed, or that I'm glaring at people, or that I look like, (and I quote) 'the most pretentious mother-f*** on this sh**** blue bubble.' The guy who told me that was a little odd.

"So you don't mind it?"

"Not really. I mean, it's no different than what pretty ladies and handsome dudes experience." Or vice versa, I suppose. "If anything, it's lucky, if you think about it that way."

"That's quite optimistic."

"Well, given the choice between constant anxiety or a little optimism, what would you pick?" 

"Eh, fair enough." 

"Anyways, I could ask you the same question. There's plenty of people peeking at you, too." I pointed out. She kinda stands out, here, at least. Mostly because she's fully decked out in fishing gear in the middle of a densely populated urban area. 

"Eh. I don't really what mortals think of me. If that's how they want to spend their existences, so be it." 

"... I see." Huh. So this is what that one guy was talking about. Neat.

...

As we made our way to the inn, I tried to piece together how I should act when we get there. 

There's a lot to consider. First, how much the innkeeper lady actually heard. I know that, at some point, Catface did some magic stuff, making it so nobody outside our booth could hear us, but, problem is, I don't really recall exactly when they did that. It was a stressful night, the details are all muddied up in my head, I can't piece them together. What this basically means is that I don't really have a great frame of reference as to how shaken she would be from that encounter. 

Actually, thinking about it, it's not like the sound blocking whatever magic would make it that much less scary, in the first place. It's not like it magically blocked out the tension. Heck, might've made the whole thing freakier. Only being able to see the results of the event, while the cause remains mostly ambiguous, leaving the imagination to run wild... 

I couldn't help but sigh. No matter how I look at this, I have no way of determining how they might feel. Guess I'll have to improvise.

"You good, bro?" Sis asked as we walked.

"Oh, yeah. Just thinkin' about... Stuff." I explained, albeit poorly. 

"Ah. What is it we're doing, again?"

"Paying back the innkeeper lady. I forgot to pay yesterday, in all the commotion." I explained, a little better.

"Oh yeah, pops mentioned that things got hectic in some inn yesterday."

"That's a word for it..."

We made our way to the outskirts of town. There weren't a lot of people hanging around here, other than some guards and the occasional passerby looking to avoid walking through people. The feeling that I got when we first entered town today seemed to increase tenfold as we walked these streets. 

Sis let out a light chuckle. "I take it we'll be doing more than delivering some change."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. She deserves an explanation. Or at least an apology. I can't imagine it's a pleasant feeling seeing a family member act like that, distant or otherwise."

Sis chuckled once more. "Not that we'd know anything about that."

...

I, too, chuckled, after a brief moment of pause, and shrugged. "Guess not." I said. 

...

We arrived at the inn. 

"O-oh! You're back." The innkeeper lady said as we came in.

It was pretty empty in there, only other people in there were a pair of (probably on duty) guards at the bar, chatting away and slowly sipping at their drinks. I'd say it's a slow day, but there's still an hour or so until lunch time. I wager more people will show up then.

"What brings you in today? The innkeeper lady said, before looking behind me for a moment, before a puzzled look grew on her face. "Oh, is S not with you?" She asked.

"Uh, no, not today. S-" 

"Oh, and who's this?" She asked, looking over at Sis.

"His sister." She lied quickly, just as she did a while ago, before awkwardly looking at the ground. 

"Oh, I see. Well, what brings the two of you in today?" The innkeeper lady repeated with trained efficiency. 

"Uh, actually, I-I'm just here 'cus I realized I forgot to pay yesterday, what with all the... Y'know."

"Oh, you needn't to worry about that, what S left was more than enough." 

"N-no, I can pay." I said, reaching for my coin pouch.

"Please, it's no trouble. It wouldn't be right of me to accept any more, after S left so much." She insisted.

"Oh, o-okay." I said. I still kinda wanted to pay, but I just sorta acted on instinct. Ah well.

...

"Uh... Anyways..." Crap, how do I put this... "S-sorry about last night." I said. Eh, good enough.  

I noticed Sis was staring blankly off into space, waiting for something else to happen. I know the feeling... Sorry, Sis. I'll try to wrap this up quickly.

"Oh, uhm, uh..." The innkeeper lady stammered. She also seemed to be having a hard time getting her thoughts in order. "Don't... It's, uhm..."

After a little more stammering she sighed, deeply.

"Is... Is S okay?" She said, her perfect customer service façade dropping. She looked desperate, and I think I could see tears welling up in her eyes. 

"Y-yeah. He's good." I assured. Good enough to give me a piggyback ride, anyways.

She closed her eyes, put a hand on her heart, and let out a deep sigh of relief. I noticed the guards at the bar were peeking over at us, but they shamefully turned away, back to their drinks, for whatever reason. I looked down and found Sis giving them a nasty look. Thanks, Sis.

"Oh, thank heavens..." The innkeeper lady said. It was then that I noticed that she had bags under her eyes. It was subtle, but I could tell, she was probably up pretty late. Ah, crap, now I feel even worse. 

But I didn't mention any of this, of course. Because that would be rude. 

"Oh, and what about that other... The other one." She asked, though it was clearly an afterthought. 

"They're okay, too." I said. 

"Ah, that's good. S looked like he was ready to... Well, I'm glad that everyone's alright."

"Y-yeah. Sorry about them. They're a little, uh... They didn't... Uh..." It's a little hard to justify Catface's behavior. Actually, I'm not sure if I can justify it, in the first place. "... Sorry." I ended up repeating. 

"Oh, don't worry about it. I didn't really catch most of what they were saying, anyways. I don't mind." She said. I'm not entirely convinced that's true, to be honest, but, there really isn't much more I can do at this point. I'll just have to accept that, and move on.

She continued. "Where is S, by the way?" She asked, regaining her professional composure.

"Oh, uh, he's off in the mountains right now." I explained.

The innkeeper gently shook her head. "That boy, he can never sit in one place, can he? Well, I'm sure you'll see him again at some point, if you stick around here long enough."

Huh? 'at some point'? What's she mean by that? "W-well, we'll be meeting up again in a week." I explained, figuring this was some weird misunderstanding. "He's just doing a little training."

"Yes, I'm su-" She began. Then she paused, and looked at me directly. "Wait, what? That boy made plans with you?"

 "Uh... Yeah, I guess." I said, rather confused. 

She looked deep in thought for a moment, before smiling warmly. "Well... Make sure you bring him back here, once he's done." She said. "I've a thing or two I'd like to say to him."

I laughed a little awkwardly. "R-right, uhuh." I said, still kinda confused.

Alright, anyways, I should probably wrap this up soon. I imagine that Sis is getting bored. "A-anyways, I shouldn't take up any more of your time. I know you're, like, working, and all that." 

"Oh, don't worry about it. Not like anyone's gonna come in for, ehhh, about 53 minutes and 44 seconds."

"...Uhuh..." Huh? Is that, like, an average, or... Ah, whatever. 

"Anyways, thanks for looking out for S. It'll help me rest easier knowing he's got someone with him."

"Uh, y-yeah. A-actually, he's mostly the one looking out for me." I said, a little embarrassed.

She chuckled softly. "Well, I hope you'll keep looking our for each other for some time." She said, with a warm, hopeful smile.  

"Y-yeah. Me too." I said.

I smiled. Yeah, I couldn't agree more.