>>5635311>>5635330>>5635348>>5635406>>5635417>>5635529>>5635556“So,” the Princess asks, tone neutral, but twitching lip belaying a hidden smirk, “do you plan to be as mysterious about our destination as your origins, Wang?”
In truth, you have fairly limited experiences with ALL of these races, save for the dwarves, whose boozy preferences you are wary of. Oh, you doubt that Ekaterine is a seasoned alcoholic or the like, but if carousing begins—and on the rare occasion your slaves, prisoners, and bloody-handed overseers had reason to celebrate, carousing ALWAYS began—you make still be at a disadvantage. Just as the Reptilian stomach is ill-adapted to a diet of greens or grains, the Master Race’s liver can ill master the mammalian races’ favourite intoxicants.
“I wass thinking ssoemwhere… Exxxotic.”
“Oh?” Ekaterine asks, then flips aside the curtains which shield the two of you from spies and nosy pedestrians outside. “Oh! I recognize this district, it think!”
“you do?” you ask, surprise to hear that’s he recognizes ANY part of Hawksong beyond her father’s winding hedge maze of a yard.
“From the city plans and municipal maps, yes!”
Ah. She must REALLY get bored, at times.
“Are we going to the traders’ bazaar, at the outskirts of the city?”
“Yesss,” you admit, a little caught off-guard at how quickly she guessed it.
Eka fixes you with a knowing look, and giggles little. This only worries you further.
“Eastern cuisine, then? The beastfolk? I should have guessed! Are you very familiar with them?”
It’s your turn to feel a little smug, as you shake your head.
“I thought it should be ssomewhere exxxotic for usss BOTH, sso we can be on ssimilar footing.”
“Wait,” Ekaterine asks, suddenly lost, “what?”
The expression on her face when the carriage stops and you guide her down the folding steps is priceless.
“It’s, uh, it is… It’s very UNIQUE, as a date destination.”
In truth, the carnivorous fare of the beastmen had a certain base appeal to you, but the truth is that of all the surface races of which you know little, the beastmen are those you know LEAST about—a dangerous proposition, when masquerading as a human male meant to come from the same lands as your servers. What if they asked a question you couldn’t answer, or undercut your responses and drew suspicion? Orcs and goblins come from all different places, and—as you understand it—are rarely accused of having much culture to be ignorant OF. It’s perfect!
It’s also, as Princess Ekaterine implied, ‘unique’
