Point-of-View: Argent Stryker

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"Why is everyone laughing? The human in the movie just got hurt, didn’t he? Also, considering how fragile humans are, should that not have resulted in much more severe injuries?" Whispered Izzy in confusion.

"Well, uh...it’s a comedy, so it doesn’t have to make sense," I replied sheepishly at her bemusement.

I figured a comedy would be a safe option for her first movie, but she doesn’t seem to understand it. Some of the jokes have amused her, but the more slapstick and physical comedy scenes haven’t quite clicked with her, they’ve just confused her.

She still seems pretty invested in this though, but I’m guessing that’s mostly her fascination in seeing a movie for the first time. Also, she was speaking pretty loudly at first whenever something she didn’t understand happened, and we got some annoyed looks from the people in front of us, so I told her to keep her voice down whenever she wants to say something.

On another note, this movie’s a romantic comedy, which hadn’t seemed that way based on the poster...I don’t mind it or anything, it’s just, uh, kinda reminding me of that time when Izzy casually mentioned that she loves me.

Just thinking about it is making me flustered...really, really happy, but also incredibly embarrassed. And speaking of romance, the scene that’s playing now is super cheesy and lovey dovey...I’ve never actually seen a scene like this before, it’s somehow embarrassing to watch.

Not unpleasant though. Yeah, it’s actually kinda nice. And Izzy seems to be pretty invested too, watching it with a look of interest. I felt kinda squirmy as the female lead then confessed to the male lead and kissed him on the cheek, flustering him. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

I wonder if I’d react like that if Izzy-...n-no, wait, what am I thinking!? She wouldn’t do that, and I feel bad for even imagining it!

From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t fully understand the concept of romance, so when she said that she loves me, it was probably in an innocent, affectionate way like between family.

Huh...that’s a little bit depressing, if I’m being honest. Okay, I’m overthinking this way too much now...I should just shut off my brain and enjoy the movie.

I pushed the mess of my thoughts deep down and focused on the movie, which was now back to a comedy scene. Heh, it’s so dumb but still fun...yeah, guess that’s basically what comedy is.

The movie went on with no real plot points except for progress with the romance here and there, and I was really enjoying it. Izzy looked like she was having a lot of fun too, looking perplexed at the scenes she didn’t understand, laughing at some of the jokes, and looking unusually serious at the romantic scenes.

Okay, looks like the movie’s almost over, seems like it’s starting to wrap things up. Yeah, this was fun, we should definitely check out more movies soon, it’s-...huh? Uh-oh...they’re, uh, they’re ending with a sex scene.

Oh, boy, and it’s a really explicit one at that! W-woah...this is the first time I’m seeing one, holy crap, it’s...wow. I gulped as I felt my face starting to heat up, doing my best to stay calm.

M-maybe looking away for a bit will-...nope! Just turned away and saw a couple making out, hard. I think I’ll just look down till it’s over...the poster for this movie, or even any of the previous scenes, gave absolutely no indication that it’d get so explicit.

"Hey, is this sexual intercourse? They’re in the process of procreating, right?" Suddenly whispered Izzy, startling me a bit.

"H-huh? Well, uh, yes, it is s-sexual intercourse...though, not necessarily for procreation, it’s, uh, also used as an intimate expression of love between a couple. Well, not always...sometimes it’s just lustful recreation, I guess...," I muttered awkwardly, fidgeting as she nodded with a look of fascination.

"I see...yes, it does seem like the people in the movie are deriving pleasure from it," She muses thoughtfully.

Yeah, uh...they’re definitely having sex for real. The scene is making it very clear that that’s the case...they’re showing everything. Mom and dad have taken me to see a few movies before, but they always asked a lot of questions about the content in the movies that were being screened before choosing one.

I think I understand why...it would’ve been incredibly uncomfortable and inappropriate if a scene like this had come on in the movies I watched as a kid.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief as the movie ended and the credits began rolling, taking a few breaths to compose myself. I didn’t expect things to get that steamy...Izzy seemed a bit disappointed that the movie was over as we headed out and left the cinema.

"Can we watch another one of those movie things later?" She requested hopefully.

"Yeah, of course, if that’s what you want," I replied with a smile, patting her head, her eyes lighting up as she nodded with a grin.

I then asked for directions to where I could get a cellphone from, and made my way to the store after that. It was pretty expensive, costing eight gold coins, but I could afford it, and I definitely need one, so yeah.

As we walked out of the store, I gulped nervously as I dialed Larrk’s number that Gior had given me, taking a deep breath before calling it...but it didn’t connect, getting an automated voice saying the number I dialed is either switched off or out of range.

Hm, maybe he hasn’t charged it or something? Oh, wait, his Pocket Dimension! If it’s in there, it definitely wouldn’t be getting a signal...but the next time he takes it out and does get a signal, he should get a notification about a missed call from this number.

I’ll keep trying a couple of times a day...huh, weirdly, I’m kinda relieved that he didn’t pick up. I was feeling really nervous for some reason...don’t get me wrong, I definitely want to make contact with him as soon as possible, but it’s been so long that I feel a bit antsy about it.

"Well, anyway, let’s go find an inn to stay at, shall we? I’m pretty worn out, I know you don’t need to sleep nearly as much as humans do, but you must still be pretty tired yourself after everything that’s happened," I remarked, stretching my arms up as I stifled a yawn.

"Yeah, I really am...it’s been a long time since I felt this fatigued," She nodded in response.

We then roamed around till we found a nice looking inn and headed inside, booking a room with two beds for us to stay in. As we entered the room, I told Izzy that she could wash off her makeup now if she wanted to, much to her relief, after I made sure that the curtains were drawn.

She first pulled off the dress and tossed it away, which really flustered me since she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it. Apparently, she did wear clothes when she was living with the Demons, and so did they, but I guess she got used to being naked while living down in the Labyrinth.

"Sorry you had to be in such discomfort, but we had no choice since you had to blend in. We’re gonna have to buy a lot more makeup though, covering your entire face and your limbs took a lot more of the stuff than I had anticipated," I sighed wryly.

"I think I’ll just stay in this room as much as possible in that case," She frowned apprehensively.

"Well, if you’re okay with that, that’s fine. But whenever you want to go out, you’ll have to put on the makeup, sorry," I smiled sheepishly.

"No, it’s fine...it would make things difficult for you if people know that I’m a Monster, right?" She pointed out with a shrug.

"I wish it wasn’t the case, but it unfortunately is...we got pretty lucky with those two guys we teamed up, Gior and Phyurio. I doubt there’s many people who’d react the same way that they did," I sighed in response, before adding, "Alright, then, let’s go to sleep, shall we?"

Hm...I wonder how Larrk would react? I mean, Gior did say that he’s a Heretic, so...guess I’ll have to wait and find out. I really hope he-...huh? I was snapped out of it as Izzy flopped onto the same bed I was on, snuggling up towards me and resting her head against my shoulder.

"Yeah, that sounds good," She replied with a yawn.

"Hey, uh...you do see that there’s two beds, right? You can sleep on the other bed," I pointed out awkwardly.

"Huh? But we always sleep together," She responded innocently.

Damn it, she’s so cute, how am I supposed to respond to that!? And yeah, while I have gotten used to her snuggling with me, even though it does still fluster me, doing so on a bed feels a lot different, somehow.

"Well...if you’re okay with it, then it’s fine. Though, these beds are pretty small, so it’s a bit cramped," I replied, my chest starting to pound as she looked up at me.

"Hm...oh, I know, we can just push the beds together then," She suggested with a brief pause, before adding as she suddenly got much closer towards me, her body firmly pressing up against mine, "If we get closer, there’s plenty of space on this bed."

I...I can’t resist anymore, as much as I feel like I really should.

"O-okay, then...," I muttered as I put my arms around her tentatively and held her, "Let’s, uh, get some sleep."

"Mhm, sounds good...," She replied, before suddenly leaning up and kissing me on the cheek.

Huh?

Wait, did she just...? H-huh?

"Wh-what was that for?" I stuttered as I felt my face heat up.

That totally caught me off guard, I never imagined she’d do that...okay, if I’m being honest, I have kinda maybe imagined it a couple of times, but I never thought she’d actually do it!

"I...wanted to try it after I saw it in that movie. Um...did I do it right?" She asked me a bit hesitantly.

"Y-yeah, uh, it was...it was nice, really nice," I nodded with a gulp.

Okay, this isn’t fair...she’s got me flustered so many times, but I’ve never seen her flustered! This probably won’t work, but I might as well give it a try...plus, I really want to. I tilted my head down and kissed her forehead as I placed my hand on her cheek, feeling her stiffen slightly as I did.

"Uh, sorry! I shouldn’t have done that!" I blurted out.

"N-no, I...I don’t mind. But it’s just...I don’t know why, but I feel kinda embarrassed...but I still liked it. It’s a weird feeling," She muttered uncertainly, as she buried her face in my chest.

Huh...her cheek feels a bit warmer, is she...?

"I can’t tell since your skin is red, but...are you blushing?" I inquired in bemusement.

"What? I don’t know...but I do feel strangely warm, and happy, but also, like, it’s hard to look at you right now, but not because I don’t want to...," She rambled a bit, before peeking up at me as I felt a triumphant grin spread out across my face.

"Heh, is that so? Glad to hear it," I laughed as I stroked her head.

"H-hey, stop looking at me like that...," She nudged me with a pout.

It’s only fair that I say it...

"Sorry, but I can’t help it, I finally got you flustered...and, um...I love you," I whispered as I hugged her closely, smiling widely as I felt her hug me back and nod her head slightly, letting out a quiet ’mhm’...

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