Where the 2 friends become more 'formal' for the music night and accept an unexpected invitation from the Infernals. Is there any reason behind that though?

No one's POV:
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The 2 friends had to wait for the night to begin. Also they couldn't just pick a table and sit. Other monsters were here before them and had chosen where to sit. As it seemed nights like these were really popular because there were no free tables. And it was still so early! They were saying it would need 5 more hours for the night to begin.

"That's alright. I will stand somewhere and you will be on my shoulders so we can both enjoy the spectacle when it begins." Alter said and Geno fake laughed. "Nuh- uh. I'm not kidding." The taller reassured.

The 2 friends had plenty of time to do enough things. The first thing they did was go back to the poorest part of the monster town to check on something. Well, Alter had said that. They went again to the old destroyed church and found the beggar sitting near the entrance.

After making sure monsters or humans weren't around, Alter approached him and kneeled in front of him. The beggar raised head. Geno looked away feeling a shiver running down his spine. That monster had the most scarred face he could remember he had ever seen. He couldn't tell what monster he even was from the scars and the blind eyes.

Alter seemed to ask something but Geno didn't get what. The beggar signed him to come closer, the tall skeleton obeyed and then the other started whispering in his earhole. After a while Alter just nodded, thanked the other, stood normally and signed Geno that they could take their leave.

"What did you talk about?" The smoller asked.

"I just asked when is the best time to meet with the witch." Alter said simply.

"Really?! And what did that monster say?" Geno asked. The other didn't reply immediately.

"… Tomorrow evening. And if it is possible we'll get outta here after the meeting." He said and in the last words Geno heard something dark and actually some impatience.

"Just how much do you hate Lisbon?" He asked. The taller turned slowly to look at him with a strict expression.

"Hate is a very strong word…" He replied sharply and looked again ahead. "… Even for this place…"

The 2 friends then headed to the guard dormitories to prepare for the night. What, with the same clothes they would go have fun? They needed to be a little more 'formal'. Why not? First Alter checked Geno's torso and bandages to see if he had bleed or not. Surprisingly even for Geno, there wasn't blood to the surface of the bandages.

"That is really good. You're doing very well. Only the inner bandages are stained just a little. But I don't think they need to be changed." Alter said impressed.

"It surprises me too. There weren't a few times I lost my chill and yet I'm almost clean from blood." Geno commented thoughtful. "Especially at the moment I believed they were gonna execute ya for wearing fake magic blocker!" He said suddenly. But soon he softened again. "How are you feeling with the blocker?" He asked worried. Alter hummed and looked away.

"At times extremely tired like I stayed awake for more days than my organism can tolerate. But nothing serious son." He said smiling.

Geno didn't really recall taking spare clothes with him. However when he opened his bag and searched he saw neatly folded and tied with a light brown almost golden ribbon, like present, a second shirt and trousers, different than the ones he was wearing. He looked at them surprised and for a moment stared at Alter confused.

"What are you waiting for son? Wear your clothes." He just said. He didn't sound like he was the one who putted these clothes inside Geno's bag. Still confused, Geno untied the ribbon and was ready to start wearing the shirt when a folded piece of paper fell on the floor. Curious he picked it up, opened it and read it.

These clothes will be in case you and the priest want to be more formal for some festival or fiesta. If by any chance you pretend to be a girl in the mission to cover who you really are, don't worry. The clothes I made have a style that can be for both girls and boys. They might not allow human women wear trousers but this doesn't go the same for monsters, I believe you know this. Enjoy yourselves, good luck and may Allah protect you and Alter güzel.

Yalin

Unexpectedly even for himself, Geno smiled gently.

"Oh wow. Yalin overcame himself again." Alter suddenly said above the smaller's shoulder staring at the clothes impressed. Geno flinched, he hadn't hear him coming.

"AL-!" He yelled but shut his mouth quickly. "For f*-! For God's sake, stop walking around like a cat! You make no sound!!!" He scolded him. Alter laughed and raised hands in the air.

"Alright alright, my bad." He said, turned his back and walked away. In 5 minutes Geno had wore his new clothes. He was really impressed. The shirt was a beautiful, like pomegranate red, with puffy sleeves that were fading to white.

There were furbelows around the edges of the sleeves and shorter around the jewel neckline. The trousers were black, almost similar to the first one he was wearing from the beginning of the mission. However not completely, there were roses at the outer side of the right leg embroidered with dark red thread.

He was wearing the same black boots. Even for Geno's melted eyesocket there was something pretty. The bandages got replaced by a patch that looked like a completely bloomed red and white rose, big enough to cover the whole eyesocket. The string of the patch was black and surrounded by braided fake dark green branches.

The whole set of clothes was giving a really beautiful result and Geno couldn't stop staring at himself. It was amazing how Yalin had sewed the right size, as if he had measured him with the measuring tape. Then it simply became a little creepy.

"How the hell did he manage take the right size of me if I have never let him check?" He murmured to himself.

"The expert sewer doesn't need to measure you from close. They can do it by just looking." He heard Alter behind him and the smaller flinched again.

"WE TALKED ABOUT THI-!" He yelled. But he stopped seeing Alter and stepped back looking at him from top to bottom. "Wow…" He did.

Alter was wearing a black buttoned shirt with puffy sleeves and above a dark green vest, black trousers and also black short fabric shoes. He was also wearing a long cape, same color with the vest. His head was uncovered. Geno could see the string of his cross disappearing below the shirt.

"I could tell the same about ya friend. Wow." Alter said smiling wider. "You're really beautiful." He complimented then, as if it was the most casual thing in the world. Geno looked down flustered and with his face all cyan.

"S-Stop talking to the mirror!" He managed to say though. That caught off guard the taller, small dark green hues appeared on his cheeks but he laughed gracefully.

"Thanks thanks. But don't underestimate your beauty." He said. They stared to each other without saying anything for many seconds. Until Alter walked towards his bag, opened it, searched something for a few seconds and then returned holding 2 little vials. The one had cyan cork and the other dark green.

"What are these?" Geno asked, taking curious the vial with the cyan cork Alter handed him.

"The filters that changes the color of our magic. We better renew just in case…" The tall skeleton said.

"Oooh." Geno did and opened the vial which was barely the size of his middle finger.

"Just don't drink it all."

"Alright. Cheers." Geno said and together with Alter drunk a little more than half of the vial.

"Wonderful. Now we're ready go back to Grillby's restaurant and wait for the night to begin." Alter said.

About half an hour before the show began…

Everything was ready and everyone had taken their seats. No free tables. The 2 skeleton friends were observing around curious, just waiting for the show to start. Other monsters were standing like them, but that didn't seem to be a bother. On the window of the restaurant there was a paper writting with big clear letters:

All customers that don't have a table and seat and stay for the whole spectacle will be served too and pay 5 less golds for whatever they please to order, provided that they pay for food or drinks that cost in total more than 15 golds.

Waiters were walking around fast from table to table, taking orders, giving commands and instructions to each other. They were going sometimes to the monsters that weren't sitting, to take orders from them too. The customers were many and it didn't seem that any waiter was going to pay attention to the 2 skeletons soon.

Geno could see that many tables were taken by monster guards, who were at the moment talking with each other and enjoying drinks mostly, while waiting for the show to start. He recognised the skeleton brothers Rasp, Mal, Rus and Slim sitting around a table with 2 weird blue redhead fish ladies he didn't know.

The taller skeletons were scolded by their brothers to stop smoking inside the restaurant. Not only, but also a waiter was kindly telling them to have patience and smoke when the show is over or go outside for a while if they couldn't wait until then, no one would take their seats. Personally Geno found it funny and was chuckling.

Just like the other 2 fish ladies. However he was curious at the same time for one thing that didn't escape his eyesocket. From monster guards' tables only one of them was free with 5 chairs around it, but no one was coming to take a seat. Who hadn't come yet?

Geno observed around carefully and it soon hitted him. What if the table was for Tefra and Pyros? They hadn't come yet, Geno hadn't see them. If they even wanted to come. But also, who else was supposed to sit when there were 5 chairs and the siblings were 2?

"Hmmm…" The small skeleton looked down at Alter -he was on his shoulders all this time- ready to tell him if they could go ask if the table was indeed for the Infernals. But he never asked. He saw Alter looking somewhere to the opening of the restaurant with wide open eyesockets -thing rare to see him like that-, expressing surprise.

"Dio mio, tu mandi sfide a me, il peccatore…" He heard him whispering but then he sighed, shook head left and right and smiled gently, his calm expression returned. Soon Geno saw the goat siblings walking towards, as it seemed, their direction. The monsters around were waving at them and bowing down excited.

Pyros was wearing a buttoned light purple shirt and white trousers. A black belt was buckled around. Gloves and boots were also black and above the shirt he was wearing a long to the knee unbuttoned coat, deeper purple tone. Some of his lower golden wild hair were now trapped in a small loosen ponytail.

Tefra was wearing an unbuttoned white thin jacket long to the waist and below a dark purple dress with square neckline. Furbelows with white and magenta fadings seemed to be around it while also wrapped around the skirt like a spiral. They seemed like a flower garland in Geno's eyesocket.

The dress was reaching a little before the knee, definitely longer than the casual dress the smaller skeleton had seen her wearing. Wow they were both so different and amazing, without making themselves seem exaggerated. And despite they were so formal, Geno had the feeling they could still kick ass if needed.

"Oh. Oh! Some tall skeleton I know, saw someone interesting and can't take his eyes off them." He teased Alter, who once again laughed without showing agitation or embarrassment.

"Oh great prophet! Do you know at who am I staring at?" He asked just going with the tease and looking up to the smaller.

"It's that hot goat lady over there that makes all other women dissappear from your field of view. And she's absolutely sexy-~."

Alter started coughing fast and discreetly on purpose, covering Geno's last not so appropriate word, so no one around would hear and misunderstand anything. Especially the goat siblings that were now really close and seemed to have seen the skeletons long time now.

"Buonasera!" Pyros said warmly and shook hands with Alter once in front of him. Then the tall skeleton turned to look at Tefra, stared at her for a few silent seconds smiling and bowed down as if he was ready ask her to dance.

"Signorina Infernal, sei assolutamente incantevole!" He said. Pyros seemed ready to translate that. But Tefra laughed.

"Why thank you. You're not any less wonderful." She replied, she had understand the compliment.

"Eugenia oh mio Dio! You look GORGEOUS too!" Pyros said with stars appearing inside his eyes and Geno looked away 'flattered'.

"Thank you Pyros! You and Tefra look amazing." He replied and giggled like a little baby girl.

"Come on! Follow us!" Pyros said and waved at the 2 skeletons to follow while he was already going further inside the restaurant. Alter held Geno's hand and followed the siblings who leaded them at the empty table the smaller skeleton had observed.

"Wait! You got seats for us too?!" He asked surprised.

"Of course! Come on, don't be shy!" The male goat said. But he suddenly turned confused. "Weird! We didn't ask for 5 seats!"

"Don't worry Pyros. I just called one more monster to come." Tefra said with a mysterious smile as she was staring at him.

"Who?"

"You'll see~" The small female said and winked. While Pyros was trying to learn who else his sister had called questioning her intensively, Alter turned to look at Geno, who looked at him with a mischievous expression.

"Seems like we're very lucky skeletons~. Especially youuu~." He teased. Alter inhaled, kneeled in front of Geno and started fixing his scarf. However from his small movements he seemed thoughtful and not actually fixing it or anything.

"Remember the night yesterday?" He asked calmly. In an instant Geno's smile dropped and looked down.

"Yeah?" He asked ready to get lectured. He thought. Instead he heard surprised Alter telling something completely different. And much more serious. He heard from him in quick words the whole conversation he caught from the siblings and that they had aroused suspicion.

"As much innocent this invitation to their table seems, be really careful. Their questions might seem casual and 'just to know us better' but your answers must come out of your mouth as natural as possible."

"How much are they suspecting us?" Geno asked, now extremely worried he hadn't realise that. Alter turned to look behind and seeing that Pyros was still questioning Tefra about who else she had invited, he turned again to look at the smaller skeleton.

"Be more careful of Tefra. She might test us in ways more sly. Pyros doesn't suspect us at all or just denies to do so. But if he does questions, even the most simple and most innocent of them, our answers might give Tefra a reason to suspect us even more…" He gave some more advices to Geno about what to do in some cases and to not panic.

They were doing well so far, but they needed to move and act more carefully from now on, keep playing their roles as if nothing was happening. Keep seem innocent. If needed Alter could step up to get themselves out of difficult position. The moment exactly the taller had finished advising Geno, standing up normally and turning his back, Tefra had approached them.

"Come on. Why don't you take your seats?" She asked. She had taken off her jacket and Geno could see puffy sleeves long to the elbow and furbelows to the edges. The shoulders were uncovered just a little. He approached with Alter the table, staring at the female serious.

"So all this time she's suspecting us…" He thought, took a quiet deep breath and sat down. He looked at Alter, who had sat next to him and was casually smiling calmly. He didn't seem agitated at all, even after such serious revelations.

"All this time he was just playing his role? Does that mean he doesn't…" He looked at Tefra who had sat next to him. He was between her and Alter now. "… he's faking feelings? He doesn't like her but keeps pretending he's happy around her? Is this a behavioral trick? No, it can't be…" It wasn't just from stubbornness to have Alter and Tefra paired up in his mind.

Geno remembered the first time when she appeared. What he saw in Alter's look, it seemed really genuine. Even after knowing they were suspected, he kept his chill, he kept showing discreet interest in her and seemed a little happier.

"Ugh. I don't know anymore. Especially after what Alter said… In case what he said really happens on the table, just follow his instructions and we might survive that investigation in disguise." He thought in the end. The thoughts might were serious but on the outside he was smiling.

2970 words…

No other comment really. bye byeee *pat pat pat*