“I can’t wait to see the rest of it. Will it be that long?” Eri asked, indicating the timestamp.
“It will. I’ve done all the cuts and edits. I just have to get the audio from the voice actors, and it’s good to go. I want to try to do longer specials since I’m thinking of taking more time off between seasons.”
Eri nodded. Koa released an episode a week for three months, then took a month off before returning for the next season with new episodes. So, there were three seasons a year on her page.Eri knew she animated everything herself, so she didn’t blame her for wanting to take longer breaks in between.
“You definitely should. You work hard, and your fans will understand.”
Koa smiled, closing out of the video. “So, how’s Elias?”
“He’s good. I actually plan to stop in to see him when I leave here.” Eri paused before deciding to be nosy. “Are you dating, Koa?”
“Nah, I haven’t dated for a while. I spend a lot of time in this room creating, and when I’m not, I’m on my bike somewhere getting inspired.”
“Do you have your eye on anyone?”
“Not really. I mean, I find a few people attractive, but I can be a lot, and I need whoever I’m with to be able to handle me,” Koa responded, wiggling her eyebrows, and Eri laughed. “How’s business?”
“It’s been good. I’ve gotten more jobs, and I’ve noticed an increase in followers on my socials since you tagged me after announcing you had more merch available. So, thanks for that.”
“You don’t need to thank me. All I did was tag you; the work you did spoke for itself.”
Eri stayed at Koa’s for a little longer before saying goodbye and heading towardsBody Expressions. She knew Elias was there because he had four clients that day, but he should have been free at that time. She stopped and grabbed smoothies for everyone.
When she arrived, she passed out the smoothies, putting Marco’s in the refrigerator when Elias told her he was with a client before sitting in her boyfriend’s chair.
“Did you come to get a tattoo, Amate?” he joked.
“Maybe another time.”
“How was your meeting with Koa?”
“It was good,” she started. “She wanted to give me some merch, and I got a sneak peek of her upcoming special. It’s going to be forty-five minutes long. I can’t wait!” Her boyfriend chuckled at her excitement, and she glared at him playfully before changing the subject. “I found some of the cutest snowsuits while I was looking last night, and I found us matching ones.”
Eri pulled out her phone, brought up the shopping app, and went to the list she’d made for their trip to show him everything she was thinking of getting.
“Put it in the cart,” he told her as she scrolled to the bottom of the list. He pulled out his wallet and handed her his credit card.
“Which one?” she asked.
“All of it,” he replied.
Eri added them all to the cart, and a couple more she’d seen that she liked for him.
“That’s fine,” he told her when she showed him the total, without even looking at it. She didn’t question it and checked out before giving his card back to him.
“I’m going to look for flights tonight for everyone, and I’ll send a message to the group chat to let everyone know,” Eri informed them.
She would find the flight, and everyone would send her their money and information for her to book them. She’d been put in charge of flights while Avian had been tasked with accommodations for the eight of them.
Eri stayed for another half hour before kissing Elias and saying goodbye to the others before his next client came in. She headed home to start her search for flights.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
“Can you teach Javier that?” Nesiah asked as Elias ensured everything was set up for his client, who was due to come in at any minute.
He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?”
“Paying for carts without asking questions. Teach him your ways.”
