Arcadia blinks and looks at me. "A cat?"

I take a bite out of the apple I’m holding, and a trickle of its juice runs down my chin as I hold it out to her. “Mhm,” I say, with a cheek full. “For our home. When we’re all done adventuring and we can settle down.”

A faint blush grows across her nose as I talk about settling down. But then she shakes her head, and reaches out to take the apple, "No, we need a dog. A massive fluffy dog," she says, before taking a small bite of it.

I smirk, and roll my eyes. “I should have known you were a dog person.”

The sun is near its zenith now, and there isn’t a single cloud in the great blue sky. We’re walking side by side through the busy streets of Aleria, its folk making a wide berth for us as we pass. Most likely because I’m armed to the teeth, but also, I imagine, because we’re Ecean. And Alerians don’t take kindly to Eceans lately. What a perfect time to visit.

Arcadia gives me a sideways glance and says, "Cats are cute, but I don't want a pet that has to stop and consider the merits of saving my life or not."

“Saving your life is what I’m for,” I say, as I give her a playful bump with my elbow. “Dogs have to be trained, fed, walked. And you can’t leave them alone in the house overnight.”

She giggles when I bump her, and she tries to bump me back, but she doesn't have the mass to nudge me. "They can too, in an emergency. And while they might need to be trained, they won't claw me for petting them."

I hold out my hand for the apple, and when she gives it to me I take a big chomp out of its side. Arcadia pouts a little at the size of the bite I just took, so I quickly toss it back to her while I’m chewing. A young man bumps Arcadia as he passes us in the opposite direction, and I glance at her coin purse. Still there. Good.

“That’s part of the charm of a cat though, isn’t it?” I say. “A cat doesn’t always want attention. They want it when they want it. That’s personality. It feels more like true affection to me.”

"Are you saying my affection's not true if I want it from you all the time?"

That makes me raise an eyebrow. I put on a sultry grin, and throw a little extra hip-sway in my walk.

“It’s not your fault I’m irresistible.”

I can tell she was ready to glare at me, but instead a peal of laughter comes out of her. “Sh-shut up!”

I keep up the act for a few more paces, but her laugh is too infectious. Now I’m laughing also, tugging her in for a kiss that, while brief, sends a bolt of pleasant energy down my spine.

We spend a while just smiling goofily at each other, sharing that apple, as we follow Suduk Za-Ziqni’s directions to get to the slums. There’s the red roofed restaurant he told us about, we take a left turn here. Then comes the plaza with the tall obelisk in the center, this is where we turn right. Then the buildings close in on the street as it narrows, and becomes a slight uphill climb.

Before long it’s rather obvious we’ve reached the slums. Ancient structures stand partly restored, crumbled archways and windows covered by threadbare rugs. Rickety shanties built of bone-dry wood slump against each other like drunkards, leaning on one another for support. Everyone’s eyes are on us as we pass, but it doesn’t phase me.

“I like cats because they feel more like partners than pets,” I say. “They’re always around. They come get their affection when they want it, and when they don’t, they do their own thing. It’s… Ambient companionship. Like living with a friend. Just a little one, who meows.”

Arcadia pouts. “Dogs can be partners too. A dog will protect you, they’ll hunt with you. Dogs worry about your safety. And they’re not dumb animals, you can train a dog to do almost anything.”

“You don’t have to train a cat to bury its own waste,” I reply, with a smirk.

“How could you even train a cat at all? Can a cat be taught to do even half the things a dog can?”

“It’s settled then,” I say.

She blinks, gives me a sidelong glance. “It is?”

“Mhm. We’ll get a cat and a dog.”

Arcadia smirks at me. Then she reaches out and slips her hand into mine. “Sounds good.”

We walk along, hand in hand for a few minutes more, when the object of our quest comes into view. Thirteen Coins. According to Suduk it’s one of the oldest taverns in Aleria, even though it was originally a church, somewhere back in antiquity. It shows in the design. The building sports minarets in the corners, and has a great pointed dome for a roof. Red silken drapes hang from its arched entryway, and when I gently push them aside to let Arcadia enter before me, we find ourselves in a dark common room.

Hookah smoke fills the air. A pair of musicians, one strumming a sitar, the other tapping a drum with his fingertips, sit off in a corner of the room. People lounge on divans and ornate rugs, drinking wine and eating honeyed dates. A dark haired belly dancer stands in the center of a ring of onlookers, her body undulating hypnotically, putting a spell on them. I expect people to stop and stare at the foreigners who just stepped through their door, but to my surprise, they don’t seem overly interested in us.

It isn’t immediately apparent who we should talk to. This place doesn’t have a bar, nor are there obvious servants waiting on the patrons. I look over at Arcadia, who seems to be about as puzzled as I am, and when our eyes meet she shrugs.

But as it turns out, we don’t have to look for someone to question. Someone emerges from a back room and makes her way through the crowd toward us, a girl with a veil over her nose and mouth, wearing silky black robes that match her hair.

“Arcadia the Sorceress,” she says, when she stands before us. “We have been waiting for you.”

That makes Arcadia’s eyes widen. “You’ve been waiting for me?”

The change in her eyes makes me think she’s smiling under that veil. “Come. Zasalamel will see you now.”