The orange dragoncat reached for her coat. Her hand hesitated.
“Your day of birth was January 9th, right?”
“Yes… you remember that? I am surprised.”
Iliana flinched. Joe shook his head.
Would it kill you to not be brutally straightforward sometimes?
The poor woman grabbed the bottle from the table and gulped the liquid down. The entire bottle went from being full to being weightless within a second flat.
Such heroic action cost Iliana more than her composure - the drink was potent enough to beat a health fee out of her. Her body bent forward, twitching. The sounds of painful coughing reached the parapet where Joe hid.
“You alright?!”
To Xander’s credit, he jumped up and dashed to Iliana immediately after Joe heard the first cough. The quartermaster reached his hand for her chest and held Iliana in place.
At least no one can point fingers at him for being inconsiderate.
The orange dragoncat straightened herself. Her eyes reflected the bright fire from nearby lamps.
Xander nodded with satisfaction and moved away.
Iliana’s hand didn’t let him slip from her grasp that easily.
Joe grinned. The delightful image of his quartermaster acting like a teen, who was called to a classroom board without finished homework, delivered him a great load of fun. Even if he could do nothing but watch, this free performance was well worth the time wasted.
Right now, the man below stuck in an awkward pose. Xander’s eyes darted around. Joe felt with every cell in his body just how much his ‘teacher’ was ready to dash away at the first opportunity.
There was only one thing the hunter had to do - go in for the kill.
Iliana kept the quartermaster’s hand on her chest. She stared down; her mouth twitched. Her other hand gripped Xander’s shoulder so tightly, Joe worried for a moment that the woman might break it.
Joseph wished he had a hammer. The tension was thicker than a wall of glass.
Come on, you can do it! Just one word - nay, two! Or no words at all, just grab his face, damn it!
A minute passed.
Another minute passed.
Joe facepalmed. Neither party moved an inch.
Finally, one of them stirred. Iliana released Xander’s hand while keeping another one on his shoulder.
“Look, Zan, I…” she began. Her voice shook worse than an ocean ship during a storm. “I… wanted…”
She pulled out an emblem from her inner pocket. Joe focused and discerned the image of scales on it.
The quartermaster froze in place.
“It is very late, but… Zan?… What is wrong?…”
Xander twitched. He ripped himself out of Iliana’s grasp, all while staring at the emblem with a predatory expression.
“Huh, that took a turn for the worse…” Joe mumbled to himself.
The emblem was a problem and he had to get rid of it fast, while the quartermaster was distracted still. Joe scanned the area around the terrace. The roof of the building he refused to climb minutes before showed up to the left of the tavern.
The plan formed itself in haste.
*****
Fire.
…Such a beautiful element, isn’t it?
Not when you drown in it.
Screams and shadows merged together into a distant abomination.
They didn’t come for him.
They came for someone else…
“Zan! What’s wrong?!”
The eyes, filled with blood…
The rope…
His claws impaled his own face.
“Zan!!”
Something fell from above.
Xander’s instincts saved his life.
His body twitched away. The human figure, covered in black, landed on the floor near the table. His eyes grazed the side of the face, hidden by a hood.
He saw a gas mask.
The figure grabbed the emblem from the table, bolted to the edge of the terrace and jumped over the fence.
Xander shook his head. The dizziness retreated.
“Zan, you alright?!”
He felt his ribs screaming in protest from the tight hug.
“I am fine, I am fine! I am alright… Sorry, Iliana…”
She released him. Xander inhaled.
“Wait, the emblem!…”
The orange rhevalian gasped and made a sharp turn-around on her heels.
They both dashed to the fence at the edge of the terrace.
The green light from fireworks illuminated nearby buildings, kicking away gloomy shadows. Xander inspected every possible inch and meter within his vision.
But the thief hid quite well.
“Damn it…” He heard his partner muttering. “Oh… maybe it’s for the best…”
He didn’t like the melancholic feeling in her voice.
Who would even be bold (or crazy) enough to steal anything near the ‘Rattlebones’? Who would risk summoning the wrath of people, who have no love for such blasphemous action as sharing the stuff they ‘own’, but would very much grab anything that isn’t melded into a floor?
Why the emblem?
Xander grimaced.
Ghastly Wail. Always a disappointment.
The flap of a black coat dived behind a corner at the far edge of his vision.
“I saw him!”
He vaulted over the fence and landed on the roof below.
Iliana jumped down right after him, but Xander didn’t have time to wait.
He leaped onto the wooden hut across the alleyway.
The yellow light filled the skies. The figure ran underneath the archway at the Kon’jar statue, ignoring the crowd around the Deity.
Chasing the thief on the land would be a waste of time. The quartermaster remembered the streets like he remembered the criminal laws of the Empire - flawlessly.
He gauged the distance between houses.
He pushed himself off with his right leg.
His fingers grabbed the ledge of the building across. Xander pulled himself up.
Now he had an advantage. This building served as a warehouse for Left Market organizers and as such, was taller than any house around it.
Alleyways would not be able to hide the mysterious assailant for long. The western side of Ghastly Wail couldn’t brag about having as many houses as the eastern side could.
He saw his target.
The figure ran behind one of the nearby buildings, usually reserved for stores. Xander grinned.
This mouse had only two ways to escape now.
He jumped down from the third floor, safely rolled on the ground, stood up and crossed his arms. The thief laughed, recovering from the shock in less than a second.
“That was a good jump!”
The face of the figure hid behind a gas mask. The voice was coming out as distorted and muted for the very same reason, but the quartermaster found it to be vaguely familiar…
The man raised his arm. Xander put his hand on the belt.
The emblem darted through the air, launched with a flick of a finger. The dragoncat swung his arm and snatched the item.
The carved scales sent shivers through his body. He closed his palm shut.
The thief was standing there still, tapping his foot.
Did he not care at all? And why did he give him the emblem back?
“...What is the meaning of this?”
The man shrugged.
“You know, Xander… Ralf had the right idea about you. Have you ever considered such simple things as… relaxing? Going with a flow?”
“Wha-?!”
“Well, quartermaster… Is it that hard to return some attention once in a while?”
Xander shook his head. That voice was definitely familiar.
He glanced at the equipment of the mysterious person. In the darkness of the night, it would be a taxing task, even with the full moon. He praised his ancestors for the natural night vision his species shared.
The identity of the thief was an unexpected one.
“...Joe, what in the void are you doing?”
He tried to sound wrathful, but his tone came out more bewildered than anything.
His reckless student scratched the neck underneath the mask.
“I am committed.”
That didn’t make any sense.
“Committed to what?”
“Committed to help you, so spend your time properly, Xander. Have you ever considered why Iliana asked for a drink?”
He didn’t need to hear that. He didn’t want to hear that.
“Oi, quartermaster?”
This gray wall looked very interesting. Hey, a crack!
“Xander! What the hell is wrong with you?!”
He had no idea why Joe shouted at him, using obscure mythological places, but he wasn’t going to break that easily.
“Why can’t you just answer this poor woman?!”
“It’s not like I didn’t want to!”
His mouth acted before his brain did.
Joseph tilted his head and put his hands into pockets.
“What’s the problem, then?”
“Our life is too dangerous for that kind of commitment, you idiot!”
His student chuckled.
“Then just spend one good night with her or reject her on spot once and for all, what’s the issue?”
Xander sharply inhaled. He felt his fingers twitch.
Joseph wasn’t wrong. And it was making it all the more irritating.
His first proposition, however…
The dragoncat peered at the Moon. The reddish eye in the sky illuminated them with its serene silver light. He heard a song of distant explosions, with gunshots, fireworks, and hardened men of steel themselves doing their best to shake Ghastly Wail up and keep the mood festive in the name of the greatest clown. The first-ever clown to rule and save the Empire.
Everybody was having fun. Why couldn’t he?
…He did like Iliana. He wasn’t going to deny it.
But whenever it was time to act, he would do everything to avoid the next step.
The mask stared at him, arms crossed.
What was Joseph’s plan? Just lure him away to read a lecture?
“...How did you even get up there?”
“Where?” Joe froze for a second. “Oh, the wall? That was easy… wait, don’t change the subject on me!”
The sound of a powerful explosion reached them. They turned their heads in the direction of the Kon’jar statue.
The laughter and screams caught up with them shortly after.
Joe pointed his thumb at the sky.
“It’s the perfect night, quartermaster! You get to spend some quality time with a girl, acquire the ability to shut Ralf up whenever he would try to rile you up about the subject, enjoy… what was it… Mad Festival or whatever, and finally, just take a long break after several months of work, just like normal people do! What’s not to like?”
The Mad Festival would take three days anyway, including this one. He would have enough time for all of that and more. But even then…
Ralf… he would never be able to live his life the same hedonist way as the cook aspires to.
Drinks? Once in a while is more than enough.
Sleeping around? Whenever this topic comes up, it always feels weird...
Gold and glory? As long as he earns enough to live…
Guns? If they work, he is fine with anything.
Fire…
He shut his mouth.
Underneath the silver light, the black shadow of Joseph remained, waiting. The man they picked up barely five days ago.
Just five days ago…
This little rascal!…
His student turned his head in the direction of the tavern. Then he made a couple of steps back, keeping his hand in his pocket.
“Well, quartermaster, I hope you have a good night ahead! Think about what I’ve said!”
The hasty declaration set the confusion in Xander’s mind.
The orange fur blitzed across the street.
Xander realized what was going to happen and dashed forward, hoping to grab Joe before the small round object hits the ground.
