Advent Of A Gunslinger

Axel kept his tone neutral to avoid sounding unnaturally concerned. “You cool with that, Tony? World’s a dangerous place, ya know. Never know what kinda folks she could meet--even as a chef.”

“It’s funny,” he replied, “That’s the exact same thing that I said to Stella, but she managed to convince me, so I allowed it.”

The hippogriff was stunned into silence by this. The sheer concept of a minotaur child being able to overthrow their parent’s wishes just didn’t seem compatible with reality in his mind.

“Just how in the cotton’-pickin’ hell did she manage to convince her father that lettin’ her go out and shoot up folks was a good idea? That must be one strong cow…”

“Erm...that’s unbelievable.”

Tony would stare directly at Axel to make full eye contact and stare into his soul. “What? You think just because I’m a minotaur that I’d be a brutish, stubborn, bull-headed man?”

To be frank, yes. That was along the lines of what Axel had been thinking. Of course, he didn’t want to come off that way. “Wha? Naw, sir. I--”

The minotaur would let loose another hearty laugh. “Ah! I’m just messin’ with ya. But I can’t exactly be upset if ya thought about it. Most’a mah kind prefers to attack situations from a...one-track minded perspective.”

That was putting it lightly. Axel agreed in a half-hearted manner. “...I guess you could say that. To be honest, I’m just surprised to see such a relaxed, civil minotaur. All of the ones I’ve met are, well--you already said it. But what I really meant was--I’m surprised that she wanted to go out on her own and that you allowed her to. I figured that she’d be safer under the watch of her old man, yeah?”

“That’s what I thought at first. But I’ll never forget it when she explained why exactly she felt that way…”

“Pa, Ah I needta go out on mah own! Ah can’t stand workin’ here. Everybody gives me weird looks and it creeps me out on a daily basis. Ah just...Ah just wanna be able to work in peace for customers who’ll appreciate me for me and not focus on me…”

“Oh...wow.” Upon hearing this, Axel wasn’t sure what to say. “Dayum. Just how does his daughter look if she’s that hung up over her appearance? It can’t be that bad, can it?”

Tony would continue. “The more I thought about it, the more I realized that she had a point. I’d never want her to be in a situation where she felt uncomfortable ‘bout herself. And between you and me…”

Axel leaned forward to listen in more closely. At this point, he was fully captivated by the older taur’s life story. “...Hm?”

“She was right. The clientele here can be hella rough at times. Buncha disgustin’ dogies, I’ll tell ya what. Stay on yer guard, eh?”

This stallion didn’t need to be told twice. “Trust me. I’ve been here for a few hours, and I’ve already seen it first-hand how awful some folks are.”

Tony tilted his head with a concerned frown. “...Are ya certain this here ‘unfinished business’ is worth it, son? This place is full’a nonsense.”

He didn’t hesitate, and stood firm on his stance. “Trust me. I got a damn good reason to be here. It’s...for the sake of my own family.”

Silence. The minotaur couldn’t find a way to reply. He simply folded his arms and glanced down at the floor. “...So he ain’t jus’ lookin’ fer someone to screw up. Kid’s got a family he’s fightin’ for. Just like me.” “...I won’t pry, but I respect it, Remy.”

“Thank you, Tony,” he replied, “And I respect you too.”

Just then, an Abyssinian in a blue suit, thin red glasses, and a white hat would approach their table. “‘Scuse me, ya’ll. Mr. Giovanni, you’re needed downstairs as soon as possible.”

Axel’s eyes shifted towards the tomcat. Black fur. Yellow eyes. “...!!” Thanks to his mask, his seething expression was hidden as he grit his teeth.

“Ah, alright,” Tony turned to Axel once more, “It was great to speak to ya, son. Come see me again sometime and we could go fishin’, eh?”

His demeanor flipped like an internal switch. The hippogriff replied with a chuckle. “Heh-heh. Thought ya’ll didn’t eat fish.”

“We don’t,” he said as he stood up. “But it’s a great way to keep my stress down. Plus, you could eat whatever we catch.”

Axel hesitated for a second. He didn’t know how to process such an offer. “...Huh. I--thank you, sir. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The Abyssinian tom interrupted them both with a clearing of his throat. “Ahem--today, Mr. Giovanni.”

“Goodbye for now, Remy.” Tony quickly turned his attention back to the tom. “Yes, yes. Right away. I’m following you.”

The two would leave through an employees only door, which left Axel alone.

“So they’re here...which means I need to be on the move. But blend in....” He got up from his seat, and walked towards the group of various creatures that were playing a game of dominoes at a table. He sat down nearby, and started to observe as a spectator. In reality, he kept to that area because it was in the middle of the building and he could see into the other rooms with ease. His hippogriff eagle eyesight allowed him to have a clear picture of every face and body shape within the entire saloon.

“Now where are the rest of ya’ll…”

Meanwhile, downstairs...

Tony would be called into the main office where he would meet with his manager. “...Yes, sir? Is something wrong?”

His boss was a gold dragon with red scales along his chest. “What have I told you about getting involved with customers? What if that was someone who had the capacity to threaten you?”

“With all due respect, I believe I was on my break,” Tony protested the customer’s innocence, “Besides, it was just a hippogriff that wanted to have a chat with me. Nothin’ worth gettin’ worked up over. I’ll get back to work shortly.”

The dragon leaned forward on his desk. “Wait a second. Did you say hippogriff?”

The Abyssinian in the blue suit would step forward while pushing up his glasses to add his piece into the conversation. “Yes he did. I noticed him as well. I think there’s a good chance that it could be who our boss has been preparing to meet.”

“...This could get me ahead of Gatto for sure. I like it…”

Tony, now confused, would look back and forth between the tomcat and the dragon. He wasn’t aware of anyone who was supposed to be considered a threat. “Uhm…” He mumbled as he scratched his head, “Anyone care to tell me what’s happenin’ here, ya’ll?”

The tomcat let out a tiny hiss, and stood in front of him. “Hhhh. This doesn’t involve you. Don’t concern yourself with this.”

“Well that’s just rude ain’t it?” the minotaur folded his arms. He was easily twice the size of the tom, and wanted an honest answer. “Ain’t nobody taught you to respect your elders, did they?”

“....Rrrr…” The tom purred nervously. He must have completely underestimated what he just said and who he said it to.

The dragon simply chuckled to himself. “Mio...calm yourself. You’ll get your chance to act soon enough. Don’t waste it upon our most valuable chef.”

“Hmph,” Mio would lean against the nearby wall in silence.

“Anyway, Tony,” the dragon continued, “I apologize for that, Tony. You can get back to your break.”

“Yup. I don’t regret letting Stella get away from here one bit.” The minotaur relaxed with a huff. “Understood.” With that, he left the room.

Once they verified his thunderous hoofsteps had faded away from earshot, the two would start another discussion.

Mio was first. “If he’s here, then we need to get started. If we can get him to work for us, then that’ll serve as a valuable asset, Sir Rongu.”

The Flaming Soul

“Ya think? Wrangle me that hippogriff so we can move up the ranks, Mio. Don’t disappoint me, now.”

“You know what I always say,” the tomcat reached into his pocket, “My hand never folds.”

The Deckmaster

Topside, in the main hall of the saloon…

Axel continued to keep a careful observation of the entire room. There were a lot of skilled domino, darts, poker, and old maid players around, but no other sign of any black furred-yellow eyed catfolk.

“This ain’t workin’. Should I just git after that one tom I saw? Gotta find a way to get into the employee room…”

As if the heavens reached out to him, something would come to pass. From the corner of his eagle eye, he could see the Abyssinian from before, Gatto, had entered the saloon along with Kora.

“The hell in tarnation?” Axel thought to himself, “Just what are they doin’ here together?” As much as he wanted to act, he knew that it’d be too great a risk with all of the other assorted patrons around. There was no way to tell who was on Gatto’s side and who wasn’t. “Dammit. Better wait this out…”

From what he noticed, Gatto and Kora would head through to the employee’s only door just as the other tom did earlier. What went on behind that door was left entirely up to one’s imagination.

SHCK!

“Hm?” Axel could’ve sworn he heard something whizz past his head. He looked around, and found a playing card on the floor beside him. An Ace of Spades. “Where’d this come from?” He picked it up, but started to smell something...rancid. His mask kept him from choking, but his eyes started to water heavily from the grody, acidic stench on the card. “Blech...what the…?!”

He dropped it immediately, and rushed to one of the nearby restrooms. Despite the very old-town look of the rest of the place, the restroom was actually spotless. The only place in the whole building that appeared to be so. But one good look in the mirror later, and Axel found that his eyes were bloodshot--as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep in weeks. “What in the goddamn--?”

Click.

“Hands in the sky...Remington.”

With no way out, Axel would hold his claws upward. “Shit. Gotta think fast. I need to--”

WHAP!

A quick, hefty pistol-whip to the neck sent the hippogriff down and out instantly.

Mio holstered his weapon, and squatted down to look at the unconscious gunslinger. “...How I wish I could kill you. But you’d do better as a work horse anyway.”