Advent Of A Gunslinger

Outside on the fairgrounds…

“...Namaste, Lord Chang,” Kora smugly purred while bowing before the monkey prince in the labcoat, “How may I serve you today?”

A few minotaur gals nearby giggled from the sight, causing Chang’s glasses to fog up as he lifted her off of the ground with his tail. “Tíngzhǐ. Tíngzhǐ…” he muttered ‘stop’ in his native language while cringing from embarrassment, “Why must you do this? There is no need for this.”

Kora purred even more as she landed on her feet, and threw her arms around him for a close hug. “Oh you know I mean no harm. Friends tend to tease each other sometimes, yes?”

Chang rolled his eyes and replied, “Well you better be ready for the day I tease you, pussy.”

Moments later, Celaeno walked up to them while noting the change of scenery. “Well…the cowgirls really know how to put a party together.” She looked at Kora and asked, “Oh, by the way. Is Remington around? There’s something important he needs to know.”

“...Is it something urgent?” Kora dropped the tone she carried a few moments ago in exchange for a more subdued one. “Did something happen while you were out sailing through the air?”

“Not exactly to us--rather, it’s what we’ve…picked up from the information pipeline. Apparently one of those diamond dogs you dealt with was a hellhound--an undead canine pyromaniac.”

“Is that so?” Kora mused, wondering who exactly could have been the hellhound in that group, “Hrm…it all sounds very suspicious.”

“Whatever the case, you’d do good to watch your tails,” Chang warned her, “You never know who could harbor a grudge and return with a vengeance…”

Moments later, Roseanne made an appearance, looking at the monkey prince specifically. “Yo, Chang. We need yer help back at the manor. It’s Vido. He needs some psyche-help.”

“...I did dabble a tad in psychology, so I suppose I might be of some use,” Chang nodded in response, prepared to take off, “I’ll go see him. Please show me to his room, Rose.”

“Thanks. See ya later, ya’ll,” Rose replied as she left the area with Chang.

“...Vido, huh?” Celaeno muttered under her breath, “I hope he’s okay…maybe I should go see him later…”

One of Kora’s ears twitched in response to that statement from the bird woman. “Hmhm…I see where your priorities lie, Captain,” she said with a teasing cat-grin.

“W..what? No I’m…I’ve got loads of things on my mind,” Celaeno shook her head with an annoyed trill. “Uch. Don’t look at me like that--”

Kora giggled and backed off. “Don’t worry, I’m merely teasing. It’s a nice method of casting banter between friends. In the meantime…” From the corner of her eye, she spotted the red-headed gunslinger. “Oh, speak of the devil. Lord Remington is here now.”

“Oh, good,” the bird woman looked over and waved her claw in the air to get his attention, “Sir Remington! Mind sparing me a moment of your time, please?”

The hippogriff made his way over and replied, “Howdy. What seems to be the problem?”

One quick explanation later…

“Hm…” Axel thought it over to himself. “So someone ain’t dead. Yeah, no doubt about it. Next time, all bets are off. I’m killin’ ‘em all with no one left behind.” Then he spoke aloud. “Gotcha. So we need’ta watch our asses to ensure we don’t get fucked up when we least expect.”

“Please do,” Celaeno added, “You never know who could be burned by such an attack and desire revenge on you and those around you…”

“Oh don’t you worry, I know what that feels like,” Axel replied with a rather neutral expression, “They can do as they damn well please. I’ll still put ‘em all in the dirt.”

“Hmph,” she raised a brow, noting his steadfast demeanor. “Unflappable as usual aren’t you, Remington? I wonder how long that’ll last you.”

In return, Axel shot her a rather judgemental stare, clearly put off by what she said. “To the grave. To make it in this here profession, ya need’ta be able’ta fight on without nothin’ holdin’ ya back or distractin’ ya--”

All the sudden, he caught a whiff of something. Something sweet that filled the air and stole his attention from the topic at hand.

“...Daisy dukes--what in the hay is that?” he turned his head in the direction of one of the many food stands, and started walking--much to the amusement of the bird lady and she-cat.

“Aaaand there he goes,” Celaeno sighed into her claw, “Do you have any idea what’s up with him?”

“He’s been on the road for far too long,” Kora replied with a flick of her tail as she sniffed the air, “A good, homecooked dish is lost on him and is something that captivates his soul. You’re lucky--Roseanne is always there for you in this regard.”

Celaeno had to concede. Kora made a good point regarding the fact that she was so used to the smell of fresh food, and that the gunslinger wasn’t. The bird lady watched as Axel approached one of the food stands with an oddly wide smile on his face, talking to a minotaur woman about the fruit cobblers she was offering.

“...Huh. Point taken. I wonder how he’s managed to live this long…”

“Through sheer willpower,” Kora purred, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to partake in some of those pastries.” With that, she sauntered off, under the spell of the beautiful scents of various baked goods.

Meanwhile, Celeano looked in the direction of the manor. “Vido…are you okay?”