Advent Of A Gunslinger

Both Kora and Axel’s hearts nearly leapt from their chests when they saw the spread of food on that table. There were three separate cooking trays in which they could grab food from. The first: An anglerfish ravioli casserole. The second: A tray of fried shrimp. The third: Cornbread.

Cassy appeared from within her kitchen, and had set drinks on the table as her guests entered. “Ah. You’re all here. I-I know it’s not much, but I wanted to make ya all somethin’ nice. I know ya haven’t had a good meal in a while so…”

“Positively ambrosial!” Kora purred happily, “I’ve never seen such amazing food before! Thank you so much, my lady!”

Axel had to agree. “...Hell yeah. I’m right with her. I ain’t seen a good’un like this in forever.”

“Oh thank ya, darlin’s!” The griffon had a pitcher in her claw, but had to ask a question first. “But first--Miss Kora, yeah? Mind tellin’ me how old ya are?”

“I’m twenty-four, madam. Though I can’t blame you for such a question--we abyssinians age at a different rate physically. Some of us, like myself, don’t grow much taller than the average pony.”

With the knowledge that the she-cat was of drinking age, Cassy would continue. “Goodie. I got hard iced tea for all of ya! Ol’ family recipe!” She set glasses down next to each plate at the table, and filled them with the refreshing, brown, icy drink from the pitcher. After that, she invited them to the table to sit, and they all did.

Both Kora and Axel made sure to have their fill, after which, Vido would get some food for himself followed by his mother last. The opinion of every dish was unanimous.

“...Hot-diggity-dog!” Axel proclaimed, “This here be some’a the best food I ever dun had, I tell you what.”

“Yes, he’s quite correct,” Kora added, “Never before have I tasted such wonders of the world.”

Vido would speak up on behalf of his mother who had lied down on the couch nearby. “It helps that we’re all fish-eaters, eh? Thanks, mama.”

The older griffon yawned. “...Ahhh...no problem, sweetie. You and your friends deserved it.”

“...Your ma looks tired,” Axel noted the state of the griffon between bites, “She gon’ be alright?”

“Ay, mama always gets like this,” Vido sighed, “But she always says that she’s more than capable and wants me to follow my dreams.”

Kora gave a sighing purr. “Awwwr...how cute. It sounds like she’s very supportive of you and doesn’t want her to bog you down. That must be nice…”

Vido was able to read into her words fairly easily. He felt that now was as good a time as any to ask such a question. “...Is your family not as close?” he asked.

Axel shot the young griffon a glare in response. “...Vido. Don’t trouble the little lady.”

“No, no. It’s a perfectly valid inquiry,” Kora spoke up. “And I feel that it is important for my new allies to get to know me. So...yeah. In a tootin’ nutshell, Maxine--Mynx and I were both orphans. We sort of just...found each other on the streets of Klugetown one day, and decided to stick together ever since.”

“...I see,” Vido replied with a frown. “Your hermana is mega-close to you. Which is why you both try to take care of each other. I feel that. Wish I could have been a bit closer to mi padre.”

Kora took a sip from her glass, and paused. “...Mm? What happened to him?”

“He’s...been dead for a while now. No idea how it happened. But I don’t want you to go through the same thing, gata.”

Axel offered his own perspective as well. “Damn straight. I ain’t gon’ letcha lose yer loved one like that. As soon as we stock up on ammo, we’re headin’ back out there first thing tomorrah mornin’.”

“I’m with him,” Vido added, “What say you, Señorita Kora?”

“I…” After being alone and on the streets for so long, she never thought she would have any support from anyone. In Klugetown, it truly was every creature for themselves. Or so she thought. As it turned out, that wasn’t the case at all. She had folks who she could depend on now. “Whether or not we can truly win against such a massive gang...I am still hella grateful for them both. May they receive just as much fortune in the future.” She finished her thoughts, and gave a verbal answer. “...I accept your assistance, gentlemen. May we reach into the darkness and retrieve our success.”

While Axel was happy to see Kora happy, he was also uncertain. “...Once we save her, that’s it between us. Can’t afford no more close relations endin’ in disaster. I likely got the attention of every major crime lord in the cotton-pickin’ area. Ain’t gon let these nice folks get wrapped up in that. So once they’re safe here, I’mma hightail it right into the sunset before anyone notices. No emotional damage and no sobbin’ goodbyes.”

Vido meanwhile, didn’t have a very complex thought process on the situation. “WHOO! This is gonna be supremo exciting! Cannot wait to help out my new amigos.” He was simply glad to be able to help them both--especially Axel who initially came off as rather cold. Granted, he still didn’t fully understand the gunslinger, but he was more than willing to try.

After they finished their meal, Vido cleared their plates, and washed their dishes. Cassy would arrive at the dining room table, and begin a discussion about what the three had planned for their expedition back into Klugetown.

“Alright, babies. Now whatchu gon’ do when you all get down there, hm?”

That’s when Axel placed down something on the table. “I have a map that Mynx gave me when we first met. It gives us a general overview of everything in that place. We can use it to figure out where everything is.”

Kora pointed to a central location on the map near the entrance of Klugetown. “Here. This is where Mynx lives. She’s likely going to be heavily guarded until the day of her execution to make sure she doesn’t try and off herself.”

Vido looked over to the map. It didn’t have any landmarks featured on it, so it demanded that one have a capable memory to figure out where to go next. “Hrm...there are multiple angles to approach this from. We could easily go at it from the air.”

“Ain’t gon’ work,” Axel interjected, “They likely gon’ be prepared this time with explosives or somethin’. Wouldn’t want your vessel to go up in flames, kiddo.”

“...He’s got a point,” Vido thought to himself, “Papa and I built the Albatross together and named it after him…” He responded aloud with a nod, “Alright. So then what should we do?”

“Might I suggest a subtle approach?” Kora offered her input, “We can touch down in Vid’s airship about a mile away and hoof it the rest of the way. Then I can storm the building and get her out. You two can provide backup from the air since you both can fly. There’s not much they can do to counter aerial targets that are also nimble.”

“Sounds simple enough to work,” said the griffon as he turned to Axel for input, “How about you, Señor Remington?”

The hippogriff nodded. “I don’t see no problems with it. This is Lady Ying’s sister after all--she deserves to be in control.”

“...T-thank y-you both,” Kora stumbled over her words and had to adjust her glasses, “I never would have expected anyone to help us out of this in such a way.”

“It ain’t no trouble, little lady,” Axel assured her, “Though, if I could make one addition to the plan...I’d like to fly above the area and catch a glimpse of what we’ll be dealin’ with before we get our claws dirty.”

Vido leaned forward with concern plastered on his face. “...But won’t they recognize you if you do that?”

Axel shook his head, and gestured his index claw towards himself. “Nah. They all ain’t gon’ recognize me without my gear on. Plus, I intend to stay high in the air so the ones who have seen me gearless won’t be able to. I’m part-pegasus so I can rest on clouds and whatnot.”

“Ohhhh. That makes sense. You do look rather different without your weapons and armor.”

The she-cat purred with a giggle. “...I have to agree. You visage brings to mind an appearance of an experienced hippogriff professor with a scar. If I may be so bold, I’d say you’re quite handsome.”

“...Thanks, I guess?” Axel wasn’t entirely sure how to take a compliment on his appearance. He wore his gunslinger attire almost all the time while he was out and about. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time someone saw his real self beneath the mask and stetson. “But ya’ll are both far better-lookin’,” he addressed them both to deflect it.

“Ay, gracias,” Vido licked the back of his claw, and slicked his head-feathers back, “Mama calls me an angel, but I’m not entirely sure how true that is. No one’s ever looked at me as anything more than a chico.”

“We come on now,” Kora tried to encourage them. “I’m sure someone out there will find you both attractive.”

“Yeah I ain’t bettin’ on it,” Axel thought, “In fact, the less who are interested in me, the better. I don’t want no one involved with me.”

The three would enjoy each other’s company for as long as they were able. Cassy had also granted them access to her spare ammunition cache just in case they needed it. They wanted to make sure that they were as prepared as possible for the worst.

Meanwhile, at the Klugetown Saloon…

“An extended weekend? Are you sure?” Tony asked his dragon boss.

The gold dragon replied with his sharp-toothed grin on display. “Of course, Tony. You’ve been working so hard for us that you deserve a bit of a break. Go on--you have today as well as the weekend off to relax. You’ve earned it.”

The minotaur had to think about it for a moment. But he did come to the conclusion that it had been a long while since he had any time to himself. After all, he was the most influential cook in the restaurant side of the saloon, so he readily accepted. “You know what? I think I’ll take you up on that, Mr. Rongu.”

“Excellent,” said the dragon as they shook hands, “We’ll see you next week.”

As soon as Tony left the room, Mio stepped out from behind the door to the officer.

“Well then,” he purred, “Sounds as if you have a soft spot for the old gent.”

Rongu scoffed. “You think I want the bad karma from getting an innocent minotaur involved in something he shouldn’t? The gods would strike us both down.”

Mio couldn’t argue with that. But there was still a regretful tensity behind those yellow eyes of his. “...Here’s hoping he stays out of trouble. We wouldn’t want his daughter to shoot our faces off.”

“That little bessie? Come now, Mio--you’re overthinking things as always. Just make sure we have that lady abyssinian on the ropes. That way we can be ahead of Gatto and whatever the hell his wacky group thinks they’re capable of.”

“No matter what happens, it’s important to keep an ace up one’s sleeve.” An Ace of Hearts appeared from within his coat, and at his fingertips. “Remember that, sir.”

“Just to be safe, call on that little birdie of yours. We could use its eyes to spot what’s coming.”

The card suddenly turned into a single sunflower seed that the tom pinched between his fingertips. “Already one step ahead of you, sir.”