Advent Of A Gunslinger

Meanwhile, back in Milk Ranch…

Captain Celaeno had given everyone extra time to complete this mission. There was no need to rush back since her vessel would be docked there for as long as they needed to be. And it was a good thing, too. Axel’s battle with the minotaurs and Roseanne’s scuffle with the abyssinians alongside her allies had left them all quite tired.

The sun had started to set over the horizon.

Chang had taken it upon himself to grant aid to Martha’s infirmary and assist with medical attention on the desk lady minotaur who had nearly been drowned in the closet mop bucket, as well as the three minotaurs who had suffered from the curse that made them go crazy.

Meanwhile, Axel, Kora, Vido, and Roseanne would sit at a table in the restaurant area adjacent to the front lobby--to its right. The gunslinger had explained to them what had happened since he touched down there. Everything from after his time with Clarabelle all the way up to when they showed up to assist. He had also managed to retrieve all of his gear from the room he had with Clarabelle--though he didn’t put any of it on due to how tired he was.

“...And that’s about the long and short of it,” said the gunslinger, finishing his description of the events that had transpired in the last few hours.

“Oh my...that sounds dreadful,” Kora mumbled with a purr, “Are you alright, Lord Remington?”

“Yeah…” Axel rubbed his claw against his head, “Feel like I need a bit’a hair of the dog, but I’m otherwise okay. That damn trinket Martha had...wonder what that was about.”

Vido breathed a sigh of relief. “Ay. I’m just glad you’re safe, mi amigo. I’d be crushed if something happened to you.”

“Indeed,” Kora added, “It’s quite a relief to see you well. Both of you.” She looked over in Roseanne’s direction.

The blonde minotaur gal had fallen asleep with her cowboy hat covering her face. Completely unresponsive.

“...No good, gata,” Vido poked the minotaur, “She’s out like a wet match in a dark cave.”

“Oh don’tchya’ll worry,” a voice said from nearby.

The trio turned to witness Clarabelle approaching the table wearing an apron.

Axel was the first to respond. “Ms. Clara? Everything alright?”

“Mm-hmm!” she nodded with her usual smile as she clasped her hands together, down in front of her waist, “To thank you all for protecting her Manor and all of us, Martha is willing’ta grant ya’ll a stay in our guest rooms as well as food. Prepared by yours truly!”

“Well I can’t say no to that!” Vido cheered, “Gracias señorita Clarita!”

“I concur,” Kora agreed, “I haven’t exactly partaken myself in minotaur cuisine before, so I would appreciate it.”

Before Axel could say anything, Clarabelle would speak to him. “Oh and, Madam Martha actually wants’ta speak to ya and make ya a meal herself. So if you’ll be so kind as to follow me,” she looked at the she-cat and griffon, “And I’ll be back to make you two something nice right after.”

Axel was a mix of shocked and excited. Just what could the elder faun want with him at this hour? It was getting late, after all. “Hmm…”

Kora would offer some words of encouragement. “Go on. I know you must want to speak with her if she knows anything at all about your father.”

“That’s right,” Vido added, his voice calm and solemn, “If I had any leads of info towards mi papa, I’d take it. Go on, Axel. That’s something important that you should go ahead and tackle while you have the chance. You don’t want to waste it.

That was the first time since he had met the griffon where he heard him speak in a more serious tone. Maybe it would be worth it after all? “...They’re both right. I need to see this through.”

He would accept Clarabelle’s offer, and stand up. “Alright then. Lead the way, Ms. Clara.”

The minotaur would take Axel through the same hallway as before, and towards a flight of stairs that led up to the second floor. Along the way, the cow woman would make small talk.

“So...those are your friends, huh?” she asked.

Axel was hesitant to answer. “...Somethin’ like that.”

“I see…” she turned up the next set of stairs, “Well, I hope you remember what we discussed. There’s no need to force yourself into isolation. You can still maintain those connections and be strong, okay?”

“...I follow, ma’am,” the gunslinger replied quietly, “I’ll do my best to make sure none of them get hurt. Much less kick the bucket.”

“Well...it’s a start.” Clarabelle thought, “Can’t expect him’ta change right away. I just hope that he understands that he isn’t alone in this world.”

Clarabelle led Axel all the way through the hallway of the second floor. Eventually, they would both stop at a single, purple door at the end of the hallway with a golden nameplate near the top that read, ‘Martha’, indicating that this was her room.

“Alright, this is it,” said the minotaur, “Go on ahead and knock. I gotta get back downstairs and work on the food for your friends, okay?”

Axel nodded. “Understood, Ms. Clara. You have yourself a swell evenin’ now.”

She placed her hand on his mane and gave him an affectionate rub on the head. “I will! You too!” With that, she walked away, and returned to the first floor.

Axel would then turn his attention to the purple door in front of him. After a quick deep breath, the hippogriff would knock gently upon the door three times.

It took a minute, but he would once again hear the faun’s crabby voice; she was a bit muffled from behind the door. “Is that you, Remington boy? Shit, he’s a bit early…”

“...Everythin’ alright?” he asked.

Her voice drew closer from beyond the door. “Yeah, yeah--just hang on a spell.” With a few clicks and turns, sounds of the door being unlocked could be heard from the other side until finally… “Good. Yer here,” she mumbled with a fresh cigarette between the fingers of her left hand, “Get on in here, boy.”

Martha had on a purple bathrobe that accentuated her form just like her suit did. However, unlike her suit from earlier, this robe was loosely fitted. Her ample bust had almost no sag and stayed perfectly parallel to the floor. Despite her age, she clearly hadn’t lost any of her beauty..

Axel was so impressed that he had to stop and look at her for a second. “...Is this Madam really that old?”

With her right hand, she snapped her fingers to get his attention, and took another puff from her cigarette. “Hey, boy. You gonna gawk all night or what? You ain’t seen’a woman’s body before or somethin’?”

The snap had caught his attention. “Oh, uh…” He blinked, and shook off his state of distraction. “That’s not it at all, Madam. Sorry.”

Martha turned, and stepped inside. “Close and lock the door behind ya. I got some things I wanna discuss that are for your ears only, Ax.”

His ears only. Whatever it was, it was important. Axel quickly locked the door to her room back, and turned to look at the interior of her abode.

“...Damn.”

Martha’s residence was fitted with the finest, mahogany hardwood floors. An area rug lied in the middle of the room that was made out of a bear’s pelt. On top of that sat two, gold-gilded accent chairs, and a couch on the opposite side closest to him. Said couch was a shade of pearlescent cyan with a carbon fiber texture that looked similar to dragon scales. In the midst of all this was a coffee table carved entirely out of solid, red ruby crystal with a few magazines and flowers on top. There was also a fireplace burning some wood, and above that on the mantle were several photographs and small trinkets.

“Hm?” Axel’s ear flicked, and he turned his head forward. At the far end of the living room, a phonograph was softly playing some jazz music on a record. It was a smooth tune, mainly accompanied by saxophone, horns, and bass. “Oh wow. Ain’t seen one’a these in a hot minute.”

Sizzzzzle…

Then he heard something else: The sound of food being fried. But not just any food, the scent in the air was of meat. Mainly chicken.

“...Wait a sec. She’s cookin’ meat? Is that fer me?”

To the right of where he stood was a kitchen. The faun woman had exchanged her bathrobe for an apron as she stood on a stool to properly reach the stovetop. She glanced over in his direction, and spoke. “Hang on a sec. Food’ll be ready in a jif. Make yerself comfy, alright?”

This was an unexpected development from Axel’s perspective. The last thing he would have guessed was that the faun Madam knew how to make appetizing hippogriff food. But there was no way that he was going to turn her down.

“Yes ma’am. I appreciate it, thank you,” he said gratefully.

Then, he would turn his attention back to the living room. More specifically to those magazines that lied on the coffee table.

Martha was on the covers. Of each one. Though, the most obvious, key difference was that the faun woman appeared to be much younger than she was currently. She was also much taller, and chubbier than she used to be.

“...Damn,” Axel sat on the couch, and flipped through one of the publications, “This how she used’ta look? The hell happened between here and there?” He turned his head towards the kitchen, and back to the cover.

In Martha’s current state, she appeared to have lost a lot of weight compared to her younger self. Her younger self wasn’t even that fat--just slightly overweight at most. But now? Aside from her bosoms and hips, she was a shell of her former self--easily half her old height at around only 4 feet tall now. She was still attractive, yes, but ultimately she lost what made her front-page worthy and now lived a calm life in the shadows as a madam.

It begged the same question that Axel had thought to himself: What happened in that timespan?