Advent Of A Gunslinger

Mio could feel the sensation of someone staring at him, and immediately turned around to see the cat-man who looked like he was dressed for the office. “...Can I help you?”

Sptiha also tilted her head in the newcomer’s direction.

“Guess he noticed. May as well approach.” The well-dressed tom pulled up a chair, and sat beside their table. “Sorry. I know that it’s rude, but I couldn’t help but stare. You...look familiar.”

Given his history, being recognized was not a good sign for Mio. “...First off, who are you?”

“Right...guess I should properly introduce myself so I can explain.” The abyssinian removed his glasses, and tilted his neck upwards. If one looked closely, they could see markings branded onto his neck: ንጉስ. This was the kingdom’s seal, and it aptly meant ‘king’ in Abyssinian.

Mio’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Sitting right next to him in a casual setting was none other than King Mau himself! “...K-k--?!”

“Shhhh!” the king tilted his neck downwards, “I’m here on some casual business while my wife manages things back at the cast--home.”

“Hm?” Spitha noticed Mio’s reaction and was rightfully confused. “I don’t quite understand. Mio, do you know this man?”

“Not personally, but…” he leaned over and whispered to the dragoness, “...That’s King Mau. The current ruler of Abyssinia along with his wife, Queen Bombay.”

“In the flesh,” said the king, “But please--don’t trip over yourself in an attempt to treat me differently. I’m just like everyone else--for the most part.”

With this knowledge, Spitha trilled with a mix of excitement and curiosity. “So you’re the ones who...control this area,” she said vaguely in reference to the kingdom itself, “From what Mio told me, it was in a state of ruin before. How did you manage to turn things around?”

“It was a long, arduous process. In fact, seeing Mio here is part of it.”

The young tom leaned forward. The idea that he could be important was a new bit of information that he hadn’t prepared for. “It is? What do you mean?”

“...During my father’s reign...near the end of the war…” Mau folded his arms, and sighed, “I watched as many men, women, and children were displaced from their homes. I could have sworn I saw you on the streets of Tabbytown once or twice, young man. But...I was powerless. There was nothing I could do to help you.”

“...You couldn’t?” Spitha asked, “Why not?”

“To make a long story short, there were too many individuals suffering out there for me to reasonably help them all. So I worked with Bom--er, BB--in secret to stage a coup once the annexation operation was completed.”

Mio’s ears twitched from amazement. The fact that this tom could stage a revolution against the tyrannical King Devon--who was his own father no less--and come out on top was nothing short of legendary.

“..Outstanding. I’d like it if you could tell me exactly how you managed to accomplish that one day,” Mio pleaded with his eyes aglow, “You did an amazing job.”

But Mau didn’t accept the praise. “...I’ve done what I could, but ultimately some regions are still extremely underdeveloped. Such as Klugetown.”

Spitha looked down at the table. “...That’s right. My ex-husband has been trying to work on fixing things up around there since we lived there…”

“...I apologize,” said the king with a somber tone as he looked down at the floor, “I wish I could do more to fund the development of that area, but we’ve only recently repaired our relations with Siam and Catskills. Not to mention all of the other things we’ve had to spend money on. Reconstruction of the Abyssinian Army, helping the prisoners of war…”

Mio was stunned into a temporary silence. “They’ve managed to fix up so much in just two decades...can I hope to achieve anything similar?”

“I understand,” Spitha replied with a nod, “You’re a busy man and you have to manage all of that while also taking care of your life at home. I respect you. Your wife must be very lucky to have you.” “...If only my husband wasn’t so horrible. Or at least as honest as he.”

Mau cleaned the lenses of his glasses with a handkerchief he had in his shirt’s pocket. “Hm...I’d like to think so, but some things haven’t gone how I’ve intended.”

Because of his knowledge on the subject, Mio already knew what the king had been referring to. “My lord--there’s no need to explain further.”

“...Explain what?” the dragoness asked worriedly.

Despite this, Mau would go on to explain. “No no--it won’t take long.” He turned to the dragoness, “My child went on to do some horrible things that I wish I could have shown him not to do. But his actions were out of a sick, misguided attempt to recreate the actions of his grandfather…”

“...King Meowmeow,” Mio muttered softly.

Spitha snapped her fingers upon realization. “That’s who that was. The one who tried to make Panthera into something just as bad as Klugetown…”

“That’s right,” Mau replied as he placed two fingers against the side of his forehead, “And we’ve only recently cleaned up the mess he caused here as well--which has set us back even further from approaching Klugetown with any real way to repair it.” He paused for a moment, and asked, “What did you say your ex-husband was doing?”

“...About that…”

Spitha would go on to explain how her ex had lied for five years about his occupation--and their relationship along with it.

“...As soon as I found out, I promptly left and never looked back.”

“I see…” Mau looked at Mio, “And what about you, son? How did you meet this dragon woman?”

“Well…”

Mio would then explain his side of the story--giving a summary of where he ended up after the war and how he tried to fight off Rongu.

“...But I wasn’t strong enough,” the young tom lamented, “And I knew it. Yet I foolishly tried to--”

“Hey. Look at me,” Mau commanded, cutting him off.

The young tom glanced up at his superior. “Y-yes sir?”

“...You’re no different than I was when I was your age. You were fighting for a reason--for someone else.” He patted Mio on the head. “While it may have been a bit reckless, you’re still a good example of what this world needs. Don’t start beating yourself up over it--just make sure you don’t repeat your mistakes.”

“...” For a moment, Mio felt like he could barely breathe. Receiving a compliment from the king himself nearly caused him to shut down. But he had to think about what he was told. “...He’s right. I can’t start moping now. I need to focus and improve. Just like…” From one of his sleeves, he revealed the King of Spades card--which depicted two illustrated versions of King Mau that were reversed upon each other. “You’re right. Thank you--and I’ll make sure I don’t fail again. In fact, I plan to work on fixing up Klugetown so don’t you worry.”

“Now that’s a first. But I like his sentiment.” Mau let him go with a smile, and looked over at the dragoness. “And as for you, ma’am, take care of yourself first. Use as much time as you need to overcome your heartbreak. I’d never dream of lying to my wife about something so important and stringing her along for a week--let alone five years?” Mau let out a dismissive hiss, “Hhhh--that dragon will suffer the consequences for what he’s done to those ponies. Trust me.”

“...How so?” Spitha asked.

Mau then got up from his seat, and put his glasses back on. “You’ll know when it happens. I hope you both keep each other motivated. You deserve each other.” With that, he walked off towards the counter to order some coffee, and promptly left the restaurant. “...That boy is gonna go places. Can’t wait to see his potential for myself.”

The dragoness watched as he left. “Do you think that’s really…?”

Mio nodded. “No doubt about it. I’ve seen that brand marking on only one other abyssinian. That was him.” He then chuckled as he processed what just happened, “Though, the fact that he would speak to us so casually is something I never would have expected.”

“Indeed…” she turned her attention back to Mio, “Though I wonder what he meant by the fact that we deserve each other.”

“Probably due to how much he can see we care for each other, I’d wager,” Mio broke it down systematically.

“Ah, that’s it. We make good friends, don’t we?” the dragoness asked with a big smile and a little trill.

Seeing her smile was practically contagious as it made the tom smile as well. The fact that she considered him a friend warmed his heart, causing him to mewl happily. “Rrrrr--Indeed. Let’s keep our friendship going for as long as we can.”