Advent Of A Gunslinger

“W-wait...you need our help??” Mio sputtered in disbelief, “Me? And Spitha? W--how?”

“Shhh…” Spitha placed a claw on Mio’s head and scratched behind one of his ears to calm him down. “Relax, okay? I think he’s serious.”

That hit the right spot and enabled the tom to calm down in the face of the king. “Mm...oh. R-right…” He straightened his suit, and glanced at Mau, “What would you like our help with, sir?”

“To put it simply: I’d like it if you’d both be willing to join us in the efforts to restore Klugetown. More specifically, dealing with the gangsters that currently have it in their possession.” He picked up a set of documents off of the desk, and looked down at them. “I would normally ask aid from Caninia for help, but there’s a problem with that…”

“Caninia…?” Mio had to rattle his mind to recall just what that meant. “Oh. That’s where the Diamond Dogs are from, yeah? Doesn’t Abyssinia have a friendly treaty with them?”

Spitha let out a small gasp. “Ah? Cat-folk and dog-folk working together? That sounds...impossible.”

Mau shook his head as he put the documents down. “That’s what I thought too at one point. But we managed after a long set of discussions. That’s a story for another time, though. The problem with asking them for help is the fact that there could very well be hostile gangsters within that region also. Potentially alerting them could cause quite the upset for both sides.”

Indeed. It was only recently that Caninia and Abyssinia had come to a treaty agreement. For years, both sides were at odds with, and generally didn’t respect each other as cats and dogs were wont to do. Given that things are stable now, asking for the Diamond Dog’s assistance was only going to be a last resort.

And Mio knew this, pointing it out. “Ah...that’s right. We don’t want to expose our playing hand to any potential unsavory onlookers. So with that in mind, what would you like us to do?”

“When you’ve healed from your injuries, I want you both to gather information about what the citizens think of Klugetown,” the king explained, “Then I’ll go from there in terms of--”

“If I may,” Spitha interrupted him as she stepped forward, “But I would like to take a more active role.”

“What could she mean?” Surprised by this, Mau hesitated to respond. “...You do? What sort of role do you wish to take, ma’am?”

“I want to ensure that that….hideous beast of a dragon is dealt with,” she continued with a small snarl, “As soon as I get the chance, I’d like to go back down there and give him a piece of my mind.”

Mio stepped up next to her, his fur standing on end from Spitha’s sudden boldness. “...Spith? Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I am,” she replied as she turned her head towards him, “I can’t just sit idly by while Ron continues to do whatever he wants as if he owns the world. What about you?”

“...She’s right.” With such a forward statement from the dragon, there was no way that the tom could back down either. “I...you know what? Yes. I’d like to volunteer along with her. We can find out what’s going on in Klugetown and report back to you before anything gets out of hand.”

The King paused, and looked at them both in disbelief. After hearing their story, he was surprised to learn that they actually wanted to return to the place that had scorned them so much so soon. “Are you sure?” he asked, “You both have endured quite a lot. I wouldn’t dream of making you go out there again.”

“That’s the thing, sir,” Spitha continued, “You’re not making me do anything. I want to go back there and settle things once and for all.”

“I concur,” Mio added, “Granted, I still need to recover from the injury that the dragon gave me, but once I do, I know I’ll be ready to get back out there.”

Mau couldn’t very well refute their word. “...If they really wish to do this, then I have no room to stop them. Even so…” Despite this, the King wanted to make sure that they were properly prepared to undergo such a task. “...Alright,” he replied as he folded his arms, “I can’t stop you. However--I’d appreciate it if you both at least explained to me what your plan of attack was before you left. Is that okay with you two?”

Spitha glanced at Mio. “I already know what I intend to do.”

“Well…” Mio muttered as he rattled his brain for an idea, “Maybe it would be best if we came up with a strategy together. I only recently found you and don’t want to lose you.”

“Oh…” The dragon woman’s eyes drooped downwards. She realized that she had only been thinking of herself and what she wanted, and had to reconsider working alone in a dangerous situation like this. “...I understand. I’d be more than happy to work with you on the matter.”

“Good,” the tom nodded, “However, it’s quite late and we should get some sleep.”

Mau gestured a paw towards a door to his left. “You may both take the guest room for the night. And then, bright and early, we shall discuss your intent towards Klugetown and its gangs. Does that sound fair?”

That’s when Mio recalled the conversation he had with Leona. “...That’s right. The possibility that General Zula from King Devon’s army is the one controlling it. I’ll be sure to inform him of that first thing in the morning.” The scar on his face started to pulsate, irritating his skin. “Ergh...yes, my liege. The sooner I can rest, the better.”

“...That’s right. Your face,” Mau noted apologetically, “Please forgive me. Rest for as long as you need.”

“Come on, Mio. Let’s go,” Spitha said as she grabbed Mio’s hand and gently had him follow her. Before they left the room, she’d express gratitude to the king. “Thank you very much, sir.”

“Not a problem,” Mau replied as he walked towards the hallway his wife had previously traveled down. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go...make sure BB is sleeping well.”

And with that, everyone retired for the rest of the evening. With progress being made through having the King’s support, Mio couldn’t help but feel confident as he finally got to relax for night and sleep soundly.

The next morning...in Klugetown...

Things weren’t exactly very sound down in the boss’s quarters when the sun rose.

“Boss!” one of the abyssinian gangsters rushed into the boss’s room, “Bad news, mate!”

“Oh for the love of--what now?!” the boss’s miffed tone roared from behind the chair.

The gang member cleared her throat and went on. “...We’ve received word from the port at the end of the continent: Topaz failed to capture any slaves. The situation wasn’t her fault, but it was a frickin’ bust.”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence.

“...Boss?” the gang member gingerly stepped forward.

The chair spun around.

And in it was the boss: An abyssinian she-cat with orange fur and brown spots on her body--akin to that of a cheetah. The one key detail about her was the unmistakable sabertooth overbite that only she sported. She had a head of short, blonde hair and wore athletic sports tape on her hands as well as a black sports bra that clung to her average-sized bust. Coupled alongside her rather chiseled, exposed abdomen, it was clear that she was a much more athletic abyssinian compared to that of her peers.

She leaned forward with her elbows against upon table and her fingers interlocked. “So this is what it’s come to, huh? Failure after failure and now this is it.” She sighed, and stood up from her desk.

Her subordinate glanced at her with fearful eyes and shrunken pupils. “B-Boss? Where are you going?!”

When she stood up, her lower half was visible. She had on a pair of simple daisy dukes--or jean shorts and beneath that, both of her thighs were completely covered in white athletic sports tape as well. Around her hip, she had one revolver in a basic leather holster.

“Tell Rongu he’s in charge until I get back,” she told the shorter abyssinian, “I’m going to do some business myself.”

And in response, her underling saluted. “Y-yes, Ms. Zula!”