Advent Of A Gunslinger

Seconds after Kora made the callout, Gatto would make his presence known. He dropped down from the ceiling, and landed next to the she-cat. “So you noticed I was there, eh? How crazy was that?”

“Ssssss…” Kora hissed at her fellow Abyssinian, and turned towards him with a neutral expression. “You’re faster than you look. Guess that speed comes in handy somewhere, don’t it?”

“Oooh, your words cut deep,” he clutched his chest to feign a sense of pain on his body. “Do keep in mind that you’re still under our jurisdiction, pussy-cakes. And what you did was rather impressive.”

“Was it now?” she asked, “Care to elaborate?”

Gatto held his hands up, gesturing towards the doors that the hippogriff had left through not long ago. “Just look at what you’ve done! You’ve convinced him to head to where one of our bases is located. We’ll be able to interrogate him there.”

This was something she wasn’t ready for. Prior to this, she had always been a trainer. Now she was being sent off to interrogate someone? “Excuse me?” she questioned her superior, “Is that even a good idea? I’m not some mind-wrangler or anything like that.”

Gatto would pat her on the back with a confident smirk on his face. “This is gonna serve as a good learnin’ experience for you. Show you how to deal with someone when they cross us the wrong way, ya feel?”

“I feel sick talking to you.” Once again, Kora had to keep her thoughts to herself for the sake of her own safety and verbalized a more agreeable response. “I see. So the saloon actually houses some of your crew who is ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.”

“Now you’re getting it,” said the tom, “Once we take him down, all you’ll have to do is sit back and watch how we get things done. Then you can start to perform these operations yourself. Sound good?”

“As if I had a choice. Just what is he planning to do to this stallion?” “Understood,” she replied with a nod. “I’m ready to follow as always.”

The reality was that Kora had been made blissfully unaware of some of the unsavory elements of their gang. She was in for a shock once she found out the truth behind some of their more...sadistic tendencies.

Meanwhile…

Axel followed the map to the letter. The saloon was located in a rather bustling area. With a few more buildings, you could almost consider it a metropolitan area. A few shops near the area would have various rare creature parts, gemstones, and weapons. These were much more well-kept than the shops that were near the entrance of the region with proper signs and even tents that kept their workers shielded from the extreme pressure of the sun’s rays.

Though Axel was naturally apprehensive of anything to do with the trade of this land. He simply desired to get in and accomplish what he came for.

“No time like the present. And it’s been a while since I’ve been in one’a these gambler houses.”

Axel stepped through the swinging wooden doors, and found himself in the midst of a crowd of beasts that were uncharacteristically civil.

To his right was a bar and dining area where many of them chatted in a calm, dignified manner. Quite a few of them were also rather well-dressed--not unlike Gatto from before. The sight almost startled him. “Well I’ll be damned up’a creek without oars. He ain’t so muchuva diamond in the rough, is he? More like a buncha diamonds in a ditch.”

That wasn’t all. To his left, he would see the various, classic game tables where many beastfolk would be playing card games or billiards for money. Among their various offers, he would hear talk of ‘work horses’ and ‘breeding cattle.’ Words that shook him to his core. “...Are they really bettin’ lives?”

And way off, far ahead of him on a stage was a set of five lizard-women dancing and singing. They were dressed provocatively with frilly, form-fitting dresses loaded with feathers. The outfits themselves accented their deep cleavage and plump rears. Naturally, the crowd around them was fairly massive.

“Now that don’t surprise me in the slightest. All the saloon’s I dun been to have had dancers. These ain’t half bad. Lackin’ a bit’a grace but what can ya do.”

There was also a tack piano in the far right corner beyond the bar which was the source of some light, ragtime music thanks to the hedgehog that was at the keys. Next to the aforementioned hedgehog was a banjo player--a male deer, and a harmonica player--a mule. A small band, essentially.

“Now that’s my kinda music. Been’a while since I did some square dancin’...”

Back to his observations. No sign of his targets yet, however. Axel would have to play a bit of the waiting game and keep an eye out for any more of those Abyssinians with black fur and yellow eyes. So to pass the time, he decided to have a seat near the diner side of the bar area. That way, he would be able to observe any and all individuals that would enter the building.

He took a seat, and a few seconds later, a large, brown male minotaur would approach his table.

“Howdy,” said the minotaur, “What can I get ya?”

“Howdy yourself, friend.” Axel beheld the massive bovine specimen. Not as well-dressed as those he served with a pair of worn-out slacks and a black snakeskin vest that didn’t do a good job of concealing his muscles.

The hippogriff would turn his attention to the menu and in an instant, his attention was drawn to a particular item. “They got a damn seafood medley bowl here? Oh this place bougie as all get-out.” Due to being part eagle like all hippogriffs, it was a trademark favorite food of his. “Hit me with the seafood medley, please. Don’t skimp on the piranha either.”

“Well that’s new,” the taur waiter commented as he wrote down his order. “We don’t get many folks ‘found here that order that. You new in town?”

There wasn’t much harm in such a question, so Axel would reply. “Darn-tootin’. I’m here on...unfinished business, really. This town is housin’ some mighty deadly motherhubbards that I don’t very well cotton to.”

The minotaur had taken his order and placed it in the window for the chefs to receive. He was large enough to the point that he didn’t have to travel far to take his order to them. “Ain’t that so?” he chuckled, “You got any idea how little that narrows it down, son? This place is filled with creatures that wanna kill each other. Whether it be sport, money, or just for the thrill.”

“This older gent seems to be on the up and up. Maybe he could provide me some advice for navigatin’ this here town.” “What’s it like, livin’ here?” But as soon as he said that, he caught himself. The taur-man was still working and had no time to answer his questions. “...Actually, nevermind.”

Much to Axel’s surprise, the minotaur wasn’t put off by the question at all. “Oh that’s quite the loaded query there, son. Tell ya what, when I git to mah break, I’ll come back and sit with ya. If that’s alright.”

“Again with the ‘son’? Just how old is he, I wonder?” Unable to refuse a nice gentleman’s offer, Axel would accept. “Sure. But only if it’s no trouble.”

“Ain’t no trouble at all,” he assured the hippogriff of his stance, and started to walk away, “Yer order should be out in a bit.”

About fifteen minutes had passed, and Axel’s order was brought out to him by a different waiter entirely who set the bowl down and left fairly swiftly before he could get a good look at his face. He was a thinly-built pig who managed to carry multiple orders on the same tray, so that may have had something to do with it.

“Poor guy must be in a rush. Hopefully he manages.”

Axel had begun to slowly feast upon the stew with his eyes open for any sign of those Abyssinians. He actually did spot a few of them as they roamed between the gamgling tables and stage where the showgirls were, but they weren’t the jet-black ones with yellow eyes that he had been after. Some had dark fur, some had yellow eyes--but not both.

“Hmmm…damn this is the bee’s knees right here. The way the piranha eats alongside the anglerfish and kill is plumb crazy. And the lemon keeps it from bein’ too salty. Nice touch.”

It was about thirty more minutes. Axel had finished his dish, and the pig waiter from before would come by to take his bowl.

He made sure to pay for it with a sack of bits on the counter, and just like clockwork…

“Alright, I’m off now. So I’m able to chat with ya at mah leisure, friend.” The minotaur returned, and sat in the booth seat opposite of Axel. “Ain’t seen one of ya’ll in forever. You’re one’a them griffs, yeah?”

Axel held up one of his gloved claws. “A hippogriff, yes. What’s yer name, sir?”

“That’s amazin’!” he stared at the claw intently, “Oh. Scuzi. Where are mah manners? Mah name is Toroni Giovanni. Been in this business for at least 40 years and countin’, champ. ‘Cus of that, everyone calls me Tony. Feel free to do the same, alright?”

The Family Man.

The minotaur reached his hand across the table to shake Axel’s claw, to which the hippogriff obliged.

“...Remy. A. Remy.” “Over 40 years? How’s that even possible?” “...Big Tony, eh? You’re quite the looker for a ‘taur yer age. You sure you actually been here that long?”

Tony let out a hearty laugh as he let go. “Oh that’s a good one! But I mean it. I actually started out when I was a mere adolescen’ calf washin’ dishes. Then I became a chef and came up with loads of dishes for this place. But eventually, I decided to rotate around and let other folks have some time in the kitchen. This week is mah server duty. Mah daughter prefers to pursue her own thang away from the business, but what can ya do? I support her.” He finished his explanation with an honest smile.

“You got a family, huh?” Axel asked, “That’s mighty swell of ya to let yer kiddo do what she wants. Yer partner must be proud of ya.”

“Actually…” the taur-man’s mood dropped as he avoided eye contact for a moment. “My wife isn’t--she passed away a long time ago.”

Axel nearly bit his tongue. From what he knew of him so far, Tony was a rather chipper individual so he didn’t expect such a revelation. “I see….sorry fer your loss.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, son. That was a long time ago. But it’s why I pride myself on having raised such a splendid daughter.”

“That’s nice. Since she ain’t here with you, what’s she do?”

“Last I heard, she was workin’ as a travellin’ chef. Showin’ off our family’s recipes to other folks outside the region.”