Inside a speckless tavern, with walls made of oak— and multiple mahogany ladened circular tables standing not far from the entrance, a familiar grey haired catgirl was sweeping. There were no customers, and out of boredom, she swept the invisible dust around.
As she did this, her head swayed, alongside her fluffy tail.
**ring**
A bell atop the front door rang as it was quickly thrown open. However, her focus made it become deaf.
"Aiko!" Another silver haired woman, who sat at a counter furthest right of the tavern yelled her name. "Pay attention to the front!"
Aiko's head popped up, her eyes latched onto the other woman. Her target's emerald green eyes scrolled up towards the front door.
"Lucian! Fei!!" Aiko yelled their names; the broom in her hands clattered to the ground. "Where the heck have you been?!"
Before they could speak, Aiko pulled them into a massive hug.
"Oof…" Due to the sudden squeeze Lucian let out before responding. "We ju- you're- you're squeezing too tight…"
"Oh, sorry!" Aiko apologized and quickly released her victims. "Where were you? I thought you went to get Fei's staff?!"
As soon as Aiko released them, she took a step back and set her hands on her hips.
"We also went to the adventurers guild…" Lucian explained, scratching the back of his head additionally giving a wry smile. "Then we went to complete our first request…"
"Hm…"
At Lucian's response Aiko set her hand on her chin and squinted at the both of them. A question quickly left her mouth a second later. "Did you two eat yet?"
"N-no…"
"Then sit your butts down! Tell me more about that request when you eat something!" Aiko ordered before taking a few steps back and slamming her hand on the nearest table. "Ela! I'll be using the kitchen for a little bit!"
"Make sure you get some form of payment…" The other lady, known as Ela waved her hand; additionally her attention was elsewhere below the counter. "And welcome back you two!"
Without another utterance, Lucian and Fei took the seat at the table Aiko had struck. The assaulter of the table let out a proud huff, puffed her chest out, then fixed her apron before leaving to the kitchen. More so, dashing to it.
There was a visible opening behind the counter, visibly, Aiko's head was whipping back and forth. The clangs of pans were audible, even to Lucian's ears.
Then, a dull smell, paired with a hearty nearly indistinguishable hearty smell entered Fei's enhanced nose. It twitched for a second, and her small appetite had disappeared. Aiko's typical dish was incoming.
N-not again… Fei thought with slight dread— it was a dish she was well acquainted with— it wasn't the flavor, she could barely taste it.
The texture made her stomach churn, flipping at some moments. Quietly, she latched onto her skirt. Every time they entered the tavern, Aiko would make it without thought.
"We'll get you something different." Lucian said to her whilst covering his face. In response he got a small nod.
As the clattering went on, Fei's stomach began to churn. Plus, a dark feeling loomed over her.
"Aiko! Can you quiet down?!" Ela in a fit of frustration yelled whilst slapping the window seal.
"Give me a second! I'm almost done!"
"Oh great." Ela let out whilst holding her head. "Over some damn eggs…"
"Huh? It isn't just eggs, Fei doesn't like those!" Aiko exclaimed back, her head nearly popping out of the window. "I found some extra sausages in here, I'll pay for them as well."
"As long as you don't make yourself broke…"
Soon, Aiko strolled out of the kitchen's door with two plates. One plate in her left hand held a steaming pile of yellowed eggs, whilst the other plate had toast with a couple pieces of sausages.
In front of Lucian, she laid the former plate— causing him to stare at it with hesitation. Whilst Fei looked down at hers, the sweat that had appeared on her cheek disappeared.
Others would think the treatment seemed unfair, but Aiko had an idea of how much they ate. Lucian always wolfed down what was given to him— whilst Fei's appetite was small, if she and him were eating the same amount— she'd only consume a fiftieth of what he could.
Before they dug in, Aiko took a seat directly across from them. And as the first bite, the tirade of questions entered their ears.
"How was it getting the staff?"
"Do you like the staff?"
"How was it signing up as an adventurer?"
Fei couldn't get through half of hers by the fourth question; however, there was a small thud on Aiko's head, and Ela made her appearance. "Let them eat first!"
She was much shorter than Aiko, reaching just below her chin; her hair was much larger, and put into a high ponytail. A white dress shirt, alongside black slacks made her seem like a business woman.
Just on the surface, she looked mean with her frown and furrowed eyebrows. It immediately softened once they were able to eat again.
"So you two are finally adventurers, huh?" Ela questioned them, rotating a seat backwards and sat down. "How does it feel?"
"Not as exciting as I thought…"
"How is Fei doing?"
"Better than everyone was thinking." Lucian gave an answer, a soft smile appearing on his lips. He turned to the mentioned individual. "We had a catch request, she was able to get all the rats on her side."
Ela rested her head on her hand, and raised an eyebrow.
"That's great! Good job Fei!"
"We knew you'd do good." Ela said whilst a chuckle left her throat. "Sounds like it was an interesting request…"
"Mhm, it was! Oh and we have another one!"
With that Lucian gobbled down his plate before going on the information he was told. Albeit, short, the two ladies to his front frowned at it.
"Isn't that too early for you two?" Ela raised a concern.
"Yeah… and goblins, so many adventurers gave horror stories…." Aiko shivered whilst saying. "I know you can fight… you beat so many people up… Fei, um… just make sure to take care of her."
"Mhm! We'll be fine, alright?"
"Good, now finish your food! You look like a skeleton!"