Cairo

As usual, the early rays of morning sunlight couldn't wake Cairo from his restless slumber. Light alone wasn't enough to wake this man from the comfort of a feathered bed. So, having Mooks sleep in the same room wasn't the worst idea they've ever come up with.

\tMooks jumped atop of Cairo, screaming and shouting to his heart's content, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"

\tDespite the loudness of a wolf's howl, Cairo barely managed to open his eyes underneath his furry red blanket. "I'm up," he said, unfazed by the noise and as sturdy as ever.

\tMooks jumped back down on the wooden floor, smelling the fresh scent of the morning dew creeping its way through the windows. "I can't believe you had me sleeping in the woods this entire time when you had a room like this all to yourself." Mooks raised a metaphorical eyebrow, considering he didn't have any.

\tCairo yawned, ignoring him. "What do you want to do for breakfast?"

\tMooks gave him a puzzled look, "Well, let's see… Usually, I'd spend the night hunting some poor animal. Then, I'd massacre them for us to eat, and you would do nothing except watch." Mooks said, wryly. "Ring a bell?"

\t"Let's hope Rina makes morning food."

\t"So much for a thank you…" Mooks mumbled to himself.

\tCairo got up from the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of trousers and white bandages circling his arms. Mooks didn't want to look, as he knew it annoyed Cairo. However, seeing Cairo's weathered body was a sight he didn't want to miss.

\tAt the corner of his eye, Mooks was able to get a glance at all the scars, wounds, and pain that covered Cairo's body. It was like looking at a trail map, where a mark on the road was just another memory Cairo didn't want to return to. Mooks realized that one glance was more than enough. So he gulped down his sadness and headed downstairs.

\tShortly after, Cairo followed, wearing a dull expression underneath his beaten brown cloak. Cairo was used to leaving the tavern early in the morning, but something about seeing no one felt strange, like a story without a proper ending.

\tCairo took a seat at his usual spot, looking around once again. He noticed things that haven't really piqued his interest before. Like the bounty board, or even the tiny cracks in the walls that had streaks of sunlight peeking through them. It gave a warm feeling to his heart, a feeling he hasn't experienced in quite some time.

\tThe smell of freshly cooked eggs and burnt peppers filled the air like a desperate song. It was pleasant, but almost too much to handle.

\tMooks came running out of the backroom behind the bar, smiling and galloping onto the open stool next to Cairo. "Food is comin' in hot!" He howled excitingly.

\tCairo sighed, slightly relieved his usual breakfast wouldn't be a pile of roasted deer meat. Even Mooks, who was a natural carnivore, felt a rush of excitement burst through him as he saw Rina carrying out the morning meals for them.

\t'She looks beautiful.' Mooks thought to himself as he laid eyes on the seasoned piece of steak entering his tabletop territory.

\t'She looks beautiful.' Cairo thought to himself as he laid eyes on the girl walking out with the food.

\tRina set out a plate of steak next to Mooks, and a plate of sunny-side-up eggs with veggies next to Cairo. "Eat up!" She said with her dazzling smile. "And don't worry, it's on the house." She winked, walking back into the back room.

\tBefore either of them were able to dig in, Cartuja started thumping and pounding on the floorboards when coming down the stairs for no reason other than to wake up the others still sleeping. He yawned, stretched, and cracked a few bones in his body that didn't seem like they were supposed to be cracked so freely. Wearing nothing but a white top and a pair of shorts leading up to his midthigh, he took a seat next to Mooks like he'd known him for a lifetime.

\t"Hello stranger!" Mooks stuffed out his paw into Cartuja's face, "I don't think we've properly met!"

\t"Sup," Cartuja yawned again, giving a fistbump into the cushioned pads on Mooks's paw. "Name's Cartuja. Get use' to it."

\tMooks looked at his paw, unsure of what to make of the fist gesture he received. Regardless, he smiled, taking it as a sign of friendship.

\tRina came out with yet another plate of food, and another, and another. Soon enough, there were two other plates of scrambled eggs sitting alone in unoccupied seats. One had salt and pepper, and one had nothing but the cozy tavern air seasoning it to nothingness.

\tAfter a few moments, Cairo and Mooks began digging into their meals, while Rina and Cartuja waited for the others to come down. Mooks thought they were religious at first, waiting to thank some worthless gods before they can eat. However, that assumption changed once he saw another person walking down the creaky stairs.

\tIt was a boy, looking no older than twenty years old at most. His hair was blank white, almost like Mooks's fur on a sunny day. He wore glasses, had a clean face, and an expression of someone who thinks they're too high and mighty to be living in a tavern such as this one. His clothes weren't particularly fancy in any way, but the linen in his shirt was far more expensive than anything else in the tavern.

\t"Who are these scoundrels eating our food at this early hour?" The boy said, gawking at Cairo and Mooks like piles of trash blocking his way.

\tCairo ignored him, while Mooks did his best to smile again. "Hello sir! Very nice to meet you! My name is Mooks," He gestured to himself, "This right here is my companion Cairo."

\tCairo gave the boy a look that sent a chill down his spine. That look alone was enough to shut him up, and Rina only continued Cairo's remark. "Hey! That is no way to treat our guests, and soon-to-be fellow Guildmates!"

\tRina gave Cairo and Mooks an innocent shrug, "I'm truly sorry. He's a bit rude sometimes… That's Faibel, he's like the brains of our group in a way?" She made a gesture for him to come over and take his seat.

\tFaibel humphed, taking his seat next to the plate of unseasoned scrambled eggs. He tied a white napkin around his neck, aligned his utensils, and readjusted his cup of cold water. "Where's the bitch and the new kid?"

\tRina took a piece of table cloth and slapped him across the face with it, knocking the napkin under his chin off his neck. "No cussing!" She sounded like a mother, but she was far too young and careless to be one.

\tFaibel felt one of his cheeks light up with a hint of pain, giving Rina a look that's too difficult to describe with words alone. It wasn't a look of rage or anger. It was more of an embarrassed look as if he was a baby who got his lollipop taken away. "Sorry," He said as he picked up the napkin and tied it back around his neck.

\tMooks and Cairo kept on the low, ignoring and trying to stay silent in this awkward situation. Luckily, their attention dragged onto the stairs again, where another Guild member made their entrance.

\tThis time, it was a girl. She looked about the same age as Rina, early twenties at most. She had a red ribbon on her icy-platinum hair that showed a mark neither Cairo nor Mooks could recognize. It complimented her blood-red eyes very well, giving her a vampiric sort of look. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, but it looked as if it was more for show rather than for comfort. Her left arm had a full sleeve of tattoos from a culture that wasn't her own. Her face was pretty, young, and actually quite pleasing to look at. She had a pair of pajamas on, clearly showing her lack of interest in waking up early. Her natural curves shaped her body perfectly, allowing her to be pleased in the battlefield, and the bedroom.

\tShe had a few bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep, so she didn't even notice Cairo or the fury beast right next to him. Instead, she just sat down next to Faibel, looking at her scrambled eggs as if she was looking at a pile of puke. "Can I just get a coffee?" She gestured towards Rina with a raspy voice, "No cream. No sugar. Slight hint of almond milk and a pinch of Blue Lotus sprinkled on top. Thanks and hurry please."

\tBlue Lotus was known to produce anti-aging properties when applied to a heated source. However, all it did was just boost the effects of caffeine and raise your heart rate during any sort of activity for a while.

\t"Anything else sweetie?" Rina said, sarcastically.

\t"Hmm.. Can I also get-"

\tRina cut her off by throwing a cupful worth of cold water in her face. "What was that? I couldn't quite hear you."

\t"Ahhhh!" The girl screamed annoyingly, wiping the water off with a tablecloth Rina threw at her right after.

\tCartuja started laughing, and the girl slapped him in the face for it.

\tSoon enough, all of them began fighting with each other. All of them except Mooks and Cairo, who patiently scooched themselves to the side and ate their delicious breakfast.

\t"ENOUGH!" A strong, masculine voice pierced through the tavern like a strike of lightning. "What is going on here?!" A man yelled from the entrance of the Tavern.

\tHe wore large, black robes that stopped at the tip of his ankles. A red line bordered most of the edges of his clothing, making him seem like a very important figure not to be meddled with. He had a faint stubble wrapped around his jawline, accompanied by a dismissive smirk and lawn-short hair on the top of his scalp. His fingers looked as if he'd crawled himself to hell and back, but the wounds on his knuckles said otherwise.

\tCartuja, the girl, and Faibel all quickly rearranged themselves into a proper seating posture, trying their best to look as innocent as possible. Rina however, didn't look fazed at all by the man's appearance.

\t"Cairo, Mooks," She made a swift gesture with her hand toward the man, "This is Kalvin, the Captain of our Guild."

\tMooks, like always, jumped out of his seat and ran over to Kalvin with intentions of making a new friend. "Hello stranger! My name is Mooks, it's a pleasure to meet you sir!" He stuck his paw out, tongue swinging from side to side with steak grease gliding between his sharp teeth.

\tKalvin gave Mooks a dry look at first, but kneeled down and shook his dirty paw regardless. "Nice to meet you Mooks. My name is Kalvin. Are you by any chance the visitor that Rina had mentioned earlier."

\t"No sir. That would be my companion in arms, Cairo." Mooks swung his nose towards the direction of the cloaked man by the table, giving Kalvin enough information to follow.

\tMooks ran back to the table to finish his food, with Kalvin approaching the cloaked man right behind him.

\t"So…" Kalvin started, "What makes you think you're worthy of joining our Guild?"

\tCairo set aside his fork, making a clunking sound as the fork hit the outer edges of the white plate. He observed Kalvin for a moment, then spoke in a low voice. "Worthy? I'm worthy of nothing, and no one. My life is nothing but a meaningless mess that I can't unravel." He paused for a moment, then continued. "I'm here to assume all of you are searching for something." Cairo glanced around the blank faces staring back at him, "This jewel you all search for. A wish to be granted. You all want something, just like me. I too have a search, one that I'll gladly give my life for."

\tCairo took his seat again, feeling the eggs enter his stomach like a fresh breath of air. "If you want me to leave, I will. But if you decide to do so, I'm afraid you will have to forget you ever saw me. And there's only one way to do that…" Cairo gripped the butterknife on his plate, squeezing it as tight as a king's sword.

\t"Leave?" Kalvin chuckled, witnessing the pain and anguish stirring inside Cairo's eyes. "Who said I wanted you to leave? Another member is another adventure. I'm to assume you've met these knuckleheads already?" He gestured his gaze towards Cartuja and the rest.

\t"Oh, I know!" Mooks answered on behalf of Cairo. "Let's see…" He took his guesses from left to right. "Rina." She smiled and bowed. "Then it's bandanna, glasses, and bitch!"

\tRina and Kalvin burst out in a sea of friendly laughter. Cartuja actually laughed along with them, while the other girl and Faibel remained silent, keeping their arrogance in place.

\tThe girl bolted out of her seat, giving Mooks a death stare that didn't seem to intimidate him in the slightest. She wrung out her wet clothes on top of his head, licked her finger and slid it across the remains of his steak. "Paris. Call me by anything else and you won't live another day!" She pouted dramatically, walking back to her stool.

\tLittle did she know, the cold drops of water from her clothes actually managed to give Mooks a nice cold feeling beneath all his luxurious fur. The saliva from her mouth also added a delicious touch to his steak, making it even tastier.

\tRina finally sat down with her own plate of eggs, beginning her journey of satisfying her hunger. "You guys'll get used to 'em. They're a little rowdy since they only got back a couple days ago."

"A couple days ago?" Mooks questioned, "Where were they before?"

Kalvin did the honors of patting Mooks on the back and giving an evil smirk that would scare any child that's up past their bedtime. "We were searching for a passage. A passage that will lead us through the Black Sea."

Kalvin gave Mooks another pat on the back, feeling the softness of his fur intertwine between his fingers like loose strings of yarn. He then focused his attention towards Cairo, "We leave on the morrow. So in the meantime, tell me about yourself, Cairo." He said with a tint of suspicion in his eyes.

"About myself..." Cairo said, tediously. "Where should I start?"