Post by KyferLegs (Diria) on Jun 27, 2023 13:19:35 GMT -5
Author's Note: This was supposed to be a different story, but it was getting too long, so I cut it short and tied it to another unfinished post.
The sun shimmered through the blue curtains of the bedroom, and elaborate drawings and origami decorated the walls and shelves between the daily life items of the small flat. The sound of bustling traffic and chimes echoed from the window as a figure turned over in the messy bed. Suddenly, the sounds of peaceful city life were disturbed by the obnoxious ring of an alarm clock as it rattled against the nightstand. The blanket burrito broke free from its hypothetical prison to rear its head, revealing a young man named Zan with longer hair and stubble. His hands rubbed his bright blue eyes as his legs kicked out of the blanket. His left hand slammed down onto the nightstand stopping the vile alarm clock. Awakening in annoyance, he pulled himself from the bed onto the wooden floor where slippers waited. Shoving his feet into the soft slippers, he adjusted to the light gleaming in his small apartment. He made a few movements and reached for a bathrobe hanging from the wall. Then slowly shuffled into the restroom as he did whatever bodily needs he had to do. Emerging from the bathroom with wet hair and his bangs blocking parts of his vision as he yawned, shuffling to the dresser opposite his bed, he stared at himself in the mirror.
Looking down at his dresser to see the neatly organized pens and paper, he sighed before opening a drawer to reveal neatly organized clothes. Eventually, he picked his attire, a dark red button shirt and khaki-colored pants. Cautiously, he put his clothing of choice on, ensuring he was appealing and formal. Spinning on his heel, he walked back to his bed and rested his palm flat on a book he had stranded in the covers. Picking his palm up and closing his finger across the title, he nodded. Once done, he opened his front door and looked behind him. He stared for a moment watching his curtains flutter. Then he closed the door and walked out, and he felt blinded as the bright sun shined through the large open yard. Blinking, he guided himself to the railing and watched from the second floor of his flat building, watching the bustle of Zarou families, peers, or strangers he had never met. Almost preparing to walk off to the stairs, he felt some vile beast grabs his shoulder. He felt airlessness rush over his back before yelping in terror. Only to realize, while his face turned red, as it was not a vile beast but his friend Leo.
Leo, an exceptionally tall Zarou, laughed maniacally and patted him on the back. "Oh-! You should've seen your face!" Zan couldn't help but smile, then laugh as he looked up at Leo. Leo smiled as he spoke jokingly, "Surprising to see you up this early. Normally you're still sleeping till noon."
Zan's smile shrunk as he looked back over the railing, his hair falling forward over his right eye annoyingly, "Well, you see, I could finally sleep cause Mr. Pezke wasn't torturing that flute of his." Pushing the rogue hair from his face, he looked up at Leo.
Leo seemed surprised and spoke. "Didn't take you for the type to complain about the music. Didn't you try your hand at the guitar? Not to be offensive, of course." Leo crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the railing.
Zan scoffed as he flipped around, his heart dropping as he felt his back hang off the edge of the rail. "Well, considering the last time I tried, you told me to stop while in boot camp. That incident ended with me on latrine duty. The last time with had anything like that was in that class-" He imagined gagging as he thought of school in general. "-, and how old was I?"
Leo took a moment to answer the question as if gears were physically running until his left ear propped up, "You were 16?"
Zan sputtered back, "15."
Leo snapped his finger and sighed as he looked back up after his overdramatic display of getting the question wrong, "Yeah, 15 wasn't the best time for you at all."
Zan froze, his eyes glossing over momentarily as he thought, and then shrugged. Leo immediately grabbed Zan's shoulder and awkwardly pat it, quickly stuttering, "Well, since you're up, we could take a walk, get something to eat?"
Zan raised his hands, rubbed his eyes, and released a fake yawn. Then he suddenly registered what Leo said. Once again, he felt airless and nodded quickly and murmured, "Sure."
Leo nodded back and pushed Zan up by his shoulder jokingly. "Well, let us get going then."
A few moments went by while both awkwardly began walking with each other. As they stumbled across their first hurdle, they looked down at the wretched small width of the spiral stairs. Zan looked up at Leo and gestured his hand forward, "You first."
Leo chuckled as they both descended the stairs, encountering their next obstacle, Zan's adoptive father. Taller than Zan but shorter than Leo, the older Zarou put down the suit jacket he was tailoring, "You two boys going somewhere?"
His large apron hung almost to his knees as he looked up at Leo as if judging him. Leo responded with a brief, "Hello, Mr. Kalish."
Zan chuckled as he looked at his father, "Walking- but Dad, I cannot stress how dumb that apron is. What do you even need it for?"
Mr. Kalish attempted to keep his stone-faced expression before rolling his eyes and chuckling, "Says my boy who dresses as if he came from a stable." Immediately both began laughing as both embraced each other in a hug. "-Gah! My my, already back talking your pa'?. You know how to make your father feel old, but what about you, Leo? Last time I knew, Zan here walks fine by himself."
Zan pulled himself from the hug. Leo's ears perked up as he turned around and put down the trinket a resident was prepping for sale. "Well, walks are fun- at times, and I just wanted to do something to pass the time."
Mr. Kalish responded with an affirmatory grunt and turned back to Zan, pulling their head foreheads together for a moment and back, "Don't you do anything dumb, and if you can stop by Mr. Avci's store, I need some more thread, and he has a package of it ready for me."
Zan nodded and walked as Leo quickly followed. Both boys walked past the small archway leading from the courtyard of the housing block and down the road. The road had recently turned into a boulevard, with two lanes for vehicles to drive up and down. In a moment of silence, as Leo tried to find a topic to bring up, he watched the moving boxes, or cars, going up and down the road, and how they functioned still drove him mad with curiosity. Catching himself daydreaming, he quickly snapped back and looked over Zan's shoulder in a bit of personal admiration and a topic to bring up.
"So, who are you voting for?" Zan spoke before Leo could mouth his idea. Pulling his head up to avoid being spotted staring, he responded, "Well, I already voted. I had done it as I passed by for work yesterday."
Zan quickly changed his question, "Well then, who did you vote for?"
Leo sighed at himself. He could've answered the question nonetheless, "A vote for the D-W-P is a vote for you and me." He voiced the three letters and sentences in the catchy tune he had heard near the electronics store.
Zan stifled a laugh, trying not to show his reaction to the theme. Catching his air, barely avoiding the laughter, he spoke, "What was that?"
Leo couldn't control his laugh as it leaped out of him, "I heard it on a..." He inhaled, pretending to catch his breath while he tried to think of the word.
Zan beat him to it and said it for him, "Radio."
Leo nodded quickly, snapping his finger as he had done earlier. "-Yeah, that! I heard it on the radio. I think it is their theme."
Zan thought to himself as he felt his feet walking for him. "You didn't vote for them just cause of tune?" Zan made it evident with the tone of his voice he was joking.
Leo nonetheless rubbed his hands in nervousness. "-Well, no, it's a worker's party. The only work I've been doing since combat school is at the local tooling place. Not exactly on the books there, but the owner gives me a paycheck nonetheless." He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Seeing my dad work his ass off shows me how hard it can get, then the DWP also promises to make that all go away. You've been with us for a bit, Zan, so you'd know that appeal."
Zan listened intently, looking up and down the road as it met an intersection. "That's a good reason to vote for them." Zan waited for them both to get across the street as before. Once across, he resumed, "Not sure if I'll be voting."
Leo raised his eyebrow, unsurprised but still unpleased by Zan's response, as he noticed their surroundings, "Shouldn't Mr. Avci's store be near here?"
Zan quickly realized that he would've passed it by without a second doubt as he found himself a few feet from the storefront and spoke, "Give me a moment unless you want to come with?"
Leo bowed jokingly and leaned against the conveniently placed pole holding the street light, saying, "Go ahead, I'll be right here."
Zan nodded and quickly went to the storefront, staring at the sign, "Avci's Fabric and Tailoring." He stared at the unfitting barber's pole near the door while pulling it door open. Zan quickly gandered inside the store seeing nobody at the front desk. Nonetheless, he could hear speaking as the door closed behind him. Immediately he was surrounded by a different environment. Old wood paneling and floors covered the interior, and the smell of what seemed like paper as he walked up to the front desk, the floorboards creaking below him as Zan took a moment to distract himself from the agitated conversation he had heard in another room.
Staring at the different quantities and qualities of fabric in front, he was suddenly interrupted by the heavily raspy word. "Hello!" Taking a moment to let Zan recover, the tall, casually dressed Zarou store owner, Mr. Avci, stared down at Zan. "Long time no see!"
Zan held back his humor as he stared down the stubby muzzle and beadily eyes of Mr. Avci. "-Oh! My father-" Before he could even finish, Mr. Avci suddenly reached down his side supporting his age against the table, then bent back up, placing a nice bundle of fabric on the table. "Your father already paid beforehand, so no worries this time."
Zan nodded and quickly scooped up the material but was reeled in again by the voice of Mr. Avci before he could turn around. "How is your papa?"
Zan wanted to be internally upset, but as he stared at the frail Zarou, his hands pressed into the table to keep himself up straight. The stare expressed a million things, some things he would like to ask but knew it wasn't his place. Thus, Zan took a breath. "He's fine, says business is getting better."
Mr. Avci let out a weak laugh, not out of sickness but the wound he had on his neck. "Savas is a good man, but I'm assuming he didn't tell you that his old fabric was sloppy." Mr. Avci let out another weak laugh as the curtain behind and near him opened.
Zan stared at the other Zarou, mostly the same height as him but dressed in a clean military uniform, his tie freshly made and the side cap sitting perfectly between their ears. Mr. Avci sighed loudly as the Zarou frowned, attempting to ignore it. Yet, Mr. Avci raised his finger toward Zan to tell him to hold on, and after, Mr. Avci tilted his head and spoke with attitude to the Zarou. "Couldn't you leave out the back, boy!?"
The now apparent son of Mr. Avci turned, disputing to go back and follow his dad's instruction, but then defied, turning forward again. "Porco cane! I can't help that I'm following the law!"
If Mr. Avci didn't have fur and grey hair covering his face, he'd probably look red with anger. Quickly he slammed his fist down, probably in the offense for the swearing that Mr. Avci was not a fan of. "Leave! Out!"
Mr. Avci's son followed that order, his military boots stomping off, causing the floors to creak angrily. Grabbing the door handle, pulling it open, and then slamming it shut when he left.
Zan was promptly shocked, seeing the altercation, and almost decided to leave. Yet, curiosity kept him grounded as he turned his head bad to Mr. Avci, who seemed in bad shape. His hands shook as his head tilted downwards. The older man looked petrified, a sudden shift from the fury he let out. Zan couldn't help but feel remorse, the friendly aura of the shop turning depressing. Approaching a bit more, Zan softly spoke. "Mr. Avci? Are you okay?"
Mr. Avci slowly looked up, his eyes staring past Zan as if he was zoned out. However, before long, his eyes snapped left, staring at Zan. "I- Oh yes. Tell your dad I said hello." With struggle, Mr. Avci then slowly passed behind the curtain and disappeared.
Zan sighed, turned around, and left the store, where a worried Leo greeted him. "What was that about? Leo spoke with curiosity but with additional worry about Zan's health.
Zan shrugged, staring down the street and gesturing for Leo to follow as he wanted to distance himself from the shop. "Something with his son. Got angry about his service, I think ."
Leo's usually upbeat mood vanished as he frowned, worrying Zan as he stared at his tall friend. Leo seemed to think again and began to murmur, realizing he was quiet. "Must of been hard to see for poor Mr. Avci."
Zan got even more interested, a slight shame forming in his head as he felt Leo knew a mystery he didn't know and was probably about to be divulged. Yet, he pressed on with questions as both turned the corner around a busy cafe. "Why would that be?"
Leo sighed, presumably having the same thought of Zan but not wanting to tell. Yet, he couldn't leave Zan hanging, so with his ears drooping and tail movement seizing, he spoke with a scent of remorse. "Well, that wound on his neck?
Zan leaned closer, inquisitively listening. "What about it?"
Leo wanted to change the topic but couldn't dodge it, his palms rubbing together as he desperately looked around for something to distract Zan. "He was in the Great Revolt. That wound was the end of his service."
Zan immediately realized the burden of what Mr. Avci carried. Further realizing it was probably painful to see his son in military fatigues, thinking he'd have a similar or worse fate. So, at the mercy of Leo, Zan pointed at the restaurant down the road. "What about that place? I heard good things from Mr. Pezke."
Leo nodded in agreement, his happy mood returning as both picked up their pace, unanimously thinking they'd beat a line if they rushed. Thus, both entered the store, hoping no random encounters would dampen their moods as before. Fortunately, they had been correct with their pacing as they entered before a crowd could give them a wait. So instead, they were greeted by a cheerful man who let them eagerly examine the selection of pastries and goods in front of them, with both then making their way to a booth, blending in with the daily hustle of the city.
The sun shimmered through the blue curtains of the bedroom, and elaborate drawings and origami decorated the walls and shelves between the daily life items of the small flat. The sound of bustling traffic and chimes echoed from the window as a figure turned over in the messy bed. Suddenly, the sounds of peaceful city life were disturbed by the obnoxious ring of an alarm clock as it rattled against the nightstand. The blanket burrito broke free from its hypothetical prison to rear its head, revealing a young man named Zan with longer hair and stubble. His hands rubbed his bright blue eyes as his legs kicked out of the blanket. His left hand slammed down onto the nightstand stopping the vile alarm clock. Awakening in annoyance, he pulled himself from the bed onto the wooden floor where slippers waited. Shoving his feet into the soft slippers, he adjusted to the light gleaming in his small apartment. He made a few movements and reached for a bathrobe hanging from the wall. Then slowly shuffled into the restroom as he did whatever bodily needs he had to do. Emerging from the bathroom with wet hair and his bangs blocking parts of his vision as he yawned, shuffling to the dresser opposite his bed, he stared at himself in the mirror.
Looking down at his dresser to see the neatly organized pens and paper, he sighed before opening a drawer to reveal neatly organized clothes. Eventually, he picked his attire, a dark red button shirt and khaki-colored pants. Cautiously, he put his clothing of choice on, ensuring he was appealing and formal. Spinning on his heel, he walked back to his bed and rested his palm flat on a book he had stranded in the covers. Picking his palm up and closing his finger across the title, he nodded. Once done, he opened his front door and looked behind him. He stared for a moment watching his curtains flutter. Then he closed the door and walked out, and he felt blinded as the bright sun shined through the large open yard. Blinking, he guided himself to the railing and watched from the second floor of his flat building, watching the bustle of Zarou families, peers, or strangers he had never met. Almost preparing to walk off to the stairs, he felt some vile beast grabs his shoulder. He felt airlessness rush over his back before yelping in terror. Only to realize, while his face turned red, as it was not a vile beast but his friend Leo.
Leo, an exceptionally tall Zarou, laughed maniacally and patted him on the back. "Oh-! You should've seen your face!" Zan couldn't help but smile, then laugh as he looked up at Leo. Leo smiled as he spoke jokingly, "Surprising to see you up this early. Normally you're still sleeping till noon."
Zan's smile shrunk as he looked back over the railing, his hair falling forward over his right eye annoyingly, "Well, you see, I could finally sleep cause Mr. Pezke wasn't torturing that flute of his." Pushing the rogue hair from his face, he looked up at Leo.
Leo seemed surprised and spoke. "Didn't take you for the type to complain about the music. Didn't you try your hand at the guitar? Not to be offensive, of course." Leo crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the railing.
Zan scoffed as he flipped around, his heart dropping as he felt his back hang off the edge of the rail. "Well, considering the last time I tried, you told me to stop while in boot camp. That incident ended with me on latrine duty. The last time with had anything like that was in that class-" He imagined gagging as he thought of school in general. "-, and how old was I?"
Leo took a moment to answer the question as if gears were physically running until his left ear propped up, "You were 16?"
Zan sputtered back, "15."
Leo snapped his finger and sighed as he looked back up after his overdramatic display of getting the question wrong, "Yeah, 15 wasn't the best time for you at all."
Zan froze, his eyes glossing over momentarily as he thought, and then shrugged. Leo immediately grabbed Zan's shoulder and awkwardly pat it, quickly stuttering, "Well, since you're up, we could take a walk, get something to eat?"
Zan raised his hands, rubbed his eyes, and released a fake yawn. Then he suddenly registered what Leo said. Once again, he felt airless and nodded quickly and murmured, "Sure."
Leo nodded back and pushed Zan up by his shoulder jokingly. "Well, let us get going then."
A few moments went by while both awkwardly began walking with each other. As they stumbled across their first hurdle, they looked down at the wretched small width of the spiral stairs. Zan looked up at Leo and gestured his hand forward, "You first."
Leo chuckled as they both descended the stairs, encountering their next obstacle, Zan's adoptive father. Taller than Zan but shorter than Leo, the older Zarou put down the suit jacket he was tailoring, "You two boys going somewhere?"
His large apron hung almost to his knees as he looked up at Leo as if judging him. Leo responded with a brief, "Hello, Mr. Kalish."
Zan chuckled as he looked at his father, "Walking- but Dad, I cannot stress how dumb that apron is. What do you even need it for?"
Mr. Kalish attempted to keep his stone-faced expression before rolling his eyes and chuckling, "Says my boy who dresses as if he came from a stable." Immediately both began laughing as both embraced each other in a hug. "-Gah! My my, already back talking your pa'?. You know how to make your father feel old, but what about you, Leo? Last time I knew, Zan here walks fine by himself."
Zan pulled himself from the hug. Leo's ears perked up as he turned around and put down the trinket a resident was prepping for sale. "Well, walks are fun- at times, and I just wanted to do something to pass the time."
Mr. Kalish responded with an affirmatory grunt and turned back to Zan, pulling their head foreheads together for a moment and back, "Don't you do anything dumb, and if you can stop by Mr. Avci's store, I need some more thread, and he has a package of it ready for me."
Zan nodded and walked as Leo quickly followed. Both boys walked past the small archway leading from the courtyard of the housing block and down the road. The road had recently turned into a boulevard, with two lanes for vehicles to drive up and down. In a moment of silence, as Leo tried to find a topic to bring up, he watched the moving boxes, or cars, going up and down the road, and how they functioned still drove him mad with curiosity. Catching himself daydreaming, he quickly snapped back and looked over Zan's shoulder in a bit of personal admiration and a topic to bring up.
"So, who are you voting for?" Zan spoke before Leo could mouth his idea. Pulling his head up to avoid being spotted staring, he responded, "Well, I already voted. I had done it as I passed by for work yesterday."
Zan quickly changed his question, "Well then, who did you vote for?"
Leo sighed at himself. He could've answered the question nonetheless, "A vote for the D-W-P is a vote for you and me." He voiced the three letters and sentences in the catchy tune he had heard near the electronics store.
Zan stifled a laugh, trying not to show his reaction to the theme. Catching his air, barely avoiding the laughter, he spoke, "What was that?"
Leo couldn't control his laugh as it leaped out of him, "I heard it on a..." He inhaled, pretending to catch his breath while he tried to think of the word.
Zan beat him to it and said it for him, "Radio."
Leo nodded quickly, snapping his finger as he had done earlier. "-Yeah, that! I heard it on the radio. I think it is their theme."
Zan thought to himself as he felt his feet walking for him. "You didn't vote for them just cause of tune?" Zan made it evident with the tone of his voice he was joking.
Leo nonetheless rubbed his hands in nervousness. "-Well, no, it's a worker's party. The only work I've been doing since combat school is at the local tooling place. Not exactly on the books there, but the owner gives me a paycheck nonetheless." He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Seeing my dad work his ass off shows me how hard it can get, then the DWP also promises to make that all go away. You've been with us for a bit, Zan, so you'd know that appeal."
Zan listened intently, looking up and down the road as it met an intersection. "That's a good reason to vote for them." Zan waited for them both to get across the street as before. Once across, he resumed, "Not sure if I'll be voting."
Leo raised his eyebrow, unsurprised but still unpleased by Zan's response, as he noticed their surroundings, "Shouldn't Mr. Avci's store be near here?"
Zan quickly realized that he would've passed it by without a second doubt as he found himself a few feet from the storefront and spoke, "Give me a moment unless you want to come with?"
Leo bowed jokingly and leaned against the conveniently placed pole holding the street light, saying, "Go ahead, I'll be right here."
Zan nodded and quickly went to the storefront, staring at the sign, "Avci's Fabric and Tailoring." He stared at the unfitting barber's pole near the door while pulling it door open. Zan quickly gandered inside the store seeing nobody at the front desk. Nonetheless, he could hear speaking as the door closed behind him. Immediately he was surrounded by a different environment. Old wood paneling and floors covered the interior, and the smell of what seemed like paper as he walked up to the front desk, the floorboards creaking below him as Zan took a moment to distract himself from the agitated conversation he had heard in another room.
Staring at the different quantities and qualities of fabric in front, he was suddenly interrupted by the heavily raspy word. "Hello!" Taking a moment to let Zan recover, the tall, casually dressed Zarou store owner, Mr. Avci, stared down at Zan. "Long time no see!"
Zan held back his humor as he stared down the stubby muzzle and beadily eyes of Mr. Avci. "-Oh! My father-" Before he could even finish, Mr. Avci suddenly reached down his side supporting his age against the table, then bent back up, placing a nice bundle of fabric on the table. "Your father already paid beforehand, so no worries this time."
Zan nodded and quickly scooped up the material but was reeled in again by the voice of Mr. Avci before he could turn around. "How is your papa?"
Zan wanted to be internally upset, but as he stared at the frail Zarou, his hands pressed into the table to keep himself up straight. The stare expressed a million things, some things he would like to ask but knew it wasn't his place. Thus, Zan took a breath. "He's fine, says business is getting better."
Mr. Avci let out a weak laugh, not out of sickness but the wound he had on his neck. "Savas is a good man, but I'm assuming he didn't tell you that his old fabric was sloppy." Mr. Avci let out another weak laugh as the curtain behind and near him opened.
Zan stared at the other Zarou, mostly the same height as him but dressed in a clean military uniform, his tie freshly made and the side cap sitting perfectly between their ears. Mr. Avci sighed loudly as the Zarou frowned, attempting to ignore it. Yet, Mr. Avci raised his finger toward Zan to tell him to hold on, and after, Mr. Avci tilted his head and spoke with attitude to the Zarou. "Couldn't you leave out the back, boy!?"
The now apparent son of Mr. Avci turned, disputing to go back and follow his dad's instruction, but then defied, turning forward again. "Porco cane! I can't help that I'm following the law!"
If Mr. Avci didn't have fur and grey hair covering his face, he'd probably look red with anger. Quickly he slammed his fist down, probably in the offense for the swearing that Mr. Avci was not a fan of. "Leave! Out!"
Mr. Avci's son followed that order, his military boots stomping off, causing the floors to creak angrily. Grabbing the door handle, pulling it open, and then slamming it shut when he left.
Zan was promptly shocked, seeing the altercation, and almost decided to leave. Yet, curiosity kept him grounded as he turned his head bad to Mr. Avci, who seemed in bad shape. His hands shook as his head tilted downwards. The older man looked petrified, a sudden shift from the fury he let out. Zan couldn't help but feel remorse, the friendly aura of the shop turning depressing. Approaching a bit more, Zan softly spoke. "Mr. Avci? Are you okay?"
Mr. Avci slowly looked up, his eyes staring past Zan as if he was zoned out. However, before long, his eyes snapped left, staring at Zan. "I- Oh yes. Tell your dad I said hello." With struggle, Mr. Avci then slowly passed behind the curtain and disappeared.
Zan sighed, turned around, and left the store, where a worried Leo greeted him. "What was that about? Leo spoke with curiosity but with additional worry about Zan's health.
Zan shrugged, staring down the street and gesturing for Leo to follow as he wanted to distance himself from the shop. "Something with his son. Got angry about his service, I think ."
Leo's usually upbeat mood vanished as he frowned, worrying Zan as he stared at his tall friend. Leo seemed to think again and began to murmur, realizing he was quiet. "Must of been hard to see for poor Mr. Avci."
Zan got even more interested, a slight shame forming in his head as he felt Leo knew a mystery he didn't know and was probably about to be divulged. Yet, he pressed on with questions as both turned the corner around a busy cafe. "Why would that be?"
Leo sighed, presumably having the same thought of Zan but not wanting to tell. Yet, he couldn't leave Zan hanging, so with his ears drooping and tail movement seizing, he spoke with a scent of remorse. "Well, that wound on his neck?
Zan leaned closer, inquisitively listening. "What about it?"
Leo wanted to change the topic but couldn't dodge it, his palms rubbing together as he desperately looked around for something to distract Zan. "He was in the Great Revolt. That wound was the end of his service."
Zan immediately realized the burden of what Mr. Avci carried. Further realizing it was probably painful to see his son in military fatigues, thinking he'd have a similar or worse fate. So, at the mercy of Leo, Zan pointed at the restaurant down the road. "What about that place? I heard good things from Mr. Pezke."
Leo nodded in agreement, his happy mood returning as both picked up their pace, unanimously thinking they'd beat a line if they rushed. Thus, both entered the store, hoping no random encounters would dampen their moods as before. Fortunately, they had been correct with their pacing as they entered before a crowd could give them a wait. So instead, they were greeted by a cheerful man who let them eagerly examine the selection of pastries and goods in front of them, with both then making their way to a booth, blending in with the daily hustle of the city.