The daylight fell through the window into a dark room.

With it, a gust of fresh air came about, stirring the stale air covered in the stench of unknown origin. The chamber was dark, and lightly furnished, apart from a table and a chest containing clothes, there was only a bed. Which was currently occupied.

The person under the covers had a hard time waking up, but enough reasons.

Mainly, he couldn't breathe.

Still sleepy and with a foggy mind, the person got up on their but, throwing off a fluffy ball, which covered its head before, at the same time.

"Oh..., fuck off,... Suzie! Can't you..... let me sleep for once?" The man bellowed while breathing heavily.

On the other hand, the fluff in question just stared at him, having sat down next to his leg after being brutally denied its rightful place.

"Auch!! Suzie!" The man tasted the kitty revenge, as his foot found itself between his pupil's jaws.

The man, smacked lightly the biting beast on the head, making it back off immediately.

"You little shit, how dare you attack the man who feeds you!?" He asked with an overzealous tone.

"MEOW" The cat expressed her opinion, by trying to shatter the man's eardrumms.

"What do you want?" The man finally asked the right question.

Suzie turned around, jumped off the bed, walked by her two kittens who lay on a blanket next to the bed and listened to the interaction quietly. The man didn't want them under his covers, so he made them a lair next to him. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the adult one from harassing him. Big Kitty finally stopped by a pair of bowls, one containing a bit of water and the other empty.

"Of course, you are hungry." The man caressed his face with his palms. "Why can't you wait patiently like your children, and instead try to kill me in the sleep you little shit."

Eventually, he stood up, put a coat on and walked out of the door.

The corridor outside was empty, all the doors were closed and no one wandered around. It was as such because it was too early for the tavern's inhabitants to wake up, but only they lived on such a schedule, everyone in the city awoke a long time ago.

This was clearly seen, as the man stepped down the floor, and entered a hall filled with tables, with a countertop on one side, the entry on the other and a podium for performers standing in a wall between them, opposite to the stairway.

The hall wasn't filled to the brim but still had a considerable amount of customers, it will change after ten-ish hours when people will come to drink and socialise at the bar.

The man walked to the counter, behind which two women sat and played cards.

"Egh-em. Hi Genny, hi Daria." The man announced himself.

One of them, Daria, stood up and walked over.

"Hi, Derek." They responded and looked at him. After noticing his attire, composed of a shirt and loose trousers, ideal for sleeping, she added. "Cat food, am I right?"

Derek yawned, then answered. "Yes, Suzie is hungry."

Daria went to the kitchen while Genny continued the conversation.

"Hi. So, a hungry cat is an angry cat, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah, she is insufferable at those moments. Not like her boys, they are the calmes animals I have ever seen." Replied Derek, drowsiness apparent in his voice.

"I had a cat in childhood... Mr. Popo was his name." She chuckled "He was an orange cat, very energetic but also friendly and cuddly boy. My little angel." She smiled to herself.

"Yeah," Derek answered half-heartedly.

"Here you go, I put the payment on your tab." Daria returned with a bowl filled with scraps of meat.

"Thank you. Now, I will return to my room and please, remember to wake me up as always." Derek said his goodbyes and turned towards the stairs.

"Good night!" Genny said playfully, for which she got a smack in the arm from her companion. "Auch!"

Derek didn't see what happened next, as he headed towards his room without faltering.

He had to feed a cat.

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Derek woke up to the loud banging coming from the door. He sat up moving a cat that snuggled next to him away and responded.

"I am awake! Thanks!"

Next, he stood up and put on his clothes.

Before going to bed again, he gave the cats half of the meat in the bowl, the rest, he hid in a cabinet inaccessible by Suzie. Now, after waking up for good, the cats will get the rest of their food.

"MEOW!" As soon as Suzie saw the food, the cat alarm went off.

While she was a greedy food devourer, the cat didn't forget about her children, but their moment would come. After all, they didn't eat solid foods yet.

Derek watched as the kitty ate, and then he left the room. He left it open, as the cats were free to roam the tavern, even the owner agreed.

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After getting down to the bar, he ordered a late breakfast, or maybe an early dinner. As Daria brought him his food, a man sat beside him.

"Hello there." He announced himself.

"Hi Mark, any good news?" Answered the still-sleepy man.

"In fact, yes. My previous caravan did well, as you have heard for sure. The merchants I talked with also heard about that, and about the profits their competitors made while collaborating with me, so it wasn't hard to convince them to place their trust in us. Especially now that thanks to you we don't have to worry about any loan." He finished with a wide grin on his face.

"So, what do you need from me? I already reserved the security for the predicted time and you know it." Questioned Derek in between bites.

"Well, you talked about your nephew being a mage working for the army, am I right?" Started the newcomer.

"Yeah, that's right...?"

"So... couldn't we take him with us? I thought about it, and not only would we need to give the merchants a lesser part of the earnings afterwards, but the security would be way cheaper also. Couldn't you ask him about it?" For a While, no one said anything, Mark carefully watched Derek in search of an answer, while the man in question seemed in thought.

"I don't think it's possible, he will be in the military for at least the next four or so months, and they don't get leaves nearly long enough for him to go with us." Answered Derek, decisiveness filled his voice.

Mark sighed. "Okay, I understand, but please ask him when you meet him, in case you may be wrong. Ok?" His head fell a bit when he spoke.

"Okay, I will remember." Answered half-heartedly the ex-hunter.

After a while, and a few more sentences, Mark left the establishment, leaving Derek alone with his food.

In truth, he told a half-lie to his partner in business. Derek had zero idea about the schedule of his nephew and he had no will to ask him about it in this context.

He and Mark got to know each other at one of the parties hosted by Mrs. Getrel, where Mark got to know about Derk's savings, and his eagerness to invest them. They partnered in establishing a company, Derek's starting capital, and Mark's experience in the trade made it relatively easy to organise a caravan filled with goods to sell.

Derek didn't tell Adam about this venture, first of all, he didn't know if it would succeed, The second thing was that he wanted to brag about the money he earned and see Adam's face as he revealed it. That's the main reason he didn't want his nephew involved. It was a bit immature and not exactly a money-oriented decision, but those little immature things are what bring sweetness to life.

After ending his meal, Derek headed back to his room. He had two things to do there, one was to hug the cats for the last time before leaving, and the other involved changing his attire to a more formal one.

After doing just that, he left the room. He wore a brown coat, one he had done himself with some help from a seamstress in Ferston, underneath which he had a white shirt and a thick vest. His trousers were black, and fit quite well with the mostly brown outfit.

While he looked a bit like he was about to head on a hunt, the clothes were clean, closely fitted and with the exception of the coat, done with quality materials by craftsmen working mostly for the capital's nobility. If he exchanged the coat for something else, bought in the capital as the rest of the clothes, he would look much more refined and noble but he didn't do that, mainly because he liked the coat and it gave him some fierce style, which he definitely needed not to remain single for the rest of his life.

Taking care of young Adam was disastrous for his love life, but his nephew's recent coming of age made it possible for Derek to reappear on the dating scene and he was sure not to squander this opportunity, especially since people he met recently were way above his league, not that he cared.

Today, the only thing he planned was to go to the party. The widow organized it, and she sent him an invitation. Not only would it be rude to refuse such a thing, but also socializing and meeting new people, powerful inside the capital would be great for his business opportunities. While he invested most of his savings into Mark's caravan company, he still had some money left, and if even that stash didn't make the cut, his nephew was about to be wealthy, and taking some money from him shouldn't be that difficult. Or he could find opportunities and manage Adam's money as an advisor, but the first option was way cooler.

Getting back to the topic, Derek left the tavern and went westward, where the party was hosted. The western part of the city was filled with mansions and larger buildings, housing the wealthiest of the citizens. Some of the houses were even made from stone and to one of such he was headed.

The house belonging to Mrs. Gertel was something more than a house, it was a mansion. Tall, having at least three floors and an attic, the building seemed elegant. It didn't have many decorations, apart from flowers hanging from every window and a few bas-reliefs on the higher parts of the walls. The roof was slightly sloped, and a big porch stood before the entrance.

About the entrance, it was guarded by two servants, waiting to receive the guests in the cold.

Few people entered when Derek neared the building. The servants greeted him from afar, recognising him from his previous visits. He was somewhat of a regular after all.

"Good evening, Mister Puffypaw. Please come inside, most of the guests have already gathered and the mistress is getting annoyed at the latecomers." The servant said to Derek when he came up the stairs to the porch.

"Good evening," Derek responded in kind.

The servants opened the doors for him, and the ex-hunter entered the house.

He appeared in a lobby, where another servant took his overcoat and boots while giving him a pair of slippers. Then, Derek went to the sitting room, just across the hallway.

There, Mrs Gertel waited by the door to greet the newcomers.

"Welcome, Mister Puffypaw. I haven't expected you to come so early." She greeted Derek.

"I'm honoured to be invited, being late would be disastrous for my reputation." He joked.

"Truly, on another note, I heard your nephew returned from a mission with a terrible wound, is that true?" The woman asked.

"I wouldn't say terrible, he lived through worse back when we lived in Ferston, a few broken ribs wouldn't kill him. In fact, I met him just yesterday, we finally named the kittens." Elaborated Derek.

"Ohh?? Finally, my guests will stop being eternally confused when you talk about them. What names did you decide on?"

"Just as the doctor suggested, the mother is now called Suzy. We choose a name for one of the brothers each, and unfortunately, Adam hasn't decided yet on the name for his one, mine is Frank." Told Derek with dedication.

"A pity, I just started to wonder what name would a mage give to his cat, I rarely spend time with mages, and hearing about their pets is even rarer.

How about the business you established along with Mister Bifor?" the widow changed the subject, after drifting to too-personal topics.

"Oh, it's going great! Mark is experienced in the trade and leads me flawlessly, and the preparation for the next caravan is going smoothly."

"I knew I was right when I recommended him to you, Mister Bifor's results from his first caravan were excellent, even though he also had to deal with a bank in the meantime." She praised herself, and Mark Bifor alike.

Doors across the hallway opened, and a pair of women entered the lobby. It was a sign for Derek to move on, and leave the misteress to the new guests.

"I hope we can exchange a few words later, now I will retreat and greet other people around. Thank you for a great conversation, Mrs." Derek took the clue after the woman looked at the newcomers for an uncomfortable amount of time, and chose to leave.

"Thank you too, and expect me to visit your table later tonight, Mr Puffypaw." The woman took his leave and turned towards the newly arrived guests right after showing a dashing smile to her ex-conversationist.

Derek walked deeper into the mansion, to mingle and find new friends among the high society of the capital. While the mistress of the gathering stayed until the last person arrived.

They managed to exchange a few words over the course of the party, but not nearly enough to Derek's liking.

After returning to his room and laying on the bed with Suzy, he was still regretful.

'I need to meet her in some more comfortable circumstances. the noble parties have too many rules and regulations for me to get to know her...' He thought, just before falling into the much-needed sleep.

The night was late and the morning would come much sooner than expected.