Markus is walking along the quiet street just after leaving Rodrick's weapon shop. Eclair and Aurora follow closely, but they've been keeping to the opposite side of the war hammer dangling around his waist. The information learned from Rodrick has the fae slightly off-edge.
“Let's find a nice place to rest.” Markus says to girls. “We need to have a conversation about what mana is, because I don't think I'll bluff my way for much longer.”
Eclair and Aurora look at each other, knowing exactly what Markus meant. They quickly agree to the idea and continue following Markus, until he stops several buildings down the road from Rodrick's shop. The group is in front of a small pastry shop now.
Without a word, Markus turns to open the door. He beckons to the fae to follow him inside, which they accept. “This will do just fine” He says as they move past the door.
The pastry shop is a long and narrow building. Seating can be seen on the right side while a large windowed counter top is on the other. A few customers are eating at the far end, but that leaves plenty of space open. Markus walks over to a table in the corner with no one around. Napkins and other items are seen at the edge of the table.
“Wait here. I'll grab some food then we can talk more.” Markus says to the fae before walking towards the counter. Eclair and Aurora land on the table and get themselves comfortable while waiting.
At the counter, various pastries can be seen through the display windows. Many are recognizable to Markus, but a few are more exotic. However, he quickly realizes all the cards showing pastry information cannot be read by him. Their prices are the only thing he can pick out from the scribbles.
“Hiya! What do you want?” A voice from over the counter calls out.
Markus looks up to see a young woman with freckles. She has long brunette hair, but her black cat ears catch his attention. She's one of the beast people, but by far the most human looking seen so far. Her ears and the swaying tail behind her are the only true differences.
“You alright mister? What do you want?” She asks again.
“I'm fine. I was just thinking how several guys from where I'm from would love to meet you.” Markus says with a smile. He then points to a chocolate looking pastry and another with a red fruit saying “I'll have those two please.”
The young woman smiles back before quickly getting to work, putting the pastries into a bag. She then walks further down the counter to where an old style cash register can be seen. Typing into it, a total amount pops out at the top. Markus digs for his wallet as he follows, and begins to replicate the actions seen earlier.
The wallet is taken out, a five dollar coin is pulled, then handed over to the young woman. She enters the amount into the cash register and starts writing a receipt. The drawer opens so she can grab some small coins, along with the receipt to hand over. Markus makes sure to put the receipt in the wallet before walking away with the bag.
As Markus returns to the table where the fae are waiting, he says “It's funny. Everyone uses wallet designs made to hold paper money, but there's none around. Adaption made them fancy receipt holders now.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
The pastries are laid out, and everyone happily starts eating the food. Still learning about his fae companions, Markus hopes they like the red fruit pastry he picked. A short time passes until most of the food is gone.
Markus quickly starts looking around, making sure no one is nearby. He then starts saying “Alright, we need to talk about mana. In my world, mana meant a lot of different things. Explain it to me like I was a child.”
Both fae start thinking to themselves as they search for a simple explanation. Aurora seems to have the hardest time, wearing a serious face as she struggles to think of something easy. Eclair is still happily picking at the food.
“Everyone and everything on Noverra has mana.” Eclair says while taking another bite. “Mana is what drives magics on our world. Many people even say mana is a life force for living things too. Too little or too much makes people sick, and none at all makes you dead... supposedly. Those are the important details.”
“Okay... so the mana here does match some versions from back home.” Markus replies. “But Rodrick also said people from Earth have no mana.”
Aurora speaks up saying “Nobody from Earth has mana. Our worlds are different that way, and everyone knows it. Countless test and experiments in the past have proven that.”
“Wonderful... I can't ever use magic. I also assume there are ways to detect mana which may one day blow my cover.” Markus says with a sigh. “I have to keep the war hammer then. Any advantage helps at this point.”
Aurora nods in agreement, then says “Your hammer makes Eclair and me... nervous. Please be careful with it. A lot of people believe those types of weapons are one of the worst things to own.”
“I'll be very careful. I just hope I never have to use it.” Markus says with a grim face. He then turns around to look at the cat woman working the counter for another customer. “Here's another question, what does everyone call the animal looking people around here?”
“Beast-kin, Beastials, Demi-Humans, Were-people, Were-animals, and more. But I think Beast-kin, Beastials, and Demi's are what they use themselves. It's a broad term.” Eclair says while looking at the cat woman too.
“Beastials... I'll go with that. Gives a name to everyone I've been seeing.” Markus replies. Turning back around, he says “When your ready we can go.”
As soon as Markus finishes those words, a rumbling engine can be heard just outside the window of the pastry shop. Looking out, he sees a truck parking near the front door. The back is loaded with crates and boxes covered by tarps.
From the passenger side, a heavy set man steps out. He's wearing an old style tan suit with suspenders. Completely bald with a thick, brown mustache and brown eyes. He reaches back into the truck and grabs a tan trilby hat matching his suit.
He seems to be excited, and calls over his companion that was driving the truck. That man eventually steps out too, moving around to meet the heavy set man in front of the shop. The driver was clearly a guard of some sort. Decked out in full leather armor with assorted weapons and pouches around the waist.
Markus focuses on the heavy set man, watching him happily enter the pastry shop along with an uninterested guard. He quickly walks over to the counter and starts browsing the selection. With points and gestures, he was shopping with a smile.
“Augustus! So good to see you!” A woman's voice calls out. It came from the beastial cat woman at the counter. She rushes over to talk to the heavy set man.
“Cindy! I've just made it back into town, but I couldn't wait to drop by your shop. I've always loved the goodies here.” Augustus says with a beaming smile. The man is incredibly gregarious, chatting with the woman named Cindy about recent trips. Markus listens to the conversation closely, looking to see if he can pick out any details.
As the conversation winds down, Augustus finally starts getting his pastries. He goes over to the cash register to pay, and then makes his bodyguard pick the food up. Both men make their way over to the table directly behind Markus.
The conversation between both men isn't as interesting as Markus hoped. They talk about recent deliveries and the various clothing materials at the back of their truck. Interest is quickly lost, and Markus begins to get up from the table. The fae lift off from the table to follow him.
Markus makes sure he's grabbed everything, and starts turning to head out the front door. Suddenly, his right arm is grabbed by the man called Augustus. The move startles Markus, and forces him to look down at the man.
“I'm sorry to disturb sir, but I must know where you got those clothes. They are of incredible quality. I'm a huge fan of the modern Earth styles, anything Earth related really. Would you like to join me for dinner later? My treat.” Augustus says with a bright smile.