Dana isn’t young. She hasn’t been young for over fifty years since she’d opened the Stew Fever. A name she chose because she really liked making stews. They were easy, filling, and most importantly, very profitable. Now though, she still has stew but also many other foods.

Though most people still come for the stew. Apparently using the same pot and broth for decades had given her stews a unique taste that her competition can’t hope to replicate.

Just as she was adding fresh ingredients to the Pot, Dana hears the ringing of a bell. Turning to look, she can’t help but grimace at the idiot young man she’d taken in all those years.

“Gino,” she growls, “Shouldn’t you be doing double shifts at the docks? And what’s with the cat? Unless I’m shoving it in the pot, get rid of it.”

Before Gino can even say a peep, the fluffy ball of fur is the first to open it’s mouth.

“Woman! Are you mad? Do you want to get yourself killed?” The cat asks, quickly silencing Dana up. She glances at Gino, but the child looks resigned.

Dana had seen a lot of shit over the years living in the Undercrust. A talking cat is weird, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

“Are you threatening me?” Dana asks while continuing to work on her stew.

“No, I’m only giving you a friendly warning. If you put my magnificent flesh into your pot, the food will taste so amazingly good that you’re going to steal all the competition from your competitors. At which point they will consider you too large of a threat to be allowed to live. Pooling their money, they will hire an [Assassin] to end your life.”

Dana snorts. “You’ve got quite the imagination.”

“I’ve also got quite the stomach.”

“And I’ve got quite the price.”

“And I’ve got quite the coin.”

She chuckles. “Then I’ve got quite the stew. Take a seat and I’ll bring you a plate.”

While Gino and the cat sit at a table, Dana finishes adding fresh cuts to the stew. As soon as it is done, she fills up two plates, one of which has a significantly larger number of meat chunks.

She then walks up to the two and places the bowls in front of them. “The name's Dana.”

“Quasi,” The cat answers.

“Why do I have so little meat?” Gino whines.

When Dana glances at Gino, the kid immediately lowers his head as though everything that just came out of his mouth never happened.

“So, how’d you meet Gino here?”

“I met him while he was getting beaten up.”

Looking at Gino, only now does Dana notice that the kid has a decent bit of bruising throughout his body. Nothing severe, but he’ll be sore for a good week.

“Who did you pick a fight with, Gino?”

“It was nobody.”

“You expect me to believe that?” She says.

“Technically, he’s not wrong.” Quasi says. “A fight involves two people fighting. From my view, it was more along the lines of a one-sided beatdown.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m just trying to make things right.”

The thing about Dana is that Dana is not a small woman. She’s big, not rounded big, but more like the pot is heavy enough to require the strength of two-men to reliably lift daily. Dana lifts it on her own.

Her calloused hand makes a fist and her knuckles pop from the strain.

“Gino, Mellina sold herself to a gang so that you can keep your fucking head after trying to steal from them. If you are getting yourself into trouble again, then you better tell me or I’m going to end up right alongside her.”

Gino freezes at the statement. He’d been avoiding eye contact with her ever since the incident. Now, when he does look up, he can't help but see worry, care, alongside a big helping of fear.

“I’m sorry.”

Dana sighs as her flaring anger dissipates. “Just tell me what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Gino nods slowly. “I’m going to become a [Gladiator] and make enough trist to buy her freedom.”

Dana groans while Quasi chuckles with a piece of meat in his mouth.

“I’ve taken care of you for over a decade now. And in that decade, you were always a smart kid. But now, it seems you’ve turned into an idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Maimed? Your sister needs help and you want to risk your life as a fucking [Gladiator]? Are you mad?”

“I’m doing this Dana! I’m going to win the money and I’m going to set her free.”

“Do you even know how much that will cost? Mellina is a virgin! The Flamingos aren't going to give her up without a lot of trist!”

“I’ll meet them and figure that out.”

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Dana groans. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Food and familial drama really goes well together.” Quasi comments.

Dana glances at the fluffy cat licking the broth from its nose.

“Are you a [Druid]?”

“Cat [Captain]. Long story short, my muscular hard-headed minion is signed up for the tournament. Since my minion needs to rest for tomorrow, I am using Gino as a temporary minion to assist me in gambling my money.”

It is only now that Dana notices the plump bag attached to Gino’s side. “I see.”

“So, what's the whole story with the sister? Gino’s been pretty silent about it like just talking shoves a rod of guilt up his butt.”

Dana doesn't even smile at the joke. Instead, she pulls a chair and sits down at the table. She then glances at Gino to see if the young man wants to tell the story, but he only looks down.

“Over a decade ago, Julia came with young Gino to my restaurant with only a trist to her name. She’d come shortly after their mother died. They both entered my restaurant in rags and sat at this table specifically. I was about to shew them both out until I noticed Julia held a single trist to her chest.” Dana sulks. “They were hungry. Gino was holding back tears and Julia’s were already dried. When I came to the table to ask their order, Julia asked for a single stew while pushing a trist to me. I asked why only one, and the poor girl said it was for her brother and that she wasn’t hungry. She looked more famished and hungrier than Gino.” Dana shakes her head. “In the undercrust, children in poverty are common. You see them often either as [Beggars] or [Thieves]. If they survive, they generally join one of the gangs.”

Quasi slowly laps the broth from his bowl while listening intently to the woman's story. Children in poverty, struggling to survive and eventually joining an organization that thrives on poverty and corruption that keeps the cycle going. It’s a horrible society to live in if you’re not at the top.

“Another thing common in the undercrust is greed and selfishness. Such a thing breeds in the undercrust and only allows those who have such traits to survive. A rare trait that moves my heart enough to offer an extra bowl free of charge.”

Glancing at Gino, the young man is staring at his barely eaten stew while avoiding any and all eye contact with Dana. The kid looks ready to puke from the guilt rising up in his gut.

“When they finished eating, instead of leaving immediately, Julia came to me, apologised for accepting the free bowl and asked if she could work it off.”

“Damn,” Quasi voices. “Sounds like she’s looking for a job.”

Dana chuckles. “If it was only that, then I’d have told them both to leave. I can run my restaurant fine on my own. But no, Julia looked stricken with guilt. She looked absolutely in pain for accepting such a free handout.”

“That’s not normal.”

Dana shakes her head. “No, it’s not. So I let her do the dishes while Gino sat silently at the table.”

“She must have impressed you.”

Dana nods. “She cleaned the dishes, pots, sink, and even the floor. It took her hours, and by the end, my kitchen was cleaner than when I opened. Once she finished, she looked happy like a weight had lifted off her shoulders. When she prepared to leave, I asked where they were going. She said to find a safe place to sleep.”

The woman leans into her chair and smiles. “I offered her a night in my storage room and Julia immediately refused as though the guilt for accepting would kill her.”

“That’s not normal behavior,” Quasi says. “I’m guessing you offered her some work.”

“I did. My storage room was a mess and I told her to organize it before she sleeps.”

“And that worked?”

“It did and she did a phenomenal job too. Julia has exceptional attention to detail and a work ethic I’ve never seen before.”

“What happened next?”

“Quite a bit. I offered food and rest for work until I ran out of things for her to do. I offered her a job and she refused. She believed that any assistance she helped wouldn’t be worth a permanent job. I eventually had to guilt her.”

“Guilt her?”

Dana grins mischievously. “Yup. With how clean my restaurant became, I gained so much business that I needed assistance- a lie. I could handle the increased workflow on my own just fine, but I didn’t want to give Julia up. I blamed her for the increased work and told her it was her responsibility to assist me. She accepted, but demanded more work and responsibility if she was to accept pay.”

Quasi shakes his head. “I’m starting to think she’s on the spectrum.”

Dana tilts her head. “Spectrum?”

“Nothing,” Quasi waves a paw. “What happened next?”

“Just life. She lived and worked for me until recently when Gino got caught trying to steal from the Flamingo’s and was to be publicly executed last week. Hearing her brother's danger, Julia rushed to the Flamingos and begged for his life. They accepted the plea in exchange for her signing a contract of servitude.”

Quasi glances at the young man who looks like he wants to drown in the broth.

“No wonder Gino’s willing to risk his life for his sister. His sister is amazing!”

“And now she will be a gang prostitute because of this idiot.” Dana glares at Gino. “I told you to not get involved with the Vultures.”

“I’ll make it right.”

“How? By dying in the arena? She sacrificed her life for you and you’re just throwing it away.”

“I’ll win! I’ll get the trist and set her free.”

“If they sell her, Gino. A virgin like Julia can easily make them hundreds of thousands of trist over a decade.”

“I’ll make sure they do!” Gino says again. “I’ll figure it out!”

Dana groans at the pathetic display in front of her. “Idiot.” She then glances at Quasi whose bowl is empty. “What do you think?”

“Me? Honestly, he’s an idiot, but he’s a good idiot with his heart in the right place. You said the Flamingos has Julia, right? What kind of gang are they?”

“Drugs and sex. They operate nearly all of the brothels in the undercrust. Julia will probably be working in one of them if not already.”

“Then me and Gino best meet with their leader sooner rather than later.”

Gino lifts his head and glances at Quasi. The cat has a smile on his face.

“You’re going to help him?” Dana asks.

“Of course. I’ve got a soft spot for suicidal idiots willing to help family.”

Dana sighs, but smiles. “Try to get it under eighty thousand.”

“What?” Quasi raises an eyebrow.

“Her contract. Get it under eighty thousand trist. I can sell my restaurant for that much.”

“NO!” Gino yells. “You can-”

“Shut it, Gino. I care for her too. My restaurant for her freedom is an easy trade.”

“Y-you can't.” Gino stutters.

Dana looks Quasi directly in the eyes. “Please, don’t let this idiot sacrifice his life. He’s young and has his entire life ahead of him.”

“Dana!” Gino yells, but the woman ignores him. Her gaze is still on Quasi.

Quasi, watching this interaction, can’t help but start laughing- causing the two to grow confused. Once Quasi’s laughter subsides, he stands up and stretches. “Fine. I’ll help- but only because you gave me extra meat in my stew. Gino, get up and let's go.”

“Y-yes.” The kid hops up off the table without finishing his stew. As soon as he does, Quasi jumps on his shoulder and Dana watches them leave.