"Rise and shine, Janus!"

He felt a hand tug on his arm. He awoke to see Itzel standing above him. He blinked twice before taking his blanket off and sitting upright. "Did you have a good night sleep?" Itzel asked him

"Yeah, it was fine," he said as he rubbed his eyes. "My neck kind of hurts though."

"Maybe you can buy a pillow with some of the Tokens you're about to earn."

"Sounds like a smart first investment."

Gurk stepped into the room, dressed only in a pair of shorts that covered the upper-half of his legs and his metal mask. "Oh!" Janus exclaimed, jumping back with shock once he saw the half-naked crocodile. His eyes moved upwards before becoming locked on to the plate that he held out. On it was a piece of dark brown bread that looked like it was in a toaster for a bit too long.

"Breakfast?" Gurk asked as he lowered the plate so Janus could take it.

"Thank you." Janus accepted the offer and proceeded to take a bite. There was a loud crunch. The toast was dry and burnt but still edible.

"Gurk! Why don't you put some clothes on? You don't know Janus enough to walk around like that!" Itzel said, pointing towards the bathroom door. The crocodile hung his head low and walked away. "Sorry about that, Janus. He's not used to having guests in this place."

There was another loud crunch from Janus biting into the bread. He chewed a bit and swallowed. "It's fine. Just wasn't expecting, you know. To see all that."

"He's not the most socially adept guy," Itzel said. She took a seat by Janus and leaned back against the sofa. "He's more than nice, but he can be kind of awkward in certain situations. Not too many people want to hang out with a giant talking crocodile, you know?"

"I see." Janus placed the rest of his toast on the plate and lowered it onto the nearby table. "Is it alright if I ask you a question about Gurk? If it's something too personal, feel free to let me know and not answer."

"I've got a feeling I know what it is.” A corner of her mouth lifted as she readied her answer in her head. “Go for it."

"That long streak on his head," Janus pointed at the top of his forehead and then moved his finger down towards his nose. Itzel made a frown as she made a slight nod.

"Yeah, I forgot that Gurk has to take off his helmet every night before he goes to bed. I’m used to it, but I guess it’s a new sight for you," Itzel said in a tone just above a whisper. She looked behind her towards the bathroom to see if the coast was clear. "It's kind of a touchy subject."

"If you don't want to explain, that's fine."

"No, no. If you're going to staying here with us for a while, you'll find out sooner or later. Like I said, Gurk takes forever in the bathroom so that should give me plenty of time to give you the gist of it." Itzel leaned forward in her seat, keeping her hands in her lap and her head down. "Enidri gave him that scar."

"What?" Janus said aloud, shock overcoming his face. "The woman that was at the diner?"

"The one and only. It was way back when I first met Gurk. Both of my parents were still working at Refinery 94, so I must have been around twelve or thirteen when we first met. I was off trying to earn some extra Tokens by slaying some Essencima that were roaming around the alleys of Rilcoe. Someone told me that they saw some kind of new Essencima running through the neighborhood. I followed the direction that they pointed me in. Ended up heading down an alley into a dead end. Saw a long blue tail sticking out from behind a dumpster."

"Gurk," Janus said.

"Yup," Itzel nodded. "Poor guy was terrified. And he was probably just a fourth of the size he is now. He was tiny. Naked. Shaking. He looked at me with the most horrified look in his eyes as he just trembled in the corner. I assumed Gurk was what the guy was talking about when he said he saw a different kind of Essencima moving around Rilcoe. But as you can tell, Gurk is not an Essencima. Definitely not a regular person, but most certainly not a bloody-thirsty creature either."

"Well then, what exactly is he?" Janus asked.

"Neo-Sapia. Not quite human. Not quite animal. Very rare. Nobody fully knows where they come from. Some say they're grown in labs. Others say they come from the Outskirts, but that's definitely not the case since they have Implants. I've tried talking to Gurk about it, but he says he doesn't remember anything before the day we met."

Janus' eyes widened at the revelation. "Really? That's interesting."

"Huh. I guess that is something both you and Gurk share. But considering how rough Labrisson can be, I wouldn't be surprised if people would want to suppress as much of their past as possible into the depths of their minds. Intentionally or otherwise. And I've got a feeling Gurk must not have been treated too well before he met me judging by the way others treated him."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I assume people gave Gurk the same looks that they give him now," Janus replied.

"Of course. But back then he was a lot smaller and a lot less formidable. That's why he needed me to protect him. Enidri was the first person to ever try to hurt Gurk. I remember it clearly. Like I said, I had found Gurk hiding behind a dumpster.” Itzel than stuck out the palm of her hand right in front of her, as if she was reaching out to someone. “I held my hand out, trying to show him that I didn't want to harm him. Took a bit of convincing but he eventually came out from his hiding spot. But as he's getting out, I hear some static going off in the distance. I turn my head and Enidri is there with her Ion Blade drawn. Up to this point, I had only seen her around Rilcoe a few times, but I didn't know anything about her other than the fact that she was a half-decent Exterminator for someone in her mid-teens."

"You both have been slaying Essencima for a living for that long?"

"Yes. Exterminating is a competitive market. You have to start young like the rest of the top Exterminators. And I could tell by the look in Enidri's eyes that she wanted to take Gurk out. Something about the way she looked. How she held her sword with one hand, clutching the hilt like she was going to break it. Her stance. It didn't seem like... she was trying to take out any old Essencima. It looked like she was out for vengeance. 'Out of the way,' Enidri said in the most deadpan manner. I tried to reason with her, telling her that Gurk wasn't an Essencima. But she wouldn't listen. She kept walking towards us, keeping her Ion Blade at her side like she was getting ready for a strike. I jumped in front of Gurk, spread my arms apart and stood still. I looked her dead in the eyes and shouted, 'This is not an Essencima!'"

Itzel remained fixated on the floor. She paused for a moment as recounted the memories of that day. "She didn't seem too fazed by what I was doing. More annoyed if anything. Instead of saying something else, she walked forward, took hold of arm and tried to toss me to the side."

"Aren't you taller than her?" Janus asked.

"Yeah, but Enidri is crazy. And she's stronger than she looks, not to mention she’s a few years older than me. She managed to get hold of me, almost taking me to the ground with one hand. But I caught myself and I reached for her Ion Blade. We both struggled for it. Managed to get one hand around her wrist and my other hand on the bottom of the hilt. She angled it downwards before shutting it off completely. 'Are you trying to get us both killed?' I remember her saying clearly. But I didn't listen to her. I was too focused on disarming her. Gurk was pressed against the wall, cowering with his hands over his face. He couldn't escape because of how narrow the alley was and me and Enidri took up too much space wrestling over the Ion Blade. She threw elbow into my gut that knocked me on my back. I hear her turn on the weapon again. By the time I'm back on my feet, I see that sword high above Enidri's head. There was no way I was going to be able to reach her in time even I ran, so I threw a Serrated Gale."

Itzel paused for a moment again. Her head was now raised as looked off towards the wall. "I'm telling you, Janus. It's almost like it's happening right now. That's how vividly I remember it." She raised one hand as if she was Enidri holding onto her Ion Blade. "I hit her right in the wrist just as she was about to swing down. Her slice went all crooked as she stumbled forward. Then I hear lighting crack followed by the most painful cry I've heard in my life." Itzel froze, as if Gurk's high-pitched whimper was playing on repeat in her head. "The weapon dropped to the ground. At the same time, I saw Gurk laying prone on the pavement, motionless. I ran forward, tears on my face as I tackled Enidri. She started punching and kicking me. She was just too strong. I-I couldn't block all of her hits. A kick to the chest sent me on my back again, but right next to the Ion Blade. Without hesitation I grab the weapon and did a heavy yet sloppy swing in the air. I was so mad, Janus," Itzel said as her hands curled into fists. "Enidri became nervous. Her back was up against one of the walls of the buildings as she stared at her weapon. 'What's your problem?" That's all I remember her saying. But I was so... enraged. For getting hit. And for what she did to that scared and defenseless crocodile."

She let out a sigh then angled her head away from Janus. "I'm glad I didn't know how to use that thing. Because... it could have turned out a lot worse. I swung it. Swung it towards her head. In that moment... I wanted to kill her. But Enidri was quick. She managed to dodge the sword enough so the strike wouldn't be lethal. But she didn't get away quite fast enough. I could feel the blade graze her face, followed by a loud scream as she fell to the ground. Both of her hands cupped her right eye as tears flooded out her left. I dropped the sword and backed away. I turned to my other side and saw Gurk struggle to his feet. I took his hand and got both of us out of there. Didn't even bother looking back. But I could still hear Enidri crying as we ran out of the alley."

There was another long period of silence. Neither Janus nor Itzel looked at each other. Janus took look back towards to the bathroom and noticed that it was still occupied. "I'm sorry you and Gurk had to go through all of that. Explains the animosity between you and Enidri. But Gurk didn't seem to mind her too much from what I could tell."

"Gurk's a weirdo," Itzel said with a chuckle. She managed to face Janus once more. "He's the kind to forgive and forget. He's nice. Sometimes too nice for his own good."

"I'm guessing that mask is to cover his scar?"

"Not just that. It keeps his face from falling apart. That cut Enidri made was deep. When we got to the safety of my apartment, I took a look at the wound. It was a bright red and bleeding really bad. And at the time, I had no way to pay whatever it'd cost to get it examined, let alone healed. Fortunately, my mother was home and she managed to do what she could. Wrapping his snout up tight helped for a little while, but it was no permanent solution. Dad was able to make a mask for him that he could wear to keep the wound closed. He keeps it on most of the day so that the wound doesn't split apart any further. But at night he takes it off so he can let his scales breathe."

"That poor guy," Janus said. "Is it possible to seal it up after all these years?"

Itzel shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe. But I don't even want to think how much it would cost. Even getting an estimation is far above what we could reasonably afford."

"I see."

"Well, there you have it." Itzel stood up from her seat and stretched her arms. "That's why Gurk wears that mask. That's why Enidri wears an eyepatch. And that's why we hate each other's guts. Managed to answer your question and two others you probably had all in one sitting."

"I suppose."

The bathroom door opened. Gurk stepped out, drying his hands on the back of his jacket. Janus and Itzel both looked at him, only to have the crocodile shift his eyes between the two of them, looking confused. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing, big guy," Itzel said. She was no longer stressed. "You ready to go?"

Gurk gave a thumbs up.

"What about you?" she asked Janus.

"I'd say so."