In the basement of the inn, he found himself whistling a tune to himself. He kept his head propped up with his two arms as he lay down on the makeshift mattress provided to him. Ah, I couldn’t even think to ask for better accommodations. This is all I’ll ever need or want.
Despite the loudness of his whistling, the sound of four paws walking along the floor reached his ears causing him to look away from the ceiling and notice Lar approaching him.
“You look to be in quite a good mood,” Lar said. She hopped onto him walking along his blanketed body. She got comfortable and formed up into a ball as they nestled their head down onto the blanket.
He ran his palm along her fur. He stopped whistling for a brief moment. “I am in a good mood in fact,” he said and then went on whistling just to finish that last portion of the song. An unfinished song always kept repeating in his mind so he had no choice but to complete it. “You’ve been gone for a while. Where have you been for the last couple of weeks?”
“I’ve been making us some friends while you laze about here working here at this inn.”
“Laze about? I’ll have you know I’ve been very productive since I earned a job here.”
His companion rolled her eyes. “If you mean productive in the sense of being unproductive then yes.”
He poked Lar’s cheek gently causing her to show him her fangs. She quickly calmed down and sat her head back down on the blanket covering his body.
“I like it here,” he said. “I feel like I have everything I need. There’s food, a roof over my head, good people to surround myself with, and I’m able to stay busy. Plus I’ve even begun earning a wage so pretty soon I might be able to rent my own place so I’m not annoying Adam any longer by staying down here in this basement.”
Lar sighed. “That’s nice and all, but one of these days you’re going to need to venture out a bit more. You still want those memories of yours back, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Then staying cooped up here forever isn’t going to help you in that regard.”
“Life is a long journey. I can afford to not be in a rush at all times.”
“That’s easy for you to say. For us familiars, this city is a constant danger. I’ve got to be concerned at all times. For a human like yourself, it’s not so difficult but you and I are soul-bound meaning I expect a bit more from you.”
He was at least glad his companion was upfront about how she was feeling. She wasn’t necessarily wrong either. He was doing what he wanted, not what Lar wanted and perhaps he did need to put a little more effort in trying to equalize their relations.
“What would you have me do?”
“For now, stick to what you’re doing. I’ve got things covered but pretty soon I’m going to need you to put in a little more effort cause, believe it or not, I want you to recover your memories too.”
“Aw, you really do care about me don’t you?” He began to rub Lar’s head and push his fingers into her skin causing wrinkles to form.
“Hey, watch it there!” He laughed a bit and then sat his arm back down to keep his head propped up.
After having slept through the night, he found himself dressed and prepared for another day on the job.
This particular morning was busy. A dozen city guards came in after a long night shift and he found himself responsible for serving every single one of them.
He brought drinks. He brought food. He brought supreme hospitality that even they could appreciate. And when he got done, he did not receive a tip from any one of them, but he was alright with that. As far as he was aware, the city guards weren’t exactly paid very well for their services to the city. Although they were given all a person ever needed in life to survive to a sufficient enough degree.
Della playfully bumped into him as she walked by to serve another table full of customers. He smiled back at her only to notice the dark glare coming from her father.
Working at the inn did have its negatives, such as knowing that Adam was always there behind the counter with those mean eyes of his locked onto him. He had been eager to fire him for any little reason. He had yet to give him a justifiable reason to do so, but he knew with absolute certainty, that they would have him out the instant he ever screwed up.
“I need to speak with you,” he said from across the inn. He went over to Adam who pressed his palms against the counter. “What do you think you’re doing with my daughter, eh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t think I don’t know you two have been getting close lately. I’ve seen how you two act towards each other and also seen how you two leave in the night to do whatever the ‘ell it is you do out there.” He leaned in real close so he would undoubtedly be the only one to hear what would come out of his mouth. “Just keep your grubby little hands off her, you hear?”
“Uh, sure.”
He grabbed at his collar and looked around wildly and pulled his hand away. He really is agitated today.
“Get back to work you lout,” he muttered aloud as he walked away.
With the back of his hand, he wiped away the sweat that gathered on his brow. As he pulled his hand away from the counter, he saw Della’s mother Sera appear with a wave.
“Hey, do you mind helping me in the back for a bit?”
“Say no more,” he said and followed her into the back where they cooked and prepared the food for the customers. Since the inn wasn’t all that busy after the very start of the morning, he could afford to go in the back and help out Sera before the rush that usually came by during lunch.
In many ways, this place was a restaurant more than it was an inn. It made sense though since it kept the money flowing in. Having the inn serve multiple functions helped keep them afloat.
She handed him an onion and a knife. He took it over to a table and began to chop it with the technique she had shown him a week or so ago.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Where’s Melia and Hally?” he asked.
“They’re feeling a bit under the weather today.”
“Those two poor things.” His eyes began to water the more of the onion he cut. You damnable onions! “Are they going to be fine?”
“They should be alright,” she said as she cut some carrots. “They’ve both just got a slight fever and the sniffles.”
“Well, I’m here to lend my hand to whatever it is you need.”
“I’m grateful for that.”
When she finished cutting the carrots and he finished the onions, she tossed them all carefully into a boiling pot.
“Can you season the pot for me?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t know what it is,” she went on to say, “but you seem to be gifted when it comes to seasoning food. What’s your secret?”
“Lots and I mean lots of salt.” He poured a bag into the pot knowing that the salt was going to turn it into something truly amazing. He always poured in more than a sufficient amount. He stirred the pot a bit to get the salt to dissolve more easily and then tapped the wooden spoon on the edge of the pot to get the liquid on the spoon to splash back in.
There we go. I bet you’ll taste just as good as the last batch I seasoned. The real key to good food, at least as it appeared to him, was to always use a lot of salt. Something about it just brought out all the right flavors in all kinds of dishes.
“I’ve noticed,” she began to say as she began to cut some potatoes, “that you and Della have been spending more time together recently.”
“Your eyes do not deceive you.”
“Yes, well, I have to say that she seems to be very happy because of it. I know that my husband is not exactly happy about it, but you have my approval to pursue her, not that you necessarily need it.”
“Now I just need to convince that husband of yours to start liking me and all will be well in the world. Although I must admit, I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to do that.”
“You’d be much more likely to persuade a rock than him,” she jokingly said. “He’s very protective of her as fathers are oft to do with their daughters. But you seem like a good person and I can tell Della is quite happy being with you.”
“As am I with her.”
Sera brushed some of her long red hair behind her right ear and began to deliver a whole bunch of cut-up potatoes over into the bowling pot. The smell and aromas coming from it did make him want to eat it. It would be a little while until suitable to eat. It had to cook for a bit longer and then, it would be ready to go.
“Where do you come from if I may ask?”
“You know, I’m not entirely sure.”
“Really?”
“I know, it’s a bit strange, but I promise you, I don’t know where I’m from.”
“Well this city is quite large so I can imagine it’s easy to not know exactly where you might’ve been born. I know for myself that I rarely if ever have ventured out of this part of Liall so I’d not know any of the names of the streets or nearby establishments. But the reality is that I don’t have any need to leave this inn or its immediate surroundings. The inn’s always in need of me so this is where I want to be.”
“The inn is lovely enough that it’s all one really needs.”
“I very much agree with that,” she said.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a burly man entering the back kitchen. “We’ve got a whole storm of customers coming in. Get out there and serve them pronto.”
When a lull occurred after lunch, he found himself outside at the back of the inn helping Della hang some clothes to dry. She bent down grabbing some from a hand-woven basket and had them attached to a string so that the air would do its job in drying them all.
He assisted her in hanging some of the clothes speeding up the process.
“Thanks for the help,” she said.
“Why it is always my aim to please.”
“It sure is. My father might not admit it but you’ve been a real great help since you started working here and I’m certainly not afraid to say that.”
“Although my efforts haven’t yet changed the mind of your father.”
“I can see him already wavering in that regard. If you keep it up, even he will be forced to recognize your service to his dearly beloved inn. If there’s one love he has other than for his own family, it’s this inn itself. It has been with our family since the founding of this city if it can be believed and he wants to ensure its success so his children and grandchildren can flourish with it as well.”
Despite Adam’s contempt towards him, he did possess good qualities although his brutish nature might do a lot to obscure that. The fact remained that the harshness he often exuded did not remove all of the good. He was undoubtedly a hard worker himself and pushed for quality in the services he provided. The inn was always kept to a high standard. Every morning they dusted every surface clean. And every day, they prepared food for the new and returning customers who needed some grub throughout the differing periods of the day. They changed the sheets for the beds and made sure to make every customer whole and filled with the desire to one day return to gain similar exemplary services yet again.
When night came once more, he felt a bit tired after a long day of work at the inn. He ended up working a bit of overtime and felt ready to fall asleep just to do it all over again.
He began whistling to himself and heard his companion return causing him to stop whistling shortly after he began. “I’m surprised you’ve shown up so soon,” he said. Lar began to walk along his covered body and settle in again into a ball on his chest. “You look tired.”
His companion let out a yawn. “Just a little. It was a bit of a busier day than usual. What exactly have you been up to?”
“Been continuing to strengthen my relations with some good people here in Liall.”
“And who exactly are these people if I may ask?”
“They’re people who are friendly to familiars and those who are willing to associate with them. I believe if we want, we could work with them in the future. They have good connections throughout the city and can offer us protection.”
“I’m not sure I want to do that honestly. It could bring us trouble. If we continue to lay low, we’re likely to be fine I think.”
Lar gave him a skeptical glare. “I would like to avoid trouble of course, but we may not have a choice. The queen is someone who we cannot ever underestimate. She has people scouring through the city streets on the lookout for familiars and people like you. We are not as safe here as you might imagine.”
“I have to be honest with you Lar, you really bring me down sometimes.”
“If you’d rather I lie to you, then just say so.”
“No, that’s not necessary. Just letting you know how I feel.”
Sometimes the truth was a messy and annoying thing. But it was necessary nonetheless. There wouldn’t be any good in enveloping himself in lies. He could embrace reality as it was or erect a false reality that would only confuse things.
Lar began to fall asleep. Her breathing slowed down as she rested on top of him. He began to feel the overwhelming pressure to fall asleep begin to overtake him as well.
Today’s been a good day. Life’s not so bad here in Liall. I hope it stays this way, at least for a little while longer.
In due time, his mind went from thought to thought and lost itself as it slipped away from a conscious state. An old world that existed within his mind took hold and began to form with it a familiar place from a long time ago.