As my eyes slowly open, I find myself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling for the second day in a row. This new place still doesn't feel like home yet. The sun hasn't risen high enough in the sky to wake the town and I imagine that means scruffy is still asleep too.

I sit up in bed and stretch my arms and legs out, feeling the stiffness from yesterday creep away. With a yawn, I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stand up. I tiptoe down to the washroom to freshen up, being careful not to make too much noise and wake Caius.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I head out into the early town. The streets are quieter than usual, so much so I could count the people walking by on just my hands.

I make my way to the bakery, craving a fresh pastry and a cup of coffee once again. I’ll make it before any line starts to appear. As I get closer, I notice a familiar figure sitting outside at a table, sipping on a drink. It's Fleur, she’s sitting and talking with someone else.

I hesitate for a moment, wondering if I should go over and say hello. She was probably annoyed last night so I decided to walk up to her and try and be friendly for once.

"Hey," I say, giving her a small smile.

She looks up and grins, "Hey Elias! How are you doing?"

"I'm good, thanks. Sorry for not hanging out with you and Caius last night. I had some studying to do," I apologize, hoping she doesn't take it personally.

“Nah, don’t worry. Caius and I still had a good time without you.”

I nod and pause for a moment before leaving her and walking into the bakery. I ordered just a coffee and grabbed a newspaper from one of their racks to the side as well. It should be good to read up on current events around the area seeing as I won’t get everything out of the library books.

As I exit the bakery with my order, Fleur calls back out to me, beckoning me to come back over.

"I'd like you to meet my friend, Lucas," she says, gesturing towards the man sitting across from her.

I freeze up for a split second, recognizing the name. How did I not even notice him sitting here just earlier? I play it cool, trying not to show any signs of nervousness.

"Hey," I say. "Nice to meet you."

Lucas offers his hand for a shake. I pause briefly, but then accept and he grasps my hand, giving it a strong shake. "Nice to meet you too," he remarks while appearing to examine me intently.

I can feel the weight of his gaze on me. Obviously, he recognizes me from the other day.

"Hey, can I have a quick word with you about a private matter?" I ask, trying to keep my voice calm and steady.

"Uh sure, what's up?" she replies, looking at me curiously.

I step away from the table with her, trying to put some distance between us and Lucas.

"Listen, I don't want to cause any trouble or anything, but I've met Lucas before and he's not someone to mess with," I say in a low voice, hoping that she'll understand the gravity of the situation.

Fleur's eyes widen in surprise, and she looks over her shoulder at Lucas, who’s sipping on his drink and watching us intently.

"Look, I've known Lucas for years and he's always been a good guy," she says, trying to reassure me. “There’s nothing to worry about, just trust me.”

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How could I trust her when I barely even knew her, but warning her is the least I could do. "No, I'm not saying he's a bad guy, but he's definitely dangerous," I reply, my voice barely above a whisper.

Fleur seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding slowly. "Okay, well I’ll keep that in mind," she says quietly.

We make our way back to the table, and Lucas looks up at us expectantly.

"So, what were you two talking about?" he asks, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Just a private matter about him and Cai," Fleur replies smoothly, not wanting to cause any tension.

“Ah Cai, the orphan kid. Yeah I know him.” Lucas replied.

Orphan? Caius hadn’t told mentioned anything of the sort.

I can feel the intimidation emanating from Lucas, and I can't help but feel slightly on edge. "Well, I should be going, looking for a job and all. Early bird gets the worm and all that," I say, trying to keep my tone casual.

Fleur nods sympathetically, "It shouldn't be too hard to find something around here. Later Eli!"

Lucas offers a curt nod, "Yeah, good luck kid."

Leaving the bakery, I headed over to the park sipping my coffee and scanning the headlines of the newspaper. I can take my time and read while I wait for D to show up later. I find a nice spot to sit on a bench, open up the newspaper, and start reading. It's quiet and peaceful here, and I can feel myself starting to relax a little.

There were a few articles of enforcers arresting some criminals, I would assume magic users but they didn’t specify enough to tell. A few pages on local politics and current events up in the capitol Goldeen, not really anything else interesting about here in Leode. Not even anything about the broken building from the other night which was surprising. Was it covered up?

I put my paper down to drink the rest of my coffee and take in more of my surroundings. There still weren't many people around still, except for another person sitting across from me reading a paper too, covering his face. It looked like the guy from the other day at the library, was it? He was wearing the same black gown-like cloak and black boots.

As I was trying to get a better look at the person, I noticed another man in a dark cloak approaching quickly from the opposite direction down the footpath. He walked past me, muttering under his breath, "No time, follow me."

It was D, but he wasn’t meant to be here till much later. It was still only around 9 in the morning.

I stood up quickly, tossing my empty coffee into the bin but keeping my newspaper. "What's going on? We weren't supposed to meet for another hour or so, and what's the hurry anyways?" I asked, trying to keep up with D's brisk pace.

"I'm afraid my colleagues have been rather impudent and careless so to speak. You've, or as a matter of fact, we've been found out," D replied, his voice tense.

I felt a jolt of panic shoot through me. Found out? Was it because of my involvement in the incident at the building the other night or did Caius have something to do with it, going around talking about me?

He looks back at me, and I can see his face from under his hat. His eyes are serious and intense. "I know it's rather abrupt, but I'd like you to work for me starting right this second. Can you do that for me?" he asks.

“What about the job you asked of me-”

“Forget it,” D cuts me off waving his hand back at me. “You wouldn't've found it, even if you knew what you were looking for in the first place.”

Surely if I had scruffy’s help I could’ve figured something out. “Mind my curiosity, but what was it anyways?”

D didn’t respond and kept walking at a rapid pace as if he was late on his first day of work at the office.

I tried to keep up with him as we turned down a few more alleyways, winding around buildings as if trying to get rid of a tail. I'm still not sure what's going on, but I can tell by the urgency in D's voice and his quick pace that it's definitely serious.

After a few more turns, we arrived at a building on Argyle Lane that stood out from the rest. It was an old, brick building, with dark, weathered stones and narrow windows that seemed to stare down at us. The entrance was an arched door made of heavy, black wood, with iron fittings and a large, brass knocker in the shape of a horseshoe. Above the door, a sign read "The Hunter's Den," written in bold letters.

As D walked up to the door, he looked back at me as if waiting for something. Oh yes right, “Yes yes, I can work right away,” I nodded.

“Good,” D reached out to pull open the door but retracted and looked back at me once again. “By the way, the name’s Darius.” He reached out his hand to shake mine, “But that’s Boss to you.”