Cedric strolled behind Faring as they stepped with intent along the metal tiles of the main road, designated for pedestrians. The deal was to be underway in a few days, and with Faring's status, it was relatively easy to acquire an elegant place to stay, the Tandori Penthouse. The top floor of one of the taller hotels that dot Saint Amelìon's metallic jungle. They'd be staying there together over the course of the next couple weeks, as the deal ran its course and what to do after it made itself known - the question was whether or not Cedric would still be involved in House Kilik's dealings.

It took a certain restraint to not want to investigate every cart and corner store, with them trading all sorts of exotic goods such as fruit stuffs and vegetables he'd never seen before. The closest he noticed to anything familiar was one food cart selling tubers that looked like flat ovals, similar to fresh round bread one would bake in the dark ages. He wondered if it was a regular potato or a sweet potato. Probably neither. Aside from the places to buy food, there were also many gadget and electronic shops. Some apparently gift shops, and brochures for local shuttle travel to nearby water parks and amusement areas just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the bustling spaceport and active downtown area full of officials and tourists. He felt drawn to a shady alley in his right, it was darker and appeared to simply be an access road going between the buildings. They were far enough away from the spaceport and into downtown now that particularly shady shops probably shouldn't be a surprise. He tugged on Faring's jumpsuit and pointed to the alley.

"Can we go through there?"

Faring replied with a confused look on her furry muzzle.

"Why on Gaia would you want to go through there?"

"I feel pulled to it. You know, adventurous. We've stuck with the same road and we're almost at the penthouse right?"

"Pulled to it?.."

She thought for a moment and looked back and forth.

"I guess we can take a little look, but for not too long! It looks kinda..."

"Shady?"

"Yeah."

"Would it really be that dangerous to take a look? I know we're away from all the tourist attraction advertisements, but still it's downtown. Lot of people, we should be fine right?"

"Well, a lot of people really don't care about others, the bystander effect can get really bad here."

"Well, if it's anyone shady would they really be willing to fuck around and find out?"

"I know I heard that correctly but I still don't understand what you just said."

"Oh, right. Turn of phrase. Basically meaning to investigate or do something, and deal with the consequences - usually with a negative connotation. Directly disobeying a superior officer expecting a desired result when obviously it was a stupid decision with negative consequences, that's an example of 'Fucking around and finding out.' - I hope I explained that correctly."

"I think I get it. Well, we have extra time so I guess... we can?"

Cedric shook his head.

"Perfectly missed opportunity to use the phrase I just explained. But, yeah. My curiosity is getting the better of me."

"Your curiosity is gonna get you killed."

"I'm not dead yet, am I?"

"Not yet. Let's go!"

They went into the alley, expecting some grand black market or hidden secret. Best they actually encountered was a shady looking junk shop on the left inside of an indent, a creaking sign reading "Rory's Stuff Repair."

They both stared at the sign quizzically. Cedric was the first to say something.

"Well it's not some crazy back alley dealer's. I don't think."

Faring turned to him, her tail swishing back and forth.

"You wanna check it out? We got time."

"I kinda do. Wanna?"

"Sure!"

It was the closest Cedric had to a 'childish' moment. Normally he was well-spoken with an anchor in what made sense, but this time it was nothing but good old-fashioned human curiosity that drove him forward. He felt like a toddler. They gingerly stepped into the shop, not sure what to expect.

Many pieces and parts were strewn about the shop at first glance. Interestingly enough, Cedric recognized some of them.

"No fucking way, I'm going in."

As he proceeded, he felt his neck pulled taut by the leash - and he was none too happy about it.

"Yo, what the fuck?"

"I'm not letting you go in there until you explain what you saw."

"Are you serious right now? Just let me go."

"No, not until you explain what you're after."

He heaved a frustrated sigh.

"I thought I saw some things I recognized in there."

"That's impossible, you were frozen for long time weren't you?"

"Yes, which is why I want to see what's in there."

Faring touched her finger and thumb to the human equivalent of the top of her nose, because of her muzzle it was more like below where her skull shifted from her eye sockets to her mouth - close to the tears ducts.

"Okay, but just a look - alright?"

"Yeah, I got it."

She shook her furry head and Cedrix felt the leash go slack as she followed behind him - making note to keep him between the shop and her. Cedric looked back with berating smirk.

"Ah ah, don't say anything. You're bigger and tougher than me - this is common sense."

Well, he couldn't argue with that.

He took a gentle step in, creaking the door. He saw no one present. Figuring it should be safe, he opened all the way and stepped in - as he did, a loud ring from his right ear made him jump.

"Whoa! Well, they know we're here now."

As if on cue, he heard some commotion in the distance.

"Customer? Customer! Wait wait wait I'm coming!"

He heard a crash from somewhere beyond where they were standing. He turned to face Faring with a brow raised, she simply shrugged. Several squeaks emitted from where the patron of the shop apparently was, he noted that the voice sounded feminine. A rat or mouse maybe? It didn't take long for him to get his answer.

A figure with long, leathery wings and a face with large, round eyes greeted them. She was a bat! A busty one at that. To each their own he figured.

"Cool," Cedric whispered under his breath.

"HI!~ I'm Rory, what'cha lookin for? Magitech parts or repair? We got a lot of... Stuff."

She giggled at her own joke.

"Ooh, should I be talking to her instead? Sorry."

She made an effort to scoot over and whisper in Faring's ear, unsuccessfully.

"He doesn't speak, does he?"

"I do." Cedric said plainly.

"Oh! Well okay then. So uh, yeah we got a bunch of stuff."

"I can see that. Where did you get all this?"

"Oh you know, wreckage and salvage."

She tilted her head slightly away, again attempting to say something quietly - and once again - rather unsuccessfully.

"Sometimes trash cans..."

Cedric observed the room they had walked into. It was one large space, with junk piled everywhere and which way. Some of the parts he recognized, others he didn't.

"Mind if I look around?"

"Anything you're looking for?"

Another squeak emanated from Rory, and her large ears shifted back and forth*. It was cute.

"Got some stuff over there that you might like, made them myself!"

"Out of scrap?"

"Yup!"

"Okay, show me."

"Oh, you're gonna love these."

She waddled over to the direction she was pointing, and behind a pile of junk lay a rather sizable table - also salvaged - bearing a few devices on its surface. One particular device caught his eye, but before he could mention something - Faring did first. She was not pleased.

"Is this authorized magitech?"

"Uh. Technically yes? It's made from other magitech parts, so by proxy of them being made with parts of certified magitech, it IS certified magitech!"

"That's not how that works. Magitech is dangerous technology. This should be reported."

Surprised, Cedric spoke up.

"Faring, chill. She's not hurting anyone. Besides, she's smart as fuck if she can make devices like these out of scrap."

"Language..."

"Yeah, sorry. Anyways - who cares if it's not 'certified' magictech, what you call magictech is just science anyways."

"What? Cedric what are you talking about? Magitech is the way it is for a reason, and so are the certifications. Do you know how dangerous uncertified magictech is?"

"Only if you don't understand it. Look at this."

He picked up a small, red monocular device.

"Rory right? What's this? It looks like some kind of monocle."

"That's partially right! It's a targeting glass. I call it the long-eye mark one! It's totally safe. You just put it over your eye, and it let's you see further with a neat little targeting reticle. I will say though, I haven't figured out how to link it to a gun. Kinda hard to find shooters around here."

He picked up the device and placed it over his head, tightening its strap. Shortly after, his left eye was covered with a visage of red - a query in English prompted a link with any weapon.

"No way..."

Faring, still stern, replied.

"What? What is it? Are you okay?"

"It has a prompt in English!"

He turned to Rory.

"Do you know what this says?"

She shrugged, "Nope! I just thought it was some weird old scribbles."

Cedric's eyes narrowed, she knew more than she was letting on.

"You said you couldn't figure out how to link it to a gun, but the only way for you to know that is if you understood what it said, or... you have a gun somewhere don't you?"

Rory clearly was caught aback, the stress on her face began to build quickly.

"W-what? N-no, I don't have anything like that. I was just taking a guess you know? I made it after all!"

"Yeah, an educated guess. You're smart, Rory. Show me the gun."

She didn't move, and he tried to approach her and press the issue, but was throttled back by Faring. This made him unusually angry.

"What the fuck, Faring. What's your problem?"

"We've spent enough time here, it's time to go. Besides, this 'Rory' needs intervention by the authorities. Unlicensed weapons? Uncertified Magitech? This is super against the law."

Cedric retorted in anger, piercing her eyes with a narrowed gaze.

"Pull that leash one more fucking time, I dare you."

"Cedric..."

Faring looked terrified, and let go of the leash - backing away.

"Fine, do whatever you want."

"Thank you."

Rory simply stared dumbfounded at the exchange.

"Should... Should I like, go?"

"No, take me to the gun I know you have. I'll be bringing this too."

He pocketed the monocular device. With the leash no longer burdening him, he finally felt free to do what he wanted without needing to ask permission like a child.

"O-okay. But uh, don't tell anyone please? I just found it, I swear!"

"Sure, I got you. Just show it to me."

"O-Okay."

Rory squeaked, and her ears swivled behind the counter she had just come from.

"It's uh, this way."

Cedric thrust his head in the direction she was guiding him to, facing Faring.

"You coming?"

She simply shook her head.

"Fine."

He followed behind Rory, stricking up a small conversation.

"Hard to see when it's not night time, isn't it? You were probably asleep before we walked in - right?"

Rory looked genuinely surprised.

"How did you know?"

"You're using echolocation to figure out where to go because you can't see well in the daytime. Common traits for a bat - shit, sorry. What should I call your... type?"

She appeared slightly nervous, but understood him.

"Ah, it's okay people call me a bat all the time. Chiroptera is a bit of a mouth full. Chiro is pretty common though."

"I see. Well those traits are common for Chiroptera, or Chiro I suppose."

"Are you two, ah."

"Hm?"

"Like, a thing?"

"Hardly. We're just friends."

"Maybe it's not the right thing to say but uhm. That didn't look like how friends should treat each other."

Cedric mulled long and hard. It was only for a few moments, but to him it felt like minutes.

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"No, I guess not. It's... Complicated. But maybe I was an asshole to her."

"Well, maybe you can apologize after you uh - get what you want?"

"Yeah I can do that."

She guided him through a curtain behind the counter.

"So, what are you supposed to be? I thought you were some weird primate at first."

"I might as well be. Actually, in a way - I kind of am now that I think about it."

"So like, you're a hairless primate? Figuratively."

"Close enough."

"Well, I won't pry! Anyways."

He took a gander around the back room, a comfortable and clean bed with some furniture was strewn about. Rory kneeled down and pulled some sort of small lockbox from underneath what he assumed was her bed. She produced a key from the casual clothing she was wearing, he didn't really notice at first but what she wore was relatively simple. A loose Grey shirt with some dark pants - sandals were secured on her feet, letting her foot claws breathe. When she bent down, he got a glimpse of the black sports bra she was wearing. Simple, effective, breathable. She gingerly unlocked the lockbox, and produced some sort of pistol from its contents.

"I found this while chartering a salvage vessel a few years back. I didnt realize what it was until I looked it up on the intra-net. It was a really old wreckage, ancient maybe? I dunno, but I found this and thought it was neat."

She handed it to him, the barrel pointed at his chest and with non-existant trigger discipline.

Cedric jolted to the side.

"Whoa! Watch it. That thing could be loaded."

"If it was loaded, I would've found out already!"

"Right..."

The pistol looked massive in her tiny wing claws, it certainly wasn't of Korellei make. He motioned for it, and she obliged. He gave it a good look over, and held it firmly in his hands. It felt comfortable, but he didn't recognize the model. A new model forged while he was on ice, maybe? It was quite large, even for him - but felt light in his hands. He pulled the monocular from his pocket, hoping for some response. There was no change. Maybe both of these things were just hunks of junk? He took another gander at the pistol, wondering if maybe it needed powered or something. Sure enough, there was some bolts in the grip - and the weapon itself felt top heavy.

"Rory, do you happen to have a tool that would fit these bolts?"

She gazed closely at where he was pointing, a tiny squeak and a swiveling of her ears followed as she investigated.

"Hmm, small size. Cross section... yeah, I have something like that! I'll be right back."

He nodded and waited patiently for her return. He mulled the weapon in his hands to and fro. Felt the grip, the shiny metal, racked the slide just a hair. It really was human technology. He flipped the pistol to its other side, looking for engravings or similar he could go by. Most of what he supposed would've been printed writing was smoothly worn away, except for one section. A tiny indent in the shape of letters, easily missed. It was most likely colored at some point to be easily readable, but for now he had to use a glare from the one lamp that was on by her bedside to try and decipher the letters.

He was able to make out a few at a time, then put them together.

"House... Kilik? That's impossible."

Rory returned with a small Philips screw driver and an array of batteries.

"Here you go! I brought this, it should do the trick. I brought these too."

"How'd you know I was looking for a battery compartment?"

"I don't know, it just kinda - seemed like you were?"

"Well, you've got a hell of an intuition then."

The Philips screwdriver fit comfortably in his hand as he gently detached the screws, making careful movements as to not lose them. Rory was watching him intently, her large ears swishing back and forth.

"Got it."

He pried the cover off, and investigated the compartment. Sure enough, it had a battery on it. White substance was stuck to the connectors - battery acid.

"Do you have-"

She produced a damp cloth from one of her back pockets.

"Yeah, that. Are you psychic or something?"

"Oh hardly! It's just that the white burny stuff is pretty common when dealing with old power cells."

Maybe not quite as science fiction inspired as power cells, but it definitely appeared designed to hold some sort of industrial battery of fitting size. He took the cloth and began to gently clean the spokes and springs laying inside the handle. He heard the curtain fly open beside him - it was Faring. She remained silent.

"Decided to join us?"

She didn't reply. Cedric turned his head to face Rory. He expected to be unnerved, but the small bat face she owned was cute. Little muzzle, pinpoint eyes. Not pig nosed like the stereotype - he concluded she was some sort of fruit bat, a micro species given the size of her ears relative to her eyes.

"It's battery acid. I don't know the exact science behind it, but I do know that it tends to come out of batteries that have been sitting for long periods of time."

"Ooh so that's what that's called."

She crouched beside him, and pointed to various parts of the pistol as he worked and asked questions.

"What's the boing thing called?"

"That's a spring."

"And that?"

"That's a pin."

This went on for a few moments until she was satisfied. By the end, he had cleaned off the battery acid and starting scouring the battery stash she brought. Most were unfamiliar to him, but there were a few he recognized. Quadruple A's, triple D's, and then one flat-like battery he wasn't sure of - but it seemed like it would fit. He investigated it with the damp rag before inserting it into the slot, hoping that there wasn't any acid - a sign that it'd be useless. Thankfully, there wasn't - so he cleaned off the grime and carefully inserted it to the now open and cleaned space. It fit! However, there was no response from the weapon or the monocular. He began to screw the bolts back into the hand grip. Once the cover was back on, he waited a few moments. A small blue light began to flicker on the back of the pistol, and the monocular began to read off information he wasn't familiar with.

"Voìla!"

"Huh?"

"It's an expression - from uh, where I come from. Anyways, looks like that did the trick! Now we just wait a bit..."

Wait a bit they did, mostly out of dumb curiosity. Especially Rory, she was engrossed in the operation. Faring simply observed.

Finally, the monocular stopped scrolling an prompted him to pair. He wasn't sure if it was supposed to be touch screen, or thought based. He tried both, to no avail.

"Hmm..."

Rory was the first to question his response.

"It didn't work?"

"Well, yes and no. It's prompting to pair, but isn't telling me how."

She tapped the blue light on the pistol without provocation.

"Bro."

Thinking something went horribly wrong, he waited for something akin to a misfire. There was none. Rather, both the pistol and the monocular sprung to life!

Dumbfounded, Cedric turned to Rory.

"How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't!"

"So why did you..."

"Sometimes, glowing or pulsing lights can be pressed. Sometimes it works! Well, sometimes it doesn't either."

"Well that's one way to do things I suppose. I'm surprised you haven't blown yourself to bits yet."

"I almost did a few times?"

"What?"

Before he could pry further, the monocular had finished whatever it needed to do. The vision in the monocular pointed the same direction as the pistol, as if he was looking straight through the barrel.

"Whoa. It worked!"

Cedric couldn't hide his excitement. Charge level, bullet count, elevation, zoom distance, and even a parabola showing bullet drop was shown in the monocular.

"This is awesome!"

"Can I see?!"

He handed the device to Rory, but kept a firm grip on the weapon - keeping in mind his trigger discipline.

"Ah! Bright!"

"You good?"

"Yeppers, my eye just needs to adjust. As you can see, my products work!"

"Did you actually make this?.."

"Yes I did! Well, what needed to be added to it anyways. Like the frame, and strap."

Cedric mused.

"I see. Well it works indeed."

"So, you wanna buy it?"

"I'd love to if I could, but it seems that the UE is picky about its regulations. Even if I got it, I'd have no way to hide it - let alone the legal trouble. But thanks for letting us look around Rory, we actually have business to attend to and we took a small detour. Sorry for not buying anything."

"It's okay! I learned a lot of new stuff, so I'll consider that your entrance fee!"

"You have an entrance fee?.."

"Nope!"

"Uh. Okay then. Faring, shall we get going?"

He handed her the end of the leash.

"Sure." She responded dryly, and quickly grabbed the leash.

As they walked out, Cedric tried to find a way to apologize and justify his behavior.

"You're still upset about earlier?"

"Of course I'm upset, stupid! I've been nothing but nice to you, and you got so mean with me!"

"Look, I'm sorry - but I had a chance to figure out what happened while I was gone, and I can not afford to pass up an opportunity like that."

"Even if it's illegal or is bad for you in the long run? Especially legally!"

"Yes! Who knows what's going to happen during the deal, and I need to figure out what's happened while I was on ice. I can't just roam around with you for the rest of my life."

"Would that be such a bad thing Cedric? To just roam about with me?"

"Well, no but-"

"Then why are you thinking so selfishly?"

"What?"

"You've been constantly against everything I do that you don't see as beneficial to you immediately."

"How do you figure? You've forced me to wear a leash and collar, you let people treat me like garbage, and you act like that's okay."

"That's different. You don't understand how things work here, and what I do for you is for both our benefits, not just mine. What do you think would happen if I just let you roam aimlessly throughout Saint Amelìon with no rhyme, reason, or sponsor? What happened to you saying you'd trust me."

She wasn't wrong, but Cedric didn't feel like she was exactly right either. Him being loose with no 'sponsor' would cause problems, but is the method of going about proving such a thing really necessary? Once they exited the reception building, most Korellei paid them no mind. Could she not have just given him some official seal or documentation? The leash and collar felt more like a fetish than a necessity, and any protests against it would upset her without fail. Ultimately, he decided not to press the issue.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Yes, I trust you."

"Just, let me take care of you - okay?"

She tried to reach her paw up to touch his face, but had to live with his chest instead - her paw was the more the size of an accessory than anything else when compared to his body.

Their exit from the shop and their journey to the hotel housing their lodgings was a silent one. Cedric was no longer interested in the many amenities offered by the streets, instead racking his brain to find the connection between House Kilik and the clearly human pistol he discovered at Rory's Repair. What was he missing here? Did Faring know? He understood that correlation does not equal causation, but this simply felt like too much of a coincidence. All faith he had in her house's history, as well of the history of the Empire was immediately called into question. Now, especially in public, was not the time to approach her about the discovery.

After another talkless fifteen or twenty minutes of walking, they had finally reached their destination. Cedric had to hold his head high - his eyes almost meeting with the sun in order to gander the height of the grand structure. It was of a sunwashed beige, and spanned greatly into the sky. Broad windows reflected gleans of light, infiltrating the sidewalk below with its glow. The entrance was as grand as the structure itself, large glass-like entrance doors greeted the rich and privileged, allowing them access to one of the most expensive hotels that made ground in this particular section of downtown Saint Amelìon. It seemed as a palace of the silver-spooned, feeding its occupants with its gilded opulence.

"Hell of an overnight stay." Cedric started, the first tidbit of conversation designed to not only voice his impressed opinion, but also gander whether or not Faring was willing to talk again.

"Well, we're going to be staying a bit longer than overnight but yeah, it's pretty impressive."

"The Tandori Penthouse is at the top of this thing?"

"Pretty much. This is the Tandori Kung Hotel, it's pretty pricey and it has a lot of officials staying throughout the months but the quality of everything here is peerless."

"Your parents are pulling an awful lot of stops just for us to stay for a few days."

"It's not just about making sure we're comfortable, it's about sending a message. Kind of like a pre-negotiation."

"So they're making sure their rivals don't underestimate their wealth and potential?"

"Close, wealth and power. This place needs reserved months, sometimes years in advance. They booked it almost immediately."

"So they're of such respect thay they simply just knocked out whoever had it reserved prior."

"With little warning, yeah."

"All this, and yet your family is considered one of the lesser noble houses. That's insane. If this is what we're getting, then where are the other officials staying?"

"Most of them stay in their yachts or personal capital vessels. Unlike mine, they're entirely luxury built - custom ordered and everything."

"So we stay in one of the grandest hotels near the dealing site, and a House like Rax is staying in a custom built super yacht?"

"Pretty much yeah."

"Here I thought we were getting a hell of a deal, but putting it in that perspective really establishes just how over bearing the other Houses' influence and wealth can be - and I'm the center of it all. I'm not sure if I should feel honored, or terrified."

"Don't see why you can't feel both."

"I suppose that's true."

"Let's head inside, they're expecting us. Gotta keep up appearances."

"Lead the way, I suppose."

Lead the way Faring did, as they stepped through the automatic doors Cedric was overwhelmed with the elegance and wealth of the hotel's tiling and decoration. A great mosaic circle of varying colors decorated a vast center of the reception hall, complimented amongst many of the walls by marbled busts and golden decorations of various makes. Hyper realistic canvas portraits dotted the walls acting as free space between decorations. To the left, a grand carpet weave supporting thick leather chairs and a grand fire place adorned what he assumed was something like a lounging area. A grand floating chandelier hovered above them, bathing the hall in a warm, yellow light. Their jumpsuits made him feel quite out of place surrounded by suits and butlers, even a few maids strolling about.

Faring adjusted her gait and posture, adopting a much more elegant walk style - practically dragging Cedric along for the ride. He felt like a silly, blundering oaf amidst the opulence. It didn't take long to arrive at the main desk, a massive round bar adorned with many facets of an evolved society. Despite its grand scale, only a single receptionist lie in wait at its center. A male owl in a tuxedo, his eyes somewhat closed. Looked to be a barn owl, with mottled tans, browns, and occasional whites in his feathers. He couldn't quite place why, but he was miraculously preened and smelled of a docile, but meaningful cologne. As he spoke, it was swift and soft - dripping with richness.

"Miss Lady Faring Kilik, I presume?"

"Yes sir. We're here for our lodgings."

Faring's voice also changed, switching from her typical low to high Korellei. She enunciated each sound in each word, and spoke with a somewhat haughty tone. It was a voice of authority, but not bereaving. Cedric was only able to make out a few of the words, as most of his recent studies had been in the language of the common folk - low Korellei, respectfully.

"Of course. Your papers if you please, Miss."

As before at the spaceport, she produced the wallet holding her official documentation and handed it to the owl. His wings remained behind his back, as did his feathered and clawed hands - he noticed - in an unmistakably official manner. He quickly scanned the documentation, before providing a chip that he assumed unlocked their door that would no doubt be at the very top of the tower they now found themselves in.

"Very good Miss, may I escort you and your slave to the penthouse?"

Cedric twitched.

"We can find our own way, thank you."

"Of course, Miss."

She secured the chip and her documentation, and lightly tugged his leash.

"Come along, we have important business to discuss."

Slightly confused at the wording, he followed. They strolled across the great floor to a corridor with sets of elevators. Their ride was in the center of the corridor, doubling as the centerpiece of it. Faring began to wave her hand holding the chip over it, but was interrupted by a labored voice behind them. As Cedric turned to look, he noticed it was a bellhop - a male bluejay clad in a well-fitting red suit adorned with brass buttons and a fez hat.

"My apologies ma'am."

Faring simply nodded. He was holding two rather large leather suitcases, each one secured tight with brass buckles and various strappings.

"Ser and Seress Kilik sent these for you and your companion. Wanted them sent directly to you."

Faring eyed him up and down, he was clearly a younger lad and very nervous, but it was clear he bore no ill will. He was simply doing what he was told to do, a circumstance that Cedric was all too familiar with. She gingerly took the suitcases from him, slightly struggling with a larger one - most likely Cedric's.

"Thank you sir."

She temporarily set down the suitcases and reached for something in one of her pockets. The bluejay waved in protest.

"No tip ma'am, Ser and Seress Kilik have already tipped."

She nodded once more. "Very well then, thank you again. Cedric, can you carry these?"

"Uh. Sure."

He picked up the suitcases easily, they were nice and light. The bellhop stared in awe for a couple moments before catching himself, and quickly hurrying off.

They proceeded through into the elevator, and she input some numbers on a touchpad. Cedric didn't quite catch what numbers exactly, for what the Korellei lacked in strength and constitution, they more than made up for in speed and agility. All he knew was that there was as least three digits, and none of them started below three**.

The majority of the elevator ride was silent, it was the longest he had ever been in one. The most surprising part of the ascent was that the elevator never stopped to let others on from different floor, he assumed it had something to do with the fact it was a penthouse elevator. The others lining the corridor before it were most likely the 'normal' ones for the hotel. Before he realized it, they reached their destination. It was simultaneously longer and yet faster than he anticipated, a circumstance of their inherited technology. When the door opened, Cedric let out a long whistle.

"Now that's impressive."

Before him was a large lounging area, with an entire half of the suite cloaked in sunlight from the grandiose glass. Beige patterned carpentry was host to a set of long, black leather couches. So long in fact, that if he curled just a smidgen he could take a comfortable nap on one. A glass coffee table complimented them, held strong by fine wooden black legs. A modern fireplace lay to the right of the set up, no doubt radiating a comfortable heat. Beyond on that was an unsupported black wood spiral staircase, leading to a large loft that oversaw the lounging area. The entrance to the bedroom lay further up, held aloft by the material. To the left of his vision, a grand open kitchen complete with various implements for cooking and preparing food lay clean and ready for use. A black and white marble top bar held in its center a nice little fruit bowl, with produce he did not recognize. There was even a few red wine bottles prepared in a slick black ice bucket.

Further to the left, lie another - smaller room entrance. Most likely an office space. It's everything a budding CEO could ever want in a suite fitting of their stature. Faring began to walk to the right, heading to the bedroom. He followed in tow, admiring the delightfully modern suite complete in all its decorations and fanciful cleanliness. It reminded him a lot of what you would see in a movie or show, albeit with fancier technology for the electronic systems such as what he assumed was the stove and fridge. They reached the top of the loft, great black and patterned doors with a silver gilding met their footsteps. Faring opened both doors at the same time, revealing a massive bed and a drawer set on one side with an armoire next the bed. Geometric swirls and squared shapes decorated the pillows and blanketing of the bed, also shining with a gilded silver. Close to their entry lie an equally decorated and clean makeup center, hot towels steamed on a side table opposite of the armoire - another ice bucket with similar wine as before lay next to it. Some kind of fruit akin to grapes on a vine was set on a little plate next to them.

"Holy shit." Was all Cedric could manage to say.

Faring turned to him with a smirk.

"Like it?"

"Hell yeah I do. Oo."

He spotted a small menu on the side table, laying neatly next to the grape-thing plate. He gently set the large suitcase down near the drawer, and set what he assumed was hers next to the armoire before making his way to the menu and taking a look. Thankfully, it was written with low Korellei translations in smaller print underneath the high Korellei ones. He thumbed through it, taking note of the exorbitant prices. Fine wines, cheeses, exotic flavored milks, and even whole entrees and meal plans adorned it. He questioned the sources of the cheeses and milks, he figured they should be plant based substances of some sort - but he didn't want to think about it too hard. There was also the equivalent of steaks and various meat based meal plans, another source of which for him to question.

"Hey Faring."

"Hm?"

As he turned to her, he noticed she was putting away various dresses and fine accessories. Seeing her in a jumpsuit for so long made him forget she was expected to dress and act as a noble.

"There's milks, meats, and cheeses on here. Where do they come from?"

She seemed uncomfortable with the question, but answered nonetheless.

"Well, where did yours come from? I assume you had things like that too."

He wasn't sure how to answer that one. They knew each other well enough, so he choose the honest route.

"To be blunt, they came from animals."

Faring was confused, and slightly concerned.

"What?"

"You know... Uh, how do I say this. There really isn't a good way to. Cows, deer, pigs. They'd be milked for dairy and slaughtered for meat."

Faring was flabbergasted.

"That's barbaric, and evil! How did your people ever agree with that sort of thing?"

"It's hard to explain. They weren't like Korellei. They were nonsapient, and served an important role in supplying protein rich meats and calcium rich milk to the population. They weren't humanoid like you guys are. They were just... Agricultural products. That's just how things were. In my time, they were euthanized before slaughter to make it as painless as possible. Generally only older animals, like cows who could no longer reproduce and offer milk were the ones slaughtered to provide beef. That meat was then mixed with protein powder from ground insects and served in various ways."

"You know, I understand that life for you was different - but that's still horrible. To be honest, I wish I could say we never do that."

"What do you mean?"

"To answer your question right, it depends on where you get it. Most meats and dairies are made synthetically using plants, fruits, and vegetables as substitutes. The really expensive stuff in shady areas though..."

"Is made by milking and slaughtering Korellei?"

"Yes. Bovines down on their luck and old folk who want to leave something behind for their families."

"It's voluntary?"

"Generally, yes. Not always though, but that's only in the really bad places that nobody should be in the first place. Those that volunteer for such things are given incredibly lucrative jobs. Younger ones volunteering themselves for slaughter can support their families in the after life for years after... Their decision. Bovine females have it the easiest, some even let clientele drink straight from them..."

Faring gagged at the thought, "Sorry."

"No no, it's fine. Depravity pays even in the future, it seems."

"Yeah well, everything you'll find here is thankfully synthetic."

"Will it taste the same though?"

"Are you serious? I have no idea. I can proudly say I wouldn't know. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Right, sorry."

A long moment of silence stood tall between them. Cedric figured he might as well ask the question that's been burning in his mind now, or he may never get another opportunity to later. He set down the menu and stared straight at Faring. Noticing something was amiss, she returned the gesture - her tail slowly swishing back and forth with her ears slowly swiveling to and fro.

"Faring, you explained the importance of trust between us right?"

"Yes?..."

"In that case. Why was House Kilik's name engraved on that pistol I found at Rory's?"