Dawn. The rosy fingers of the rising sun slowly crept into the east wing of the Mana's Blessing, warming, caressing, and revealing the mess within. Hecatonchires drug himself to a sitting position in his bed and surveyed the room. Clothes were scattered all over, socks hanging off the doorknobs, clothes folded over the foot of the bed, and pants in piles on the floor. What was disturbing about this, however, was that he didn't bring any clothes.
"Goo..." Hecatonchires groaned. He knew he should have made his pet sleep outside, he really did, but he could never resist puppy dog eyes. Whenever Goo gave him the eyes, it always spelled trouble, usually of the messiest sort. How his Moldy Goo managed to make puppy dog eyes, he'd never know.
But, first things first. He kicked Goo awake and headed downstairs. Nobody was up yet, the main room of the inn was silent.
"Must be self-serve," thought Hecatonchires. "Let's see, no continental breakfast, no muffins... Aha! An egg. Must be do-it-yourself omelets." Hecatonchires wasted no time in marching over to the corner and picking up the egg, digging out a pan, firing up the stove, making himself a large omelet. Miss Yuka, the inn owner, wandered down the stairs into the room, yawning sleepily.
"Oh, it seems I woke up late... Sorry."
"No problem," Hecatonchires quickly responded. "There's enough here for 3 people at least. Have a seat, it'll be ready in a minute." He cut the omelet into portions and dumped one onto a plate in front of Miss Yuka. She eyed it suspiciously.
"This looks sort of familiar..."
"It should," came the reply, "I used that egg you had sitting around in the corner."
Miss Yuka stared at the plate for several moments, the full impact of the situation sinking in.
"You... You... You IMP! CHIMERA BEAST! DEMON!!!"
A low pattering started in the background, unnoticed by the bewildered man and the now rather perturbed canary.
"Um... I-it was Goo!" Hecatonchires pointed at his pet in panic, who was currently in the process of absorbing Miss Yuka's potted plants.
"So, it was you, you demon!"
As the slavering Fat Chocobo look-alike closed in on Goo, the pattering grew louder.
"Um, he's actually a morph, not a demo-" Hecatonchires was cut off by a loud crash as a long-haired man brandishing a large two-handed sword kicked down the door.
"Fear not, humble citizens! I, Escad will save you from the demon! Where is he?!"
Hecatonchires and Yuka looked at each other in confusion, the prior argument all but forgotten.
"For the last time, he's a MORPH, not a demo-", the goo's frazzled owner started.
"Silence! I will uproot the evil myself!" Escad began frantically searching the room, looking in closets, drawers, cabinets, and under the rug. Miss Yuka managed to weakly voice her doubts that a demon would hide under a rug, but the indefatigable Escad only laughed "Aha! But demons are tricky fellows! Why, one might even be hiding in this vase," he cried, upon which he triumphantly grabbed hold of a rather expensive looking vase. He turned it upside down and peered inside, and when he was quite satisfied that there was no demon cleverly concealed inside, he tossed it over his shoulder, resulting in a loud crash and infuriating Miss Yuka all over again. Her beloved pet Peewee was one thing, but her priceless Gato commemorative 250th Torch Lighting Ceremony vase was a different matter altogether. "Hey, maybe he's hiding in the china cabinet!"
This was the last straw. Miss Yuka's eyes narrowed. Her wing-feathers twitched. Her beak became a ruled line. "Out! OUT! GET OUT! BOTH OF YOU! NOW!"
Escad, for all his seeming density, knew full well that one did not want to meddle in the affairs of a 200 pound canary, much less an angry one. Whatever demon lurked in the Mana's Blessing Inn, Escad was certain she was more than capable of handling it herself.
"Goo..." Hecatonchires groaned. He knew he should have made his pet sleep outside, he really did, but he could never resist puppy dog eyes. Whenever Goo gave him the eyes, it always spelled trouble, usually of the messiest sort. How his Moldy Goo managed to make puppy dog eyes, he'd never know.
But, first things first. He kicked Goo awake and headed downstairs. Nobody was up yet, the main room of the inn was silent.
"Must be self-serve," thought Hecatonchires. "Let's see, no continental breakfast, no muffins... Aha! An egg. Must be do-it-yourself omelets." Hecatonchires wasted no time in marching over to the corner and picking up the egg, digging out a pan, firing up the stove, making himself a large omelet. Miss Yuka, the inn owner, wandered down the stairs into the room, yawning sleepily.
"Oh, it seems I woke up late... Sorry."
"No problem," Hecatonchires quickly responded. "There's enough here for 3 people at least. Have a seat, it'll be ready in a minute." He cut the omelet into portions and dumped one onto a plate in front of Miss Yuka. She eyed it suspiciously.
"This looks sort of familiar..."
"It should," came the reply, "I used that egg you had sitting around in the corner."
Miss Yuka stared at the plate for several moments, the full impact of the situation sinking in.
"You... You... You IMP! CHIMERA BEAST! DEMON!!!"
A low pattering started in the background, unnoticed by the bewildered man and the now rather perturbed canary.
"Um... I-it was Goo!" Hecatonchires pointed at his pet in panic, who was currently in the process of absorbing Miss Yuka's potted plants.
"So, it was you, you demon!"
As the slavering Fat Chocobo look-alike closed in on Goo, the pattering grew louder.
"Um, he's actually a morph, not a demo-" Hecatonchires was cut off by a loud crash as a long-haired man brandishing a large two-handed sword kicked down the door.
"Fear not, humble citizens! I, Escad will save you from the demon! Where is he?!"
Hecatonchires and Yuka looked at each other in confusion, the prior argument all but forgotten.
"For the last time, he's a MORPH, not a demo-", the goo's frazzled owner started.
"Silence! I will uproot the evil myself!" Escad began frantically searching the room, looking in closets, drawers, cabinets, and under the rug. Miss Yuka managed to weakly voice her doubts that a demon would hide under a rug, but the indefatigable Escad only laughed "Aha! But demons are tricky fellows! Why, one might even be hiding in this vase," he cried, upon which he triumphantly grabbed hold of a rather expensive looking vase. He turned it upside down and peered inside, and when he was quite satisfied that there was no demon cleverly concealed inside, he tossed it over his shoulder, resulting in a loud crash and infuriating Miss Yuka all over again. Her beloved pet Peewee was one thing, but her priceless Gato commemorative 250th Torch Lighting Ceremony vase was a different matter altogether. "Hey, maybe he's hiding in the china cabinet!"
This was the last straw. Miss Yuka's eyes narrowed. Her wing-feathers twitched. Her beak became a ruled line. "Out! OUT! GET OUT! BOTH OF YOU! NOW!"
Escad, for all his seeming density, knew full well that one did not want to meddle in the affairs of a 200 pound canary, much less an angry one. Whatever demon lurked in the Mana's Blessing Inn, Escad was certain she was more than capable of handling it herself.