The eye of the gale.
"I know it isn't the best place in Orario, but…" Bell looked over the monk with an anxious expression.
In front of them was a building with a multitude of people piling up at the entrance. The walls were forge in wood and stone, and the large windows shone with the sun's radiance. Its look was humble, but elegant by the same. And over the front door a sign, one that advertised the name of such establishment — Hostess of Fertility.
"I have to admit, my only preoccupation is that name," Cicada replied with a skeptical gaze. "You see, as a humble vassal of faith, I can't allow myself to dwell in a…"
"It's not that!" the boy interrupted, "It's a normal tavern, I swear. It doesn't have anything to do with… those places."
His expression changed into a smile as he heard Bell's answer, "Then I should take your word. As long as there's a bed and enough space for pray, I'll be more than happy."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cicada. I wanted to offer you a room in our mansion, but my goddess always gets mad at me when I brought strangers."
"Bell!"
A laud screech made both of them jump a couple of centimeters. Coming from inside the tavern, a cheerful silver-haired girl came out of the dwelling, screaming the boy's name with a joy that could brighten anyone's day. She pushed away the three people in the entrance and ran straight into his face.
"Syr?!" Bell was startled by her mere appearance.
At the sight of that, a proud smirk appeared on Cicada's face, "Well, would you look at that. You even have a girlfriend. I can tell why you wanted to bring me here."
"S-She's not my—"
"Oh? Are you one of Bell's friends?" the girl separated from the rabbit boy and looked at the monk up and down. "I swear I'd never seen you around here."
"And that's because I'm not from here ma'am," he bowed respectfully. "You can call me Cicada, for Golden Cicada. Or Cigarra de Oro, the one who suits you better."
"Spanish, that's quite new," she giggled, returning the gesture with the same benevolence.
"He's member of the Buda Familia," Bell added, "He's looking for a place to stay for a couple of weak. I thought you guys could help him with that."
Syr went silence for a moment, but didn't changed her happy manners, "I… don't know if we have rooms available. You should ask inside — I think Anya's the one responsible for that."
"I appreciate your hospitality, ma'am," the monk replied before turning around and facing the doorway.
As Cranel gave one step to follow him, he was stopped by a sudden grasp on her wrist. Suddenly, he was pulled into the nearby alley with a strange he would've never imagined from the girl. Syr pinned him against the wall, surrounding him with her arms to prevent him from escaping — causing at the same time that the boy's face turned red as a tomato. In any other situation, this wouldn't have been more than one of Syr's usual flirts. However, as Bell noticed the seriousness on her expression, he immediately knew this was something else.
"Bell… you know what've you done, right?" she mumbled with an inquisitive tone.
"Ah… I… think I d—"
"You brought a member of the Buda Familia here," she came forward.
"But… why is it a bad thing?"
"BECAUSE…" she took a moment to calm down, taking one step back and returning with a softer tone, "I'm sorry. L-Let me explain to you."
As Cicada entered the place, he was received with the smell of the food, the alcohol and the and the clatter of music. He looked around with an enthusiastic smile, feeling a warm sense of nostalgia for the times he spent with his friends back in home. The employees of the place looked at him while he passed through the tables, seemingly startled by his unusual clothing. The monk stopped right in front of one of them, an elf of short green hair, and offered his usual gentleness.
"Morning, ma'am. I'm searching for a girl named Anya. Would you be so kind to tell me where she is?"
The girl didn't said a word. She just stared at him death in the eyes — a sight that would've made shiver most of the people in the room. But the man standing in front of her wasn't like them. He kept her smile, radiant, kind, and a little silly too. Maybe he was used to that kind of answer, or maybe he didn't even realized the meaning behind it. The only truth is that, after a moment, he turned back with curiosity before returning to look at her.
"What's so interesting? Is this some kind of local custom?"
"N-Nya, Mr. stranger?"
The sound of a voice full of concern called Cicada's attention. From a couple of meters from him, standing behind the bar, a cat-woman was tried to maintain the façade of a smirk on her face.
"Are you searching for a girl called Anya?"
"Yes indeed! The girl in the entrance said you could help me."
As the adventurer walked upon the girl, he was followed by Ryuu's cold stare until he was finally away. She returned to her duties after that, but not without keeping an eye over his figure at any moment. And only then, Anya could let her breath escape from her lungs.
"Meow… What did you tell her? She looked like she was about to punch you through a wall."
"Did I made her angry?" he raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh… that's the heavy atmosphere I was feeling. Thought it was the food's steam."
Anya's ears raised as she saw the monk laughing at his own mistake. She took a moment to look at him up and down, but not to investigate him at all, but to examinate his figure. She nodded as a little mischief gesture started to form on his face, and, probably unconsciously, she took a more relaxed pose while doing it. There was three words that bounced inside her head at that time, and they were: strong, tall, and dumb.
"So… I heard you've been searrrching for mew. Is that true, handsome?" her tail wiggled side to side with every word.
"You're that Anya girl," his head lowered as he presented himself. "Taiping Gyan, or just Cicada for friends. Your companion of silver hair told me there could be a room available for me."
Her ears perk and a small bright was reflected on her eyes, "Nyow I see. You want to stay with us for a while?"
"A couple of weeks if isn't much of a problem."
The cat girl stared at his eyes for a moment, trying to look far inside those sincere windows that, at the same time, were perched on her. But, the same way it happened with Ryuu, Cicada seemed unaware of the girl's true intentions. Needless to say, he gave no response beyond silence, thing that Anya just took as a challenge.
"Heh, give mew just a meowment. I'll go check it out."
Saying this, the waitress walked away in a flirtatious way — she went through a door behind the bar and walked upstairs trying to catch the eye of her client. As the monk waited for her to return, he noticed a scattered sound coming from the upper floors. He would've sworn them to be screams and the cacophony of objects breaking into the walls. All doubt was dispelled when, after a moment, a man was thrown from one of the second-floor windows and landed at the entrance with a loud thud.
"Looks like it's your lucky day, Mr. We just have one room available!" Anya announced as she returned with an innocent gaze.
"Hey you should take a look outside. I think some guy just jump escaped the window."
She giggled and leaned over the bar resting her chin over one hand, "Nyoh, don't worrry about those. Those are just our cat guests trying to run away from nyour hospitality. But I'm purrety sure that a boy like you will be more educated."
Cicada looked at the girl with a little muddle, "I'm… at my 20's… wait, you guys' kick cat people from here?"
The same way, confusion filled Anya's expression, but it quickly changed to a more embarrassed one as she understood. On an instant, her manner changed and her tone turned into a more serious one — she spoke slowly, trying to think every words as she did.
"Oh… S-Sorry for that… I meant bad guests," her sight turned away from hers.
His smiled disappeared, "Did I said something wrong?"
"No, no, absolutely no. It's just… never mind," she sigh while regaining her posture, "How much are you gonna stay with us, Mr. Cicada?"
The monk took a moment to gather his thoughts — he couch, stood straight and replied calmly, "I'll just be a couple of weeks. I'll pay a whole month to be sure."
Anya took a piece of paper, and multiplied the values to get the final price, "This will cover all the cost. You can pay now, or add a 30% at the end of your stay."
Cicada's mouth dried as he placed his eyes over the number. With a little anxiety, his hands tapped over the table as he began to count the number on his mind. Off course, this behavior didn't went unseen by the cat girl in front of him,
"Is everything all right, Mr. Cicada?"
"This… is out of my stay, I'm afraid."
"That won't be a problem."
Suddenly, he felt a kind grip at his shoulder, and the image of a cheerful smile appeared from his left. The monk startled at the sudden arrival of the silver-haired with, but it only was seen as a slight shiver around his body. With a gentle move, she took the paper from the table and spoke to both he and her companion.
"Bell will take care of your fee, Mr. Cicada. You don't need to worry for the it," she clarified softly.
But such declaration made the foreign raise an eyebrow. Even Anya, who had been working there since years already, was taken a back for the sudden change of event — it couldn't be something normal, so she preferred to stay quiet.
"The boy's gonna pay for me?" he asked skeptical.
Syr nodded, letting out a happy sigh as she caressed her own cheek "It is normal for him to be so considerate — the kind of guy disposed to let everything for someone he just knew. It's really difficult not to feel thingies for that."
"Oh, now I see," he chuckled, now a little calmer. "Then I should assume this isn't the first time?"
"That's correct!" the girl laughed with him, "Not the first, and surely not the last either."
Softened the environment, Syr took the book over the bar and wrote Cicada's name on a separate sheet. She then gave Anya a quick look, moment where their eyes found each other's.
"Anya, would you mind showing our new guest his room?"
"S-Sure," she looked at Cicada with the corner of the eye as she walked around the table. "This way, please."
"But where's Little Roc—"
"He had an emergency, but don't worry. He always come here at the mornings."
All this situation made the monk a little uncomfortable. He could sense something wasn't right, but the gentle behavior of Syr strangely provoked an unusual sense of calm on him. On every other circumstance, he would probably investigated a little more. However, the journey had been long, and he didn't have much alternatives to pass the night — it was this, or sleep under the stars, and at that moment he would've sold his dignity for a bed to lay the head.
"Ok… I really appreciate your hospitality miss… Syr," he bowed at her.
"Please. A friend of Bell is a friend of mine. Feel free to rest as much as you need."
Without saying anything else, the foreign followed the waitress upstairs. Not entirely relaxed, the adventurer began to explore the place with his sight. Every little crack in the walls was strangely striking at his eyes — like small stars, or little door that could lead to mysterious places. These thought, at the same time, were crashing with the emotions of unsafety that slowly filled his heart. He noticed the slow wagging of Anya's tail, the unusual tick on her left ear and the slowness with which she took each step. The calm before the storm, as many may call it. The monk knew it very well, and was absolutely sure that this was it. His heartbeat accelerates with every moment, every fraction of a second that passed on that seemingly endless corridor. And on his mind started to recite the sacred Sutras, those taught by the god that his soul had protected and guided thought the lands — that same god that sent him to this moment… at the time of his crash.
"HA!"
Cicada felt like his heart was ripped from his chest as he hit against a black figure that tried to walk next him. He thought that it was it — that he was about to be ambushed, attacked, stabbed by the seemingly innocent tavern that his new friend showed him. He thought he'd been betrayed. However, nothing further than the truth.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Mr."
In front of him, a cat lady of dark hair looked at his figure on the ground. He blinked, oblivious to the situation as he noticed the preoccupation on both women. A hand was extended from the first one, and a friendly smile appeared on her face as a peace symbol.
"Are mew alright?"
"Y-Yeah, heh…" the monk giggled and accepted the help. "I apologize for that, I was distracted."
"Nyow need to worry, I can say the same," the girl returned the gesture.
"Ah… Chloe, that's not a way to threat clients," Anya added smugly.
"Shut up, mew stubborn. Why don't nyou go scratch the curtains?"
"THAT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE!" she yelled as the flush covered her whole countenance.
The waitress smirk with a hint of mischief before giving them her back, "We only caught you once, you mean."
Cicada's heartbeat return to normally with what he had witnessed. He smiled at the annoyed cat girl in front of him, and couldn't help but letting out a small laugh.
"Do you really scratch the curtains?"
Anya turned around immediately, now redder than ever before, "I… nyo! Off course meow don't!"
"I have a friend back in home that does the same," the monk chuckled. "But he doesn't even hide it. He said he does it when is really nervous."
"It is a nervous tick," she replied with coldness, "And you shouldn't laugh about it."
The gaze on Cicada's face faded as he noticed the tone, "I see… I apologize for that."
"Doesn't matter," the girl sigh as she opened the last door of corridor. "Over here, please."
The foreign entered the place. It was a small room with few luxuries, but it was enough for a buddhis' monk. He left his bag over the night table and sat on the bed. The air entered his lungs with a deep breath as he felt his legs finally resting. Anya, by her part, stood at the door for a moment. She looked over the monk, but there wasn't those airs of flirtation that she showed moment before. Instead, there was doubt, and a deep feeling of curiosity over this man.
"Anya," he looked at her, "That was your name, right?"
"Oh? Oh, yeah!" she jumped back to reality. "What is it? Do you need something else?"
"No, I just…" he sat straight and gazed with a solemn expression. "Again, I feel that I need to apologize. I can tell that I said a couple of things that… may have touched you, today. I am really ashamed of that, even if I don't know your reasons behind it."
The cat girl was shocked for a second. She wanted to talk, but the words she wanted to say tripped over each other. So, instead of that, she just let herself go and burst into laughs. The monk was startled at such answer, tried to speak, but was interrupted by the once again flirty tone of the waitress.
"Ow, ain't you a cutie?" with a little jump, she laid besides him over the bed. "So big and so soft. I can tell you're a friend of Little Rocky."
"S-Soft? I'm not soft… or am I?"
Anya giggled, "You're adorable. But seriously, you don't need to worry. I know you didn't mean to" —she forced an innocent expression— "hurt this little kitten's feelings."
Cicada thought about that for a moment, but eventually approved it with a warm beam. And as she saw that, Anya passed her tail under her chin and settled down next to him. She tilted his head to rest it over one hand, and placing all her efforts to be noticed, forced the most seductive look she could.
"But if you really want to pay it back to me… you could tell me what brings you to these lands?"
"No," he told immediately.
Anya fell to the ground as her attempt failed miserably. "Come oooooon! Purrrleeeeeeees."
"I can't. I have strict orders to not tell anyone. I only told Cranel because I chose him as my…" he stopped at the realization. "I… I talked too much, didn't I?"
He looked down at the smug cat girl over the floor. She was posing with one knuckle on her cheek and one palm over her waist, fixing her eyes over the monks with a victorious gaze.
"Oh, nyou can be sure of that, big guy," she whispered letting out a little purr.
Seeing the great error, he just committed, Cicada chuckled at himself, "Now's the part where they extort me? What do you want in exchange of your silence?"
Anya jumped and placed her face dangerously close to the monks. "I want to knyow what mew told him… AND, I want to have a date with this softie giant," she pocked her nose with one finger.
With a sigh, he gave up, "Sounds fair. The thing is… I'm looking for a person — someone very special. I can't, and I won't tell you WHO is he… but I'll tell you this. I'm not the only one looking for him."
"Oooooh, mew-stery. So, this is just a just a work trip?" the girl walked over to the door. "How boring… I thought it was something more thrilling."
"I'm sorry to disappoint you ma'am. But that's all I can say," once again, he gently grin at her.
"Call me Anya, nyah. I'm nyot on favor of such formalities," the girl began to walk away, slowly hiding over the doorframe without breaking eye-contact with him. "So, it's all settle, big boy. I'll be purrparing our little encounter, so meow don't need to worry about anything… until then."
With a gesture, the monk greet the waitress as she finished closing the door. With that, and finally being completely alone, he went over his bag and began to unpack his things. However, something wasn't right.
His hands searched, first with slow and thoroughly, and then starting to get a little nervous. His forehead frowned as he began to pull objects out, and then desperately throwing them over the bed. The bag was empty three time, and his pockets at least six — but there was nothing.
"I lost it… DAMN IT!" he was about to hit the table, but stopped himself before that.
And while that was happening, Anya went down the stairway and into the room behind the bar. The door was locked, and the figures of the waitresses looked over the center of the place with concern. A woman of colossal size was waiting there, rubbing her temple impatiently. Her name, both feared and respected, was knew as the owner of such establishment — Mia Grand, also known as Demi Ymir.
"Nyaah… what is this all about?" Anya sigh.
"Syr's friend brought us a member of the Buda Familia, that's what is all about," the woman replied with clean annoyance.
"Nyoh? That gentle giant upstairs?"
Ryuu wrung the edge of her apron as her brow furrowed, "I knew that uniform looked familiar…"
"Oh, Bell…" the silver haired girl sigh with disappointment. "He didn't knew what she was doing. He just tried to do a good deed…"
"Again…" added Lunoire. "I really like that guy but… sometimes he really gets me out of my bounds. What are we gonna do now?"
Anya looked at the scene with disconcert, "Could anyone tell mew what's the big deal? He look like he wouldn't hurt a fly."
"The Buda Familia… is a family of vigilantes." the elven girl explained. "They search for criminals, bandits, assassins, anyone who'd ever broken the law or represent a danger for others."
"And the problem is…"
Lunoire frowned. "Do we really need to explain you why that could be a problem, Anya? It's not like we have at least three fugitives here… oh wait!"
The cat girl stopped for a moment. "He told me that he is searching for someone… a guy, in fact."
"That's impossible," added Chloe, shot her gaze towards her friend. "The person that he search for is not a man, and I'll told you even more…"
The other waitresses looked over her as she pulled out an envelope from under her apron. The glue had been removed from it, releasing the information that contained without ruining the wrapped. And as the girl dropped the photo in the middle of the table, the eyes widen in shock. Indeed, there it was no man, but a woman — and elven woman of long blonde hair, with her face hidden by the shadows.
"…she's in this very room with us."
As the monk supposed, the quiet of the pace wasn't something normal. He called it the calm before the storm, but that argument couldn't be more wrong — that silence, that unusual peace that surrounded him, wasn't by any means the moments previously to the disaster. Without knowing it, Cicada had just stepped into the eye of Gale.