It was a wonderful day.
The sun glowed cheerfully as it basked the citizens of Almaston in it’s warm radiant light. Perched comfortably at the apex of the bright blue canvas, wispy clouds streaked their way across the sky in certain parts, adding a hint of flavour to the otherwise perfect day. A gentle breezed had picked up not too long ago, flowing it’s way pleasantly through the air and bringing the temperature down to what many land-dwellers would consider the perfect level. The weather was just right. Warm, yet cool enough to remind everyone that summer was rapidly approaching its end.
The streets of the capitol bustled with activity as merchants and residents busily went about their daily lives. Amongst them were the faces of countless students, who were eager to make the last day of their summer break count for something. Whether they liked it or not, tomorrow would be the first day back at Hartiche academy after a generously long summer break, and human students from all across the social hierarchy would be making the journey to the castle like institution that sat only a street away from the lands’ royal palace. For the students residing in Almaston, tomorrow would be marked off as a fresh new start. While for others it would mark the end of a long arduous journey from some rural town or village way out in the middle of nowhere.
Meanwhile on the other side of town a bulbously round man proudly stretched his stubbly little arms out to either side of his wide frame, almost as if he were trying to give the crumbling building before him an invisible embrace. The man’s brown beady eyes twinkled with mirth and the mocha brown mustache situated beneath a fat pear-shaped nose raised itself upward slightly as Waldo Maria’Shante Du Blanche’s pudgy lips turned upward in delight.
“My pride, my joy, I entrust it all to you little kitten” a booming voice roared clearly as the man’s triple chin wobbled in protest.
The man’s presence was so great that it seemed as if the man had spoken to either himself or the building before him, but upon closer inspection a petite little maid with a pair of feline ears bemusedly stood by the man’s side, adorned in traditional maid attire, the youth’s features were femininely soft, yet somewhat boyish, making the catboy’s gender rather ambiguous, though none could be blamed if one were to assume them to be a female, even if it were solely due to the skirt.
“With all due respect your wobbliness, you may want to consider getting your pride and joy renovated, I’ve done what I can…. But I’d still prefer to live in a dog house” a monotonous voice replied calmly, it’s speaker clearly identified by the impatient flicker of a thin black tail that protruded from beneath the maid’s skirt.
“Nonsense my dear! A common hound couldn’t possibly dream of attaining an estate this grand. It may be…. A little outdated, but with time and effort I’m sure it’ll be as good as new. Home is what you make it, and with a bit of faith and a little pinch of imaginative creativity it’d be grander than the royal palace!” Waldo continued, completely unphased by the disrespectful tone of his servant who made no attempt to conceal the rolling of their golden eyes.
“Time and effort? Are you sure you don’t mean blood and tears? I don’t know about a palace, but maybe we could make it a religious altar of some sort if we sacrificed pigs dressed in neon green at a makeshift altar, I’m sure the feral folk you’ll be inviting here will appreciate something that’ll remind them of home.” Kuon quipped, striding away from their master in a seemingly moody huff. Waldo on the other hand blinked dumbly a few times before shaking his balding head and returning to admiring the exterior, launching into a lengthy commentary on how the fanciful patterns on the walls couldn’t be mimicked by even the finest of artists.
“I wonder if he realizes that he’s admiring cracks in a wall…” Kuon mumbled to themselves as they began circling the building, inspecting what should had been a week long attempt to make the premises liveable. Waldo had instructed to make the place spotlessly clean, but Kuon had successfully managed to convince Waldo that the cobwebs, and boarded up windows only added to the personalized allure of the shambled building. It’d been a blatant lie, concocted purely due to Kuon not wanting to waste hours of fruitless time clearing out the dust, and wasting funds on repairs. Though that wasn’t to say Kuon hadn’t done anything. The bedrooms while shabby were kind of liveable now, and the two whale-loads of unwanted trash wouldn’t be a hindrance in keeping the place tidy. It wasn’t paradise, but as far as Kuon was concerned it was more than adequate to house the rural animals that would soon be arriving to use the (formerly) Rotting Wheel Inn as a dormitory during their stay in the Capitol.
A small but definitive smile appeared on Kuon’s lips as they imagined how the soon-to-be residents would react when they find out their home away from home would be a spacious, but barren, and filthy old building. With any luck they’d refuse to live here and head home, effectively allowing Kuon to return to the luxurious mansion Waldo owned. The people there weren’t exactly pleasant either, but at least the place had running water, electricity too… this place? Well… the lake out the back wasn’t too hard on the eyes, but certainly didn’t substitute effectively for a proper bathing area, and the thought of having to light a candle each night certainly didn’t seem as convenient as flicking a magical circuit for instant lighting.
“Simplicity is everything! Don’t you agree my fair little meowling?” a voice boomed loudly, causing the feline maids tail to flicker irritably in response, not appreciating the disruption to their thoughts in the slightest. The new inhabitants of the Rotting Wheel Inn would be arriving any moment now, and Waldo insisted they be personally greeted, a gesture Kuon wholeheartedly had supported… though at the same time they also believed it’d be a shame for them to be a distraction as the great Waldo strutted his stuff. A humble servant like Kuon was better off in the shadows… of a leafy green tree situated on the far-side of the inn. What made it even better was that it was out of earshot, meaning no bumbling fat men to disturb their well earned resting time.
After all... today was such a wonderful day~
