I was led down a wooden hall that was filled with doors. These must be the Guild member's rooms, so I wonder whose room I got put into and where they were.
Lesha slipped her hand into mine and I turned to smile at her. Our group headed down a twisting set of stairs to the bottom level where there were a bunch of people sitting around talking and eating.
I was pulled over to the bar that wasn't a lot different than the one back home. Lesha ordered us both omelets, but I just leaned into her the entire time.
I was already starting to feel tired and regretting not taking Lesha up on the off to rest more. After she was done ordering, we went and found a large empty table, and sat down.
"You look awful, K," Lesha said sitting down beside me.
"Thank you, I think you look beautiful," I said sarcastically, laying my head down on the table. "I just need to get some food into me and I will feel a lot better, I hope."
I really did hope the food made me feel better. This felt like I had drunk a whole bottle of sweet wine to myself. I heard a cup clunk down on the wooden table, and the sound made my head pound.
I lifted my head, about to give one of the girls shit, but a man was sitting there that I had never met before. He looked to be in about his mid-thirties, and a lean rouge type. The thing that I noticed the most was the long scars that ran horizontally under each of his eyes.
"Hey! A pleasure to meet you, Miss K, my name is Dean, and I am just another one of the ruffians in this fine establishment," Dean paused, and got a laugh out of the close men. "Anyways, I can tell you look rough from a hangover or something close to it, so here."
Dean reached his hand out and handed me a small mesh pouch. I took it, unsure of what else to do.
Why was this person so keen to help me? Had Jester told them to suck up to me? That wasn't going to win favor with me, but the man seemed to read my expression and explained himself.
"Aye, I just wanted to do it as thanks for getting rid of half the Ground Pounders! Those bastards cause a lot of trouble, and the city covers for anything they do. People want to call us a despicable Guild just because we kill people, but at least we do it for a purpose. I just wanted to tip my hat to you, Miss, for doing something I couldn't."
Dean stood up and then explained what to do with the package he just gave me. It was a tea bag, and it would taste bad, but with a bit of honey and holding my nose I would be feeling better in no time.
His words, not mine, and just knowing that he thought it was going to be disgusting made me wonder if it was worth it. Maybe I should just stick with the gross and run-over feeling.
There was a call from the bar and Lesha got up and went to get our food, taking Mei with her. She came back with our food, and Mei brought over a hot mug of water and some biscuit that the bartender had given them.
I thanked Mei for the watch and biscuits, then she went back and sat down with Gloria. T and Candi were digging into a very large stack of pancakes that had been stacked six high, but we're almost done.
The two seemed to be in a better mood now that they had some food in them. It was strange to see them so close right off the hope, but Trinity had said something about forbidden love or something like that.
I would have to talk to them about it later, for now, I had a beautiful omelet with cheese, mushrooms, onions, and some red peppers. Before I started eating Lesha stopped me and told me to steep my tea and let it sit while I ate.
I grumbled, but did as I was told, but then scolded Lesha when she pulled open my omelet and started to pull the peppers out.
"Hey! I like peppers! The sweetness goes good with the rest!" I complained, momentarily distracted from the horror that was leaking into my cup from the bag I was given.
"These are spicy peppers babe, like the sauce that we made you eat. You don't want to eat these," Lesha said, continuing to pick them off.
I loved this woman, but I don't know if picking things out of my food for me in front of a bunch of tough killer types was really sending the right message. Still, it was cute to see her do it and she gave me a kiss after, going back to her meal like nothing had happened.
"Awe," Said so many voices that it felt like I was hearing from everything direction.
When I looked up, everyone was concentrating on their food or whatever else they were doing. They all looked to be concentrating a bit too hard, and I could see some barely hidden smiles, but I didn't care that my girlfriend was cute.
I leaned over and kissed her cheek and thanked her for that and started to dig into my food. The other girls had finished eating, and the two monsters were cuddled together with their eyes closed.
Soon, I finished eating and I finally got to the dread cup of not tea. I pulled it over and almost gagged, pushing it away.
"Nope, that looks like someone took a shit in it, I am not putting that in my mouth!" I complained, but Lesha's hand started to crawl up the inside of my leg, but she didn't even bother to learn close or be cute.
Instead, she turned and looked at me.
"Remember, we have plans later, and if you fall asleep on me," Lesha let my imagination finish the sentence, and I grabbed the cup and held it at arm's length.
I took a deep breath and downed the contents.