Gray.
I rise out of my deathbed, barely alive.
Gray.
The room I've lived in for the last five years has become a joyless purgatory.
Hate.
[They did this to me. They trapped me here. They were afraid of my potential and tricked me.]
This boiling wrath in my stomach is what fills my limbs with the energy to stand. I lazily dress myself in my Guild Master uniform and walk downstairs.
"Good morning, Guild Mewster!" The cheery voice of my cat-eared handmaid cuts the morning stillness.
I don't respond.
"Did mew have another rough morning? Well, my famous nyantastic breakfast platter will make it all better!" Natalie stands ostentatiously with her arms spread out over the table. Her frilly maid outfit and bright smile piss me off. I sit down at the table with a sigh.
"Make sure to wear your kitten bib. You don't want your nice guild mewster clothes getting dirty."
Natalie affixes a white bib with little pictures of kittens to my chest. I'm sure it's supposed to look colorful, but it just looks gray to me, as does the breakfast platter.
I pick up my fork with a sigh and take a bite out of the heart-shaped pancake in front of me.
Bland.
I'm sure it's well made, but I hardly taste anything. It's the same for the hash browns and sausage as well.
Bland.
"How do mew like it?" Natalie asks with an expectant smile.
"It's good," I lie.
"Yaaay!" Natalie twirls around in place and skips over to the sink to clean the dishes. I can hear her humming to herself as she shakes her hips. Her tail curves upward, and the tip is slowly waving back and forth. I slowly chew my meal while watching her work. Once I'm full, I stand up to leave.
"Thanks for the meal, Natalie."
Natalie flips around and frowns deeply.
"I told you to call me Nyatalie."
"Bye." I ignore her and make for the door.
"Wait, you forgot your bag!" She says as she runs toward me.
"Oh, thanks. No cat puns?"
Natalie gasps and drops my bag as she screeches to a halt. "I'm a felure!"
"I think that was a bit of a stretch."
"I deserve to be catilated."
"Again, that doesn't really make any sense.
'Shing.'
Natalie pulls a massive kitchen knife out of nowhere. "I need to commit Catakiri! Please, cat my head off!"
"You're not even trying anymore."
Natalie thrusts the blade toward her stomach, but I use the skill Flash Step to easily intercept its trajectory and remove the blade from her hands.
"Meow, mew do care."
"Stop fooling around. I'm headed to work." Despite my best efforts, I feel a small smirk rising on one side of my face. Shortly after I turn to leave, I hear snickering coming from behind me. I swiftly turn around, only to see Natalie kicking her feet while whistling with her hands behind her back.
"You should try harder if you want to hide something from me."
"Like how you hide your purfect smile from me?" I throw my bag at her and storm out of the room. My room, if you can call it that, resides at the peak of the guild building. The walk to work is only a single flight of stairs.
[If I need to pick up my bag, I can always walk back and grab it. I'm sure Nyatalie will bring it to me anyway. Dammit! She's got me saying it.]
Another smile threatens to steal my face, so I chase it away with a frown. Once I've reached the bottom of the stairs, I find my assistant standing in front of the door to my office.
"What do you want, Hugo?" I ask, clearly annoyed.
"The boy that was lost during Ironhead's last expedition has returned."
"What? From the Argon Forest?"
"Yes, he seems mostly unharmed, although a bit malnourished."
"Where is he now?"
"Downstairs at the counter." I stand up and swiftly make for the door.
"Who brought him in?"
"It seems a guard brought him home last night."
"Who brought him to the guard?" I'm out the door and scampering down the steps before he can answer.
"We're not sure. According to the guard, some kids handed the child off to him yesterday evening." My assistant struggles to keep up with me.
"Why wasn't I informed of this yesterday?"
"The child went home, so there wasn't any evidence of his arrival. The only report we got was delivered by a group of kids. Obviously, since they didn't have the missing child with them, we didn't believe them."
"What did they say when you denied them the reward?"
"Well, that's what made it even more strange. They didn't ask for it."
"What the hell were they doing in the guild?" I burst through the doors to the main hall as I ask that question. Immediately, I see a crowd forming around a small child. He seems to be glowing a dim shade of red. I blink my eyes a few times, and everything goes back to gray.
"The kids were selling some fungus they collected in the forest," My assistant replies. I push through the mass of people until I reach the lone child. He's a little gaunt but in good shape otherwise. Everyone grows silent as I approach. He spins around when he sees all the eyes of the crowd turn to me. I look him square in the eye.
"What happened?"
"I-I, um, I don't really remember. I got separated from everyone; it was dark out. I got scared, so I hid. I think I fell asleep; I-I started walking around when the suns went down. I was really hungry. And then I was lying on the ground, and someone was shaking me, telling me to wake up."
"Who was this person?"
"I don't know. I think I saw them in my class?" I move my hand towards the child. He flinches as he sees my hand grow near. I gently rub his head, and I can see his shoulders relax.
"You did well to survive. Go rest."
"O-okay." I turn and walk into the backroom toward my office. My trusted attendee follows me the whole way before sitting down at my desk and covering my face with my hands. A wave of relief washes over me.
"Bring me the guard."
"He doesn't know the person who returned the missing child, but he knows another guard who does. Shall I retrieve him?"
"Please do."
"Very well, he is right outside the door. I'll fetch him," he says with a smirk. I roll my eyes as he leaves the room. Hugo has been the assistant guild master since I arrived at this guild five years ago. He's matured to the point that he usually gets me what I need before asking. His smug remarks are one of the few things that makes this job bearable. I pull my hands from my face as the blond-haired guard approaches. He appears to stand about one hundred eighty centimeters tall and has a slim build.
"The name's Sampson, sir." He stands at attention and salutes me when he steps in front of my desk.
"I didn't ask for your name."
"Yessir!" He doesn't appear to be intimidated when I reprimand him. I stand up from my seat and walk around the desk.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Sampson. I understand you are acquainted with those children?"
"Yessir, I've been giving them lessons." I stop walking when I'm standing directly next to him. We're almost shoulder to shoulder but facing opposite directions.
"Why? Also, put your hand down; you look ridiculous."
"Yessir. I saw two of them running laps around the town. When I asked them why, they said they wanted to get stronger, so I figured I'd show them the ropes."
"Is that all?"