241 Vol. 4 pt. 44 Patch 8.0: (1/2)
”I get to use fish as currency,” Fenrir says to his three friends-and-girlfriend as they follow the two men from before to the town's center. The men said it would be good for them to have a meeting with the town's leader, so that's what Fenrir plans on doing now.
”We know. You've already said it five times,” Oleander says with a sigh.
”And there are dragons!”
”We know that, too. You've already said that three times.”
”Dragons that fish! What if I can befriend a giant dragon that wants to go fishing with me? I bet Tabs would get excited about the idea of making a custom fishing rod that a dragon could use.”
”Fenny, I don't know what's worse: your fishing obsession, the fact that you want to train a dragon to fish like a person, or your weeb-ness.”
”Hey, at least I'm not combining my weeb-ness with the dragon fishing stuff. I could say I want an anime-styled, dragon monster girl to go fishing with.”
”Let's face it, Fenny, we all already know that you're thinking about that more seriously than a normal person should.”
”I mean… you're not wrong.”
”Hah, you two are amusing. Glad to know that some friendly folk are wanting to build a new town instead of some asses,” one of the men says before readjusting his bandana after a gust of wind.
”Has it happened before?” Fenrir asks. ”Have assholes come up here trying to build?”
”Well, you could say that this town was originally founded by an asshole. Those of us who came to move here couldn't stand him, so we tossed him out and voted on a new leader. Some other ships have tried sailing up here to either pirate or settle, but we sunk them off the coast.”
”Good. So, is everybody as friendly as you guys?”
”Pretty much! Even the folk in the other towns are kind and respectful as long as you don't try to screw them over. The same goes for us. Be kind, be respectful, and there won't be any problems. You try screwing us, we screw you harder than you knew was possible.”
”That's what she said,” Oleander says, earning a laugh from the two men and Fenrir.
”I'm sure you'll all get along with us here just fine.”
”Glad to hear it,” Fenrir says.
The two men lead Fenrir's group to the center of the town where… well, nothing too grand is here. They're used to the more ”official” buildings being large and fancy back in Port Tugator. But, here, what they're looking at is just some small house with a bunch of cats lazing around in the front yard.
The cats all glare at Fenrir when they notice him, sticking their tails up and hissing at him.
Canid instincts within Fenrir make him want to growl right back at them, maybe even bark. Instead of embarrassing himself, though, he asks, ”Is this the mayor's?”
”Yup! Lemme go knock on the door and see if he's on right now,” the man with the bandana says. None of the cats seem to mind him as he walks right through them all. They are all too busy trying to scare Fenrir off.
He really wishes that Rock was here. Cats aren't strong enough to hurt Rock in any way, and she does love chasing after cats.
Now that Fenrir thinks about it… the cat back in Port Tugator that seemed interested in Rock has totally been betrayed. Rock ended up hooking up with Shogun – a flying fox, instead of that cat. Fenrir actually feels bad for that cat now. He completely forgot about it because of the tournament, and now it's been left behind without its crush. He can't even remember if the cat was a boy or girl! Either way, the cat definitely seemed interested in Rock like a little kid bullying their crush. Now, that cat has no hope. All of its dreams have been crushed. Rock is with a fox now whether Fenrir likes it or not.
What Fenrir doesn't know, however, is that the cat found a new dog to bully and tease no more than a day after not seeing Rock.
Cats have no loyalty.
Serra crouches down in front of the yard.
A couple of cats cautiously walk up to her and then relax as soon as she starts to pet their heads. Then the rest of the cats gather around her.
Despite having Fenrir's scent – the scent of a dog on her, the cats seem capable of looking past that when it comes to the cuteness that is Serra.
Serra looks up at Fenrir with a smug smile.
Fenrir opens his mouth to say something about it, but the cats all return to glaring at him as soon as his lips part.
This further cements within Fenrir's mind that cats are judgmental assholes and that dogs are the superior animal between the two. Dogs love everybody. They don't just judge some random person for merely existing. Even the ones who bark and snarl at people as they walk by will usually completely change attitude as soon as they're getting petted.