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“Caio, bello. I hope you don’t mind me dropping by on such a fine morning?”
Just as Polendina had said, the Fox was waiting for P on the balcony. She held herself with the same suave poise as usual, looking entirely unruffled by the fact that Belle had her sword drawn and held directly at her throat. After assuring the soldier that no, the Fox was (probably) not here to kidnap anyone again and yes, she was (probably) telling the truth, the wary woman begrudgingly left the two Stalkers to talk alone.
For a moment, they simply stood in silence and watched the sun rise. The morning rays shooed away the fog that clung like cobwebs to the ruined remains of the city. Birds chirped cheerfully in the pale golden light of the dawn, and for the first time in a long, long time, the two stalkers let down their guards and allowed themselves to linger in this peace.
Eventually, P broke the silence. “I thought you had left for the mainland already?”
“Well, that was the plan,” The Fox – no, Claudia – hummed, “But after a… certain someone killed off the head of the Alchemists – and most of the lower-level Alchemists, too – that left their few remaining members in quite the bind. Half of them took off for the mainland to save their own hides without so much as a warning to us hired hands. The other half threw themselves off the top of the Abbey in despair before we could ask them anything at all. And so, my brother and I are stuck here yet again.”
“Oh. I… sorry.”
“Ah, don’t be. Stingy as they were with their payments, I believe they never intended to keep that promise in the first place. They deserved what was coming to them. At any rate, with the Frenzy and the mutations finally coming to an end, some of the more curious mainlanders and treasure-seekers will doubtlessly be making their way to Krat before long. We’ll find another way out of here in due time.”
“Hm.” P leaned onto the balcony railing, enjoying the warmth of the sunlight on his face. “I’m surprised you didn’t just steal Venigni’s submarine.”
“Oh, we tried to. Ah, don’t look so worried,” she said breezily, even as P glared at her sharply. “That thing turned out to be more of a hassle than it was worth. For one, the Alchemists’s manuals on how to operate it were rendered illegible in all the chaos. And secondly… do remember how you got us all back to Krat, exactly?”
P tilted his head. “I just steered the submarine. And docked it. Why?”
“My friend, docking is far too generous a word to describe what you did down there. If I think about stepping foot on that poor boat again, much less attempt to pilot it myself, I'll end up at the bottom of the sea rather than at the mainland."
“…at least I got us back alive,” P muttered.
She sighed, mirth coloring her voice. “Yes, yes, we are indeed still alive. Still, it is a wonder you were able to pilot that thing. Twice. But enough of that; I did not come here just to complain, nor to reminisce.”
Claudia fiddled with something at her side, and a moment later produced an overstuffed bag that P hadn't noticed her carrying. “I wanted to thank you personally again. Lucio’s sight is finally improving because of that medicine you gave us. I’ll be honest, after searching for so long, we were surprised to find anything would be able to alleviate his illness. I guess I underestimated you again.”
She held the bag out to P. “My brother couldn’t come this morning, but he wanted me to leave this gift for you as a show of his heartfelt gratitude.”
P eyed the bag, more than a little suspicious of its contents, but he wasn’t about to refuse the gift now. For all of the trouble the pair of Stalkers had caused him (P’s steel arm twitched unpleasantly at the memory of their betrayal), he didn’t want to completely write them off as enemies. This felt like a step in the right direction.
He accepted the bag and opened it carefully, only to be thoroughly puzzled by the sight of a dozen toys stuffed inside. No, these weren’t just toys, he realized, peering closer. There were also countless feathers, numerous bells, and a few packets of dried leaves of some kind all crammed inside.
“Well? Do you like it?”
P held up one toy in the shape of a mouse with a rattle attached to its tail, and it finally clicked.
“Are these… cat toys?”
“For the little orange fellow inside the Hotel.” Claudia explained. “Lucio was so very upset that he didn’t get to properly greet her when we last… visited the hotel. This is also an apology for startling her so with all that ruckus. Do make sure that she is well taken care of for him, would you? He was given a cat mask for a few different reasons, after all.”
“Um…”
She bowed lightly, then sprang atop the balcony railing, not bothering to wait for his reply. “Alas, I cannot linger here any longer, my friend. But I am sure we will be in touch again soon. Enjoy your gift, and as always: best of luck to you!”
And before P could get a word in, the Fox leapt off of the rail and vanished into the wind in typical Stalker fashion. P sighed, uncertain if he should be irritated or amused by her theatrics. Both, he decided as he forced the overstuffed bag closed and walked back towards the balcony doors.
Eugénie would be happy to have these, at least. Maybe Spring would stop targeting her animal figurines if she had something else to chase. The sheer number of toys they now had at their disposal was funny in and of itself, and levity was a rare commodity that the Hotel sorely needed at the moment. Still, the numerous trinkets were sure to cause problems once they were inevitably scattered about the hotel. That would certainly cause trouble for Polendina when it came time to pick them all up.
P slowed his pace. Polendina. Even if he had been annoyed at the mess, I know he would have enjoyed watching Spring play with these. He really did love having that cat in the Hotel…
His grip on the gift bag tightened. He had already lost too many people. The city of Krat had seen too much death in general. Between the mad puppets and the violent reactions of the fear-driven survivors, P was just tired of watching as so many lives were needlessly lost, blanketing the city in a thick haze of ergo, blood, and despair. Maybe that’s why P wanted to trust the Stalker siblings, even if it was a foolish decision. The Black Rabbit Brotherhood had thrived in bloodshed, while the Parrot had had no qualms about killing others for his own convenience. But Claudia and Lucio? P knew that neither of them was that heartless, even if they pretended not to care. He wanted to give them another chance. That is, if they were willing to work for it.
There was a quiet chirp from the lamp at his side. “Hey, you zoned out. You OK, pal?”
P shook his head. “…Yes. Just lost in thought."
Things could get better. Would get better. He would choose to believe that.
He readjusted his grip on the bag of toys and headed back inside, his heart feeling just a little lighter than before.
It was only later that evening when P noticed it. His stash of gold coin fruit, which he had carefully hidden in Giangio’s old study, had suddenly and inexplicably shrunk, and a small toy mouse had been left on top of the lid. While Gemini let out an impressive string of expletives in response, all P could really do was chuckle.
In their own strange way, those two were nothing if not reliable.