“And why are you looking into it? This thing’s got nothing to do with mercenaries.”
“It’s for the safety of my client,” Zig said, doing his best to hide the fact that he was on a guild assignment. “We did the rescuing today, but tomorrow might be different.”
In actuality, the incident would put both Zig and Siasha in danger if it were to happen again. His sword would be useless against the swarm.
Affirming Zig’s motives, Balto gave him a nod.
“In that case, I’ll talk. I don’t know how much of it’ll be useful since we were running for our lives at the time.”
With that disclaimer, Balto proceeded to tell Zig everything he knew about the incident.
Siasha and Seb returned when the conversation was over. She had a satisfied smile on her face while the young demi-human looked drained and exhausted.
“I’ve never had such an experience…” Siasha said. “Maybe I’ll ask Urbas if I can touch his tail next time.”
“Th-this is the problem with you humans. You think of our tails as playthings…”
Despite complaining about how Siasha handled his tail, Seb didn’t actually pull away. Perhaps he was nicer to humans than he let on.
“Sorry,” Zig said. “She’s very inquisitive. I’ll buy you a drink to make up for it.”
“Hmph! I don’t need favors from a human!” the young wolf rebuffed as he groomed his messy tail back to its original shape. Although demi-humans weren’t exactly like dogs and cats, having their tails manhandled probably wasn’t a good feeling.
“It’s not a favor, it’s a thank you and an apology. I wanted to get dinner while I’m here, but the tables downstairs are full. We’d appreciate it if you don’t mind sharing your table. How about it?”
The young wolf pursed his lips and met Zig’s eyes with a look of confusion.
“You’d break bread with us, with demi-humans?”
“I’m not picky about the people I eat with.”
The young wolf looked at Zig, then at Siasha—who was still looking intently at his tail—and finally at his chief.
“I won’t say no if the chief’s okay with it.”
“Very well. We can get to know each other over dinner.”
Balto then called a waiter to take everyone’s orders.