Sort of Like a Day Off

[Kade Lazarus]

It wasn’t a difficult job by any stretch of the imagination. Kade would never have thought to go looking for it, but when the job was posed to him, he really couldn’t just turn it down. It didn’t pay very much, and Kade was on a search for enough jewels to help his guild back home. It was a waste of his time and energy just to go wandering, but fortunately this was not just wandering. A woman had sent a request to Blue Pegasus, and Kade was in the area. They had their own problems, so Kade agreed to take the work. He wanted to be back at his guild, but he felt this would help more. He needed to be mature and just take the work he was offered. Being a morale boost at home would come soon. He hadn’t been gone that long. Just keep focused, Kade.

He looked to the lovely blond woman and asked, “So, what is it you need today?” He had showed up at a small animal shelter in Shirotsume Town. It wasn’t like the places he normally visited. They were either extremely sketchy, or… reasonably large and well maintained. This place was small, but looked well maintained from the outside. Still, it was quite modest.

213/500

[Kade Lazarus]

The slightly older woman brushed her blond braid back from her shoulder. “I just need someone to take care of the animals. I have a few kids from around town who are more than happy to help me out, but they are just volunteers. I need someone who I can put in charge. I have personal things I need to take care of. With all the chaos in this area…” she sighed.

“I understand. You don’t need to justify your request to me, Ma’am,” Kade told her with a firm nod. “I will handle things. So… to take care of this building and all the animals inside?”

“Yes, yes, exactly,” she told him. “I can show you around…”

“Thank you, that would be very helpful,” Kade agreed. She was very attractive. It was strange. She probably wasn’t the prettiest woman he had seen lately. She just seemed more attractive to him. She was dressed modestly, and despite her name, which was her first name sewn into the pocket of her shirt, she looked to be quite in charge of this place. Quiet confidence. It was… attractive… and yet… well it wasn’t that Kade would normally flirt, but he felt strangely aware of the fact that flirting with this woman, or being a bit too forward, would be a shame. Odd.

433/500

[Kade Lazarus]

Ms. Loren Affer showed Kade around the building after that. He kept a professional distance from her, but was quite friendly. It still struck him as strange, but he didn’t want to do anything inappropriate. She showed him through the building. A few young helpers were around. A handful looked to be teenagers, and still one looked like he was probably only about ten. If nothing else, this building seemed to serve as a good outlet for the children. They walked past rabbit hutches, which simply reminded Kade of home. It also reminded him that he would be looking after… pets. Not anyone in particular’s pet, except that they were all basically Ms. Affer’s pets… Yeah, this was going to be a bit strange. He didn’t let on though, and listened attentively as he got the whole tour.

Once the tour was complete Ms. Affer said she needed to head out. “Are you going to be alright here until I get back?”

“Yes, ma’am. I assure you I can keep things under control,” Kade told her with another nod. All he had to do was take care of some animals, and maintain her volunteers. She would pay him, he would thank her, and he would head to the next job. She was a nice woman, and he was glad to help her out. He didn’t expect problems.

660/500

[Kade Lazarus]

While Kade did not anticipate any problems, he still remained alert. He walked around the building a few times just to make sure things were normal. He gave small orders to the volunteers, asking one to get lunch, asking another to ready an animal’s bath. He wasn’t really ordering, he was guiding. While Kade was capable of manipulation and bossing people around, that was not his style of leadership. He would never be a dictator. He wanted to be someone who people actually wanted to follow. Not because it was easy, or because he was telling them to do things they want to do. He wanted people to follow him because he was just, and he was doing something worthy. Also because he was charismatic. It was good to be charismatic. He didn’t really need to be charismatic to ask a few teenagers to do what they had already agreed to do.

Hm…. Teenagers… “Where is that one boy?”

“Hm? Do you mean Chriss?”

“The young boy I saw around here?” Kade asked, not quite sure if that was this Chriss person.

“Yeah, Chriss. He’s probably around, he likes to play with the animals. He’s pretty shy, so he might be hiding from you.”

“Interesting… alright thanks,” Kade said, letting that particular girl go off to do what she’d been asked. Kade began looking for this boy. He didn’t want him to spend all day hiding.

896/500

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade began walking around. It was in the afternoon by now, and he would have taken the time to hang out a bit more with the volunteers, but he needed to find this one boy. He noticed a large empty cage. “I could have sworn…” he noticed a few fluffy balls and some bells inside. “Oh…” Yes, this cage had certainly been filled earlier. The door was just slightly open. How many kittens had been in this room? Kade felt a surprising amount of discomfort. They were just cats, but this was his job. He also had a friend with a cat. That cat could take care of himself, surely. Cats were predators. He remembered one of the mewing creatures from earlier in the day. Yeah, those didn’t seem like predators. And it was his job to keep them safe. He sighed, shaking his head and beginning to walk around the building.

Kade stopped suddenly when he saw a door. It was kept over with a large rock. A large enough rock that Kade could fit his entire booted shoe through the opening. Lovely… The door appeared to lock once closed, but it was being used as a two way door for this case. He peeked out and spotted a turf of black fur. “Ah-hah!” Kade explained. He opened the door, but forgot the rock. The door closed behind him, but he hurried over to the kitten. The ball of black fur tried to run, but Kade put up a gentle light barrier on one side of it. The stunned kitten mewed a few times before being picked up.

1165/500

[Kade Lazarus]

“There, there…” Kade said gently. He rubbed the creature’s head. It continued to mew up until he made it to the front door. He noticed a little calico kitten near that door and scooped her up as well. “Just how many…” he then cleared his throat. Noticing a confused looking volunteer. “Hey, Sandy… I was just wondering… how many kittens are in the kitten cage in the back room?”

“Um, probably around ten right now? Loren was having us clean the other cages, so a bunch were all in one big one for now.”

“Alright… thanks,” Kade said with a smile. He walked past her looking less encouraged. He deposited the two cute fluffballs and headed back outside, propping the rock in the door once more.

It was about an hour of humor. The light dragon slayer wandering around searching in bushes, trees, around corners, under boxes. He found one just barely out of a ditch. It was so young and fragile. He cradled the little animal and carried him back inside. Still, he only found nine of the little cats, and he knew there were ten. Kade headed outside, and eventually he heard a faint purring noise. He looked to the roof. He couldn’t see anyone… but he heard it.

1376/500

[Kade Lazarus]

Kade found a few crates in the back and climbed his way up. It wasn’t hard, though he knew these crates did not want to support his weight. Still, he was pretty light on his feet, and made it up without much trouble. He finally spotted the boy from earlier. Holding a little long haired white kitten. He was wide eyed when he saw Kade, and scooted away.

“Hey, its alright. I’m Kade… are you Chriss?”

The boy nodded, petting the still purring kitten.

“Who is that?”

“Anastasia…” he said quietly.

“That’s a pretty name. I think the rest of the kids are having a snack. Do you want to come get a snack?”

“They aren’t kids. That’s just me.”

“Oh, I think they are,” Kade chuckled. “Its about perspective. But don’t worry about that.”

Chriss still seemed apprehensive of Kade, but after a few more minutes of talking, Kade convinced him to go inside. He simply jumped down from the roof and rolled, which Chriss found impressive. If a little bit of physical activity could impress this kid, Kade didn’t mind doing it. They put the last kitten back and went for a snack. The rest of the day was filled with various chores, and Kade kept an eye on Chriss. It was good. Lucky for him evening came without any other problems and Ms. Affer was happy to give Kade his jewels and send him on his way.

1616/500

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