The Innkeeper

Although it was a city, it housed nearly 10 million people, all of whom were under her parents’ protection for almost 200 years. The little girl, Layla, had grown up hardly ever meeting her parents, since they were always fighting zombies, and spent most of her time under Grandma Noo’s care. That care, on a planet such as Vegus Minima, took the form of extreme discipline and training. Not a day in her life had gone by, as far as she could remember, that Grandma Noo didn’t strap down and bound a zombie, and then made her kill it.

She had grown up under the constant threat of annihilation, so the sudden change on the planet caught her unaware and she could not cope. Many people told her that she was safe now, and didn’t need to worry, but she could not adapt. So she continued her training and maintained her vigilance.

This morning, Grandma Noo told her that her father had been appointed governor of Vegus Minima on behalf of the Jotun Empire, and once things were finally settled, she would be able to live with them soon. Then her Grandma brought her here, in wait for her parents, who were apparently somewhere far away.

But while her Grandma said this place was safe, Layla would not risk anyone’s life, and so took it upon herself to scout the area.

She saw a lot of strangely dressed people and strange animals. Though they looked to be non-hostile, she kept her distance, and a dagger neatly tucked into her sleeve. That is when she encountered her first threat, and it was extremely menacing.

It had an oval head, with a beak sharp enough to pierce through a man. Its eyes were hidden in a streak of black feathers, with white streaks surrounding the black like war paint. It had a long, blue neck to give it extreme reach, and the feathers behind its neck had opened up into a massive fan. Dozens of eyes were imprinted on the feathers, all staring at Layla, as if ready to hunt.

Just as she was about to grip her dagger, one of the ladies wearing the Inn uniform approached her.

“This bird is called a peacock. It’s extremely gentle and loving, you do not need to be afraid.”

“I am not afraid!” Layla quickly said, though her eyes were still focused on this obvious predator.

“My name is Valma. What’s your name?” the lady asked with a smile.

Layla, however, did not reply, and eyed Velma suspiciously. Was this lady getting close to her to reach her parents? It was not the first time that had happened, and she would not let her succeed.

Noticing the little girl’s wariness, Velma decided to change the topic.

“Are you here with someone? Did you get lost? I can help you find them if you’re looking for them.”

“No, Grandma Noo knows where I am. She’s very strong, so she always knows where I am!” Layla said, her voice carrying an underlying threat. Velma, however, only chuckled when she heard her.

“In that case, do you want me to show you around? If you want, I can ask Little Blue to let you ride on its back.”

Before Layla could ask who Little Blue was, Velma pointed towards a baby whale that was flying close to the ground. Behind it, Fenrir chased as quickly as it could. Though Fenrir had a higher cultivation than Little Blue, since the latter was flying, it was much quicker.

At first, the two animals looked extremely scary to Layla, but then she noticed the many flowers sticking out of Fenrir’s fur. Little Blue had showered Fenrir in flowers from near the greenhouse, and many of them had gotten stuck. Since then, they had started a game of tag that never ended – mostly because Little Blue would fly out of reach whenever Fenrir got too close.

After watching them for a bit, she admitted that the two animals looked cute. But the thing was… she did not understand what cute was. Instead of thinking about it, it was more of a feeling she had never felt before. She was too confused to respond to Velma.

“I’ll just go back to Grandma,” she said, deciding this place was too strange.

“Sure,” Velma said, and accompanied her back to the manor.

Inside the manor, a middle-aged woman sat leaning back in a chair in the restaurant, smoking a cigar. In front of her sat Hera, who was elaborating on the details of a trade agreement that Will had proposed between the two planets – or more specifically, the two parties from these two planets. Normally Hera would not have brought her son Jimmy with her in such an environment, but fortunately the air in the Inn was very clean, and none of the smoke from the cigar ever made it to her child, who was standing meekly behind her chair.

Just as they were in the middle of their discussion, a little girl ran into the middle-aged woman’s arms and whispered, “Grandma Noo, this place is very dangerous. I saw a lot of monsters.”

“If it’s dangerous, then form a hunting party. We do not shy away from it,” Noo said, smiling at her granddaughter. “Look, even that little kid is here, and he’s even younger than you.”

Layla turned to look at Jimmy, who was peeking at her from behind his mother, and competition flashed in her eyes.

“Hmph, I’m not afraid. I’m just submitting my scouting report,” she said stubbornly, before pulling out of her grandmother’s arms and eyed the little boy. “Come, you’re in my hunting party now,” she boldly declared, before pulling Jimmy away to hunt some peacocks!

Hera was hesitant, but eventually she said nothing. It was good that Jimmy finally had a chance to make some friends. On that day, in that backyard, the gallant peacock warriors gathered its first two members.