11. A pause to eat

“Oh, Warren…” Marika came out of the carriage, smiling, with a singing and playful tone of voice, her eyes closed and her tail wagging behind.

“I am not buying you food,” Warren answered, controlling the carriage.

Curses! How did he know?! Marika thought, her smile dropped, and her tail fell to the floor.

“You need to tell me where these storage units are, we cannot stop to-”

A growling sound can be heard coming from Warren’s stomach, causing him to stop talking. He just sits there, and his face slowly turns red. Marika's smile returns, this time more cat-like and playful.

“Heh.” She lets out a small laugh to escape, “Well, well, well, cowboy, seems we need to make a stop for some lunch anyway,” she steps forward and points to the front, “Left, then right, then 2 squares! I know a good place!”

The city, besides the constant tension because of the criminal gangs, was usually calm and silent, only the occasional yell of someone calling another person, another one selling their stuff, or just wheels moving around.

Marika had blurry memories of the past, when she used to live in the bigger cities. Tall buildings, cars, constant noises. It was so different from Malton. Buildings were not higher than 3 or 4 stories tall, paint peeling off them, broken windows, odd smells in the air. But it was her home, it has been for the last 5 years. Does she miss the commodities from when she was living with her father? Absolutely, but this was her home now, one where she was both useful and felt comfortable… Although she did feel bad about the nature of it.

“There!” Marika pointed out that when they got closer to a street stand by a commercial zone. Some people were eating in seats arranged in the street close to a spot where a large man was cooking. Once they arrived, the carriage called the attention, and the man cooking gave a smile to her when she saw her in the front.

She jumped before the transport stopped and ran towards the man cooking. A good smell was in the air, something in the fire made of meat, with great seasoning, and some rice being cooked in a big pot. It was a simple setup, but it got the job done.

“Oh, mister Jacob!” Marika said when she approached and stopped the tall, big man, who had a very long beard and huge hairy hands.

“No, Marika, I am not giving you a discount, not after all you owe me,” He said, his voice was grave, potent. “Pay the account from last week, and I might consider rediscounting you again.”

“Dammit! How does everyone know I am about to ask for a small, tiny favor!?” Marika asked, pouting and crossing her arms under her chest.

“You put a certain tone of voice when you want something.” He laughed, though, not offended, “Want to put it in your account? And two more for Cinthia and Alex?”

The moment he mentioned their names, Marika felt her heart want to escape her throat. She shakes her head to say no. “A-actually, I want to pay you first…” her ears flattened, but she was doing it mostly out of shame, “and it is complicated… something happened”

“Y-yeeah I hear…” Jacob said, for the surprise of Marika, “Want to talk it out inside? I heard it was something rough, you must know”

“Mister Jacob… yes, but… can you please serve my two friends first? One of them has a bad habit of not eating.” Warren and Lucy came closer to the stand, looking around at the people eating. They seemed to be curious about it.

“Well, that ain’t good! Let me serve you a fresh piece of meat!” He said and got up to work.

The food was a well-seasoned piece of meat that was cooked to perfection until it melted in the hands of whoever took it and was easy to cut with just a spoon. It was accompanied by rice and some tomatoes nd a dose of a special sauce that Jacob never shared.

“Enjoy!” Marika said with a wide smile as she served them the plates herself with a wide smile. They found a seat and even got one for her, “Mister Jacob is the best cook in town, he leveled up the skill since he was Lucy’s age, so it is high and it shows. I have a bit of business to deal with, I won’t be late, don’t wait for me.”

“Oh… then be careful, Miss Marika,” Lucy said, looking at the plate of food in awe as it was a big portion of meat. And the promise that it was made by someone with a high level in cooking was something.

“I suppose we are paying ours…” Warren commented, knowing full well Marika was not inviting at all.

Marika entered the building with Mr. Jacob, who gave her a chair to sit in front of him. “Why don’t you sit down, girl?” He asked. Marika followed his instruction and looked at him worried.

“Word said that the place you are living right now was emptied… everyone suddenly disappeared except for those that were not there when it happened,” Jacob complained as he shifted, he had a bad back as far as Marika remembered. “Do you know anything? Someone mentioned seeing one of the Snake twins, and I was worried about you and the two kids.”

“W-wel…” Marika hesitated to answer and looked to the ground. “The gag came looking for me… and it seems they took everyone they caught with them. I found the place empty, but I was there when they kidnapped Max and Cinthia.”

“And you? What were you doing? Why were they after you?” Jacob’s expression under his beard was that of a worried person.

Marika explained what had happened during the day. Escaping from Darel, helping Warren, and the way the gunslinger killed him, only to then get the bounty, and then being ambushed by one of the Snake Twins. She got extorted but managed to escape.

Jacob was someone she trusted because of how much he helped her. Since almost the beginning, he has been making sure none of the three passed hunger. But he obviously started to charge Marika as she was getting older and was getting a bit too dependent on him to get something to eat. And still he opened an account for her.

After hearing what had transpired during the day, and just the day, Jacob rubbed his hand through his face, trying to process everything. He coughs, loud and shaky, and then talks again.

“Why did you steal that from them?” Jacob asked, he was worried, his eyes and shaky tone of voice showed it, “What even is that thing you took from them?”

“I don’t know… but then it happened that the receptionist was bought by the gang of the Twin Snakes and got there fast.” Marika was sitting, covering herself with her arms, her ears pulled back against her hair. “I didn’t count on them hearing about it…”

“You know the people you can trust in this town can be counted with your hands,” Jacob added, “what are you doing now? This Warren guy? Is he helping you?”

“I got him convinced I could help him… seems he has business with the gang” Marika was playing with the skirt of her dress, fisting the fabric with her hands, “I think… I believe we can find where everyone else is and bust them out.”

“Is dangerous, Marika.” Jacob shook his head, disapproving of the idea, “You should let him take care of this by himself.”

Marika then shook her head and placed both hands on the edges of her seat.

“I am not! I-I don’t want to live like this anymore, Jacob. Running, hiding, having to steal to eat the next day, needing to kill to survive… is a wonder I have not killed someone to this point, only because I don’t have combat skills from the System.”

“And how have you been, girl?”

The question hit her harder than she expected. She swallowed saliva, trying to answer.

“I just shot a demi-human to the face.” She looked at him directly in the eyes, and hers were shaking, “Not a skill to stun them as always… just outright pointed a rifle to the face. He survived, but…”

There was a pause. Jacob said nothing, waiting for her to continue. He was always the listener, always letting people speak their truth before adding a word himself.

“I didn’t say anything at the time… but I was scared I almost crossed a line.” She crossed her arms over herself. “I acted like I was just looting him, but I was looking at him and… I saw myself, killed, shot in the back of the head like I almost was in that moment… and then was Warren.”

“What about him?”

“He is cold-blooded… kills them without doubt. He looked Darel in the eyes when he shot him with that skill… Fuck, I cannot remember how he called it”, She laughed, uncomfortable on herself. “I am sure he overkilled, caused more damage than he needed… and then walked away like it was nothing…”

“He probably is a seasoned bounty hunter,” Jacob pointed out. “Maybe it is a lie that he is at a low level.”

“I don’t… I don’t know anything about him. When I tried to pry, he just went silent and did not answer. Even Lucy said that I should respect his privacy.” Which made sense… but it only added to the mystery and how little she knew about the gunslinger she was dealing with.

“Marika, what are you feeling?” Jacob asked, leaning closer to her, his big beard dangled from his face, and his eyes looked directly at hers.

“...fear… that I will lose Max and Cinthia… that everyone else is threatened because I reached too far when I tried to steal from the Gang…” A tear escaped from her right eye, and she noticed it. With her hand, she stops the tear and then rubs her eye, and looks back at Jacob, but not showing sadness or fear, but determination, she steeled her gaze and posture. “I am not backing down, though. I already said, "I am tired of living like this… and someone already stole from me in the past.”

“Yeah, I remember, your step-mother,” Jacob said, remembering she once told him about this, how her step-mother got rid of her by sending her to what is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the whole country. The fact that she survived when she was 13 years old was incredible.

“I will pay you, Mister Jacob… and I might not return, at least not soon,” she continued, “No debts. And I don’t want to bring trouble to you either. You helped us a lot… I just thought it was proper we have our business straight.”

“Just take one for the ride, missy,” Jacob answered.

Outside, Warren was already looking worried as Marika was taking too long to come out. It was dangerous to stay still for too long.

“Stop worrying too much, you know she can handle herself,” Lucy said, devouring the last piece of the meat.

“Eat the rest,” Warren warned, as she still had the rice and vegetables.

“Hmph!” Lucy pouted with her left cheek smeared with the sauce, ”And you eat, it's going to get cold, or I will steal your meat!”

“Not hungry”

“Liar!”

That is when Marika came out of the building, her whole aura was different, or he thought for a moment. She jumped and hugged Jacob by the neck, She looked way too small beside the big man.

“Thanks for listening!” She said, putting up her smile.

“Don’t worry, missy,” Jacob answered.

They both got closer to the table where the siblings were eating, and Jacob gave Warren a stern look for a moment. Confused, Warren sat straight, but somehow he understood what was about to be said.

“The house invites this one… and if you pull it off, you will never go hungry in this city as long as I am around.” Jacob turned to the stand with his kitchen, “Those two kids have passed through a lot, so you better make sure they are safe. This goes for both of you.”

Jacob looked at Marika when he said that, and she nodded.

“Haven’t I told you already, Jacob?” She made her voice sound like she was insulted, and placed her hand against her collarbone, “I have always succeeded in my hits!”

The worst? Jacob knew for a fact she was not lying. Probably why she got too greedy.