The Stag.

01.

The whispers say he died, came to life a different being, those far away witnessed the destruction he left in his wake, those near never lived to tell the tale, they turned to dust.

I am not even sure I exist in this world, what I do know is that as long as I smile, I am alive.

Lael.

Lael Mercia.

Having been through what he'd gone through, made him a different person, ofcourse he'd healed past most of his trauma but some of it lingered, you could never truly understand him though, even to himself, —he was a mystery, yet there was a certain luster to him an undeniable need to be good to him even if everything told you otherwise. WestEnd mornings in Orris city were some of the best, the people were always lively and every one regarded each other with respect, and animosity towards those who weren't part of their large neighborhood. "Good morning Lael, come back from your run alright?" The baker greeted happily as Lael walked into his shop just as he opened. "Morning Con, yeah, it was good, what do you have for me today?" Lael asked as he tightened the scrunchie holding his lower shoulder raven hair in a pony tail. "Your special as always, I have a bit of news for ya', the Morrisons are opening a pub down the next block, hoping to grab some of your clientele, most folks down 're told 'em it's a bad idea, but they seem adamant." Con explained as he came over to the counter and handed Lael his packages.

The news of the Morrisons had caused a stir in him, he wondered why they would even try open a pub so close to the stag, it was a foolish idea. "Thanks Con, and no worries, I'm pretty sure they'll learn their lesson on their own." Lael replied as he patted the chubby baker on the shoulder before turning to leave. "Oh, —I'll send Rod with the cover for my tab and the payment for our previous order." Lael added and Con waved him off. "It's okay Lael, you'd never cheat me on cash, have a good one!" Con replied happily as more customers walked into the bakery, most if not all of them waving at Lael. "Morning Lael, radiant as always." That would be one of the deputies who worked at the local police station in WestEnd. "Good morning officer Dale, that uniform looking good on you, you left your ring at the stag last night, come pick it up later." Lael replied causing the tall officer's cheeks to flush.

"Uh —yeah, you found it." He stuttered and Lael chuckled. "Don't worry Dale, I won't tell if you buy me a drink." He smoothly replied with a wink and Dale seemed to brighten up, his poker face coming on with a charming smile on his lips. "Definitely, for you, — I'll even make it a double." Dale exclaimed as Lael smiled and waved the officer goodbye. The secret to running a great business, satisfy your clientele and they'll keep coming back, Lael knew that rule by heart as did all his workers. "Hey Lael!" Dale called out as he jogged over to him since he'd walked away. "Yeah—?" The raven head turned to face the human officer. "I heard a rumour floating around at the station, there's a new mafia don coming into city, he's living in the north, already established his territory and a connection with the police, the other two dons don't seem frazzled or anything but they are tightening their leashes, so if you notice new faces at the stag it's 'em." Dale explained in a hushed voice and Lael couldn't help wonder what another mafia would do to the city, keeping the peace with just two of them plus the mob was hard enough.

"Thanks Dale, I'll look into it and will keep my staff informed, thanks for the tip." Lael replied genuinely, it's information like this that kept his business on the safe side. Orris city had the modern suburbia look, the city, the many different people, it was a good place, a mixture of all that was mystic creatures such as Lael and all his staff at the stag, and humans some aware and others who weren't, they lived in harmony, as crimes committed by mystic kind were taken care off by mystic kind and those human were taken care of by humans, at times or most of the times, they were a joint force, keeping Orris city safe for those blissfully unaware. Lael and a lot of the people in WestEnd knew better, the dark side existed and not only in WestEnd but the city itself, it was kill or be killed and since WestEnd was in the middle of neutral territory, turf wars, mystic killings, occult killings, dark deaths and deals, it all happened here, until Lael arrived, so many years back and bought the building which was now his home and also called The Stag.