Land of the Dunes

2: Morning in the Slums of Balburne

Sitting at the chairs nearest the entrance, two boys look over and greet him, just like they have every other day.

"Oh, it's Kisakyu! Hey!" Raya shouts. He waves at him with a happy smile before looking back at the counter as Kisakyu sits down with them.

"Yo, bartender! Another beer please," commands the man Kisakyu knows as Montri. He's quite a drunkard, but his cool demeanor lands him far higher than the other drunkards Kisakyu has met over the years of going to this bar. Judging from his sentence, though, it seemed that he had already ordered a couple of beers before Kisakyu entered the bar. Kisakyu shakes his head at him, commenting about his bad drinking habits.

"You're already drinking this early in the morning?" he questions Montri.

"Heh. If you must know, alcohol has practically replaced all the blood in my system. It runs through me, and gives me energy," he yaps. He had already lost Kisakyu halfway through the sentence, but it managed to make Raya giggle at his absurdity.

On the other hand, the bartender also laughs at Montri's silly joke, before passing another glass over to him. "Well, whatever you want, young man. This thing makes you lose your mind though. Don't get sucked up like all those other drunk people on the streets."

"Oh, you can trust me on that. I'll never stoop as low as them," Montri exclaims confidently.

"Well, it's not like I want to know what you'd look like if that happened anyway," Kisakyu responds.

"Hell, even my clothing alone discerns me from those wasted people!" Montri continues to argue.

"Well, to be fair, of course we'd look far better. We're scavengers. The clothing we wear is an entire fashion trend over there," Kisakyu defends with a laxed tone.

"Oh, definitely. All the women I've seen wore the outfits we wear just for fun. Crazy right?"

Montri scoffs a bit. "All the women? You mean, everyone there?" he refutes with a smile.

"Ah. I guess you're right. It's almost a bit wrong to say that though."

"Well, even our tongues were never meant to support unity, I guess. I heard even back then on Earth, all they'd do is wage war."

"Well, at least it's not just an endless desert like this planet..." Raya toys around with his eating utensils.

"What did you eat to get that big plate?" Kisakyu jokes with Raya.

"Haha, it's not that big. I just ate fried noodles. It's a classic here."

"It's the only good food they serve here. The rest are just drinks," Montri boldly says right in front of the bartender.

"Hey. Don't you question Chef Livson's cooking. It's not like you've tried anything other than beers and cocktails."

"Hehe, well you caught me there, chief." Montri raises his hands in defeat. Raya and Kisakyu chuckle at his comedy before Kisakyu orders something.

"Could I get those beef rice bowls?" he asks.

"Sure thing, kid. Livson! One beef rice bowl!" the bartender shouts. They can hear the voice of who seems to be Chef Livson acknowledging this order, with a simmering sound following after. "Y'know, life has been way easier now than ever. Back then, you'd get lucky even eating any sort of meat here."

"You seem to be the 'been-through-it-all' guy, bartender. It's almost like your goatee proves it," Montri kids.

"Your beard is also starting to grow, young man. You don't want people thinking you're old, do you?"