Midnight Dawn: Guiding Light

Chapter 9

The moment Ayri shut the door to his and Jasper's room, the reality of his task at hand hit harder than he expected. Though Ayri did not regret his decision to venture downstairs and into the tavern attached to their inn, he couldn't shake the anxiety of being surrounded by unfamiliar and untrustworthy humans. But his desire to provide for Jasper outweighed a lifetime of fear.

As Ayri took to the stairs, a pit began to form in his stomach. The further he descended down the stairs and put more distance between himself and Jasper, the worse it became.

Why do I feel...guilty? Is that what it is? Ayri thought to himself. Ayri shook his head and continued the walk to the busy tavern within the inn. Jasper is fine. He traveled alone before me, so there is no reason to be guilty.

Ayri adjusted his hood and took a deep breath before immersing himself in the crowd of humans. The tavern was loud, and Ayri took slow, methodical steps toward the bar as he quickly studied those around him. More people than he could keep track of were also wearing hoods over their heads as they threw back drink after drink. Laughter and booming voices carried through the room while the smell of food and booze filled the air.

There was one person standing behind the bar – the bartender, Ayri assumed – pouring drinks and wiping down spills as patrons filtered up and away from multi-colored stools. Ayri's eyes darted around the room. Though he knew it was impossible to clock every possible threat, he couldn't stop himself. He did not regret putting himself in the middle of a tavern full of humans for Jasper. But that didn't mean he would trust them.

He approached the bar and sat at the stool nearest him. The chatter was almost overwhelming. Ayri began to tap his fingers on the dark wood as he contemplated how to speak up. All I have to do is order food, Ayri thought.

That's not too difficult. And then you can get out of here and back to Jasper.

"You're going to drill a hole in my bar if you keep tapping like that."

Ayri looked up from his fingers to the voice, finding it belonged to the bartender.

"Oh, I'm..." Ayri shrunk a bit in his seat. "I'm sorry. I just need a menu, please." The bartender turned toward a large open space and shouted at someone Ayri couldn't see.

"Hey! Can we get this kid a menu and a bowl of nuts?"

Ayri winced as this person shouted. Their voice carried through the busy tavern, and they went right back to wiping down a few places on the bar. A moment later, a menu was being slid across the bar right into Ayri's waiting hands. Ayri jumped, but quickly scooped the menu up to try and cover his very evident unease.

"You look like you could use something to take the edge off, honey."

"I'm fine," Ayri nearly whispered as he opened the menu and trained his eyes on the different options, but not actually reading.

"You're not used to big cities, huh?" the bartender asked. The sound of glass clinking on the hardwood bar brought Ayri's attention out of the menu. In front of him sat a very small glass with a clear liquid inside. Ayri looked from the glass to the bartender, tilting his head.

"What's that?"

"For the nerves. We get a lot of small town folks in here. I can always spot them a mile away."

Ayri gripped the glass between his index finger and thumb and brought it to his nose. The smell shot through his nostrils quicker than he would have liked, and whatever this liquid was already stung his senses. The bartender chuckled and threw the rag with which they were cleaning the bar over their shoulders.