Avilien

Avatar island

Lance joined up with Luke in the middle of the room. He could see that Luke's interest lay elsewhere as he waved at his face to grab his attention. Luke couldn't help but look on at poor Quinn, who remained on his new master's chest shaking like a leaf in a gale. How he must feel, being plucked straight from his home—wherever that may have been—and sent on into this world to serve a person he had never met.

Interaction with Squeeks and Nebs could be considered evidence enough to know that game guides had feelings. AI, with programming and code, was not what made them who they were. Each of them had their own personalities; they each had likes and dislikes, favourite foods, hobbies, and moods. Luke couldn't bear to think how daunting this dark space must feel to Quinn, and no one had so much as said "hi" to the little guy.

"Nebs, can you do me a favour and go and keep Quinn company? Everyone is ignoring him, and I made a promise to Lance that I would try to teach him those moves." Luke pulled his phone out of his pocket and allowed Nebs to leap out.

"If you insist, I don't mind. Not many game guides will speak with an Orunk after the great game guide war in Avatar Islands. Just as the world before us is torn between factions, so is the home we guides are from. Your father helped create it and helped create the very first guides, but after that, it was all us. His race turned feral in a war to get rid of the corrupted ones and in doing so, deleted thousands of other guides.

"I don't hold a grudge against him, since it happened way before I was even a kitten or before he was born. Have fun with the training thing." Nebs swished his tails and took off towards Quinn. Quinn looked more terrified than ever as Nebs drew closer to him.

Neither Lance nor Luke had known that game guides could have a war. On one hand, Luke thought of them as people, and on the other, Lance thought of them as mere tools and nothing more. Luke also found it difficult to believe that Quinn's ancestors deleted other game guides, as he didn't look like a fighting machine.

"Going to teach me that move then?" Lance asked as he drew his sword and stood prepared for Luke's instructions.

"Sure, I'm ready when you are," Luke replied as he, too, equipped his sword.

"Actually, before we start, we should get some food and I, erm...what Anna said earlier about you joining the guild...I mean, if you want to and all." Lance looked at the floor, and did the same nervous tick as Luke and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.

"Can't hurt to think about it a little while, if that is okay? Also, food sounds great." Luke watched as Lance stopped looking at the floor and smiled.

"Great. Anna and Amilia are awesome cooks." Lance looked across to Anna, who started to stand up. She had been browsing breakfast recipes online and picked out a choice few.

"Already on it," she called to Lance.

Anna, along with Amilia, made their way to the kitchen area of the guild, Anna refusing to acknowledge Quinn, and Amilia staring at him so violently Quinn's stomach turned and his fur went from orange to blue. Nebs whispered something into his ear and it must have been about Amilia, as the little fellow tried not to make eye contact with her. Squeeks persisted on keeping his distance, too, and remained with Brit on Lance's chair. Unusual for him, as he enjoyed Nebs's company.

Time ticked by and the guild hall started to smell delicious as Luke and Lance chatted away in the middle of the room. The frying pan sizzled away and drowned out the looters rummaging around in the shop overhead. No way would they find the hidden entrance...and if they did, they would regret finding the basement pretty quickly. Amilia didn't just know Avilien cooking recipes, and put her knowledge of the human world to use. As Nebs's sister, she understood every cooking item and technique in the world, As Anna enjoyed cooking, it turned into a perfect match with the two of them paired up.