Fortune of Harara Sidequests

WC: 523/300

The clacking sound of Red’s hooves against the marble paved walkway was drowned out by the nearby blaring music and the indistinct chatter of people dining in restaurants not too far away. It was the dead of the night, but here, the city never sleeps. Red wanted to get out, but with how much busier it was during the day, she figured this was about as close as she was going to get to peace of mind.

The popup tents had decreased significantly in the part of town Red was in, leaving a lot of barren buildings waiting to be occupied and crowded over in the following morning. This also left a lot of nooks and crannies not easily seen during the day now much more readily accessible- and Red was curious. The loud noises that deterred her from being more social and claustrophobia she felt during the day wasn’t going to hold her back from exploring.

One alley in particular caught her attention. She wasn’t quite sure why, but she felt drawn to this one specifically. Taking a cautious step around the sharp corner of one of the buildings forming the alley, she poked her head down it to see… not too much of interest. There was a fire escape ladder leading up to some balconies up above, a dumpster with garbage bags strewn amongst it, and… a plate of half eaten pancakes. 

Confused, Red took a couple steps down the alleyway to inspect this outlier. She walked up to it and without any hesitation, squatted down and lifted up one of the pancakes on top. It was still warm. As she dropped it back down, a fork that was set to the side of the stack rattled, causing a hand to stretch out of a nearby shadow and take a grip on the edge of the plate. 

Red did not flinch. She cocked her head to the side as she observed, the light in her eyes and on her soul shining bright with curiosity. A pair of eyes seemed to show themselves in the shadow, and upon looking directly at Red, read of panic.

The shadow quickly lept out of the two-dimensional plane it was bound to, patterns and features of the silhouette beginning to reform. Red stood up and was a bit taken aback to realize it was Gavner. He looked… embarrassed. Red crossed her arms.

“I… I can explain,” Gavner started.

Red glared at him. Gav sighed.

“Cherry won’t let me eat any pancakes while we’re here. Like, I get that he wants me to try new things, and I love him for that, but he doesn’t understand! I want to try different pancake recipes, preparations, variants! It’s a comfort food! Please don’t tell him, he’ll kill me.”

Red paused for a moment, and just barely started to laugh.

“I’m serious!” Gavner panicked, picking up the plate and holding it close to his chest.

Red rolled her eyes.

“You two are strange,” She said, beginning to walk out of the alleyway. “Finish up your food and come back home.”

Gavner let out another deep sigh of defeat.

“Yes, mom…”