Book 3 Chapter 57: Whatever you say, Cuz
Dantes walked down Midtown’s main street with Jacque tucked under his arm, Jacopo on his shoulder, and his remaining hound walking patiently at his side. It was a warm, wet day, but he still wore his jacket, if only to keep Jacopo from needing to sink his claws into him to maintain his perch. Jacque was awake and looking around as they moved. Dantes was walking without purpose, simply to stretch his legs and spend some time with his son. It was… difficult for him, in some ways, to move without a destination in mind, but he was learning to enjoy it
The people in Midtown gave him a respectful distance, some even bowing as he passed. Those he knew personally waved to him, or even shared brief hellos. There wasn’t as much fear as there had been in the past, now it was mostly respect, or even reverence. He was a gangster, a criminal, but he was theirs and they knew that. He’d gotten rid of Mondego who’d squeezed the life out of them, he’d helped heal many of the sick and hurt during the plague, and now he’d driven away an invading army. Midtown had suffered the least of any other part of the city and it was thanks to him. Even when the strange golden army had appeared, their shops and people had been protected by the plants and animals he’d encouraged them to grow and adopt. Sure, that encouragement had been forceful, but they were safe and that’s what mattered to them.
At certain corners Dantes would stop and hold Jacque in front of himself, letting stray dogs, cats, rats, and pigeons sniff at him, remembering what he looked and smelled like. As he did so, he would push a bit of his will through them, asking them to keep Jacque safe even when he wasn’t around. He wasn’t entirely sure what the result would be, but all of the vermin did respond to him in the affirmative, and it was quickly draining the gold in his vermin-marks, so it had to be doing something. Aside from that the sniffs and licks of the animals made Jacque laugh, which made it a win either way. He would save doing so with roaches for when they were alone, everyone had gotten used to him summoning all manner of critters at this point, or even moving plants at will, but roaches were still a bridge too far for many.
By the time he’d finished his walk, Jacque was sleeping with his head buried in Dantes’s shoulder. He walked into the Vixen, giving his hound a scratch before sending him upstairs to his garden.
The Vixen was busy again, at least for a morning, with some drinkers that may as well have never left, a few men gambling at the corner table, and some of Tak’s kobolds stopping in for breakfast. A number of them had chosen to move into the city rather than return to the outskirts. They were clanless anyway, so there was no reason to stay where the other kobolds were. Dantes had seen them as a good way to fill out some properties he’d brought up in the wake of the war through Desha.
Zilly, Sera, and Decker were sitting at the bar examining a series of carefully arranged dishes and glasses. Dantes approached quietly to keep from waking Jacque, but Zilly noticed him anyway.
“Dantes, we need to cut one of these dishes from the feast after Vera and Da-,” she coughed a bit, “Vampa’s wedding.”
“Why? I’m guessing it’s not a matter of cost?”
Zilly shook her head. “No, the feast is meant to be of four dishes as part of the ceremony. Not including dessert.”