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Well-loved shoes scraped against the rocky pavement, a Mauvian poking out from his shirt's neckline. One arm held the cat in place so as not to stretch the neckline out too far. One frustrated Paul Jones was a few steps ahead of the Dynamic Duo, with longer legs to cross distance faster. Zach wasn't about to chase after him, but kept up well enough. After all, Paul promised a drink, and it sounded to the younger man that a drink would be well needed after that disaster of a meeting.

Despite Itsuki's pleas, one drink wouldn't kill him. Besides, he was a few months shy of twenty-one. Close enough.

One hand in his pocket, Zach took a corner a little sharply to keep up with the older, taller man. "So, I hear at Squire, you guys get some kinda weapon, and some kinda magic. Maybe that makes up for the fact that you don't get much when you first start out." As much as he wanted to ask if Gomorrah was always in a bad mood (he was Sodom's husband, after all - best not to trash-talk someone's spouse), Zach kept his mouth shut on that subject. "Sounds pretty cool, if you ask me. I haven't seen Knight magic, but it's gotta be cool."

"Hai! Camelot-sama said they also have animals they can summon! Camelot-sama said he has a dragon! Gao~!"

Zach perked up at that comment. "Dragon, huh? How come I don't get a dragon? Or maybe... a shark with a shotgun that shoots ninjas. Or lightning. That'd be pretty useful. Hook me up, Itsuki."

The cat's ears drooped. "Zee-chan, you have ghosts. I can't get you a dragon! You'd have to ask Camelot-sama about that."

Zach chuckled to himself. It was funny, really, when someone who was older than himself was struggling with this sort of thing. Sure, it was magic and all sorts of bullshit, but the way Gomorrah reacted, disbelieving someone younger than himself even though he could see the magic that proved everything... It was just silly. It was silly and somewhat arrogant, but Itsuki seemed to care deeply for these Pages (for whatever reason). Just to keep his conscience clean, the gray-haired young man followed behind dutifully, straight into the bar, despite the cat's protests.

"Zee-chan, you're underage! Zee-chan, how am I going to hide? Zee-chan, what is Melody-san going to say??"

Luckily the boy had a hoodie with him, and with a few deft movements, zipped the cat up and into a good hiding place for the time being. The bar was too warm to keep the hoodie on for long, but if anyone asked, Zach would say he put on a few pounds. No one would question a beer belly in a bar, right?

And speaking of questions, the bartender didn't even give him a second glance. Was Paul a regular here? Zach's wilder days produced a fake ID that he kept with him in case of emergencies, so the dynamic duo were covered in that respect. Once seated in the booth, Itsuki squirted out from the hoodie so Zach could remove it post-haste. The Mau was fluffy, and a tiny furnace for being eight pounds when wet. Beer in front of him, Zach popped the tab without hesitation, but didn't take a drink just yet.

Itsuki hid between Zach's body and the wall, but his ears poked over the edge of the table. Luckily for them, many manly voices grumbled unhappiness with work, girlfriends and automobiles.

"So, whatcha want next? I'm Zach, by the way. And if anybody asks, you're my uncle. Or somethin'."

"Oji-sama!" squeaked the cat.

“Oh! Peanuts~” chirped the Mau, his lilac ears bobbing with each word. “I would love some peanuts and water, Paul-sama. I’m kind of hungry. Do they serve real food here?”

Zach leaned over slightly. “Probably not a good idea to get anything big, unless I get it and give you pieces. Gotta be careful.”

It was neither here nor there, as far as the boy was concerned. They could eat at home and the Mau would have to deal with it. It was risky enough for him to be sitting in the booth as it was. Zach positioned his hoodie in a pile between Itsuki and himself to further hide the Mau, who was ducking every time anyone meandered past the booth.

Paul’s next question was a tricky one. Zach could explain the basics of the how’s and the what’s, but the why’s were trickier.

“Depends on who you ask,” said he, lifting the cold beer to take a sip. Beer didn’t taste as good now as it did when he was younger. Thirteen was his first sip, and it tasted like bitter freedom and adulthood and things forbidden. Nowadays, Zach lost his appreciation for it. “If you ask my sister, it’s fate and destiny an’ cogs and wheels an’ all that. She’s in real deep. Me? I’m not that poetic. I think it’s more like… coincidence. Kinda like how Spiderman got bit and poof, you got superpowers. It’s not like he went out, thinkin’ to himself, I’ma get my a** bit by a radioactive spider and then go save the city today.”

Despite all that, Zach still couldn’t shake that fate and destiny were at play on some level. They were reborn, to some degree. That giant black man wearing his fuku back on his moon couldn’t be denied. That was Themisto at some point. But would that be too much to explain?

“Kalli-sama is right, Zee-chan.” A tiny paw peeked above the scuffed edge of the table, trying to make a point. “It’s your destiny to help stop the Negaverse and save the city. Or maybe even the whole world!”

Zach sighed, leaning back slightly in the booth and crossed his arms. Brows furrowed as he was deep in thought, fixating on a strange stain on the wall near Paul’s broad shoulder. “The way I figure it, if the bad guys weren’t ********’ around the city, we wouldn’t be needed, you know? What’s the point of havin’ superheroes if there’s no villains to fight? A lil’... comic-book-y, but you get my point, right? I’ll level with you, though,” He leaned back in, keeping his voice low as an inebriated patron wandered by, asking for his car keys. “I was awakened like, four years ago. I decided, I ain’t doin’ this and bailed, but man, it nags you. Nags you like… like you pissed your mom off, but she’s not mad, she’s disappointed. Bothered the hell outta me when I was runnin’ from it. Not like goin’ back in is any safer.”

”The point is to stop Chaos!”

“My point is that I feel like I’m doin’ some good, savin’ a few people here ‘n there. Beatin’ some Nega-faces in is pretty satisfyin’. Knowin’ the city’s a lil safer at night’s helpful, too.”

Zach couldn't blame him. Not everybody wanted to do the right thing for no other sake than itself. He didn't get paid, and his sister didn't either, but there were benefits. Zach thought he was making a real difference in the world and had carved his own niche in it. Paul was someone at a different stage in his life, from what Itsuki had explained. Married, doing some unsavory things for pay, owning his own house with the American Dream of a pool and white picket fence.

On second thought, he wasn't so sure about the fence.

"Peanuts~" came an excited chirp when Zach had grasped the bowl of nuts and placed it beside his leg so the cat could partake without being so obvious. A few moments later, crunching could be heard as the cat munched away at the peanuts, almonds and cashews provided. "Arigato gozaimasu, Paul-sama~"

"I'm not gonna be one to tell you you gotta go out there and risk your life. Like I said, I ran from it for a long time. Finished high school while it nagged me in the back of my head. I know we're all out here for different reasons. I dunno, maybe you'll protect your boy back there." Or maybe not, but even if I don't like him, I don't want him gettin' his starseed ripped out of his chest and pumped so full'a Chaos that he doesn't remember who you are, Paul.

Zach sighed.

The crunching ceased and tiny ears appeared over the lip of the scarred table. "Training, Paul-sama~ When senshi train enough, their starseed tells Maus like us that it's ready for more power! I was reading in the Headquarters computer that Knights don't need cats to increase their powers. It just... happens!" Back to more crunching.

"Don't spoil your dinner. Melody'll be miffed at you."

With a shake of his head, Zach knew offering to train with him probably wouldn't go over too well with Gomorrah. Sodom might be more interested, but it was tough to say. Gomorrah may not even be interested in any of this magical bullshit when all was said and done. "Fighting, improving your skills, basically. Punchin' faces, beatin' youma, trainin' with people. I know a few folks who do trainings but I don't think you'd wanna hang out with somebody even younger than me, so..."

"What about someone Kalli-sama knows?"

"I dunno, maybe. I could ask. She knows some people I don't know."

"Knights get weapons as they get more powerful. That's what I read! And they can access their magic, too!"

Itsuki's ears reappeared once Zach had decided the cat had enough gorging on peanuts and scooped up the bowl to place in between himself and Paul on the tabletop. "Don't want you spoilin' dinner. Mel's makin' roast or somethin' and your belly bein' fulla' peanuts, you'll miss out." And then whine and complain during dinner, which is annoying as hell.

The removal of peanuts didn't seem to bother the Mau very much. As he spoke in a low voice, his ears swiveled with each emote. "Paul-sama, hai! It's like a video game! Your starseed needs to train enough before you can use more power! But it only works if you're Sodom. If you're Paul, it's not the same thing." Ears twitched, partially listening to the surrounding conversations. Something about a cheating spouse, something about losing money on stocks, something about hiding being in the bar...

Zach crossed his arms and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Just be careful. Itsuki cares a lot about you and your husband, so... I don't mind stickin' around to keep you guys safe. When you power up, you send out a signal to everybody in the area, and those Negas'll catch onto that and maybe attack you guys cuz you're just startin' out. Hell, the furball can even cloak your signatures so you're flyin' under the radar, but I kinda got this feeling you wanna do all this on your own. I mean, more power to ya if that's the case--"

"Paul-sama! We can find other knights for you to train with! Hai! I'm sure we can find a few! I like you, so please be safe, okay?"

The boy jerked his head towards the cat. "See?"

Zach understood Paul's need to stay in the bar for a while longer. His entire life as he knew it was being torn apart and replaced with two halves - one he was familiar with and one... one that was unbelievable in its illogical nature. Who wouldn't want to have a few more drinks to try and cope?

"Keep safe, Paul."

Itsuki was ushered into his hoodie and zipped up for safety, but not before the cat stuck his paw out from between the hoodie flaps to wave to Paul. "Oyasumi, Paul-sama~" came the tiny Japanese whisper. Goodnight, and the furball disappeared. Zach dug his hands into his pockets once he was free of the booth, trying to subtly hold the cat in place while they left the bar. Melody's roast was calling to them, and there wasn't much more they could offer to the newbie Page... for now.

When Paul got home later that night, he'd see one single message on his phone from the Mau.