Peek: Tribute (Patreon)

The Mishchief fox joins the throng of meows, keeping his cover as the strays demand their nightly tribute from the butcher. Sometimes, he wishes he was stationed outside the delver protege's dwelling, but he's not the one in charge of assigning expeditions. He's nowhere near being a scion, and even if he were, he doesn't think he'd do as well as Poe, Leo, and Zorro.

The gruff dwarf grumbles and curses at the felines, but his beard can't hide the crinkle at his eyes as he smiles. "You beasts only love me for my scraps. Freeloaders, the lot of you!" The cats don't deign to reply, unless you count the meows demanding food. The dwarf chuckles and puts down the large board, full of various scraps he can't sell, and the cats descend on the offering like its their birthright.

The fox makes a show of joining in, but doesn't eat anything. He's not interested in getting tamed and possibly revealing that foxes have infiltrated the alleyways of Fourdock. He finishes his feigned meal quickly and approaches the dwarf, everything pointing to him being more than able to hunt his own food, yet also enjoying getting pet. He doesn't need the food, but he does enjoy ear scritches and chin rubs.

His purr still needs work, but is passable enough. It's not so far off as to make the dwarf think he's anything besides a cat, at least. The pets also helps him practice his tactile illusions, or at least that's what he tells Zorro when he asks.

He's never made an issue of it, so he can't disapprove that hard.

The dwarf hums as he pets the disguised fox. "Ah, there's the mighty hunter. Come for your tribute of food and pets, hmm? At least you're not a troublemaker. I've had to chase off a few toms that thought they should be the only ones getting the scraps. You're a good one, cat."

A few other cats disengage from the eating to come collect their own pets as well. Most are still distrustful of the dwarf, more feral than not, but others appreciate some affection, and are strong and skilled enough at hunting that they can trade a few morsels for a bit of attention.

A few even rub on the fox, putting on their own show to entice the dwarf to pet them more. Even hardened alley cats understand that being adorable can get them what they want. The fox doesn't mind, and takes a seat to lick his paw clean as he mentally catalogues the scraps.

It's surprising what one can learn from butcher's trimmings. Offal can be hard to identify after it's be cut up, but a few licks can help clear things up. As he understands it, some butchers specialize in denizen carcasses, but this one prefers more mundane cuts. This one also likes to add a bit of diced fats as a treat, which tells the fox things are going well.

Delvers like the fat, too, which is why they see it as a treat for the cats. The cats will take what they can get, but the fiercest fighting is always over the offal, not the fat. Of course, the board is always licked clean, so the fat is hardly wasted. Still, the generosity speaks well of the situation of the butcher, as does the freshness of the meat.

Zorro explained that if the meat is tough or decayed, the delvers will be having problems. Either they are butchering older animals that don't have as much meat, or they're resorting to scavenging things they didn't even kill themselves. Both speak of a lack of food. But with the board heavily laden and fresh, he'll get to report things seem to be going well for at least this butcher.

The cats are also a good indicator of the wellness of the delvers. Even the most feral of the cats only eye the dwarf with healthy skepticism, rather than outright distrust. The ones that bordered the territory of the thieves guild had to be distrustful of the outlaws if they wanted to see the sun again. Here, however, the cats are mostly ignored, and so view the delvers as potential dangers because of their size, rather than their actual threat.

The board is soon empty, so the cats wander off, with the fox being the slowest to do so. He knows the dwarf will give him a few extra pets before he gathers up the board to take back inside. "Ingrates, the lot of them. Except maybe you. Or you just want more ear rubs." The dwarf chuckles and rubs the fox's ears before gathering up his board.

"Back to the alleys with you, cat. You know when the next tribute is due, heh." With that, he heads back inside, leaving the fox to his own devices. He nimbly climbs up the alley, using a bit of gravity to let him use the little ledges, sills, overhangs, and whatnot to let him get onto a roof, before he lays down comfortably to keep an eye on the area.

The new thieves guild has been carefully probing, trying to settle into their new town without causing ripples. Zorro says it's nothing to tell Master Thediem about, at least not yet. The fox thinks they should remove these ones, too, but Zorro says that new delvers would just take their place.

Clearing out their spawner didn't clear them out fully, it seems. But if Zorro says to mostly watch for now, he'll do just that. His tail wants to wag, but he forces it to a more feline contented curling as he watches a thief carefully prowl the roofs. He doesn't need meat, but he still hunts, his prey never even knowing anything is happening.

So long as the thief doesn't cause trouble, it'll stay that way.