Turquoise Lotus Father - Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction

Chapter 8

AN: Another chapter done, in spite of my headaches and sinus infection :'D Anyway, hope you enjoy reading and let me know what you think~!

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Chapter 8:

The delicious smell of breakfast greeted Drayce as he walked down the stairs. And as he stepped into the dining room, he received another greeting from none other than Tokala. The therian looked as cheerful and energetic as before. Perhaps even more so.

And, would you look at that, he wasn't hiding his tail!

The same brown colour as his hair, his tail was long and fluffy (and curled into a circle at the tip), and wagged happily as he greeted everyone.

"Hey, good morning! I helped make breakfast for everyone, so eat up!"

"Tokala is quite talented in the kitchen," Ashton stated as he placed a few plates of that delicious smelling food onto the table. "It was nice to have an extra set of hands, especially when it comes to feeding you lot."

Drayce could honestly feel his mouth water. His stomach didn't growl, thankfully. That would be embarrassing. "Looks delicious. Can't wait to dig in."

As Drayce sat down at the so-called head of the table, and his guildmates occupied the other seats, Caelem sat on the chair closest to him and tapped his arm to gain his attention.

"Is it ok if I help out in the library today?" he asked.

Drayce didn't have a problem with that. "Sure, that's fine."

"We can swap places," Kamali suggested. "I'd like to venture into the labyrinth today."

"Ah, that's good." Caelem was rather relieved by that. He no doubt held the notion in his head that he was somehow letting down the guild by choosing to follow his interests rather than join his guildmates in the labyrinth.

Drayce leaned his elbow onto the table and rested his chin in the palm of his hand as he regarded Caelem. "You're really into this research stuff, huh?"

Caelem instantly flushed a light pink. "Ah, w-well, I just want to learn as much as I can about my village's founding father."

Drayce laughed to show that he wasn't judging him. It would be highly hypocritical of him to do so. "Haha, no no, it's fine." He then turned his attention toward their two new guests that sat on the other end of the table together. "What about you, Tokala, Salim?"

"Eh?" Salim appeared momentarily caught off guard by the question. "Er, dunno."

"I left the necklace with Shashi," Tokala began to prattle openly. "He promised to take care of it for me. Maybe Salim and I can explore around town? We haven't really had the chance to."

That sounded reasonable. They weren't members of his guild, so it wasn't like he could ask them to do something. Even if they were members, if they had other plans, they were welcomed to do whatever they want.

"That's fine," Drayce said absentmindedly. "Leave the investigation to us for the day then. Go out and have fun. Just be sure to be home before dark."

"Home..." Tokala repeated slowly, his expression unreadable. A wide smile soon reappeared on his lips and he looked genuinely happy. "Ah, sure!"

Drayce simply sent Tokala a small smile before everyone fell into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed their breakfast. The food was quite delicious today. Ashton had always been a brilliant cook, but it seemed that Tokala was quite talented, too.

Ashton was a hard worker. He wondered if Tokala and Salim were willing to join his guild?

Never mind that for now. He had better get some food into him and get ready for a trek into the labyrinth.