Aennin's day of drinking with Katim and Landah was a fateful one in that it seemed to start a tradition. From that point on, Aennin would be compelled to sit down at the bar for a round of flux whiskey whenever there was no work for him to do. This soon became a nearly weekly occurrence with mixed results. Even on the worst days, it was hard to complain because he was paid for his time and didn't need to do much besides stay conscious-- which was immediately paid into his family's debt. As he considered this during a particularly raucous occasion two months later, he thought to ask how much he and his sister still owed them.
Katim shrugged moodily. The flux wine had not been strong with him that day. "I don't carry the damned bill around with me! I only see on it pay days when I'm striking your month's pay from it."
Aennin frowned and slapped his glass on the table, which Landah quickly refilled. "I feel like I should know this information! Where do you keep the bill?"
Katim took a deep gulp straight from the bottle. "Gods damn! Why do we still drink this stuff? I'm not going to get it right now and you're not going into my office. If you want to know, ask your sister. She pesters me about it every month, so I can't imagine anyone more likely to remember your debt than her."
"It's about time for her shift," Landah slurred lazily. "You could-- you should go ask her now and check.. check on her. See if she's gonna be here."
"She'd better be," Katim growled before smashing the bottle behind the bar. "I'm not paying her to leave us high and dry in the week before Tey Bola ul Handeen. There are going to be hundreds of people pouring in! I might have to stick an apron to you two and put you both to work as well!"
"This one'd look good in the serving uniform," Landah said as he threw an arm around Aennin and pulled him in. "Imagine how much we could make with a red-haired version of Kana!"
Aennin ducked under Landah's arm and shot him a venemous glare while Katim said, "Those legs are for running, not for showing, you idiot!" Turning to Aennin, he added, "You seem to be doing better than this drunken lech right now. Maybe you could put those legs to work right now and get your sister. The first wave of celebrants will start pouring in any minute!"
"All I'm saying is if we're going to pay him to get drunk here, he may as well be making us money!" Landah protested.
Whatever was said after that, Aennin didn't wait to hear. He darted out of the bar before Landah could start sizing him up for a skirt and jogged home as quickly as his drink-addled body could carry him. He took a shortcut he had discovered over months of repeating this route in order to avoid any nosy guards. He stumbled into the house to find Kana sitting on his mother's old armchair with a stony expression on her face.
"Have fun?" she said waspishly.
"Another day, another handful of gold," Aennin said weakly as he fell into the sofa.
"I'm not sure being drinking buddies with our mom's killer is what I'd call work," Kana hissed with hardly concealed contempt.
"Nor is getting your ass pinched by his customers," Aennin said a little hotly. "But we do what we must to get him off our case. How much do we still owe, anyway?"
"Nine hundred and fifty seven promises as of yesterday," Kana said with her face contorted in anger. "How much are you getting paid to drink with Katim and Landah?"
"Five a day," Aennin replied with a sigh. "Half what I make for each delivery. Fair, considering I don't actually do any work when I'm there."
"I wouldn't socialize with those two for ten times that much!" Kana snapped.
"It's not like I have a choice! We agreed that we'd do whatever they want until they wipe our debt," Aennin shot back. "Don't judge me for having a few drinks! I'm lucky they don't make me shuffle around the pub, serving drinks in the same uniform you wear! And considering what I just went through, I do mean that literally! Talk about something they couldn't pay me to do!"
"Yes, it's humiliating, but how do you think that makes me feel?" Kana shouted as she jumped out of the chair. "I'm angry every damned day! And I use that to motivate me to actually pay this damn debt and put this behind me! How are you supposed to do that if you become friends with these monsters?
"I'M NOT THEIR FRIEND!" Aennin roared, kicking the sofa over in a rage as he jumped to his feet as well. "I'm not getting close to Katim because I admire him, I'm doing it because I want him DEAD!"
Kana let out a gasp of shock. "You're not... planning to kill him, are you?"
Realizing his mistake, he shook his head. "No! I just--"
"I need to go to work," Kana said as she grabbed her apron from the coat rack and hurried to the door. "Whatever you're doing, forget about it! We never talked about this!"
Kana slammed the door in her haste to get away, leaving Aennin alone to contemplate what had just happened. Of course he wasn't going to kill Katim, he was waiting for Maula to do it! She wanted him to learn something from his employer, but the fact that Katim still drew breath meant he still had yet to learn it. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time by spending it in the way he had and what it would take to see his tormentor dead.
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