Lucky? Unlucky?

Sic walked down the street of the city. He observed the people who were going about their days, without a care in the world.

He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little resentful. After living in the hell that was the dumps, watching people living life full of happiness made him very jealous.

'Im here now though. That's what matters'

Walking down the, honestly absurdly long street, he finally reached the second right and continued to walk. After walking for awhile, he finally saw the inn. It was a brown building with the picture of a mug on the front. It was slightly bigger than all the houses around it, so at least the guy was right about that.

Sic had never been to an inn before, so he was pretty nervous.

What if he walks in and everyone stares at him?

He shivered at the thought.

He tried his best to get his nerves under control, and walked in.

He immediately recognized the very intense smell of alcohol. In the dumps, many people used alcohol as a way to cope with everyday life. He noticed the multiple tables filled with people. Most were drinking, some were yelling and playing cards, and few select few were simply conversing in a corner. The long bar was filled with all sorts of beverages.

Sic was starting to doubt that this was an inn at all. As he was looking around, he noticed a young girl sweeping near one of the empty tables. He assumed she was part of whatever employment they had here, and walked up to her.

"Um, hello?"

It was pretty loud in the building, so she didn't seem to hear him.

"H-hello?"

This time he talked loud enough for her to hear him.

"What do you want?"

The young girl was wearing a basic maid outfit, she had light brown eyes and dark orange hair. She didn't seem to be in a very good mood.

"Uh, I just wanted to know if you guys had a-"

The girls face lit up and interrupted him before he could finish.

"Are you looking for a job?"

Sic nodded his head before he realized what she has actually meant by that.

"Perfect! We have an open spot for a cleaner, and we've been hurting for more manpower. Welcome aboard!"

Sic was stunned

'what?!'

Sic hadn't even gotten a full sentence out before she cut him off.

Before he could even fully register what she meant, she has taken his hand and dragged him to a door behind the bar.

She pulled him into a room and quickly began digging through a box. The room he was in was filled with boxes and cleaning supplies.

"Wait, what's happening?!"

The girl turned back to him confused

"You wanted a job, didn't you?"

"Well, technically yes I needed a job, but someone told me this was an inn! I just needed somewhere to sleep for tonight."

The girls face immediately turned bright red

"Oh. I'm sorry.."

Sic shook his head

"Don't be. To be honest, I'd be happy to take the job, but I need to know what I'll be doing first-"

She immediately smiled again and started to explain

"Well, being a cleaner is pretty easy. Just clean up after guests! You might have to take an order or two, but you can probably do that. I hope.."

With how quickly she switched back to being happy, Sic wondered if she was faking being sad before.

He was debating whether or not to take the job. On one hand, it did seem pretty easy. If this really was an inn, he would be as close to his job as possible. On the other hand, cleaning up after people sounded horrible. Especially if they were drunk.

"Do I get to sleep here if I decide to work?"

The girl nodded her head.

"Of course! And all your meals will be paid for!"

She whispered the last line quietly enough where Sic couldn't hear it.

"It'll be money out of your paycheck though.."

To him, this was already enough. It took care of almost every problem he had.

"Fine, I'll work for you. When do I start?"

She threw a pair of clothes at him

"Right now! Follow me, I'll lead you to your room."

The girl took his hand once again and walked him through the bar again. She led him up stairs he didn't notice when he walked in. At the top of the stairs, he looked around and saw multiple different hallways, all filled with rooms. Somehow, the second floor looked at least twice as big as the first floor

'an ability, maybe?'

The girl led him down on of the hallways and shoved him into a room.

"Hurry and get changed, your shift starts-"

She checked the clock

"Right now!"

She closed the door and walked away.

Sic was speechless. He didn't even get to ask for her name.

He looked around the room. It was pretty simple, it had a bed at the back of the room, with a table and some couches in the middle of the room. He saw a door and walked towards it. Opening it, he smiled

'another bathroom!'

Seeing another bathroom so soon made it all worth it.

He looked at the clothes she left him and sighed. It was a pair of brown pants and a brown button up shirt. As exciting as getting a free pair of clothes was, they weren't necessarily the most fashionable. He quickly changed into his new clothes and left his old ones on his bed. He has given his luggage to Nick for safe keeping until he found a place to stay. As advanced as the city was, people still committed crimes. Sic didn't have much, but what he did have was very important to him.

Walking out of the room, he headed downstairs towards the girl once again.

She looked him up and down and smiled

"Good. You can find a broom and mop in the back room."

Sic nodded, and she began to walk away, but before that, he asked her a question.

"By the way, I never got your name."

The girl giggled.

"My name is Veil"

There was silence for a second before Sic realized he was also supposed to say his name.

"Oh! My name is Sic, nice to meet you."

She smiled

"Yeah yeah, now go get to work. I'm not paying you to stand around!"

With that, she marched off to go finish cleaning the table she was at before Sic had bothered her.

Looking around, he noticed some people staring just a bit too hard. He managed to overhear them, not like they were being quiet in the first place.

"Is he one of those rats?"

"I think so. He definitely looks like one."

"Disgusting. I can't believe how low this place is going."

"Maybe he'll die of some disease soon.."

Sic had been called many things, and a rat had been one of them. Being referred to as one by someone who has lived their entire life behind the safety of the city irritated him to no end.

'This is going to be a long shift's

And a long shift is what it was.