2 Kindel

Then. 

The small man across the desk was caught between how best to make a sale,  and trying to figure out how exactly to address the giant snow leopard filling his office space.   He'd never seen one before face to face,  but he hadn't imagined they would be so large.  He wasn't even sure one had ever been to the town at all.

"So, what did you say brought here again, Mr -- err..." He trailed off, hoping to draw a a name out of the other.

"Kindel.  No titles.  Just Kindel.  I need some supplies.  Then I'll be on my way."

The man rubbed his palms together and kicked his chair under his desk.  "On your way?  But you've just arrived Mr- ahh, see, I've already remembered.   *Kindel* , but there is so much to experience here in Outpost!  Isn't that why you chose here to take your rest?"

Kindel's golden eyes rolled dramatically.   "Yes.  I must have forgotten.  Remind me of the highlights?"

Either ignoring the slight or missing it entirely,  the man grabbed a thin binder from the shelf nearby.  "Quite right, our town began a quaint mining outpost.  All of the families living here now were the original miners, their families,  and their offspring.    

But what we discovered was the heat from mines created the best hot springs in the world, with mineral salts from the mines themselves to add to their healing potential.   And then we realized the position against the cliffs created a microclimate.  The weather is always beautiful in Outpost.  And we're going to share that with the world," the man chuckled as he flipped a coin.

"For a cost," Kindel scoffed.

"All things have their price, my large friend.  Even peace of mind.  What would a few nights stay and a warm bath be worth to you?"

The man had pushed his luck too far.  "Just the supplies.  Then I'll be on my way."  Then, as a thought occurred to him, "You may find not everyone wants their home invaded by tourists.  I'll share that bit free of charge."

The man smiled thinly in response as he began packing a bag, and simultaneously writing a ledger.

*****

The dinner crowd had begun rolling in as Kindel found himself a seat at one of the town's few restaurants. He wouldn't have known it was a 'crowd,' either, if the helpful wait-staff hadn't alerted him to this good fortune. 

"Oh yes, within an hour almost all these tables will be taken."

Not wanting to be rude, "Err, and that's your busy time?"

"Yep yip, sure is.  Course, not as busy as those bustling cities out there," he said; pegging Kindel as stranger out of his element, "but you'd be surprised just how at home we can make you feel in Outpost!"

"Really?"  Kindel's voice heavily sardonic.  "  Do all your visitors get this welcome?  Or just the giant, out of place ones?"

The wait-staff was either well trained or else naturally friendly.   "There was a time not far back that none of us lived here.  We were all strangers.  And that's why Outpost is a home to everyone. "

Kindel wasn't having it.  " For the right price, I'm sure you'll welcome anyone.  Just give me a menu, and save the theatrics."

As he hopped away, Kindel caught the eyes and smiles from the couple at the table next to him.  Their thick, nutbrown tails almost matched the size of their bodies.  The man began laughing - cordially, with softened eyes.  He reached a paw across the expanse to Kindel.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet someone as distrusting of this plan as we are.  There is nothing good that is going to come from our town being literally over run by tourists."  His paw hung in the air as he began to loose his balance on his stool.  "I'm sorry where are my manners.  This - is my paw; and here we sometimes extend them in greeting, for shaking purposes."

The joke wasn't even all that funny but it was enough to break the tension that had been building inside Kindel.   He laughed.  "Well, everyone in Outpost is weird; you're just a different kind it seems!"  He grabbed the paw and gave a mighty shake, pulling the other the rest of the way from the stool and onto the floor.  The small dinner 'crowd' looked on with amusement.  "Sorry.   What do you recommend here?"

The Squirrelfolk picked himself up, chuckling as he shook off.  "I recommend after your meal you come visit my wife and I at our pub.  Selena and Kipper's, on Finch Avenue.  You look like you could use a rest and a strong beverage. "

Selena added, "The first round's on me for giving us all a laugh.  You can't put a price on that."