Astera was probably the worst city in Oak. Straight like that...it just was. Not only did this city always smell like a ton fuck of rotten fish salivating over each other and sewers, but it was also right by the sea which meant that it was colder than everywhere else in the western region of Fiore. Not to mention, it was the most crowded place to be. People were always bumping into each other and not saying excuse me. It wasn't like they smelled any better than the ocean either. There were just so many things that Khalfani could say about why he genuinely disliked Astera but of course, he wouldn't be vocal about it. Maybe he had just been thinking about it so hard because he was in a shitty mood.

Large bodies of water like the ocean scared the hell out of him. It was a fear he had since he was a child and had yet to overcome. In fact, it could be the very thing will kill him one day if he didn't handle it as soon as possible. Today he wasn't in Astera city because he wanted to be. Well..kinda, but per usual, money talked. If the pay from doing this quest that him and Veronica were about embark on wasn't up to part, truth be told, he wouldn't have been here. Alas, there was some real hefty amount of jewels to be made today. Now he just had to wait for his partner to show up. The Icy girl herself.

Khalfani stood on the docks of Astera, watching the boats come and go one by one. One would dock, drop off some goods, and then depart. It was a repeating cycle that caused water to splash by his feet every so often. The Panther leaned on the cargo beside him as he waited for his white haired friend. They had grown really close these last few days. Initially they met at a Jazz lounge in oak and then from there they kicked it off. It was a shame he wasn't into women and he had been happy with his partner. He would already dove into that. Hey who knows? Maybe he still would one day. After all, he was polyamorous. That was a conversation he had yet to have with the love of his life, but it would happen one day soon.

For now there was a quest to focus on. Once again, he was back here for some sea creature that had been stealing shipments from the docked ships at night. Nobody had seen it, but the civilians of these parts could hear it while they were trying to sleep. Just the thought of getting onto a boat and venturing into the middle of the ocean but a bad taste in his mouth. However, Khalfani was no bitch. His father ain't raise no scaredy cat and so this would get done one way or another. Veronica had taken the lead on the last big mission, so today, he would.

Khalfani waited against the box of cargo, silently as time went by. The cargo boxes were stacked up against each other one by one, probably containing some amount of food for the people of Astera, or perhaps it was some illegal goods. Whatever it was had nothing to do with him. As he stood waiting, he heard feet, then a voice. Cool, calm, collected and almost ghost-like there Veronica was. Veronica Wintour, his partner and crime for the past two days. She was his equal, at least that's what he saw her as. Even if she didn't realize it, her presence was appreciated. Doing quests alone was boring and not to mention dangerous. It wasn't like Khalfani couldn't handle his own, it was just that doing quests with another person meant that it'd be a lot easier. For the past two years and for as long as he could remember he had been doing everything by himself.

Not only the countless amount of quests for the rune knights, but also adventures that had to do with his own life. The Rune Knights for a while had him doing quests alone and he was twelve. Not long after was he promoted to Lieutenant. One of the strongest members on the whole force. He had a promising future back then, or so his superiors believed. However, they didn't know that he was simply a spy for the Wizard Lord. Even the Captain Jove had faith in his future. It wasn't long before he left the Rune Knights to reunite with his father.

What a time to be alive, he thought. Veronica didn't seem to be a fan of this city either. Who would? "I know. The money's good though." Was his response. That's all there it was to it. Nothing more, nothing less. Little did Veronica know that Khalfani would be dealing with his biggest fear. The thought of exposing to her that meant that he was trusting her. Hopefully in the future she wouldn't use that against him. "Come on." He said as he walked from the dock towards the man waiting by the boat. When they approached the man would tell them the details of the quest. At night they would hear a loud screech and in the morning all of the food cargo had gone missing.

The pounds of fish they had captured the night before vanished as if a ghost had stolen them or something. It was the same story the last time he had come to Astera. Though that time was more of a shit show, this time he doubted it would be that way. Plus, the last time he had gone with Azure; a mage of Eternal Nightmare who he hadn't liked in the beginning. With a sigh Khalfani nodded, and the sailor would escort them onto the boat. He would allow Veronica to step onto the boat first, then he would step in. It was more about being afraid than it was about being polite.

Soon after the man had escorted them onto the Boat, Khalfani would squirm to the middle as his face began to pale. He sat on the deck and placed his head in his knees. The boat would sway back and forth and he would attempt to ignore all of it, but to no avail. It would be obvious that he had a fear of large bodies of water like the ocean and he knew Veronica would see it. Yet still, he hoped that she would at least pretend like she didn't see it. This was far too embarrassing after all. The boat would soon begin rocking wildly as a large snake-like sea monster arose from the water. Mouth parted revealing about seven-hundred or so teeth. How was that even possible, he thought. Khalfani wanted to be the hero in this moment, so he stood up, holding his breath and attempted to be the stoic man the world had known him to be. Except he just couldn't.

This all was just making his stomach feel queasy. Soon after standing up, he'd sit down and tuck his head back into his knees. This was just too much for him right now. He thought he could do it, but it seemed he had just been lying to himself. "Vee, can you...please?" He'd grumble, trying his hardest not to puke. The boat captain looked at the panther in utter disappointment, then would turn to his partner with a nod. Khal had been caught up in trying to keep himself under wraps that he hardly paid any attention to Veronica. It would be entirely comedic if she too had a fear of large bodies of water like the ocean. If Veronica didn't handle this situation, then the two of them would just have to die. The Eternal Nightmare leaned over the boat with his eyes closed before puking his guts out, wiping his mouth and sulking back into the deck when he was done.

His fear of large bodies of water didn't come from nowhere. When he was younger, the slave masters would hold him underwater for long ass seconds as some sort of twisted discipline. It was a fear he would definitely need to get over, especially since they were going to be fighting a lot more monsters soon. So, whether Veronica had accomplished the task at hand or not, Khal would stand up and decide that it was his turn. Like an idiot, he ran to the other end of the ship and just when he was about to get into the action he threw up. His guts emptied into the water. Never again, he thought. This was indeed the worst quest he could have chosen.

The boat had been rocking to and fro, back and forth in ways that Khalfani's body just couldn't handle. He wanted to participate and help his comrade Veronica, but he realized that it may have just been better if he sat this one out. How could he be of help if he couldn't actually be of help. Veronica would be either of three things. Stressed, annoyed or humored. Either way it wouldn't matter because the young black panther didn't have the energy to prove himself. She was exposed to his deepest fears and that made her his best friend. One of the only people besides perhaps Azure who had known that large bodies of water could be his demise.

The captain of the boat was obviously disappointed, but he rubbed the Dragon Slayers back in support. It was a good thing too because Khalfani began to have flashbacks of the times his masters would keep him under water for tens of seconds as punishment. It was cruel to even think about, but it was why he went so hard now. it was why he had been tracking down every slave trade chain and been working to destroy  it. Still, Khalfani would need to get over this fear if he wanted to succeed. The mage could feel the fluids in his stomach whoosh back and forth from one side of his belly to the other, only making this condition much much worse. This man would definitely no longer call Khalfani to take on this task.

The monster seemed to be so formidable that they were able to turn the color of the skies. Although Khalfani could not see it with his own eyes at this very moment. The skies had went from a bright electric blue to a dark and pale gray. The ocean sprayed it's salty mist all over his close as he the dragon slayer shook quite literally, in his boots. The wind had been picking up. It would only be a matter of time before the monster consumed them all but Khalfani trusted in Veronica. She hadn't displayed any truly formidable power but he somehow knew that she was capable of handling this entire situation alone. Still, it was no reason for him to simply back away when things got tough.

If Khal was to be a leader of a guild or of anything really, he would need to prove himself. If not to Veronica, then to himself. So, with a struggling attempt to prepare himself for battle, he began rising to his feet. The ocean water on the soles of his boots as sweat dripped from his forehead down to his chest. I can do this, he thought as he finally came to a stand. The captain of the boat seemed surprised. His eyes widened as he made space for the young panther to do what it was that he needed to do in this moment. Slowly, he began opening his eyes, glaring directly at the monster and perhaps even Veronica should she have bee fighting the large serpent. Then, he'd charge forward and deliver the killing blow to its stomach before passing out face up in the water. The man would bring them back when the job was done, giving Veronica both amounts of jewels for him and her.