Success Tastes Sweeter after a Hard Day's Work

It was the end of week six and Azemo finally had enough money to afford a residency pass. It had taken a lot of effort and the desperate saving of every single coin, but it was finally time. Looking back on the past six weeks Azemo had a lot of memories, some good, some bad, but mostly just more monotony.

Every day he would wake up a little after sunrise, gulp down breakfast and let Ima and Bella go explore.

The twins still did not enjoy the sand but they needed exercise so they had reluctantly agreed to go out and about during the day. This helped them grow accustomed to a new terrain and also helped them gain better control over their powers.

Imagine would make her paws shadowy so that they would never have to touch the sand and Bellania was able lengthen her claws and walk about on them. This control would never have been possible if they did not have the goal of avoiding the sand. Of course the wind could still blow sand onto them but attaining better mastery of their bloodline abilities was an unexpected plus of the Soul Essence.

Azemo's daily walks did not get any easier. One might think Reginald would calm down after a certain amount of routine but he was always as wild as ever. In fact, Azemo felt that since Reginald expected to be walked at a certain time he would rile himself up so he was extra crazy. As such every time Azemo put on the leash or took it off he would have to use a tremendous amount of mana, greatly weakening him for the day.

The walking part of the job had become a little bit more simple for Azemo. He had learned all of Reginald's tricks and the constant game of tug of war had strengthened his muscles. That did not mean that Reginald would not sometimes surprise Azemo with a sudden lunge or jump.

One time Azemo had lowered his guard because it was time to head home and Reginald nearly pulled him off his feet. Reginald had gotten distracted by an oddly shaped rock and had made a mad dash towards it. Azemo got pulled at least three yards before he regained his composure and stopped Reginald. Jin had a good laugh that day.

Speaking of Jin and the others, Azemo had gotten a bit closer with them and they would sometimes joke about. They never told Azemo any useful information but it was nice to work with pleasant people. Well, Slicker and Glen were pleasant, Jin had an unpleasant job so usually he was in a bad mood. Still Jin no longer wished for Azemo to fail at every twist and turn, so there was some improvement.

As for Azemo's bond with Reginald, it had grown as well. Not in a way where Reginald would obey Azemo but in more of I know who you are, way. This was both a blessing and a curse. It was good because Reginald recognized Azemo and would sometimes listen to what Azemo said because he had become semi trained. It was bad because Reginald learned what sort of tricks Azemo would try and use and he was no longer susceptible to them.

If Azemo was hoping for Reginald to grow any sort of attachment to him, Reginald's attempts at biting him always brought him down to earth. However sometimes it seemed like Reginald protected him from desert creatures. It might have just been a you look tasty thing, or maybe a only I can eat this one, but nonetheless Azemo still appreciated it.

Besides the occasional burst of movement or weird creature, Azemo's time walking Reginald was somewhat boring. It was hard to call it boring because Reginald was a handful but doing the same thing everyday could make even the most exciting job feel a little dull.

Azemo's life outside being the royal walker did little to chase away boredom. Most days he would explore for a bit before going into the desert to train his body and weapon techniques. Other days if Reginald was particularly difficult he would just collapse into his bed in the Barracks.

In the Barracks Azemo never met a single soul except for Casen who randomly disappeared one day. Azemo had been used to Casen's incessant talking so he had thought that Casen would have mentioned something before leaving. However Casen disappeared without a trace and Azemo found no trail to track him down. Maybe he had made it to the city in the sky.

Otherwise life in the Barracks was pretty stable. There would be food everyday and the tent-like building could weather any storm thrown at it. Over the six weeks he stayed there only one time had something odd happened.

One night when he had already gone to sleep, Azemo was rudely awoken and told to leave the Barracks. No matter what Azemo said he could not get a response and he was forced to gather his belongings and wait outside.

It seemed like only his part of the Barracks was shut down as only residents that Azemo saw everyday were shivering in the night chill. After twenty minutes their part of the Barracks had vanished and they had to wait for Bruce to come and assign them new beds in a new section of the Barracks. Bruce was not forthcoming with answers and the whole ordeal left Azemo rather confused.

However, when he made his way to his new bed he realized something when he saw that only one person was already settled in. It was like his first night at the Barracks. He remembered how he had always wondered why that first night everyone came in late and it never happened again. It seemed like it wasn't an uncommon occurrence to switch accommodations in the Barracks.

On a more personal side Azemo found that his behavior was becoming more and more similar to the people of Crnst. He cared less and less about those around him and he often caught himself using common phrases. This was not a big deal since he was aware of it because it helped him blend in, but Ima and Bella had found a new thing to make fun of.

"Okay here is your residency pass do not lose it or you will have to buy a new one."

Azemo stopped daydreaming and received the pass, it was a large badge, from Bruce. It was not like his royal walker badge because it glowed a bright neon yellow.

Bruce explained. "If you push down hard in the center of the badge you will begin to quickly ascend to the city and if you push the button twice it will lower you back down here."

This technology was leaps and bounds better than Kaede's world but Azemo was thinking about something else. 'Why did so few people buy the badges.'

With so much free stuff, more people should be able to save up enough money. However, Azemo did not know that only people who had governor approved jobs could stay at the Barracks. Also a family would need to buy as many Residency badges as there were family members because the badge was specifically made to only carry one person. Another factor that made the sky city out of reach was that most people did not make that much money and there were taxes that Azemo was able to avoid because he did not live in the city for three months.

Azemo pushed the button and his days in the Barracks were done as he began to float upwards. While he did not need to sleep in the Barracks, the residency badge came with a small living abode in the sky city, Azemo still needed to come down every morning to keep up with his job. It was his only source of income and things in the sky city promised to be much more costly.