FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The tiger walked away after his talk with Ryker and Desmond. The others slowly got to their feet, walking back around the campgrounds to attend to what they were previously doing. Ryker looked to Desmond, who glanced up at him.

"I have a bad feeling about this place..." Desmond whispered as Ryker shrugged.

"Me neither... But as of now, we have no choice. Just try not to do anything but what you're told. I promise we'll be alright." Ryker replied to his friend, grabbing his hand. The pair hugged for a moment before two figures approached them. One was the girl that had teleported them to the camp, the other was the cat that held Desmond's hand on the trip.

"Hey, Kent wants to meet with you privately." The cat girl said, her red hair accented by the bonfire's light. Ryker nodded and looked to Desmond who didn't seem too happy about the idea.

"I'll be right back, don't fret." He shot Desmond a smile, which Desmond could only half heartedly return. The two walked off towards the large tent at the edge of the camp with it's own fire while Desmond stood, looking at the girl that teleported him. If antlers adorned her head, she could possibly pass as Desmond's look alike. That's when he felt her reply.

"I'm sure I wouldn't be able to cope with having antlers on my head." She said to him without moving her lips. Desmond looked at her, confused before trying to figure it out. He had never really had a chance to communicate with someone telepathically, since his only companion was someone he vowed to never read.

"Are you a mind reader too?" Desmond replied, his ears twitching a bit. She nodded in reply, Desmond quirking a smile.

"Name's Chloe. I've never met another telepathic before. Though from what Kent and Maddie have said, you're much stronger than I am."

"I'm Desmond... Though you seem to already know about me. What do you mean stronger than you are? Who are Kent and Maddie?" Desmond asked, thankful for being able to ask questions secretly.

"Kent is the tiger that brought you here. Kent Fytmi. He's got power over air, obviously. It's how he's forced almost everyone here to work for him. Either that or he's made deals and such. You should have pushed one of us. You could have gotten away."

"I couldn't have. Ryker and I wouldn't have had enough power or time to take out everyone." Desmond shrugged.

"You speak of Ryker as if he's someone not under your control... Why is that?"

"I promised him I'd never read his thoughts and I haven't. I also haven't pushed him yet either."

"Why not? Is he... That special to you?" Chloe gave him a knowing smile.

"Yes. He's the only thing I have in this world. Without him, I don't know what I would do."

"Ah. That's sweet." She giggled, looking down at her feet. Chloe slowly looked back up to him, shaking her head.

"Well, let's go and show you the rest of the camp." She said as she nodded her head towards the camp. ~~~

"So, what's your name?" Ryker asked the girl who lead him. She slowed her pace from being in front to walk at his side.

"My name's Alice, yours?" She asked, whipping her head a bit so her hair was out of her face.

"I'm Ryker. Ryker Callahan. Maybe you've heard of me." He said with a smirk as he ran his fingers through his dark hair.

"Umm... No? Are you a leader or something?" She asked, looking up to see his shocked expression.

"You've... Never heard of me? Honestly? Ryker Callahan, the master thief of all time,?" He asked as she shook her head again. He frowned, shaking his head. "You need to read the news more, kid."

"We don't get much news from outside, just things on what the humans are doing to try and 'fix' us." She said while watching her feet as they made the trek to the tent.

"Ah. Yeah. We've dealt with people like that. Is that what this whole circus is?" He asked as he gestured to largely lit campground that seemed to be its own little village of tents.

"In a sense... Kent needed an army for something. He never told us what. Most of us are just forced here, like what happened with you and your friend. Some of us though... We weren't as lucky to have friends taken with us." Alice said, a sullen look washing over her. Ryker looked at her, sympathizing as he put a paw on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely as she shrugged, walking them a bit faster. After a minute of their awkward silence, they reached the tent. It was almost as intimidating as the man who resided inside. Two large pillars with flames atop stood on either side of the entrance, towering over the camp. Alice lead Ryker through them and into the tent as she gestured towards the door.

"They're in there." Alice nodded, starting to walk away.

"Wait, who's 'they'?" Ryker asked, concern taking over him as she didn't answer. He took a breath before turning towards the door, walking over to open it. He found it was locked once he tried to turn the knob. Frustrated a little, he knocked on the door. From inside he heard a little girls voice.

"Come in." She chimed as he cocked his head a bit.

"It's locked." He stated bluntly, then heard a strange giggle.

"So what are you going to do about that?" She asked, tempting him. With a shrug, he grabbed the knob again, sending a small jolt through it as he used both powers combined to unlock the door, opening it to find a small girl sitting in a chair smiling at him. She was small in size and her horns that spiraled outward seemed too big for her. It reminded him a lot of Desmond.

"Where is-" He started before she finished his sentence.

"Kent? He's changing right now. He'll be right down in a few seconds." She said with a smirk as she sized up Ryker. He could feel her eyes taking in every inch of him, analyzing who he was.

"So who-" He started again before she finished his sentence once more.

"Am I? I'm Madeline, of course. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Callahan." The goat mused with another smirk. Blue and brown eyes narrowed at her, analyzing, as he heard a noise.

"Ah. The star has arrived." Madeline said with a smile as the tiger walked into the room. He looked to Ryker and grinned.

"Glad you could make it. Have a seat Ryker, let's talk about business." The tiger said as Madeline got up from her seat, moving over into the corner where a large glass sphere sat. She traced her paws around it as it gave off a faint light. Ryker's attention moved from her to Kent as he sat where she was. Kent looked him over, just as Madeline, did before speaking.

"So, we have the notorious Callahan in our camp. I have to say, I'm rather excited to have you here. You'll make a great addition, especially with what Madeline saw." He smirked, leaning forward. Ryker raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two.

"I figured she was psychic... But what do you mean from what she saw? What have I done?" Ryker asked, slightly concerned. Kent shrugged off his question.

"It's not important. What is important is your knowledge of power classes." He said, looking to Madeline. "What class do you think Madeline and I are?" Kent asked as he eyed Ryker, his gaze somewhat intense.

"Umm... I don't know? B? What classes are there?" Ryker asked confused. Kent smirked a bit at the lack of knowledge.

"There are four classes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. The three of us here are Alphas. Almost everyone in our camp is an Omega, meaning their powers aren't as strong and don't compare to what we can do." Taking in what they said, Ryker tossed the idea around in his head. It made partial sense to him, but he never thought he was truly that powerful.

"So what class is Desmond?" Ryker asked, curious. Kent's happier façade faded as he looked around the room.

Madeline smirked looking over from her crystal ball, chiming in before Kent could say anything, "Well that depends. Kent wants to say he's an Alpha too, but from what I've seen..." The goat smirked as Kent turned to her sharply.

"Madeline. Your mouth is moving faster than it should be. See that it stops." He glared as she shrunk down, gazing into the ball again while wisps of light flew out from it. Kent shook his head and looked to Ryker again.

"So... He's not as strong as us?" Ryker asked kind of confused. He had thought that Desmond would be on the same level as him.

"We just don't know what to classify him as of yet." Kent said, as he wrote something down. Ryker raised a brow, thinking about it more.

"So is that why you brought us here? Because we're higher class?" The tan male asked as Kent shook his head.

"No. I brought you here because you're higher class and could prove to be a great asset to our cause of fighting against the humans." Kent nodded then Madeline chipped in again, "We've seen what you did to the humans in the past. You hate them just as much as we do." She said and Kent looked back over his shoulder at her. She immediately sunk back down.

"That's also a reason for why I brought you here." Kent said, looking Ryker in the eyes.

"If you help us with your powers, we promise to let yourself and... Desmond... Free. Alright?" Kent bargained as Ryker weighed the options. It seemed rather simple; help for freedom. Something seemed off though, which begged the question, "But my powers aren't that strong. I don't understand why you want them on your side so badly." Ryker questioned while both Kent and Madeline looked to each other with smirks.

"They will be. You just need the right... Push."