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Prologue

In the city of Davi, the capital of Gratis Nanam, the great palace stands at it's center. Walls almost as tall as small mountains cover it's perimeter, millions of white stones make up the walls. Darker more worn ones create the castle. Outside of it's walls a countless amount of guards constantly roam or stand at attention waiting for a threat that will hopefully never come. On the walls north and south sides, solid doors made of iron wood are in plain view for all to see. The southern door is the favorite of the twins.

Plants and handmade ponds cover the length of it's entrance for the king and his people's pleasure. Roughly, there's always a dozen gardeners tending to the plants and small trees at the gate alone doing their one job of tended to the beauty, it's a guess on how many more are on the inside. Surrounding the jewel of Nanam are two well maintained gardens with a plethora of native and imported flowers, trees, and everything in between are on opposite all sides of the castle. It's North gate is used only for soldiers and their wagons or, in some cases when the King comes back from his long journeys. On Weekends the South gate is opened and the gardens are available to view for peasants and nobles alike, all for free much to the peoples content.

Here, one can forget the cons of life, the stress of work ,and the fear of your family going hungry. Even with these common worries, the kingdom was lucky that it did not have many dark times it's lifetime lifetime, there has been only one in the past two centuries and since then the economy and the moral of the people have been fairly decent. However, at this one time in history the world of Gratis Nanam almost came to an end.

Twelve years ago the former king created this land of beauty for the one soldier whose actions led to Nanam's triumph over the bloody three war of greed and territory between Nanam and it's enemy the country of Brimiam. A statue at the opening of the gardens south side stands dedicated to the knight known as Sicar.

The Bear stood covered in his most elegant armor facing the crowd that would stream through the south gate. His mouth open, yelling at an invisible foe with his arm raised and his paw clenched as he stood unnerved, unmoved to any enemy that dared enter his walls. His marble statue is still spotless to this day under its intensive cleaning rituals. With this statue came the symbol of protection and courage. With the war over, Nanam was able to learn from it's mistakes and correct them. The new step of Nanam revolves around this history. How well that will work out, only time can tell.

Chapter 1

The Thirsty Beast was always a busy place, even in the morning. Patrons crowded the tavern in groups, parties, or by themselves looking to drink away their problems or celebrate the happiness of one's achievements. The tables were filled with animals of all species ordering food or mulling over what their plans were for the day. The barkeep was nice enough and the waitresses were known to not take any trouble so why not go and spend one's free time here? Some see the tavern as a home away from home, others would say it's a hole from the depths of hell. A small number of people see it as something different, a small enclosed building with people either too busy or too drunk to notice someone bumping into them proved to be a fine way to put gold in someone's pouch. The patrons would spend their money anyway, why not help the lives of a few pick pockets out?

"Get back here you thief!" A voice called out, lost in the crowd of a few dozen men. A slender fox weaved through the thick crowds as his latest victim attempted to follow him however, with the bull being bigger than half of the patrons surrounding him he didn't get very far. The fox felt a slight devious smirk creep onto his black furred muzzle, it's always nice to get the recognition of one's actions even if it was for stealing only three copper. Smoke from candles or from someone's pipe filled the air with the stench of tobacco and the grey wisps of a cloud. The thief swam through every opening that was available in the sea of people. With him being mostly two feet shorter than everyone in the building, it made this an easy task. He let his ears swivel back in search for any noise that the bull made to see if he was still following him. Nope not a sound, he's lost his purse like the hundreds before him.

Like the swiftness of the wind he blew through the tavern and out the door, he slowed down his pace to intermingle with a crowd of poorly clothed citizens coming back from the market. A cloudy, grey day is what met him along with some fresh air that blew in his fur for but a moment before the smells of the city and the people around him ruined it. With bags in hand they inched, and in some cases, limped away to whatever destination brought them safety for the night. The fox lowered his head and hunched over sickly to look more like the crowd he was with; good thing his clothing was already torn and dirtied living on the streets does that to you, he fit in with the crowd just right. Living on the streets for the majority of his nineteen years of his life taught the fox two things: Don't expect to be happy long and two, if the world will only see an untrustworthy fox don't try and be anything else. With this knowledge in mind, he has had years of practice of being what was expected, if someone wanted to see a farmer he would play the role of a farmer. In this case, if someone saw an innocent, meek mutt coming back from the market; he would be just that. A difference between a thief and a prisoner is getting caught or not. The only difference between an actor and a good thief was the pay.

As he shuffled down the slick street with his adoptive pack he heard someone whispering his name from across the alley between two cobblestone buildings."Psst! Garvo!"

The fox turned his red furred head to the side and spotted a familiar rat waving his black paw, beckoning the fox toward him. With a big smile and the speed of an ant he merged away from his group and made his way to his best friend in the dank, dark, cobblestone alleyway. Much, much slower than he wanted.

"How's your back feel? I can never imagine walking like that" Mavis chuckled to Garvo as he pulled him into a hug.

"Better than how it would feel getting flogged. When did you come back?" He yelped out in glee and tucked his muzzle into his shorter friend's shoulder as they embraced.

"About two days ago." Mavis felt his friend's face scrunch up and saw his ears curl back. " I know I know, I would have visited you earlier but I had to deal with Brenner first. He is the one that made me go to Velegrand in the first place."

Garvo quickly pulled away from his friend, a snarl evident on his face. "Brenner? Why on earth would you go to him!" Garvo felt his paws clench as he pushed away from his friend and turned to stare at the moss covered broken wall next to him.

A twenty minute walk of silence ensued. Mavis hung his head low in shame, his eyes slowly darted from place to place to ensure that he didn't trip. They reached one of the more dangerous areas of Davi as they ended their journey, hooded figures swept around every corner on the prowl for either a lonely coin pouch or a poor soul on the wrong side of town. Long stretches of building crowded this area, each one broken into thirty or so rooms to be rented out and sold as housing. Feral mice and rats scurried on the ground in search for an open sewer line or food to eat. Here, homeless families crowded the streets and if they were lucky some even found a dry spot to rest for the night.

Mavis picked his head up as they delved deeper into the deprived land, he was happy to be home but was also on the lookout for trouble. Garvo kept his quick pace, his paws were still clenched at his side albeit a little closer to the sheathed dagger at his waist. A few suspicious persons glanced their way but made no moves for them.

"It's coming up." Garvo pointed a furred digit down the short, cracked street. Mavis just nodded his head. The fox turned right and into an alleyway, a wooden ladder was fixed to the side of the two story shack that stood as the alleys wall. The only difference between the shack and the ruins next to it was that the shack had a roof. With practiced precision, the fox sprang up the ladder two rungs at a time, leaving Mavis standing below him unsure of what was happening.

After tying the food bag to him he leisurely joined his friend on the ladder and made his way up, the foxes red tail waved in front of him before disappearing up and onto the roof. One rung at a time Mavis followed Garvo to his home or domain, cave, safezone, whatever he calls it.

Garvo looked around as he got onto the tan tiled roof, letting himself try and enjoy the view that was available. Sadly, huts and poorly made un-leveled houses don't make the most cheerful sight when contrasted with an endless black and grey sky. He could hear Mavis climbing up behind him, four quiet paws hitting the rungs one after another. Garvo knew he was overreacting, after all, it's not like Mavis had a choice in leaving. What got him mad was the fact that he left without warning, no goodbye. Garvo spent months trying to figure out out how his friend died only to find that the city's most wanted, insane, diabolical beast of a man sent him away on a life threatening job, what it was he didn't know he couldn't uncover. It's common knowledge that when this happened he either wants that person dead and is giving them a chance at redemption or, it was his way of accepting an 'apology'. What Mavis did to tick off Brenner, Garvo was afraid to find out.

"Where to next?" Garvo was interrupted from his thoughts by a squeaky voice.

"Just around here." The fox turned away from his depressing vista and walked towards the end of the roof.

"If you made me follow you this entire time just for you to commit suicide I'm gonna be mad." Mavis despaired. Garvo kept walking, soon enough his toes were on nothing but air, balancing only on the balls of his dark brown feet. Done with teasing the rat he sat down and turned around to lay on his stomach, he shimmied his feet off the roof and dropped down.

Mavis was as still as a statue for a moment expecting a yell or cry but, no sound came. Wide eyed he ran his way over to the edge ' he didn't actually do it right?' Mavis thought. As he got to the edge his eyes only saw a dirty cracked street not. Well, he didn't want to think about the alternative. He looked around for the fox but could not find him, there was only a bare street and a few dull candle lights that flooded through some of the windows. He was about to give up his search when he took a closer look at the building he was standing on.

There was a small rectangular hole, just big enough for a fox to fit in.

" That little crooked-nosed knave!" He vexed loud enough for the fox to hear. With more caution than was necessary Mavis copied Garvo's movements and in time made it into the little fox hole. He dropped with a dull thud onto carpeted wood. A few small wax candles filled the corners of the small attic, Mavis had to keep his head ducked to not hit the rafters. If he had to duck, Garvo must have had to crawl around to navigate the area. He stepped off of the mud stained carpet and respectfully made his way further into the home. Two windows were at each end of the attics north and south wall overlooking the streets. The fox was sprawled out onto his bed which was made up of a collection of cleanish looking blankets and towels with three expensive looking pillows sprawled around the nest, to allow him to nap in luxury.

Garvo was picking his nails clean with his dagger. A few memento's of Garvo's bigger thefts were on display. A gold pocket watch was hanging open, it's chain was tied around one of the many moldy rafters. A jeweled masquerade mask sat on a small maple dresser, how he got the dresser up here Mavis had no idea how. The object that caught his eye however, was at the opposite side of the room. Taking his attention away from everything else. A small broken wooden box sat on the window sill, a decent sized doll was seated in it. It was a simple rice filled sack that was stitched together so that it resembled an animal that had four appendages and a tail, it's blocky muzzle giving no clear hint at what the dolls true breed or species was. Mavis saw a jackal, Garvo saw a wolf. This was one of the reasons that lead the two to steal it when they were around twelve and ten years old, Mavis being the eldest. They just wanted to settle an argument on what it was, who knew that 'borrowing' that doll would be the first thing the two ever stole together. The look on the poor owners face at the time was priceless, who knew such an old grumpy lioness could yell that loud.

Mavis felt a smile tug on his lips, as well as a few tears rolling down his face. He quickly wiped them away and reached for the food tied around him. "You um, ready to eat?" He asked uncertain. Garvo motioned his head that read 'come here'. Mavis made his way to Garvo and opened the bag, the smell of wheat and sugar filled the small room making it smell much more inviting than when he first came in. He sat down cross legged in front of Garvo and reached into the bag, handing him his loaf before grabbing his own. Garvo stared at it a moment before giving a coy "Thank you." He started to devour the bread, not having eaten anything to this extent in a very long time. Mavis on the other hand, felt a pang hit his heart as his friend ate it with such veracity.

"Easy, you don't want to be sick. Also, it would be nice to be able to taste it before it's gone." Mavis warned. Reluctantly, Garvo took slower mouthfuls. Mavis picked at his food, knowing that there is still plenty more to eat.

When Garvo finished the loaf Mavis was only a quarter of the way done with his. " Do you mind if I?" Mavis just shook a free paw at him, telling him to help himself. Garvo pulled out one of the biscuits and the cup of chocolate it was still warm, he hasn't had ny of this since his father was alive. Unsure of either eating the food first or reminisce, he giddily decided to do both as he took a bite. Instant sweetness filled his muzzle, a smile broke out on his black lips. With a much slower pace than the bread he started to enjoy his meal.

No words were exchanged throughout the meal. Mavis was too busy thinking of what to say and Garvo was too worried that the food would disappear if he didn't eat it quick enough. Soon enough, their dinner ended leaving the two of them with chocolate covered muzzles and a mixed feeling of anger and sadness, and perhaps some bloating.

"So, should you start or should I?" Garvo joked begrudgingly after he let out a belch.

"That depends. Will you listen to me before you start making wild presumptions or will you be open to what I have to say?" Mavis sharply responded.

"Too late, for that. But, this feast has earned you at least some consideration." Garvo taunted, only like how a fox could.

Mavis let out a sigh as he rubbed the scruff of his neck. Garvo reached out and put a paw on Mavis's knee."I'm going to be mad at you no matter what just to let you know. Please, just tell the truth. It will be easier for you that way. " Garvo told him with a new sign of sympathy.

"Thanks." Mavis told him slightly reassured. "Make yourself comfortable." Garvo pulled his paw off of Mavis and laid down, using the rat's lap as a pillow. Mavis gathered up the pillows and put them behind his back to lean against.

"So, it started on the last day you saw me. Well, obviously right? I mean of course it's going to start like... Sorry forgive me, it's still a touchy subject. It all started the last day you saw me when I was heading down to the our favorite place, the Thirsty Beast."