FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Fall sat in the farthest corner of the confines of her cell, her eyes focused on the steel door keeping her separated from the rest of the world. She sniffed and caught the slight scent of rot with the air filled with moisture from a recent rain, causing her to scrunch up her nose and shake her head. Fall shifted her focus on her breathing, careful to not hurt her ribs whenever she breathed in and smiling to herself whenever she breathed out. That slight little bit of pain was all she needed to remind herself that everything around her was real – that she was still alive and kicking. Her brown eyes shifted back toward the door as she turned uncomfortably, placing one leg over the other once she started to feel needles pricking her skin.

The voices outside caused her to shudder. They were talking, not about her, but it was related to her. She calmly listened, focusing on the human voices while doing her best to ignore the chittering and clicking of the others. Fall could just barely make out what they were talking about, something which would be easily fixed had she just moved closer to the door but… she sighed and sat up on her knees, carefully scratching at the back of her head with her long boney fingers. Her lips quirked downward as she closed her eyes and, once more, did her best to focus.

A man would be coming soon, she gathered. Or a woman? No… a man. Coming for someone in a cell. Fall immediately assumed it would be her, but then she caught a small hint of another person. She briefly lost focus as one of the creatures outside wailed like a man in pain only to continue chittering, clacking its teeth together. Her heart raced. She forced the image of bat-like faces out of her mind and… There was someone else in another cell. Of course. Why would she be the only one? She only vaguely remembered being the first, yet so many months had gone by, it only made sense. A child? Or a teenager. Young adult, perhaps. Younger than her. They called her or him by kid, but she never heard that other person talk. Perhaps a mere insult? Fall sighed and bit her lip in frustration, rubbing the fingers of her right hand together. Was it another interrogation? No, an interview. Had to be. She hadn’t been interrogated in weeks. That phase was over, or so she hoped. So, then an interview, or as much one as she’d be allowed to get in her state. A one-sided affair, assuming she’d be the focus of it rather than somebody else.

Fall sat back on her heels and sighed, exasperated, panting with a sudden need to catch her breath. Her eyes fell downward to her unbound hands in sadness as she rubbed the tips of her fingers together: waiting, hoping, wishing, yet ending up with mere disappointment when nothing but a couple small embers appeared.

She felt their overpowering presence ease off her shoulders as they walked away, once more leaving Fall to her own thoughts. Her sole companion during these times, the only reason why she hadn’t gone mad from the isolation. Her thoughts reassured her that it was okay to not see daylight whilst reminding her of what it looked like and how it would warm her skin with its tender touch. They forced her to think about the future rather than remain with the past. They...

She rubbed her fingers together again, a little harder and a little faster, and felt her heart flutter with some wild excitement when a couple embers sparked off into the air. She grinned wide and took in a deep breath, catching the slight scent of smoke. She sat back on her ass and adjusted her shirt closer to herself, then once more started to rub her finger together. The embers, though dull and lifeless, were as good a sign as any. She breathed in sharply, flinching at the pain of her ribs, and then finally stopped.

“Huh,” she murmured lowly, grinning again. “So that’s how it-”

A loud screech, like that of tires scraping hard against asphalt, shook Fall out of her thoughts and left her breathless. Her eyes widened at the loud thumping somewhere nearby. Again and again, harder, rattling her cell. Her heart raced as she quickly scooted back away from the source of the banging and the screeching, which only seemed to get louder and more frantic. Angry. Fall quickly covered her eyes and huddled into her legs, closing her eyes as her heart threatened to beat itself out her chest. The thumping matched that of her heart, and then it sped up. Her head split wide open and she in pain as the screeching reached a new pitch that reached borderline human-like yelling. The darkness around her thickened and threated to ensnare her, and –

It stopped. She hesitated, unwilling to drop her hands, for a second fooling herself into thinking that the banging of her heart was that of fists against the metal cell. She struggled to keep her composure in check. Minutes ticked by in her mind, those of which she spent fighting back a sudden vertigo and overwhelming nausea. Her eyes drew themselves toward the wall from which the banging had been originating from as the screeching and yelling echoed hauntingly in her mind. Fall didn’t dare to crawl her way anywhere near that side of the cell, not for a long time. She set up her own invisible barriers and stuck close to the cell door, sighing into her hands and biting at the inside of her lip whenever she got the urge to say something out loud, even if it would have been but a whisper under an exhaled breath.

“Fall? Fall! Where the hell are you?”

She stood quickly, out of pure reaction and muscle memory, and hid her hands behind her back. “Here,” she spoke clearly. “I’m here.” She looked back at the set of eyes that stared into the cell through the small view port. The small rectangular opening was her only gaze into the outside world, a view cut off by angry blue eyes she could hardly make out hidden under the shadow of the body they belonged to.

The man pressed in closer, turning his head ever so slightly to the left and to the right to get a better look at the inside of her cell. She felt her heart thumping loudly. He huffed and then stared back at her. Fall took two steps back though dared not cross that invisible line again, feeling as if the creature was still somewhere back there behind her cell, just waiting for her to get closer.

“You know what day it is?”

Fall quickly shook her head. “Evaluations?” she guessed, though in her heart she’d already known.

“Good girl.” She could almost see the smile behind the door simply with how those eyes looked at her. Nothing heartwarming or welcoming, but instead devious and cold. “You’re up in a few hours. Remember, best behavior. And do try to dress up as best you can.”

“Then let me shower,” she protested, taking a step toward the door as she slowly began rubbing he fingers together behind her back. “Let me clean up a little. I’m a mess.”

“You sure are, Fall,” the man mocked, though her lack of reply forced an irritated sigh out of him. “You’re getting a change of clothes. I’m sure you’ll make that work, right?”

She nodded eagerly and gave the man her best smile. “Of course. Thank you for your generosity.” She stood straighter and pulled her slightly squared off her shoulders. “When… when did you say my evaluation was?”

“A couple of hours.” The man looked away from her cell, to someone or something off to the side, and licked his lips. “Maybe a little sooner, so don’t tarry.”

“Right. Yes.” Fall tensed up a little when those intense blue eyes looked back in her direction. “I’ll get to it right away.”

He nodded and pulled back. She felt her heart skip a beat at the unobstructed view of the outside world. Thought they were still inside a building, anything was better than the four walls and ceiling of her confines. Bright white light shined through the rectangular viewport, a testament to the quality of her cell and how perfectly it managed to keep light out when locked out completely. The sight of it was distracting enough for Fall and she found herself looking to reach out and touch that light, until her eyes looked back up to the outside.

Nothing had changed since she last got a good unobstructed view of the outside world, and yet it was a breath of fresh air. She shamelessly smiled and tilted a little to get a better look. She caught a brief glance at a couple other cells and a lamp hanging from the low ceiling. Her eyes almost managed to take a peek out of a window which sat offset a couple inches from the center of her view but was stopped short by the reappearance of the man – her jailor. Her pushed a bag through the hole while muttering “There, something to suit your style.”

“Thank you,” replied Fall with a small smile she held until she was given the privacy of her cell once more, when that viewport closed and left her surrounded in darkness. She felt her stomach turn itself inside out and she almost wretched while wiping away that smile, half tempted to kick the bag as hard as she could though also glad she could finally peel off the clothing she’d been wearing for the greater part of the last two weeks.

For all she knew, they were trying to set her up for failure. Fall could hardly make out how the clothes look, but as best as she could see she’d been given a grey jacket to go along with a plain black shirt and some light blue jeans. Nothing new, of course. She didn’t expect anything new nor anything of quality, but she wasn’t going to complain either. Just being in them felt more refreshing than the stinking pile of crap she’d left in a clump at the farthest corner of the cell. It was something different and new. Simple pleasures.

The resurgence of her abilities, however brief they may have been, was no mistake after all. Fall was both glad and concerned. This was more than simply showing her off, that much was clear. Trying to get her a little dressed up, providing her with the little comfort that a couple embers could bring. It was clear they wanted her at her best, or as close to her best as they could get her under the circumstances of her capture.

Those last couple of hours dragged on slowly and sped by quickly. With nothing better to do, Fall focused on her fingers, on the dull and dying embers which sparked out from them when she rubbed her fingers together. It was never more than that, a mere few embers. Hard as she tried, it was impossible to get a small fire going. It was exasperating, though likewise liberating.

Fall only looked up at the banging on her cell. She sucked in a sharp breath of air and looked up, standing quickly and once more hiding her hands behind herself before the viewport opened once more. The familiar blue eyes that provided her with clothing looked in once more. Fall couldn’t read them, nor did she want to, but kept her eyes on his.

“Is it time?”

“Almost, he replied as the door lurched open with some weight. She sucked in air, her eyes widening slightly at the sudden brightness that filled her cell. Artificial light; actual sunlight; to Fall it hardly mattered. It was light, after all. Light that licked at her skin and warmed her heart. She’s be grinning ear to ear had it not been for the man who stood in front of her. He wasn’t as tall as her, about an inch shorter, though she also was taller than average. He stood with a grimace on his face as he covered his nose with one hand and held an aerosol can with the other. “Turn around.”

A wash of shame overcame her as she slowly turned and felt the small pressure hit against her back. It traveled up and down and her senses were overwhelmed with… lilac? And rosemary. Blueberries? She sniffed and sneezed lightly, turned when she was ordered to, and averted her head to the side when he sprayed the rest of her body.

“That should do.” He murmured under the protective cover of his hand. “Come on out.”

Fall stepped slowly and carefully, overwhelmed by the sudden exposure to light and afraid of what could be around the corner. She suddenly felt… naked. Without the protective confines of her cell, and without her abilities fully there with her, Fall felt like anything and everything was out to get her. She paused once she stepped out and bit her lip, looking around at the dozen other cells that lined the white walls of the room they found themselves in. There was no way of knowing if there was anybody in them. Like herself, they did their best to keep quiet. She both felt the need to know what was behind those doors while also experiencing the relief of knowing that she wouldn’t be here, at least for a couple hours.

The air was filtered pure and, to an extent, somewhat artificial. She stretched her arms, then her neck, and looked to the man once more. He had already closed the door to her cell, having given it a long spray-down with the aerosol can, and was motioning for her to follow.

It all came back quickly. The rooms, hallways, and stairs. The building she was being led through was about as modern as it could get, all while keeping something of a traditional look to it. Traditional in the sense that the design was rather simple, and unlike most of what she remembered, it wasn’t built upon the bones of another location. Everything was purpose built for a reason. It was to be expected. These people, they didn’t like to mess around too much.

“Hold up,” he spoke, as they arrived at the thirteenth floor once they stepped out the elevator. “I’ll make sure they’re ready.”

She nodded and watched him disappear behind a set of curtains directly ahead of them. She took a careful look around and saw that there was no other entrance or exit that she could make out. A whole floor dedicated to one room? She looked down at her feet, struggling to remember this one particular floor yet… with nothing coming to mind. She could make out some talking on the other end of the curtains, muffled speech. She could only assume they were talking about her, making sure that everything was prepared for her arrival.

Fall laughed lightly under her breath and shook away the silly idea that they’d be expecting her. This had to be some elaborate test or another one of their cruel jokes.

The man came through a minute later and waved a hand over. She fell in line automatically and walked those few steps to stand beside him. There was an uncomfortable heavy feeling in the air that Fall couldn’t properly explain.

“Time to shine, Fall.” He smiled, the way only a devil could, and reached out with a small and lithe hand. “It’ll be tough finding a nice replacement.”

She huffed, eyeing up the short man with disgust, though nonetheless reached out and gently shook his hand, not as eagerly as he had.

“What does this mean?” she finally dared to ask when no attempt was made to take her back into the elevator.

“You’ll see,” he interrupted, and without another word he pushed past her, entered the elevator, and didn’t spare one more glance in her direction before the doors closed. She gulped, finding it almost impossible to look away from those doors, till a sound from behind those silk-like curtains caught her attention.

Stepping through those black curtains revealed a lobby, simple yet elegant, seats lining the very center of the room surrounding a small table that sat squat to the ground. Four doors richly embroidered doors, two on each side of the room. Her eyes fell to the other end, to a desk manned by one of those creatures she was all-too acquainted with.

The multi-colored lizard man was thin, like a branch, eyes at either side of its head that seemed to look off in two different directions. His fingers, long and slender, tapped quickly at a hard-light keyboard. She could have sworn he wasn’t looking at the one-way monitor, though there was a certain focus to those strange eyes that caused some anxiety. His head and elongated snout reminded her more of a raptor than anything else. As Fall approached, both of his eyes rotated, slowly, and fell on her, first one and then the other. She stood, unsettled by the sight, telling herself that it had been some time. It was okay to not be used to it.

He hissed loudly at her. A long and thin and pointed tongue slipped between his maw and flicked at the scales between its eyes, then drug down between its two small nostrils, licked over its chin, and then down its neck.

Fall just stared, watched, and waited. “Fall Ssssilva.” She nodded. “Roommmm… Two.” His eyes unfocused from her, first the left and then the right, and he got back to whatever task he had been dealing with before.

Room two? None of the rooms were marked off. With a small sigh, she headed for the first closest door and-

“Wrong.”

Fall sighed and turned to the adjacent door.

“Nnno.”

She spun on her heels and simply stared and pointed at the third door across the room with annoyance.

“Wrong doooor.”

“Could have told me, you know?”

A single eye spared a glance at her direction as the creature did what she somewhat recognized was a grin and a shrug, or as best a grin as the lizard man could muster. “Rooomm… Two.” It pointed to the last door as it finally looked away from her for the last time, muttering something incomprehensible under its breath and chuckling lowly.

She entered the darkened room and was greeted with three creatures she didn’t immediately recognize as people that she knew. Flanking either side of her as she entered the room were two wolf men, standing a whole foot taller than her and dressed in long cloaks that concealed the entirety of their bodies except for their heads. They each held their arms crossed, clawed fingers tapping at the fabric of their cloaks, while their eyes looked her up and down to determine if she was any kind of threat. The third of the wolf men, slenderer than the others and dressed in a leather coat, smiled at Fall and excitedly waved her over. She was, of course, cautious, and rightfully so. The creatures were cunning, clever, and powerful. One wanted to avoid them like a plague.

They wanted something to do with her? She looked back to the door and briefly contemplated her options, most of which were promptly shut down as one of the wolf men flanking her slowly stepped toward the door and created a barrier between her and the exit. Feeling quite suddenly trapped, Fall turned back to the white-furred wolf in his dirty leather coat, who once more waved her over with excitement as his green eyes threatened to expose whatever secrets she may have been hiding.

With a lack of options, Fall walked and sat across from the creature, easing back into her seat when the wolf man grinned at her; for a second all Fall could focus on was the rows of sharp yellow canines and the wet pointed tongue that slobbered slightly against his maw.

The creature leaned in forward, panting softly. They were all panting, really. She looked over her shoulder at the other two – they simply stared in silence.

“Hi,” she spoke lightly, carefully, after she realized that the wolf wasn’t going to make the first move. The silence was staring to make her uncomfortable.

“Hello,” he spoke with a gravel-filled voice. His inflections were somewhat distracting, though not enough for Fall to lose her focus on him. “You must be Fall.”

She nodded, now distracted by the odd pauses the wolf created between seemingly random words in his sentences.

“Oh, joy!” The wolf clapped his clawed hands together and eased back where he sat. The other two creatures, the ones standing guard, slowly eased their tensed poses and turned away from the two of them. She huffed lightly as the wolf spoke again. “I never thought I’d see one such as yourself.”

Fall blinked, turning her head a little to the side as she silently sought some clarification from the creature.

“A pyromancer! So young, too.” The look of hunger the creature showed brought some distraught to Fall. She couldn’t place her finger on if the creature simply always gazed at people like that, or if there was something else going on here. Either way, she slinked back a little and averted her gaze.

“We’re not really a rare sight,” commented Fall holding her hands together while she twirled her thumbs around one another.

“Oh, yes, well…” the wolf stopped and huffed lightly, a small droplet of drool dripping from the side of its maw. “An opportunity like this one is one in a million.”

Opportunity? Fall stopped herself from raising a question and waited with abated breath.

“Your kind can do some… some marvelous, marvelous, things. Yes? Yes. Yes, truly marvelous.” He licked his lips and almost snickered. “But from what I hear you’re not very… ah… active?” It didn’t even give her a moment to reply. “Unfortunate, yes, because of the people that held you captive. Yes. Truly. Mhm. Yes.” The wolf snarled to himself and jerked his head off to the side, then quickly snapped it back to look at her. “They don’t like you people being too active. Mhm. Yes. But that can be resolved with help. Our help.”

The silence was indicator enough that it was now her turn to speak up.

“You want to help. As in, you want to help me?”

He nodded fast and hard, some drool flailing off in random directions. Fall could just barely make out his white tail wagging to and fro excitedly.

“Why?” she hummed lowly, in almost a whisper, sitting up a little straighter on her chair.

“Why? Why because we help you. Then, you help us!” The wolf grinned now.

“But… why?”

“Ah… ah!” He raised a finger and slowly waggled it from side to side. “No no no. That’s for later.”

Fall frowned.

“You gotta tell me something. Who are you?”

“I’m Reav.” The creature clasped his hands against his knees and tapped claws against the torn black trousers. “And I want to use your talents. Back scratching. And in return you get your freedom.” He huffed alongside her. “Well, freedom. You can’t leave us till we say so.”

The exasperation was clear in her eyes. “Great.”

“Ah, but it could hardly be worse than your situation now. Yes? Yes.” The wolf, Reav, nodded his head in affirmation to himself. “Hot food. Warm beds. You get to use your abilities again, without restraint. Education.” Reav sniffed at the air and grimaced. “And no need to mask your putrid scent with… lilac?” He shuddered. “A how shower?”

Whatever it was, it’d be better than what she had now. The wolf made a point that Fall couldn’t outright refuse. The taste of freedom, even an illegitimate one, was all too tempting to refuse. Her eyes, the way they sparked up with life, was enough an answer for the wolf to excitedly clasp his hands together in triumphant victory. How could she refuse, after all? To willingly put herself back into that cell would be… madness was an understatement. Hate it or love it, somehow she would have to make it work.

“Where would we go?” A flash of light from the curtains behind him illuminated the room, revealing a dangerous gaze that was gone as quick as it came. “When?”

“Arakas,” replied Reav, earning a genuine look of surprise that pleased him. “As soon as you agree to come with.”

She twirled her thumbs together, the friction creating embers that caught the attention of Reav, who gazed and almost gasped with excitement as his tail thumped hard against the leather cushions of the sofa he sat on.

“And what if I refuse?”

He snarled and, again, jerked his head off to the side in what she felt was disdain. “This place,” mused the creature, eyeing her with a side glance, “is stingy with refunds.”

“Refunds.” Fall swallowed. “I’ve been purchased?”

Reav shrugged his shoulders. “Place it how you would, hmm? Your situation is no better here.” He glanced back at his two escorts, who nodded and huffed in agreement. “The tour of the cells was… disappointing.”

That was putting it mildly. She looked down at her own hands and, again, rubbed her fingers together till embers slowly sparked out. The dull warmth was comforting in the otherwise cold room. She felt their eyes on her, on her fingers, and smirked.

“What’s it like, where you plan on taking me?”

“Like home,” came his reply, quick and earnest. “Not perfect, by any means. Living with wolf kin, for one such as yourself, will be…” Reav shrugged. “Different. But you won’t be the only one there that isn’t like us. Many different kinds. But, the majority? Us. We’re in charge, yes? Yes.” Again he nodded to himself, a long tongue slinking up to lick at his black canine nose while his tall triangular ears swiveled left and right.

“Indentured servants too?”

He nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again, thoroughly confusing Fall. “That goes into the terms of your contract.”

“Contract? I thought you purchased me.”

“I purchased you. Yes. But I – we – like to be fair. Try to be fair. A show of… ah, good faith.” Reav smiled, stilling his excitement for enough time reach into his coat and pull out a small leather booklet, a rare sight in today’s times, along with a fountain pen that he held awkwardly in his long clawed fingers. Reav wrote something on it, ripped the page off, and slid it her way. “We ask for two years of, hmm, indentured servitude, as much as we dislike to use that term.”

Fall stared at the paper and bit at her lip. “And this?” she questioned while pointing at another section of the paper.

Reav smiled wide, again drooling slightly as his golden eyes watched her carefully. “Your… reward.”

She blinked. “But you purchased me.”

“Indeed. But, you do as we say, help us, and in those two years you’ll more than make up for the cost of your purchase.” Reav scratched at the fur on the back of his neck, smiling. “We like to say that your life starts with us, but nonetheless, a reward for your services is more than fitting for two years of unquestioned loyalty, yes?”

“That’s…” she blinked and shook her head. Fall very carefully folded the paper twice and gently put it back down on the table between the two of them. She noticed the wolf’s eyes hungrily stare at that page before setting themselves back on her. He was leaning in closer now, expectantly awaiting some response. “Well, I’ve never seen so much before.”

Reav grinned, his two triangular ears twitching slightly. “There’s more.” He paused, dramatically so, and then continued. “Indentured servitude is but a name, a title, that we dislike. As you know. You treat us with respect, we treat you well. Us, all of us. Like family.” He breathed in deep and let it out slowly, carefully noticing how Fall twitched a little at the mention of that word. “Two years later, you are free to leave. We won’t stop you, we won’t follow, but we will cut off ties with you. The money is yours, you start your new life better off than most.”

“Or…?”

“You stay with us, one of us, with free reign over your own life. You’ll still work for us, but you’ll have choice. Family.”

Fall sighed. “This is too good,” she mused under her breath, attempting to hide her thoughts though feeling the need to say them out loud. She had to listen to her own voice now, else she might wonder if this was another bad dream. “Two years.”

He nodded while mumbling an “Mhm.”

“And then it’s over.”

He nodded again.

Fall sat in silence for a long while. The wolves, if anything, had the patience of saints. Reav, with his twitchy mannerisms, sat silently but watched intensely. She never noticed him blink. The other two wolves, the guards, would shift on their spot every once in a while but otherwise remained silently.

“Well, I’ve already been purchased, so,” she picked the paper back up and slowly slid it back in Reav’s direction, “the terms of the rest of my contract will be better discussed once that comes around, right?”

Reav nodded, though with a somewhat surprised look. “Most like to flesh out the details at first.”

“You seem like a trustworthy enough bunch,” she lied, puffing her chest out a little “What’s the harm?”

The thumping of his tail against the seat cushion came louder and faster. The wolf glanced excitedly over her shoulder, to the other two, mouth open in their version of a grin.

“So you agree? Yes?”

Fall nodded, slowly, amused. “Anything’s better than this place.”

“Good. Good!” Reav turned back to his two companions, who were panting and seemed about ready to break out into a howl of excitement. Big overgrown puppy dogs, that was the best way she could describe their combined reaction. Overgrown puppies that had just been promised a treat. Shouldn’t she be the happy one? “Truly wonderful. Yes. Truly so. Ah, joyous moment!” Reav stood, a creature a whole foot taller just like the other two, though visibly not as strong as the others. Lithe, almost malnourished. “Come, then. To your new home.”

Right. Home. Fall stood and, flanked on either side by the two tall wolves, and with Reav taking the lead, she followed close behind. They left the meeting room and went straight to the lizard man behind the counter, who looked up from his keyboard with a sideways stare, snout pointed up slightly to the ceiling. He stared with one eye at either of the wolves and then looked around the shoulder to Fall. A smile crept along its snout. “Everything goooood?”

Reav nodded, stretching out an upturned hand. “And now…”

“Yes, of course. Of courssse.” Fall watched, unable to help the curiosity of watching her own purchase, as the lizard creature took a small black chip about a half inch in length. Was that it? “Anything else?”

The wolf shook his head slowly, stuffing the black chip into the pocket of his coat. “None for now, lizard.”

The creature hissed dangerously, turning away and back down to the tactile holographic projection of a keyboard. Reav merely snorted and motioned for her and the two escorts to follow, which she obediently did and with little other choice as well. The two wolves around her closed in as they stepped through the hallways, their massive forms being almost claustrophobic, the smell of wet fur overpowering the crisp, clean, filtered air of their building. Surprisingly so, the small group of them didn’t come across any of the keepers of the facility nor any of the vampiric creatures that had tormented her during her stay.

A path cleared out of respect or simply looking to avoid trouble? The hurried state of their departure did not fare any good tidings in her mind.

“When’s the last time they let you outside?” questioned the deepened voice of a wolf to her left as he enveloped her shoulder with a massive hand. The coldness of their nature before was gone, replaced now with something akin to a comforting warmth.

“Never.” She didn’t try to pull away from the creature’s grasp though she also wasn’t allowing herself to be pulled in closer either. She spared a glance up at the creature and managed a slight smile at his upturned brow of disbelief. “Honest.”

“Savage beasts,” murmured the wolf to her left, one who closed in on her side in what she took was both protective as well as to ensure their new purchase wasn’t going anywhere. “Reav. Dealing with such creatures?” The wolf shook his head and snarled loudly, slobber dripping a little between his lips. “Dangerous!”

“Yes. Yes! I know.” The white wolf did not spare a glance back as the four of them finally stepped out through the empty main lobby and outside. “This was the last time.”

“Lucky you,” murmured the wolf to her right, whom she realized now was missing an eye.

Fall just huffed to herself and wondered how many other people had they purchased from where she had come from before. Dozens, or was she the first? They knew what they were coming for. They needed her for a specific reason, for her talents, that much she hadn’t forgotten. Willing to look past her inability to make more than simple embers, taking her in when they could’ve gotten a much more experienced pyromancer at, perhaps, half the cost of her. She just sighed, the questions in her mind doubling as the four of them finally stepped out into a neon-shrouded night.

It had changed a lot, she realized. Not just the neighborhood they found themselves in, but the city as well. Botha, that’s what it was called. A major hub for any and all species in the Earth: from the poor to the rich; the lawful to criminal; demons to wolves and everything in between. She looked up, through the steam and the hovercars and the neon, to the city that towered miles upon miles above her head, making her feel as small as she was insignificant to the grander scheme of things. The whole city was built up vertically, one building atop of another, atop another, and another. Everything held together and kept from falling apart by technology she didn’t quite understand. The poor lived where they were now, ground level, or as it was more commonly known, “The Cesspools.” The wealthy and well-off kept to themselves high above the city streets. It didn’t stop people from going where they pleased, one merely knew where they belonged.

They had stepped out into a quieter part of the Cesspools, not as busy with its nightlife with how far from the city center they were. It didn’t stop the streets from being roamed. The four of them were hardly a strange sight, even if height did cause her three escorts to stand out from the common crowd.

There wasn’t a single moment as she looked up to the sky that Fall didn’t feel like everything was falling in around her. The walls closing in, buildings threatening to swallow up the sky in a jungle metal, neon, concrete, and glass. She tensed up as a couple cars zoomed overhead, dangerously close, enough so that Fall instinctively ducked down a little and watched as they twisted off unto some road.

Reav turned to the three of them with his equivalent of a smirk. “Our ride will be here soon. Fall, it’ll be a long trip to Arakas.” His head jerked violently to the side, lips curling into a low snarl as one of the lithe and colorful lizard creatures made a wide berth around the three wolves surrounding her. “We can…” he gulped and once more jerked his head toward Fall, his triangular ears twitching slightly whenever a car flew by overhead, “get something you might need. Food. Drink?” He tilted his head to the side, a motion the two escorts mirrored, once more reminding her of mere overgrown pups than anything else.

She just shook her head and spoke, her voice cracking slightly, “Just get me away from here.”

He nodded, a more serious look on his face now, and once more gave her his back. His tail bobbed from side to side, coming through a hole that had been crudely cut out of his trousers. It was enough to give her her something else to focus on, that and occasionally sparking small warm embers with a light flick of her fingers, until a truck pulled in unto the curb. The vehicle, black and red and somewhat looking like an armored truck with tinted windows, floated a couple feet off the curb then settled down into the ground. A hatch popped open from the side with a hiss and, one after another, they entered, sitting in the same position as they walked with Reav ahead and her flanked by the two other wolves who now pressed in against her side.

“I read your file. Botha – you were born here, yes? Right, that is also what they claimed, the little devils.” Reav placed an arm over the backrest and looked over his shoulder to get a better feel of Fall. She no longer seemed as distressed as she was out in the street, though the uncomfortable aura about her was near palpable. “The last time you were here was… ah, five years ago, yes?”

Fall nodded.

“Yes, good. It is accurate then. They,” Reav pointed back at the building from which they just came from, “I know they aren’t really to be trusted but… I wish to know. Yes? Yes. Mhm.” He watched her curiously, quickly glancing at the one-eyed wolf who in turn nodded and reassuringly patted Fall on her shoulder.

She could almost taste blood with how much she’d bit at her lip. Their focus now solely on her, in such an enclosed space? Breathe. It was fine. Just a simple question. “It’s true. Botha’s always been my home, whenever I wasn’t, you know, locked up. Or gone.”

“Right, well, a few things we should warn you first. Arakas is…” Reav seemed to struggle for the words and looked to his companions for support.

“Different,” finished off the wolf to her right, the one with a single eye who seemed to enjoy conversation about as much as Reav did. She turned her head to the gray wolf with short fur, who kept his gaze out the window instead of on her like the other two, and wondered.

“Right, different,” continued Reav. “Not like Botha. Not at all.”

“It’s a desert,” murmured the one-eye.

“A big desert,” continued Reav.

“Somewhat dangerous,” spoke the one-eye as he licked at his maw and scratched at his muzzle with his claws.

“But we have a compound, a big compound.”

“Home,” whispered the gray wolf with short fur.

Reav nodded, a little eagerly, as all three of their tails thumped loudly against the seats. “Home,” he echoed. “It’s more open, yes? And, well, not crowded, but a little filled. Different people, species. Wolves, like myself and my friends. Psychics. Nekos.”

The one-eye gave her shoulder a tight squeeze, grinning. “Lizards. And now our first pyromancer.”

“First?” she mumbled. “How will I learn?” She sat up a little, frowning. “You said I’d be taught more about… I mean.”

“You will.” Reav waved a hand off, dismissively, sparking some ire in her. “We’ve teachers,”

“Scholars,” cut in the one-eye.

“Healers,” continued the short-fur.

“Warriors.”

“Cooks.”

Reav’s ears twitched and swerved slightly from side to side as the vehicle lurched and picked up speed as soon as they made it clear into a more open section of the city. “We made sure everything was prepared for your arrival. Both personal, educational, everything in between. You will learn what you need to learn. Grow. Evolve.”

She looked around the one-eye and to gaze out the window. Buildings were becoming more and more scarce by the minute. Wouldn’t be long now till they left Botha.

“Home?” She whispered lightly, looking first to Reav, and then to the two wolves flanking her sides. They all seemed to press in a little closer, what more they could from the cramped space inside the truck. Then they nodded and gave her their best winning smile.