Longest Tale Part 1
Longest Tale, Part 1
I have merely one thing to say before ya get to read: The grammar nor the spelling is by any chance perfect. I'm from Sweden thus english is not my native tounge, I claim my right to be crappy at english and until you can speak Swedish fluidly are you allowed to nag on my english. So please, I already know I can't spell and write english with propper grammar.
The pub was silent, not that people didn't talk but it was within groups so with the few exceptions with a common laugh in, the talk was kept within the group. There were few loners, some around in the corners; drinking and working on some kind of project. Some sat at the bar, drinking in all their solitude. Except for one character, he sat at the bar, draped in a black cloak with a hood on it, draped down enough to shadow his face. But his hands betrayed his origin... he was a human.
The wolf-bartender gave the human what he asked for; a single glass of beer and that was it. The human took his sweet time drinking it, sipping it down in slow portions.
"Mind telling me how long you plan on staying, filth?"
The human turned his head just enough so where his eyes should be looked at the bartender. But due to the poor lighting on the human's face it was hard to tell if he even really had any eyes.
"What are you complaining for, wolf, I'm paying the same as everyone else."
The human was leaning on the bar, if not drinking he had arms crossed atop of the bar, hand close to the mug of beer and the other kept close to his coat.
The bartender wrinkled his nose and walked up to the human, leaning down slightly.
"It's your scent I can't stand, filth."
For the first time a ray of light found its' way to the human's face as he turned his head to look at the bartender. He had seen plenty of humans and this wasn't the prettiest one. Obviously the human had seen his fine share of battle.
"I can't stand yours either, you hear me complaining?"
His voice was a tad on the deep side, not murky or quite deep and it carried a soft accent from the southern borders, where most human reservations were kept.
Stepping backwards the bartender observed the human as it took another sip from the mug.
"Waddya got under the robe, human...?"
Humans were not very welcomed over district 7, considering this was district 5 he had gotten way above what was seen as the "borderline". He had guts only getting this far.
"If you're unlucky, you just might find out..."
He was a "Hunter" no doubt. And from the looks of it he made quite a nice handful of cash, so a level 9 or higher was probably the most logical.
"If I didn't suspect you'd be waiting for an employer, filth, I'd kick you out."
The human nodded slowly before turning is head down to look at the mug of beer.
"Very perceptive, wolf, very perceptive."
A quick snort escaped the bartender as he turned his back against the human, muttering something about filth and needing to clean as he returned to the other customers.
The year was 2427 and everything was different. Around 2100, genetic alterations were no longer against the law. There was a huge production of "perfect" workers, each created specifically for a task and outdid humans in man ways. They were considered to be robots, bread to be slaves. These were the furres, animals made humans, keeping the animal trades but were deprived of all humanity.
People thought it to be bliss, not having to work and merely living in luxury. But all were not so happy. The furres suddenly turned on their masters, biting the hand that fed them. Shocked and not prepared, humanity fell quickly, bowing to their new superiors. Just as the humans had made them in many ways... superior.
Now, more than three hundred years later, technology was at a stop. After the human's fall, furres decided that technology was to be halted, why push the limit when things were good just the way they were? Gigantic cities were built, all in nine layers, depending on your status and specie you lived on different layers, also called Districts or Zones. No-one complained, everyone got what they deserved and no-one suffered.
That only applied to furres, humans were not allowed within the cities without given proper authorization, the proper paper and a good deal of luck. Human rogues were called Hunters; they were given assignments too dirty for furres themselves. If it was clearing out dens or correcting something wrong in human reservations, that was the kind of work furres thought themselves to stand above.
Mug was nearly empty and the human muttered to the bartender for another one, receiving it without much of a fuss.
"That'll be 200 G, scum."
The human flicked a few coins onto the bar, quickly swooped up by the bartender and pushed the mug towards the human.
"Enjoy."
Suddenly a rather large boar stepped up to the human from behind. The bartender looked at the boar then at the human who seemed to either not notice or just not care. The boar was as previously stated big. He reached well over 6-7 feet and width close to 3 feet across the shoulders.
Bartender knew he'd get rid of one obnoxious guest tonight and it wasn't going to be the human. The boar, dressed in worn jeans, tapped the human on the shoulder.
"We don't like your kind in my bar, filth, so get the fuck out."
The human sighed, quite loudly to show his discomfort. He looked at the bartender then stepped down from the chair, turning slowly towards the boar. The human tilted his head just enough to watch the boar's face.
"You were saying, grunt?"
The bartender winced at the human's reply, calling a furre grunt was not advisable unless you had the courage to back it up.
The boar's eyes lit up like fires and swung his fist in a wide bow.
"You dare call me "grunt"!!!?"
The human quickly discarded his robe and in a jiffy threw it at the boar, sneaking in under his arm. When there was no flesh to stop the punch and the boar saw nothing, his punch struck the cold, metal bar with a bang that awoke even the drunkest drinker.
"Yes, grunt, I dare..."
The bartender looked at the figure whom now stood behind the boar, not the bent human at the bar anymore but a tall, proud warrior, clad in black cloth, hood hanging at his neck.
The boar tore the coat from his head and tossed it in a direction, caring less in which. He turned himself to face the human, facing a bit of doubt as he now saw the human. Rocking his paw in a gently grip he growled at the human.
"You're filth, scum of the world... you think you can beat ME!?"
The tried something the bartender couldn't quite identify. If he was trying to ram the human, which was the closest thing he could identify it too, he failed.
Like a ton of brick he crashed into the wall, having tripped on the human's well placed leg. He spat some blood and muttered about pride then he was down for the count, falling limp on the floor.
"Human, I hope you're not intending to do that on all my customers."
The bartender took a long good look at the human, noting any visible details he could. He'd be easy to remember with his black, long hair tied in a pony-tail and green eyes. His looks told he was as gentle as a lamb but he now knew that it was very betraying.
The human returned to his seat, not bothering about the coat anymore. He grabbed his mug of beer and emptied it a few, quick gulps. Upon placing the mug on top of the bar again, he looked at the bartender with a smirk.
"Got any more of them for me?"
The bartender shook his head.
"Sorry, human, no more practice for you in my bar."
The human nodded and ordered a new beer, receiving and paying for it yet again without much fuss. The evening slowly went for night. The boar was picked up after a while by an ambulance, carried off and would probably spend a few days in hospital.
Interesting human, he thought to himself. During the course of the day he had started to converse with the human some. Finding they resembled each other in thought and thinking, they were not strangers to speak about some thing usually not even touched upon by furres among themselves. But something told Hank, the bartender, that this human wasn't all that bad.
Hank tapped on the bar in front of the human.
"You got a place to stay when I kick you out?"
The human looked up at Hank and shrugged.
"What's it to you?"
A smirk and a quick chuckle were directed to the human before he grabbed the empty mug, placing it in the sink.
"Well, do ya?"
Hanks asked again, looking over his shoulder at the human. Seeming a bit troubled he sighed, shrugged quickly then shook his head.
"Where does a human find a place to stay in this place?"
Hank smiled and pointed towards a door behind the bar.
"4000 and ya got yourself a bed."
Quickly nodding the human stood, pulling out a few bills from his pocket and counted them, pulling out a specific sum.
"5000 and ya give me breakfast."
Hank smirked and nodded, not mentioning he was planning on it anyway.
"Sure, head on in and I'll be with ya in a second, just gonna close down out here."
Hank met the human, having to squeeze by each other in the small opening in behind the bar, catching a pretty vague scent of something pleasant, hardly expecting it at all.
"Your scent human, it's vaguely familiar."
For the first time he saw the human nervous as he pushed on swiftly, disappearing in to Hank's private home.
For once he closed down quickly, usually taking some time but this night was different. Rarely did he have anyone spending the night and never before a human. But the scent, it was different but somehow he knew he had encountered it before. He searched and searched in his head as he closed down the bar and pub. He ran a respectable place; making sure things were relatively neat before turning off the lights, heading "home".
He met the human, leaning idly against a wall across the room. His home was small; three rooms, kitchen and bathroom. It was no bachelor-home; it was decorated with taste, no cheap furniture but was chosen so it'd match the rest. In the human's mind there was no doubt this "Hank" was gay, no straight man would be able to decorate so nicely.
The rooms were all small, two bedrooms each containing one bed and a table. The human quickly established which room would be his considering which bed was largest.
"Want something to eat, human?"
His eyes met the human's gentle gaze, not what you expected from a hunter of such level.
"Yuri..."
Hank raised an eyebrow, taken by surprise by the answer.
"Huh?"
The human smiled and stood up straight, taking a step forward and holding out his hand.
"The name is Yuri..."
Hank returned the smile, shaking his hand softly.
Immediately when the human was close enough the scent returned. But it was so vague, as if deliberately hidden.
"What are you, Yuri...?"
Yuri shrugged a bit, crossing his arms over his chest and taking a few steps backwards.
"You doubt in what you see?"
Hank nodded without thinking, he didn't believe in "what you see is what you get". There was something odd about this human. Yuri merely chuckled and sighed a bit.
"As you've probably already guessed I'm a half-breed..."
Not overly surprised, Hank smiled and nodded, licking his lips before turning towards the fridge.
"Then you stay for free."
Yuri nodded and smiled, not the one to protest something that was in his favour. He watched as Hank rustled around in the fridge, grabbing food as it came in view and mind.
"Hope ya don't mind leftovers."
Yuri shook his head and yawned a bit.
"When it's free, friend, I don't mind much."
Hank laughed a bit, hitting his head on a shelf as he stood up. Rubbing his head he turned towards Yuri and smiled.
"Good to hear 'cause it's all I got..."
Both enjoyed the other's company as they ate themselves full.
"Surprised I can go easy on ya, Hank?"
Hank looked at Yuri, frowning a bit. It was quite obvious that the two sides of Yuri he had now encountered were... different.
"As a hunter I guess you gotta be a certain way to get the good jobs..."
Quickly swallowing down a chunk of chicken, he nodded and added on the conversations:
"No-one would randomly hire an energetic half-breed."
Hank laughed, already full, he continued to watch Yuri stuff himself full, as if he had not eaten in several days, which was not completely impossible.
Hank rested his chin in his palm, continuing to observe the half-breed.
"I understand why but you really should show those eyes of yours more often."
Yuri stopped eating for a while, looking at Hank from behind his raised hand, holding a piece of bread. They looked at each-other for a while before Yuri continued to eat, ripping the bread to shreds.
"Yuri, I gotta ask ya... how come... you're a half-breed?"
He finished the bread and rested his arms on the table, looking straight over it at Hank.
"My mother was in Camp 23 at the liquidation... an officer offered her a chance to live... in exchange for a quick mating against the wall."
Hank quickly bit his lower lip, regretting ever asking it as he figured it wasn't too much of a happy tale.
But Yuri didn't seem to mind at all, continuing the story as if it didn't bother him at all.
"Mom, of course, accepted the offer and got pregnant on the whole trip. Of course, when finding out he was a father, even to a half-breed..."
He took a short pause to drink a few mouthfuls of milk, wiping his lips with the black sleeve before continuing.
"... he fixed so that mom could come live at Zone 4 in Eastern Auberia. That's where I was born, half human and half fox."
Hank looked at Yuri in awe, being able to tell such a story without showing a single emotion he thought of as strong.
He pointed at the empty plate in front of Yuri.
"You done?"
Yuri quickly nodded and pushed the plate towards Hank who quickly scooped it up. He placed the plate together with some other things in the sink, filling it up with hot water.
"Hank...?"
Without turning around he responded, his voice soft and tender.
"Don't worry, Yuri, secret's safe with me."
He heard Yuri get up and in to the bathroom, locking the door.
Hank rested his paws on the edge of the sink, leaning lightly on it. That scent, it was not just the scent of his furre-side, Hank had met this scent on several occasions... earlier in his life, back in his childhood.
"Hey, Hank, where's the toilet-paper?"
Quickly he snapped out of his thoughts and responded a bit amused.
"The cabinet under the sink, there should be a stack."
He waited for a reply for some while as he heard Yuri move around in there, finally he was rewarded with a "thank you" and he could go on with the dishes.
The dishes were already done when Yuri got out from the bathroom.
"You took quite some time in there, did ya shit a ton or something?"
Yuri laughed and shook his head.
"Nah, it's just this darn tail, I wear loose clothes but still a hard thing to hide."
Hank grinned and shrugged a bit, doing a few loose gestures in the air with his right hand, leaning on his left resting on the sink.
"Ya don't have to bother to hide it anymore."
Yuri looked silently at Hank briefly before knitting his eyebrows together in a frown.
Hank chuckled and pointed at him, smiling widely with a sparkle in his eyes.
"How much furre are you anyway?"
Yuri snapped back into the current reality and looked a bit surprised at Hank.
"Wha?"
Hank repeated his question, this time with a vague hint of amusement as it obviously caught Yuri off guard.
"Oh, I... uhhh, I'm... A tail, as you obviously know as I've told you that already and... my back, arms and legs... most of my body is covered in a light layer of fur... thus the outfit."
Hank nodded and crossed his arms over his chest, resting his hips against the sink.
"Got anything under that?"
Yuri nodded and arched a brow suspiciously at him, no need to even speak for Hank to get the drift.
Hank rolled his eyes and briefly stuck his tongue out at Yuri.
"I was just think it might get uncomfortable and since you don't seem to be carrying any change..."
Yuri nodded and pointed at a door, in Hank's eyes the door to the guest-room.
"That'll be my bedroom, no?"
Hank nodded, grinning a bit.
"Very perceptive, half-breed, very perceptive."
Yuri looked a bit surprised at Hank then shook his head, moving himself into his bedroom. Left was Hank with a lot of question, one scared him though, as he found himself rather attracted to Yuri.