FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER ONE

ANDREW rolled over in his bed, the covers in tangles from his twelve hours of sleep. The rays of sunlight peeked around his blackout curtains, casting his room in dim light. One of the belligerent rays, refusing to be stopped by his curtains, lined up directly with his closed eyelids. The light tripped his ever-changing circadian rhythm, and before long, Andrew had sat up in his bed, wondering what number would greet him on his clock this time.

His 7-segment digital alarm clock shone in the darkness, reading 1:27, with a dot next to the PM symbol.

Ha… Woke up early today, he thought, the sleep still clouding his mind.

Andrew swung out of bed and picked yesterday's clothes off the ground. He slipped the wrinkled sweat pants and t-shirt combo on and stood up to walk the three feet from his bed to his computer in two long steps and pressed the computer's power button. It began to whir to life, the startup sequence dragging on as Andrew's mind started to drift. The clearer his mind became, the more the thoughts he had avoided time and time again began to creep back into his mind. He could feel his chest tighten as every trouble he had escaped by sleeping built up and crushed him like a wave.

Andrew reached for a cigarette from the beaten-up box on his desk, his hand shaking. He tried to focus on lighting and placing the filterless cigarette into his mouth. He promptly took two short puffs and one very long drag of the cigarette.

His nerves began to relieve just as the computer's login screen came up. The chemical and visual stimulation took over his mind as he logged in and checked a few of his favorite websites. Videos, drama, games, porn. That was all he needed to worry about. He had become so good at occupying time it turned into an inescapable, cycling habit. If one website was boring, he'd check another. By the time that website grew tiresome, he'd be hungry and need food. And with food, he'd need to find something to watch. When that video got old, the websites he had checked before were probably updated… And so, things continued this way for Andrew each day.

Andrew's thoughts drifted away as he settled down into the familiar rhythm. Thinking about problems was more difficult under the sedation of constant external stimuli. But today was different. Despite the cigarette and computer screen, the pressure wouldn't leave Andrew for long. After only an hour, he felt the tightness in his chest once more, along with the returning storm of thoughts.

You can't just sit around forever. You're failing. You've lost so much time. This is your last chance. What's left of your family is disappointed. You should be working, not wasting time. You've come up with hundreds of plans; just follow through, he thought.

Andrew reached for another cigarette.

His fingers grasped nothing but air. His box was empty.

I guess I'll just have to go buy some more. I'll have to leave the room. Face my problems, he thought. Andrew was never happy about leaving his room, but today the thought seemed bittersweet. He would have to leave his routine, his stasis.

I'll make some progress today. It'll be a turning point. Once I get my cigarettes, I'll clean my room and then start working again. Andrew allowed himself to fall into this false hope once more, with the action of leaving his room equated with the beginning of victory in his mind.

Andrew pulled on a pair of socks he had found under his bed and stepped into his worn-down sneakers. He grabbed his cracked smartphone and began the walk outside.

He stepped up to the door, his breathing quickening. Andrew quickly pulled the door open without looking down. He already knew what was there. Andrew stepped around the growing pile of mail at his door and closed it behind him.

Andrew knew they were bills. He knew one day his time would be up. The police would come, and he'd be evicted. His utilities would shut off, and his little adventure would be done. Conceptually, it was straightforward what he needed to do. But every time he opened one of those cursed letters, his situation became real. The time he had left would be written out. Plain as day. Ink on paper.

So he stopped opening them. Stopped touching them. Stopped looking at them. Out of sight, out of mind, he thought.

As Andrew walked down the stairway and out of the apartment building. The bright sun beat down on his pale white skin as he used his hand to shade his dilated blue eyes as they adjusted to the bright city landscape.

Andrew became very aware of himself when he was outside. Was he too hunched over? Did people think he smelled bad? Andrew typically pulled out his phone in situations like this, but this time he chose not to. This was his turning point. He would stop distracting himself and break out of his cycle, unlike last week, when he had last gone to buy cigarettes.

Andrew turned his attention outwards. The tall buildings he passed by imposed on the relatively empty streets. Their aging concrete and metal betrayed their original grandiose design philosophy, leaving a decrepit image of past glory.

It must be the weekend, with so few people out here, Andrew thought. He had no problem making good time on his walk to the store as he bounded over crosswalks without so much as a glance at the crossing signal.

About three-quarters of the way to his destination, deep in thought, something broke his trance. Motion out of the corner of his eye. On the curb of the sidewalk sat a lone cat, licking the top of its paw. He stopped and crouched down next to it, his busy thoughts derailed once more.

“How's it going, little guy?" Andrew said. He reached a hand over to scratch the white feline on the back. The cat began purring and brushed up to his hand, its collar jingling with movement.

Little carefree bastard, he thought. What I wouldn't give to be able to lay around without a care in the world, like you.

Andrew couldn't help but smile and stare at the purring cat. His parents were never in favor of animals, despite his pleas. Just touching another living creature was rare for Andrew at this point.

Maybe I can afford to have a cat if I ever quit smoking, he thought. Just as Andrew began to daydream about prospects of pet ownership, Andrew was once more snapped out of his fantasies. A flash of movement caught his attention. He glanced once, then twice at it.

It was a large, blue semi with the trailer detached. And it was speeding directly at him. The truck had veered off the road, glancing off an electric pole and over a sidewalk as it increased speed.

Andrew watched as the truck barreled straight towards him. He was frozen in shock and disbelief. The sight was surreal as the truck came closer and closer, becoming larger and larger in his vision.

Only until it was too late did the full understanding of what was happening dawn on him. Without time to think, Andrew only had time to process one thought.

This lazy cat is too stupid to move in time!

Andrew's petting turned into a push as he shoved the furry animal as hard as he could, falling down in the process. In his last moments, Andrew couldn't help but feel relieved that he had done something good for once, as the truck brought him into the darkness an instant later.

In the darkness, filled with regrets, he couldn't help but make a wish deep in his soul. Please, someone, just let me have a do-over...

Andrew's detached spirit faded in anguish, forever sentencing him to entropy. Before completely fading, he felt a sudden sharp push on his being. A push and a tug. Pain, sensations of hot and cold, until finally, light filled his vision. The sound of unintelligible voices filled his ears. He would have been afraid had he not come to the sudden realization that he was alive.

I lived! I must be in the hospital! Yes!

Andrew was elated, despite the sensory bombardment. He raised his hands up to rub his eyes. He assumed the bright hospital lights were blurring his vision as he couldn't make out anything but fuzzy shapes. As he rubbed his eyes, he felt a strangely soft, fuzzy sensation on his eyelids.

Weird, I must be numb from whatever drugs they have me on, he thought. As his eyes focused, Andrew was met with a strange sight.

Several figures stood over him. They were people dressed in robes adorned with strange circular patterns. The patterns were intricate designs of rings of different thicknesses, with elegant lines and shapes attached to them. The patterns were stitched in a silver, metallic thread that contrasted the dark brown of the cloak. The lines and shapes connected the individual rings into large, concentric circles. Two of the robed forms looked down at Andrew with a mix of fascination and wonder. A man and a woman, both around teen-age by their appearance with unblemished pale skin. They chatted excitedly as they looked down at Andrew. Their robes had several circular patterns on them, although the volume of circles each wore paled compared to the last member. He stood straighter than his companions. The firm, experienced expression on his aged face was a strong contrast to his peers. While they gawked, he inspected Andrew, looking him over. The man spoke sharply to his inferiors in a totally foreign language to Andrew.

They fell silent as the leader looked back at Andrew, said a few indecipherable words, and shook his bald head. The man's sunken-in eyes glared down at Andrew. The leader gestured down at himself with a sigh before pointing at Andrew. The strange figures had captivated Andrew's attention completely. He had totally forgotten about the state of himself. He was kneeling on a cold, stone floor, wrapped in what felt like a soft, fluffy blanket.

When Andrew glanced down, the sight was surreal. There were two lumps on his chest, covered in fur. Andrew was incredulous, one of his eyebrows twitching slightly as he looked at his body. The fur continued on and on, covering every part of him. It was short and a pure, snow-white color. The uniform color of the coat was broken by several lines of bright red that stretched across the left side of his abdomen. Andrew couldn't get a good look at the lines, and he wasn't sure whether it formed a pattern or not.

Andrew continued to inspect himself with an air of curious detachment, like staring out a window at a car accident. It had only just registered with him that whatever change had occurred brought more than just hair. His arms were more slender, his hands smaller. They were never very strong, but now they were just pathetic. Trying to flex one of his biceps, there was no bump whatsoever.

In contrast, his thighs bowed outwards in the middle, wider than the skinny legs he was used to.

I guess that's where my muscle went, Andrew thought.

Additionally, protruding just above his behind was a long, fluffy tail. It swished around rhythmically and smoothly, outside of his control. The appendage was totally numb to him. Andrew could see it move, but he couldn't feel or control it in the slightest. His feet were almost normal, but they had the same blunt claws as his hands, in addition to tough black pads on the strike points and toes of his human-shaped feet.

Turning back around to face straight, Andrew heard a jingle in his left ear. Andrew reached up to touch his ear, but found it in a different place than usual. Large and triangular, his ears were on top of his head instead of to the side. On his left ear, he found two medium-sized rings, roughly the same size and shape as a wedding band, pierced through the side of his large ear.

Touching the rest of his head, it felt like he was wearing a mask. His eyes were large and round. It felt like he still had eyebrows and hair, although the hair was much longer, hanging down into his vision and running down his back. Andrew's human nose was gone, replaced with an animalistic one. Whiskers protruded from around his nose. As he touched one, he found himself blinking automatically and shaking his head.

The teeth in his mouth felt sharp, and his tongue was prickly to the touch. He ran his tongue around his mouth. Even his tongue felt alien.

The only thing left for Andrew to check was the equipment between his legs. He still felt his manhood numbly down there, presumably crushed between his now large legs.

Andrew looked down, opening his legs. His male parts were nowhere to be found, even though he could still feel it. It was the exact reverse of his tail and ears, which he could see or touch but not feel.

Andrew felt like he was looking over a video game character or a suit of armor. He could move his hands and arms easily, like they were always his, but it felt like a dream. Unfortunately for Andrew, the allowed time for self-discovery had run out. The leader of the men cleared his throat loudly and made a hand motion upwards. The interruption made Andrew consider his surroundings.

Who are these strange people, anyway? He thought. What is going on?

He glanced around for some sort of exit. The room was lit by a number of torches and had no apparent passageways besides a single hallway hidden behind the robed people. On the floor, Andrew realized he was sitting directly in the center of a large, intricate circle. The metallic lines and rings connected beautifully, in a symmetrical yet varied pattern across many concentric rings.

Having connected the fact that he was in a circle, surrounded by robed people, Andrew began to chuckle, his lips easing into a relieved smile.

This must be some dream. No way this is real! Summoners? Magic circles? I must have fallen asleep reading some weird fantasy book. It all made sense. He couldn't feel his appendages because they weren't real. He could feel his old ones because they were still there, in the real world.

If you realize you're in a dream, that makes it a lucid one, right? he thought.

Andrew stood up shakily but soon steadied himself with his naive confidence. He wasn't used to his new legs yet, but the relief of his convenient answer gave him the will to stand.

Andrew walked right up to the leader, who looked surprised instead of bored for the first time. Wearing a wide smile on his animal-like face, Andrew spoke.

“Haven't had a lucid dream in a while. I think I'll start today by turning you into a pretty g-“

Andrew made the dire mistake of punctuating his point with a flick straight to the man's sharp nose. Instead of his captor experiencing the power of Andrew's perverse dream magic, the leader grabbed ahold of Andrew's arm with a tight, crushing grip. His eyebrows furrowed, and his sunken eyes stared daggers at Andrew. Without warning, the man delivered a strong backhand directly into Andrew's sensitive animal nose.

Andrew had been punched in the nose one time before, but this hard smack was much, much worse. Tears formed in his eyes from the blow immediately, blurring his vision. With the pain stinging, he let out a remorseful, meowing cry. Before he could see where he was going, Andrew was being dragged along, outside the room.

After a few moments, he regained his sight, and his mind cleared. The strike had knocked the dream explanation straight out of his head. The pain was more than he had experienced in real life, not to mention inside a dream. His whiskers twitched nervously as an inkling of fear set in.

Besides having his gender and species changed, he was naked, in a strange place, with people he didn't know. He couldn't even understand them or what was going on. Andrew tried looking around for answers, or to figure out what to do. He was being led somewhere, along a long corridor. The corridors were hewn from rough stone reinforced with planks of wood and stone bricks. The dim torch lighting cast long shadows and created pockets of pitch black in the crevices and corners of the corridor's shoddy construction. He continued to scan the walls until the hall opened into a slightly wider room.

The room wasn't very large, but its purpose was clear. The cells on either side of Andrew were pitch black, the light struggling to get past the bars. He could smell something strong and repugnant coming from the two cells but didn't have the time to peer through the darkness and see what was inside.

Truthfully, he didn't want to.

Through another long corridor, he came upon a few more blocks of cells. All different sizes and shapes, haphazardly constructed in whatever way fit the misshapen, tunneled rooms most practically.

Eventually, Andrew arrived at a large, dark, and wooden door with metal inlays. The door itself seemed to be stained and rotting with age, while the metal was new and shining in comparison. Some sort of script was written in the metal, with another one of those large circles beneath it. Anxiety spiked in Andrew as he met face to face with his destination. He squirmed and struggled in the leader's grip, looking behind him with desperation at the two apprentices.

The female apprentice's thin lips curved ever so slightly downwards, and her full, brown eyebrows angled upwards sympathetically. The man's eyes were intensely curious, focusing in on Andrew like some sort of scientific phenomenon as he was lost in thought. The leader turned and muttered more foreign words at Andrew as he tightened his hold on Andrew's arm. All Andrew could do was grit his teeth as his ears flattened on top of his head.

The leader opened the door and walked Andrew in.

The room was circular, with a long slab of smooth stone in the middle. The space was lined with shelves filled with books, random bits of metal, and tools. The leader pulled Andrew along towards the center of the room where the slab sat. As Andrew was led to the altar, he had a sickening realization.

The dark stone was stained with blood.

He couldn't quite see it, but he could smell it. The strong metal pang was deeply ingrained in the spot where he would soon find himself. The apprehension made his fur puff up. He could feel something inside him screaming at him to run.

He twisted and struggled more, punching at his captor's arm. The leader simply responded by grabbing his other arm and binding them both behind his back. Within seconds he felt cool metal lock his wrists together, followed by a sharp push forward.

He stumbled and fell right onto the slab face first. He turned his head to the side to avoid hitting his nose, but the impact still made his head buzz and ache. He heard his earrings clang together in his ear. Andrew could do nothing but wait as he was held down by his captors.

Before long, he heard someone else enter the room. The sound of footsteps moved towards him, and he saw a different color of robes swish before his eyes. While the others wore a dark brown, this one was black. Andrew felt someone start scratching and rubbing at the base of his large ears. The feeling was so unexpectedly pleasant that Andrew found himself smiling. Even more, he felt a strange vibrating sensation come from his throat. He decided to let it out and found himself purring for a moment.

Stop it, Andrew! What are you doing? You're about to be sacrificed! You should resist! His thoughts screamed at him to resist, but between the gentle motion on his head and the man pinning him down, escape seemed out of the question.

The scratches soon came to an end, and the figure crouched down in front of his vision. It was a woman with a gentle, round face and chin-length curly hair. She wore large round glasses that complimented her smile well. She seemed around her early thirties by Andrew's best guess. The woman spoke a few words in a soothing tone as she pinched a spot behind his right ear. The woman gave Andrew a sympathetic look and said a few more words before leaving Andrew's view.

Andrew wasn't sure what she was trying to say or what she had meant by the pinch, but felt a bit calmer nonetheless. He felt cold metal press up against the spot behind his ear. The woman spoke in that same tone once more, but this time he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his head. He might have let out a cry if it wasn't over so quickly, but he could feel something being done to his head. He smelled fresh blood, before another sudden stab of pain. Andrew's heart rate rose with his fear. Finally, he felt a strange, draining sensation as the woman massaged near the area she had just stabbed. She spoke again, but this time, amazingly, she was understandable.

“H...llo? ...n you hear me? Hello? Make some kind of noise if you can understand me."

Where did she learn English so quickly? Did she suck it out of my head or something?

“H-Hello? Yes, I can hear you…" Andrew spoke with a wavering tone to his new high-pitched voice.

The woman continued to massage the spot on his head as she spoke. “Oh thank goodness! It's working! I'm really sorry about hurting you. I had to install a translation Track so you can understand us. It's pierced in now, but try not to touch it until it heals."

Andrew's eyes widened as questions flooded through his mind. “Who are you people? Where is this? What happened to me?" He asked frantically.

“I'm sorry, kitty, but I actually can't understand you. It only works one way, and those rings are really rare… That one you have now actually has been worn by one of your kind for generations. It's yours now. Anyway, let's get you up now."

The woman let go of the pressure on Andrew's head and spoke again. He could no longer understand a thing she said, but his captors unpinned him, and he was allowed to sit up on the stone. The woman moved in close to him and pressed on the spot again.

“Miss, do you feel this spot I'm pressing on? I need you to remember it. Focus on that spot, and listen at the same time. It will become second nature before long. I'm going to let go again. Nod when you can understand me."

The woman continued speaking, but it devolved into gibberish. Andrew did as she instructed and focused on the spot. For half a minute, nothing happened. Andrew tried to remember the feeling. The slight pressure on that spot on his head. With some concentration, the illusory feeling began to manifest in the spot. Like a faucet being opened, he felt something flowing out of him once more. Power? Energy? He wasn't sure, but the woman's words became understandable nevertheless. Andrew nodded to her, and the conversation continued.

“Well, now that that's out of the way, allow me to introduce myself and explain things a little. My name is Moira. I'm the medical teacher here at Sillome Academy. You were commissioned for conversion by your owner at great expense. The truth is, you were created here to be an… indentured servant of sorts. I know this all must be strange to you since you were just a kitty before now. You're really lucky, though! Your owners were nice enough to change you before you died. You probably barely remember them now, but you're going to be owned and work for them, just like before."

Moira's words blew a fuse somewhere in Andrew's struggling mind. What is this woman talking about? A cat in my previous life? Indentured servant… Isn't that just slavery?

“Your new line of work may be a little strange. Most who request Genitors like yourself typically are ordered with a very specific purpose in mind. A word of advice, miss: make sure to learn Syllogy as quickly as possible. And do your best to hang on to those earrings." Moira scratched Andrew's left ear, making the two rings jingle against each other. “Yours are gold, a really high rank," she continued. “If you lose those, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. They're your authority as a Genitor. I've heard that your kind isn't very forgiving to those who lose them..." Moira paused to think. She waved a hand in front of her face and smiled, looking back at Andrew. “Anyway, I'm sure you've been overwhelmed quite enough today. I'll talk to you again tomorrow after we've finished your processing, okay?" Moira tilted her head and smiled at Andrew.

“Now that you can understand us, you're going to follow directions." A gruff voice sounded from behind Andrew, and he was pulled into a standing position. “I don't want any more struggling. Now that you can follow directions, more will happen to you than being cuffed if you decide to resist."

Andrew looked back at the leader. His expression was hard as stone. Andrew's furry eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why did this happen? Who are you people?"

“First instruction. Stop trying to speak. Your whines and made-up language are annoying."

Andrew frowned, his shoulder sinking. He was grabbed from the back and walked through the halls again, out of the circular room. Along the way, the two behind him chattered. With some concentration, he could feel the metal on his ear activate, and could understand their conversation.

“I know! That Track must be ancient by now." The female voice exclaimed with fascination. “Honestly, it's weird to see a soulless walking around with a Track and a name. That means she can actually become an Inventor, right?"

The male voice responded with a more reserved and thoughtful tone. “I suppose so, although she certainly won't be doing anything with Syllogy other than party tricks. I doubt she's smart enough to use anything besides locked Tracks like the translation one she's using now."

“Awwww," The female voice whined with disappointment. “Don't be such a downer! She figured out how to use the thing on her own in only a minute. Think about how long it took you as a kid!"

“It would make sense for a Genitor to have more intelligence than the typical soulless. Even still, we have another three years left here minimum. You can barely make a round sphere of water-- you think this animal can come anywhere close to us with no training? She's probably just really good at using signed Tracks like the regular human rabble."

“Oh, yes, Gulf," the woman said. “You're so much better than everyone else because you were born with a magic circle on your body. Like I said, the new soulless here has her Name on her body, just like us. I bet she'll be a much better Inventor than you one day."

“Quiet you two," the leader commanded. “You're here to be my assistants, not tourists." The voices behind Andrew fell silent for the rest of his solemn march to wherever he was being led next.

So many damn circles, he thought to himself. They were everywhere. On their robes, the doors, the floor. From the apprentices' conversation, they all had a circle on them too.

It must be the markings I saw earlier, it was hard to see, but it must have been my circle, or name. Whatever that means, he thought. Andrew shook his head. He could only keep moving forward, literally, as Andrew was pushed towards one of the cells he had passed earlier. Andrew sighed as the man opened the barred door into the dark, musty cell. They both walked in, and Andrew felt his cuffs being unlocked behind him.

“Don't think this means you can do whatever you want, soulless," the leader spat. “Don't do anything stupid, and you won't get hurt too bad while you're here. Eat all of your food. We'll know if you don't."

With a final shove, the man walked back through the door and locked it.

And finally, Andrew was alone. A foreboding feeling crept up his spine. He was thrust into a world that made so little sense; he was beginning to feel numb to it. He looked down at his hands below him, for the first time since the brief glimpse before. The small, furry, white things were totally alien. He could move each clawed finger, but it didn't feel like it was him. It felt like someone else's body. A video game. A suit of armor. And yet, it was his. Andrew felt a building pressure in him. As if he was barely suppressing the building force of emotions in him.

I… Can't think about my body right now. Or how I got here… Or… Andrew desperately tried to grab hold of something to occupy his mind. I need to think about escape! I don't have time to think about anything else, I just need to get out of here. It doesn't matter how I got here, or what happened to me.

Andrew stood a little straighter, looking out around him instead of at himself. The cell was larger inside than he imagined. The pitch black was beginning to reveal its secrets as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The cell was a fifteen foot square of cold stone, adorned with a few amenities. A small, circular hay bed sat in one of the corners. Alongside it was a bucket of murky water and a brush. The stone floor was coated in dark grime, with stray strands of hay and fur scattered around the room, collecting in cracks and corners. In the other corner sat a solitary hole in the floor next to a small pile of dirty rags. Even without his newly enhanced sense of smell, Andrew could easily discern the purpose of the hole by scent alone.

With the room itself surveyed, Andrew quickly moved on to the real point of contention— avenues of escape.

With no window, Andrew tried to feel around on the wall opposite of the bars for any sort of draft. Andrew cursed under his breath. There's no way these bricks would form a perfect seal. I must be underground.

With that realization, he focused his attention on the bars themselves. They were well rusted and not very thick. Maybe an inch in diameter, by his best judgement. With only a few inches between each bar, he wasn't sure if there was much chance for escape by way of simply squeezing through with his slim body. Nevertheless, Andrew walked up to the bars and stuck his arm through as far as he could, trying to squeeze through. He pushed and twisted his whole body, struggling to grasp around the side for extra support. All Andrew managed to do was leave a scratch on the side of one of the walls with his failed attempt. While withdrawing his arm, some of the rust had come off of the iron bars, sticking in his fur like a feather duster. Looking away from himself, he brushed it off his fur.

Don't think about it… Don't think about it… Clearing his head with a shake, Andrew took a deep breath. He had to escape. He could worry about everything else later. Andrew continued with inspection, standing in front of his barred door. The lock seemed large but simple. He felt the keyhole around from the other side. It was a large metal hole, with a straight segment beneath it. Andrew smiled.

I've seen enough random YouTube videos to know that this old lock can't be that hard to open… The videos even made brand new locks look easy! This singular opportunity empowered Andrew and gave him something to work towards. A puzzle to solve. He stood by the door and attempted to think of something he could stick into the keyhole to pop open the simplistic lock. There didn't seem to be anything in his room. The rags? No, too soft… The brush? Maybe he could destroy the bowl and use one of the pieces…

Andrew's thinking was interrupted by an approaching figure. It was some sort of large dog-like person. The dog's long, brown hair hung over his eyes, swishing as he walked. The fur was straight and relatively well kept, in contrast to his clothes. The shirt and trousers he wore were more comparable to rags with the range of holes in them.

I suppose it doesn't matter if your clothes have holes if you have fur underneath… Andrew thought. Seeing an animal standing up wasn't very shocking to Andrew after the ordeal he had just gone through. If Andrew was converted from a cat, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume the humans in this world had converted more than just cats.

The dog-man stood outside the walls, staring at Andrew. He saw the man's glance run up and down him.

Andrew felt his fur puff up, his tail swishing angrily behind him. “W-what are you looking at? Never seen a naked ma…" The last word caught in Andrew's throat.

“Sorry for staring, miss. You're a sight for sore eyes, is all. Last few in your place being men and all," the dog-man said, before sliding two bowls under the bars.

Andrew clenched his hands into futile fists. He felt blood trickle down the side of his head as he strained most of the muscles in his body in frustration. Andrew tried to speak, to refute the dog-man, or to berate him. The words were stuck in his throat. The dog-man bowed and walked away without a word.

This world is crazy… What happened… I can't be… I can't… Andrew felt the side of his head. The wound from the piercing had reopened from his straining. Trying to keep his mind blank, Andrew walked stiffly towards the sad excuse for a bed, curled up into the fetal position, and fell into a dreamless slumber.

CHAPTER TWO

AKI glanced around her warily. She had just climbed in through the window to the second floor. The dark study around her was a mess of overturned furniture, dust, and books sprawled out across the room. A lone chair was upturned on top of a pile of books, it's accompanying desk split in two on the other side of the room. Half of the books in the room were stacked into large stacks, nearly as tall as Aki herself. The other half were collapsed stacks or piles of books, assumedly having fallen after having been stacked so precariously.

The tip Dempsey had given her appeared to be accurate. She was in an abandoned apartment room on the eastern side of Ralmia, previously owned by an old hermit living off his savings—until he croaked. It was the safest, easiest mark he had found. The spot had already been hit and raided multiple times with no issue.

Aki's fluffy tail swished from side to side as fast as her own heartbeat. Even with her night-adapted eyes cutting through the darkness, she just couldn't get over her nerves.

She rubbed the dark-brown mottled fur of her arms, the thin tan work-shirt and trousers not providing much warmth in the cool night.

She took a gentle step forward on the dusty wooden floor. Then another, she crept around the room, looking for things of value. The copious amounts of books could hold value, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Aki had never had the need nor desire to be able to read any Empire Standard text before.

Why can't the stupid humans just use our language? It's so much easier, she thought.

Unfortunately, the room was already picked clean of most else. No usable furniture remained, only outlines in the dust where a desk or a shelf might have once sat. Aki knew this place wasn't likely to have anything for her, but Dempsey had said it was at least safe. Plus, it was always possible that the scavengers from before might have missed something valuable.

Come on, Aki, get a grip. There's no way you'll get caught on your first break-in, she thought. Trying to shake the feeling of being somewhere she wasn't supposed to, Aki decided she'd try looking through the only thing in the room that was still left— the books.

Picking one up off a precarious stack, she leafed through it. Aki couldn't read any of the books, but she figured if there was any sort of metallic text or metal— anything that might indicate value — she would just take it.

Aki finished looking through the book and set it aside quietly, looking through the next one. She flipped through the pages more quickly this time. She just couldn't escape the feeling of being watched, and even the few minutes she had spent in the room felt like far too long.

Five books later, Aki was becoming frustrated. This is stupid! What a waste of time! Why did I even come here? she thought.

Dropping the book on the ground, Aki huffed and turned to climb back out the window she'd entered. Except, preoccupied with her frustration, her foot caught one of the books strewn about the floor.

“Ah!" Aki tumbled face forward into another pile of books in front of her. She crashed into the pile, and it fell right on top of her as well as knocking over several other piles throughout the room.

Slightly stunned, Aki laid in the pile for a moment, lamenting her situation. She wormed herself out of the pile and stood up, books sliding off her back and shoulders. She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed.

I can't believe I took the time to come here, got beat up by a pile of books, and got nothing for it, she thought. But just at that moment, a glint of metal caught her eye among the pile that had fallen on her. She reached down and grabbed the small bit of metal. She stared at it for a moment before a smile came across her face.

This is a Track! Yes! I found something!

Aki's sour mood of defeat reversed immediately. She traced her finger along the metal ring. It seemed smaller than others she had seen. Only two rings linked together, attached to a piece of sturdy cloth. The cloth formed the shape of a hand- a glove, with the Track resting directly in the center of the palm. It was only an inch in diameter, and silver, but it was something.

Whatever this does, magic stuff is always valuable! Aki thought.

Allowing herself the first smile in what felt like a while, Aki moved to sift through more of the fallen books.

Before she could look through more than a couple, Aki's ears perked up. Her rounded ears angled slightly towards the stairway. She could hear a repeated thumping.

Footsteps! I was too loud!

Aki stuffed the Track in her pocket and dashed for the window. The footsteps were getting louder as she scrambled across the scattered books, trying not to fall again. Aki put both feet on the window sill without hesitation, spinning around with her back to the outside. She jumped and grabbed the top of the window frame with a quick movement. Using her toned arms and the momentum from the jump, Aki pulled herself up enough to climb up and get a foothold on top of the window frame.

Not about to stop, Aki hooked her arm up onto the roof of the apartment building. The shingled roof held her weight and provided grip as she pulled herself up and onto the roof.

Aki could hear her heart beating in her ears. Her fight or flight instincts were screaming at her to keep moving.

So she did.

Aki ran across the roof, her bushy tail maintaining her balance across the uneven surface. With a running leap, she launched herself off the edge of the roof. Luckily the run-down apartment complex she was on top of was right next to a few other buildings. Even still, the 5-foot wide alley was tough for her to clear. She landed on all fours, scrambling across the neighboring building's roof as she stood back up.

Aki continued her run across the roofs, making another jump before finally looking behind her to see if she was being chased. It didn't seem like anything was on the roofs chasing her, but she couldn't be sure about down below. Aki mentally checked how far away the hideout was. Aki gritted her teeth. She was moving in the wrong direction.

Thinking quickly, she made the decision to duck into the building she was on top of and look for a place to hide.

Aki swung down, gripping onto the side of the roof as she vaulted through one of the shattered windows. She landed hard on the floor inside, almost losing her footing. Her long tail had barely managed to keep her balance, and she moved to look for a hiding spot. Her instincts told her to crawl into or under something. The room she was in was even more decrepit than the one she'd plundered earlier. Destroyed bedroom furniture lay around the room. An upturned dresser, a bed, and many bits and pieces of wood completely.

Grabbing a piece of wood from the floor, Aki had an idea. She crawled under the bed. Half of it had collapsed, leaving the mattress at an odd angle. Between her small size and flexibility, Aki managed to wedge herself in the angled space. Then, reaching out from the hole, she positioned the bit of wood into place to cover her.

And then, she finally had a moment to breathe.

Aki was scared, but the pure urgency of the situation seemed to take the fear off of her mind. She laid absolutely still under the rubble for what felt like an eternity. Afraid to check to see if things were clear, Aki stayed in the crawl space, clutching the singular prize from her burglary. Her stomach still felt hollow, and as her heart rate slowed, she could feel the fatigue combine with her hunger. She had no way to tell how much time had passed in the total darkness. Her eyelids were beginning to slowly close, only for Aki to force them back open each time.

Don't fall asleep, you dolt! she thought. Time was passing even slower with the extra challenge of staying awake in the darkness. After another unknowable amount of time passed, Aki eventually conceded and let her heavy eyelids stay shut.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to just rest my eyes for just a little, she thought. It'll make it easier for me to stay awake.

And within moments, she was asleep.