A thunder of mechanical wheels coursed through the broken down slums as the old intercity express rattled on its suspended tracks overhead. Its cracked sleepers and aging steal girders groaned with a reliable timing that ran the lives of the downtrodden street life that inhabited the filth below. Nestled against one of the grate supporting pillars, a child stirred with the first cracking light of day that streamed into his crude nest of discarded waste bins and plastic bags, braking upon his closed eyes more directly then he had become accustom too over the past few weeks. Gradually he rolled over until his back was too the opening of the hovel, grasping at the stings of slumber while his dreams remained untainted by the terrors that had landed him in such a sorry position.
Things hadn't always been this way. With no immediate family to speak of after his biological parents were snatched from him, the child had spent most of his infant years at the town's orphanage. At the age of fifteen though, he was finally re-homed to a retiring human couple who took pity on his situation. Martha and Bernard had moved to this new world to live out their retirement traveling its exotic places, and though they hadn't planned on razing another child, they still treated the boy as one of their own. Things couldn't have worked out better for him really, and from the moment he was old enough to do so he accompanied them on their long, adventures journeys all over the planet. Sadly, time waits for no one, and though the boy wasn't aware of it, it was inevitable that he would more then out live such an elderly couple.
So here he was, abandoned once again, left to fend for himself in a twisted world of criminals and lowlifes. At least it had given him some time to think though.
The kit's eyes bolted open, suddenly very awake as the hand gently settled on his shoulder, the fingers gently caressing the fur exposed from beneath his stretched t-shirt as the warmth of a body other then his own settled down beside him.
"Are you lost, little boy?"
The kit bolted from the unseen visitors grasp, turning around and flattening himself against the hard masonry of the pillar. His eyes burned in torch light as they tried to focus smiling form that had until a moment ago been laying beside him, only able to make out an unfamiliar silhouette of the stranger, the strong smell of incense permeating the normally garbage soiled air in the den.
With a certain majesty the figure pushed itself up on its arms, crawling forward to close the gap between itself and the terrified child.
"Oh. Oh don't be afraid my son." It said, in calm, calculated voice "I mean you no harm, child."
He couldn't move, fixated on the slowly approaching figure, no way out even if he could break his paralysis. The smell of incense scorched his nostrils as the figure drew itself up before him, its kind, smiling face mere centimeters from his own.
Drawing a long breath from the air near the Child's muzzle, the smiling lips hummed a note of indulgence before bringing its eyes level with the boy's own.
"Look at you, so lost and alone. Your sent is so pure, yet your eyes lack innocence."
The hand softly stroked the kits muzzle as he spoke, combing through the dusty gray fur of the child's face down to his neck- "I sense your fear, my son. But I can mend you, make you whole again." - pulling the tattered shirt down one of his frail arms, continuing to his chest, pausing for a moment as the boy's frantic attention suddenly caught the strangers dead eye. That vulture eye, staring away from the scene as though watching the world beyond the hide away, the child unable to pull his gaze from the ghostly vale that masked its pupil. The smile widened again, "All you have to do, is trust me-" A swift ruffle of cloth as the hand grabed the kits paw, the stranger buckling as the kit's unforeseen strike found its mark.

The child sprawled across the soiled alleyway floor as he burst through the stack of bins that made up his makeshift home, the rotting bags of waste spewing out over the cobbles. Quickly the cub got to his feet, braking into a run the moment he had a firm footing. He tripped several times in his scramble to escape; the angry shouts of the visitor drowned out by the 12:40 from out town speeding overhead.

Outside the darkened ally, a large black car stood by the pavement, parked almost too perfectly compared to the rest of the urban sprawl. The driver that sat at its wheel was a giant of a raccoon, dressed in a sharp suite and black tie, he seemed totally immobile, silent and unmoving, like stone ornament rather then a faithful man servant. The only time he had barely twitched was merely to glance as a small gray fox ran from the confines of the alleyway, the highest state of 'intrigue' that he had achieved all that night.
A few moments later he heard a sharp knock followed by the faint machanical werring as the tinted rear window decended. There was a short exchange of muffled words, before the window slid back up into its fraim, the raccoon glancing to his side mirror to watch as a wreched figure hobbled away in to the darkness. For a while there was silence again, broken only by the gentel patter of rain on the windscreen and the uncorking of a bottle in the rear compartment. A faint taste of 'Peno' tainting the air with its sweet odur as the devider between driver and passinger slid away to reveal a smartly clad figure, realaxed in the back, face hidden by the shadows cast by the spotlights set into the roof.

"I'm afraid tonight's entertainment will have to be canceled, Hogath" The man in the back muttered, taking a small sip from the brandy glass and savouring its perfetly matured flavour.

"Yes, sir." The driver replied, owning a voice that was far too eloquent for his size. "Home, sir?"

"Home, Hogath."

Ryn hated being in the spotlight. Every time she went out to the city to accompany her nanny, Estella, to the market for errands, she could see people pointing and whispering.

<i>"Look, it's her... the Sonata family's kid... the miracle child..."

"... I heard she's a little stuck-up brat with no manners..."

"Is that so? I heard something completely different..."</i>

"Miracle"? What rubbish. Her real mother died when she was born. She'd been adopted into the Sonata family when she was still an infant, and it was only because the they had no daughter, just five other sons.

Sure, she excelled in her lessons, but it was nothing special. There was no need to label her as a "genius," either.

The young white cat shoved her hands in her pants pockets. She was bored; it had been a while since she got out for some fresh air, but now she didn't know what she could do. The gray hare walking ahead of her hadn't bought much, and she was carrying it all.

Looking off to the side, her violet eyes thought she caught a glimpse of something...

No... it probably was just her mind playing tricks on her again...

"Lady Ryn?" Estella questioned. "Is something wrong?"

Ryn suddenly turned to her, surprised at first, but she shook her head. "No..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's nothing..."

---
OOC: I'll edit if need be.

OOC: its perfect.

*SPLAT*

The hare staggered a little, reeling from the impact of a tomato hitting her in the back of the head. The origin was from what appeared to be the glimpse Ryn had seen, it was a few youths hiding in an alcove. Now they'd gained courage and stepped out of it. The lead one, a cold looking wolf snorted, "Get out of here bucktooth, we don't want your kind here." His croonies produced more fruit and both looked sternly at Estella.

Estella cast an angry glare at the juveniles for a brief moment, deeply offended. She maintained her silence, however; she was getting old, and she didn't need a bunch of snot-nosed brats leading her on to get arrested.

Too bad the same couldn't be said for Ryn.

"Leave her alone!" she shouted at them, furious. "She hasn't done anything to you!"

"What, you got a problem with us?" the leader said, turning his attention to the feline.

"You're darn right, I do! You're all a bunch of cowards for what you did! You wouldn't dare do that to anyone else but to someone you consider lower than you!"

"That's enough, Lady Ryn!" Estella interjected. "We must leave now. The evening meal isn't going to cook itself."

"Yeah, go on, bucktooth lover!" one of the kids shouted, tossing another tomato at Ryn. It fell short, landing just in front of her shoe.

She didn't care. Her eyes remained locked with the wolf for another moment. This guy was just like her older brothers, always throwing muscle around to get their way.

He was trying to intimidate her, but that wasn't going to work. She had gotten used to this sort of thing a long time ago...

"Lady Ryn!"

"I'm coming!" the girl said irritably, turning away from the wolf. Yet another tomato whizzed past her head, but it didn't scare her.

She hated people like them. Always putting down those weaker than them or those they considered inferior.

"You should've done something, Estella," Ryn finally said, now that they were out of sight of the small gang. "You can't let them push you around."

"They're just a bunch of children," the old hare told her. "They're not mature, just looking for a laugh or a fight."

"But, Estella--"

"Listen to me, Lady Ryn... It's over now. There's no use beating a dead horse."

"Wise words. It is unfortunate that some of our faith act this way. Violence will never lead people to understanding of Kenji's word."

The words were carefully spoken and carried an with them an air of nobility. The few bystanders were standing frozen in their tracks, staring at it's origin. A average sized Vulpinoid of around five and half feet in height, wearing an mantle that was anything but average. It's clasp bore the wolven mark of the Sodalitas Warden, its auburn color not a far cry from it's owners own fur color.

Murmers corsed through the crowd as he strode over to Estella and Ryn. Ryn felt an overwhelming sense of awe realizing the man standing before her was the leader of Warden faith. Russell Underwood. The man sighed, "It's easy to distort spreading His word with forcing the same, however you should not like that mar your faith. Those who allow their faith to be shaken are just as lost as those who accept the image of the Prey*." He turned to Estella and spoke with the same proud air all of his race did, though she could see his eyes were those of a tired man. "You walk among us, you actions speak as those of a Warden. Why do you accept the image of the Prey**? Can your employers not afford to aid you?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

*Image of the Prey refers to those of or resembling the Rodoid race. In Kydane culture those that do not alter themselves through some means (surgery, filing down of their front incisors, etc) are said to reject the Warden faith by "accepting the image of prey".

**Russell is refering to a passage from the Remembrance in which it is told that those who "accept the image of the 'prey'" accept their own weakenesses and reject Kenji as their guardian. Leaving them as victims and/or vessels of the Kydane devil, the Bird of Prey, Raven.

"It's not that they cannot afford to, sir," Estella replied. "It's that I believe they refuse to... I truly don't know the reason why..."

"It's because my parents are cheap," Ryn spoke up, crossing her arms. "They're wealthy, but they claim they can't give her enough money for an operation. They're so quick to get my free-loading older brothers what they want that they don't pay much attention to much anything else--"

Estella glared at the child, silencing her. Ryn knew better than to speak out of turn, but whenever the subject focused on her parents...

Russell closed his eyes, "Such people are not worthy of the word of Pendragon. I wish I could help, but our House has much of its own problems of current. I have a son who must soon undergo reorientation, a byproduct of my own weakness." He paused, "Forgive me of rambling. If you wish I can offer to speak to your employers. If they are of faith I will be able to persuade them."

"I would be grateful, if you were able to," the hare replied politely. "Thank you very much."

Ryn thought she sensed a bit hopefulness in Estella's voice. She knew, from what she was told, that Estella wanted this for the longest time...

"There are thousands of ghost stories,
Each with their own tail of woe and suffering,
Into a few, boasts validity."

The blistering sun of the freshly arisen morning was beginning to establish itself within every nook of the forsaken slums of the grate capital. Down a near deserted shade-cast ally, just off from the main market, the street worn kit slumped against the darkened walls, sliding down its ruff brickwork and clasping his paws across his head in dismay. He could hear them again, a dull muttering in the distance that seemed to never get any closer. He hadn't slept again, the shock of his near abduction keeping on the move, looking for his strange guardian, whom had vanished a few days ago.

"Mike, where are you?" Whimpering slightly, the kit tried to bring his senses under control, the dull shuffling and shouting voices still echoing around him, muffled only by his filthy arms pressing down his cringing ears. Why did everyone seem to be leaving him? Mike had said that he would help him, keep him safe, keep him alive. Now it seemed the mysterious guide had joined his parents in their silence, leaving him alone once again to fend for himself.

It was in the midst of this bout of self pity, that an aroma finally graced the child with its lulling sent, and he looked up to see where it was coming from. So the voices were real after all, echoing down the ally from the buzzing market at the end of the street, the tang of freshly roasted chestnuts and carved meat elating his senses to the presence of food. Immediately his mouth began to water, stomach growling in complaint of the past few weeks when it had gone virtually empty. Maybe just a look around? There could be someone giving out samples, anything, he'd even take scraps if he could find them.
Tentatively, the boy approached the bustling crowd of brokers and buyers, brushing his tattered hair braid out of his eyes and hooking it behind his muzzle to keep it out of the way. The attention of the various people in the square seemed to be directed at one figure in particular standing near the middle of the marketplace, and though he couldn't see who it was, the boy knew an opportunity when he saw it. People were too distracted by the stranger's presence and their own conversation to notice him slip behind the stalls, searching for an unguarded scraps bole. But after a moment or two of discrete scampering, his curiosity got the better of him, and the kit darted up between two fruit stands to see just what all the fuss was about. What he found was a wall of people blocking his view and a rather tempting box of apples laid out on display, shining a deep satin, dripping with succulence. He couldn't take his eyes from them. He knew he shouldn't, he'd always been taught it was wrong. But he was virtually starving, and from the moment his sight caught their glinting moist surface, his instincts knew exactly what he was going to do.

'Surely they wouldn't mind just one?'

--
OOC: *Role D20+1 on 'slight of hand' and D6 on 'luck', came up with 8 and 3 respectively. I belive my exact words were 'AWWww crap'.*

Russell nodded, "I have nothing to attend to at current. The broadcast was put off for a week due to a suspected Serv terrorist plot. If you like I could accompany you ladies home so there are no more unexpected bouts with... 'run by fruitings.'"

The passing comment did not go by un-noticed. A rather plain looking grey adolescent rabbit was sitting against one of the stands lining the market street. He wasn't watching the events so much as listening to them. Dispite his oversized baggy clothing and hat covering his hair his ears were pushed through holes in the hat. Curious as it ruined the purpose of having something covering his head, it was almost as if he wanted his ears at the ready but to cover the fur on his head. Regardless he stiffened hearing what the fox-like leader of the Sodalitas faith had just said, he looked like he wanted to bolt for it but didn't dare. His eyes nervously jerked around watching for a way out of the area, completely unaware of the boy not a yard away hesitating on grabbing for one of the apples perched on the stand over their heads.

Meanwhile some miles away two figures walked along a rather rundown looking street, broken glass from bottle of alcohol and pieces of paper littered the sidewalk and pavement. This was one of the many slum areas of Kyzarie City, and much like the rest of its populace the two young kydane wandering down it did not look in the best of moods. Both seemed to be vulpinoid, one of a darker coloration and wearing dark,frayed clothing down to the overcoat his hands were stuffed into. The other was very much a out of place, neatly kept fur and a light blue t-shirt matching his jeans and tennis shoes on.

"You haven't be out here in almost a year Rick, whats going on?" The darker fox asked with an air of concern. The better dressed youth's face soured further, "They won't let me see Tobe, Chay. I heard them talking though, racial re-orentation." The darker fox, called Chay, sighed, "You should've expected that. They can't do it without consent though right?" Rick sneered, "I have a feeling thats why they're keeping us apart. They're trying to make him agreed, saying its the only way he's gonna see me again and @#%$. Don't worry, it ain't gonna happen." Chay looked wary, "Really shouldn't talk like that, Rico. Underwood or not these are pretty dangerous times to be speaking out."

"I don't care, you know the stories about my grandpa, runs in the blood. We don't follow orders well. And if they touch that little guy I swear to Kenji I'll fry them all on continental feed." The youth looked at his small hand, clenching it tightly and forcing what looked like electrical sparks over the fur on it. His partner yipped and grabbed it forcing it down and hissing, "Dammit Rico, you wanna get kicked outta that fancy school of yours AND locked up? Stop flashing that crap here and... GAH!"

He yelped again in surprise as a larger figured landed in front of them from the roof overhead. It was a human with very wild looking hair and a black leather jacket, he looked like he'd needed a shave for at least a week. Chay let out a sigh of relief, "Geez, Mike, trying to give me a heart attack? I thought you were a dang Enforcer*." The human looked around like he was lost for a moment, then turned around and looked sheepish, "Oh, hi."

Chay grumbled, "Don't 'oh, hi' me, you meant to do that. Whats up?" The human blinked, "Oh yeah! Need a favor. Remember the kid from a few weeks ago? One the rich dude had?" Chay suddenly looked serious, "Yeah." Mike shook his head and Chay nodded then turned to Rico, "We found a kid not long ago, homeless one. Put him up with some rich eccentric. Looks like I need to go pick him up."

Rico's face softened, "He threw him out? Thats awful, maybe I can..." Chay held his hand up, "Rick, you can't save everyone. Just telling ya why I'm taking off, don't worry, plenty of other guys around to help. Ciao." The fox took off down the street, hands still oddly in his pockets.

Mike looked at Rico, "Did you find out when they're going to try to do that junk you talked about?" Rico shrugged, "You mean put Tobe on the Feed? No, not yet. I thought it was tomorrow but they aren't acting like it anymore." Mike nodded looking concerned, "Your feelings aren't setting right Rico, you should go see Hoskin." Rico closed his eyes, "I renamed him Tobias, after Tobias Murray**, he liked the story's." Mike nodded, "Still, if even a human can tell your off." Rico shook his head, "I'll be ok, maybe I can sneak in and make sure he's ok tonight. Mom and Dad will be out." The human smirked, "Sounds like a plan, its starting to get dark kiddo. You better get back before curfew." Rico looked indignant but trotted off. The human smiled in an odd fashion and suddenly shot upward to the roof above sending papers flying everywhere from the wind behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* An Enforcer is an art trained peacekeeper. Similar to a police officer.

** Tobias Murray was the brother of a banned tewe. Murray lineage was traced to James Murray who married a daughter of Kenji. But this family is rejected from heritage because its member refused to reject the Image of the Prey

With all the defining grace that would have made a rickety lawnmower proud, the boy's fingers clasped the closest apple perched on the top of the pile, retracting it quickly and darting back behind the cover of the stand. He'd done it! The kit was practically dizzy with exhilaration and numbing adrenalin that was dieing off in the light of victory. Looking down, he admired his prize pensively, turning it over slowly in his torn paws to observe his reflection staring back from its perfectly polished surface, breathing in its fulfilling aroma and sighing lightly with satisfaction. Sadly, he failed to look up as he turned from the stall and began to leave, running into a practical brick wall that seemed to have simply appeared from nowhere, toppling his frail balance like a feather on the wind. Yet as his footing slipped, his fall was halted quite dramatically, something clasping his wrist with a grip that could have broken it like a twig should it have whished. The kit yelped, hand opening unconsciously to allow the apple to slip from his now stolen grasp, hitting the ground with a dull wet thud. Slowly, the child's eyes traced upward from the broken apple to find a pair large shoes leading a pair of even larger legs in turn leading to a stained leather apron and finally all the way up to a burly Ursinoid face towering angrily above his own frozen expression.
The shopkeeper glowered down at the fifthly kit practically dangling from his iron clamp of a paw, surveying it with an air fitting of most criminals, or rotting meat, depending on the situation.
"Grubby little Neswal'esaw*," he grumbled darkly, turning his head towards the store "Hay, Harry! Get 'round here, looks like we caught ourselves a thief."
For a moment or two the kit struggled weekly as the reality of his situation finally caught up with his frozen mind. The panda was huge, built like a truck with shoulders wide enough to carry felled logs and arms thick as girders. Of course, when youre a child that small and scared, anyone more then a foot higher then you is a practical giant.
"Le'go," The kit muttered franticly, eye's catching a feline rounding the corner and marching up to join his partner. "Lea'go!"
"You're going nowhere except to the nearest clink lad! Go fetch an enforcer Harry,"
"No! Please, please done'! I'm sorry sir I was just hung-"
The kit's plea was cut short by a painful jerk to his suspended arm "Save it Runt! Sick of these bloody street scum thinking they can get away with thifin' whatever they please."

-
* a type of bottem feading fish, pronounced nayswal-Esaw often used like our acronim "Streat urchin". Don't know if you already have a word for this Rick, just say if it could do with changing.

*whiz* *piff*

The hound of a shopkeeper yelped as something struck him hard enough to force him to release his grip on the boy, sending the cub to the ground in a heap. The canine grabbed his aching wrist angrily and glared at what had hit him. There on the ground were two coins, laying on each other is such a precise way that it was as if theyre owner was able to control their accuracy to that degree. He glared up still angry and now with his pride injured as the two coins were the price of one of his apples.

Ive always felt pity for people like you. Youll never know the awesome rush you get when you totally diss a stuck-up Kenji-fearing loser. Liiiiike you. The youthful voice came from the young rabbit, who was smugly pointing at the shopkeeper. He hat was off, probably on the ground from the force of throwing the coins. It was obvious now that the hat was for keeping a low profile, something the youth had no grasp of. Though his fur was grey, his eyes were bright blue, and his hair was dyed a bright blond, not exactly something that would blend into a crowd.

Ya got yer money, now just leave the brat alone. You wouldnt want all these people to see big tough doggie like you get totally owned by a bucktooth bunny, right? Not that the nasally prepubescent voice wasnt annoying enough, but it seemed every time the rabbit opened his mouth to put an end to the situation he just further instigated more conflict. The canoid shopkeeper growled raising his fist to pound the rabbit, Paid for or not, it was initially stolen and He felt someone take hold of his arm.

Surely you dont need to result to further violence. Beating these children is not going to open their eyes to the knowledge of Sodalitas. The shopkeeper felt the words seep into his brain, urging him to agree with them and their owner, the man holding his arm.

Estella and Ryn stood transfixed, watching the small vulpine hold back the arm of the larger shopkeeper. Those few moments seemed like hours to Whixan as the shopkeeper strained against both Russells strength and words. Finally he put his arm down, Of course Master Underwood, I lost my head. Russell smiled and laughed a little, Well, see that you dont lose it again my friend. You wouldnt want to have to have tell their parents you beat them up for paying for an apple, haha. The shopkeeper seemed to further acknowledge it and smirked, looking to the two boys, No hard feeling, ay? Just be sure ya pay for it before ya take it next time.

Russell nodded, And you there boy have I He trailed off as he eyes came to the empty spot on the sidewalk were the young blond haired rabbit had been. He was gone. While the shopkeeper offered Whixan back the apple and gave him a second one for his friend Russell looked around with some obvious degree of concern, moving back toward Ryn and Estella.

Whixan felt a light tap on the back of his head, a small glance showed him a fleating glimpse of a familiar gray furred ear down the alley. Not being the stupid kid these people thought they were taking pity on he knew the other boy wanted him to follow, after losing the adults.

For a moment or two, the kit hesitated in his pursuit of the other, his slightly rattled attention still correlating everything that had just taken place. Least of all the Elder whom had stopped the store owner exacting his wrath upon the lupoid that had come to his aid.
Being that his surrogate parents were human and that children of his age are really aware of politics, the kit didn't fully recognize the vulpine who's intervention had been so timely, though the name Underwood was well known to him as one of grate power amongst his people. Even so, something about the elder scared him, something he could neither pin, nor truly compriended in any real sense of the word. It wasn't a physical darkness as such, more like 'an end to that which was', lurking somewhere beyond the elder's eyes that sired dark recollections of the day his mother had taken to her silence.
Maybe it was an effect of the light?
But before this foreboding could be built upon, the elder had left, and he was once again alone, holding the apples in general confusion. He clasped the two rounded fruits closely, surmising what he had known from the moment he set foot in the dark unpredictable streets. He hated this place.
With the Canned store keep gone, and the small crowd that had followed this 'Master Underwood' fellow now rapidly dispersing to their own devices, the boy finally gathered his wits and dashed off down the alleyway in persute of his now unseen rescuer. A semi-determined look crossed his features as he reached the turning where he'd lost sight of the rabbit and, allowing instinct to guide him, picked up his footing to follow what he assumed was the youth's sent down the shadow cast maze of buildings.

"Well, you do have the nose of a dog, don't ya?" Whixan heard a familiar voice as he rounded a corner. The other boy was leaning against the wall of the alcove munching on an apple that looked remarkably similar to the ones he was holding. It seemed the rabbit had swiped a trophy in his retreat. "Name's Johnny, you musta been pretty damn desperate to try that in front of so many people."

EDIT: Moving ahead, Kaze I left you an opening for the trio to head out there when you get time.

"Yeah, maybe" The boy looked down a little sheepishly "I've never done it before I din' think anyone would miss just the one. They all looked to busy to notice." He looked up at the rabbit with a qusitive expression, a part of his mind wondering when the youth had gotten the chance to swipe the apple "Why did you help me?"

The young rabbit raised an eyebrow, "Show you that you have a choice. Warden woulda saved you even I wasn't around, but now that woulda showed you that the way out is them, right?" He took another bite, "As if it was starve or follow him."

Glancing down the street as though something had caught his eye, the kit shook his head slightly "I'd don't know it'd better then having my hands cut off at least."
Johnny's bemused reaction told the child that further extrapolation was needed, "Well thats what they do right? If you steal the enforcers cut off your hands so you can't do it again? Right?"

Johnny smirked, "As much as we'd like everyone to believe that, Warden are Warden. Doesn't matter if they're Sodalitas or not. Everyone knows the Royal Enforcers are only violent if someone is endangering others."

The boy blinked slightly in the light of this revelation, "Oh well thats not what I was told..." his ears flushing a tad pinker beneath his fur as he realized how foolish an assumption it was, sentence trailing off rather pathetically as he lost his train of thought.

John looked curious, "I thought there was something weird about you. Your parents, where'd they stand in all this? To tell you that kinda junk about the Warden? They sound like some of those crazy Raven cultists."

One of the boy's ears cocked to the side slightly "hmm, I don't really know what Raven Cultists are, but I don't think they 'stood' anywhere. Dad always said he 'left politics up to people with too much time to waste'... never did really get what he meant by that."

John nodded, "I do, its not important though. That guy back there gives me the creeps. Tell me something short stuff, what do you think of people like me? You know, ones the Sodalitas say are immoral cuz we don't change how we look."

Whixan looked over at him, Johnny was staring straight ahead and not making eye contact. He could see the strange looking long front incisors sticking out of his mouth even when it was shut. His odd nose that looked nothing like the canoid's and feline's. Even his size was smaller than a noble race of his age, the boy wasn't that much bigger than he was, and his arms were obviously meak in comparison to a normal person his age.

Again the kit seemed a little lost, as though unsure if he was suposed to be looking for something specific or just the situation as a whole. Though not entirely new to him, the rabbit's questions were seemingly out of place, and the cub was unsure exactly where this was all going. "I dun'know. I mean, I know about the whole species ladder thing they've got going on, but when you've travel a lot you get used to going on personal merit rather then any labels thought up by other people. I still don't get what its about, but you seem okay to me?"

The hare sighed and nodded, "Gotta keep telling myself that. They make such persuasive arguements and seem so concerned and nice all the time, sometimes you have to wonder." He pushed himself off the wall and popped his neck, "Well, we should get moving, we're late."

"Late?" The kit repeated, the over useage of 'we' not going unnoticed by the cubs wits, but priorites first "Late for what? Heck, when was I invited to something that I 'could' be late for in the first place?"

John rolled his eyes and smirked, "Come on, you wanna place to stay or not?"

Gotta get back and warn Kane and the others. Looks like little Ricky spooked his folks if they changed the date. He thought to himself glancing around nervously. He looked back at the hesistant cub still moving forward, "Come'om slow poke we gotta OOF." He slammed into another figure and fell backward on his rump.

"Hey, watch where you're going you big... Rico?" The rabbit stopped looking at the larger vulpine standing over him. "Big what? Not my fault I grow faster." A rather smarmy looking young fox said offering the rabbit a hand. Once on his feet the rabbit lunged, for a moment Whixan grew nervously, thinking the two were going to fight. Very quickly he realized they were just roughhousing around. After the rabbit had claimed victory he folded his arms, "Natural brawn or not you still suck at fighting." The fox he'd called Rico looked sheepish, he had an oddly disarminglook on his face now. "Who's the new guy?" Rico said giving the frail looking canine a compassionate look. John grunted, "Taking him to the Serv shelter, and no you can't help, you got other problems."

Rico sighed, "I know, that reminds me, Russell.." John cut him off, "Put it off for a week. I know, I just heard him say it back there." The young fox snerked, not secretive with it is he. John shrugged, "You better get home, your mom is probably worried. Rico?"

The fox seemed interested in the rabbit's tag-a-long. John sighed, "Ricky, this is... uh. Hey, what was your name again?"

The cub paused for a moment before replying, still a little unsure of the sudden appearance of the newcomer, keeping his answer short to this same end.
"...Whixan. My name's Whixan... wait, What's a Serv shelter?"

Rico smiled, "Whixan." He laughed a little, "Heh, thats very fitting. Hey, John do you think..." The rabbit narrowed his eyes, "No, I don't. I'm not going to let you indulge in playing big brother Ricky, I really am not. Get home before I bust ya up again."

Rico wrinkled his nose, "Yeah well, take care of him ok?" John sighed, "Dammit Rick, I know you're still freaked cuz of Hoskin but you can't save everyone. Wixan will be fine, you worry about yourself and your own."

Rico grunted, "His name is Tobias. And his name," He put a hand on the cub's back, "is Whixan. Whatever, I'm outta here." The fox sneered and took off down to the alley, looking very distraught.

John sighed, "God he's a mess. I just wish," He shook his head, "Sorry Whix, Shelter is where there are a lotta people and kids like us. No home, no money, they can give ya food and shelter. What you do from there is your own decision. Now come on will ya, this place get creepy at night."

"You have no idea," Whix muttered under his breath, eyes still upon the back ally into which 'Rico' had disappeared. A strange fellow, no doubt in that, and the fox's precise interests in his name eluded the cub almost completely. However, Johnny was already making tracks up the steadily darkening street, and once this had registered with him the boy quickly picked up the pace to fall into stride just behind the rabbit. Dashing a last glance back down the ally towards the market, he remembered the apples, pushing the one the shop keeper had given him into the rabbit's paw.
"The guy from the stall gave me one for you."

John smirked and tossed it back, "Keep it, you need it more than I do kiddo." As they kept moving Whixan was starting to wonder even more where this shelter with food the rabbit had promised was.

Ryn was still rubbing her eyes, trying to believe what she had just seen. It didn't seem possible to her that someone smaller like Russell could be that strong...

If no one else, my parents would definitely change because of this man... I know it...

"So," said Russell as he walked towards her and Estella. "Shall we go now?"

"Of course." Estella bowed slightly and tapped Ryn gently on the shoulder. "Come on, Miss Ryn. We're going now."

"Huh?" the young feline jumped a little. "Oh, okay, Estella."

---

The sound of footsteps echoed in the dimly lit hallway as Vincent Sonata exited from his study. The dark gray Felinoid had spent several hours there trying to solve a slight dilema he'd been pondering about over the past several months; his children. They were starting to drive him mad.

Nathaniel, the eldest son, and his brothers, Terald, Robert, Julius, and Vincent Jr. had been asking for more and more money as of late, and it was becoming to much for him to bear. He was afraid that the nanny would start demanding a raise... and Ryn... what about her?

To make matters worse, his wife was expecting again... this would be his sixth biological child!

"How could this be, Darlena? We're getting to old for this!"

"Ryn? Who really cares about that girl now?! Estella'll look after her like she has been since we brought that street punk into our home!"

Vincent paused by an old family portrait taken years ago on the wall. His frown turned turned into a look of fury as he saw Ryn, a screaming toddler at the time the picture was taken, standing off by herself on the side in the middle of wiping tears from her eyes. He totally ignored the other five boys, who were older children in the photograph, roaring with laughter.

He hated Ryn. He hated her the moment he learned of where she was born. He hated her since she had been praised by her tutors for her excellence and intelligence. Why weren't his sons that way? Why weren't they so talented and smart? Surely it wasn't his genes...

Kyzarzie City Slums, 8:15pm

"Over kid, grab some grub. I need to talk to someone." Johnny motioned Whix to a rather rusty looking table filled with other kids not unlike himself. In center were a few randomly placed bowls with miscellaneous dry goods and fruit, none of it looked at good as the food he'd seen on the street corners but it was food none the less.

John stood from of a large weasel and snorted, stabbing his finger accusingly, "I don't wanna hear it grandpa, I need to see Kane, now." The weasel sighed and shook his head, telling the still aggitated rabbit to stay put till he returned.

Sonata Residence, 8pm

As the three approached the manor Russell finally ended a rather long series of stories about his father's endeavours that lead to the vulpinoid race becoming recognized as nobility by the Sodalitas Warden. In the last half hour the scenery had become less and less urban, finally leading to a rather large manor house backlit by the setting sun reflecting off the grass of gentle rolling hills.

Ryn couldn't really understand it, normally adults rattling on about stories from the past bored her, but for some reason something about the tone of Russell's voice made her feel like doing something. She wasn't sure what, but hearing about someone bringing a whole race up in both ability and social status somehow made her wanna do something like it too. It wasn't the story itself, she could care less about social status or religious talents, it was purely the way he said it and the energy he emitted while doing it.

Russell still maintained the lead after the whole walk, and never hesitated while walking up and ringing the door chime. It was then Ryn noticed the orange emblem on the back of his trenchcoat, she hadn't noticed it early as it was practically the same auburn color as the overcoat but it reflect more brightly then the rest. Once she knew it was the there the subtle color change made the emblem of the silhouette of a circle with an animal in the center, the ears and nose were distinctly canine but the stature was much smaller than a dog. Wasn't hard too decide it was a fox, and it wasn't uncommon for the noble houses to wear some kind of logo to show their family symbol.

House Underwood Manor, 9:00 pm

"Toby? Toby, ya here?" Rico hushed voice filter silently into a darkened room as he slipped in through door, opened just enough to do so. After the door was completely, and silently, shut he relaxed a little as he waited for his eyes to adjust. It was a moment before he could see in the dim light but after that he saw the small rabbit sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes.

Rico's face softened as he walked over and sat down on the bed. The boy stretched and yawned, then looked up and smiled, "Hi, where ya been?" Rico gritted his teeth, it'd been several months since he'd been back here and the guilt over leaving this kid that long had been getting increasingly intense ever since he left. "Sorry big guy, this place is getting a lot less friendly for me. In fact I gotta leave again soon." The younger boy looked like he was going to cry, "You, You can just take me with you. Right?" Rico swallowed, "I, I can't Toby, it's against the law." Toby looked down, "I hate the law." Rico nodded following suit, "Me too. I, I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

The little rabbit twitched his nose a little and looked up, "Do I have ta do it? You know, what dad says." Rico grimaced, then reached over and pulled his half brother closer and held on tight, "I'm so sorry bro, just go along with them ok? I won't let anything happen to you, I promise." The boy looked confused but held onto his older sibling anyway, "Kay, Rick."

Sonata Residence

"Hey, Dad, you got a couple of minutes?"

Vincent turned his head to see the eldest son running up towards him. He looked much like his father, dark gray in color, but he was a little taller, and more built somewhat, as if he had been lifting weights for some time. He wasn't very muscular, though. He wore a plain, wrinkled shirt, dirty pants and a pair of worn boots; he didn't seem to care how he looked.

"Ah, Nathaniel," Vincent said, clearing his throat. "What's on your mind?"

Nathaniel scratched his head. "Well... I wanted to know if you had some cash. I need it for something real important..."

"Not now, Nate," said Vincent irritably, "I've got enough crap to worry about. Ask me later!"

"Come on, Dad," Nathaniel begged. "It's urgent! Dad!!"

Before Vincent could say another word, the front doorbell rang.

"We'll talk about this later," Vincent said, glaring at his son before he walked away.

---

Ryn's good mood quickly turned sour again once the front door to the manor opened and she saw the face of her adoptive father...

...That is, until she saw the look on his face when he noticed Russell Underwood standing before him...

"M-master Underwood?!" he stammered, completely taken by surprise.

Whixan had led a some what sheltered life when it came to the underside of society. He'd seen plenty of places with similar conditions, but it was quite another thing to have it shoved in your face. There were a lot of strange people sat around the table, most with the same street warn appearance as himself, but somehow it was more deep set, like the dirt and wounds ran far deeper then his own surface dust. Some were endulged in manner-less conversation, others were eating in silence, only looking up momentarily as the bedraggled kit perched on the far end of the bench.
Despite his species normally calm dispositions, the kit was known for being rather skittish and nervous in strange situations. He didn't like being around so many new people all at once and vulnerable, exposed on all flanks. For the third time in as many moments the kit glanced over at the door Johnny had gone through, hoping for the rapid return of a friendly face. Though he'd only known the rabbit for around an hour or so, his friends were so few and far between that he was petrified of yet another one vanishing, leaving him alone in such an alien place. Then again, this was at least a place to crash until he could find Mike. Assessing each of the boles and looking down the row to see what everyone else was doing, he dragged one towards him and picked out the half bread roll.

(ooc: Sorry rick, I couldn't realy think of anything elce -_-)

Russell put a hand forward, finger up but curled in, palm flat; the other behind his back, then bowed slightly. As nobles often do to greet an equal. "There's no need to be nervous. May I come in?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This ain't good. How'd they find out about out plans, Ken?" Sputtered out the cowboy hat clad Coyote from both called Myca. Kane took in a breath and closed his eyes, the grey tiger from before sneered at Johnny, "That damn kid you've been playing with probably opened his big mouth, Junior." The rabbit sneered back, "Well at least I tried to do something you useless sack of stripes."

"Enough." The word was strong but calm, Kane spoke holding a hand up. "This changes nothing, Richard spoke of it being sometime next week so we have till then to find out the exact date." He looked at Johnny, "Kinnear, find Richard tomorrow and see if he's found out the new date yet." The wolf then looked at the tiger, "You, find Underwood himself and tail him. See if you can find out anything in case Richard is unable too." He suddenly looked up, "That's all, Myca stay here if you would, the rest of you disperse, something isn't right here."

Meanwhile Whixan felt something familiar, he nervously glanced up from his roll to see the smirking face of Mike. He still looked as if he hadn't shaved in a week and his hair was even messier than the last time he saw him. The human sauntered in and straight over to Whix, as if he'd known before he walked in the shelter exactly where the boy was. He plopped down next to him and grabbed a few pieces of bread from a nearby bowl and juggled them rather smugly, "Figured I drop in. Owe you no small appology for a little, yet glaring error on my part." He tossed the rolls around one last time and bumped them with his elbow. Each landing seemingly exactly where it wanted; one back in the bowl, one on Whixan's bowl, on in his mouth for a finale of a muffled 'ta da'. The scraggly human gulped down the roll and leaned back, promptly falling on the ground.

Whix managed to crack a smile right before a single hand complete with its fingerless glove pointed straight up, "Don't worry about that mistake, Chay's taking care of him, probably right now. People gotta learn to behave, right?"

There were at least four questions that immediately occurred to the boy as the scruffy human sat down beside him, all of which suddenly began competing for his attention.
"What mistake? Ah... wait a minuet"
A small confused look spread across Mike's features as the cub gave him a light poke in the arm, as though making sure the human was really there. With this revelation, Whix felt a distinct kick from his sense of logic for not listening to it in the first place.
"Oh. Sorry, just making sure... that makes more sense now." he trailed off quietly.
During the past month or so the kit had seen the boarders between reality and fantacy blurring together. Maybe it was caused by the lack of food or the sleep deprivation, but in the past week it had become so bad that the boy had resorted to observing physical objects to assess whether what he was seeing was real or not. Thus, after Mike had vanished, the cub had begun to wonder wearther he had just been another figment of his resently terrafying imagination, despite the protests from his common sense.
With a gentle shake his head put itself back into gear and lined up the questions in a timely fassion.
"...Nevermind. Where have you been? I was looking for you for ages."

"Myca, I trust I'm not the only one feeling something wrong here." Kane said quietly looking at the rusted metal table they were still sitting at. The coyote tipped his hat, "Yup, someone's got some seriously messed up ulterior motives up there. Think its the kid Johnny brought in?" Kane looked up then shook his head, "No, at least not just him, I feel something else, believe when I say it couldn't come from a child."

Myca narrowed his eyes then shuddered, "Don't wanna know, Ken, don't wanna know." Kane nodded once then changed the subject, "I've heard reports of several members of the Disciples of Raven being seen on both Kyzarie and the Sibko facility. If you see fit you may want to check into it. With all the political tension here it could be in preparation for something far worse than we are planning." The coyoted bowed his head a little and walked out, leaving the old wolf to his thoughts.

Vincent returned the gesture and cleared his throat before he spoke, something he did only to regain his composure. "Yes, of course. Right this way, please." The dark gray Felinoid stood off to the side, allowing Russell to enter. He looked over at Ryn and Estella questioningly, as though they had done something terrible.

"Estella," he said to the hare, "Go on ahead and put those parcels away in the kitchen. I need you to let Darlena and my other sons know that we have company."

"Right away, sir." Estella stepped forward into the manor.

Ryn was about to do the same, but Vincent stepped in her way.

"Hey, what gives?" said Ryn, now very annoyed.

"I've got my eye on you, girl," Vincent said in a hushed voice, narrowing his eyes. "You try anything, and you'll find yourself back in the slums you came from."

"Whatever." Ryn glared at him. "By the way, you are aware you have a guest."

Vincent's face turned into a look of fury and disgust as he turned away from the girl and walked into the main hall. Ryn followed, closing the door behind her.

Russell had slowed his pace to a crawl, and after a few moments when they still had not caught up and he slowed even more speaking out with his characteristic level voice, "Lady Ryn, are you and your father coming? It would be rude of me to walk through your house unescorted."

Meanwhile in the shelter Mike righted himself and clammered back onto the bench, "Around. All the religious hub-bub lately its getting so its not even safe for humans out there. Guess we should be glad Sodalitas isn't the violent type of religious nuts, eh? Hate to think what would happen if those other crazies got control of this planet."

Whixan gave the slightest of nods to the human's statement, trying to judge weather he could still trust Mike's explanation. He'd been sat down that ally for three days waiting for his return, barely stepping out to eat for fear that Mike would return to find him missing. Yet he never came, and he was finaly driven out of his warren by a mad man.
After a moment of staring into his bole, the kit looked up at the human once again, deciding not to mention the promise Mike had broken so spectacularly "So what mistake were you talking about?"

OOC: Rick, I really need to see that full picture used for your avatar XD

Ryn was about to speak, but was quickly interrupted by her father. "Of course, we are, Master Underwood... I apologize for my daughter, she can be a bit... rude."

Ryn stayed silent, but only out of her newfound respect for Russell. She couldn't stand most adults, but only because she had to put up with her family's nonsense. The father always berated her, the mother ignored her, and the older brothers always teased and berated her as well. SHe had been a victim of their numerous "pranks," one of which nearly ended her life once...

The young feline watched as her father hastily ran to catch up with Mr. Underwood, and half-heartedly followed. "Um," she started to speak when she was near them, "I think I'll go help Estella in the kitchen, if you don't mind... I'll bring back some tea..."

"I'd like green tea," Vincent said immediately, almost interrupting her. "Go on now, girl, get going! The drinks aren't going to fix themselves you know." He shooed her off towards were Estella had been standing in the hall to the right of the huge living room, still carrying one of the bags in her arm.

Ryn could sense that he was really on edge, and for good reason as well. There was something else about his demeanor that she couldn't quite pick up on... she didn't think it was good, either...

---

OOC: Sorry if I couldn't get back to this right away. I don't exactly have the internet at home, so it's hard try and get somewhere to post most weekends.

OOC: Lemme know on AIM Asty, I'll dig it up.

And no problem Kaze, its not as if this is hectic RP. XD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The human cleared his throat, "I was called off planet again, and I sent someone to keep tabs on you. Unfortunately the annoying snot pulled one over on me, I hope he didn't hurt you too badly."

Back and the manor Russell took a seat in a very comfortable looking study complete with large bookshelves, leather chairs, and a fireplace. The fox watched Vincent scurry to the other seat with a rather nonchalant gaze before making his first remark, it sounded offhand but those that knew him knew that no word out of Underwood's mouth was ever meaningless. "Some young men were giving your houseguest and daughter a rather hard time in the marketplace."

"Nu-uh," the kit mumbled from behind a peace of bread, shaking his head slightly to backup his muffled response. "He tried to grab me, but I got away."
Pausing momentarily to stare down at the grub bole before him, the boy's voice diminished slightly as the next question came up to bat " What's Chay gona' do to him you recken?"

"Is that so?" Vincent said as he sat down in one of the leather chairs. His voice seemed almost uncaring of the matter (though if something happened to Estella, no one would be around to deal with Ryn 24/7-- he really didn't like being bothered by the girl), though he sounded interested enough to inquire about the details.

"Were these youths provoked in some way? Or were they targetting my daughter and my employee?"

---

Ryn sat slumped over in a stool at the kitchen counter. Since she had arrived in here, Estella insisted that she not interfere with her cooking.

"You know, if you have nothing to do, you can go ahead and let the others know that Master Underwood is here."

"I don't feel like it."

"That wasn't a request, you know, Lady Ryn. It would be rude of you not to do so."

"All right," Ryn muttered, sliding off the stool to her feet. "I'm going."

"That's good to hear," said Estella as she picked up a tray with two cups and set them on the counter.

---

Darlena groaned as she looked into the mirror in the Master bedroom. She was wearing her best formal gown, and it fit her perfectly-- all except for the small bulge around her middle.

It was horrible for her. She didn't want anyone outside the family to know she was expecting again. She kept telling herself again and again she was getting to old for this...

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when there was a knock on the door nearby...

Mike shrugged, "What do you want him to do?"

Russell raised an eyebrow at the order of the questions but said nothing to that effect. Instead he nodded slightly then spoke slowly and purposefully as if taking time to measure every word and Vincent's reaction to such, "They were misguided children throwing food at Lady Estella because of her appearance. Lady Ryn was very brave to attempt to protect her, however minds corrupted by radicals are not subject to change easily. Noone deserves to be treated as an inferior for reasons they cannot control."

He paused for a few moments letting the words sink in, the next phrase fading in as if part of the previous with the same rigid tone that could do nothing be peak interest in the Warden's words. "I ask the Lady why she had not undergone reparative therapy, she responded that you are having a slight monetary vexation."

That got his attention, the kit looking up at Mike immediately as though the question had startled him. For a moment the boy's eyes searched for a suitable answer, balanced between what he wanted and the morally correct response.
"Well I wouldn't want him to hurt him or anything if that's what you mean maybe just scare him like he did me?"

The human looked concerned but still keep his voice smirky and upbeat, "Chay doesn't have the spine for killing, so most likely its just like you said. He's just gonna scare the crap outta him."

The human stopped as Whixan was looking relieved, his face perked up as if he just heard something interesting. "Hmm? Eh hehe," The human laughed a little to himself and put on a very cheesey smile, "Hey kid, I think I found someone to take up your cause. Unfortunately... it may take a bit ta get tha bugger outta hidin'. Whaddya say? Gimmie another chance? I gotta shoot the moon in a few days but I think I get things arranged before then. Till then stick close to bunny boy?"

The cub razed an eyebrow falsely, pondering over the human's proposition. As much as the last encounter had scared the living daylights out of him, the kit still trusted Mike (not that he had much of a choice in the matter) and any chance of getting back to a normal life was not something he was about to pass up.
"...well, okay then." Whix nodded, "Least I know whats happening now, but please try not to be so long." The boy's voice tapred off momenterly, to the point where only Mike would be able to hear him as he looked off toward the door where Johnny had gone "...There's something about this placejust can't pin it down, but it gives me cold shivers."

"Ah, yes..." Vincent sighed, closing his eyes. "Sometimes I believe it's mostly due to the fact that my sons, despite having jobs of their own, have always continued to come to me to remedy their financial troubles... unfortunately, I have been paid back very little. The other matter is about my wife, Darlena... we had just found out recently that we are expecting another child... Truthfully, I don't know if I could afford the expenses for Ms. Estella..."

The Felinoid trailed off. Truthfully, he had no intention of paying anything out of his pocket for someone outside of his family (and he hoped that Russell wouldn't pick up on this, though it was unlikely)... He didn't really want to talk about this, either, but he supposed it would help if he spoke to someone about his plight instead of keeping it to himself.

He reopened his eyes and glanced towards the doorway just as Estella arrived carrying a tray with two spoons, and empty cups, a small saucer with cut lemons, and a small bowl with several sugar cubes. There were several tea bags lined neatly on one side of the tray.

"Ah, Ms. Estella," Vincent said. Good timing...

"I thought that you and Master Underwood would like some tea," the hare spoke as she walked in and set the tray on the coffee table near Russell. "I will return shortly with the water."

"And what of the rest the family, Ms. Estella?"

"Oh, I've sent Lady Ryn for them already, if you don't mind, Master Vincent."

"Not at all... Carry on."

"Of course sir." Estella bowed slightly before leaving the study.

***

Darlena opened the bedroom door, not too thrilled to find Ryn standing on the other side.

"Oh, it's you, dear," she said, feigning niceness. "Is there something you want?"

"No," answered Ryn irritably. "We've got company, though. He's downstairs in Dad's study."

"Who is it?" Darlena questioned, returning to look in her bedroom mirror.

"Oh, you don't want to know... you never cared about anyone except yourself..." Ryn leaned against the doorway, shoving her hands in her pants pockets.

Darlena froze briefly at the phrase, then turned to the child. "Ryn..."

"It's Master Underwood," Ryn said with a grin before walking away. "Oh, and if you really want to hide that swollen stomach of yours, wear something that isn't that dress."