A dark alley

Somewhere in Europe, in the middle of 21st century

The night air was filled with stifled huffs and panting, as if people were wrestling with an effort not to be heard. Suddenly, a yell interrupted the darkness followed by the sound of running feet. „Fuck, she run away. Get her!"

A thud, a restrained outcry and the fighting struggle resumed. If one paid a closer attention to the happening on the ground, he could out make a shape of a girl or a young woman in black clothes being crushed by three men clad in dark jumpsuits. Two of them managed to pin her limbs on the ground while the third took a stance above her torso, bent down and slapped her hard in the face. „Bitch, that´s for biting me." He sucked on the side of his palm, then darted his hands toward her chest and buried them in her clothes ignoring her wriggling.

He quickly withdrew them and held out a small black pouch. „Got it."

„Give it back," she snarled at him barring her teeth. He bent and clamped her chin between his thumb and finger: „Such a spirited girl, aren´t we? You are really pretty, when I look closer," he said followed by naughty sneers of his companions. „I think we can play a little now with you, after we got what we wanted," he said and gestured at his men. One of them shifted behind her to hold her hands and torso, while the other tried to pacify and steady her kicking and writhing legs. She didn´t scream but concentrated all her effort on freeing her body from their grip, albeit she really didn´t have a chance. Small frustrated cries and growls escaped her throat slowly getting louder and more desperate. „No, let me go! NO!"

But then, in a breath of a moment everything changed. Her assailants seemingly disappeared, as if they were knocked off of her by some invisible force. She recovered quickly, sprang on her feet and looked around. Her swift check around her registered their bodies sprawled on the ground a second before someone grabbed her hand, twisted it painfully behind her back and covered her mouth. A whisper in her ear, with a strange thick accent but understandable: „Just don´t scream, ok? I ain´t no foe of yours."

She nodded quickly and in an instant she was released, she spun quickly and drove her elbow in the strangers' stomach. Or she thought she did: her arm only pierced thin air. She twirled again to locate her uncanny saviour whom she found perched on top of a trash bin, his hair still moving from the leap. She let out a surprised gasp and muttered under her breath: „What the fuck..." The person in front of her was anything but normal: it was a man around his thirties, though he could be younger or older. He had strangely long hair that looked white and ears on top of his head. Even his clothes were anything but usual: thin fitting trousers that ended halfway his shins and a top that reminded her of the training suit of Japanese martial arts complete with a cloth sash. Or something like that. Both were a deep red or brown colour, she couldn´t tell which exactly. He was barefoot and she could swear that there were claws on his hands and feet. He regarded her from under his dark brows waiting for her reaction.

Suspicion

„What are you?" she asked. „Some weirdo?"

„Keh," he snorted. „A nice thankyou from someone who just got his arse saved."

„Look at you, playing some superhero or ninja or something?" she snapped at him. „What´s with that wig and cat ears?" she walked to him with a limping motion and pulled one of his long side tresses. He jerked his head back, a motion which left a couple of silky strands in her hand.

„Whatcha doing, stupid? That hurt!" He jumped down. „That ain´t no wig," he said ignoring her remark about the cat ears. As he stood next to her, she noticed he wasn´t very tall- taller than her, but not much. And he wasn´t bulky as those men who assailed her, he had a rather lean figure. When she looked at him closer, he seemed much younger than she initially assumed. With a shudder she noticed his eyes- they had split pupils and were the most unnatural amber colour. "At least you didn´t yell when you saw me," he said.

„Yell? Because I saw some weirdo with funny contact lenses and flashy costume..."

„Now listen," he interrupted her, his brow jerking in irritation, „that ain´t no wig, and those ain´t no contact lenses and the ears are mine."

„Yeah, of course," she chuckled suddenly and reached up. She grabbed one of his ears and rubbed it between her fingers. Her hand remained petrified in the air and her mouth open as he flattened them to get out of her reach and stepped back.

„They moved," she said, disbelief audible in her voice.

„Of course they moved. I told ya."

She stared at him, understanding slowly creeping in her eyes. „What are you?"

„I ain´t no your foe."

„You aren't human…? Why did you save me? What do you want from me?" she backed a little, suddenly alert.

„Well, kind of...but that´s no important. And you were in danger."

She cast a quick sideway glance at the three men lying motionlessly on the ground. He caught her motion and said. „They ain´t no dead. Just knocked them out."

„Oh-kay," she said. She crept yet back to one of the guy and with her glance fixed on the stranger she searched the body.

„Are you looking for this?" the weirdo asked and held up a string of her black pouch.

„When did you..." she darted forward to grasp it, but he snatched it up. „No so eager, woman. You probably don´t know, but this thing´s dangerous."

She glared at him. „It´s mine." „I doubt," he said. „Give it back." „No." With inhuman speed he jumping backed from her. „I better keep it. Go home, girl and watch out of dark alleys."

„You can´t take it, you asshole! It´s mine!" she yelled and started running at him, but then cried out and fell on the ground. Her ankle was twisted under her in a strange angle. „Fuck," she beat the air with frustration and pain and tried to get up on her feet and failed again.

Going home

The stranger, who in the meantime moved quite a distance from her, stopped and turned back. He hesitated for a while, however finally ran back to her.

„Keh, you´re really a trouble," he said and squatted beside her with his back turned. „Come on, I take ya home." She goggled at him not quite believing what she heard: did he really told her to climb on his back? She jerked her shoulders in resignation. „What the hell, I can´t go home like this and I don´t have my money nor a cell phone to call a taxi."

A minute later, perched on his back, she found out that his hair was not only awfully long, but there was an awful lot of it. Supposing it really was his hair. She didn´t dare to touch his ears again because she remembered their unsettling fuzziness and warmth of a living flesh. As the torrent of air flapped back his hair, she noticed that on the sides of his face, where normal people had ears, there was nothing but hair. This guy was kind of creepy.

At first they were both silent save for her navigation instructions. He run very fast, faster than humans normally would with a heavy burden on their back. Yet as it seemed he wasn´t bothered at all. On the contrary- he jumped through small obstacles such as puddles and low fences with astonishing lightness almost as if he enjoyed the run with her on his back.

Then he said. „I´m sorry." „What for?" she asked.

„Your ankle. Twisted it when you ran after me."

„Ah, that. No, I injured it when I was fighting those men. Only it really hurt when I wricked it again."

Then she said. „I am Kasi..."

He nodded but didn´t respond with his name. Instead he asked: „Why were you fightin´ them? Why you want that thing so much?"

„It´s none of your concern," she snapped back, then added more gently: „I mean, I can´t tell you. It is complicated. I don´t know you."

„It´s dangerous to what you´re doing. Why are they after you? They´re no thieves, were they?"

She muttered something ineligible.

„Keh," was his only answer, he didn´t pry further.

„We´re here," she said and he halted abruptly. She pointed to a big house behind a tall fence. „ah, this will be a problem," she muttered under her nose.

„What will be problem?"

Kasi hesitated for a while then went on. „I am supposed to be in my room sleeping. I somehow have to sneak in the house, which wouldn´t be a problem- normally- but with my ankle like this..." she sighed.

„Which window?" he asked.

„Why?" she glared at him suspiciously. „That one, on the second storey," she pointed out.

„It is open," he said. „Excellent. Hold ya!"

Without further ado he leaped in the air. Kasi sucked in her breath with a gasp as his force rocketed them over the fence and straight up to the second storey. They landed on the window sill with a soft thud. Kasi slid down on the carpet balancing on her unhurt foot and gazed at him. Now when she saw his face close up, she thought he did look really exotic. Even disregarding his gaudy outfit and hair, his facial features looked strange….maybe Asian? And that unfamiliar accent… She was not sure and didn´t dare to ask, yet.

„No human can leap like that…are you really a demon or what?" she whispered.

He squinted at her. „Not quite but let´s say I am."

She stared at him. „But demons...they aren´t real."

„Well, this one is real and is sitting in front of ya." When she continued to gawk at him, he turned and was about to leap out.

„See ya, Kasi ."

„Wait!"

He halted and turned his head to face her.

„What´s your name?"

He didn´t answer immediately, he took his time. Finally he smirked. „They call me Dog" and with a swift leap disappeared in the darkness.

She stood there for a while after he left, then stretched out her hand and looked at the black pouch innocently sitting in the middle of her palm.

„Well, Dog, thank you for saving me," she muttered.

Taking a break from adventure