A/N: I could put a long explanation of this story here, but I won't. You'll have to see my profile for that.
Disclaimer: I only own Moorburg and the character Molly, nothing else.
A taxi pulled up to the Moorburg town hall. A human girl with hot pink hair in three ponytails and a casual black dress stepped out of the taxi, gathering her suitcases and paying the old kappa driver. She turned around, then shrugged and entered the hall.
"Hello, how may I help you?" the cheerful pelican at the front desk asked.
"I just moved in, and I'm looking for a Mr. Tom Nook? I bought a house from him a few days ago."
"Oh, yes, Tom did mention you! I have a map for you right here..." the pelican rummaged around behind the desk for a minute, then pulled out a folded square of paper. "...Your house is right here, and Tom's shop is over here. I suggest you go drop off your belongings first, then go to his shop. He'll get you settled in."
"Sounds great. Thanks," the girl said with a friendly smile and a wave.
A few minutes later, however, she was wandering around in the forest with the map pressed close to her nose.
'Crap,' she thought, trying to maneuver through the dense trees. She caught sight of a short white wolf holding a bug net a few yards away, and called out.
"Excuse me," she said, dragging her suitcases closer to the wolf. "Excuse me, but I just moved in. If you have the time, could you please show me to my house? I have a map, but it's not much use."
"Sure," the wolf said, putting away her net. "I saw Nook putting up your house a while ago, so I know how to get there. It's on the other side of the village, near the river." With that, the animal and the human set off in silence.
A short time later, the girl lugged her suitcases to the front step of her small house. 'It's not much,' she thought, 'but at least it's home.'
"Where are the other human houses?" she asked, noticing her shack's seclusion. She previously had a choice of four to select from.
"That's the only one. Nook made it big enough to house four people, though. At least, once you pay to expand it."
"That's strange. Most of the villages I've seen have four houses grouped around a central square. Wonder why that is..." the human gazed at the house, lost in thought.
"Tradition. And instinct," the white wolf shrugged nonchalantly.
"What?" the human asked, looking down into the shorter animals eyes, somewhat surprised by the wolf's answer.
"Well, this World is mostly inhabited by animals, not humans. No offense, but you're not exactly the dominant species around here."
The human still looked puzzled. The wolf sighed heavily, then began to explain. "In ancient times, animals were more powerful than humans. Many considered humans to be worthless slaves, and fit for nothing but mindless labor. There were laws to protect the humans, of course, but they were widely ignored. There was safety in numbers, so many humans gathered in a few towns to protect themselves. But, if too many humans moved into one town, the other animals got afraid that they would be driven out of their homes if there ever was a mass revolt. The citizens decided to cut them off before that could happen. They either beat them to death or set fire to their huts," the white wolf said emotionlessly, not noticing the human's look of fear and revulsion.
"So they started to move in four at a time. They built their huts grouped together and close to the village's gate, if they ever needed to escape in a hurry. They all faced inward so the other humans would be able to see if any animals came to attack another. There was a bulletin board in the center that, at first glance, posted mindless gossip and random letters, but actually was full of secret messages. That way the humans could share resources and support one another without looking like they were friends."
"That's awful!" the human exclaimed, looking warily down on the small wolf.
"Of course, that's not the case anymore. Humans and animals are equals, and they have been for a long time. Speceism is a thing of the past. But still, no more than four humans live in the smaller villages. Cities are different. But the humans still live together in small numbers out here."
"Wow," the girl said after a minute, staring off into the distance again.
"Mm-hmm. It's all true." A thoughtful silence followed the she-wolf's words.
"So, I guess I'll be seeing you around town..." she said, her words trailing off as she realized she had never asked the wolf's name.
"Whitney," the wolf replied, holding out her paw.
"I'm Molly," the girl said, shaking hands. Whitney trotted off into the forest, pulling out her bug net once more. Molly stood on the front step, looking suspiciously into the trees around her. She shuddered in the suddenly oppressive silence, then pulled out her key and hurried into her new house, locking the door behind her quickly. As she surveyed the barren single room, she mentally planned out all the work needed on the shack.
Maybe, after hearing that wolf's story, she would put an ad in the newspaper for a few more roommates...