A swirl of emotions and regret. A cold nightmare ran right through a boy's veins as he awoke to the sound of a bell tower as the sun was rising. The boy sat up from the wooden plank he was resting on as he looked around. Everything was still as it was when he went to sleep. Another nightmare about her. He gave a sigh as he rubbed his head as he sat in the attic of a run down home. Life was not easy for an orphan in New Meridian, especially if he pushed back against the Medici Mafia. Arthur stood at 5'4' as he got up to stretch, being cautious where the boy stood given the flooring was a bit weak. He came to this place a year ago on this date to be exact, his birthday. Now 19 years of age, he still felt the same as he was last year minus the fact he still remember the orphanage and what happened to the kids including her…
The gave a sigh brushing the dust off his white t-shirt with paint spot on it as well as his tan cargo brown pants. He would probably need to save up for his tennis shoes as he needed to get those things replaced soon. Shoes were really expensive to say the least. He ruffled his short brown hair, still a mess as always. He grabbed his earth green jacket and messenger bag. He would also grab his scarf that was laying not to far from the bag. As he touched it, the scarf would snake up his arm while the other half of it slid over to grab his black hat that he had left on a nail. Placing the hat on his head he sighed happily as he adjusted the hat. The only thing that got out of that orphanage was his scarf. A faded dark red scarf with each end having five braided tips with blue beads on the tips and bases of the braids. What was interesting about the ends was they were in the shape of hands which made sense after realizing the scarf worked as an extra set of hands for the orphan. Which those hands have come in handy for grabbing items from afar to helping punch his way out of trouble when cornered. And considering New Meridian was not exactly the easiest town to live in either if you were at the bottom, needed to know how to fight. But he got around moving from location to location living light weight from his messenger bag as he hopped out of a hole in the roof. His ocean blue eyes look outward over the docks from where he was standing and gave a soft sigh. He could hear some smaller ships rolling by in the harbor, a few blimps were over near the higher end of town that he could see in the distance, the streets were busy and filled with people of all sorts of species. In this world, there are various species ranging from fish, giants, some insects, even monsters. Just this town was mostly human centered as Arthur was deciding what to do first thing. Maybe best to go wandering on the dock shoreline, see if he could find anything he could sell. With that he hopped over to one of the buildings next to him and started down a fire escape to the street level.
It took a good bit of walking to get down to the docking area, though was much faster after he caught a trolley car heading down which he hopped on at the last moment. As they say, as long as the conductor doesn't catch ya free rides. Once down there he would set out towards the piers, taking a detour to walk in under the pier where the water meets the shore. Plenty of homeless and orphans combed these beaches by the docks in case they find something of value they can sell. The very few eat some of the stuff they find and end up sicker then a dog in desperation. Arthur was desperate at the moment, he could always go buy an apple or two to munch on before getting something more filling. He did make some extra bucks doing street artwork and sketches of people to help feed himself. Although, some of the cops didn't like his art work being on walls or side walks and many of times they would run him off before finishing his work. A bit like bullies as they were much rougher on the orphans then others in this part of town. But aside from that, he was searching around hopefully early enough that he may find something interesting. It was not long before his foot hit something hard and tripped him up.
"W-Whoa!" a shout came from him as he fell face first into the sand. He picked himself up shaking his head to remove the sand from his face as he looked behind him to see what it was. Something had gotten stuck in the sand and whatever it was, looked crystalline and orange.
"What the heck are you?" he asked himself moving around to dig out the piece which was a surprise it was quite a substantial piece of crystal. The crystal was at least six inches long and a good two inches thick. It almost reminded him of quartz but it had a faint orange glow as he held it.
"This should sell for a pretty penny" he smiled to himself as he lets his scarf grab it and place it into his messenger bag. However as soon as his scarf touched it, the beaded ends started to glow and a jolt came from it that made him jump dropping the crystal.
"What the hell sort of thing is that" he reeled a bit from the shock but was mostly fine. His scarf also seemed fine. Being a bit cautious he touched it with his foot finding it didn't shock him then. He tried his hand and found it was fine to handle by hand.
"Alright, you're special let me see here" searching through his messenger bag he finds a piece of long cloth that he wraps the orange crystal in and stuffs it into his messenger bag. Definitely an odd find but maybe he could sell it high to the pawn shop.
"Hey Arthur!" came a voice as Arthur stopped to turn to see who it was. It was a 14 year old fish boy that had his feet dangling off one of the piers as he smiled down at him. The boy had green scales, blue eyes and a purple fin on top of his head. He wore gray shorts and a t-shirt that was dirtied up from not washing recently.
"A bit early for treasure hunting?" the boy asked as Arthur chuckled walking over.
"Gills, you know me… Oh Geez Gills Phew!" Arthur had to stop short of the fish as he could smell him and waved his hand in front of his nose.
"Get a bath man, I know those guys at the dump don't care for the stench but geez, I'm up wind and I can smell ya" he commented as Gills sighed.
"I know I know, but I just got off work and wanted to find ya. Someone said they saw ya in that abandoned antique house and I saw ya coming down here via the trolley car" Gills said as his hands were holding something in a bit of cloth. Odd why was he looking for him Arthur wondered. Gills was probably one of the first orphans Arthur helped out while in this town, heck helped him on his first day here in New Meridian.
"I see, so what ya got there Gills?" Arthur asked and Gills produced by tossing him the item.
"Catch!" was all the warning Arthur got as one of his scarf ends went up to grab the item. He brought it down to his level and undid the cloth. It was a silver pocket watch, an old tarnished one but it sounded like it was working. Upon opening it he found the watch was working correctly and on the inside cover it read 'year one' etched badly into the cover. He knew Gills liked to tinker with stuff and make it work, but seriously, he should keep this.
"Gills, what's this for mate? Your the one that's always late to stuff Gills" Arthur remarked as Gills sighed.
"You said today was your birthday a year ago right? And this is also the day you came here man. I mean, life's been pretty tough for us orphans down here. It got better when Ms. Fortune decided to help us out and push some of those Medici thugs out. But you've given us some dreams man" Gills remarked with a smile. "You stood up for some of us when locals were pushing us around and when some of those thugs tried to take us away you fought them back. You've been there for us and yeah you're right I'm the late one. But I wanted to show my appreciation for having ya as a friend Art" he finished as Arthur gave a soft sigh. It was true, out of the orphans and homeless folk, he was probably the oldest of the entire group and the most active down in the docks. He's always been around to help anyone down in the docks and many didn't know when his birthday was except for a few individuals.
"That's thoughtful of ya mate, if ya didn't smell so bad I would give ya a hug… But" as Arthur spoke his hand pulled a paint brush from his messenger bag and flung a ball of blue paint up to Gills splatting him in the face.
"?! The heck Arthur! Is this your way of saying thank ya!" Gills complained as Arthur chuckled.
"Nah, I already thanked ya, that's to help musk up some of that smell. Get a shower man" Arthur remarked as Gills gave a small smile.
"Well alright, if ya run into the cat burglar some point today tell her I said hi" Gills would get up off his butt and head off wiping some of the paint off his face as Arthur sighed putting the brush away.
"He's a good kid, just wish there was more I could do for them. Wish there was more I could have done for you Marie..." he trailed off looking at the pocket watch. It was also on this same day that a group of slavers stormed the orphanage he was at and took nearly all the orphans except him. Marie was one of those orphans that had been looking up to him as a big brother along with her friend Patricia. He gave a heavy sigh clipping the chain clip to his belt loop and then pockets the watch. Hopping up, he went up a set of stairs to reach the pier level as he heads on off. Maybe time to grab a little something to eat.
It was a few blocks over but Arthur managed to get to the open market browsing through the vendors and picking up a few items to eat. Namely some apples and a fish on a stick, they called those fish sticks. At least it wasn't bad to eat. A few of the vendors of course greeted him with smiles all having been helped by him in some way with getting things moved around every now and then. Despite his size, he was quite strong with that scarf of his. And for once the day seemed to be going alright as he checked the time. Almost noon. If he waited a bit longer, he could catch the tram to head up to the richer side of town. Maybe he could get lucky with some street sketches or maybe take some money of his and try to get himself something nice. Though as he was walking he felt something small bump into him, stopping he looked down to see a light blue ball about ten inches across. He looked around to where the ball could have came from and saw a little girl standing not a few feet from him unsure what to really do. A bit further back he could see another kid, a boy, looking at them both. Both were canine in their features and the boy seemed older then the girl. He would return his glance to the girl which he offered a smile, looking back down as his scarf picks up the ball and tosses it back to the little girl. The girl caught it smiling a toothy grin as she looked back at Arthur.
"Thank you Mister!" she would turn back around and head back towards the boy. By the way the two acted, they seemed to be siblings. He gave a soft sigh as he watched them as they carried on playing with that ball. He was remembering the good times he had back at the orphanage. Sure it was not the best, but the friendships and family you develop over time is hard to forget. He would refocus his attention elsewhere as he started walking out of the market place as he pulled an apple out of his messenger bag with a smile. He knew of a short cut to the tram station via an alleyway as he enters the alley way a rattling from a trash can takes his attention away from his scarf what was holding the apple. A cat looked up at him and meowed before running off. Darn cats. Turning his attention back forward, his scarf end that was holding the apple was still in place but something was missing… Like the apple he just had.
"Hey! What the!?" an obvious response most individuals have when they have something stolen from them as he heard a light chuckle coming from the fire escape above him. Above him sat a familiar face to him, a dark skinned feline looking gal. She's got the ears, claws, and tail to be a cat but her appearance was human. Minus the fact she had plenty of scars on her and at least a major scar at each of her major joints. Wearing a blue tank top that only covered her chest and short shorts with small bags off her belt she smiled down at Arthur with her tail swaying.
"Awww what's the matter Artie, cat got your apple?" she grinned holding the apple that he had originally in his scarf hand.
"Well coming from you Ms. Fortune, yes. Yes a cat does, and I'd like that back. Last time I checked you can care less for those things" Arthur remarked with his arms crossed as she hops on down.
"Yeah your right, but hey got your attention at least birthday boy" she tossed the apple back as Arthur's scarf grabbed it and rubbed it off just for safe measure. Never know where a cats had their paws. He gave a sigh when he heard the birthday boy, this couldn't end well.
"I'm not a boy anymore, I'm nineteen. And I've been eighteen ever since I got here" he remarked as she just smiled.
"Aww come on, can't humor an honest good joke. Don't be so serious, I still should give ya your present" she remarked looking down slightly. She only stood a few inches taller then him after all given he was a shorty compared to most guys.
"If it's a fish comb I'll have to go fishing for more then" he remarks as he looked to the side at another cat that was sitting on a trash can watching the two of them curiously.
"Nah I got something better" she grabbed her tail and pulled it off whipping it into a stiff staff and flattened it so it looked like a paddle. "Birthday paddling! And seeing you're nineteen, guess that's nineteen paddles" she smiled as Arthur took a step back pocketing his apple. Guess that would have to wait. He was grateful that she was back after her crossing with the Medici mafia and losing her gang, but how reckless she became being able to segment her own body and still keep ticking did unsettle him greatly.
"Seriously? You're going to try giving me that? Gee if I knew your birthday, I'd have to give you nine times the paddling" he remarked as his hand slips into his messenger bag pulling a small brush out. She just smiled at him a bit to eager for this.
"Awww come on, a few swats ain't gonna hurt ya. But I can give ya nineteen punches if ya like" she remarked taking quick steps to close the gap between the two of them. She swings her tail at him as his scarf end came up to block the blow.
"Sorry, not touching today" he remarked as his other scarf end formed into a fist punching her right in the stomach. That pushed Ms. Fortune back a bit with her arms coming out a bit but remaining connected as she hissed.
"Oh fine, was gonna spare the claws on ya but I guess ya want the hard way" she remarked dashing right for him and slides at him feet first. Arthur didn't have much places to go as he tries to side step away from the slide. One of her legs hooked around and caught him off balance as he falls face first. It didn't take him long before he was back on his feet after pushing himself back up.
"Why you, so this is why ya can't teach a cat anything. They'll do whatever they want" he commented as his scarf swung another fist at her. She was already in a crouching stance and the swing from him was a wild one. Went sailing right over her head.
"Geez, your aim sucks" she taunts pouncing up at him. She was to close for his scarf ends to do much of anything to her, but a swipe of his paint brush produced a blue paint that came out and hit her in mid pounce. This caused her to shift a bit in her pounce which he was able to use to let him have a free hit on her. Getting another good shot at her stomach sending her backwards for a few feet before she lands on her butt.
"Damn! I never knew you could hit that hard Artie boy" she smirked with a bit of a smile hopping right back on her feet.
"Hey I'm not hitting ya that hard. I told ya no. Do it again and you're going to slammed on" he warned her as he had his own hands as fist. She just smiled grabbing her head.
"Well better get a rolling start!" pulling her own head off she rolls it at him like a bowling ball. Arthur sighed as he looked over seeing an open trash can right behind her body. He smiled a bit as his scarf end came down opening up to let her roll off the scarf as he grabs her head with his scarf.
"Hey! Put me back down! I'll bite your finger off!" she remarked as her body was coming at him.
"Oh I'll put ya down, but I wanna make two points real quick" smiling he would start to dribble her head like a ball which she obviously had complaints right and left as she was bounced. Her body tried to grab him, but failed when he faked it out and went for the trash can. He tossed her head up into the air and had it going for the trash can that was open. His scarf ends came up to help guide the head into the can. SLAM! THUD! Were the sounds heard when he slammed her head into the trash can. His other scarf end grabbed the lid and set it on top of the can as he sat on it. Her body was completely lost now that she could not even see where it was even going.
"Damn it Arthur! This isn't funny!" she complained bouncing around in the can with some garbage in it. He just smiled looking down at the can.
"Get dunked on. I'll let ya out if you decided not to do the spankings" he remarked as she agreed.
"Fine fine! Just get me out of here! Smells like dog in here" she complained as Arthur got off the trash can and lets her hop out once the lid was off. He body came over and attatched her head properly to her shoulders as she sighed.
"Well guess I'll have to forgo the spanking today huh" she looked a bit down with her ears back.
"Yeah looks like it. But really, if you were using those spanks as a way to cover up not getting me anything for my birthday that's fine don't worry about it" he told her as she paused getting caught red handed.
"Eheheh, I'm sorry Art, I figured you would've expected something from me" she remarked as she brushed herself off. "By the way, what had ya down earlier? Something on your mind?" she asked having been watching him since he went into the street market.
"I had a nightmare about her again, Marie. I usually get a few of them around this time when I came here was the day I lost her. And she was family to me even if I was an orphan" he told her honestly with a soft sigh.
"I remember you telling me that. And more the reason I hate the Medici's more for letting slavers do that sort of crap. But ya got family here, sure the dock may not admit it but you're already adopted by us. Just gotta ask" she told him with a smile walking up to him and patting his shoulder.
"Yeah I hear ya, though I at times don't see how you guys put up with me. Then I realize this place has to put up with you too" he chuckled at her as she rolled her eyes. There was still a banana peel on her head as she saw it. Took it and tossed it on his head. His reaction was priceless, trying to swat it off his face like something evil had just landed on his face and was trying to take it with them. She was laughing a bit as Arthur grumbled at her once the peel was off.
"Yeah I know, ain't easy bein puurrfection. But really what are ya doin today? Ain't hanging around down here all day are ya?" she asked curiously as she stretched her shoulder idling.
"Was thinking of heading uptown. Maybe find something nice to buy or something. Try to keep out of trouble, the usual what I do" he told her as she chuckled.
"Right, doing graffiti in the park. Cops sure gonna love ya up there" she joked around with him. Number of times Arthur's almost got locked up cause of his street art was amusing but every time the artwork was not offensive and was easy to remove. Just was there without asking permission.
"To be fair, the last time was chalk. But nah, I may not do that this time around. Good thought for next time though" he smiled as Ms. Fortune rummaged around in one of her bags. She presented a tram ticket for him.
"What's this for?" a bit confused as most of the stuff she tried handing him was usually stolen.
"Just a tram ticket, bought one way back but never used it. They don't go bad and I didn't steal it either. Though if I showed my face up there in broad day light, Medici's would be all over my hide. So figured you could make better use of it" she explained as he took the ticket.
"Thank you Fortune, was not expecting this but thanks. At least I can save on the trip up. I'll catch ya later, I think the next tram comes in the next few minutes. Maybe able to catch it if I hurry" he said thinking on the time schedule for the tram. Usually he would hitch a ride on top of the tram to get across to the upper part of town. But today, maybe nice to just take it like a normal person and not go for a free loader route. With that he turned and went off towards the tram station, he should make it in time.
"Cya Later Alligator!" Ms. Fortune shouted with a wave. Arthur would turn back around for a few moments as he was in a dash and waved shouting back.
"And a while Crocodile!" he smiled turning the street corner and went on down the side walk towards the tram station. This was gonna be a fun day, make the most of it if you can. Though something still gripped at him deep down. Was this the start of a new year for him, or a new chapter on life.