Friday 11:54 PM YashiAid Convenience Store - Algema District
The young dark toned Komodo dragon swung his head in an arc, beady and cold reptilian eyes hunting for his quarry. His forked tongue stabbed the air, he tasted her , the short fox. Her sweat, the clothing, the smoke, even the scent of her fur had a distinctive taste that he picked up with his sensitive tongue.
That was the thing about reptiles, they were blessed with an amazing ability to track. Komodos in general could scent up a target for miles. Very few animals could compare to their tracking prowess. However there was one thing that held them back, especially members of the Dokugumi, their masks.
The nose for a Komodo wasn't the key to their sense of smell like most animals, instead they tasted the air with their tongues. Something wearing respirators all the time and having the organ basting in their poison all day hindered. In a way their masks they wore to conserve their potent venom were indeed a hindrance to their renown ability to track, which is why a few elected not to wear them like Deshi. Now that his was off however, Bantu was taking full advantage to make certain his prey was here.
The evidence tasted strong enough to be very recent, like minutes or seconds. She had stood here not long ago, then there. He thought, looking to the front counter. The scent grew stronger from there. It went further into the store.
He silently blessed the winged predator lord for his brother being available. Yazhn, his fraternal twin, had been down by the pool hall, not far from where he had chased her. Luckily he hadn't been recruited for the ill-fated job, that had seen the deaths of at least three of his crew by two foxes he was sure to be Inarigumi. Something he would make this fox pay dearly for. He'd probably thank him by sharing a piece once they caught her.
"How big was she again brother?" His ravenous, more sickly looking, brother queried impatiently.
"This high." Bantu's hand barely going higher than his kneecaps.
"Plump?"
"Eh," He didn't want to lie. "Didn't look gamey. Trust me, what's on the menu here will fill both of us up." He said flicking his receptive tongue out. "Plus this is a grocery store. Ha ha ha" They both laughed at the dark joke.
Right away his focus was challenged by this place. The store seemed to emit an irritating buzzing hum from the overhead fluorescents along with the vapid contemporary music herbivores probably found soothing, playing through the store radio.
The black dragon resonated a loose rattle of annoyance as his yellow reptilian eyes took in the large marketplace that was YashiAid Convenience. Looked to be about twenty or twenty-five aisles.
He hated places like this, it was such an assault on his senses. Too much information to process and too much light that it irritated his eyes. Herbivores, especially mammals always seemed to need an excessive amount of light, to stave off their darkest fears it seemed. Like all this over compensation was some warm blanket of safety.
Everything in here also looked so new and in order. Their victims were fancy it seemed. It was such a sharp contrast to the old and impoverished drugstores that he and his kind were accustomed to in Plague City, the slum his gang called home. The non-venoms came up with that one he could guarantee. Most stores you could find in their turf were just a few dusty shelves sparsely stocked and maybe a register if the owner could afford one.
Here, however, on the herbivore side of town, not even that far from the crumbling old city or the Back-Alley Market, this store had such an expansive selection, with more things he could imagine ever needing. For what, he wondered? Why should his kind lack, for what their soft kind has in abundance? This place reeked of decadence, enough to rustle his scales and make his cold blood seethe. This alien landscape infuriated him.
Why should it always be the mammals that get such fancy luxury, after all it was the reptile's ancestors, the dinosaurs, that paved the way for beastkind! It should be scalekind that should be revered as the descendants of the precursors, yet mammals always seemed to be on top nowadays. And what do the reptiles usually get? Paltry living quarters on the bad part of town. Barren and shoddy projects that just beg for gangs like his to take over. Of course, it soon became every reptile's best interest to escape such trappings, but not every reptile can. Some can adapt, use their strength and mind to get ahead in life, but others... others are held back by their attributes .
The venomous lizards had it the worst, even if they made enough money to escape such squalor, the laws put in place made interaction with others difficult. Ignorant superstition, as if the very air they inhabit suddenly becomes toxic or acidic like their venom. They couldn't marry non-venoms, it was expected for them to sit away from others, bring their utensils, they even have to be careful traversing next to other animals or be harassed by law enforcement for endangering others.
Their head boss, Savon, leader of the Dokugumi, the one that rallied them all in the market, had a philosophy of unity and solidarity. The gang was an idea that they could band together and escape persecution, from the world and the other animal groups, but Gar, the leader of Bantu's crew and the mastermind the blow they struck tonight, felt that there was more than that. Why settle with just being a big group, why not use their collective strength? Why not use that strength to change things by force if necessary?
Gar definitely believed that settling was what the other groups wanted. They wanted us to remain stagnant, holed up in one place. That Savon just didn't see the big picture and that he didn't have the nerve to actually do anything about the injustice. While Savon promoted solidarity and merely flexing their strength, his methods were good only for fear from the Back-Alley denizens. It only mattered to the boss that they maintain strength in front of the other groups.
A lot good the fear of other downtrodden people does for their kind, Gar would say. He on the other hand, advocated a more proactive approach. The whole city needed to fear them and their strength. With fear they will learn to respect their kind, and then they can force change. With fear on their side, they will rally others to their cause. With the strength of the Komodo and their venom, they could easily take over this town.
Maybe once he found his quarry, he and his hatchmate would leave the mangled remains of the other morsels as another statement of the coming wave. Gar definitely would commend him for that, hell why just stop here? Think bigger, the onyx varanid thought, probably other targets in this district. He'd already massacred most of those vagrants nearby, this could be his big break he schemed. That'd make up for the kin they'd lost tonight. He could probably even usurp Deshi as Gar's second in command. There definitely would be openings after tonight's fiasco. First though, he'd have to find the pesky little fox. She had to be made an example of, besides his knee still stung from the hot grease she threw at him, the polishing of his volcanic sea glass required thanks .
He motioned for his brother to lock the door behind them and silently ordered him to search the front first, before moving to the photography section at the edge of the store while he would start systematically searching each aisle. They'd convene in the middle, likely flushing their prey out in the open, or better yet fear would leave these weaklings petrified with terror.
Logically, they could find them easily, a few flicks of his tongue and he'd have their approximate location in seconds, but what fun would that be? The monitor lizard mused. No, it would make the meat taste so much better if unfortunate souls spent their last moments in despair, utterly aware of their imminent demise slowly bearing down on them. He wanted to hunt.
"Thief!"
The dragon called out for Lùn with raspy inflection.
"Little fox!" His strong yet raspy booming voice picked up like an echo. They heard him, he was sure, especially a canine like her.
"I know you are in here! You may have eluded me earlier, but now… now it is time to finish our little chase! But I have plans for your friends as well. We can all have fun."
"Bantu, what are you playing at?" His hatchmate looked at him confused. "Why even talk to these mammals?"
"Don't tell me you wouldn't enjoy a bit of hunting tonight, brother?" The onyx-scaled dragon answered. "A bit of sport?"
Not too removed from the same sadistic mindset, Yazhn, in his giddiness, wagged his heavy tail around smashing into the counter sending candy and other sweets spilling on the floor from the impact.
"Well, you got me excited." He said, lightly wrapping his fist against his hatchmate's shoulder while snickering a terrible whooping cackle followed by the sound of smacking lips heard through his mask, while Bantu continued with his ultimatum.
"Listen and listen well. We are going to play a little game with you and your friends. You three can hide the best you can, while we seek you. We won't even cheat. How about that? Last more than 30 minutes and I'll even consider letting the others go about their dainty little lives. But not you fox. No. You get a special prize. "
Dark viscous liquid began pooling from his venom ducts as he thought of what he'd do when got his hands on the little fox, his very drool dripping from his mouth started corroding and eating at the floor. Couldn't have that, the reptilian mused, as he began mischievously hissing as he placed his respirator mask back across his snout.
"Masks?" His sibling asked. They could scent them a lot easier if they had access to their tongues. "We're really going to give them the courtesy?"
"You want to have fun, right? So... we won't cheat." The larger dragon replied, amused.
The turquoise-scaled lizard closed his eyes with delight as he nodded. "You think they bought that anyway, the 'letting them go' line?" Yazhn asked as he looked to his brother.
"Who cares?" The black dragon replied. "It's only seasoning. "
Meanwhile - YashiAid Pharmacy
Meanwhile in the pharmacy, their prime target was hiding with the other occupants. The small room, their current refuge, was just enclosed space filled with shelves of prescriptions and some lab equipment and locked behind a fancy combination lock. Once the rattling of the door had stopped, the Fennec fox/Red fox mix was certain that their ruse had worked. They had all been small enough to fit through the big animal checkout window which allowed them to bypass the lock, but it would only be a matter of time before the thugs wised up and attempted to check back here again.
Crap, Lùn thought. I should have kept going. Her ears flattened as she stared at the ceiling. "What am I going to do...what am I going to do?" She asked over and over to herself, trying to tap into her cunning while simultaneously trying not to panic.
"How about you tell me what is going on for starters?" A voice that sounded grating to her.
The cream and brown shaded rabbit was staring at her alongside the sheep clerk, who Kyuu was attempting to calm down from her mini panic episodes. Attempting being the key word, as Kyuu knew practically nothing about being tactful. Her idea of calming the other herbivore was limited to shaking her and saying "Stop it" or "Quiet."
In situations like this, Kyuu seemed to be used to being around someone who she could count on to have some form of self preservation skills, at least enough to know when to shut up and value stealth. Unfortunately Matilda clearly wasn't that alpaca or whatever she hung around with. Lùn imagined he'd keep his cool, at least he did most of the time from what Lùn saw.
In some way the fox felt sorry for the poor girl, she was thrusted into what had to be a nightmare all because this was the place she chose to call for help. But who knows, this part of town...she'd probably end up news story of yet another midnight devouring anyway. Only in most of those, the victim usually didn't suffer long and they didn't have to wait out their impending doom. This girl, her life was almost certainly forfeit.
"You gonna answer me or not?"
The rabbit's piercing stare remained affixed on her, still waiting on her answer. Clearly she was growing impatient, but Lùn didn't really wish to tell her all the details. Probably wouldn't even believe her anyway. So she just told her the basics.
"Those guys out there?" She started. "They're Dokugumi. The poison lizards from the Back-Alley. Bad news."
Kyuu rolled her eyes, she was very knowledgeable of the various groups around the Back Alley, from the Shishigumi, Inarigumi, Madara or any of the various other groups that were loud enough to claim turf in the slums. They didn't operate the same, but they were equally just as dangerous. Dokugumi were the more punkish and street level of the major ones. They didn't much care about holdings, only flexing their muscle and power. They typically roamed around in large groups, vandalized property, sold drugs or their venom. At best they just protected or harassed those weaker who dwelled within their turf.
"I'm aware of how bad the walking leather-bags are, you Chihuahua." Kyuu said, indignantly throwing a verbal jab at the vixen. "Why are they here?" She clarified, "What, is this gang related?"
The fox took exception to the rabbit's freshness with her. "Call me something I'm not again vermin and you won't have to worry about them , you hear me?" She snarled. "I'll rip out your throat and leave you out there as a decoy."
"Rip my throat out? Is that always going to be your go-to whenever I piss you off?"
"It won't once I finally kill you." The pygmy growled low as she yanked the surly rabbit away from the sheep, almost grabbing her by her flesh and tank top, her furious green eyes staring in the rabbit's calm browns.
"Why don't you do it now? I'm right here in front of you." The lop reasoned calmly, unafraid of the red-furred sharptooth's threat. "Bite me...go ahead. Do what you've wanted to do for months."
"Don't tell me what to do…" Lùn growled, her snout wrinkled back as her front canines poked out of her mouth. She had every chance to just bite into her neck, but the urge to do so wasn't there. Right now, she just felt more like pouncing on her…and beating her into the ground!
"Well?" The herbivore questioned before being shoved back to the corner with the sheep. "Can't do it?"
Lùn shrieked a suppressed shrill noise as she just punched the air impotently. Her mind was screwing with her, she had just passed up a very easy opportunity, for what...she couldn't really put her finger on.
"You know what I think?" The rabbit added as she straightened back up.
Lùn almost immediately snapped with a venomous hiss. "I don't give a damn what you think."
A grin widened on the herbivore's face as she strolled closer into the fox's, no fear of saying what's on her mind. In fact the fox's agitated state just amused the rabbit. The fox didn't like it? Too bad, as far as she was concerned.
"This is all some Back-alley justice brought down on you. You stole something from them and now we're all in trouble because of you ." The rabbit jabbed her finger, nearly poking her in the nose. The fox just snarled at her, still holding back the urge to just take a bite.
"Shut up." The fox demanded, slightly backing off to avoid the finger touching her.
"What did you steal I wonder? Well thief?" She surmised as she continued to precariously poke her finger close to the fox's snout. "Or was I not supposed to call you that? That's what they called you."
"Get your finger out of my face bitch before you lose it." The vixen growled, her fangs clacking loudly together as her mouth vibrated with the urge to snap them shut on the rabbit's hand.
Early this year when they had first met, she'd have just bitten her and been done with it, torn her apart, but now? It was like a mental obstacle frustratingly refusing that route. She felt excited around her, anxious, but it wasn't her appetite driving her anymore. Was it pride? Was it that discipline Priscilla tried to instill in her? Or could it be because it'd be cheap? It was that night in the alleyway all over again. Hell she was even looking rough back then too, having survived that encounter with the Siamese cat.
The rabbit certainly wasn't helping things though. Maybe somehow she knew something was wrong with her. Maybe she was trying to exploit it. Or maybe she was just seeking a quick out of this situation. That had to be it, Lùn was starting to think, You want an out. Well fuck you bitch, I'm not obliging you.
Lùn just turned her tail to the rabbit and silently rested against one of the prescription shelves.
The sheep actually worked up the courage to ask the two scary ladies for answers. "Why are you two arguing? Shouldn't we be coming up with a way out of here? Like Miss if you stole something, can't you just give it back?"
"Unfortunately no," The little fox shook her head at the sheep. "They don't really want what I'm carrying. This is some sorta sick thrill or revenge thing for them."
"You don't say?" The brown shaded bunny commented on the irony, given the fox's history with her.
"Oh suck my cunt you bitch." The vixen growled back at her, but still remaining on her side of the room.
Matilda couldn't help but stammer in a nervous tizzy, weary of the two going at it once more. "Well I'm sorry Miss...um I didn't get your name, but what does that have to do with us? Shouldn't we be able to talk this out with them? I mean I know Komodo dragons have it really rough, maybe we can appeal to them?" She bleated gently as she walked in between the two. "I happen to know a real nice gentle dragon who comes in here all the time, people are always scared of him, but he's rather polite and misundersto-"
"Look here Cotton Swab," Lùn cut her off.
"I'm just sayin-" The sheep stammered, losing both her nerve and her voice.
"Whoever you're talking about, this ain't him." The fox said. "Understand?"
The sheep nodded quickly with some whimpering, but it was clear to Lùn, the sheep was out of her depth, her wool starting to droop as she began sweating profusely from fear. The fox reckoned her bared teeth might also be causing her to fidget, so she tucked them away back under her jowls and lips like she had been taught in school. No point being the monster, when there were worse ones skulking about. Monsters , she thought.
"Those monsters out there are Dokugumi, a gang full of poison lizards, and these creeps are some of their worst." She explained trying not to sugarcoat it. "I just left a jewelry store where these misunderstood creatures massacred everyone and proceeded to eat some of them just for the hell of it. We barely made our way out of there alive. They're bad news. You go out there, you're just some midnight snack to them, believe me Cotton Swab."
"My name's Matilda…" The sheep weakly tried to correct. She felt her eyes begging to water, and was on the verge of breaking down. Her breathing was loud and fast, like she was hyperventilating. Her wool which was getting sticky and moist from her sweat, and the lack of air conditioning back here wasn't really helping. She was sure her wool was definitely going to fall out. She looked at the rabbit next to her, feeling more comfortable asking her opinion, though her answer was curt and redundant.
The Holland lop just sighed at the sheep. "Matty just listen to her, Runt over there may be scary to you, these guy's she's talking about are way worse. Even I know better than to fuck with them."
"Runt?" Lùn questioned, glaring at the floppy-eared bunny.
"Whatever your name is." Kyuu said
"My name is not that hard to remember…" The canid's voice growled as she locked eyes with Kyuu, fangs chattering together . "It's Lùn. Pronounced like loon ...like the bird."
"You're right, it's not hard, just dumb. Why would they name a fox after a bird anyway?"
The rabbit had pushed just the right button as Lùn temper exploded. She rushed the rabbit down and pinned her against the checkout desk. The conflicted feelings were still there, but Lùn quickly came to a compromise: she wouldn't kill her, but she sure as hell would strangle the hell out of her!
"Says the girl named after a stupid number." She said, grabbing hold of Kyuu's loose ears and neck, digging her claws into her fleshy lobes. "How about I make you scream my name before we all die, huh."
Kyuu just as readily hurled her fist into the fox's chest, making the fox grunt, but soon after received no further retaliation. The fox instead seemed more preoccupied with something else all of a sudden. Lùn's tall ears twitched and a warranted look of terror froze upon her face as she looked around as if investigating. The bruised rabbit recognized what it meant all too well.
They were about to have company. One of the dragon's heavy footsteps could be heard drawing near to their hideout. Kyuu could even hear the hiss of his breathing. The sheep started silently whimpering as panic began to take her, but Lùn was having none of it. "Quiet over there." She barked, but the sheep was too out of it to listen.
"Oh Rex, why am I being made to suffer?" Matilda started moaning softly as tears started rolling down her face, trying to dry her tears with her braided ponytail. "I try to do the right thing, like what's expected of me."
"Don't you start fucking crying over there." Lùn hissed, before looking to Kyuu. "Get her to shut up." She said letting go, and allowing Kyuu to run over and softly slapped the sheep upside her head before bringing her under the tall work desk bordering the plexiglass with the fox to stay out of sight.
"Matty, shut up." She whispered into the sheep's ear as she shook her vigorously to get her to calm down. "One of those guys is out there."
"I shouldn't…I shouldn't have opened the door. I should have listened to my first mind." The sheep stammered as she cradled her head in her palms.
"Shhhh!" One of them hissed as they yanked her. It was Lùn, who covered her mouth and held her close to her chest. The long dark shadow of the tall reptile stabbed into the room, creating a monstrous outline that caused the sheep to fearfully fidget in Lùn's arms. The fox had to squeeze extra tight to keep her in place, last thing they needed was her giving their position away.
The intruder pressed his flat leathery face up against the plexiglass to peer inside. His hoarse hiss filled breathing was an unsettling experience. They could also hear the strain the window made as his large frame nearly warped it. Kyuu and the sheep could actually smell him now, the lizard reeked of a noxious odor and what Kyuu imagined to just be natural lizard musk. She could only imagine how unpleasant it must be for the fox's more sensitive nose. The sickening stench that began to waft into the room, no doubt that potent poison they were known for, it smelled worse than death.
"Come pick me up, Yazhn." They heard him grumble through the glass. "I got a good deal for you, Yazhn. Oh don't worry about that pool game you were winning, Yazhn. Just come search this stupid store with me for some shrimp of a fox while I grab a nice beer," The door handle began to jiggle, thankfully it was locked. He just uttered an unintelligible curse and just kicked it in frustration, the sound of his toe claws scraping caused Matilda to whimper, but the fox's large hand muffled any sound from escaping.
"Nobody seems to be back here." He griped. "I'll check the bathrooms. Stupid Bantu and his promises…" His voice started to trail off and along with his scent.
Lùn was the best equipped to be sure, so she waited for what seemed to be a minute, before giving the all clear to venture out from the desk.
"Next time we tell you to be quiet. Be quiet!" She said softly but seriously to the scared sheep. The longwool, whose tears had dried, silently nodded understandingly. The fox shook her head, then turned back towards Kyuu, utterly perplexed that she was in the rabbit's company. "How do you even know this person anyway?"
"I just come here to shop." The rabbit whispered plainly. "Matty works here."
Lùn shook her head again and walked up to the panicking sheep. "Look, Matty? " She said, looking her in the eyes. "I didn't mean to get you wrapped up in all this and our situation is bad, but I need you to calm down right now. I'd rather not spend my last moments listening to you whine and sob over here in the corner." The fox paused and looked around the small room, they might as well be locked in a box. A tinge of despair started to eat at her as she began thinking the worst herself. "Ah, whatever go ahead and bawl, we're doomed anyway."
The sheep sniffled as she tried to hold back tears. "Well I'm sorry, I just want to go home… I want to go back to the worst thing being my boyfriend complaining about me working late."
"Wait," Lùn said, "Do you have a cellphone?"
Matilda's eyes lit up with joy as she just remembered she did, she had forgotten to call Nobita, her boyfriend, back. "Yes, yes, I can call the police." She started searching her pockets and apron. Then despair set back in. "Oh no…"
Lùn frowned as soon she heard mention of the cops, they were the last people she wanted to call, especially with her cargo. "Let's just slow down. She said."
"Um...I think I left it though...I left it on the counter to charge and I didn't have time to grab it when they showed up. Nooooo. "
"Just calm down." She said, sighing. Great…" Lùn groaned as she leaned against the wall and instinctively reached for a cigarette, but remembered they didn't bring any for the heist. "Shit, looks like I can't talk either...can't even get a good drag before I die. Figures."
Kyuu was thinking about offering the fox one of her cigarettes, but held off because she just didn't like the fox's attitude. She liked that fire she had when she got mad at her, or when she fought in the arena, but now? Why the hell is she just giving up? You didn't give up when that bull was strangling you. So why the hell are you scared now?
"I thought you foxes were supposed to be crafty, what are you just giving up over there?" The rabbit's voice spoke up. Lùn looked back over to her but said nothing, the spark to engage her just wasn't there anymore. She was too busy, wondering when those dragons would come back.
"You ain't got some crazy plan? Your kind always has a plan to get out of stuff like this right?"
Lùn's jaw went slack as she stared at Kyuu for perceived stupid comment then burst into a fit of giggles.
"Oh yeah, I totally got a plan for two Komodo dragons... that involves a halfbreed fox who didn't grow all the way, some busted up looking bunny rabbit, and some random crybaby sheep that probably wets the bed at night. I totally got one cooked up, was going to wait for the right moment to tell you all." She snarled sarcastically.
The sarcasm wasn't lost on the rabbit as she stared blankly at the fox. "You done? Some carnivore you are," she ridiculed. "Where is all that arrogant bravado your kind flaunts all the damn time? Ain't you Inarigumi too?"
"Are you really deaf? Did you not hear what I just said?" The fox's demeanor became serious as she heaved a heavy sigh. "Well let me be clear, I don't stand a chance against their immense strength on my own. If I had my gun, this'd be a different story, but I don't and so essentially, we're fucked. I have no clue how in what scenario we'd get out of this alive."
Lùn slowly sank to the floor with a defeated sigh. "It's only a matter of time before they find us in here. That guy was sloppy and just glanced in here, but if they come back and just bust the door down? We're done. I mean guess we could wait for my sisters to show up, but I don't know when… when that's…ughh." She paused to give it thought, but conceded with the same dire output. "That's going to be a while because they have to come from the Arena, pick up my partner then come here. They don't even know if we're in trouble. They'll be collecting leftovers by the time they get here probably."
The defeatism in the fox's voice still deeply disturbed Kyuu. No way this was the girl that's supposed to be my rival, she furiously thought. This girl who braved the market circuit, fought people much larger than her most of the time, just to get a chance to fight me again? This is supposed to be my rival? Are you serious?! The rabbit felt her muscles trembling with anger as she watched the fox just mope, almost enough to go over there and slug her good. If they were gonna die she'd pummel her for being so useless.
There was a loud chunk behind the fox as she hit the floor which garnered Kyuu's notice. Two handles with red rope were sticking out from behind the fox's backpack. Kyuu soon recognized them as the fox's curved blades she fought with in her arena matches.
"Hey... Lùn." The rabbit spoke up, she actually used her name this time. "Listen up, you still got your copycats on you."
"What?"
"You know those curved knives you totally ripped off from me."
"My khukuris?" She asked, feeling a bit offended.
"Yeah, those things." The shade-faced rabbit rolled her eyes, she wasn't even going to attempt trying to pronounce that.
"I didn't rip anything off from you." Lùn insisted very aggressively. "I had these long before I even knew you!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, you got your weapons. So stop whining over there."
"I'm not whining! Besides what about em?" The fox asked, perplexed and frowning.
"It's obvious," Kyuu said, lifting up one of her ears. "We'll fight our way out. You and me."
"There is no you and me ." The fox quickly affirmed, as she cocked her head at the rabbit with a frown.
"There is if you want to live Dogface, just listen to me. I got my blades and my snare on me right now too." She said, carefully sliding the short tanto blades out from her sheathes. "If we were to team u-"
"Holy shit!" The fox exclaimed, gaping at Kyuu eyes wide with shock. She had heard the rumors, but didn't think they were true. "You really do keep them in your ears?! I was thinking you had like a pouch on the side or something. No wonder you can't remember my fucking name, it's a wonder you can even hear."
"Shut up." Kyuu replied as she blew hot air in annoyance at Lùn's comments.
"Do I even want to know why you two have weapons?" Matilda fumed lividly, red eyed from sobbing, staring at both of them like they were breaking the rules...which they were.
This night couldn't get any weirder, the lamb thought as she started pointing at the both of them. "First you get into fights with monkeys, then you bring up the Back-Alley Market, then some killer dragons show up after you , and now you both are carrying weapons? This is nuts. You guys are crazy. What's next, you're going to summon the Beastar?" The sheep twiddled with her ponytail fluff as she thought about it. "Actually...that would be a great idea, right about now…"
The rabbit massaged the back of her head, losing her patience. "I don't know about any of that, but Lùn needs to listen to me, we both have ways to turn the tables ourselves, so why don't we just go out there and take 'em down like we do those saps at the arena. Simple." Kyuu explained. "You got the skills we need, I've seen you fight."
The fox still wasn't convinced. "Okay Flopsy , we're both armed….with our close-ranged weapons, so what? Those two dragons out there are still bigger than us and they have poison . One we probably could handle, but there is still the other one to contend with."
"It's better than doing nothing." The rabbit reasoned.
"You guys are still arguing?" A soft, but gruff voice said behind Lùn. "Huh?"
Lùn's ear and whiskers twitched as she investigated over her shoulder and noticed that two tiny passengers were standing there in the opening of her backpack. Her eyes widened as she realized her accomplices were still with her.
"What the hell?" She mouthed.
Trace, the mouse contractor that Raira had hired for the heist and Pick, the younger brother, the safecracker. Lùn had completely forgotten about them, thinking they had jumped ship before she crossed the street. They must have been listening in the entire time.
"We're still in a store?" His brother asked with a long yawn, curiously looking around, peering from the opening of the pack like a turtle poking its head out of their shell.
"Trace-san? What are you doing here?" The surprised fox demanded.
"Vespa-chan, you gotta understand. We're not from around these parts. Me and my bro ain't just about to just wander about this humongous city on our own especially when we ain't gotten our share yet."
"Who the hell are they?" Kyuu asked incredulously. "Who is Vespa?"
"Urgh...I'm Vespa." The fox replied, annoyed that they were still calling her by her codename. The whole thing seemed like a silly formality to her now.
"I thought your name was Lùn like you keep yammering." Kyuu asked, a look of skepticism on her dark face.
"It's-look, shut up." She didn't even feel like bothering with her bullshit, as she turned her attention back to the mice. "Trace, we're kinda boned here, that Komodo from the jewelry store? He's back and he brought a buddy with him and now he's stalking us. We're holed up in the pharmacy at the moment, but uh we don't know for how long."
"Ah blast it." He started cursing. Blast it! Blast it! Blast it! I told Violet we should have just aborted the whole mission as soon as we heard the gunshots."
"No time for that now, maybe you guys can help us though. Try to get out of here and get a hold of Violet-senpai . Get us some help? I'm sure you guys can sneak past them."
The mouse, just shook his small brown head. "First of all, do you know how long that's going to take for us? You'll probably be goners by the time we even make it past the block."
"Second, can't you just come up with a plan? You know that "cat-sume spirit" thing you can Violet were talking about. You and her went and got us out of that jewelry store, surely you can get us out of this. No outfoxing a fox right?" He said tugging at her ear for support.
"That's what I said." Kyuu said from the corner. "No way, someone shifty like her should just be giving up."
"Kitsune Spirit, right…" The fox corrected, feeling a bit deflated. That's what Raira had been trying to pep her up with earlier. That standard all foxes were supposed to aspire to. Easier spoken than practiced. "I don't know Trace. We're all too little." Lùn said scratching behind her ears, when a crazy idea came to her. She felt the ear piece from the heist still clipped to her ear. "Little...little, yes. You guys are little.""
"You don't have to make us feel insignificant, Vespa." Pick said.
"No, your size can help us. Instead of going for help, you guys are small enough to move around undetected."
"I thought we went over this…we're not about to trek through this huge city."
"No, look. They aren't going to be looking for you, so...if we let you loose in the store, you guys can help out like say, turn the lights out or maybe drop items from shelves or keep tabs on them. Distraction stuff. Something to give us an edge."
"Whoa whoa whoa, what?" The eldest mice looked at her like she was insane. "You want us to go out there? With those monsters? Us?! Are you nuts?!" He squeaked.
"Trace, that's my plan." The fox
"Why not just get 'er the pho-"
Lùn snatched the mouse up quickly and held him close. "We can't have her call the police, or we'll get caught. Remember we robbed a jewelry store." She whispered low enough for only him to hear. "We have to take them out ourselves."
"What are you whispering over there?" The surly Holland lop asked, suspiciously.
"I'm just trying to convince our partner here to go along with our plan." Lùn replied.
"I don't know…" The mouse said hesitant. "This smells like something a bonus could fix." The plump mouse said, greedily rubbing his fingers together.
Lùn rolled her eyes, not feeling like haggling with this shyster. Raira's other words came to mind.
A fang filled grin spread across her muzzle as she reached behind and pinched his meaty pink tail, hoisting him up over head. "You're bonus will be I won't eat you alive!"
"Okay, okay! No need for that!" He squeaked as he dangled over the dark abyss that was her gaping maw.
Kyuu and Matilda looked on with respective amusement and horror."
"I for one, think it's an awesome plan, Vespa." Pick the younger brother said, sucking up as Trace hung gripping to her finger for dear life. "P-p-please don't eat my brother." He pleaded.
"I won't as long as you both work with me here and cut the percentage crap." She said, putting him down.
"You got it. We're happy with the arrangement we have now. We'll do whatever you want." The shaken rodent squeaked.
Lùn reached up and felt the headset still clipped to her ear, pressing the receiver to test the connection between her and mice. "Okay. Just listen out for my word, understood? First thing we need to do is cut the power in here, so it will be dark."
"Whoa, whoa, the dark?" The rabbit started to protest.
"It's part of my crafty plan you wanted to hear so much. What is the fearless rabbit scared of the dark?" She mocked.
Kyuu just scowled at the fox's snark, but kept her mouth shut for now.
"You." The vixen said pointing to the clerk. "You know how to cut the power in this place?"
"Yeah, but why?" The curly haired ewe asked, scratching behind her ears nervously.
"The mice are gonna need to know where it is."
The Lincoln spoke up as she walked over to the mice. "Okay, um...the breaker is the flat gray rectangle on the wall by the rest rooms. That's on the left side of the building when you exit from here." Her nervousness evaporated as she became assertive and attempted to explain the layout.
"Just pull the black lever on the front to open it. You'll need to hit certain switches to turn off all the lights in sections. It should be 4B, 5B, 2C, and 9D. Some of the labels should still be there. Just those though. Please don't mess with the other ones or you might cause the walk-in freezer to break down again and Mr. Yelchin will be furious."
Kyuu and Lùn just looked at the sheep, unsure what she was talking about.
"The air conditioner model is really old and we haven't been able to upgrade." She insisted.
"You got any of that Trace?" Lùn asked her tiny cohorts.
"Yeah, 4B, 5B, 2C, 9D Only." The mouse squeaked. "Me and Pick are going to get to it. Best of luck girls, we'll keep in touch." He said as he pressed the receiver on his large ear to check the comms. There was a bit of static, but they were working.
Once the mice had left the office, Lùn made sure to stash the backpack under the desk, and began practicing some swings with her swords. She then beckoned for the two of them to follow her through the glass openings once more. Kyuu however was a bit hesitant to take the fox's lead.
"So let's hear more about your plan fox, I wanna know why we're just supposed to trust you in the dark?" The rabbit said, voicing her opinion again. "What's stopping you from leaving me out to dry while you escape to safety?"
Lùn just stared back at her stone-faced. "You can't be serious. This was your idea. We're going to take these guys down together."
"Why does it gotta be dark though? I don't trust you in the dark."
"I don't care if you trust me, rat face, all you need to do is stick close. As long as I can see, you two should be fine."
"Wait, she's coming?" Kyuu spouted, pointing to meek longwool. "Why the hell is she coming along? She ain't a fighter."
"She probably knows the store better than anyone, also do you really want to leave her back here for them to find all alone? It's best she sticks with us. I thought she was your friend."
Friend? Kyuu remained silent, oddly enough she felt a bit of guilt for the sheep.
Normally, she'd have left a weakling like her behind without a moment's notice, but with Matty she did feel some responsibility for her. After all she had been nice to both her and San ever since they started coming here. Maybe it was also the kindness she had shown her tonight or maybe it was because she'd been in situations like she was now. She remembered very vividly, herself cowering behind someone strong on that fateful day. When the panda saved her from the livestock prison. Maybe this was her chance to be like him?
"I think she has a point, Kyuu." The sheep's soft voice said behind her, snapping the rabbit from her thoughts. Kyuu turned, surprised to see the sheep no longer cowering. "I know I'm not tough or used to this type of stuff, but if I can help you girls and we can get out of here, then I know I need to just face my fears and help whatever way I can."
Lùn desperately held back the urge to say something snarky about the sheep's sappy declaration, but appreciated the sheep's mindset. At least she wasn't crying anymore.
"Besides it won't be completely dark in there when the lights go out, we have large windows up front and there is a full moon out tonight along with the parking lot lights."
"Exactly," Lùn agreed, "You should be able to see somewhat in the low light. The main idea is to make them think you're all at a disadvantage. They'll think you can't see, so they'll get cocky." Lùn pointed her weapon at the rabbit to emphasize. "And you ought to know what to do with cocky opponents, right Psycho?" She said, grinning.
Kyuu slowly started showing the fox the white of her teeth, liking how the vixen was thinking. She expertly flipped her blades in her hands anticipating the mayhem they were about to unleash. "So, dancing in the moonlight it is then?"