Sorry this took so long, updates for this story really won't have a schedule and just kinda happen when they happen *shrugs*
But I'm glad people like my Chimera, I'm excited to write something less action driven for once. Its a new experience for me here.
The new world was so particular, clinging to every tiny little detail they could as I went through what Maria called "Processing." It took almost two weeks, every day I was either filling out some form of paperwork, or waiting to hear back from someone in an office. I didn't mind, even if it was a little boring. Maria did mention my situation had unique circumstances, and I should be happy that it was going as fast as it was. In the mean time, she set me up in a hotel room. It was a very nice place, bed even softer than the one at the hospital.
Of course, she told me I could find my own place to live once I was officially working for her. I hope wherever I ended up had a soft bed too...
By the time it was all finally over, I was a documented citizen. My name had changed, though... Not by much. I wasn't Number Seven anymore, I didn't show it but... I was happy about that. And she'd even bought me some nice new clothes to help me fit in.
Now, I was waiting to get picked up for my first day on the job. I didn't need a uniform, I wore a simple pair of blue jeans, a black T-Shirt, and a long overcoat. The coat was great for keeping my tail curled up and hidden in public, after noticing the confused or disgusted looks I got from other animals passing me by it seemed like the right idea. That was just something I'd have to get used too...
"Hey!" I blinked, looking up and realizing my ride was already waiting for me on the curb. Maria leaning out the back window waving, "You're spacing out on the first day? Not a good look, Sven." She teased, wearing a big grin. "Come on, get in!"
"Right." I nodded, standing up and making my way around to the other side. Getting into the car, and strapping myself in.
"This is Tiorno," She pointed to the male zebra driving the car, "He's my personal driver during on work days." She explained.
I idly waved, "Hello."
He returned my wave in the rear view mirror with a nervous laugh, "Uh, hey there."
"Sven you really gotta learn how to smile when you greet people." Maria chuckled as the car pulled away from the curb and we started rolling. "It makes you more approachable, just don't show your fangs if you can help it."
"Right, its bad... Etiquette." I remembered that, they taught me some of that while I was being documented.
"Now you're getting it!"
Maria was an interesting girl, five years older than me and one of the "Beastars." She came from a private school, using her music to bring together herbivores and carnivores. I guess that was the point of the Beastar? To bring the species together, lead them, or something. I'm not entirely sure, a lot of that went over my head while they were explaining it to me. Anyways, now Maria and her band toured around places where relations between carnivores and herbivores are getting worse, and play cheap concerts encouraging both sides to attend.
She was really an amazing person, I never would have thought that the same whimpering girl I met in the back alley was really so strong. I was interested to see what the rest of her band looked like. What kind of people did the Beastar attract to their circle?
It wasn't long before we pulled up to a large building, it didn't look much different from the others in the area. I had expected some kind of... Well, something like a performance stage, right? "How are you supposed to perform here?" I asked bluntly, tilting my head to see the roof as we pulled up to the curb.
Earning a snort of laughter from Maria, "We're just practicing today, there is a small stage inside, but our next show is tomorrow night."
Tiorno stepped out, quickly making his way around and opening Maria's door for her. I was already out of the car, taking in the area and memorizing its layout. A natural instinct, not because of my mixed species but my time in the pit. I wanted to know each and every way in and out of here. Before I started following Maria towards the large double doors leading inside.
"This hall is our current base of operations," She explained as we went, "We're renting it out while we do work in the area, the band members and stage crew are actually all staying at the hotel across the street." I didn't think to ask why I was living so many blocks away.
"And how long will you be in the area?" I asked idly, taking in every new scent and sound. This place was so much different than the pits, so clean and- "Hmm?" I stopped suddenly, nose twitching. "There's someone else here..."
Maria quirked an eyebrow, "Well duh, some of the others are already waiting!" She explained, grinning and grabbing me by the wrist. "Come on! Let's get you introduced properly!"
I followed along, a faint sense of tension building up as we neared the sound of other people talking. I was going to have to work with these other band members, at least in some small capacity. They were going to judge me, no way around that. The only thing I didn't know, was how harshly they would look upon my twisted body.
"Oh, and to answer your question," Maria said suddenly, "We'll be staying in the area until our big performance at the Rexmas Festival," She explained, "A big event, a little over a month from now."
I opened my mouth to respond, when I was cut off by someone suddenly raising their voice. "And I told you to leave!" A male, deep voice, filled with anger. "You're not welcome here, so get out!"
Maria paused for a moment, "Hold on..."
"Come on Bruce, you've gotta talk to her," Another man, his voice was deep as well, and he sounded desperate. "What was I supposed to do? We were jumped by a group of Jaguars-"
"Probably your job, Danta." Another voice, female, it was deep as well but dripped with sarcasm not anger. "You are a security guard, right?"
"I'm not leaving until I can talk to Lady Maria!"
Tensions were running high, Maria sighed heavily. "Okay, let me handle this." Before stepping out onto their practice stage from behind the wall, I followed behind her slowly. "I see we've got a guest..."
There were three others on stage, between all kinds of musical equipment I didn't recognize. A tall brown furred herbivore, he had a big face, with broad shoulders and even broader antlers unlike any I'd ever seen, he wore black jeans and a white T. He stood before another large herbivore, this one gray skinned with no fur and two large horns on the center of his face. And behind the one with the massive antlers, was a female of small stature, but had a rather... Thick body, covered in grey fur, the ears told me she was some kind of rabbit, but I'd never seen one so large before.
I wonder what species she- "Huh?" My eyes drifted around, ears twitching as I heard a faint clicking noise.
The rhino had already turned to Maria, and quickly moved towards her. "Maria please!" He begged, "I need this job, I promise it won't ever happen again!" His voice returning my attention to the conversation.
She narrowed her eyes at him, and I was given a glance at a side of Maria I'd not yet seen. "Danta, I've known you for five years, and you left me to the Jaguars to save yourself," She scoffed, before hiking a thumb over her shoulder and pointing at me. "Meanwhile, this woman who I'd never met before, not only fought said Jaguars to save me, but also used her body as a shield and let herself get shot six times!" I could see the hopes on Danta's face fading as his shoulders slumped. "For old times sake, I won't blacklist you, nobody will know how or why you don't work for me anymore... But if that's how you're going to behave in a crisis, you should find a new line of work."
Danta lowered his head in defeat, "Th... Thank you, ma'am that's more than I deserve... I'm sorry."
She nodded, "I know," The anger I'd seen in her just moments before vanishing completely. "Now go on, I've got to introduce your replacement."
His eyes drifted to me, as I followed Maria and walked past him. Seeming to widen with shock at the realization of what I was, but whether it was because I'm a hybrid or a carnivore I couldn't tell. Still, he bit his tongue and walked off, leaving us in silence for a moment.
As his footsteps faded into the distance, followed by the sound of a door opening and shutting. Maria released a heavy sigh, "Well, that was unpleasant..."
"You can say that again," The rabbit scoffed, shaking her head. She hopped up onto a small stool by the drumset. She had on a pair of baggy black pants, with an oversized purple shirt. "So who's tall, blank and fugly?" She asked, motioning to me. "I mean, you just gave us a pretty good introduction, but I'd like a name."
Maria rolled her eyes, "First off rude, second her name is Sven." She said with a huff, hands on her hips. "You should be nice to her, I saw her personally beat up like six full grown Jaguars with her bare hands."
What? "Uh, there were only two-" My ears twitched, that clicking sound again, what is that? Just part of the building or... I needed to focus right now, not start chasing random sounds.
My correction caused Maria to flinch, and she looked back at me, "Sven come on, I'm trying to talk you up here!" Before she shook her head, "Okay, yeah there were only two... BUT! She was definitely shot six times."
"Well at least we know you can take a punch," The rabbit shrugged, "Nice to meet you, freakshow, my names Moxie, but you can call me Mox, I handle synth, keyboard and sometimes backup vocals." Before quickly adding, "And before you ask, I'm not a fat rabbit, I'm a Flemish Giant Rabbit, and my weight is perfectly normal thank you very much." She huffed, though... I never had any intention of asking.
"And the one silently trying to figure out why I brought you here," Maria cleared her throat, motioning to the one with the large antlers. "Is Bruce, he handles drums, bass sometimes, and is a moose."
The guy was bigger than me, but not by much. "Hello, it is a... Pleasure to meet you both." My greeting was stiff, beneath their judgemental eyes. Strangely enough, despite the rabbit referring to me in such derogatory ways, I felt much harsher looks coming from the moose.
He released a snort, tilting his head. "Can't say I completely agree with your choice of replacement, at least with Danta we didn't have to worry about getting eaten by our own bodyguard."
"Hey!" Maria yelped in response, "Bruce what the hell!? Since when do you have a problem with carnivores!?"
"Since my girlfriend got abducted and almost eaten," He shrugged casually, "But even then, I'd be fine if she were just a wolf or just a gator, but you can't trust these hybrids..." He shook his head, "They aren't natural." Perhaps letting my tail down, and not wearing gloves, was a bad idea.
Maria groaned, rubbing her temples, "And here I thought Diz was the one I'd have to worry about being rude... Bruce you can't just-"
"Maria," I finally opened my mouth again, after turning fully to face Bruce. "I can speak for myself, thank you..." Before locking eyes with the large herbivore. "I understand your fear, I guess that's just how things work out here... I want to make the most of the opportunity Maria has given me," My expression still blank, no matter how hard he tried to read me he would get nothing. "I'll just keep my distance, and do my job, if that makes you all feel better."
Bruce quirked an eyebrow at my response, nodding slowly. "Yeah, that works for me."
Maria's eyes darted between the two of us a few times, before she released another sigh. "Alrighty then... If that's sorted, I guess we'll just move along with band practice like nothing is wrong... Sven, while we practice, feel free to get acquainted with the space... There are more members you'll meet later today when they show up, stage crew, back up players, our sound mixers, that kinda stuff but for now its just us."
I nodded in understanding, walking off without saying a word. The eyes of Bruce boring into the back of my head as I went, I'm sure. I began to make my way around the interior, as Maria had said I was memorizing the layout. Each and every door, window, I needed to remember entrances and exits in case of an emergency. That was my job now right? I was supposed to protect the three of them at all cost.
"Hmm?" I stopped, spotting a difference along one of the many windows. A latch had been lifted, it was unlocked. But why this window in particular? Was it left this way by accident or-
The clicking noise again, just barely catching my ears. It had been hard to pinpoint while on the center stage, but from here I could tell where it was coming from. Something up in the rafters was making that noise. I ran my nose along the edge of the window itself, there were faint traces of something here... But it was masked somehow, like whoever had come inside was covering their scent.
How should I go about this? Warn the others, clear the building or lock it down? Whatever had snuck in here, it was clearly an experienced sneak. I needed to approach this cautiously or somebody could get hurt...
"Mmm..." Ears twitching at the sound of more clicking, it was still distant. That had to be the source, that's where the intruder was.
Spotting a nearby stack of boxes, filled with various pieces of stage lights and equipment, I decided they'd make an excellent mound for climbing. I carefully made my way up, until I'd reached the rafters. It was dark up here, but I had nightvision like most carnivores. Looking down made me uneasy, though I was only about fifteen feet in the air. The tiled floor of this building didn't look very forgiving.
I could hear Maria and the others talking, the occasional pluck of a cord or beat of a drum, as I made my way through the rafters following the sound of the clicking. It was getting louder, I was getting closer.
Moving through the rafters was less frightening than I thought it would be, the initial shock had worn off and I found that I kind of enjoyed being up so high. Maybe it had something to do with my avian blood, I couldn't say for sure. But crossing the metal beams was becoming easier, and the clicking was getting louder every time it went off. I started to hold my breath, fearing that any noise I made could alert the intruder to my presence.
Soon though, I finally came upon the one who'd snuck into the building. It was a tiny creature, no taller than my knees probably. It was a mammal, wearing small goggles and carrying a device with a scope around its neck. But most notable, were the folded leathery wings it had in place of arms. I didn't recognize the device it was wearing though, was it a gun? Some kind of weapon? I couldn't tell...
Still, in just a few more steps I'd be able to grab it and-
"Yo!" I flinched as the voice of Moxie rang out. "What the hell are you doing up there?" My eyes darted down to them, realizing that they'd spotted me, but not the black furred mammal.
Looking back, I could see that our intruder had been alerted to my presence, and after a moment of hesitation attempted to jump. I knew this would mean escape, they could fly away without any trouble. So my body moved before I had a proper chance to think about the situation. I jumped right after it, reaching out with my long arms as my powerful legs and tail propelled me forward. Shouts from the band down below followed my action.
Both hands enclosed around the small mammals wings, and as I landed a firm grip we fell through the air together. Mid fall, I turned over. Knowing that it would be more dangerous to hit the ground head first, it wasn't a far fall but enough to hurt.
Luckily, or maybe unluckily, I hit a table before hitting the ground. Smashing clean through the wood, it did dampen the impact but not by much. My grip never ceased on the tiny creature, as it struggled in my arms. "Sven! Oh my god are you okay!?" Maria demanded as she rushed over.
"Who the hell is that?" Bruce questioned, unsurprisingly he wasn't at all concerned for my well being.
"Hrnngh..." I groaned out, the window had been forced from my lungs by the impact, "I-Intruder..."
"L-Let me go you freak!" The tiny animal cried. "I-I'm a member of the press! You can't silence the press!"
"Looks like this bats got a camera," Moxie pointed out, snatching it off the animal. "Guess that explains the clicking the noise, thought I was just going crazy..." What is a Camera?
"Hey! Give that back!" Evidently it was valuable.
Bruce plucked him out of my grip with one hand, "You're on private property dumbass, you're lucky we don't call the police."
"Oh look what I found," Moxie had already opened the device, and was dropping a few small cartridges into her hand, "Film, looks like you got a lot of pictures, creeper." Before she crushed it in her hand and threw his camera onto the floor, no doubt damaging it as well.
"Agh! H-Hey come on that's no fair!" He cried out in dismay, "The world wants to see what changes Lady Maria is making, and wants to see her return to the spotlight after weeks of hiding! The first to get the truth on what happened to her, and... Learn about you," He motioned towards me, "Well, it'd be the scoop of the year!"
"Uh huh," Maria rolled her eyes, "Heard that line before, how about this..." She grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt as Bruce let him go. "You buzz off, and the world will get to see Sven when I say so, and not a moment sooner, understand?" There was that side of her again, aggressive, sharp.
He flinched under her intimidating gaze, "Y-Yes ma'am..."
"Good," Maria huffed, before dropping him to the ground, "Sven, are you okay?"
I nodded, already rising to my feet. "A little bruised, but I'm fine."
"Happy to hear," She nodded with a smile, "Please escort our intruder to the door."
"Of course." Before my eyes drifted to the tiny, frail mammal, "Move it."
"R-Right of course!" He yelped, kicking it into gear and hustling towards the door carrying his broken camera. I followed behind, seeing him out. But once we made it through the door, I prepared to turn away when he spoke up. "So, what's your price?"
I tilted my head, "What?"
"How much do I gotta pay to get back in there again?" He asked, seeming to drop his scared act. "Yeah yeah you got to play the big scary bodyguard and throw me out, save face in front of your boss and make an impression on your first day, but how much I gotta pay you to let me in?"
Were other animals that fickle? That they'd betray trust just like that? "Hmm... My price?" I was strangely annoyed by his assumption, that I was the same as them. "You know, I've never seen a creature like you before... Like a flying rat... I do not like rats." I grumbled towering over him with my imposing stature, "For your sake, I'd better not see you here again." Turning around, I made my way back inside and slammed the door, making sure to lock it behind me.
I took a deep breath, this strange new tension ebbing away. I quickly made my way towards the back, making sure every window was secured.
I couldn't help but think about the new ways I'd seen Maria act today. And that bat, pretending to be such a coward only to offer his wallet once we were out of sight. The way he expected it of me... Were all animals like that? Had the previous guard, Danta, ever taken that kind of deal? Maybe that's how Maria ended up in the Back Alley Market in the first place...
"What's up fugly?" I lifted my head, blinking in surprise as Moxie's voice reached me. "You look bothered by something, you didn't eat the bat did you?" She questioned, casually insulting me again I think.
"No..." I answered simply, considering what about this outside world bothered me so much. "This day has been... Different, for me."
I would need to adjust my reality to this outside world, now that I had to face potential public exposure. I had to keep a careful watch on everything, and everyone.
"Different huh?" Moxie leaned on a small box, crossing her arms over her ample chest. "But better than the Black Market, right?" Ah, of course Maria would tell them.
I wasn't so sure about what she said though. "Maybe," And I had no problem saying it. "At least in the market, everyone was honest about what they think of you, and about who they are." I walked past her, continuing to make my rounds and ensure there were no other ways in. "Out here, I see a lot of animals wearing masks..."
It occurred to me in that moment, that aside from the sparkling praise of her rise to this position as Beastar, I knew terribly little about who Lady Maria actually was.
And maybe she wanted it that way...
