Christian's P.O.V.-
Truthfully, I hadn't considered the consequences of bringing Paul- a herbivore- to the black market. Or at least not until we were there. His eyes grew gigantic in shock, disgust, and mild terror at the sight of the vendors. Thankfully, rhino meat isn't the most popular; carnivores prefer softer, juicer meat like beef, pork, venison, or…. I didn't let myself finish that specific thought. I should add that while rhino meat wasn't common, I did smell it at one booth here; I prayed Paul wouldn't see.
I say this, but in reality, all what I just said transpired subconsciously. My entire conscious mind was still laser-focused on finding Anastasia. And so was Paul's. "What was the asshole's name again?" Paul whispered over to me. "Eric Lincoln," I replied equally as hushed. Eric Lincoln, head of the Dollars- that's all we have to go on right now. That's when I noticed the looks we, or rather Paul, were getting. Individuals around us began to whisper and I could detect anger and a bit of anxiety in the air.
"Oi! What do you think you're doing here?" We simultaneously flinched at this brute of a tiger stomping over to us. "Do you know where we can find someone named Eric Lincoln?" Paul didn't hesitate to ask. Big mistake. Gasps erupted from everywhere and even the guy who approached us wavered a smidge. "What the hell? What are you doing lookin' for him? You trying to get yourself killed, rhino?" "Yeah, you're not even supposed to be here! How'd you even find this place?" The tiger's friend, a lynx, fired off while sticking his finger out at Paul. The tiger then proceeded to glare at me. "Friend of yours, wolf boy?"
"I asked you a question! Where's Eric Lincoln?!" Having enough of their nonsense, Paul yelled and effectively caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Everyone was quick to shush him. "Keep it down! You want to get us all killed?" The lynx growled nervously. But Paul, and I for a matter of fact, were having none of it. "Tell us where he is!" I demanded, backed up by a royally pissed off Paul. This earned us several threatening glares.
"Shut up! Listen here, rhino; you have no business sniffin' around down here. We ain't gonna tell you nothin', plant-eater. So, if you don't wanna get yourself eaten, I suggest you….." "I'm not going anywhere! Not until you tell me where he is!" Paul practically screamed back. This, of course, only fuelled the anger of the growing crowd. I shot the tiger a warning look when he growled lowly at Paul. "You stupid herbivore. You think that just cause you're strong, you can come and throw your weight around here? Look around you! This is our territory; this is where my kind eat "your" kind. You're no better than those meat slabs hanging on the hooks over there," he pointed to a horse's leg for emphasis.
That was Paul's breaking point. He punched the asshat square in the face, albeit with not that much force. What the tiger did next however, led to my breaking point. The tiger swore, spit out a little blood, then went in to bite Paul in the arm. My eyes grew huge as my chest contracted. "Don't touch him!" I didn't hesitate to leap in, trying to pry the beast away from my friend. The tiger managed to swing his hand back and scratch my cheek, which in turn set Paul off again. "Christian!" I could smell Paul's protective instincts rapidly kicking into gear once more.
Paul had just enough space to sock the bastard away from me, sending him flying some feet. That set off a chain reaction. A huge fight broke out, with some carnivores trying to get at me and Paul, and others protecting us. Eventually I grabbed Paul's wrist and yanked him back towards me. "Let's get outta here!" I shouted over the noise. We tried to worm our way out of the chaos, but it was pretty hard for us to leave undetected. We had to punch several faces and kick plenty of stomachs along the way. But right near the end of the strip, right where I collapsed last time, we managed to find ourselves. A snow leopard and bald eagle we hadn't seen before spotted us and were about to attack until…
Like some deus ex machina right out of a movie, someone grabbed both Paul and I by the back of the shirts. We looked over our shoulders to see the panda- that same goddamn panda- from before! Right when it looked like the fighting wouldn't end anytime soon, here he was, practically dragging us away from it. Within seconds we were tossed like ragdolls through an open door. The panda entered and locked the door behind him. It was dark for a second, but when the light turned on, I recognized the room to be the prison area I woke up in last time. Paul, meanwhile, was more than a little afraid.
"What are you doing here, boy? I said I'll take you on as my patient, but I didn't mean come back so soon," he addressed me like Paul wasn't in the room with us. "P-Panda!" I sputtered, just so relieved to see him again. Yes, I know we didn't end of the best of terms last time but if anyone could help us out around here, it was him. He tisked, shifting his head to the side. "My name isn't "panda". It's Hidoku Odo." "You know this guy?" Paul asked me, confused out of his mind by now.
"I told you: this place is dangerous even for carnivores like yourself. Why'd you come back, wolf?" "Hidoku, we need your help! We need to find Eric Lincoln and the Dollars!" I scrambled to my feet in a frantic fashion. Hidoku stared at me for a moment like he wasn't sure what to make of my request. Soon enough however, he merely sighed. "How do you know about them?" "Where are they?! I need to find them, now!" I just kept begging and begging. "Boy, you don't want to deal with them. Even I don't want to deal with them. That Eric- he's dangerous. We're talkin' S-ranked criminal in the bingo books. He's a wolf, sure; but he's the alpha of a serious gang. He's got a ton of men under him. You don't want to go anywhere near him, and you don't want him knowing who you are. Trust me, there's no way a single wolf and rhino can…."
"I don't care! They took her! They took Anastasia!" My hands clenched into fists. "Anastasia? You don't mean…..? I thought I told you to leave that lamb alone!" "Christian?" Paul blinked at me, scandalized now. "They kidnapped her where the festival's being held." "I'm sorry to hear that but just give up." "I can't! I imprinted on her!" I admitted without reservation. "No, you didn't." "Yes! Yes, I did! I know I did! And now he has her; he has my mate. Please, tell me where they are. I could care less if it's dangerous….
If he kills her, he kills me.
That's why I need your help, Hidoku, please…. please."
More contemplative staring, and Paul was staring at me too now with wide eyes. Hidoku broke the silence by letting out another sigh and rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "I sure hope you're wrong, because if Eric's got her, he's already eaten her. She's long gone- you won't find her. Well, alive at least." That…. that right there made me sick to my stomach. Still, I had to continue, to go on. She's alive; she has to be alive. There's simply no alternative for me.
I turned towards the door, ready to depart. "I have to… I'll do whatever it takes to save Anastasia." "Is this because you've attacked her previously? You feel there are things you did to her that you have to atone for?" "You did what?!" Paul gasped at me. "Tsh, I'm not surprised you don't know. The first time he met this "Anastasia", he tried to eat her. That's why he feels like a worthless wolf." Paul's mouth hung agape for a moment as he proceeded what Hidoku just told him. I couldn't look at Paul right then; it was too painful.
"N-no, you're wrong. Christian would never hurt anyone, especially an innocent, weak lamb like Anastasia," I shuttered upon hearing Paul defend my character. No, Paul! Don't! We have to stick together now; this is not the time for us to be fighting each other. Hidoku looked at Paul for the first time since he found us on the street.
"I take it you're here on account of you feel some regard for the girl." Paul squirmed a bit at this. "Erm, well yes. Ana and I have been friends for years. It would kill me if anything happened to her." "So, you've both fallen for the same girl? The lamb who's been abducted by the Dollars today?" Paul and I glanced at one another, then nodded. Hidoku gawked at us like we were crazy. "And you want to find her and most likely die at the hands of Lincoln's goons?" More assured nodding. Hidoku groaned exasperated. "You're both idiots. Complete morons." "Maybe, but I'm still going to save her." "Me too."
Hidoku rubbed the back of his head one last time before letting his arm fall at his side. Then he went to open the door, holding it for us. He gave us a look and I'm pretty sure I knew what that meant. His eyes softened ever so slightly.
"You're going to die, and so are you. But if you still insist we go on this suicide mission, we're going to at least do it my way."