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With a skip in her step and a glimmer in her eyes, a young girl was making her way through the streets of the city for the very first time. Brimming with excitement, she quickly shifted her gaze from side to side as she tried to take in as much of her surroundings as possible. The sheer magnitude of the buildings, the texture of the pavement, the ocean of color visible along the display of every store and stall... it was all incredibly new and fascinating, yet also somewhat alienating. A vague sense of dread gradually crept up the girl's stomach as she felt more and more disconnected from the world opening up around her. Perhaps, there would have been no place for someone of her kind in a busy metropolis; one where all the people wore uniforms and seemed to be walking in a hurry toward some very important appointment.
Then, she saw it: a tiny, cute, precious, majestic, angelic, orange kitten grooming himself right there on the sidewalk. Immediately, the girl was drawn to its little paws and its shiny pink nose. After all, the sight of a stray cat was one of the most familiar and reassuring scenes she could have come across, and for her to do so right when she was starting to have doubts about moving into the city... it absolutely must have been a sign! Needing no further confirmation, the young lady approached the animal with no malicious intent, despite what her intense stare, unsettling movements and generally shady mannerisms might have suggested. Unsurprisingly, the kitty ran away; and, unsurprisingly, the girl instantly gave chase.
"Hey, wait up!"
The young lady didn't really have a goal in mind as she ran behind the kitten; she was acting on impulse and childish conviction, as she often did. Before long, the girl was being guided down a maze of narrow corridors and alleyways and soon, she would lose the trail of the cat entirely. With her target gone, the gravity of her situation would dawn on the girl. Her figure shrank amidst the imposing shadows of the disheveled walls around her: she was lost. Before the anxiety had any time to settle in however, she began to hear some voices nearby.
"You better not be trying to rip us off, human, or else we'll..."
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, there's no need for those kinds of threats; not with me. You see, you're half eagle and you're half...uhh...deer, I believe. But me? I'm full street rat. The way I see it, there's no difference between us; not in race, not in morals nor in goals."
Approaching the source of the noise and peeking around a corner, the girl caught a glimpse of three silhouettes that seemed to be arguing amongst each other.
"In that case, as long as we're all pals here, how about you give us a little extra for the effort? Hauling those containers of dust back to base was not exactly a cakewalk."
"Man, give an eagle a rat and he'll find his way to the whole colony, huh? You guys should learn to be less greedy. Isn't this all for the sake of your noble cause?"
"The 'cause' is for us to live better. To live better, we could use the money."
"Last I checked, you guys'cause was supposed to be equality. To me that reads as 50/50, which sounds pretty fair don't you-"
