The office block is a bit quiet, a few people walk by with muttered conversations. Cerbi sits doing a couple pieces of paperwork in relation to a few new members. As he's writing the echo of hooves in the hall draws closer. Knock,knock,knock on the door.
"Come in," yawns Cerbi. The door opens as Cari walks in, his face angled in a way of worry.
"What's the look for?" Cerbi straightens up some,
"You're going to want to see this." Cari mutters,
"What?" Cerbi stands up,
Cari waves his hand and walks out, curious, Cerbi follows. The centaur walks to his office and holds the door.
The office is smaller than it looks, bookshelves sit along the walls with all sorts of books on law and negotiation, along with some novels and other informational texts. The desk is neat and organized with an elevated filing cabinet full of files on almost everything under the sun. A computer sits with two tabs open, an email and a news site currently displaying an ad for some pop brand. Cari walks up to the monitor and shuts the ad off as a headline reads. "Shots fired in Bireshire, No victim or assailant found".
"Cerbi, didn't Anbu have a hit out in that district?" Cari states,
"They did." Cerbi growls slightly,
"It's SingingLotus's territory, you think it could be them?" Cari mutters,
Cerbi takes the mouse and scrolls down to the article itself, his eyes scanning the page for anything. "...White fur... Reports of a masked figure on the ground... Numbered with frog hands spotted with a bloodied body.."
"It has to be them, god. Are they alive?" Cerbi growls,
"Calm down now. I've heard a couple things about that man. Liv was with him for a while" Cari tries to be assuring.
"The frog? We don't know where the hell they would be taking them" Cerbi looks at Cari with a worried glare,
"Yeah, she told me that he's really nice and frequents the safehouse often. They were probably taken there" Cari puts a hand on Cerbi's shoulder. He moves his hand away.
"I'm going to the safehouse tonight. Alone. If they're not there I'll tear through Bireshire to find them." Cerbi snarls,
"Just don't do anything stupid." Cari sighs,
"I'll be fine." Cerbi leaves the room.
***
Anbu is layed on the wall with a middle aged woman tending to them. Her hair is short and choppy, brown eyes, t-shirt and pants. Her hands work over the wounds with a tender grace as she stitches them up with threads growing from her hands. Anbu winces and growls from the points of pain.
"It's alright, I'm just trying to help" her voice is calm and smooth, her hand brushes the bell. Anbu whines and clicks as she ties the stitch off.
"There you go," she smiles and takes thier hand. Anbu clicks a couple times and stands up. They walk off without a word, the woman just sighs.
Croaker is asleep in one of the old department stores as Anbu walks over still clutching the hole in thier torso. They sit next to the frogman, fluffing tails out and taking clumps of bloodied fur out of them. They toss them on the ground in a attempt to regulate themself. The little rustle rustle of fur seems louder in the quiet room as the two breathe on thier own rhythms. The store is empty besides them, Croaker turns over and grabs ahold of one of Anbu's tails. Anbu tries pulling it away but at this point it's useless. They bat at him with another tail, Croaker stores and sits up.
"Huh?.." Croaker yawns,
"Let... go..." Anbu grumbles raspily,
Croaker lets the tail go as Anbu pulls it back and starts preening through it. More fur on the ground.
"You should not be pulling that much fur out there. You can just go wash it." Croaker takes thier hand, Anbu growls and pulls away.
"I'm telling you man, It isn't good to do that. You'll end up with all sorts of issues." Croaker holds the fox's hand tight. Anbu snarls and pulls their hand of of his grip, hands back to bloodied clotted fur. Whisperings drift from the mask in Anbu's raspy tone. Croaker takes their arm again this time pinning them to the floor in a quick motion. Anbu growls and slashes at him with thier free hand, and they are caught by Croaker's other hand.
"I told ya to stop. I ain't gonna sit here and let you do this."
The fox growls and clicks, the light fades from their mask.
"Don't give me that kid. I know you're all this tough talk but you still needa take care of yourself."
"Let.. me.. Go.." Anbu growls and snaps, a bony jaw slips from the underside of thier mask.
"Ain't happening kid. I'll get you to a medic for your torso and fur"
"Not.. going.. To help.."
"Not listening to ya."
YOU ARE READING
Numbered and Factions
FantasyNumbered are a newer phenomena in the world, they're people with abilities ranging from Resurrection to having a set of animal ears. They're kept separate from the public via a large wall. The Numbered inside the wall have created factions to stay a...
