The Scientist

Sick

Ren pov:

I was just minding my own business, messing around with the soul sand in the basement because, let’s face it, it was just weirdly satisfying. The gritty, shifting texture was too fun to ignore. Plus, it was a great way to kill time when things got slow. The yellow canary, Jimmy, was down here too—probably for the same reason, though I suspect he just liked being a nuisance. Most of the time, when we weren’t dodging random people taking dust baths (who does that?), we’d end up chasing each other around, and let me tell you, a werewolf and a canary are not a quiet duo.

I was in the middle of a full-on pursuit, paws skidding over the floor, nearly catching Jimmy by the tail feathers, when I heard someone call my name. Instinct kicked in, and I shot up, ears perked, tail wagging like crazy—fully alert and ready to spring into action. And, of course, that’s exactly when Jimmy, in his usual fashion of not paying attention, flew right into me. BAM!

We hit the floor in a pile of feathers, fur, and dust, both of us letting out startled yelps. I growled and shook myself off, dust flying everywhere as I tried to get rid of the glittery shimmery particles sticking to my fur. Jimmy was flapping around in a confused daze, chirping his head off. Typical.

It wasn’t Doc who called my name, though—no, it was someone else. I narrowed my eyes, trying to remember... Oh yeah, Zedaph! And he wasn’t alone either. Tango was there too, of course, because those two were practically a chaotic duo, and they had a whole crew with them. I couldn’t even catch all the names.

Zedaph gave me a mischievous grin as he stepped into the dusty warzone I called a basement. “Oi! What’re you doing down here, Wolfy? Having a good ol' dust wrestle with the bird?”

Jimmy huffed from behind me, shaking the dust out of his feathers. “He’s chasing me like I’m some kind of chew toy!”

I grumbled, standing up and dusting off my fur. “Well, stop flying around like a squeaky ball, and maybe I wouldn’t!”

Zedaph, completely unfazed by the chaos around us, rummaged through a bag he had slung over his shoulder. But then, in the middle of the mess, I heard him mutter, “Ren, focus please,” with an edge of stress in his voice. That caught my attention. My ears twitched as I turned to look at him, my playful mood fading as curiosity took over. What was he grabbing? It wasn’t more chaos fuel like I expected. No, he pulled out fever reduction medicine.

I straightened up, catching Doc’s eye. He looked unusually serious, which put me on edge. All the excitement drained out of me in an instant. Something was off. My heart started racing, and I could feel the tension building in the air. Whatever fun had been brewing just moments before was gone, and now I was anxious, alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Tango, as curious as ever, spoke up, breaking the silence. “Can you track scents like a bloodhound?” His question threw me off for a second, but I nodded, still a bit confused about where this was going.

He stepped closer, handing me something to smell. “We were tracking someone, but they slipped away from us. Can you pick up their scent? We can take you to the area where we found it if that helps.” His tone was casual, but there was an urgency underneath it.

My ears drooped slightly. I didn’t know if this was a good idea. I wasn’t sure why they were chasing this person, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled about getting involved. “Is he... a bad guy? What are you going to do to him if we find him?” I asked, glancing between them.

It was then I noticed Xisuma, who had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire time. That wasn’t like him. I glanced over, and my stomach twisted. He wasn’t holding his plushie—something he usually clung to when he was stressed. Instead, he was holding on to Keralis, who looked equally concerned. Xisuma’s face was pale, and he seemed like he was having a rough time, lost in his own thoughts. That didn’t exactly ease my anxiety.