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Bunny of Beacon City

The city of Beacon was and always has been just as bright and outstanding as its name implies. With its busy streets and towering buildings, it was by far the largest city in the growing nation.

Beacon was home to eccentrics, to geniuses, to entrepreneurs, to all people rich and poor. All saw it as a land of opportunity, a place to make a name for yourself.

It was this such reputation that inspired a little girl from Australia to make the long, round world trip to the great city. Velvet Scarlatina wanted more than anything to become a world-famous photographer. She had loved taking pictures of her pets when she was little, and it eventually gravitated to the point where she took pictures of anything and everything. She was known in her small town as the only one who could take pictures of moving vehicles or running men and still making it look clear as day. However, she wanted to take more exotic pictures; all the pictures she took in Australia consisted of animals and trees, and sometimes the occasional person. She longed to take pictures of mountains, of jungles, of skyscrapers, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do that in small town Shade.

So the first thing she did when her boat docked at Beacon Harbor was pull up her camera and take a picture of the city skyline. She would have to find out later if it came out good, but her hand was very steady, so she doubted that it was blurred in any way.

"First time in the big city?" a gruff but kind voice said to her left. The voice belonged to a large man with a small black beard.

"Y-yes," she stuttered. She was slightly intimidated by the man's cat-like appearance; he reminded her of a puma, really. But if she was going to survive in the city, she was gonna have to become more outgoing. "Is it y-your first time, too?"

"Second, as a matter of fact," he said with a toothy smile-- it even looked like he had fangs. "I'm just coming back from a long shopping trip."

"Outside the country?" Velvet asked, more curious than nervous now.

"Well, I've been traveling to find new books for my shop," he said nodding to a crate being unloaded by workers, "Perhaps you've heard of it. 'Tukson's Book Trade; Home to every book under the sun.'" He smiled at her while he said his catchphrase.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't," Velvet answered chuckling a bit. "I suppose you're Tukson then?"

"That's right," Tukson said holding his hand out-- Velvet was surprised to not see claws on his fingertips. "Nice to meet you Miss..."

"Oh," Velvet placed her camera back in her bag. "Velvet," she took his hand and shook it. He had a very strong grip.

Velvet chatted a while with her new friend until a man announced that it was time to depart. She and Tukson hurried off the ship to the lines of people trying to get past the gates into the city. Since Tukson had been here before, and he had already had his crate of books inspected, he was free to pass.

"It looks like the line might take a while," he observed as his crate was loaded on the back of a truck, "Do you want some company while you wait?"

"No thank you," she turned his generous offer down. Whereas that'd be very kind of him, she didn't want to keep him any longer. He obviously had places to be. "I'll be fine. You go on ahead."

"Well then, Miss Velvet," he took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. Velvet blushed wildly as he performed the nonchalant action. "Welcome to Beacon City."

______________________________________

The wait was long, and she was certain that by the time that she was finished, people were bumping into her on purpose. However agitated she was though, she was just happy to finally make it into the city. Especially after three hours of standing in line.

She had already planned it all out: find a place to stay, get a job, make some friends, and eventually find a company that would buy her photos. She had planned the last part more extensively, but she knew that be a week at the least until she gets to that point. For now, she just needed a place to stay.

The first apartment complex she tried was outrageous; she would probably never be able to afford fifty dollars a week! The second was cheaper, but even desperate as she was, she knew that she was asking for tetanus or malaria or whatever disease you get from staying in a damp, moldy apartment.

She was walking almost the entire day looking for a place to stay, but to no avail, so she simply decided to eat at a nearby diner to rest up.

She didn't even look at the restaurant's name before stumbling inside, dead on her feet as she heard the ding-a-ling of the door's bells. She very inelegantly slumped into the chair nearest the door and waited for her order to be taken. She rested her head on the table and more or less dozed off.

She was suddenly awakened by the bells of the doors ringing and heavy footsteps walking in. She turned her head and saw a monster standing in the diner.

Well, "monster" being an exaggeration, but anyone Velvet's size would certainly be intimidated by a giant storming into a quiet restaurant.

The man, if you could even call him human, was easily seven feet tall and built like a grass-fed ox. He was wearing gray dress pants with suspenders and a white button up shirt. He was Asian with an olive skin tone and short, black hair to go with his black eyes. He looked a little bashful, surprisingly, as every eye fell on him.

The giant took three long strides and was instantly at the bar, speaking to the lady at the counter in some foreign language. The waitress shook her head, saying she didn't understand, so the giant foreigner spoke English instead. He was surprisingly fluent.

"Do you know where I can find Alley N?" he spoke with a deep but soft voice.

"Alley N?" the waitress repeated, "Never heard of it, sweetie. Would you like something to eat?"

The giant man thought for a second. "Tea, please."

He turned away from the counter and walked towards a table. On his way, he passed Velvet, and the tiny Australian girl had to stop herself from hiding under the table in fear. His great size intimidated almost everyone in the diner, but he expressed nothing but kindness when he spoke.

He quietly pulled out a chair and sat at a table, forced to sit sideways because his legs wouldn't fit. He leaned back in his too-small chair and sighed as though he was exhausted. Velvet wondered if lugging around that giant body of his contributed to that. She couldn't fathom what it was like to have such large, muscular arms, and a strong, bulging chest, a thick, manly neck. Even his hands looked strong and masculine.

Velvet only realized she had been staring when the giant of a man waved at her with a nervous smile.

Velvet turned scarlet and turned her attention to her menu, which she was holding upside down.