Ikarus

[S2] Episode 2: Little Chickens

Kitsune, Ally, and Ikarus walked down the paths of the marketplace. Each stall was very busy in selling their wares. The most noticeable part of the island was that it was infested with chickens. The people were chickens, the designs were chickens, and even some of the pets were chickens.

"Hey," whispered Ikarus, bumping Ally's arm, "Isn't that technically slavery?"
"Hell if I know," scoffed Ally, "I'm not used to the customs of this island."
"Over here guys," Kitsune beckoned as she entered a small brick house.

The inside of the house was dusty. There was no flooring, and there were papers everywhere on the worn-out tables. The beds were hammocks and the windows didn't have any glass. Curtains were the only way to hide the sunlight.
On one hammock was an elderly fox. The fox snuggled inside a blanket he had on. He was being treated by a few chickens, and had a thermometer in his mouth.
"Kitsune," coughed the fox, "I received your letter. You really came."
"Of course I did, Papa," said Kitsune, "I brought the Joules for you. Hopefully they are enough."
The elderly fox looked inside the bag, "They are! Well done, my little Kitsune."
The fox then looked at Ally and Ikarus, a bit scared, "Who are your friends?"
"Don't worry, Papa!" explained Kitsune, "They're not loan sharks. They helped me get here from Jamestown."
"I am Ally Korblack. Nice to meet you, Kitsune's father," said Ally as he bowed.
"I am Ikarus Antoine! Nice to meet you, Kitsune's Papa!" said Ikarus as he mimicked Ally's bow.
"Ohoho!" chuckled the elderly fox, "That Ikarus there is a funny fellow. Please, call me Joseph. The Germania family is very grateful for your services. Kitsune, please grab some Joules from the bag and treat your friends to some dinner."
"Haha! That's what I like!" exclaimed Ikarus.
Joseph laughed heartily, "Enthusiastic fellow too! You eat good now!"

—

Ally picked at the bird seeds on his plate, "Um.. is this all that Chickeletta Island can offer?"
"Oh," said Kitsune, munching on the bird seed, "Don't worry about that Ally. Those are just appetizers. The main course should be coming shortly."
Ikarus licked his plate clean, "Who knew bird seed tasted so good?"
"Hmm.." murmured Kitsune, "You guys should stay tonight. It's dangerous to go sailing at night, especially during long distances. I have a few extra hammocks."
"Thanks," said Ally, "While we're here, can you tell us about your family to get to know you better?"
"Where should I start?"
"Maybe the events about the loan sharks.. or about your father's illness. Anything that you feel comfortable with."
Ikarus ate the rest of the appetizers, listening intently on Kitsune's story.

"Chickeletta Island is an island where foxes and chickens lived together in peace. However, those days have died down recently.

My Papa was a very rich man. He had studied a lot during school and found ways to exploit the business and market of Chickeletta Island. That's when some chickens who we call 'Loan Sharks' decided that the foxes shouldn't be earning too much money. This caused the whole island to go on a frenzy, and most chickens had discriminated against foxes.

Soon, the fox population was dying down in Chickeletta due to death threats and groups of Loan Sharks killing families daily. Recently, Chickeletta has passed laws to prohibit this, but the damage was already done.

Anyways, during these times, my Papa found my Mama and loved her. However, my Mama had a lot of debt on her in order to get an education. My Papa was there for her and paid her debts, but it wasn't enough. Soon, the interest would be even more than my Papa's huge income. That's when I was born, which killed my Mama due to over-exhaustion.

Things spiraled downhill from there as my Papa raised me, and tried to pay off the rest of my Mamas debt without her help. Recently, my Papa got an illness from working too hard. The medicine has been made, but it's a bit too expensive for us to buy. For now, I'm working for my Papa to pay off those Loan Sharks, and I plan to use the leftover Joules in an effort to buy the medicine to make him feel better."

The food arrived, which was a bucket of fried chicken.
Ikarus whispered into Ally's ear once more, "Ally.. I think this island is into some weird stuff. I'm pretty sure this is cannibalism. First slavery, now cannibalism? We're in some weird place!"
Ally ignored Ikarus' words and looked at the chicken, "Are you sure it's alright for you to treat us to dinner? You could be saving up that money for medicine."
"It's alright," giggled Kitsune, "This restaurant gives a discount for foxes. They also only give fried chicken to foxes, so don't think they're cannibals, Ikarus."
"Mmph!" mumbled Ikarus as he gnawed on the fried chicken.
"Plus," added Kitsune, "These fried chicken are just placebos. They're artificially made to give us nutrients at the same taste of chickens. Funny how technology works, huh?"

The trio began to eat the fried chicken, with Ikarus almost choking on a few bones.

—

The night was starry and bright. The marketplaces were very quiet as opposed to the evening. It seems that everyone has already closed down their stables. The trio walked down the pathways, full from the dinner.

"Hey," said Kitsune, staring at the night sky, "Do you think in the end, everything will be ok?"
Ally opened his mouth to speak when Ikarus interrupted him saying, "Everything always works out in the end! Even if things go bad, there's always a future to look forward to!"
Kitsune smiled.

As the trio walked forward on, Ally smiled as well, thinking, "You always have a way to encourage people, don't you, Ikarus?"

...

"Papa!" yelled Kitsune as she entered the small brick house, "We're home! I chose the regular discount!"

There was silence.

"Papa?" yelled Kitsune once again.
Ally stared at the hammock, "What the hell?"

The elderly fox was nowhere to be seen on the hammock. The blanket that was on top of him was on the floor.

"T-the Joules!" panicked Ikarus, "They're gone!"
Ikarus then noticed a knife stabbed into the table, "W-whats that?"
"Oh no.." whispered Kitsune, tears forming in her eyes, "The Loan Sharks.. they took Papa.."

Ally and Ikarus stared at each other.

"I need to get him back!" yelled Kitsune as she tried to leave the house.
That's when Ikarus pulled on Kitsune's arm, "Not yet Kitsune! We need to take some rest! If we don't, we'll all be exhausted and chicken food!"
"Stop! Stop it!" yelled Kitsune, "Let me go! Help me, Ally!"

Ally then blocked the exit of the small house.

"He's right, Kitsune," said Ally, disheartened, "We need some rest first."
"Stop!!!" yelled Kitsune, now crying, "I thought you guys were my friends! Let me save my father!"

Ally and Ikarus just kept blocking the exit, with grim faces.

"Stop it!!!" yelled Kitsune in agony, beating on Ikarus' arm, "I thought you guys would help me! You were my friends!"

It took time for some convincing, but Kitsune's howls remained ongoing throughout the night.