After.

Part 2: The Jackal and Shepherd

Kärlek. Located in one of the few habitable parts of nowhere and within the New Hope Alliance of villages, the village was home to just about 500 or so people. About even-split between human and beastman, the ramshackle village was a small testament to the world's survival and functioned as a rare bastion for human-beast cooperation. The housing was rudamentary, mostly just a jumble of wood and fabrics to make a roof for everybody. The only real construction was the school, a fairly sturdy clay hut. No real 'teachers' tought, just people giving advice and basic knowledge to kids. That resource was vital, and other small villages of the NHA sent their own kids to learn there.

Most people lived there with their parents. Umbriel, not. The strangest thing about the young feline was his unkown parents. The village took him in when he was a newborn; found completely alone in the plains of nothingness by a villager. The orphan was raised by a collaborative effort by various parents, with the mishmash ultimately proving successful at creating a functional person.

The closest person to Umbriel was a jackal boy named Setré. They grew up side-by-side, constantly playing and enjoying life in blissful ignorance of the harsh reality of the world. As the two matured, their feelings for eachother grew as well. Quite heavily. Be it fortune or chance, the both of them wound up being full of love for one another; entering a same-sex relationship.

The jackal was just who the feline wanted to see as he strolled back into the village. Setré's pointed ears flickered upon spotting him, and his candid tail began to twirl as he eagarly rushed to greet his partner with a firm hug.

"Umby!" Setré happily said, slowly releasing the captive cat.

"Good to see you too." Umbriel smirked.

"So, like, how'd it go? Find anything?" The jackal questioned, the two begining to stroll.

"I actually did this time, Setty. There was an actual, real library. I went in, and some old man named Maxwell greeted me. He told me a lot. Primarily that there's a gigantic fissure lined through the Pacific Desert, which might be the cause of our, well, selves, and maybe more."

Setré stopped in his tracks as he heard the end of the feline's recount.

"So hold on, there's an answer out there? To... like, everything?"

"Well I don't think the fissure'll give us the meaning of life, Setty. But it's the next best thing." Umbriel playfully replied.

A brief silence was cast over the two, and the feline thought intently. Looking at the rugged ground, he pondered what to do with his information. This fissure might seriously be important.

"Setré?"

"Yeah?"

"Get your staff and map. We're going there." Umbriel finally looked up, determined.

Setré seemed a tad nervous, but the adventure excited him. He quickly ran to his little 'house', grabbing a world map and slinging the wide-blade tipped staff over his shoulder, nicely lined over his yellow jacket, which complemented the jeans and sneakers nicely.

The two left shortly after that, and barely had to walk through the barren plain to arrive at another village; Makina - one of the villages of the coalition.

This village was notably larger, and better with housing. The constructions were made mostly out of metal, which provided a sturdier structure and enabled things to be built larger. But only 20 or so people lived here, entirely beastmen. The main structure that stood out was a larger metallic construction with a rugged motorcycle parked beside.

A goddamn MOTORCYCLE. Vehicles were generally sparce. You had to either salvage a wreck, kill an owner, or build one from scratch. Judging from a glance at the exposed pipeframe but solid form, it's owner most likely aquired it from the first method - but Setré became nervous at the idea of the second.