Scammers Market

"Ahh, yes the beauty of Wormtail!" The fox stood as he did jazz hands, presenting the whole of the city. "Look at the glow the morning brings on this quaint little town!"

The town was presented from the one-bedroom sized houses to the dusty blackened streets.

"Yes, a dirty little town at that." murmured the elk.

It came to no shock to the fox that the elk was snooty. She was dressed in very fine white veiled silks and furs that covered her whole body. On top of that, she had big ears. Only the rich can afford big ears with antlers like that. The elk was probably not even her only skin; he could have sworn that last week she was a white Bengal tiger. He had shown her around just about everywhere she wanted to see. Feeling a little anxious the fox breathed into his little pouch before he continued.

"You know, there is this nice little shop just around...."

"I'm quite bored now," yawned the elk. "I think I'll go back now."

"But I..."

The elk paid him two cat paws and a purr before walking away. The fox held the payment in his hand....this was cheap. Cats were easily the weakest carnivores. For such a rich customer he wished she would have paid him more. On the bright side now he could get something from The Hens Bin.

Walking into the store he could see his old friend sitting with her arms over the counter. She was a small dormouse with brown fur. She always played like she was cold to him. But he could see right through that frosty exterior.

"Hey, got anything new?" Asked the fox looking around the store. "I have things to trade..."

"Your trades are always cruddy." Scoffed the mouse. "Where's the rich girl you were touring around the city?"

The fox was shifting through a bin of baby dragon tails. They weren't anything too special, just the small common dragon tails.

"You know, I always wanted to try being a dragon, but I never got enough parts for that..." The fox dragging his nails across the tails' brown scales. "Why are you always a small mouse? Do you suck at hunting as much as I do?"

"Stop dodging the question." Snapped the mouse. "I'm sick of the pretending. We're always pretending. Ever since we came to that desert."

"Pretending's not that bad, it's how we survived when the humans with the spears came to our land. Although it became trickier when the paler ones came in." He paused. " I didn't know humans could be that color." He thought, putting a paw under his chin. " Did you use to be a real mouse?" Asked the fox. "You know -- before?"

But the mouse only crossed her arms and glared at him. That's when the fox saw what she was hiding with her arms.

"Is that..?"

The mouse jolted when he spoke. Her arms went to cover the item up again, but it was too late.

"No."

"Dreams?"

"No!"

The fox flung himself over the counter reaching his paws out towards it.

"No!" The mouse picked up the dream holding it away from him. "You can't El..."

The fox's eyes went wide when he heard the first syllable.

"Hey, now take it easy." The fox held up his hands, backing away from her. "No need to use real names, okay?"

The mouse started up with a facetious look.

"You should remember I'm the only one who knows, because of your foolishness." Said the mouse. "I really wanted one of your rich tourists to come by! You promise you'd bring good business! How could you let me down!"

"What's Dream?" Asked the fox. "Dragon? Monkey?...Mouse?"

"Don't ignore me!"

The fox's eyes stayed wide. He continued to stare at the dream. The counter being his only physical barrier. The mouse shifting the dream in her hands pawing it lightly.

"Uhh, artist..."

"Human?" Said the fox amused. "You know I used to be human. Maybe I'm the best person to judge the quality of the product..." Said the fox reaching for the dream.

"Stop the pretending." Snapped the mouse. She slapped his hand. "You wouldn't know if you use to be one or not. No one knows anything about their past."

The fox rubbed his hand, but never took his eyes off the dream.

"How much did you want for that thing anyway?"

The mouse paused. Her eyes shifting around as if scanning the wooden store for a price.

"A unicorn horn and three psychic eyes."

"That's outrageously expensive you know!"

"Human parts are outrageously rare to get your hands on you know." She mocked. "Especially ones of the pale pigment..."

That's how much that woman he was touring should have paid him, he thought. The fox reached into his pocket to grab the bag he likes to breathe into. That's when the fox got an idea.

"It's really too bad though," said the fox. "I was willing to trade you this wind elementals wind for it too, it's what I got for today's tour of course..."

The mouse looked at the fox raising her eyebrow at him.

"Fine if you don't believe me then I can just take it to HogMob for more wolf parts or something...." Said the fox. "But I thought I would go to you first since we're friends and all."

"We're not friends, I just happened to know your name." The mouse bearing her teeth. "You should be terrified of me for that mistake."

"Oh well..."

The fox shrugged and started to walk out of the store.

"Wait." The mouse said.

The fox stopped. The curtain that he lifted now draped over his hand. His eye peering out over his shoulder at her.

"I'll trade with you." Said mouse, looking down at the counter.

A smile spread across the brown fox's face.

"I knew you would like it."

"You better not be lying to me."

The fox traded the bag of his breath for the artist's dreams and ran out of there before she could notice.

He walked until he got to the back alley where he dug a syringe out of his pocket. Pressing it into his arm he got the dream into his vain, it began to play instantly.

The dream started off with a human woman going to a masquerade party. Everyone was dressed in fancy clothing wearing a fancy silk mask. The main woman was wearing a fox mask at the party. But it all went awry when her mask slipped. Everyone at the party gasped like it was her dress that fell off. A feeling of dread swept over the room. The fox thought that the woman was going to apologize or start to defend herself, that's when she got up in front of the crowd and shouted.

"I'm sick of all the pretending!"

When the fox snapped out of the dream he found the mouse standing over him with her arms crossed.

"Well did you find anything interesting about my old dream? You jerk."

She threw the empty bag at him, but before she could walk away he grabbed her arm. She glared back at him.

"Wait do you remember?" Asked the fox. "Remember a time before we were wendigo?"