“Yeah, yeah, you and every other last prisoner.” The minotaur was less than gentle as he shoved Neal into the cell.
His head was still spinning but now it also hurt. He moaned from the ground. ‘All these head impacts can’t be good for my already limited intelligence’ He thought to himself.
This is not how he wanted to spend his Friday morning. He noticed a bench on the wall, or maybe it was a wooden cot, he couldn't really tell. The whole cell was dimly lit. That also smelled a lot like piss and a little bit like shit. Struggling to hold onto the ground, he pushed himself up. And on shaky legs made his way to the cot-bench. Like everything else in this cell, that was hard and uncomfortable, and smelled bad. Given the splinters, it was also poorly maintained.
“Just what I wanted, tetanus.” He paused thinking about, Could you get tetanus from wood splinters? Well, thankfully his shots were all UpToDate thanks’ to the ROTC. The thought that Earth infections might not even exist in Illania never crossed his mind.
He tried to focus on the cell bars, but it was hard. They kept moving and swirling around. Or maybe that was just his eyes and head and it's hard to tell. Visions came over and as he remembered videos from his youth. ‘A pirate lifting a cell door off its hinges.’ Maybe he could do that, it seemed like a good idea in his drunken state?
As he stood up or tried too, he realized he couldn’t and promptly fell back to the ground. No, this wasn't going to happen. He began to laugh from the floor. The whole thing was just too absurd. Outside the cell, several of the guards looked at him in confusion and disgust.
“What's he laughing at?” The wolf that looked disturbingly like Sable asked another guard.
Actually, the more Neal looked at him, the more he could see subtle colorations that made him different. There's a Gray splotch under his chin, those eyes were brown, not amber. He also seemed to have two muzzles, or maybe that was just the spins. Nah, that was just his face, he decided and laughed again.
Another guard stepped in, dwarfed by the looks of it. He did not look friendly, not that they ever do. That was confirmed as he slammed his hammer against the cell door. “Oi! Human shut up.”
Staring up from the floor he began narrating, for quite literally no reason “The strapping dwarf slammed his hammer rhythmically against the bars. The rugged tiny man seemed to have a way with words as he did so. Elegant, simple and to the point.” Neal laughed as he spoke. The whole situation was absolutely absurd to him. He couldn't help but laugh and joke around, because if he didn’t, he’d probably start crying.
“Is he narrating?” The wolf asked to the dwarf.
The dwarf turned to the wolf. “What the hell is wrong with this man? I know humans are insane, but he seems a step above it.” For good measure the dwarf smacked the cell door again with his hammer and then walked away.
Neal became aware of the humans in the cell next to him, laughing back at him. From what he could gather, they were some of the humans in the enclave who had ran up to sack the Upper City. “Hey, what are you all laughing at? Why not convince these idiots that I'm not with you?” He called out to the humans in the cell next to him.
Again, they laugh back. “Sure, why not? Hey, he wasn’t with us. Who are you?”
“Humans shut the fuck up.” The wolf cried out, mimicking the dwarf.
“Sorry, I don't really believe us.” The other humans shrugged their shoulders and continued to laugh at him.
How long was he going to have to wait here for? Certainly, somebody would have to come, right? When he didn't show up for night guard duty on Monday, they would… Right, they wouldn't do anything because he wasn’t expected. Well, maybe eventually Luna would realize… No, she never sought him out it was always the other way. Mithril? No, she only vaguely knew where he lived in the first place, plus, why would she? There really was no one else.
“This sucks.” His laughter turned to a whimper as he lay on the floor for a period that felt as long as it was short..
Again, the humans next to him said something. He didn't pay any attention though.
The jail was loud, with the sounds of yelling guard, hollering humans and cells being open and shut. Still, his mind was able to find a bit of quiet in itself to think. This wasn't so different from a few years ago, and he survived it. The last time he was in the drunk tank, how old was he that 18, 19? Was it before or after his birthday? He couldn't remember.
It was winter, though, and he was alone in that cell. At least he was smart enough not to drive. The cops didn't care though when they stopped him on the road and asked him for ID. “Kid, you're coming to the station, you're underage and you're drunk. Will let you call your parents, and they’ll pick you up. Come on.”
Only they didn’t.
“You’re where?! Neal, you’re underage you can’t be drinking! You’re always doing things like this for attention.” To say she was angry was an understatement. There were only a few times in his life he could remember her being like this.
He was in tears by then “I know mom, I made a mistake. Can you please come-“
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“No. You know what, a few days in the tank will do you go. Tell the officer he can release you Monday.” With that the phone clicked off.
“Hello? Mom…” He held that phone for what felt like hours before the office took it from his hands. He had whispered, “I’m sorry Mom, before they put him into the cell.”
“Sorry kid. I was hoping your parents were able to pick you up.” The police officer pushed him back into the cell.
“It’s ok, I’ll just stay here till Monday. I’ll just, have to explain to my boss. I’ll be fine.”
The officer actually seemed almost sad. “Well, no. We’re going to process you on Monday.”
“Process me?”
“Yeah, if you had someone to pick you up we could release you into their custody. Since you don’t. You’ll have to go before a judge. But, this is your first offence, they’ll have you go through diversion instead. You’ll probably lose your weekends for the next few weeks, and pay some money.”
He didn’t know what to think. At the time, he felt like his whole life was ruined. His family had abandoned him, and he felt like his whole life was over. He was a criminal now. As he rolled up in a ball, he couldn’t help but cry.
At least the officer was kind enough to stay and talk to him.
It wasn't even his idea to get drunk in the first place. It was that girl had been dating, the same one who broke up with him, and left him at the party for some jock. That whole party felt weird. There were people from high school and college there and he was in neither. He was just out of place.
Neal had taken a gap year, a year sucked. Both his father and mother worked, but his dad was the big bread winner for the family. Together, they didn’t make a lot, but it was Certainly, enough to raise 4 kids. At least you would think. Well, there were various costs and other issues that came about.
When his father got sick though, things changed a bit. He had to work less and took a pay cut. Cancer treatment were cheap either. Even with his father’s insurance through work. The diagnosis had come at the start of his Jr year of Highschool.
Thankfully his father survived, but by the time he graduated there was no money to send him to college, unlike his older brother and sister. Honestly the gap here was more for him than anyone else. Time to figure out what to do and earn a little money. He found a good job making sandwiches at some high spec place in downtown. He managed to make $24 and hour, he didn't pay rent for his house, he didn't pay electricity. It was good money. Money he tried to give back to his parents where he could.
He thought he had done everything right. He knew his parents weren't exactly proud of him. Even if he was helping them. It was hard to tell if they were mad he didn't go to college or not. All he knew was that they talked about his older brother and sister and his younger brother more than they ever did him.
The memory of that conversation at the kitchen table with his younger brother was still burned into his mind as he remembered in while he laid in both cells. His parents actually told his younger brother that they couldn't afford to fully send him to college, but that they were still saving up a little bit of money for him regardless. Of course, they never said did like that to Neal. They didn't even bother. It was just assumed that they wouldn't have the money and he would accept it.
The money he had been giving his parents wasn’t going to them or his father’s cancer treatment. They were saving it for his little brother. The realization that the money he was giving them would ultimately be going to his brother’s education, just felt like a further slap in the face.
Day in, day out, he would wake up. 6:00 AM, he would head to the deli, turn the lights on, and make sandwiches. It was serein, and peaceful. In his chaotic life, it was one of the few things he actually look forward to.
Monday would come around, and sure enough. “The defendant is found guilty of underage drinking and intoxication. Given this was his first offence, in leu of sentencing the defendant will be allowed to complete a month of community service and diversion classes.” What they didn’t tell him was the classes had to come out of his pocket. It was a little over 5k by the time all was said and done, and the weekend community service had killed his job. Everything he had managed to save was gone.
Then, his parents dropped another ball on him, “Neal, we need you to start paying rent.”
Yeah, that year sucked. Maybe that’s why he chose to go to college so far away, even without any more.
Back in the present day, the jail began to quite down eventually, as it grew later. In the distance he could hear water dripping from somewhere. He had no idea where, he didn’t really care either. As his buzz started to clear, his mind grew empty once more and he stared up at the cheap stone and cement ceiling.
What was he going to do?
“Is that the princess’ pet?” An annoyingly high-pitched voice came from out of his cell.
Couldn’t the guard see he was brooding right now? Neal took a deep breath and turned to look at the annoyance. There was another wolf outside his cell bringing in another human prisoner. Wolf? No, that wasn’t quite right. Wait, what did he call himself last time, an Adlet?
“What are you doing in here Human, you with this scum?” He shoved the enclave human into a nearby cell.
“Do I look like I’m with them?”
“You’re a human so yeah.” The Adlet laughed.
It didn’t seem hostile, but that didn’t matter. It still bothered him. Neal sighed and went back to glaring at the celling.
The Adlet didn’t seem to want to leave, maybe he enjoyed verbally poking him, “Seriously, why are you in here?”
Neal shrugged. He didn’t really know himself, just that he was grabbed, and shoved in the back of a wagon which had the two idiots in the cell next to him as well. “Walking home while human, I guess.”
The wolf at the security desk had gotten up during their conversation and now stood behind the Adlet, “Jago, you know that human?”
“Not really, he lives in the Upper City. I see him on my patrols a lot. He’s the Princess’ pet human and I think he’s a Lunar Guard too.”
“Not anymore, I quit.” He wasn’t sure why he said that.
“Hey, Golore. Do you remember what the princess’ pet’s name was?”
The dwarf came from around the corner, “You mean that blasted human? How the devil should I know. ‘Nail’ or something like that?”
Now Neal was being stared at by three different Guards. He felt like an animal in a zoo. “Souvenirs are available when you exit through the gift shop.” They didn’t seem to get the reference.
“Wouldn’t it be bad if we arrested the princess’ pet?” The wolf spoke, his voice shook slightly. As if he was worried.
“Bad? Is it bad he tried to sack the Upper City?” The dwarf nearly yelled.
“Why would I sack my own apartment. I live in the Upper City!”
The dwarf slammed his hammer on the cell once more, “What humans live in the Upper City?”
“The princess’ pet does.” Jago responded back.
Neal rubbed at his face. He honestly didn’t mind being in the jail cell, he just wanted them to stop calling him a ‘pet’.
“Is anyone in the castle awake right now?” He wasn’t sure who asked, he didn’t care as his mind started turning them out again. He really missed that deli.
Come morning, Neal was finally free, and given one of the weakest apologies he ever heard. Well, at least he could have a shower now. Maybe he’d just never leave his apartment again, that seemed like a sound plan. He rubbed at his temples, his head still hurt.