*Splash Splash Splash*

Two little kids charge Meera who lifts her foot off the first kid. He splutters, his head coming out of the mucky water. I chant rapidly, trying to defuse the situation-

[Stormy Breeze of My Loneliness, Gather Forth-Gust]

A strong breeze flows through the tunnel, slowing the children who run headlong into it. Meera throws me a look over her shoulder, rolling her good eye at me, before disappearing. She reappears in-between the two kids. Lashing out, she spins on one leg and roundhouses the boy into the wall. Simultaneously, the deadly fan appears in her opposite hand and whips around to crack it’s blunt side into the girl’s shoulder. Oof. She’s sent catapulting into the sewage. Luckily for her, Meera completes her spin kick, rotating around before the girl lands, and smoothly slips the heel of her boot under the girl’s neck. Nice catch. Did Elina teach you that one? The little Demi-girl’s face stops just a hair shy of the disgusting water. Unfortunately, the boy Meera kicked doesn’t receive the same gentle treatment. His head smacks into the wall with a resounding clap that I sympathize with. And people say I’m sexist. Now that’s just cruel.

“Worried about something, Boss?” Meera glances at me, effortlessly hauling the girl up with her ankle as if she’s playing hackysack. The little Demi-Raccoon is shivering, completely distraught at the sudden change in orientation. Meera’s brutal violence has stunned the children into hushed gasps and pained whimpers. “Did you really think I was going to kill them? What, you think I’m like Echo or something? Rainstoppers only kill for a contract. We’re not like Merekeep trash.”

You sure about that?

During the Trials, you definitely wouldn’t have hesitated to kill a kid.

“Hehe, nah, I knew you wouldn’t do that.” I chuckle nervously, trying to hide my doubt. However, I think Meera can still tell I’m not entirely confident in her ‘honor’. Examining the biggest Demi-Raccoon, Nika, who’s managed to slowly clamber onto his hands and knees, as well as the girl who’s just realized what’s happened and is frantically trying to back away from Meera without being noticed, I sigh. “Did you have to hit them? I’m trying to have a conversation here…Small Cat.”

“...” Meera’s annoyance at the code name the Stranger chose for her is obvious. I’m only doing it to annoy her since I blurted out her name earlier already. She reaches over and yanks the fleeing girl towards me before disappearing and collecting the unfortunate boy who got slammed into the wall. Within seconds, there are three Demi-Raccoon children in front of me. Two boys. One girl. Meera polishes her palms before backing away. “You deal with them then. Let’s see it.”

“Watch and learn!”

Smoothly, I bend down and look them in the eyes. Three pairs of scared eyes greet me. Errr…actually I’m not really good with people either. Thinking it over, I sigh. Sliding my fingers through my hair, I pull up the cat-mask to reveal my face. The children shy back as if expecting some sort of unspeakable monster to appear, but when they see my face, they stop. Still, a certain wariness remains in them. Perhaps it’s because I’m human. Damn, I wish Kisa was here. She’d be good at dealing with them.

“Hi. You guys look hungry,” I take in their waifish skinny frames, and sigh. Most Demi’s in Merekeep are hungry. But these one’s seem extra hungry. “Would you like some cheese?” Reaching into my coat pocket, I remove a delicious block of wrapped cheddar. Peeling back the paper, I expose the yellowy-goodness and take a bite. Alright now we just smile and… “See? It’s good!”

“He’s one of them…a kidnapper!” The big one, who tried to protect his friend, yells out. I think his name's Nika? Now what’s going on here. All three of the Demi-Raccoons immediately shy away from me. However, they’ve at the very least learned that running isn’t an option with Meera standing behind them. I can’t make any sense of this. Why are they so afraid of…cheese? Sniffing the block of cheddar, I shrug. Seems fine to me. “Don’t take his cheese! Or he’ll take you!”

Take you?

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I say. Holding up my hands, I show them the clean bite I just took from the block. “Look, you’re Nika, right? It’s quite good. I made it myself. There’s nothing wrong with it-”

“Don’t listen to him!” Nika glares at me. He puts his arms out and tries to push back the other two Demi’s. However, their stomachs rumble at that moment. Their wariness seems to be having trouble competing with their hunger, “That’s how they took my brother! They offer you cheese and then make you fight for them!”

Um…well I mean that was kind of the plan. But it’s not like anyone’s going to force you to fight for us. It was a charity food-drive.

“I don’t know who told you these things, but I can tell you right now…” I grin reassuringly while taking another bite of the cheese. Holding it out, I notice the smaller boy and the girl’s eyes tracking it greedily. “This cheese is amazing. And no one’s going to make you do anything if you take a bite. We just want to talk to you.”

“R-Really?” The girl is caving. I can see it in her eyes. Predicting children is easy. She leans in, hungrily, even in these disgusting sewers, my cheese is irresistible. Her flat nose sniffs and all three Demi-Raccoon’s ears twitch. Nika tries to stop her, but she pushes past him. “It smells s-o-o good. I can really have some?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Don’t take it-!”

“Here ya go!” I quickly offer the cheddar bar to the girl who snatches it out of my hand instantly. She scarfs it down so fast I’m amazed. Damn, that was almost faster than Natalia! Jeez, it was just some cheddar. I should tone down the addictiveness a bit. The girl smiles as she chews a truly enormous bite and then swallows. Her eyes water from the sheer amount of food going down her throat, but when she’s finished, it’s tears of joy. “Heh, see? I told you it was good.”

“Sila, you’re going to get taken now.” Nika shakes his head and backs away from the girl. He still doesn’t trust me. “Jinta, come with me. We can still get away.” However, the smaller boy isn’t listening. His mouth is open, drool falling into the sewer muck at the piece of bread I’m holding out. “Noo! Don’t be a fool! It’s a trick!”

“No trick. It’s from the best bakery in the city.” I tantalizingly wave the small bun in front of him. Before I know it, the bread is snatched out of my hand. You know…that bun would have gone a lot better WITH the cheese.

*R-R-aaaa-Raaaa*

“Give it!”

Watching crumbs spew out as the little boy and girl fight each other for the bread, I can only sigh. In the background, my hastily made icewall crumbles, unable to sustain itself. Meera just watches impassively behind the children. I can’t really tell what she’s thinking. Do you feel bad for them? Or do you just disdain them for being weak? When they finish eating, the children have become much less wary. You can see it in their eyes. I’ve become a provider for them. A possible source of food. “Alright, nothing bad happened right? Now then, who wants to answer some questions?”

…

…

Greedy little bastards.

“Err, I have more food at home. A whole bunch of it. Whoever answers my questions can eat as much as they like!”

Well, as much of the wholesale stuff as you like. I’m not wasting the good stuff on kids.

“What do you want to know?” The girl is enterprising. I know a businessman when I see one. This one is hungry. Too easy. “You don’t seem like the people Jasi warned us about.”

“Jasi?” I ask. Thinking it over, I realize who she probably means. “Is that the Ferry-Rat? Big snout? Whiskers? Chain on his neck?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m looking for him. Do you know where he went?”

“He…had to go. Because the bad people were coming. I don’t know where. Hold on…you’re not the…bad people…are you?” Sila squints at me suspiciously. I smile innocently. That depends on your point of view. My smile distracts the little girl. “Hehe, your face is funny.”

“Why? Because I’m not a Demi?” I ask. Patting my cheeks, I give her a nice calming big brother smile. It’s supposed to be reassuring and show I’m in control. Well, it works on Nya anyways. “Do we look that different? When you’re not transformed, I think we look pretty similar.”

“No…because you look like you’re trying really hard.” Sila replies. At this, I hear a very distinct snicker from Meera’s direction. “Momma says when people try too hard to smile, they should take a break before they cry. And eat something. But definitely not Demi-Berries. Demi-Berries make you smile all the time. Until you don’t.”

Uhh…

“Is this better?”

“Nah, now you just look like you’re pooping.”

WTFIAWIWFIW?

“Ahahaha, Boss, I changed my mind! These kids are the best!” Meera bursts out into laughter. She holds her sides, taking off her mask to wipe her eyes. “I-I can’t. Let’s take this one back to the shop! Can we?”

“See! I told you they’re going to take you!” Nika calls out. He’s still trying to drag the other boy away. “It was a trick!”

“Okay…seriously, what is all this talk about kidnapping?” I wipe the stupid smile off my face. Let’s get serious. Looking at the boy who stops his efforts to escape when my gaze falls on him, I ask, “Who told you that accepting the cheese would get you…taken, was it? We give out free food. If you’re interested in joining our cause, we’ll take you in. But we most certainly do not force anyone to work for us. It’s a simple business transaction. You work, you get more cheese. Totally voluntary! Got that, kid?” Well, if you ignore the addiction part. But I mean come on, that’s capitalism!

“B-But…my brother. He took the cheese! And now he’s gone! I saw him! Now he’s handing out cheese too!” Nika’s voice turns shrill. The Demi-boy seems on the cusp of transforming. His nails are starting to lengthen into claws. “He said that he couldn’t stop! That he owed cheese! And unless he worked for them, they’d report him to the Omniscient Guard!”

That…is definitely not in the employee handbook. I know because I wrote it. You shouldn’t spread malicious rumors my friend.

“Kid, you know if there’s one thing I can’t abide it’s a bloody liar-”

“I’m not lying! Ask Jasi!”

“Ah yes, and where exactly is the Ferry-Rat? What exactly is he doing down here with a bunch of Demi-children? I’m not sure why you’re insulting my organization when he’s clearly taking you to weird places!”

“Jasi’s trying to help us-!”

*Splash*

Huh?

“Quiet!” I hiss. Meera whips around. She stares down the undercanals, stock straight. We’re still at the three-way fork. The kids came from the pipe going straight ahead. But there’s something…in the air. The fetid stench of corpses has been hidden by the aroma of freshly broken bread and cheese. But now, it’s getting stronger. And the noises, echoing around. Footsteps. At the very least, Demi children have the good sense to shut up. I whisper, “Meera, can you see anything?!”

“Too far away…but I can hear footsteps. More than one set.” Meera cocks her head. Slowly, she slips on her cat-mask and I do the same. “Doesn’t sound like the Stranger’s men. Or the Ferry-Rat. The rhythm…it’s off. I don’t know what they are, but they don’t move like people. Two legs though…I think. We’re outnumbered for sure. By a lot.”

Don’t move like people? Lovely. That’s something you want to hear in the sewers.