Chapter 11
About two blocks past the booths to Riley's reckoning gave way to a more middle class neighborhood.
Here, the lane was lined with shops, and wooden signs hung proclaiming a bakery, pub, tailor, smith, and cobbler. The bulk of the people moving on the streets still wore the simple linen clothes, but they looked to Riley's eye healthier and a bit more hopeful, less stressed by life though still obviously challenged.
In a lot of ways, they looked a lot like Darius, having found a precarious middle between soul crushing poverty and the true ease that affluence afforded.
These were people like her human parents had been. Those memories, for all the fragmentation, spoke with powerful emotion. Her mother had been a teacher of something, and her father was…
Was… Some kind of driver? Of a large thing? It transported goods. What was that job?
Truck...
"Truck Driver!" A disparate collection of memories found their solidity, reflecting off each other like an amplified signal. Her father had been a truck driver.
Ironic, considering they had died in a car accident while she was being watched by her grandmother. On one of his rare days off, they had gone out on a date, only to never return home.
"That's all I can remember," she said to herself, distracted as Darius went past the small row of shops, turning right and heading for an alley and a presumable back entrance.
The memory of their loss was concrete, but a further pang of panic hit when she couldn't quite remember their faces or how they had looked. Still, how her mother had sounded presented proudly in her mind, especially how she had said…
I love you, ladybug.
No matter what happened, if it was the last thing she ever did, she would hold on to what was left as she felt something solidify and harden deep within.
Darius entered the back room of a shop that smelled of leather, wood, and human effort, setting her cage down in an empty space by the door.
"Now you wait here, dear. I'll not be long, then it's up the stairs," he said, acting almost like he knew she could understand him.
He quickly scurried away before moving stiffly up the stairs, gripping a convenient handrail, pulling himself along as Riley heard a chime when an exclamation point popped up in the upper right hand corner of her vision.
Focusing on it, her friends, the purple boxes appeared.
You have unlocked the skill, Subterfuge.
Subterfuge, Shadow Soul (Passive)- You know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. Your time practicing stealth has influenced your path and progression in the magic. You now will receive a magical bonus in situations requiring guile, deception, and subtlety. Progression with this skill is currently at 1% Progression to tier 2-1 now at 0.5%
You have unlocked the skill Analyze.
Analyze, Celestial (Active)- Your curiosity at having found yourself in a new world you do not understand has caused your spirit to evolve within the magic. You want to know shit! A magical ability has been unlocked where a thing or being's true nature and name can now be gleaned. Note: The higher the level disparity, the greater the chance of failure. Progression with this skill is currently at 1% Progression to tier 2-1 now at 1.0%
"Cool, but how do I access my magic?" Riley wondered, pointing that question at her guide.
A purple window appeared, revealing everything and nothing.
Magic is the projection of your will against the will of an indifferent universe. You must hold the spell in your mind and project your intent.
"Well, that sounds like new age horse shit," she thought glumly, settling down in her cage, pausing to rise only to nibble a few errant bits of the tasty grass and clover she had missed.
Riley might not know exactly how to cast, but she was certain of one thing.
Clover rocked.
The sound of footfalls upstairs caused her ears to swivel as she tracked the sound to the top of the stairs.
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"I want to see her. Da, you really shouldn't have. Magical creatures are expensive, and it's not like you're flush with coin!" A woman lectured lovingly, her voice growing in crescendo, punctuated by the sound of feet hurrying down the stairs. She soon revealed herself in a long linen skirt, wearing a worn grayish white apron over a similar greyish white blouse.
Like everything in this world, it was all linen and burlap; nary a bit of cotton was to be seen, though the apron was waxed, granting it some degree of waterproofing. Atop her head was a grey shawl tied back in such a way as to keep the hair out of her face.
"Now Gwendolyn, you know I've many a friend in this town. It wasn't too much, I assure you, and besides, it's not like it won't pay dividends. The boy needs a leg up," Darius said as the lady's eyes fell upon the cage.
"Oh, quite the adorable thing, save for those eyes, but my, that cage looks cramped," she said, full of compassion, moving over dutifully, hefting Riley's confining metal prison up in her hands by its top as the hare prayed inwardly for release.
Gwendolyn was stronger than she seemed, but still, the bulky nature of Riley's current metallic home and hell presented an awkward challenge for her. It banged against the wall a few times, leading to a bespectacled man coming from the front and entering the back workspace.
He also wore spectacles and had working hands but was wearing a leather apron, white tunic, and pants. He seemed like a more gaunt and younger Darius as the old man's eyes lit up from the base of the stairs.
"What's with all the racket back here? I've customers in and out!" The younger man complained, wringing his hands.
"Hello Cedric, don't mind us. It's just a gift for Tobias. You know it's his graduation this we…" Darius began, only to be interrupted by Gwendolyn.
"By the dead Gods, Da, we know, we're all proud of the boy, as is every shopkeep and pub tender you've called on for weeks!" She laughed in exasperated amusement.
"Preach it, sister," Riley chuckled at her own joke as Gwendolyn resumed her trek, finally reaching the top of the stairs.
"I'll be up later; just try to be quiet," Cedric complained as Riley heard his footsteps decrescendo.
She found herself in an immaculately clean living space. Well-worn but well maintained furniture lined the walls. Something akin to a mix between a couch and a high backed bench dominated one side, while in the corner, there was a rocking chair next to a fireplace with a hearth. Upon it was a smattering of old books, as well as a box with a silver metal plate on its top; stacked to its side were what looked like clear quartz crystals. They were four sided but tapered at the ends down to points.
Focusing in, Riley could see something that looked like energy coursing through the inside of them, like a Tesla ball, but no one else seemed to notice, or maybe they just didn't care.
Opposite the fireplace wall was a door that led to what Riley assumed was a kitchen, and to the left of that opening was a long hallway that no doubt gave way to the bedrooms.
Gwendolyn set Riley's cage against the empty wall nearest the stairs, "so, how do we do this? Is she destructive?"
"I'll be good. Just let me out," Riley said within, scooching towards the door, pressing her muzzle and paw against the front of the cage as if in emphasis.
"I was framed, I swear, that cop had it in for me!" She joked wryly.
She realized in that moment how much she missed being able to talk to people, but maybe that would change soon. Though there was no telling what kind of situation she was going into, these all seemed like nice people that wanted nothing more than for their kid to do well, and as such, that granted her some small place in their hearts.
Maybe she didn't even need to escape at all? She could establish communication, work out a deal, and win some allies in this world. It was better than starving after all or being on the run, and if anything else, it might buy her time and give her a chance to understand this new world and new reality
"Wouldn't that be nice?" Riley sighed, hoping for a change in luck.
"Oh, the poor thing, I'm letting her out," Gwendolyn said, tsking, shaking her head sadly.
With the latch flipped and the door open, a curious feeling of adrenaline moved through her as her paws quivered.
"Well, come on out, little one," Gwendolyn coaxed; all the while, Darius moved over towards the stairs, which seemed to her like insurance.
Haltingly, realizing she hadn't even really moved on her paws before, Riley emerged, finding no grated metal walls to restrain her.
Nothing had ever felt so good as she extended her forelegs and pulled out all the kinks in her back with a powerful arching stretch, slowly moving then hyper extending each hind paw back.
Her ears flattened back as she took a few centering breaths. "Oh sweet, sweet freedom."
"So what now? I suppose I'll need to set up a litter pan. Is she like a calyx that way?" Gwendolyn asked Darius, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Search me, dear. We're in new territory, but I think she is too. It'll work out. For now, let's just watch and see how she does," Darius deferred, kicking that can firmly down the road.
Riley was just happy to be out of the cage, having nowhere else to go for the biological necessities of her mortal existence; she had relegated one back corner for her bathroom, the other side for her hindpaws, keeping her muzzle far from the indignity of having no other choice.
By god, she was happy to be out of there. Curious about her new environment, it pushed her on, past her passive reflections as she took the hint and began to hop around, slowly, gingerly, getting accustomed to the somehow familiar feeling, sniffing around, looking for good places to curl up or hide, nosing past doorways, confirming her earlier observations.
"Yep, Kitchen and bedrooms," She said to herself as Gwendolyn and Darius watched from the stairs like sentries.
Disappearing down the hall, there was a smaller door cracked open at the end; nosing through, she was shocked to find something like a bathroom. A metal tub was set into the floor, and a spigot came out of the wall. Just opposite her was a wooden box that ran its length with a hole in the center with a liftable lid.
"I guess by this world's standards, they're doing pretty well," Riley concluded before hopping back down the hall, poking her head out before scanning towards Gwendolyn and Darius.
"She seems ok, and she isn't chewing, thank god. If you've seen the messes I've had to clean in my time from those spoiled brats and their companions, you'd lose what hair you have left," Gwendolyn shook her head in professional exasperation as Riley continued to explore her new environment.
"I think I like this place," She said to herself. It was quite the step up from her old apartment.