Every best of Kita's heart has the thought of her past echoing through her mind. She's walking through the marketplace without any attention to the stalls she's passing or where she's going. Straining her mind as she tries to think of her mother's face, or any memory that can remind her of what she's like.

Food, she reminds herself of what she should be doing. But concentrating on anything else is easier said than done right now.

She glances at the stalls around her, trying to take in the details of what's being sold as she continues to remind herself of the food she's supposed to be buying.

"Excuse me," A soft voice calls out to Kita.

Kita glances around, but sees no one.

"Down here," The voice prompts Kita to look towards the ground where she sees a steel creature with four legs, a pointed snout and a thick, metal tail. Finely print geometric patterns cover its entire body as the steel jingles and scrapes with its movements.

"Oh, great," Kita scoffs, "What are you supposed to be?"

"Uhmm," The creature stammers. "A Fox,"

"And what is it that you want from me, Fox?"

"I could really use your help," The Fox responds.

"With what?"

"I can't find my owner. Everyone I ask seems more interested in selling me for coin than helping me,"

Kita rolls her eyes, "Sorry, I can't help you," She responds, as she walks away from the fox.

"Why not?" The Fox asks, stepping in front of her.

"Uhh," Kita stutters, "I don't want to,"

"You're supposed to be nice!" The Fox yells in frustration.

"What makes you think I'm supposed to be nice?" Kita raises an eyebrow at the creature.

"Your eyes," The creature lowers its head, "They're like my owners,"

"I hate to break it to you, but eyes like mine mean the opposite of nice,"

"Not true," Says the Fox. "My owner is very nice,"

"Well, I'm not," Kita shrugs.

"Not true," The Fox calls her out, "I can smell honesty from you,"

"You can smell honesty?"

"Mhmm," The Fox nods.

"Ugh," Kita scoffs, "Where did you last see your owner?"

"We were here together, but that was two days ago,"

"Two days? Have you checked at home?"

"I don't know how to get home. I've been running through the whole city trying to find it. I don't know what else to do-"

"Ok, ok. What's your owner's name?"

"Starlet,"

"Then go and ask people where you can find her,"

"I tried that already. No one wants to listen to me,"

"Fine. Let's go find your owner,"

The fox's tail starts to wag from left to right as the metal parts slide against one another. "Thank you, Miss,"

"Kita," She corrects.

"Kita," The Fox says, "That's a pretty name,"

Kita turns to a lady standing at the stall across from her, and briefly glances at the miniature sculptures on her table.

"Excuse me, have you heard of someone named Starlet?" Kita asks.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The lady shakes her head, "Uncommon name, that. I'd remember if I had,"

"Have you ever seen this fox before?" She asks, tilting her head towards the fox.

The lady reaches over the table to glance at the creature posted against Kita's leg, "How much do you want for it?"

"Huh?"

"I'll buy it from you," The lady clarifies. "Fifty thousand coin,"

Kita glances at the creature by her side. It'd be much less of a hassle taking the coin and leaving the fox with this lady. But, something about it just doesn't sit right with her. If she didn't care, she'd have done it in a heartbeat. Maybe the fox reminds her of Rayn- Another ancient creature representing the times when life roamed all across the lands. Or maybe she's a sentimental idiot.

"It's not for sale," Kita shrugs.

"Eighty thousand," The lady counters.

"What? Who would you even sell it to for more than eighty thousand coin?"

"There are some wealthy folk in this world. A creature like that could easily sell for over two hundred thousand,"

"I'm not for sale!" The fox chimes in.

The lady's face brightens as she realizes the creature speaks. A large smile crosses her face as she stares at the fox with wondrous eyes. "Maybe half a million since it speaks,"

"She's right. She's not for sale," Kita adds as she turns away from the lady's stall.

"Why don't you know where your owner lives?" Kita asks the fox as it scurries by her side amongst the passing waves of shoppers. Trying its best to dodge and weave its way through everyone.

"We just arrived in this city one rotation ago," It answers. "My memory isn't very good,"

"Are there any shopkeepers that would recognize you and Starlet?"

"Oh. Yes! There's a shopkeeper that liked us a lot," The fox wags its tail as it starts pacing ahead of Kita. "Follow me,"

She starts jogging to keep up with it as it scurries its way between the legs of passersby. This one's much more lively than Rayn. Also a lot more sociable. It makes sense since the old lady is the only person for the bird to talk to- it's surprising how polite this little thing is.

"What's your name?" Kita asks between her short breaths.

"Ari," The fox responds. "I knew you'd ask,"

"Apparently, you know everything,"

Ari laughs a strange, high-pitched cackle that sounds more like squealing than laughter. "Everything except where my owner lives,"

"Hm," Kita chuckles under her breath.

"This shop right here!" Ari calls out, dashing into a turquoise tip with white lining dressing its edges.

Kita briefly slides as she brings her jogging to a halt and glares at the designs of the tipi. The colours of Vhifet are mesmerizing. Almost inducing Kita into a trance whenever she comes to notice the blend of turquoise and white around the city.

"C'mon!" Ari calls out, momentarily sticking her head out the entrance of the tipi.

Kita walks into the tipi to a space that feels much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. No- it definitely is much larger. How is this possible? The walls of the tipi are filled with bookshelves, arching to the top where they connect to appear as though the bookshelves infinitely rise to the heavens. The floor is an amalgamation of carpet and mirrors, which are giving the tipi this sense of scale.

"Ari!" An old man calls out with his frail voice. "Welcome back,"

"Hi there, Mr Bookkeeper," Ari responds, wagging her tail.

"Where's Starlet?" He asks as he crouches down to scratch Ari behind the ear.

"I don't know," She responds as she lets out a delighted growl in response to the man petting her. "Kita is helping me find her,"

"Kita, huh?" The old man reiterates as he stands to his feet and extends a hand towards Kita. "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

"Sure," Kita responds, shaking the man's hand. "Do you have any idea which part of the city Starlet is in?"

"I'm not so certain," He says, stroking his chin. "If I remember correctly, she said something about the Southeast,"

"Excellent!" Ari barks, "That sounds right to me,"

"I'm not so sure my memory is as sharp as it once was. So please take that information with a grain of salt,"

"Better than what we started with, right Kita?" Ari asks enthusiastically.

"Right," Kita murmurs.

"You don't seem like the most lively young lady," The old man chuckles in response to Kita's demeanour.

"You don't know the half of it," Kita scoffs at his judgment.

The old man walks over to one of the nearby shelves and reaches for the very bottom, where he slides out a thin book that could easily go unnoticed amongst the dense ones beside it.

"I think this might help with what you're going through," The bookkeeper says as he hands Kita the thin book. "

"How would you know what I'm going through," Kita asks as she glances at the book cover.

The Old Humans.

The bookkeeper chuckles, "Most people your age are going through some sort of existential crisis, young lady,"

"How is a book about the old humans meant to help, exactly?"

"What better way to learn about existentialism than from those who no longer exist," The bookkeeper chuckles. "I wrote that one myself, using all the stories I've heard from my travels,"

"The bookkeeper is the most knowledgeable person I've ever met!" Ari comments.

"I don't think a book is my salvation," Kita waves the book in her hand. "These are merely pages,"

Ari gasps loudly before she headbutts Kita's lower leg. "You're supposed to say 'thank you',"

"Sometimes, the stories we read have a piece of us embedded within them," The old man smiles, unfazed by Kita's hubris. "The two of you should get going, I have some customers to assist,"

"How much for the book?" Kita asks.

But the bookkeeper just winks at her, and passes Ari one last scratch behind the ear before walking to a set of customers that just entered his store.