Author's Note: This is just a small reminder that .5 Chapters are not on the same timeframe as whole-numbered chapters! Those here allow me to complete/explain certain things without blowing up the main story again. I need the damn main story moving so I can enter the next part of the main story as fast as possible. I have too much content to go through. Info for RR readers: I post those additionally on Patreon, but here they are part of the normal schedule ;)

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A Couple Of Weeks Later After The First Meeting Of Operation: Fat Balden Eagle, Copper House Prison

"What... will happen to me?"

Sophie, a hyena-kin, was sitting inside her relatively luxurious cell. While relative was a very loose word in this context, it had nonetheless a mattress filled with straw, a desk, and a chair. There was a small window to the side, from which light sometimes fell into the room.

At first, she was inside the public cell with barely any space for herself, with other people partly urinating and defecating meters (1m ~ 3.2ft) away from her. At the same time, she tried to ignore the suspiciously wet floor she slept on. So, comparing her current cell to the old one, it really felt as if she moved to the central district in Wolfsteeth.

However, she was slightly worried since she was relocated a week after speaking with the judge. It meant only one thing: She was to be executed, sent away to the mines, or something similarly horrific.

Clues were everywhere, apart from her sitting inside a private cell. Before the cell, guards were stationed, and she guessed they didn't want her to flee. Sophie heard stories that the mines and other work camps were ruthless. Therefore, many tried to escape before they got a slave tattoo and would rather live the life of a criminal than stay in such a camp for years.

A couple of her co-workers on site did some horrific things and were put in such a camp for some decades, with one being fifty years there. The stories they told were about them trying to survive day by day, but they were even the fortunate ones even though they were massively abused, raped, and worse. The most deviant criminals would die there, with their last breath begging to end them quickly.

Despite knowing all the terrible stories, Sophie felt only slight discomfort. She understood it was her future, too, but she simply had no emotions. She felt empty as if someone had drained her of all her feelings. The only light she saw inside the dark tunnel was Ira, but even she slowly dimmed, leaving an eery nothingness behind.

Sophie never felt like that. She always was somewhat joyful with a slight juvenile personality, even after reaching the hundred when she should've become more adult-like. However, she never wanted or needed to change because of her good-paying job, lovely small house, and attractive husband, a sweet and perfect Father for their future pups. Anything but living her life to the fullest would be a waste.

Even knowing all of this, Sophie didn't feel anything. Her whole life crumbled before her eyes. She knew she should've cried and begged, doing everything she could to escape the imminent nightmare, but there was no care left in her. She accepted her fate, like a bird pinned down by a cat, staring into the emptiness, awaiting death.

As Sophie sat on the mattress, she looked to the side, upwards, toward the barred window, and saw that the sun would need a couple more hours to set, 'How long do I need to wait, huh?'

She had been waiting for her judgment for over a week—honestly, it could have been multiple weeks or even a year. Time became nothing to her. However, in some of her clearer moments, when she started to care, panic slowly engulfed her whole being.

She would start to ask the guards, trying not to fall into thoughts about the terror that awaited her. Yet, they never could give her a clear answer, only that they followed the command of Alexander, the pup of the Leonandra household.

Sophie knew nothing about him other than the usual gossip. He was a genius, a saint, and many more flattering titles. For the last two months, every week, there was some weird new rumor about him, from marrying royalty to being in love with his discarded aunt or even being into boys. It was all nonsense, but it was always a fun conversation topic.

However, the most prevalent one was that he was about to be declared heir. Would she be able to see him becoming the next Lord? She saw Marisia becoming Lady after Scarlett moved on, and it would be entertaining to see Alexander taking the title. Still, deep down, she knew she wouldn't be able to see it.

'I... made a grave mistake.'

As Sophie needed to kill time, she often remembered her past. This also brought some emotions back, filling her emptiness for some short moments. She liked to remember the time she spent with family and friends, even though those memories were distant.

'It was fun.'

She was born in a rural town in central Mal-Gil, and when she got her [Divinity Line], she immediately left. It was terrible, and the taxes were horrendously high. Even her parents pushed her to leave as quickly as possible.

At that time, rumors floated around that Moorgrel was a paradise for commoners, especially since many avian and insect-kin left for the Count's territory because they were discriminated against in central Mal-Gil. Though many said she shouldn't go because of all those sub-races, she trusted her gut feeling more and left for Wolfsteeth.

They were partly right, though. When Sophie arrived decades ago, Scarlett reigned. The territory was chaotic and full of crime, still better than most larger cities in central Mal-Gil for commoners, but not by much. However, once Marisia took over, it was like a wave that swept over the city, making it liveable. As such, even her peculiar laws were accepted gladly by everyone as long as she kept administering the territory.

So, breaking those laws, Sophie felt like a moron. She didn't know what happened at all. After cheating for the first time, she felt terrible, puking and having anxiety, especially since she found her soulmate in Fred, bonding so closely it was like they were one. Yet, after the first time cheating, her instinct pushed her in a particular direction, continuing the unfaithfulness and breaking the law multiple times. Even though she felt disgusted every time she did it, she always wanted to return to Ira, not knowing why.

Now, though, she was ready to receive punishment, 'Five to ten years, I guess... will Fred wait for me though?'

While she barely felt anything, making accepting her punishment much easier, there was something like nostalgia, the yearning for somebody. Would it feel good if Fred held her hand? She didn't know but wanted to find out before being sent away. As the fear and anxiety crept up again, in one of her clearer moments, with the heartbeat fastened and her sweat going through her fur, the cell door opened.

Inside came a guard, surprising Sophie but also calming her, "Is it not too early for dinner?"

However, the guard didn't say anything and just came inside, opening the door for someone else, some kind of bird-kin with blueish hair, a lengthy bluish birdtail, and small but cute wings. His eye color was weirdly light-purplish, sparkling as if he were royalty, looking at her with benevolence.

When he came inside, Sophie looked at him in all his glory. Besides his eyes, nothing else was exceptional. He was petite and slightly chubby, wearing an exquisite suit with a sewn-on paw symbol on his breast pocket. The relatively young and nervous avian-kin looked at her, beaming with the typical restless energy of the youth, "Hello, you must be Sophie, right?"

She slowly stood up, towering over the much smaller avian-kin, nodding, "Yeah... is everything alright?"

Not even a bit distressed, the avian-kin looked at her curiously, analyzing her stature and the emotions she showed, "You see..." He yawned, "Huaaa..." After shaking his head, trying to get rid of the tiredness, he said, "I apologize. I slept too little. However, I am from The Helping Paw, and my name is Birbon."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, even more confused. The Helping Paw was Alexander's charity, becoming quite famous inside Wolfsteeth since they started giving orphans and other poor bastards an education for free, which made many jealous.

Sophie wasn't one of them, even though her [Mathematics] was only at level three, while [Reading] was at level six and [Writing] was at level one. However, she thought more about her puppies and how they would get an education for free. For her, though, it was too late.

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So it was weird seeing one of those retainers, or whoever they were, here, "I see, but what is The Helping Paw want from me?"

Birbon wanted to say something but clearly forgot it. He pulled a weirdly white parchment out of his breast pocket, letting also the pochette fall. While he still tried to unfold the parchment clumsily, she bent down, taking the pochette and holding it before his face. Only after he unfolded it entirely was he surprised by her holding it directly before his face. He took it carefully while looking at her nervously and chuckling, "Thanks, hehe."

After putting it back into his pocket and crumpling it, he started to read aloud, focusing on the parchment, "Let's see... potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, and don't forget to be full of energy. Love you xoxoxo... oh sorry!" He chuckled, turning his head slightly, embarrassed, scratching his cheek, "...this was from my wife. We are freshly married, and you know..." The guard on the side cleared her throat, "Ahem! We got it, Birb."

Birbon nodded toward the guard, apologizing, and turned back to Sophie, "Sorry, I am new, and this work is inspiring. Since there was nothing like this before..." The guard, this time, yelled, "Damn it, Birb!"

Birbon flinched, "Sorry!..." He finally looked at Sophie more seriously, clearing his throat and starting to read the right side of the parchment, "...Ahem! You are deemed responsible for a minor violation and free to go as commanded by the honorable judge Mr. Alexander K. Leonandra, but..."

Sophie was suddenly delighted, though the but made her nervous as it probably meant that the fine was relatively high, "But?"

Birbon became suddenly serious, "Before I read through the final judgment, I need to say that there were quite exceptional circumstances, which was also the reason why you had to wait for a very long time..." He became suddenly solemn, almost melancholic, "...only because a certain drug was used on you, Sophie."

Sophie became confused, "I took a drug without knowing?! What kind of drug?"

Birbon shook his head, "Sorry, I am not allowed to say it, and honestly, even I don't know. It is a secret, and only the higher-ups know this. However..." He folded the parchment and put it back into his pocket, "...it doesn't really matter, and you will know why in a moment since you need to make a decision."

Sophie gulped nervously, "Decision?"

Birbon nodded, but his seriousness turned into a much lighter mood when he smiled at her, holding up one finger before him, "First, you can pay the fine of three large silver coins for which you have a year. This is how it's usually done, or you choose the second option, which I highly recommend..." He showed his second finger, "...you can come with me for something called rehabilitation."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, "Wait... so little?! I thought..." However, she quickly became more confused, remembering the other thing Birbon said, "...what is rehabnilitation?"

Birbon nodded, full of confidence that even his feathers puffed out. He explained what happened to her in a too-jovial manner, "It's Mr. Alexander's way to help you. Because the drug you involuntarily took was quite strong and had nasty side effects..." He tapped his neckbone, where the pheromonal gland was, "...which causes problems, like dulling of emotions which can lead to strong boredom, sadness and other negative feelings, which in turn can push you to things like heightened drug consumption and other extreme behavior..."

While Birbon was talking, Sophie looked shocked at him since he described her exact emotions or rather the lack thereof. She wanted to get drunk more than ever because she felt so empty, so she could start to feel something.

However, when he continued describing what she felt, it was as if she had been at the bottom of a sea the whole time and had only now seen a hand reaching for her, 'Mr. Alexander is truly one of a kind...'

However, her thoughts were interrupted by the last sentence of Birbon's obviously memorized and nervous monologue, "Rehabilitation will pay for your fine and give you a room inside one of our houses, where we can work out how to fix your problem in the best way possible."

Sophie raised an eyebrow, not knowing what to do, touching where her gland was. At first, the temptation to be free and visit the brothel Ira was in made her hesitate. However, the slight thought of Fred made her want to agree to this, but she had a couple of questions before that.

She looked carefully at Birbon, "What about work?"

"You can work after four weeks. However, you will stay with us as long as you aren't healed."

Sophie looked at Birbon nervously, only now realizing that he had said nothing specific, "And... what will we do there?"

Birbon nodded cheerfully, "Don't worry. Because of the drug you took, you got some problems with your body, but the treatment needs a lot of time, and the Temple will help us."

She looked at herself, confused, "I... Are you sure? I feel no pain?"

Birbon nodded again, becoming more excited, weirding Sophie out, "Yes! Mr. Alexander found out that the drug will not really damage the body as how we know it, but it will do something to our gland which..." He became a little confused, trying to remember something, "...roughing up receipts? I can't remember what it is called, but it makes so you have a lot of problems perceiving your emotions and need more of this drug."

Sophie understood, becoming much more elated, even though it was far from what she would usually feel, "I see... it's really like you said, I feel overly empty."

Birbon, seeing this, gave his most charming smile, reassuring her, "Don't worry! We will do everything we can to heal you!"

Sophie flinched a little, not expecting such enthusiasm, but remembered all the other weirdos from The Helping Paw, who ran from house to house, cursing or begging to give them any coin. It was always worth a chuckle. The only reason nobody touched them was either their guards or, what was most likely, they were Alexander's people. Nobody was suicidal enough to rob them.

"I see..." However, Sophie suddenly remembered someone, becoming a little sad, "...what about my husband?"

Birbon reassuringly smiled at her, patting her shoulder even though he needed to tip-toe to reach it, "We will also treat him, but we decided to bring him to another building for now. We are trying something different on him and want to know which method is better..." Sophie wanted to ask what he meant, but he quickly continued, "...Though, we can't tell you what. However, it is not dangerous or anything of the sort. Everything is new, and even my job as a social worker is something nobody heard about; this is why we test many things out."

Sophie nodded, trying to follow his ramble, which became more challenging since she became tired again, "May I ask something else?"

Birbon wanted to nod but suddenly stopped, took his pocket watch out, and sighed when he saw how late it was, "Sure, but on the way to the carriage. Do you have anything you need to take with you here..." He looked around, seeing that her room was as basic as possible with no personal items at all, "...never mind. Are you ready?"

She looked back the last time, trying to feel any emotion or attachment to the cell, but she was, as usual, empty, which paradoxically made her panic a little, 'I really hope Mr. Alexander can help me.' She nodded at Birbon, "I am ready."

When they started leaving the prison, she noticed that her senses had become dull. She couldn't smell the terrible stench. All colors became greyish, and the sounds monotonous, as if sucking out all the joy. She knew that if she didn't get healed, she would with certainty either take as many drugs as possible to feel anything again or just commit suicide, as it was foolish to live a life like that.

At the entrance hall, she asked, sounding a little nervous, "What about..." Before she could say more, she heard Ira scream further away, "Let me go! I will not go anywhere, you damn bastards!"

Everyone looked at the rather funny scene, with Sophie not moving and murmuring, "Ira..."

Sophie's emotions suddenly rushed back, making her almost cry as she saw her. However, Birbon distracted her with his nonchalant and irritated tone when he also looked at her, trying to fight against the guards, "Urgh, it's her. She was the one who drugged you and many more. Mr. Alexander talked with her separately multiple times and let her sign a costly contract, making her tell the truth. She was such a time and coin waste for everyone."

Sophie quickly turned to Birbon, "What?! Many more?!"

Birbon nodded while still looking at the scene of Ira being dragged over by the guards and handed over to the soldiers, "Yeah, around thirty? She didn't do it alone, though. Every worker in the damn brothel she worked at did it. It affected at least two hundred, making Mr. Alexander act this suddenly in the first place."

Sophie looked down, not wanting to look at Ira, as her emotions intensified, making her feel too weird. She clenched her fist, asking, straining her voice, "What will happen to her?"

Birbon mused, tapping his cheek, "I think it was something insane, like a hundred years of mine work? Mr. Alexander was livid and wanted to execute her on the spot but was held back by Judge Otto."

Sophie almost screamed, "What?! So mu..." However, Ira interrupted her further away, looking surprised as she had only now noticed her, "Sophie! Darling! Safe me! Tell them that I am not at fault! It was all Fred! This damn bastard! I was framed!"

Sophie slowly turned toward her, still loving her, something that could close the empty void in her heart that she had felt for the last weeks. However, Birbon said something, bringing her out of those dangerous thoughts in a tone full of disgust, "She destroyed your marriage. The bondage between husband and wife our Lady and Temple, with our Lord, did everything to establish."

Sophie looked at him, seeing how he became more enraged, making her almost smirk, remembering herself when she was a fresh bride, 'He is obviously new to this.'

He was still in the phase of a newlywed. Because he was a part of the Leonandra household, he also did the double, marrying inside the Temple and courthouse. However, when one married inside the Temple, they would also get to drink something. It was a potent and long-lasting aphrodisiac, making them not leave the bedroom for at least a week, and those effects still lingered weeks after. Those were perfectly seen on the chubby avian-kin as he still had those bags under his eyes.

However, Ira interrupted her thoughts, screeching as if someone had cut a pig in two, "Sophie! Please! I beg...urgh!..." Her screaming stopped abruptly when a soldier had enough, knocking her out for good, letting her fall to the ground, "Damn it, so loud!"

Sophie sighed and didn't know what to feel. She wouldn't intervene either way, seeing that it would have much worse consequences. This would bring out a particular emotion: pure fear, far more potent than whatever still lingered toward Ira.

Birbon tapped her shoulder, smiling at her as if sunshine bore a rainbow, making Sophie feel disgusted when she saw this, "Yes?"

"Let's go, Sophie. We will have much to do, and don't worry about anything else..." He straightened up, looking proud, "...We want you to get better again. This is our priority now so that you can live a fulfilling and happy life again with Fred, okay?"

Sophie nodded, "I guess..." Again, she felt empty, like a corpse with only the lingering still left, feeling terrible if it would be something she would need to live with, "...I trust you."