The sight slowly came to Bailey’s eyes as she faded into consciousness; soft shrubbery and leaves cuddled up against her legs and stomach. Her head tilted to one side and she looked out of a hole in her room. She pushed one paw forward, pulled her others back, then shifted her back in a way that her bones would relieve themselves of pressure. After a sigh of relief, she started her way out of the doorway, squeezing through its frame. Bailey pressed her front paws against the loose dirt and hauled her back portion out of the slightly warmer room. She felt the chill of the crisp air dancing on her nostrils. Her eyes led back to check the structure of her home; a small straw hut, just a few inches in diameter wider than her. The sense of relief washed over her. She didn’t knock it over in her struggle to leave, just a few misplaced pieces of straw were strewn across the terrain around the mound that could have been there beforehand. She cocked her head forwards again, viewing the towering trees with their fanning leaves; fluffy and light. Her focus drifted downward to the flowing stream. The sparkles in the jet-black sky tickled the surface of the water. An especially large light, shaped like a crescent, gleamed brightly in Bailey’s view.
The small rodent moved from the soft, powdery, dirt, onto the smooth cobblestone. Her dull claws scraped against the rock while her paw pads squished downward. Bailey trotted down the winding path. The tall grasses and hay fields drifted behind her. They shook. Wisping blows bellowed through the flat valley, and the greenery shuddered. All of the plant life was less green in the dull moonlight; it changed to more of a grayish blue. She was pleased with these sights. Fortunately, throughout all of her observations, the wind did not falter. She relished the trickle of cold air winding through her fur; it swayed like the trees. Bailey’s teeth chattered and her ears twitched. The movement of paws stopped, and she lifted her head to the white sickle; which was now almost directly overhead. She spaced out. Shifting her main sense from sight, to touch. Bailey completely focused on the cool wisps of air chilling the skin under her fluffy black fur. She exhaled in contentment, letting her fur dance in the wind while she continued on her way. She focused back in on the warm glow she was slowly approaching. It grew larger and larger and drew clearer into focus. The sounds of nature were minuscule except for the howling whistles of air. The bustling village had many of its own sounds which drowned out the peaceful ones of the ecosystem beforehand. Before stepping into the familiar landscape, she observed the qualitative aspects of this busy plaza. Her ears twitched at the creaking windmill and her eyes darted to the wooden wheels of a produce cart bumping over the uneven pavement. The constant chatter of multitudinous different rodents never let her mind rest. She scanned the crowd for an opening but was distracted by a conversation between two rats. The darker, plumper, of the two cracked a joke. In a reply, the slender, silver, rat wheezed. He let out a loud giggle and slapped his bony tail onto the pavement. It scraped in a way that made Bailey wince and keel backward.
The overwhelmingness of the city wasn’t going to get any better. Bailey took a second to come back to her senses. As soon as she did, she darted through an open group to the shops further back in the outlet. Faces flew past her in a jumbled blur. Glowing lights shone in her peripherals; they made her pupils painfully dilate. Thankfully, the eastern side of this place wasn’t as populated as the main entrance. The distance between creatures was very spaced compared to the squished crowdedness of the front. However, it housed a few important shops so it was confusing why no one was paying attention to them. One shop in particular was the reason for her arrival. Her heart was pounding, not only was she running, but she also was overly nervous. Anxiety pulsated through her veins as she made her first steps closer to her destination. She was only a few steps away from the doorway. Bailey composed herself by taking deep breaths. She inhaled one last time.
“Is that the new intern?” a voice boomed
Bailey coughed the rest of the air out of her lungs and jumped back. Air trickled into her nostrils through her choked-out words.
“Yes, sir. That would be me” Bailey spat.
“Didn’t mean to scare ya, kid,” he chuckled, “follow me.”
The rust-colored guinea pig poked his head back into the decorated shack. Bailey followed closely into a shop much larger than the others around. The walls were decorated with intricate wooden clocks. Some of them had mechanisms inside which moved the tiny details to match the time. They all had different and extravagant themes. One particularly caught her eye. It had waves carved on it with the sun shining bright at the top. Bailey reasoned that it must represent the ocean; which she had never seen, but it matched the description others had told her about. Bailey’s eyes were locked with this creation. She was intrigued, to say the least.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“You like that one?” The warm voice questioned
“Oh- Uh, yeah I do!” Bailey replied
The larger guinea pig smiled down at Bailey. She wasn’t able to see his face in full detail outside, but in the warm glow of the shop, it was now evident that he was quite old. His fur had small wisps of gray, and his black eyes had a bit of a milky blue froth in his corneas.
“That one was my first. It’s quite special to me,” he reminisced joyfully, “My father helped me carve it before he passed.”
“It’s nice that you keep this shop running in the family!”
Bailey tried to make a good first impression with her new boss.
They both circled the shop to give Bailey a chance to adjust to this new setting. Along with the clocks, there were also many unknown “doohickies” that she wanted to ask about. She suppressed her questions to gain more information about the job she was taking on. The warm presence led her over to the wall behind the cash-out counter. He pulled a stool over and lifted his front half onto it. He continued to hoist himself up and to reach for something. A few cracks and a pop came shortly after; then a loud groan. He finally was able to clasp his claws around it. Bailey looked up as he grabbed a satchel off the highest shelf behind that counter. He hoisted himself back off of the stool with an exhale.
“Huff- Here ya go,” He handed Bailey a khaki satchel, probably capable of carrying a whole pinecone!
“Your job will be to collect sticks for my wood making, I’ll also take pinecones for detailing,” he described.
“That’s it? I can do that!” Bailey said confidently
“I love to hear it. You’ll start tomorrow at sun up,” he beamed.
Bailey started her way out of the doorway. A thought struck her brain.
“What would you like me to call you, sir?” Bailey questioned
“You can call me Mr. Bentley,” he answered.
Bailey gave him a very genuine smile and waved goodbye. The smile was returned, so she squeezed out of the doorway, into the darkness of the night. As the light dissipated, so did the warmth. It was an enjoyable cold, but the warmth had a different feeling to it.
Bailey thought intently for a moment. Morning? She would have to work during the daytime; when the air didn’t have the chill that helped her get a start to her day. She didn’t have a choice. A bittersweet joy flooded her head; she would enjoy this night. Even if the village was noisy and unbearable. She would make it bearable, just for the night. She took a deep breath and smiled while she paced her paws toward the crowd. The comfortable distances closed in, but she paid no mind. She passed through a gap and by the entrance. By the news board and the squeaky windmill. The crowd opened up a little bit, so Bailey could nudge through to the action. Some sort of performance. Otherwise, why would anyone care? All she could see were flashes of light and fast-moving dancers. They were tall and fluffy, but thick fabric hoods cloaked their defining features. It had to be something new. She did her normal observing, calculating the crowd's expressions, and carefully looking to see their reactions. Most looked up in awe, their ears folded forward in attentiveness. Something jumped toward her off of a stage in the direction of the crowd’s attention. A flash of orange flowed in her face and then a blaze of heat zipped across her nose. Bushy tails bounced up and down as large paws slid and danced. The cloaked entertainers held fire in their grasp. They twirled the golden flames around cautiously near the mostly wooden buildings. Bailey looked timidly at their claws; they extended from the multicolored paws. Hues of grays, browns, and black swooped by Bailey’s eyes. Her eyes locked with the fluffy dancer that was more gray-black than brown. She looked up further to the void underneath the hood. The peering black eyes that she possessed met the gaze of two shining, iridescent circles as the creatures finished their dance. The creature looked forward, mimicking the other; outstretched its hands, and blew out the flames. Bailey’s stomach dropped, and the fur stood up on her back.
The crowd started to return to what they were doing beforehand. Bailey continued with them but at a medium pace; she looked back behind her to ensure they didn’t follow. While the crowd slowed to a walk, she quickened to a trot. Bailey began to near the plaza with the creaking windmill. She viewed the winding path that led back to her home. She turned and ran as fast as her legs would take her. Past the wheat fields, they calmly swayed even through her terror. Bailey ran past the tall, leafy, giants. Then to the stream, which glistened even brighter under the higher moon. She made a sharp right and skidded to her doorway once again. Her heart raced, but she carefully shifted through the opening. She plopped down on her bed of shrubs. Bailey’s paws shook beneath her feet. Exasperated, she gasped for air; slowing her heart rate steadily. Images of those iridescent eyes flashed through her head, but her eyelids felt too heavy to keep open. With the stomach sinking feeling, she uncomfortably let her mind wander into a sleepy trance.