Renn smiled up at me sheepishly, and I realized once again that she was going to be far more trouble for me than should be possible. And that trouble wouldn’t just be because my affection for her gave her more freedom than I allowed others.

“Sorry,” she apologized to me.

“No… you’re not,” I said as I glanced down the alleyway. The third one, one that had not been amongst their group last time, was just now hurrying away. They had crawled down the wall, from the roof, near the other alleyway the two others had run into. Renn likely might not have even seen them.

But now I had a better idea on how I had not found them before, when hunting.

That lanky man had crawled out of one of the sewer vents. How he had fit through was a genuine question, but it at least answered other things. It told me they likely hid under the city. In the massive sewers beneath us. In the buried city, from the previous era.

“Did you hear everything?” Renn asked me, not seeming to care that I was upset with her.

“Yes. Come on… you’re breaking the rules by being out here, and the rest will want to know what happened. They’ll be waiting for you,” I said with a gesture to the bank. I knew by now everyone would be there, waiting for us to return.

Renn glanced by me, blinking at the bank across the street. She smiled as she stared at it, she must have seen one of our members staring at us from within.

“Right!” she nodded, and was about to round me as to hurry across the street… but she stopped. I glanced down at her as she grabbed my left hand, and put something in it.

Holding the small feather gently, she nodded, content, and then hurried back to the company bank.

Watching her go, I paid attention to her as she stepped into the bank and began talking to Reatti and Merit. Both had been standing there, waiting for her.

Before they stepped too far into the building, the doors begun to close. Not to completely shut down the bank, just to make it a little more difficult for anyone to sneak in. Brom and Brandy were in the middle of shutting the many large bank doors. I knew if I walked around the corner, I’d see that the main lobby’s doors were closed already as well.

Looking back down the alley, I made sure they were gone before I lifted the small feather Renn had given me.

Examining it, I knew it was the same one. From the same girl. The one on the roof, who had screamed her heart out at the girl I had hurt.

Or well… killed.

She wasn’t dead yet, but they had said she was dying.

“Pulti,” I whispered her name, and devoted it to my memory.

It’s been some time since I’ve killed one of my own.

The little feather was pretty. It looked to be a tail feather. It was longer and straighter than the one Renn had in her room. And although this one’s barbs were undamaged and unstained… its calamus wasn’t. The feather’s tip was a little sharper than it should be, and was a dark black in color.

A message from one Non-Human to another. One of the oldest methods to exist. It was one of the surest ones. After all, no human could produce such a thing. No human had feathers, or claws, or scales, as to use in such a way.

It was a message I’d not seen used in years. Lately we’ve all used genuine letters.

Though usually one didn’t harm themselves too badly as to send that message. This one might not have been too painful, but it had drawn blood. The blood of a young girl.

It had hurt her to remove it.

Yet she had been willing to, as to draw Renn’s attention.

Although such pain wasn’t that big a deal for our kind, especially since we healed so quickly…

It was still a testament to their desire. Their need.

Yet what was it they desired?

What did they want? And why did they want it from Renn and no one else?

“Quite a predicament.”

Turning to Brandy, I nodded to her. “Yes. It is. But not one I’m too unfamiliar with,” I said.

“That’s the truth… Again with their fascination with Renn,” Brandy said as she stared at the feather in my hand.

“There’s a reason for it. It might not be as important as everyone thinks, though. Maybe Renn smiled at one of them, or something, when she was out and about,” I said. She’d do that.

“Maybe. What are we going to do about tonight?” she asked.

“Meet them,” I said simply. Why wouldn’t we?

“We’ll need to vote again…” Brandy sighed as she shook her head.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Go do so, then,” I said.

“What will you do about their requirement? About showing up alone?” Brandy asked.

“Ignore it. They aren’t alone, after all,” I said.

Brandy shook her head. “Something tells me she’ll show up alone.”

“Possibly. But it matters not. I’m good at hiding,” I said.

Brandy smirked at me. “So you are… but the rest of us might not agree with you. What if they vote to keep you at a distance?” Brandy asked.

My eyes hardened a little, and I did my best to not break the tiny feather between my fingers. “Careful, Brandy,” I warned her.

She blinked, and stepped back. A single step.

The bookkeeper held my gaze, and then she sighed and nodded… and then smiled. “All right. Fine. I’ll make sure no one tries to force it. But they will want to at least give them the shot. To give Renn the chance to talk to them,” she said.

“That I can agree with. I promise you, I’ll not interfere in the possible chance at getting new members. I vow it, as I always have,” I said.

She nodded. “I know… alright. I’ll go try my best. Don’t get angry at me if they still vote in a way you don’t like Vim!” she said as she hurried across the street.

I huffed at her and glanced back down the alleyway. It was empty, of course. Yet a part of me had hoped it wouldn’t have been.

What was I going to do with her?

Running out here alone. Without even telling anyone.

I twirled the little feather between my thumb and fingers, and sighed. Why was I always attracted to the free-spirited ones? Was it because I myself lived under chains?

Or was it the fact that I simply liked how she’d risk my ire, and that of others, to do what she thought was right?

Just like with Amber. She had chosen to accept the banishment, and the ire of those she had tried to make family… all for the tiny chance to save a human. A human she had only known for a few months, at that.

Such a choice was unheard of amongst our kind. And not just because most hated humans. It meant she, unlike so many, had firm beliefs and a personal moral compass. One that didn’t really fit in with the rest of the Society.

But that was her choice. Her right, as an individual.

Free will.

“Free will,” I said softly.

It was, after all.

She was proof that I had earned it. That my actions, taken and done so far in the past that no one remembered, had been worth it. I had won.

We were as free as the humans now.

But that freedom came with dangers.

Turning around to head back inside, to hear how the conversation and votes were going… I hoped this didn’t end badly. It would be so easy for it to do so. It could happen so fast that it’d be able to shock even me.

I’d not let that happen. I needed to not let it happen.

If I lost Renn, after deciding to give her a chance…

Or even worse, if we lost others… and Renn began to blame herself… to see herself as a curse, or one who brought misfortune…

Either would result in me losing the woman I was starting to love.

Crushing the feather in my hands, I tore and crushed it so much it became unrecognizable. Dropping it to the sidewalk as I opened the door to the bank, I entered the Animalia Company building… and vowed to protect them all.

Even from those who deserved my protection too.

Once inside I noticed none of our members were around. There were only a few customers, and they were all being handled by our human employees.

Walking into the bank, I headed for the large hallway which would lead me deeper into the building. But as I walked, I decided to check on the rest of the building before heading to the Society Housing.

It’d take them time to talk and debate, before they begin voting. I’d use that time to make sure everyone was fine, or at least the building was.

Just because those three had ran away, and promised to return at night… didn’t mean there weren’t others. There was a chance that they had been a simple distraction, nothing more.

As I walked the hallways, checking on the different departments and parts of the building… I wondered what to think of Renn’s stalkers.

A young girl. A lanky man. The third had looked to be a woman as well.

Three new members. An oddity. Lately those who we find, or find us, are like Renn. Alone. Lost.

Not in groups… let alone in a group so different.

That lanky man had not been a bird. The one who climbed down from the roof had looked to have a tail, as well.

And then of course Pulti. The woman I had fatally injured. She had been some kind of larger animal. She had paws for feet, and one of her hands had been more paw than hand too.

Even if they were all predators, which was slightly possible, I doubted it. The girl although maybe a bird of prey, didn’t smell like a predator. The one I had hurt had, however.

Plus there was definitely more of them. They had mentioned a master to Renn…

A pack, possibly. Such a thing was seen as normal, thanks to the many places in the Society like here in Lumen where multiple people and types live together… but it was far rarer than anyone realized anymore.

It’s been decades since I’d encountered a group of non-humans, who weren’t part of the Society.

Where had they come from? Where had they been? Surely not here. I didn’t frequent Lumen often, but I’ve been coming here every half dozen years or so for the last few hundred years. I’d have smelled or encountered them by now, if they had been here the whole time.

Right…?

As I opened the door to check on the depot, I started to doubt myself a little… even if it was foolish to do so.

Well, it wasn’t.

But I was getting tired of doubting myself. I’d been doing it a lot lately, and it was starting to become very annoying.

I’d blame Renn, but she’d just smirk at me if I told her she made me doubt myself.

While making sure the depot was fine, and still running smoothly… I decided the company was fine. It was time I went to the houses, to hear how the voting and conversations were going.

Hopefully they hadn’t voted to do something too stupid.

And especially more so, hopefully Renn hasn’t realized yet that she could call a vote herself…

I knew eventually she’d realize she could do so… and also realize that she could probably convince most of the Society to vote in her favor. People liked her. Even those who didn’t want anything to do with her, like Liina, seemed to agree with Renn on many things.

Renn taking over the Society with pure charisma was a scary thought. Who knew what she’d want to do.

I shivered at the idea… yet smiled at it all the same.