The woman swung in the air for a moment, thanks to how fiercely she had tackled Vim.

Vim held his arms out for her, not so much as to hug her… but to make sure she didn’t fall and hurt herself. Vim turned a little, to let her fling around in the air for a moment. The sight made me jealous.

Why was she allowed to act like that and not me?

“Nice to see you too Reatti,” Vim calmly greeted the woman, as unabashed and as unbothered as usual.

“Welcome back! It’s been awhile!” Reatti said happily as her feet finally found the ground. She stood up straight, yet still held Vim in a hug. The woman was a little shorter than me, even without my ears into account… and looked very human.

“A few years,” Vim nodded, and then someone else hurried up. I went still as another woman giggled happily as she approached.

This one looked a little older. And was definitely not human. Her ears were pointed a little at their tips, and her hair was a little too thick. “Welcome back Vim. Come, come inside, come on Reatti. Let. Him. Go,” the new woman spoke kindly to Vim, and then her tone took a drastic change upon addressing the one clinging to him.

“Aww, don’t be selfish Herra. The only time he’ll let me hug him is when we meet and…” Reatti complained.

“Selfish!” Herra’s pointed ears became a redder hue, and she stepped forward and grabbed Reatti by the back of her shirt. With a couple tugs the woman was able to separate Vim and Reatti, who whined quietly.

“Nice to see you’re well too, Herra,” Vim said.

The stern woman suddenly let Reatti go, and went red in the face this time. “Mhm,” she nodded.

Reatti saw she had been let go and immediately stepped forward to hug Vim again. Before she could however, a new person arrived. This time a young man.

“Vim! How’ve you been!” he stepped forward, right before Reatti could get a hold of Vim, and went to shaking Vim’s hand.

“Brom. I’ve been well, how’s the ear?” Vim asked.

Brom laughed and scratched at his head, where his left ear… should have been. He had a very obvious scar there, which ran upward into his hair and even down his neck. Something had harmed him dreadfully.

Looking around for any more people approaching, I found there were none. Everyone else in the large room were staring at us, but not approaching… though…

Very quickly I tried to tell who was human and who wasn’t.

A tall woman near the massive hallway to the right wasn’t. She wore a loose dress robe, and I could tell by the way she stood that she was one of us. Something was hidden beneath her dress, like how I hid my tail. Other than her none of the rest had any obvious traits I could notice just from a glance.

“Gerald is here, Vim. Just got back a few hours ago, in fact,” Herra said as Vim’s hand was finally released by Brom. The young man was still smirking wildly, as if shaking Vim’s hand was an honor.

Wait… he probably wasn’t a young man. He wasn’t human either. I could tell not just thanks to the scar from an injury that probably would have killed any normal human, but also because his nails were black. Solid black. Not something paint alone could have accomplished.

“Oh come on, at least let us visit for a moment and,” Reatti stepped between Brom and Herra, to get her opinion in.

“Yeah, it’s slow right now Vim, we could chat and,” Brom agreed, interrupting Reatti.

“Slow? We have thirty nine appointments left today, Brom!” Herra interrupted Brom.

“You two do! I don’t!” Reatti raised her hand, smiling in triumph. She looked the youngest of the three, and also seemed to act it… but something about her made me think it was the opposite.

These three were all definitely members…

“Come with me instead Vim! I got cookies!” The tall woman I had noticed earlier was waving at us, beckoning Vim over.

“Your cookies are stale!” Brom yelled at her.

The tall woman glowered at Brom, but said nothing.

Glancing at Vim as the rest of the building started talking, some laughing and some returning to their jobs, I went still at the sight of Vim’s soft smile.

He was staring at them all with gentle eyes, and it made me…

Feeling forgotten, I shifted a little and realized I was still holding the last piece of bread. Just one bite was left.

Since no one seemed to be focused on me, I went ahead and stuffed it into my mouth. It at least gave me something to do.

“Just stay off it, Brom. Go load a cart or something,” Reatti complained as she tried to push him aside.

“I wish mother would have drowned you too,” Brom said as he refused to get pushed aside.

My ears perked up at his words, but no one else seemed to even blink at them as Reatti actually growled at him. A deep guttural growl that solidified the fact she wasn’t human at all.

Herra was about to say something, to join in the commotion, but someone suddenly coughed.

The whole room went quiet, and I noticed the three fools had gone completely still. Reatti lowered her head, Brom looked up to the ceiling and Herra slowly turned to smile apologetically at the one who had coughed.

A tall man stood at the second stairwell balcony. In-between the two large stairwells, the balcony extruded enough to let him overlook us all. He was staring down at us, and didn’t look too please.

“Uh… see you later Vim. Let’s get drinks later,” Brom said quickly as he turned to go.

“I’ll see you then too!” Reatti said as she hurried back to her desk. She didn’t hop over it as she had done upon seeing us, but instead entered it from the appropriate little door.

Herra sighed and stood up straight, and then gestured towards the stairs. “The Guild Leader awaits,” she said calmly.

“Thanks Herra,” Vim said as he stepped forward.

She smiled and nodded as Vim stepped past her.

Quickly swallowing the last bite of bread, I hurried to follow Vim. As I did though the woman startled a tiny bit. So momentarily that I had barely noticed. Her eyes narrowed at me, and I smiled and nodded softly to her.

Had they actually not realized I had been here?

She didn’t smile back, and I felt her gaze on me as I followed Vim to the stairwell.

In fact…

As we ascended, I noticed how oddly quiet it got as I followed Vim.

Reaching the top of the stairs, before Vim and I turned to greet the man, I glanced back behind me.

Everyone was staring at me. Everyone.

I gulped and looked away, suddenly very conscious.

“Gerald,” Vim greeted the man, and I intentionally stepped to the side a little… to put Vim in-between me and the many onlookers.

“Vim. A pleasure to see you again,” the tall man took Vim’s hand, and as they shook hands I realized something rather interesting.

This man was beautiful.

He wasn’t just tall, he was perfectly shaped. Not too skinny. Not too large. He had big hands, wide shoulders, a nicely shaped face… He was clean shaven too, which was a rarity amongst the men of today.

As their hands separated, I realized I was staring at him. I shifted a little as he turned to smile at me. “This is Renn,” Vim introduced me.

He held his hand out, and gave me a very large smile. One that told me that he knew full well what I was and was genuinely happy to know so. “Renn? I am Gerald. I’m the appointed guild leader of the Animalia Company Corporation. It is my honor to welcome you into my business,” he greeted me.

Shaking his hand, I flinched a little. His hand was soft. Too soft. Had he never done any labor before?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Gerald,” I said.

“Come. Shall we go to my office, Vim?” Gerald asked Vim for permission as my hand left his.

Rubbing my finger and thumb together, I felt odd. I had gloves on, but had noticed how soft his hands had been all the same. It made me wish I could take my glove off and shake his hand again.

This was the dove Vim had mentioned… did that have something to do with how soft he had felt?

Vim nodded and Gerald gestured for Vim to walk ahead of him. Vim did so, and then I had to go and follow after Vim since Gerald didn’t move. He waited for me to go ahead first.

He was the leader here and he was treating Vim as the superior.

“Is Brandy back yet?” Vim asked as we headed for a hallway. It wasn’t as large as the two down on the first floor, but this one had a huge red rug with golden designs on the edges.

“No. She likely won’t be for a week or two more,” Gerald said from behind me.

His voice came from even higher than Vim’s… and was a little sing-song like too. Now that I wasn’t looking at him, his voice was something I could focus on a little more. It wasn’t as high pitched as I would have thought from a bird, however.

“Where’d she go?” Vim asked.

“The Bell Church,” Gerald said.

Vim nodded.

He had already known that. From the Clothed Woman.

Had he doubted her, or was he just confirming it?

I gulped as I remembered his previous oddness. And not just the odd moments before we had entered this building.

He had acted weird at the Clothed Woman’s church too. As if he hadn’t trusted her.

The hallway turned a little, but it wasn’t a corner. The hallway rounded, and suddenly there were large windows. All as tall as Vim, and very clear. I was walking in the center of the hallway, but once I saw the flowers and other greenery I had to step closer to the windows. As I did I realized that the flowers and grass outside weren’t a real garden. This was still the second floor. The flowers, trees, and grass were all growing from giant planters and pots. There were tables and chairs out there, too. It looked pretty.

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Once the windows were left behind I returned to walking directly behind Vim. He had noticed my actions, but hadn’t paid much attention to me. A single glance was all I had gotten.

This entire place was ours? It was humongous. The hallway was now returning to a single straight one. A familiar normal hallway… but now with smaller windows, and paintings in-between them.

These windows showed the city. We were now walking along the edge of the building, it seemed. Off in the distance I could see the tall stone buildings, and the huge walls that loomed over them in the distance. It was a pretty scene. One that I wanted to examine, but honestly the paintings and the hallway were more important.

Passing a large painting, I studied the underwater scene that had been painted. There were pretty fish swimming around colorful coral. Nothing about it really seemed related to our Society, but…

The next painting was a desert. Giant rolling hills of sand with ragged mountains off in the distance.

As we walked the hallway the paintings started to show a theme.

One was a dense forest. Another was a rocky mountainside.

The paintings and windows ended, and finally doors came into view. Vim took us to one of the biggest doors. I noticed there were no windows opposing the door, and it seemed intentional.

Vim opened the door and strode on in as if he owned the place. I hesitated a moment, but followed him in anyway.

The office of the man who was called a guild leader was… a little plain. It was big, and had a very large window behind a fancy desk… but that was really it. There was a couch, some chairs across from it and a low glass table between them. In front of the desk were two large chairs, and there were a few shelves on the walls without doors or windows. Most of the shelves were full of books and nothing decorative. In fact other than the rug on the ground the room was bland.

Walking into the room, I studied the rug that covered the floor. It had the same red and gold design as the one in the hallway, yet was thicker. I actually felt bad walking onto it with my dirty shoes.

Gerald closed the door behind us, and Vim went to take a seat onto the couch. Before he did, he pulled around his sword and spear and rested them against one of the bookshelves. He also put the leather slack pouch that held the quiver and bow down too.

While Gerald sat behind his desk, into a large black chair, I went over to place my own weapons next to Vim’s. Putting the spear and sword against the shelf felt a little rude, but I did so anyway.

“I see the company has expanded again,” Vim said as I made sure the spear and sword weren’t going to cause any damage. I had to move Vim’s spear a little, since he had laid the spear point right into the spine of one of the books on the shelf. It had left a tiny little dent of a hole, and I flinched at it.

“You mean the warehouses? Yes. We purchased them last year. We rent out half of them to the previous occupants,” Gerald said.

“Kind of you,” Vim said.

“Brandy’s idea. We spent nearly two years turning away cargo storage, thanks to the lack of space. So we now use those warehouses to store the long-term goods,” Gerald said.

Once I was done messing with the weapons, I stepped around and wondered where to sit. Vim had relaxed back on the couch, laying his arm up against the top of the couch’s backrest. Sitting there would probably seem weird, even though the couch looked the most comfortable.

Sitting across from Vim in one of the larger single chairs, I shifted a little and was surprised to find it was actually very comfortable. Whatever material the cushions were made out of was soft. It didn’t even bother my tail that was hidden under the leather skirt. Usually sitting down bothered my tail no matter what or how I sat.

After getting comfortable I realized Gerald was staring at me. So was Vim. They both had an odd smile on their faces.

“Hm?” I wondered if maybe I had sat funny, or they hadn’t wanted me to sit here.

“How’s the market doing, in general?” Vim then asked, while still staring at me.

“Strong. New trade routes have been solidified along the eastern coast, which has helped immensely. I’ve even been considering selling one of our boats, thanks to the offers being given,” Gerald said.

“What kind of offers?” Vim asked.

“Thirty thousand, with ten percent for five years,” Gerald said.

Vim frowned, which made me squirm since he was still staring at me. “Not bad at all,” he said.

“Indeed.”

“Why haven’t you accepted?” Vim asked.

“Brandy’s against it,” he said.

Vim sighed. “And let me guess, that’s why she’s gone to the Bell Church,” he said.

Gerald glanced at Vim, and then back at me. He sat up a little straighter, and seemed as if he wanted to say something… yet didn’t speak. Seemed he didn’t want to say something while I was here.

“Other than that, and our steadily growing company… the biggest issue right now is actually the politics in town,” Gerald said, very obviously changing topics on purpose.

Vim shifted and rested his head on his fist, relaxing even more. He still stared at me, however. “Politics,” Vim nearly scoffed the word out.

“The Lumen monarchy and its supporters want to declare independence. They’re in the process of forging a declaration as we speak. They expect it to be done before summer,” Gerald said.

“What do the fools at the merchant table think about that?” Vim asked.

“As one of the fools, I’m willing to support it since everyone else wants to as well. If I voiced against it now I’d be seen as odd, Vim. A few meetings ago Old Crounch voiced his disapproval and at the next meeting instead of him in his seat it was his nephew,” Gerald said.

“Was he killed?” Vim asked.

“I believe he was,” Gerald said.

Vim sighed, and I was a little surprised to hear of such a thing. Someone had been killed simply because they had a different opinion amongst many? And it wasn’t even a religious thing but something to do with money?

“All in all it has a great chance at not only passing both sectors of government, but will also succeed in the long run. Lumen’s become too powerful and well connected with the nations across the inlet sea. Though I do suspect a visit from the royals of Dreed soon, to offer a very appealing counter offer. I expect a flat tax rate, with an offer of eventual sovereignty down the road,” Gerald said.

“Have fun with that,” Vim said.

“I always do,” Gerald nodded with a smile.

Vim glared at me, and I realized he was actually glaring at Gerald. I accepted his glare and smiled back at him, which made Vim frown instead.

“Anyone new here?” Vim then asked.

“Other than our very unique guest in this room, no one is new. There are currently fourteen members in Lumen, if you include Brandy who plans to stick around for a few years,” Gerald said.

Fourteen!

What a wonderful number!

“Anything special I should know about, before we talk about her?” Vim asked with a wave at me.

“I do have a request for you, but I can beg of it to you later. She’s far more important,” Gerald said with a smile at me.

I shifted at that smile, since it looked… too good on his face. It was almost unnatural how beautiful he was. Maybe he wasn’t a man at all?

“Well?” Vim gestured at me to introduce myself.

“Ah… I’m Renn. I’ve been tagging along with Vim for a little over a year now. We met in Ruvindale,” I introduced myself.

“A year?” Gerald quickly glanced at Vim, who waved him off.

“For now I’m just traveling with him. Haven’t really decided yet where to call home,” I said.

“Well, well… Forgive me for asking, since it’s very personal and usually not something we openly discuss without permission… but I have over a dozen lives that I am responsible for, so I am forced to ask it,” Gerald spoke evenly, yet with a serious tone. He sat closer to his desk, and crossed his arms on the desk. He stared calmly at me, waiting for permission.

“Uh… sure,” I nodded, unsure what he wanted.

“You’re a predator, aren’t you?” he asked.

Oh. “Yes. I’m a large cat. The Chronicler said I was a jaguar,” I told him.

Vim sighed, and I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t have told him that.

Gerald though went wide eyed and sat back a little. “Huh… So…” he pointed lightly at his head, and I obliged him and took my hat off.

The man smiled warmly in thanks as he took in the sight of my ears. “I also have a tail,” I said, and reached down to lift the leather skirt a little. I let the tip of my tail slid out from its hiding spot to show him.

“Fascinating… Well, the reason I asked so rudely, Renn, is that although we do have a few predators here… they’re not true ones. At least not anymore. All of those here however will not shy away or hide from you, or feel threatened, but I only wish to ask permission to let everyone know about you. To get their approval in letting you into our home,” Gerald said.

I glanced at Vim who nodded at me. “He’s asking for permission to summon everyone and have them all give the okay to letting you stay. It’s how it works here,” he said.

“Oh. Sure. Of course.” I nodded quickly.

That was perfectly reasonable. This was their home after all.

“Wonderful. I’m sure it’ll be fine. As I said we’re all a little more… adept at living amongst those unfamiliar. But the rule is the rule. If you don’t mind I will go have Herra summon everyone for us. Is that alright with you as well Vim?” Gerald asked.

“She’s probably already gathered most of them,” Vim said with a nod.

“I’ve no doubt. I shall leave the two of you alone as I do so. For what it’s worth Renn, you have my blessing. I look forward to hearing your story and sharing with you my own,” Gerald stood from his desk and spoke warmly as he hurried to go.

“Yeah…” I nodded as he quickly left, closing the door behind him.

Vim sighed as he lifted his feet and put them upon the small glass table that sat between us.

“It’s just how some places are Renn,” Vim said.

“I’m okay with it. I’d never want to force myself onto someone,” I said.

“Some like that, though,” Vim said.

I frowned at him and wondered just what he meant. Were there really people who enjoyed it when strangers intruded forcefully into their home? Or into their territory?

Wait…

“Is that what you like?” I asked, a little excited.

Vim simply stared at me, and I sighed at him.

He chuckled.

“Is… are all of them going to come in here? To say yes or no?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh… not likely. Most will say yes or no without even looking at you. The few who might want to meet you will do so, but they’ll probably meet you in the housing area, not here. Odds are most already heard all about you. Half the community was in the lobby, so they’ve already seen you,” he said.

“I see… wait half? Really?” I asked. There had been that many? The three fools… that tall woman… Gerald… I had missed a few then.

Vim nodded. “The only one who might actually say no is Pierre. He’s a mouse,” Vim said.

“A mouse?”

“They hate cats,” he said with a shrug.

Oh.

“What do I do if they actually say I can’t stay?” I asked, now worried.

“You’ll be fine. But if you did get told no… well, I guess I’d have to escort you out of Lumen. That’d be a pain,” Vim said as he thought about it.

“How often do people get told no?” I asked.

“Honestly it happens… but usually it’s their reputation that causes it. Or their actions. For reference Lilly is not allowed into Lumen,” he said.

Somehow I understood why. She’d not harm any of our members, but the humans here…

“You’ll find there are probably a few dozen humans here too. That know about us, and are a part of the Society,” Vim then said.

“Oh? Oh…” that was what he meant then. Lilly wouldn’t have liked that at all. “Does Gerald have to ask them too?” I wondered.

“No.”

That seemed unfair… but I guess that was just how it was.

Amber hadn’t been considered a true member either, once I thought about it. That had been most the reason I had such a difference of opinion with the rest at the Sleepy Artist.

“Notice he said fourteen?” Vim then said softly.

“Hm? Yeah?” Why did he suddenly look so sad?

“He didn’t include her,” he whispered.

I was about to ask who he meant… but I knew already.

They hadn’t included the Clothed Woman in their numbers.

Vim took a deep breath and sighed. He sat back and looked away from me, to the floor.

Gulping softly, I couldn’t help but feel cold all of a sudden.

And here I had thought he had hated her.

How foolish of me. How cruel of me.

About to say something, I went quiet as someone knocked on the door. Gerald opened it and stepped in, smiling happily. “Renn, would you be willing to meet a few of our members here? It’ll only take a moment,” he said.

“Sure,” I said and stood.

I stepped to the door, but hesitated when I noticed Vim wasn’t getting up too. He noticed my look and waved at me. “I’ll be here when you’re done,” he said.

Oh. Great.

“Remember Herra? She’ll guide you there,” Gerald gestured out the door, to where Herra stood. She smiled and waved at me, seemingly excited.

I nodded, and decided to put away the mixture of feelings I was enduring right now.

I didn’t want to hate them all, so for now I needed to… ignore it. Not forget it. Just ignore for a moment.

“Renn is it? I’m Herra,” the woman greeted me as I stepped out of the room, and as I shook her hand Gerald closed the door behind me.

“Renn. I’m beyond pleased to meet you, thank you for taking the time to talk to me,” I greeted her back, and felt a little bad as I became a little excited.

“Oh please, time off work and I get to meet someone new? Threaten me with a good time, really,” Herra happily spoke as she gestured down the hall, the other direction than whence I had come from earlier.

Following her down the hall to meet the rest… I looked forward to meeting new people. New members of the Society… yet at the same time…

I was also looking forward to doing what Vim had asked of me.