1 A night in Solis

It's midnight. Dark with only the street lamps and a few windows lit. Guards with torches occasionally occupy A lone street corner. Peaceful, quiet. Until...

"LORD TIAN IS DEAD RING THE ALARM, HE'S BEEN ASSASSINATED"

Guards swarm the keep near me and bells ring all around signaling even more guards. I see mages send magic flares into the air to lighten the surroundings

"SECURE THE GROUNDS. DONT LET ANYONE ESCAPE"

Guards yell all over securing the grounds, scouring everywhere trying to find the killer.

Too bad I'm already gone

I look below me and see a group of guards. "Check the alleys and secure the area. No one leaves" One of them, an officer, says. The grunts salute and run off leaving the officer alone. Idiots, they never check the roofs. I watch as the officer lingers below me, oblivious to the killer right above him. I debate messing with him when I receive a telepathic message.

"Contract complete. Report back for payment. Well done Max, a fine job as usual" Unable to respond to the one-way message I end my critical debate, And stand up, preparing to run. I stall and look at the officer below me. Throwing a rock to his head, it makes a loud clang as it connects with his helmet. He looks up, confused but seeing nothing in the pitch black, returns to his post.

Idiot.

I start running home, but remembering it's basically on the other side of the city I slow down and appreciate the nearby scenery, the Upper west district, truly a beautiful place with its marble architecture and clean streets. Too bad it's home to some of the worst people in the city. Corrupt politicians and sophisticated criminal under lords litter the district. It's no wonder people want them dead.

Jogging through the clean air is a nice change from the polluted air of the lower east district. I enjoy the quiet atmosphere until the sound of yelling interrupts it. I stop in my tracks and listen for the source of the noise.

"Get over here girl you'll pay for what you did.

I find the cause of the noise. A tall bald man with a suit is cornering what seems to be a small girl. Seems the girl pissed off the suit in some way. As the suit is further harassing the girl I quietly jump down from the roof and slowly approach the suit from behind.

"I'll make sure you rot in the dungeon for the rest of your life you bi-hnnghh" The suit, too focused on the girl, didn't notice me as I put my arms around his neck. His arms wailing in a futile struggle before falling limp. I let go of the unconscious body allowing it to hit the floor violently. I then shift my attention to the girl staring at me and notice something I didn't before. The cat tail and ears.

What's a demi doing in the western district? No wonder suit was attacking her. I begin to observe her as she does the same, neither of us saying a word. Small is the word I would use to define this child. With an oversized coat concealing most of her features, I can't get a good look of anything except the face. Which is fine for me. What I can see is a pale face with the somewhat angular features the cat-folk is known for. The slightly glowing blue eyes and long blonde hair offer a slight contrast to the dark brown coat she is wearing. A subtle shift brings my attention to her ears and they're, what can I say, cat ears the same color as her hair. Same with her tail she is trying to unsuccessfully hide from me.

I decide to break the fragile silence with a question, "It's dangerous here, kitten. Why are you here?"

"..."

"Not very talkative huh?"

"..."

Wait...What if she's...

"Open your mouth, kitten"

She doesn't do anything for a second, but for some reason reluctantly does what I said. What I see is a lack of a tongue. The Universal sign of a slave.

"Slave huh? let me guess, you ran as soon as they took the collar off and they sent this gentleman to find you"

She nods slowly.

"At least you got spirit", I say chuckling. I reach into my pocket and retrieve a few silver coins. "hold on to these, kid. You'll probably need them sooner or later"

She looks at the silver in my hands, then looks at me, in a mixture of caution, suspicion, and .

"No tricks, kitten. I know what it's like to be in your position", I say in the most reassuring voice I can manage.

She moves her hand towards the coins and swiftly takes them. She looks at me again this time with less caution, and mouths the words thank you.

I dismiss her thanks and say, "Take my advice: Get out of the western district as soon as possible and don't get caught" with those words I turn to leave and walk off. When I'm far enough, I start climbing the nearest building, inhaling the crisp winter air. I see the sun hasn't risen yet and started jogging like I was before the detour.

Just another night in Solis.