8 The Final Moments, Goodbye World

After leaving the thugs behind Yun quickly headed to a safer area to sit down and complete the puzzle, hoping that she would be able to get wherever it pointed her before her time ran out. After sitting down just outside the market again she quickly immersed herself back into the token and pushed the last concept into place, watching as the changes washed over the region that it governed, then as changes began to occur to the entire structure as well. Soon the whole structure she built began to break down and melt into a single image, an image of a face and a signboard directing her towards a specific business. There was only one problem... She was new in town and didn't know where that business might be. She could only rely on that image to describe the signboard to others and ask if anyone knew it. As the day continued to dusk she got more and more frustrated that nobody seemed to know where it was. Finally, just before the market was to close for the night, one of the runners told her where to go look. As he described the path there she realized that what she was looking for was almost all the way through the thug's region of the city. She would have to yet again face the possibility of being accosted as she raced the clock to reach her goal.

As she looked at the sky and saw that dusk was approaching she took off at a run in the direction she needed to go, hoping that she could cross a good portion of the rough area before the thugs started roaming in larger groups that she wouldn't be able to fight or evade. Nearing the dreaded area, she began to feel her heart beating louder in fear. Closer and closer, her heart beat faster, she finally crossed into the area where the patrols didn't go. Nerves taught, her senses all went on high alert, trying to determine if there was anyone gathered in the roadway before she ever reached the corner. Finally, after a few streets, she heard a great deal of noise on the next street and had to stop. As she peered around the corner she saw two groups of thugs fighting each other in the street, taking up the whole space and making it impossible to cross. Thinking carefully, she looked around at the buildings and thought she might be able to cross above, so she found a drain pipe and began to climb in a hurry, swiftly reaching the top. A few minutes later, as she was looking for a place to get down, she realized that none of the buildings on this side of the street had any accessible means to climb down, but there were a few on the other side of the street if she could cross over. Looking around she saw a thick wire used to hang banners and celebration lanterns attached to her building and running to the other side. This sight gave her hope, but also scared her, because she'd never tried to walk across something like this. Thinking again, she decided the only chance she had was to dangle from the wire and cross by shimmying to the other side. Inch by inch she worked her way across, feeling the tension building in her muscles the entire time, until she managed to reach the other side of the street and climbed back up on top of the building. She quickly worked out the knots where her muscles had gotten tight and climbed down the side of the building before running off in the direction of her goal. After another two encounters with thugs caused her to detour through some alleys she finally managed to locate the sign she was looking for. The business it belonged to was called the Wooden Taphouse and looked like a shabby cheap bar. The smell of stale alcohol and cheap stews permeated the alleyway outside the door, and nearly knocked her over when she opened the door to enter. Sitting in the main room were a few Felis and a good number of Canis, but she knew she was looking for another Vulpis and wandered the room for a moment before approaching the barkeep. "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone that should be waiting for me here." She told the barkeep, then gave a brief explanation of the Vulpis that she had seen in her token. The bartender informed her that he'd seen someone like that a few times over the past few days and that maybe if she waited a little bit she might find them.

After such an exhausting few days her attempt to wait in the corner of the room resulted in her falling asleep. After a while a smiling figure stood from the shadows in the opposite corner and crossed the bar to the corner that Yun fell asleep in, then picked her up gently and carried her into the dark hallway and disappeared.

After what felt like moments Yun began to awaken and felt something was strange, the last thing she remembered was being in the bar waiting on her contact to show up. Now she felt like she was somewhere entirely different. The smells were gone, the uncomfortable bench was gone. There was a softness under her head and she was laying on her back. As she opened her eyes she realized she was in a small room with a desk that she'd never seen before, the door was slightly ajar and there was no sound that she could hear. Worried, she quickly got up and crept to the door, looking out carefully and trying to determine what was going on. After standing still as a statue for what felt like an eternity she crept quietly out, taking care not to let her claws make noise on the stone floor, and headed towards what looked to be the only exit from this place. Upon arrival she peeked around the corner and saw a large spiral staircase with some kind of gems providing light inset into every few stairs. As she started to creep closer to the staircase she realized there was also a small space next to the staircase where someone was sitting on a chair, waiting. Looking closely at the waiting person she was nearly frightened when their eyes opened and they spoke, "I see you've finally woken up. You were cutting that deadline pretty tightly, little one." The voice was deep and gravelly, like an ancient warrior, and gave her chills. "Who are you," Yun asked, "and where have you taken me?" The other party chuckled at this and reached up to lower his hood, "I am who I am, and you are my responsibility. Does this answer your question?" As the hood was raised back over his head, Yun gasped as she realized that this was the Vulpis she was supposed to find. If that were the case, could this be some building of the Hunter's Hall? "I suppose that answers who you are, but not where. Is this the Hunter's Hall? Did I pass or fail?" Yun could feel her heart racing in anticipation, hoping that the answer was what she wanted and that she would be accepted. "Little one, I've already told you. You are MY responsibility. That means you've passed and it's my job to take care of your training." As she heard this Yun's ears twitched excitedly in time with her tail, giving away that she couldn't quite control her emotions just yet, and drawing another chuckle from the elder in front of her. "Come here, child, sit and talk with me about your future."