FelFeyn

    Autumn leaves raced down the rough dirt path, carried ever onward by a chilling wind. The trees, many of which were starting to bald, rustled in the cold currents. The sky, hung with dense clouds, was a dreary grey that allowed little light to filter through and the land was blanketed in a layer of shadow.

    The steady crunch of heavy paws on gravel seemed to carry loudly throughout the area which was silent aside from the sounds of the wind and leaves as Nippon, an Anu Coadle, was hastily making his way through the area. A bulky pack laden with recently acquired books and scrolls was securely strapped around his torso, so as to not be harshly jostled in the rush. Despite moving so quickly, his eyes were constantly across the surrounding forest, sweeping left to right and back again. The chill in the air as of late was unnatural, ominous and heavy, and had all the local settlements in a frenzy; many were packing up what valuables they could carry and fleeing the area, and despite his inclination to join them and take refuge elsewhere, he desired to stay and witness whatever was to come. He was not daft however, and knew what this chill likely meant, and had no desire to be caught unawares should someone, or more likely something be lurking within the shadows nearby. Spotting the approaching break in the treeline, he picked up the pace until he breached the border.

    At each end of the stretch of dense woodland, there laid a moderately sized village, each also home to a variety of Plumerians. The western village was his destination this dark day, to make a delivery of some hard to find tomes to a Dracokai named Cure, who had ventured to the area seeking some parts of his collection. He was a knowledge-seeker, and had amassed quite a hoard of rare tomes and books from many corners of the world in his travels. As large as dracokai are, it was quite apparent as to where she was waiting on the outskirts, as she was the only one in the village currently and dwarfed not only Nippon himself, but many of the buildings nearby as well. She was a keybearer he could tell, mostly white with vermilion stripes, a dark ruff of fur around her neck and tufted tail, with multicolour chi and a liquid-filled glass underbelly. Picking up his pace into a trot, he made a beeline in her direction; he may have decided to stay despite the feeling in the air, but being out even in the day set his teeth on edge and he wanted to return home as quickly as possible.

"Greetings! You must be Cure? I have the tomes you requested!" He called out to her as he approached her, stopping a few meters out from her taloned forelegs.

"I am Cure, yes. Is that all of them?" She lowered her head to better see him, as well as inspect the pack as he unbuckled and opened it.

"It is, all tucked away nice and safe. The bag is yours as well, no charge, so it'll be less of a hassle to unpack them and repack them again."

"That is generous of you, it is appreciated," With a jingle of coin a large pouch was carefully set on the ground. "I believe this should be enough?"

    Setting his pack beside the sizable purse, he pulled the drawstrings and sifted through the contents briefly with his weaving arms before he spoke again.

"Looks good to me, thank you. And as for the pack, in all honesty if it wasn't for this chill in the air I would happily take the time to arrange them into your own carrier, but I would rather not be out longer than I have to. Something is going to happen, and I'd prefer to be safely in my home when it does." As if hearing him, the cold wind picked up and swirled around them both.

    Slipping the thickly corded rope of the pouch around his neck, he drew himself up and stepped away from the pile of books and parchment.

"Thank you very much for your business! Unless you have anything else you need of me, I really do need to be going however?"

"No, I believe that is all," Cure stated as she shifted, the liquid visible in her underbelly sloshed around with the movement.

    Bowing his head in acknowledgment, Nippon turned and began heading in the direction of the forest path once more. The ground shook slightly as a few light thuds sounded behind him, and Cure's talons came into view in his peripherals. Glancing up at her, he nodded but kept his stride. They walked together As he stepped beneath the foliage once more, Cure stopped at the boundary and spoke.

"Be wary, for I too feel something is in the wings."

Pausing, he turned his head to face her once more and gave a solemn nod.

"I know."

And he continued on his way, vanishing under the canopy.

Choice.

The most technologically advanced level of Uto. Towering spires of crystalline glass and perfectly polished platinum and gold filled the air,  the buildings stood tall and majestic atop the thriving city. Cars engineered to hover and propel themselves through the sky soared between the buildings, the traffic chaotic and yet seamless. The whole layer was well illuminated, even in the darkest of night as the energy pulsing through the city kept the area lit up and shining like a beacon for miles around.

The area where they'd find the terminal for Halo's Pierce.

And apparently the area where the humans had been manufacturing their potent magic-nullifying weaponry.

This discovery had Myir enraged and snarling, growling in a language unknown to Sebastian, spitting what he could only guess were insults and threats. The already large Crook seemed to grow in his anger, and if asked Seb would say he could feel the rage emanating off his commander.

"This cannot be allowed to continue! They already seek to drain the very lifeblood from the planet, but now they're trying to increase their ability to do so to us?!" Myir roared, venting his frustrations the only way he could for the moment, "They'll be the death of us all!"

Sebastian hesitantly took a step forward, raising his arm as he reached out to Myir, but paused briefly before letting his hand lightly rest on the other's shoulder, "I know this is upsetting- more than upsetting- to discover, but we hafta keep moving. We're almost to the terminal, yea?"

Myir tore himself away from Sebastian, leaving the CCCat's hand hanging in the air. The Crook leveled him with a glare, but turned away and composed himself. Raising his gaze skyward, Myir took in the sight of Eeridi's Halo and the broken moon Ofae.

"You're right. Let's go," he grunted out, tone still showing that while he may have stamped down his anger, it was far from gone.


Like a comet from the heavens, a heavy mass of grey crashed to the ground mere meters ahead of them. The impact shattered the pavement, sending rubble flying and tossed up large clouds of dust, filling the air and obscuring their view of the area.

Slowly the air cleared, revealing just what was facing Myir And his followers. Rising from the crouched position it had taken upon landing, a massive golem of stone rose from the rubble. Its segmented limbs floating in place, rune-carved spheres imbued with magic taking the place of joints and capped by rings of gold. Its face and torso was also etched with gold, patterns stretching up and over it's shoulders and lining its "eye". Multicoloured, iridescent smoke wound its way up and around its form before dispersing into the air. The sheer volume of magic radiating off of it could be felt even from where Sebastian was standing.

From atop its back several forms dropped to the earth, revealing themselves to be Halik's forces. Myir reacted instinctively, taking a defensive stance.

"Kom, Mogul, Sebastian. Take your runners and get to the facilities. Gather those weapons and get back here; we're going to need them. I'll hold them off."

Kom and Mogul nodded sharply and without hesitation, gesturing for the others to follow them, but Seb hesitated.

"Myir we can't leave you to fight this alo-"

"That's an order Sebastian!"

"But-"

"No! Go now!"

Gritting his teeth, Seb jerked his head in a sharp mod before taking off after the others. He didn't like it, but he had to have faith in Myir; the other obviously knew what he was doing.


Pushing himself to the limit, Seb went all out and was quickly catching up with the rest of his squad. He was fast and he knew it, and he would be damned if he didn't use every bit of energy he had to fulfill Myir's orders and get back to his commander sooner than later. They might not have known each other for long, but they'd spent the past few weeks fighting it each other's back and he was not going to abandon the Crook he had come to admire. His mind was blank as he ran, all of his focus was centered in putting one foot in front of the other and covering the most distance he could as quickly as he could.

Sebastian met up with Kom and Mogul at the entrance of the factory as they ripped their way through the reinforced door and the runners hurried inside. Nodding at them as he passed, he slipped by and took in the sight of the inside of the warehouse. Half of the building was filled with large complex machinery stretching from floor to ceiling, conveyor belts bridging the way between them, all of them still, and covered in all manner of parts. The other half was filled with crates stocked full of all manner of weaponry. Guns and blasters of varying sizes, oblong spheres which he could only assume were a type of grenade, all sorts of ammunition and what appeared to be discs.

Stepping towards the crates, Seb lifted one of the mystery discs to try and figure out just what it's purpose was. One side was smooth, tiny metal panels fitting seamlessly together and a red light glowing in the gloom, the other side was covered in a thin layer of rubber that was actually larger size than the disc itself. He peeled back the rubber slightly to find that the side underneath it was coated in a strong adhesive. It was a sticky mine!

A grin split his face, these were exactly what he needed to help with that golem. Shouting out to the others that he found what they were after, he gathered up what he could safely carry and began heading towards the door. 

Norhing could stop him now. He was going to help Myir even if he tried to turn him away. 

They were so close to their goal. 

Key was a peaceful area even at the busiest hours of the day, despite the hustle and bustle of it's not diminutive population. That night, to the residents of Key, was just like any other: calm, peaceful, and quiet. Unbeknownst to them however, far beneath the floors of their homes, beneath the hundreds of feet of concrete and steel that held their sector of the city aloft, the underbelly of Fever was in turmoil.

CCCats and Crooks warred in the streets and alleys, fighting with and against their own species and the humans. The area of their clash stretching all the way from the outermost edges to the shadowed heart of the city. Ever since the forces of the rebel leader Myir broke through the blockade and stormed the city, the zone had been rife with chaos. Splatters of both multicoloured, magic-ridden blood and mortal red painted both the walls and stained the earth beneath their feet as they continued to combat one another. Corpses of humans, shredded by fang and claw and crushed by the shear strength of the larger magic-borne species littered the pathways, strewn about where ever they happened to fall. Bodies of Crooks and CCCats also lay scattered about the streets, dispatched by the humans magic-nullifying weaponry.


High up above the macabre scenery that was steadily spreading throughout the city below, Sebastian hobbled his way through the back alleys of Key, slowly but steadily leading his party towards his old house. Trailing behind him, Myir limped along flanked by Kom and Mogul who had met up with them along the way, having deferred to Seb's judgement due to his familiarity with the area, and the CCCat's runners. The rush to reach the passage from Fever to Key and the tough opponents they had faced on the way left them exhausted and wounded but victorious. Each of them was riddles with gashes and cuts of various length and sizes, assorted bruises, and a couple of the runners had fractured, if not broken, legs.

Edging his way around a corner, Sebastian swiveled his head from one side to another, taking in the surroundings and making sure there was no one out and about to witness their passage, as unlikely as it was. He had stalked these back ways many a time in his past, when he was still a rowdy young thing with little care for civil company, and he had little doubt that anything had changed. The humans living in the neighborhood were still willingly ignorant to the events going on around them, so long as they weren't directly involved, and the CCCats in the area had taken on that same habit it seemed. This wasn't the first night that dark times swept through this area and hadn't been detected until it was too late, albeit the first of such a grand scale, and it wouldn't be the last.

'So close yet so far away... I wish I could see you again, but I can't... Not yet... But it shouldn't be too much longer. Wait for me, Cupid,' the firey furred male thought.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Sebastian came back to the present just in time to prevent his feet from meandering past the entrance of his old place. Sebastian hadn't been here in a couple of years, having moved in with his partner sometime before, but he made sure to leave it stocked with the basics just in case he had to return. He never thought he'd have to make use of it, but now he was glad for his foresight. Unlocking the door he opened it wide, stepping in and holding it to allow Myir to limp inside followed by the rest of his squad. He clicked it shut as the last of them closed the threshold and leaned heavily against the hardwood. The march from camp, rushing the barricade, and the fights that pursued them throughout the streets had really taken it out of him. He was exhausted. They all were.

"Kom, Mogul. I want you to take the two healthiest runners and scout out the route up. We need to know how heavily guarded it is, what their rotation is like, and where it will be easiest to slip through to the station."

And there was Myir who had sat himself on the couch, still ready and able to make the calls to keep everyone in motion and on track. It didn't matter that he had a large hole through his right shoulder from a sniper, or that he had heavy bruising to his left hip at the very least, not to mention the rest of his wounds. Nonetheless, Kom and Mogul, who were probably the least injured out of all of them, immediately shifted into action and went to retrieve their assigned partners do they could head out.

Sebastian straightened from his slump against the door and unsteadily migrated further into the house, making for the bathroom. Since they were being given the chance to rest, he might as well make sure the rest of them were in as best shape as they could be, and he would need his first aid kit for that. Rummaging around in the cupboard, he found it tucked behind a couple bottles of bleach, before slipping out past the scouting party and into the bedroom where the runners with the injured legs were laid out. Settling on the edge of the bed, he popped the latches on the med kit and pulled out a few splints and several rolls of bandages, before setting in to work.


'All things considered, I'd say we got off pretty easily. Neither of their legs were actually broken and the majority of their cuts were quite shallow,' Seb thought, quietly clicking the bedroom door shut behind him as he stepped out into the hall.

The vibrantly coloured CCCat himself was draped in a swath on bandages, twining their way up his torso and firmly wrapped up and down his arms.

Hah, Cupid would laugh at me and call me a mummy if he could see me now he thought with a soft snicker.

Emerging into the living room his gaze was drawn to the large form of Myir, having slumped over heavily on the cushions to try and take some of the strain off his aching body. Pale blue blood painted his upper right torso where it was still sluggishly oozing from the bullet wound, and dripped it's way down his body from the rest of the gashes littering his frame.

"...Myir, would you like some help?"

"I don't need it," the Crook rumbled, still not shifting from his slumped position, "I'll heal soon enough."

"I didn't ask if you needed it, I asked if you wanted it. I still have plenty of bandages, and I'm pretty good with sutures if needed. No point in not making use of what I have, y'know?"

Seb had crossed the room by now, steping around the couch and pausing next to the coffee table, gaze still locked on the Crook but now meeting his gaze.

"...Fine." Myir grumbled, grunting as he shifted and sat up from his slump with a mild glare at the CCCat.

Smirking slightly, Seb slid in to seat himself on the edge of the low table directly in front of his commander.

"I would say you better not rip up my couch if this hurts too much, but it's not like you haven't already bloodied it up," he joked, grabbing the suture kit from the pack along with a clean rag and a bottle of water.

He leaned forward, rinsing the pale blood from the broad shoulder to get a clear view of the hole left by the bullet, and set to work with the suture, pulling the thread taut and steadily stitching the torn flesh back together. Working around the wound, he made sure each stitch was evenly spaced and the gaping hole began to close up. Dabbing the area dry with the rag, Seb shifted around and did the same to the exit wound on Myir's back, before moving on to the deeper cuts littering the Crook's flesh. Once he made sure all of the deep ones were tended to, he grabbed the rolls of bandages and set to work wrapping the wounds to prevent any dirt from setting in.

"All done, yer all set. Just let yourself relax and rest for now. Doctor's orders."

Myir's only response was a huff as he flopped back against the cushions.

Leveraging himself up, Sebastian stood from his spot on the table and stretched himself out, working the stiffness out of his frame from leaning over and wrapping bandages.

It was time for him to get some well-earned rest himself.

The time had come.

The camp was mobilizing.

It was nearly time to start the push into the city.

Sebastian had only just arrived at camp the week prior, and he had been kept quite busy. Myir had given them a number briefings on the next step of his plan, and had informed them about the true nature of Halo's Pierce. He wasn't quite sure how the satellites tied in with whatever Myir was planning, but for the good of Skire he would see it through to the end. He wanted to ensure a better life, not just for himself or other CCCats, but for his Cupid.

The thought of the pastel male brought a soft smile to his face; how he missed the other and the sweet scent of frosting tinged with copper that followed him. Sebastian may be surrounded by his new comrades and brothers-in-arms, but the fact was that he was quite lonely without his lover... and it had only been a week!

The sound of a horn broke him from his reverie; that was the signal, it was time to move out.

Quickly clamboring to his feet, he jogged over to the clearing in front of the command tent and fell in line with the rest of his squad. Despite being a newcomer, Sebastian had been rather quickly shifted into the role of a squad leader, and was placed in charge of a group of four other runners. He might have been bulkier than they were, but his long fur was masking a rather lithe frame beneath it all.

Seeing the twining mass of bloody crimson magic that was Myir stepping out of his tent, along side the distinctive black and white magics of Kom and Mogul respectively,  Seb focused all his attention on his general.

"The time has finally arrived for us to begin taking action. I am glad you have all joined me here on this day, for today marks the day that the humans realize just how large of a mistake they made when they began draining Skire dry of the magic that courses through all of us. Today, we start taking back what rightfully belongs to our home. We shall be the guardians of Skire once more!"

A deafening roar arose from the crowd around Seb, and from within himself as well.

Myir began assigning various groups to the command of his fellow Crooks; Kom and Mogul each took a third of the troops. The ranks quickly broke apart, as each of the commanders broke away taking their squad with them, leaving the group in the middle standing in front of Myir. Seb felt a wave of anxiety sweep through him, he knew he was going to be working with the Crooks, but he didn't think he'd be working alongside Myir himself. He didn't have time to dwell on the feeling however, as his commander began marching them towards Uto and the coming confrontation.

The beginning of the battle was just a blur of motion and activity for Sebastian, who despite having been quite a brawler in his younger years, was greatly unprepared for a full on battle. Weaving around his opponents, keeping in step with Myir and his other comrades while watching their backs as well as his own. The steadily growing trail of blood and gore as they pushed further into the underbelly of Fever. All of it just blended together for him, and he was running on pure adrenaline and instinct. Despite it all however, he found himself enjoying the fight and could be seen amongst the carnage with a grin on his face.

Halik's defensive forces were truly a force to be reckoned with despite the surprise attack that had been launched against them. The Crooks that had allied themselves with the humans were proving themselves to be quite formidable, as were many of the CCCats who had joined up alongside them. The largest threat however, were the humans and their damned anti-magic weaponry; Crooks and CCCats may be nearly unkillable, but the damage the humans inflicted neutralized their body's natural magic. Even a graze from their weapons would throw their magic out of whack, even if only temporarily, and that was something their forces could not afford.

Seb and his runners were putting their speed to excellent use, for where they lacked in sheer muscle to down some of the enemy, they were fast enough that they could dash in and out of range while doing ever increasing damage. They were handling themselves well against the majority of their opponents so far, even with the handful of armed humans amongst them but they couldn't afford to get cocky; a lucky shot would be all it would take to potentially take one of them out of commission. Taking a chance while his four "underlings" ran literal circles around their current target, a monster-sized CCCat, Sebastian glanced around their surroundings to take in the positions of the rest of his comrades. From what he could see, they all seemed to be squaring off rather evenly against the opposition, but something seemed... off.

'What is going on here?' Sebastian's mind was racing, 'something is wrong but what?! ... Wait a minute... Where did the last couple humans go?'

Quickly scanning the area, Seb was desperately attempting to search out the missing enemies.

'Where?! Where where where?! Where are they?!'

A glint metal catching the light off a billboard. His head whipped up to the rooftops and caught a glimpse of an anti-magic rifle barrel taking aim. He followed it's trajectory. Dread ran down his spine.

They were taking aim at Myir.

"Myir! Move!" Sebastian roared at his commander.

The crack of gunfire echoed through the area.

A large muscular and furred form slid through the shadows of Uto's Key cityscape, deftly avoiding the radiance of the lights as they navigated the maze of buildings, before slipping down into the underbelly of Fever. Here, where the sprawling city cut off all natural light, they picked up the pace and dashed down alleyways as they continued to cling to the shadows. The few times the light managed to graze the figure and give away a glimpse of it's position, caused it's fur to blaze in brilliant firey reds, oranges, and yellows.

'Not much further until I hit the blockade,' the quadrupedal runner thought to themself as they sprinted down yet another alleyway, steadily working their way to the outskirts of the city where a Crook named Halik had set up a defensive line.

As they breached the outskirts and set foot out in the pale moonlight, no longer obstructed by the rising city, the large figure put the pedal to the meddle and rapidly picked up speed as they shot towards the blockade that had been set up. Their tall stature ensured their gait ate up ground quickly, and had covered nearly three quarters of the distance by the time the guards had noticed the individual racing towards them.

"Halt!"

"Stop right there!"

The cries of the few guards that had noticed the incoming figure alerted the rest to their movement, and they hurried to close ranks so as to set up a living wall to try and prevent the one bearing down on them from progressing further.
Despite their efforts, those near enough to try to close ranks just weren't able to do so fast enough; the one rapidly approaching them was barely a meter away and had coiled themself up, before springing forth in a leap that no mere mortal could match. The figure sailed clear over their heads, and as they gazed up they caught their first real glimpse of the runner.

Large and muscular, a Crowned Clown Cat(or CCCat for short) with long fur like fire and graced by shadows. A pair of ebon horns sprouted from his head, accompanied by a trio of crowns. A tusked maw split their near featureless face in a determined yet exhilarated grin. This was Sebastian, a now former resident of Key.

Landing with a loud thump of flesh upon hard-packed earth, the bulky CCCat powered forward with the lingering momentum of his jump, and continued racing towards the darkened forest nearby. Within moments, he was swallowed up by both the shadows of the night and the dense foliage of the underbrush. Keeping his pace, despite the branches whipping against him as he tore through them and the roots underfoot, he moved deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest.

'Shouldn't be too much farther now,' he thought, mind quickly calculating the distance he had travelled compared to his destination, 'I'll miss Cupid until all this is over with, but the freedom we'll have in the end will be worth it... I hope. I've made my decision and I have to stick with it.'

Travelling the forest in the dark of the night without a light source would be nearly impossible for a human but for a CCCat, whose vision relied not on light but on magic, it was as easy as it would be in the middle of the day. In the distance between the ambient magics of the leaves, Seb caught his first glimpse of active magic, that of another being born of the lifeblood of Eeridi. He had finally found it, the camp of the rebel forces led by Myir. The reason he had left his home and his lover. The reason he had decided to fight for a better future.

The camp was by no means a work of art or flawlessly put together, but it was far from ramshackle either. It was simple and to the point, and that suited their purpose just fine. It didn't need to be anything else, so long as it housed the rather eclectic collection of individuals who had ended up banding together there as one united front. There was a handful of Crooks, more than a few other CCCats, more than he expected.

He had made his choice.

He would fight with Myir.