Grey stood in silent anticipation outside the front of their store. The street mps burnt brightly as they always did this early in the morning. Despite the early rise Grey vibrated with excitement as she stared at something rge hidden underneath a sheet, her father standing in front of it. Her excitement drove away the cold and had her mind racing with all the possibilities as to what her present could be.

  He ripped the sheet off dramatically and Grey`s expression warped into a mixture of fascination and confusion. Before her stood a four legged creature, its limbs and overall torso held together with thick stitching and staples. It had a long worm like tail with faint little hairs protruding out of it. Its legs were slim yet muscur supporting a torso that had all its organs removed. Its paws were nimble with sharp cws and soft skinned pads on the bottom. Finally its head was familiar but not so much that it could be identified as any one thing. It had the nose and whiskers of a rodent, the keen ears of a canine predator and the eyes of a person. In its own twisted way it was beautiful.

  “Do you like it?”, asked Thanatos. “I`ve been working on it for a while. Collecting all the various parts, materials and tools. First I had to find bits and pieces that were the right size then I had to haggle for suitable prices. Don’t even get me started on putting the thing back together. But it was worth it to see that look on your face”.

  Grey limped over to it slowly her mind racing with thoughts and questions. Some questions she could answer herself with basic deduction. What was it? Clearly some kind of stitched together creature, nothing like she had ever seen or read of before. Was it alive? Most definitely, the damn thing was staring her right in the eye, blinking and not breathing. How was it alive? The answer to this was something she was all too familiar with: necromancy.

  The creature watched her, she approached calmly, it took a step forward and sniffed her with its big nose. Its whiskers twitched reactively at the introduction of her scent. Grey reached out with her hand and gently stroked it on the ridge above its nose. It welcomed the soft touch and pressed its head into her hand inviting further petting. Grey dropped her crutch and with both hands rubbed and scratched it around the head and behind the ears. It`s eyes rolled back and closed in satisfaction its right back leg thumping the ground enlivened.

  Grey`s excitement had carried her as far as it could. Without her crutch for support her legs gave out under her weight. The creature vigintly moved in to catch her with its head, gently pushing her towards its back, lowering itself down, invitingly.

  Thanatos, satisfied with being a silent observer, gave Grey a gentle nod of affirmation as she looked to him for guidance.

  She grabbed onto the creature`s fur and pulled herself on top of it. Her body came to life as she mounted it becoming one with the creature. It became an extension of herself, the legs she wished she had. Grey`s mind was flooded and overwhelmed with both imagination and emotion. She felt powerful, noble even, like the knights she had read about; riding valiantly upon their majestic steeds.

  “Dad, how? Why? I mean? I don’t. You.”, she was lost for words.

  “It is a gift I wish I could have given you a long time ago. The day you told me you were too old to sit on my shoulders I began work on it. It is smart, capable and loyal only to you.”, Thanatos expined, swelling with pride at watching his daughter slowly become a little more whole.

  “What`s his name?”, Grey asked, excitedly petting the side of the creatures head.

  “It doesn’t have a name. I thought that should best be left up to you.”, they insisted affectionately.

  “Whiskers!”, Grey excimed exhirated. “Your name will be Whiskers. Who`s a good boy? You`re a good boy, yes you are.” Whiskers came to life once more at the attention and struggled to contain his joy not wanting to accidentally throw Grey from his back.

  “Dad, I don`t know what to say. Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! A hundred times thank you!”, Grey yelled, overwhelmed with emotion, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “You don`t need to thank me Sweetheart. You are my daughter, everything I do for you I do with love in my heart.”, Thanatos reached out with his cold skeletal fingers and caressed her cheek gently. “I would do anything for you if it made you happy. Now then, why don`t you take Whiskers for a ride, re-explore the Undercity, visit the market and buy yourself something meaty and delicious.”

  Thanatos gently tossed a small bag of coins to Grey who caught them excitedly, “There should be enough in there for two meals. Spoil yourself.”

  “Really? Yes please! I can go visit Willow! Ow my gosh I can go anywhere. Do anything!”, Grey realised, frantically overjoyed. “I promise to be back before dinner. Will you be okay managing the store for the day? Really dad I could never thank you enough for this. Wait! Yes I can! Now that I`m old enough I can become your apprentice! You can train me to become a Necromancer like you! I`ll make you proud, prouder than you ever thought possible.”

  With that Grey patted Whiskers on the side and yelled for him to go. He did so excitedly running quickly down the street turning a random corner and removing them both from Thanatos`s sight.

  Thanatos stood there silently slowly taking in everything Grey had said before departing. They clenched their fists and let out a disappointed sigh. If they still had the skin and muscles necessary to frown, they would have.

  [---]

  Grey sped through the streets clinging to Whiskers exhirated, blood pumping full of adrenaline. Never had she felt so alive, so full of hope and purpose. Whiskers galloped through the streets of the Undercity kicking up dust behind him to the ire of every passer-by.

  Whiskers darted down streets and turned corners at random having zero knowledge of the Undercities streets. Grey had a little more knowledge but hers was several years old at this stage. Despite that she was surprised to see how much she still remembered. As if the city had frozen in time with her absence.

  She remembered the outskirts of town commonly referred to as the outer ring. The dirt roads pockmarked with rocks and ditches, worn away from repeated foot traffic. The buildings poorly built from cy and stone with little or no tools and even less architectural know how.

  She remembered the Great Elevator that loomed constantly over the Undercity, a monolith visible no matter where you were, its cart constantly descending and ascending.

  Once she had begged her father to take her to see it up close but they were turned away.

  She remembered the local market, rickety stalls held together from scraps scavenged from the trash of middle ring. Then she remembered the smells, stale sweat, fried rat meat and stewing mushroom soup. Her mouth began to salivate, her attention drawn back to her growing hunger.

  Grey enjoyed herself with a brief stop to grab herself a rat kebab. She ignored the looks and whispers her grotesque mount attracted and once satiated left to search for Willows farm. She had never been there but an Undercity farm could only be located in one pce. Before departing the market she took the time to enjoy the sight of other people going about their day to day lives. It had been years since she st left the house. All the different people, each and every one of them going about their own individual lives. It was breath-taking to be exposed to such a rge body of people.

  She directed Whiskers towards the very outskirts of the city where the ceiling dipped, the floor became the wall and all three met. Along the walls were well dug tunnels that led to open cave areas. Apparently the Goblins had them carved out for security reasons. Food was a valuable resource after all and needed to be protected.

  Grey and Whiskers navigated their way in and out of several tunnels looking for Willows farm. Inevitably they stumbled across a tunnel with a sign outside of it. Painted on the wall in rge rough lettering was the title, ‘Willow`s Farm’. The little touch of character made Grey`s heart swell up with pride causing her to wiggle with excitement.

  Willow had always been a ball of anxiety for as long as Grey had known her. Every now and then however she would have moments of supreme uncharacteristic confidence. She was just full of surprises. Surprises that filled Grey`s stomach with butterflies.

  Slowly Grey and Whiskers traversed the tunnel to Willow`s farm. It was full of basic noise traps; string snaked all around with cans full of stones. A basic yet effective early warning system, one Whiskers managed to avoid setting off.

  The tunnel opened up into a rge cavern spreading down and around giving a beautiful hill top view of the farm. Willow had told Grey little about the farm. All she really knew that it was once her uncles carved out before she was even born. On the far end against the back wall was a small house carved into the earth and spread before it for miles were mushrooms in various stages of growth. The entire cave was illuminated with mp oils scattered about intelligently to cover the most surface area.

  Even without the sign outside Grey would have been able to tell the farm was Willow`s. Willow had always been a neat and tidy person and it definitely showed here. The nutrient rich mushrooms the Undercity sustained itself on were pnted in precise rows. Each one spaced perfectly to allow for optimal growth without risk of crowding. It was truly a sight to behold.

  Joyfully she and Whiskers descended down into the farm using the neatly maintained foot paths to navigate their way towards the farm house. They arrived outside the earth carved farm house and Grey took a deep breath.

  “Hey Willow! Get your butt out here! I have a surprise for you!”, Grey shouted at the top of her lungs.

  Grey could hear the sounds of bewildered panic coming from inside before a very messy haired Willow came bsting forth breaking the st working hinge on her front door. It colpsed to the floor but Willow gave it no mind surprised and anxious by Grey`s sudden arrival. So surprised was she that she hardly noticed the fleshy creature she rode upon.

  “Grey? How? I mean why? I mean, Happy Birthday?”, Willow stuttered, flustered, trying to reorganise her hair into a somewhat tame appearance.

  “Thanks Willow, it is indeed a happy birthday.”, Grey smiled from ear to ear. An awkward silence descended as Grey hadn`t thought about what would come next.

  “This is Whiskers.”, she blurted in a panic. “My dad made him for me. Isn`t he amazing. Yes you are, you’re an amazing boy.” Whiskers felt a rush of excitement and wiggled its rear end energetically to the amusement of Willow. The pyful antic making the grotesqueness of the creature fade away.

  She continued to look on amazed taking a few steps forward putting her hand out cautiously. Whiskers met her with a gentle curiosity and a sniff of his snoot.

  “Your dad, made him?”, Willow asked in disbelief, running her fingers through her hair.

  “Yeah. I never told you this because I think it`s a secret but dads a Necromancer. A big famous one if the book I read is telling the truth and he`s gonna teach me to be a Necromancer too!”, Grey expined excitedly, the adrenaline wearing off, her energy now fully sustained by sheer force of will.

  “I don`t know what a Necromancer is but it sounds amazing. I mean I’m assuming Whiskers here is a result of this Necromancy”, Willow agreed, shyly petting Whiskers behind the ear. Her pets very enthusiastically welcomed.

  “I know right! But that’s not actually why I`m here.”, Grey climbed off of Whiskers, Willow immediately coming to her aid. Grey grabbed Willow as she got close and pulled her towards her kissing her passionately on the lips. Willow`s eyes grew rge with surprise then slowly closed as she allowed herself to get lost in the moment.

  Their lips danced around each other putting the fantasies either of them had had of this moment to shame. They gave and took ground in perfect harmony gently opening up to one another to allow their tongues to meet. Years of anxious anticipation melted away as their feelings ignited into a fme of passion that threatened to consume everything around them.

  Grey was the first to pull back leaving Willow in a state of euphoria.

  “I`ve been wanting to do that for so long.”, Grey confessed, leaning on Willow, holding her close.

  “Why did you wait so long? I know I`m not the most brazen person but even I thought I was being kind of obvious with how I felt about you.”, she finally asked, her head still fuzzy with adrenaline.

  “I didn’t think I deserved you.”, Grey muttered ashamedly. “I`m basically a cripple. You don’t deserve to have to take care of a burden like me. You deserve someone who can stand with you on equal footing. Lift you up instead of-”

  Grey was stopped by Willow reigniting their kiss. Willow had grown uncharacteristically bold strengthening her hold on Grey. She caressed her cheek as she kissed her before suddenly striking her through the face with just enough force to leave Grey startled.

  “Don`t you ever talk about yourself like that again. You are the strongest person I know. You could never be a burden, never.”, she gave Grey a more forceful hug letting all her emotions flow into the strength of her arms.

  “I`m sorry Willow. I really am. But it`s different now. With Whiskers and my dad making me his apprentice I`ll be able to make something of myself. Be entirely independent.”, Grey decred proudly, moving away from Willow to lean onto Whiskers.

  Willow kept hold of her hand refusing to let go now that she had her. She looked at Grey standing tall filled with pride and newly awoken ambition. All doubt and reservation had left her repced now entirely by hope.

  “You won`t need Whiskers for everything I hope. He is kind of cute but I`m pretty sure he would just get in the way.”, Willow spoke with a sultry tone, letting her hormones lead the way rather than her anxiety. She grabbed Grey`s other hand gently suggesting her back towards the house.

  “I guess not.”, she agreed excitedly.