-Wolf POV-

  The wolf opened his eyes slightly, finding his face half-buried in the dirt. He dragged himself upright, rubbing his eyes.

  The street ahead was filled with people. He got an odd look from a woman passing by. Noticing him looking, her expression changed, and she hurried away.

  [Black Wolf: Awake?]

  He asked, nudging the bunny sleeping beside him.

  [White Bunny: Hungry.]

  The bunny muttered, cracking a red eye open. Despite their dirty surroundings, the wolf smiled, picking her up.

  [Black Wolf: I will find food.]

  Even if the two of them barely counted as a pack- she was a bunny, and he was a human- the wolf still knew his responsibilities. The wolf stood up, dirt falling off his clothes.

  [White Bunny: You need shoes first.]

  [Black Wolf: Shoes?]

  She eyed him.

  [White Bunny: You're not going to like them.]

  ... unfortunately, she was right.

  He should've run away when he had the chance, the wolf thought, taking the shoes from the other human. He handed over three shiny things in return. According to the bunny, the "coins" were how humans "paid" for what they "bought." The wolf didn't understand what any of it meant, but he was certain he was getting ripped off.

  [Black Wolf: Heavy. Stiff. Hurts.]

  [White Bunny: They'll keep your feet clean, and that'll keep people from giving you strange looks.]

  [Black Wolf: Hurts.]

  He repeated again. It didn't matter that the dirt was devoid of life; it was the principle of the matter. He was separated from the earth, and it wasn't right.

  The two of them walked out into a huge square. Humans rushed by them to the various stalls around the edges, exchanging coins for all sorts of different things- food and weapons, but also richly-colored clothes and little wood carvings which spun on their own.

  An exquisite rock stood in the middle of the square, carved into the most perfect symmetry the wolf had ever seen. Water spilled over the sides of the rock, gathering in a pool at the bottom.

  [Black Wolf: What is that?]

  Coins flashed at the bottom of the pool. The water never stopped running, never overflowed. It was a miracle in plain sight, but no one seemed to care.

  [White Bunny: A fountain.]

  Perhaps these shiny things gave them the power? The wolf wondered, flipping over the coins in his hand. The coins were in the fountain, in every exchange between the humans. Other than being shiny, the coins didn't seem very remarkable to him.

  The wolf wandered around the square, searching for something to eat. Dozens of stores sold meat, but-

  "Berries! By the box, by the dozen!"

  The wolf hurried over, wanting to get there before they ran out. He waited in line, shifting left and right to try and catch a glimpse of the berries being sold. He hoped there were some sour ones; those were his favorite.

  A group of steel-clad men pushed their way through the crowd. The swords on their hips were enough to make the wolf uneasy, and their expressions-

  "Have you seen this man?" The man demanded, grabbing a woman's arm and shoving a sheet in front of her face. The words ENEMY NUMBER ONE were printed at the top, a terrifying looking man depicted beneath.

  The woman quickly shook her head. The man's expression darkened, and he gave her a stiff nod, releasing her.

  "Anyone could be hiding him, helping him. Make sure to report any strange activity you see, anything."

  [White Bunny: I've seen the papers around, but- must be quite the man, to have this many guards trying to find him.]

  "The village isn't that big," one of the guards muttered. Her narrow eyes scanned the area, searching. "He's gotta be here, somewhere-"

  "-anything in town, report it right to us."

  Their voices overlapped with each other, the message the same every time.

  The wolf held his breath as the guards drew closer. He could still remember the weird look he had gotten just this morning- what if they thought he looked weird, what if they reported him- and his heart raced under his skin. One of their eyes landed on him. The wolf froze, preparing himself for the worst-

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  "Nice bunny," the guard said, walking right by him.

  The wolf exhaled in relief. He paid for the first box of berries he could grab. He ducked into the first street he saw, walking as fast as he dared without seeming "suspicious." He kept walking, walking-

  [White Bunny: Okay, where the fuck are we going?]

  The wolf stopped. He looked around. Most of the buildings stood half-collapsed, suggesting there hadn't been anyone here in a long time. He hadn't been on this side of the village before.

  [Black Wolf: I don't know?]

  The wolf asked weakly, and the bunny let out a long sigh.

  [White Bunny: Let's just eat here, then.]

  The wolf sat down. I miss the forest, he thought bleakly. There was always shade to rest under, always a cool breeze dancing through the trees. Here, every creature looked at him funny, and even the ground was hot.

  He stuck a berry in his mouth, and he nearly spat it out again.

  [Black Wolf: What is this?]

  He glared at the offensive pile of "berries."

  [White Bunny: A berry?]

  The bunny chewed on a berry like nothing was wrong. Maybe I just got a bad one? The wolf tried another berry, and he really did spit it out this time.

  [Black Wolf: This tastes like wood! No, it tastes like less than wood!]

  The bunny tried to eat another berry. He snatched the box away before she could.

  [Black Wolf: Stop! The berries will poison you!]

  The bunny gave him a flat look.

  [White Bunny: Like you know anything about poison.]

  The bunny wrestled the box back from him. It was a relief when she finally stopped ingesting those awful, disgusting things.

  [White Bunny: Alright. The Adventurer's Guild isn't far from here. Let's go. ]

  The wolf carried her. He passed dozens of collapsed houses. There were a few papers pressed to the walls, faded with time. NO MORE H-, the wolf read, the other half of the paper was torn. Finally, they reached a building with the words Adventurer's Guild carved into a huge piece of wood.

  [Black Wolf: How do I get in?]

  He looked up at the building. When it was first constructed, the Adventurer's Guild sign must've been something magnificent. It would have hung tall above all the other houses, basking in the full glory of the sun. But the wood had rotted, and now the sun only illuminated the flaws in the sign.

  [White Bunny: You smash the wall down, obviously.]

  The wall seems pretty sturdy... the wolf started examining the building, trying to figure out how he was supposed to do that.

  The bunny laughed.

  [White Bunny: Look up. You see that door, with the piece of metal sticking out of it? You open that.]

  The wolf flushed. He marched up the stairs, doing his best to ignore the laughter ringing in his head. He faced the door resolutely. He gave the piece of metal a tug, and then- nothing. He tugged it harder, then winced when the wood creaked dangerously.

  [White Bunny: Need help?]

  She asked innocently. He glared at her.

  Was this a trick again? How was he supposed to open this?

  He was about to kick the door when-

  "Let go of me!"

  It was more of a shriek than a scream, the awful, high pitch of it familiar from the day before.

  Adults didn't scream like that. The wolf shoved the door away. If it was one of the kids- he started running, feet flying across the ground. The bunny sprinted after him.

  [White Bunny: What are you doing?! We should be running away, not towards it!]

  She shouted into his head. He shook his head, pushing himself faster. Wild panic clawed at his throat.

  [Black Wolf: The kids, they-]

  [White Bunny: You don't even know if you can save them. What if you're just throwing our lives away, too?]

  She demanded, every word striking into what he feared most. I'm too weak, always too weak to do anything- no, what I am is wasting time.

  He had been too late before, and when he arrived-

  [Black Wolf: Stay here.]

  He ran past her. He couldn't let someone die while he cowered again; he couldn't.

  Half a snarl ripped from her throat.

  [White Bunny: You fucking- follow me.]

  She tore through a complicated series of twists and turns, each narrower than the last. He started to suspect she was just trying to get him lost, and then-

  "I did everything you asked!"

  "Everything I asked? You tried to rob me, boy."

  The voices were close, closer than he thought was possible. The wolf skidded around the corner, and-

  A sword caught the light, and a boy cowered in the shadows.

  The wolf launched himself forward. Memories flickered before him like candles in the wind. He saw the boy and his sister's corpse at once, one dirtied and the other broken.

  The wolf crashed into the man, taking the man with him to the ground. The man struggled against him, but he wasn't any stronger than the wolf. The wolf kicked the man's sword away. He managed to grab hold of the man's right hand, then the left, shoving both of them into the earth, and-

  The man's eyes shifted from blue to gray, and the wolf's grip trembled.

  Sensing his weakness, the man shoved him aside, diving towards the sword. The wolf scrambled to stop him, but-

  "Oh, you're gonna pay for that," the man swore lowly, adjusting his grip on his sword. He wiped away the blood trickling from his nose, and he smiled. It was an ugly thing, all perfectly white teeth.

  "My men will be here soon, but I don't need them to kill a few rats, do I?"

  Blue eyes, the wolf thought to himself, forcing himself to concentrate. Pale, sickly blue. The wolf dragged himself back to his feet. It wasn't one of the children he had known- the boy was far dirtier, clothes torn at the edges- but it didn't matter. The stone in his pocket weighed too heavy for him to ignore.

  Blue Eyes advanced lazily, like a predator that knew he had cornered his prey. The man held the only weapon, and he blocked the only way out of the dead-end.

  [White Bunny: You have to shift.]

  His wolf form was significantly injured. But for a single strike...

  [White Bunny: There are people coming. At least a dozen.]

  He had been the useless one before. When his family had been attacked, he had been paralyzed, not knowing how to fight, not knowing where to run.

  The wolf crouched lower. His golden eyes shone fiercely. He would not be forced to watch again.

  "Where are you?" The child suddenly asked. His voice was a trembling thing, like the wings of a butterfly that could be easily crushed. "I did everything you asked. You promised!"

  Blue Eyes' face twisted in anger.

  "You begged for food and you went for my pockets, boy-"

  "I'll tell all of my friends. I'll make sure no one ever believes you again," the boy continued. He sounded hurt, more hurt than afraid, but he kept talking, voice shaking as it rose in volume. "You aren't allowed to break your promises! I won't let you!"

  A laugh echoed from around the corner. Blue Eyes started to look back, and-

  There was already a knife at his throat. The wolf hadn't even seen the man move, but there he was. The blade glinted under the sun, wicked sharp.

  "I'll pretend I didn't hear those threats, Ant," the man said, smiling. It was an easy smile, the kind that naturally drew people in.

  The sword in Blue Eyes' hand clattered to the ground. Blood trickled down Blue Eyes' neck from a thin, crimson line, nearly invisible to sight.

  "You- you're that-"

  "Careful," the man said softly. He caressed his fingers across Blue Eyes' throat, smearing the blood which had already spilled.

  "My hand slips easily. Not all of us can be as professional as those you employ."