Chapter 154: Running Under the Moon and Making a Choice

“Snow, it’s almost two in the morning. Where the hell are you heading off to?” Flufferson asks as I approach the exit of the Pet Shop’s main tent.

“I have a lot on my mind, nyaa. I want to go running in an attempt to clear it. Why, Fluffer? Are you worried over little old me?” Tilting my head, I flash him a playful smile and a strategically placed wink, knowing my refined brand of cuteness will weaken him.

“N-No, of course not. If anyone’s safe on their own out there, it’s you...” The old dog replies, tucking with his tail between his leg.

“Don’t worry, dear. I only want to stretch my legs for a bit. Feeling a bit restless...”

“Take care, Snow. Don’t be too long.” He hangs his head while drooping his ears and sighing.

“I’ll try.” I lie because I’m a cat. I’m going to do whatever I want for as long as I want, and the old dog knows it.

Flufferson budges out of the way for me, albeit with slight reluctance. I move past him and head off alone into the empty night market.

I switched out of my uniform hours ago, and now I’m wearing an understated black tracksuit that won’t draw too much attention if someone happens to see me against all odds. For a split second, I look back at the tent.

Security is tight, as per my orders.

Flufferson is hardly the only Beastman on patrol tonight. About half the crew is out here defending the collection of tents serving as both our adoption center and our mobile home. The other half is resting until it’s their shift. I’m glad to see how efficient my staff is, but I get a move on before any of the security can stop and question me just as Flufferson did. As I am right now, I’m definitely not in the mood for it...

I love this place, but I also hate it.

My expression becomes cold as the dirty streets beneath my paws as I turn away from my home and walk briskly through the silent market into a nearby alley. Odd. It smells like Mya... the Guild Myaster here. That cheeky little Mage of his, too. They must have passed here after they finished their errand, I suppose... great.

I was hoping not to smell this scent again so soon, but much to my relief, the odor is faded and not all that strong. Good. The last thing I need when trying to clear my mind is to become uncontrollably in heat.

Sighing, I take a look around the alley for any hint of a route I could take. This isn’t my first rooftop run. No, I’ve done this in practically every major city in Karnalle. With my experience, I can quickly pinpoint a scaffolding that will soon allow me to reach the building’s roof. Using all of my speed, agility, and prowess, I climb.

From atop the rough scaffolding, I can spot a path to reach higher and higher. With all of my skill and grace, I ascend the buildings making as little sound as possible. Amidst the dreary backdrop of this dirty slum town, I imagine how wondrous I look as I’m leaping to and fro. My body twirls itself about this way and that like an elegant acrobat, long, fluffy tail trailing behind me as I go.

Losing myself to the rhythm of my freerunning, I become one with the night. Out here, I can make as many different choices as I want. When to run, when to jump, when to vault and land on my feet, or even when to spin around if I’m feeling daring... yeah. At night, running through the city without a care in the world is what sets me free. 

After only a few minutes of running and jumping, I find myself at the top of one of the city’s highest buildings. No one else will find me here, and I can be truly alone. Looking down on the numerous buildings below, I soak in all the less-than-impressive sights this town has to offer. Dewhurst really is an awful place. It reeks of cheap sex and even cheaper drugs, and of course, the scent of danger lingers in the air like a neverending hangover.

Pretty funny, if I’m honest. Never would I expect it’d be the town I want to make my forever home.

...Gods, what’s happened to you, Snowball?

Every day this week, my thoughts have drifted toward him whenever I so much as slightly lower my guard. Even now, I catch myself staring at that building on the south-east edge of town... that rickety old Adventurer’s Guild, which looks like it’d collapse into a thousand pieces if it ever met a stiff wind. Inside, that man is probably making love to his many mates right this very second...

I thought I finally convinced myself I don’t have any say over my life, that I was happy like this... but now everything’s been turned on its head. It’s all thanks to that mute girl with the purple hair, Zutiria. I was mostly over my little ‘crush’ until I saw the two of them earlier today, and she just kept prodding me and hinting.

Such a rude young lady... she could definitely use a good spanking...

The tribe always tells you that you have a choice. You can stay, or you can go. But... if it’s not through the adoption program, they won’t help you if you leave.

There are also cases like mine.

I’m part of the lucky few that the tribe wanted to stay and work, so I wasn’t ever put up for adoption, no. I was the pinnacle of the maid training program, so they begged me to stay on and instruct future generations.

Sure, they told me I had a choice in the matter, but... since I was bred to be a good little kitty maid who always says yes, I said yes.

Does that really count as having a choice?

At the time, I thought I’d be happy with that ‘decision’ of mine. Especially since I could just leave if I found a mate who interested me. In reality, I wasn’t happy, and I never did find the right man... not until the worst possible time, at least.

Lucky me.

Now it’s even more challenging to leave. When I’m not training new maids at the Breeding Grounds, I’m out on the road practically running the Pet Shop whenever they ask me to...

I think over the years, I’ve come to hate myself. Especially now, when thinking about the two of them...

Even though I love them so much, I can’t help being jealous of Periwinkle and Cherry. The fact that they can just go off, solve their issues, and live in bliss with the... their new Myaster irritates me. Even the problem kittens, who nobody thought would ever get adopted, ended up with their happy ending before old Snow did...

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Do I... resent them? Gods, they’re like my kid sisters, and I’m just... a petty and spiteful bitch.

...No, Snow. Focus.

You’re a good maid. Your Myaster isn’t a man. It’s the Breeding Tribe. You’ll serve them until you die. That’s the choice you made.

Even now, while I stand here looking out at the city under its dreary moonlight, daydreaming about what life would be like with... him... I know that’s not the life that was meant for me. I was bred to fulfill a specific purpose, and I’ll do my best in fulfilling it.

Besides, I’m sure I’ll forget this flight of fancy in a few years, anyway... I’m getting older. The Tribe wants me to settle down and pick a mate already, and it’s not like I’m unpopular. I could steal just about any Beastman from their current mate if I wanted- and considering our race mates typically mates for life, that’s saying a lot. I’ve seen the way the males back at the Breeding Grounds gaze at me as I pass them by...

I could work with one of them, I guess... if I had to. Not like they’re bad looking or anything... and they smell ok, too, even if it’s nothing like... him...

Letting out a deep sigh into the cold night air, I lean over the building’s rusty railing. Tears well up in the corner of my eyes, and I wipe them away with my paws. Fucking hell, Snow. Get it together. You’re a pretty little kitty maid who does her curtsies and follows orders. That’s all you... need... to... be?

I didn’t notice it at first because I was so lost while wallowing in my own self-pity, but something is dreadfully amiss. Suspicious hooded figures enter the marketplace en masse, much more than I’d consider normal for even a scummy town like Dewhurst. I can’t see them very well on account of their attire, but I’m certain the lot is entirely female. Worse yet is they’re being led by a small caravan of wagons drawn by horses, and I have no idea what they could be transporting so late at night, unless...

Before I can put two and two together, I witness an explosion erupt throughout the night, centered entirely around my home. Silver smoke bursts into the perimeter, covering the entire market in a thick, pungent gas that I instantly recognize. Every member of the tribe has to smell it once in our childhood so that we know to avoid it from miles away. You don’t ever forget a smell like that. It’s so powerful that I can smell it from all the way up here... Beastvine.

This... this can’t be happening.

Beastvine is illegal. Any Beastfolk who inhales enough of it will be knocked out cold for almost a full day...! So how in the name of Besthal could anyone find enough of the drug to pull this off?! Not even alchemists are allowed to mess with that substance! Another burst happens, covering the surrounding tents in the same silver shroud of billowing smoke, and another blast, and another.

The entire area has been thoroughly smoked, rendering the security I posted null and void now that the men are all dropping like flies on a hot day. 

The wagons pull up to the Pet Shop, and the shady figures begin raiding the tents under cover of night. I cover my mouth in horror as the first criminal returns carrying an unconscious Dogfolk girl over their shoulders. She loads the poor puppy into the back of the nearest wagon as if she were cargo. This process repeats itself one after the other, and all I can do is stand here and watch, helpless as my kin are abducted right before my eyes.

Then, stepping out from the largest wagon of all, I see him. Even in near-total darkness, his gaudy jewelry reflects what little light there is. The shine makes the wicked man almost impossible not to detect... even if you don’t have intense night-vision like I do.

At his side are his two female lieutenants that I saw the other day. Together they watch calmly as his thugs abduct everyone I know and love... besides any of the men, of course.

This isn’t fair. We could have easily defeated this many invaders if it was a straight-on fight. Thanks to our keen senses, we would have even detected magic if they tried pulling that off, too, but... the possibility of a Beastvine attack was so remote that no one even considered it.

Least of all, me... how can you prepare for something that never in your wildest dreams had you ever considered a potential threat?

There’s no way I can go down and help. I’m strong, sure, but strong doesn’t mean anything against a knock-out drug. All I’d be doing is ensuring I share the same fate as my sisters...

I... I can’t... after everything I’ve sacrificed... so many years of my life wasted serving the tribe, only for... for THIS?

No... please, no... I...

Wait. This isn’t right-

‘If something bad happens, though... something worse than you were prepared for then, please. Don’t hesitate.’

Words ring through my mind like a persistent gong, refusing to disappear until I acknowledge them.

‘Please.’ His deep voice says in a comforting tone.

Gods, Really? I... don’t have any other option now, do I... I have to go and see him... he’ll help me... he promised he would... and I... I... trust him. He’s...

He’s the Myaster, after all.

Leaping from the top of the city, I run as fast as I can to go and submit an urgent quest to the local Adventurer’s Guild. I’ll use my power as acting leader of the Pet Shop and promise him anything he wants, anything to make him save my family.

My relationship with the tribe itself is complicated, but the individual Beastfolk who make it up? I’d do anything to save them...

That’s the choice I’ll make.

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