I picked up the small card from the floor and brought it upstairs with me, setting it on my desk. I was in far too much of a fog to look at this right now, whatever it may be. Grabbing another pair of clothes and my comb I turned back around to the bathroom, looking in the mirror before grabbing a shower stall.

I looked terrible.

My hair was drenched, my lip had been split, and I had several small scrapes on my hands from trying to push myself off of the town roads. Tamani did well cleaning my face, at least. My clothes were soaked in sweat and clung to me all over.

Somehow, despite this, I didn't care. I was just happy my foster child was safe.

With a deep breath I grabbed a towel and continued my way to the stall, opening and closing the curtain behind me. I peeled off my wet clothes, letting them fall into a pile on the floor. Running my fingers through the fur on my abdomen I pulled and pushed it back to see the gnarled skin below. Beneath the fur had grown some sizeable bruises and there would probably be more on the right side of my face if I were to look.

Just like old times.

I sighed and stepped into the stall, closing the door behind me and turning on the hot water. The water stung my face as it hit the places of impact, but eventually soothed away much of the lingering pain. Carefully bending down I acquired the soap and ran it through my hair, freeing it from the grip of sweat and dirt. I scooped up much of the lather as it fell, scrubbing gingerly into the fur and down to my skin to get rid of any remaining contaminants. It was times like these when showers didn't feel humiliating and actually felt...good, somehow. I couldn't say why.

My mind was blank during the shower, it also getting washed clean by the hot water as it poured over me. I turned around to face away from the stream and leaned forward, my arms outstretched and hands resting upon the stall's wall. The hot water ran over my tired, sore back and shoulders as I slowly closed my eyes, just standing this way for a couple minutes. I breathed in deeply, inhaling the moist air and soapy aroma as though to clean my very soul.

Finally I opened my eyes, turned around, and turned off the water. Wringing out my tail and hair I opened the stall door and grabbed my towel, finishing the job to the best of my ability. Once sufficiently dry I slowly reclothed myself, careful not to move too quickly or too harshly to irritate my bruises. Standing in front of the mirror I tried to sort out my hair, taking the comb to my face after finishing to see that it, too, was indeed bruised.

I grabbed and balled up my spent laundry, wanting to tend to it before it stunk further. Before departing the floor I stopped, remembering the card I left on my desk. I detoured to retrieve it, putting it in my pocket before continuing on my way downstairs to soak my clothes. A strong smell had wafted down the hall and up the stairs, piquing my interest as I got closer to its source.

Poking my head around the corner and into the staff lounge I saw Tamani and Ulimi preparing some kind of food while little Riv helped either measure ingredients or add them to whatever was getting cooked. He always did seem quite interested in helping in the kitchen and it was cute to see that from afar.

"Oh, there you are," Ulimi said as he turned his head. "Things here should be done real soon. I have that thing for ya, too, whenever you want it."

"When did you get here?" I asked.

"Eh, not long ago," he said, stirring something in a pan. "Shindi brought me into that little ordeal to shut some idiots up and I wanted to give you your order anyway. Seemed right to me."

"I'm sorry you--"

"Seriously, it's not a problem," he laughed. "Your concern for my person and time spent is touching, but hardly necessary. If I wanted no part of it I'd just say 'no'. You've been kind and a pleasure to work with, and I'm sure you'd help me if I needed it, right?"

"O-Of course I would..." I said. "I don't, um, think I'd be much help in that kind of situation, though."

"There are more things people need help with than thugs, you know," Tamani chimed in. "Money, cooking, cleaning, documents...lots of stuff. Everyone's got something they're good at."

"I suppose so," I said, looking down.

I never really felt I had a talent in anything, but maybe I'd just not found it yet. Though given by now I was into my thirties it would maybe be nice to find whatever it might be.

I retreated to the other kitchen to fill the washtub and soak my spent clothes. Just to be extra sure about the smell I added a little more soap than usual, quickly raking my fingers through the water to encourage a lather before adding the clothes. With this much done I went back across the hall to the others, now serving food on several plates.

It was small bits of chicken cooked with fragrant spices and mixed with chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, and sour green sauce I don't think I'd ever seen before. All of this topped some corn flatbreads, and upon everything Tamani squeezed some juice from a lime. My eyes were wide with fascination looking at this unusual, colorful food.

"Something wrong?" Ulimi asked.

"No, not at all," I reassured. "I've just never seen food like this before. I didn't mean to seem impolite."

"Nah, you just looked kinda like you seen a ghost. The food will do you better if you eat it instead of stare at it, though."

"...Right."

"Just be careful when you eat it so you don't get spices and lime juice in those cuts."

The four of us took our seats on the lounge benches, plates in front of us and each with a glass of some beverage akin to lemonade, but made using limes instead. The food was hearty and filling and the drink refreshing. Never before had I scarfed down food so quickly, but it wasn't until I took a bite that I realized just how starved I was. Some of it got into the split in my lip but I was too hungry to care. I probably looked ridiculous biting into these folded things as I held them awkwardly in my small hands.

Riv seemed just as fascinated by this new food, trying to eat it without the contents spilling out the other side. He got the hang of it fairly quickly, his tiny fangs tearing into the bread and stuffing between. He was also quite intrigued by the beverage, or "green drink" as he'd refer to it.

"This food is actually pretty easy to throw together if you wanted to make it yourself sometime," Tamani said between bites. "It's a common street food back at home."

"Where is 'home'?" I asked.

"Ah, Ramios," he said. "It's a region pretty far from here, across an ocean. My family and I moved here some time ago to open a woodworking shop. We're from kinda around where the desert and tropical parts meet, so that's why we got both reds and yellows at the place."

"Oh, huh, I never knew the groups were distinct," I said sheepishly, scratching the back of my head.

"I mean, sort of. We don't have that issue faradens have about crossing the lines, so to speak. If you got two parents from two different groups, the kids will just be one or the other. There's no real bias like you have. Probably for the best, really."

Ah, that...issue, yes. I looked over to Riv who was far more preoccupied with eating what had spilled out of his food.

"There's another group back home but I didn't see them much," he continued. "Much farther south, big dark ones in a rainforest type of place. Wasn't often they came as far north as we were, but they exist. Haven't seen any here, at least not yet."

"What's the area like?" I asked, intrigued.

"Eh, pretty hot, pretty dry," he said, looking at Ulimi.

"Lot of scrubby plants everywhere," Ulimi took over. "Pretty colorful, gets really cold at night. You'd probably find it more remarkable if you were new to it."

"I suppose that's true," I said, remembering how different even just this part of Faradus was to whence I came.

"Where's 'home' for you?" Tamani asked. "I can tell by how you talk you're not from around here, either."

"...Ah...I'm from the far north of Faradus," I said through a wince. "I have only been in this part of the region for a few months. I bought this building and worked on renovating it...basically the moment I arrived."

"Only a few months and the town's already trying to run you out," Ulimi chuckled. "Even with how sour people have been since I came here I haven't seen them this riled up over anything before. Usually they'd just call you a dirty name or something petty like that, but..."

"...This is something else," Tamani picked up, "and it seemed to ramp up only a little while after you got here. I almost wonder if that big storm had anything to do with it."

"...Maybe not the storm itself, but the aftermath," I thought aloud. "That storm displaced a lot of people, and if Riv's initial behavior is any indication there may have been something going on there-- something more than just a few unkind people."

"Why's that?" asked Tamani.

"Just...call it a feeling," I said quietly, my ears falling back.

"Whatever this is, I don't think it's going to get better from here," Ulimi said, arms crossed. "I'd suggest looking to other towns...but not only is that the obvious answer, it also might have spread to other places all the same and this is just one of several. These things don't happen in a vacuum."

My heart skipped a beat, remembering the spread of the new type supremacy groups from Falun to Hagali. Groups like this are only as effective and influencing as their territories are large, as their members are numerous. There is never enough of either.

With my elbows on the table I buried my head in my hands, mind blank and uncertain. No option seemed good. No option even seemed 'less bad' than any other. Without some kind of steady, reliable income I couldn't get security. Fewer places were willing to humor my work and most of those were paying me less and less. Without money, and thus any semblance of security for Riv, I...I might as well just...

"We'll try to help how we can," Tamani said. "We're not miracle-workers but it's too early to give up. I'll get these dishes out of the way; Riv can help."

He and Riv both stood up and collected the dishes. I sighed and lifted myself from the bench, turning back toward the other kitchen to deal with my laundry. The unmistakable clop of hooves on wood followed me. I turned to see Ulimi, his face solemn and focused.

"I'd like to give you something in private, if you don't mind," Ulimi quietly said, turning me back around and gently shoving me into the other kitchen.

We both stood in wait until rushing water could be heard from the lounge. Eyebrow raised I cocked my head, unsure of what he wanted. He reached into one of his pockets to retrieve some kind of handle, looked to be wood.

"I don't..." I started.

With a slide of a switch and a push of a button a long, narrow blade sprung forth with a sharp click. I jumped back against the counter.

"I ain't gonna do anything to ya," he said, taking a step toward me. "I want you to have this."

"A weapon?" I asked. "But I--"

"Yes, a weapon," he said, grabbing my hand and placing the handle in my palm. "I want you to be at least somewhat armed from now on so you have some means of defending yourself or your kid if it ever comes to that. You're a little guy, but you're very fast and deliberate from what we saw today. Something like this would work best for you."

I looked at the blade in my hand, my reflection staring back at me with a gaze of fear and doubt. I never thought I'd carry a weapon...never thought I'd have to.

"Are...you sure?" I hesitated.

"I'll put it this way: It's better to have and not need it than to need and not have it. Weapons are scary, I get that, but they're a tool like any other. Tools have uses and uses have motivations, whether that be to hurt one or protect another. Sometimes, unfortunately, you gotta do one to do the other."

I remembered all the times something like this had been drawn on me.

I remembered all the times something like this had been used against me.

"U-Ulimi--"

He raised a hand and shook his head.

"I know this is conflicting," he said, keeping his voice low. "Your face and your words last night told me a lot. I can tell you've been through plenty. I'm doing this in your best interest, and in his best interest. I'm not doing this to scare you."

"...I'm...sorry," was all I could say.

"Hold it in your hand like you mean it," he said. "It'll do you no favors if you're afraid of your own protection."

After some hesitation I held it how he showed me to.

"Good. Now press on this cross arm and fold the blade back in."

I did as he said, retracting the blade back into the handle.

"When you go to use it, make sure that side is open so the blade can eject without snagging on anything or cutting your hand."

"A-Alright...thank you."

I carefully hid away the knife in my pocket, unsure of how to feel. Ulimi was...looking out for us, after all. This was something I would just have to overcome.

"Of course it goes without saying to keep it out of the smaller hands in the house," he smiled. "Keep it on you at all times."

"Yes, I will," I nodded.

From there he helped me with my laundry, dumping the tub after my scrubbing was finished and taking the wet clothes to the line outside. I paused in the larger kitchen, looking outside, and remembered the card in my pocket. Reaching in I retrieved it, then held it out in front of me.

'Secure Your Future

- A Greater Society'

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