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Pride called Wires when he had a pile of groceries on his arm, and a key in his hand.

"Wires?" she said. He remembered, like he always did, how much he'd loved the sound of her voice. He leaned against the wall, the key pinched between his paw pads.

"Pride? Hi. Uh, how are you?" he said, and was disappointed with the lack of conviction in his voice.

"I'm coming home for a few weeks." she said. No mincing, no pleasantries. It was simultaneously the best and most irritating thing about talking to Pride. "I'll be staying on Atlantic with Stars and I thought the three of us could grab lunch."

"Three of us? Like, with Stars?"

"Pfft, no. Pika's living with you, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, she won't be able to make it."

"For three weeks?"

"Yeah, she's going to be in rehab."

He was surprised by how easily the lie rolled off of his tongue.

"Oh. Well, that sucks. Tell her to hurry the fuck up."

"I'll tell her to hurry the fuck out of rehab."

Pride snickered.

"So it'll be just us, then?"

"Ha, yeah. Like an awkward date. Remember our last date at the bagel place?"

Wires remembered their last date. It had not been at the bagel place. It was the middle of fall, and the two of them had gone to see a movie at the Pavillion in Park Slope. They split a bucket of overpriced popcorn and kissed over a blue slushie in the theatre. The air was crisp, but not biting. He was wearing a black windbreaker to cover his patchy winter shedding, she was decked out in pink ribbons that stood out on her piebald coat. They were sitting on the stone wall in front of the theatre, and he said something to make her giggle. Then suddenly, he had a sinking feeling. It took him completely by surprise. Today had been a good day.

Pride noticed something. Most likely the change in his smell. She was always very vigilant with scents. Pride had a deformed tapetum that interfered with her vision, but refused to wear glasses, so she relied on her nose even more than normal for her species.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a tired, practiced way. She dug in her messenger bag and pulled out a cigarette. Wires recognized everything under the tone. The boredom, the hint of disgust. His palms started sweating and he wiped them on his coat, not even trying to hide it from Pride.

"It's just...the whole thing with my mom. It's stressing me out." he said. It was true, but he still felt as if he was lying. His mother was a constant source of stress, but he hadn't been thinking of her. He hadn't been thinking of anything in particular. He'd been having a good day, and all of a sudden something was tugging at his core and leading him into this dark bitter place. Pride knew this, they'd talked about it, but the look on her face wasn't one of understanding.

"Wires, you're getting to be kind of a pain." she'd said, and his heart stopped in his chest for a few seconds. She let the cigarette hang out of her mouth, but made no move to smoke it. She had a smile on her lips, but not in her eyes. "Like...I feel like you're just really unnecessarily emotional, you know? Like this stuff with your mom...c'mon. Guys don't complain about their moms like that, girls do. If I wanted to date a girl, I'd be a fucking dyke."

"Calm down." said Wires. "I know, alright. I thought I could at least get some help."

Pride shrugged.

"I don't need to talk about my problems. I just get over them." she crossed one leg over the other, her footpaw hanging lamely in the air. "It's like you have this whole personal culture of sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. I don't want to be part of that shit. And the more I'm with you when you're like this, the more I feel like I'm just being sucked into it. I've been there. I've been where you are right now. That's like high school shit."

"What are you saying?"

"You know exactly what the fuck I'm saying."

"I really don't."

"You do. Look, you can cry and hate yourself all you want, but you are not dragging me down with you."

"All I wanted was...I mean, you're my girlfriend. I feel so lost. I can't even talk to you?"

"For a while, I guess. But you've been lost for a really long time. When you find yourself, call me." she said, and he was not oblivious to the hint of finality in her voice. She slid down off of the wall, and started walking away, into the park. Wires started to go after her, but she called "Don't follow me." without even looking back. He went down into the subway, rode home, and smoked all of his sister's weed that night.

"Yes, I remember." said Wires. His grip was a little bit too tight on his phone.

"We should go there again."

"Sure, okay."

They set the date for the following Thursday. Wires jotted it down in his phone's calendar, and carried the groceries inside. "Pika?" he said. She was on a burner phone when he walked into the room. There was a fresh bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of her. Keisha stood beside her, mewing frantically. As soon as she saw him, she made the rapid switch to Japanese and retreated into the kitchen. He picked up the cat and the popcorn bowl and sat down in front of the TV as she stood in the kitchen. He picked out a few words that she kept repeating.Okaasan. Ochisuite. Kudasai. Gomenasai. Gomen. She seemed distressed the longer she was on the phone, and finally she muttered a word that he couldn't make out and dropped it unceremoniously on the counter.

"Are you okay?" said Wires.

"Mon--I mean, I'm fine." she said. "I'm always fine."

"Cool. Can you put away the groceries?" Pika shot him an irritated look, but she started, bag by bag, to move the groceries into the kitchen. She was moving around a bit better, her knees seemed to be bending more smoothly. She still coughed from time to time but she wasn't vomiting anymore.

"I didn't know you still spoke Japanese so well." he said, to break the mood. He wasn't interested in Pika glaring around the house at him.

"Ha! Don't remind me. I was the only one who could translate raws, you know. Only time I was ever popular." she said from the kitchen. She was taking cans out of the plastic bags and putting them on a shelf in the cabinet where she had repeatedly been told they didn't go.

"You do sound kind of like an anime character."

"Ew."

"Bravo ever tell you he wanted you to sing in his band? He liked your singing, he thought you could really hit some high notes."

"Bravo never told me a lot of things." said Pika with a snort. "Bravo didn't tell a lot of people a lot of things."

Wires was not sure if more accurate words had ever been spoken, but he was in no mood to talk more about Bravo.

"Who was on the phone?" he asked.

"My parents. They called me to berate me, I guess."

"What? Why?"

"They think they own me because my dad stuck it in my mom."

"Wait, they're both your real parents?"

"Royals aren't bound by certain biological limits, Wires."

"Oh...we all kind of assumed you were adopted." Pika shot him a dirty look, but he continued. "Is your mother a Royal, too?"

"You've seen her. She's_purple_."

Wires wasn't sure exactly what purpleness had to do with anything, but he didn't press the subject. Pika put the last of the groceries into the fridge with a labored huff, and started folding away the plastic bags.

"I'm going out after this." she said, and Wires gave an offhanded grunt. There was no point in asking where she was going. Not without starting a fight, at least. She stepped into the living room and rummaged around, eventually finding a bright red backpack.

"Wires, what is this?" she said, hefting it. "It smells like my stuff."

"It is your stuff. The old one was kind of an eyesore, but I put it in the closet if you wanted it for something."

"Wow. I would have liked it if you hadn't gone through my pack again, but thanks. Thanks a lot. I'll use it today." she said, reaching into the pocket of his hanging jacket to grab his keys.

"No problem." said Wires, and he turned Pika's tooth over his palm.

Wires left the house about thirty minutes after Pika and headed straight to the bus. An hour and several transfers took him to the Clinton Hill projects. The big gray buildings stared imposingly at the sky, a yawning cavern disrupting the neat little line of shops with chipping black metal fences. The layout was square, and aggressively boring. A few desperate patches of brown grass were peeking through the snow. Surrounded by rusted metal, lined with yellow patches. Gritting his teeth, he walked into the heart of the beast, the acrid scents of trash and urine wafting around. A pair of lionesses and a hyena watched him warily as he stood for a few seconds, clawing at a faint memory.

It took a few tries, but eventually he found the right number in the right building. He knocked on the door several times before he heard a muffled "Coming!" and a ratty-looking pika opened the door. Sprigs-of-Spring-Thyme looked worse than he remembered. Her skin was sagging around her bones, and her nipples and labia clearly showed through her thinning fur. Wires politely looked away, but she made no move to cover herself, scratching at a sore on her ribs.

"She's not here." said the pika, taking a step back.

"I know, she's at my place."

Spring stopped suddenly, her eyes flashing. She looked Wires up and down appraisingly.

"She could do better."

Wires raised his hands and lowered his ears. "Look, Spring, I'm not here to fight. I just need some information from you."

"What kind?"

"Have you ever seen Pika lose any teeth?"

Spring paused at the question, staring off into space as she clutched the doorknob.

"She could do so much better."

"Let me in or tell me to leave."

Spring gave him an empty look and pointed to a ratty couch. Wires walked in slowly, nearly bowled over by a sour, vinegary scent he didn't recognize.

"I didn't think it was going to be this easy. Why are you helping me?"

"Why do you think?" said Spring, reaching out her paw. Wires grudgingly pressed ten dollars into her waiting palm.

---

Wires felt none of the catharsis he'd expected after meeting with Spring. Instead, he felt a brief but deep pain. Spring's words, her living space, and her body were decorated in the tatters of misery. Imagining living with her was impossible. Even after a long shower at the YWCA and washing his clothes, he felt as if he could smell the pervasive odor of her suffering. He sympathized, a bit, with Pika. Trying to shake the thought from his head, he looked out onto the streets of East Flatbush as the bus wove its way by. The ride was uneventful, and he got home ahead of schedule.

There, standing outside of his apartment complex, was Bravo, a black puff of fur and feathers swaying on the end of his tail. Bravo had changed a bit since Wires had last seen him. His fur was sleeker, having lost the baby softness that Royals sometimes carry into the beginning of their adulthood. Most notably, he was wearing clothes. Jeans, a leather jacket and an uncomfortable-looking metal ring dangling from the left side of his beak.

"Yeah man, you can do it that way" he was saying, while Pika snickered into her hands. "but considerin' how much I hate shovin' shit up my asshole and how much I love not-shovin' shit up my asshole, I didn't try that."

Wires froze. He hadn't spoken with Bravo in a very long time and had honestly wanted to preserve the tradition. He started to back away, but Bravo caught the motion out of the corner of his eye. He flicked his tail lazily and waved.

"Hey, Wires." he said. "Heard you were talking shit about me."

Wires bristled.

"It's not talking shit if it's true."

"Whatever, man. Just want you to know I got no problem with you."

Bravo gave him an open-mouthed grin, a weird mishmash of teeth and beak. Pika stepped behind him, her ears twitching nervously.

"Are you coming inside?" asked Wires, his ears suddenly flattening to the back of his head.

"Nah, man. She and I got errands to run." said Bravo, his grin widening.

"I'll join you."

"Wires, stop." said Pika, so quietly that he almost didn't hear her.

"Why? You said you had errands. I'll help."

"This isn't for you. This is Royal stuff."

"Do you mean drug stuff?"

"Don't follow me. Please."

Wires pulled back his lips, but Pika didn't respond. She took Bravo by the arm and walked around the corner. Wires waited for a few short seconds, then followed them. When he turned the corner, they were gone. He crouched and sniffed at the ground, but there was no trace of their scents in the air.

Wires clutched the tooth and went to the corner. There, waiting for him was a large lioness. She was wearing a decorative head scarf and a flowing off-white tunic. On her back were a pair of mottled wings. Even though he was looking directly at her, he was unable to tell if she was walking on two legs or four.

"I'm looking for um...Pikapikahikaru. She was just here. Uh, behind the door?"

The lioness looked at him quizzically. "I barely feel anything off you. Where's your rune?"

"My...what? Look, she's worn this jacket, I can let you smell it."

"I'm not a dog," snorted the lioness, waving a bangled paw dismissively.

Wires reached into his pocket and pulled out the tooth. The lioness reached in to examine in carefully, and cringed.

"Is this a ryu's eyetooth? This is totally unfinished, you're in for a rough time." she shook her head. "Look, I feel sorry for you, so I'll give you a pass."

"Uh, sure. Thanks."

"Just be sure to talk to Pika and get her to finish this rune. I won't let just let you in again."

"Sure, thanks."

The lioness stepped aside, and gestured to the wall behind her. Wires took a hesitant step towards it. He reached out a paw, and it disappeared into the stone. He gasped and yanked it back out.

"I don't have all century." snapped the lioness.

"Uh, sure." said Wires. He took a breath and pushed his entire arm into the wall. It was only slightly warmer than the air outside.

"Hurry up. And watch that first step, it's tricky."

"Alright." said Wires. Somehow, he expected some resistance when he pushed himself into the wall. There was none. His arm disappeared into the stone, then his shoulder. When his face went through, he could see nothing but black. He took a clumsy step forward. He could feel something solid under his paw pads. Reaching out, he started feeling for a banister, anything connecting to a stairway. As he took another cautious step, a gust of wind knocked him to the side. He reached out desperately for the stairway a last time. His claws scraped against it, then lost their grip. He was tumbling down.

Wires clutched the tooth for dear life. Suddenly he was engulfed in sensation. The brightest light, the loudest booming sound. Nothing and everything crushed him into a wall and pulled him apart at the same time. He opened his mouth, and suddenly it was full. His throat, his stomach, his lungs were engulfed and squeezed. Wires was overwhelmed with a twisting nausea. He dry-heaved, and his throat and stomach were instantly empty. He screwed his eyes shut, then snapped them open. His eyes were assaulted by swirling bright colors. He could sense every bone, every inch of his body again, and all of it felt as if he was falling through the air at light speed. Beside him, he saw a flash of white, and there was an albino weasel floating along beside him. She was sitting comfortably on the long handle of a scythe.

"You're not s'posed to be here." she said, floating closer and gently cupping his cheek. Pain shot through Wires' face, and he screamed in anguish. The weasel cackled and leaned back on her sickle, spinning away. His dazed eyes caught a glimpse of three weasels flying into the distance. The colors started to fade away, leaving Wires floating through the air in a giant puddle of gray. The gray darkened into an eerie black, stars peppering the endless expanse. There was a calmness as each individual star rained out a set of soft, lovely notes. For the first time, Wires felt peaceful and at home floating in the infinite blackness.

The impact was a jarring surprise. Wires was suddenly sprawled out on the ground, facing an eerie orange sky. He could smell dry grass around him, and it crackled as he tried to roll over. The sun was blazing into his face, and he raised a hand over his unfocused eyes to block it out.

"I see you made it out alright."

Wires pulled himself into a sitting position. His ears flicked back and forth, trying to detect the source of the sound.

"I guess you missed the first step, it's a doozy."

The grass in front of him parted, and a brown face peered out at him. It was one of the weasels, a long-handled sickle sitting comfortably in her hand. She stood there with a hand on her hip, looming over him. She was tiny and reedy with beady black eyes, but something about her bothered him. Wires backed away from her, touching his face. His cheek was bleeding.

"I can help you with that." Without waiting for an answer, she darted forward, licking cheek and fingers both. Wires tried to crawl away, but she reached out and forced his shoulder to the ground. She was much stronger than she looked. She pulled his hand away fairly effortlessly and he laid there paralyzed listening to the rasp of her tongue as she licked the blood out of his fur. When she was done, she let him go and brushed her hands on her jacket.

"Why?" asked Wires.

"It's done. Don't waste time worrying about it." she snorted, and held out a hand for him. " Are you going to lie there all day?"

"Where am I?"

"Not quite sure, I don't quite know how this Western magic works. But I'm headed to the bar, you could come along."

"I'm looking for a friend."

"Everyone will be there. If you both came through a fairy ring in Brooklyn, that's where you're headed."

Wires just nodded. The weasel woman started walking, slicing the grass away with her sickle. Wires followed mutely behind her. As they walked, the long grass started to clear up and they emerged on a dirt road. The weasel looked both ways, then held a hand into the air. Her tiny sharp claws traced in front of her, and there in the middle of the road was a door. The weasel opened it, and gestured for him to go in.

"Are you coming in with me?"

"Not quite yet, but thanks for the snack."

With a wary look, Wires stepped into the door. The weasel closed it behind him. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized he was in a bar. The floors were tile and the colors were muted. All around him, people sat nursing their drinks in a haze. With a bit of trepidation, he reached into his pocket and squeezed the tooth. As if by a magnet, his gaze was drawn to the bar where the bartender stared him down. It was a small hare. As Wires tightened his grip on the tooth, he could see a tiny pair of horns on her head.

"Excuse me, is there a Pikapikahikaru here?"

The hare jabbed her horns down the bar at a group of people bunched tightly together. Wires squeezed the tooth in preparation until he saw a flash of white fur.

The creature he saw sitting at the bar was a stranger. She had a long, cobby muzzle decorated with flowing white whiskers, and a pair of horns poked from her forehead. Instead of the bottle-brush, a long sinewy tail sprouted from her spine, curling out of the way at the base of the bar stool. It was tipped in a faded purple tassel. A set of small spines reached fron the base of her neck to her tailbone, and there were patches of yellow scales on her arms and legs. She was, for lack of better words, a dragon.

"Pika?" he asked hesitantly. The creature turned its head his way, and he was relieved to find a feature he recognized. Though set farther back in her skull, the familiar green slitted eyes peered back at him. A few curious patrons turned to look, but Pika waved a dismissive claw. Most of the crowd turned back to their drinks. She moved off of the seat, slithered. Her body coiled into a loop as her front half left the bench, then the back side.

If Wires had to pick the way she changed, this would not have been it. He didn't know what he'd been expecting. A flash of light, an instant shift. Instead, he sat there for two of the most uncomfortable minutes of his life as Pika's tail slid back into her spine.

"You're a high dragon?" he said. Pika placed a firm hand on his shoulder and leaned in close, whispering into his ear.

"We have to leave."

She smiled at the bar, waved, and started leading him out by the shoulder.

"I told you everything, Wires. The drugs, Monosodium. I told you everything. This is too much, okay? You're just going to have to trust me, but I can't share this with you."

She grabbed onto his wrist and started to drag him. He'd never known she was so strong. As they exited the bar, they passed the weasel, who almost dropped her cigarette in surprise. He would have pulled at her, tried to get her to explain, but he was seized by vertigo. The scenery around them began to blur and fade, the colors twisting from neon to pastel, bleeding and swirling in front of him until suddenly there was a jarring snap as reality settled back into place. They were in front of the memorial at Fort Greene park. It took a moment for Wires to realize he was lying on the ground again, Pika yowling at the top of her lungs.

"Adelphoi didn't even ask you what you were?"

"I said I was your friend."

"She hates my friends!"

Pika clutched her ears and dragged them downwards, the beginning of a scream rising and dying in her throat. She was looking off at nothing, her pupils seemed to be aimlessly vibrating in her head. Finally, she let go of her ears and dropped to her knees with a dejected whimper. Wires was sure that it was several full minutes she stayed there, staring off into space and panting heavily. Wires, still feeling dazed, took the opportunity to get back on his feet. Pika's eyes rose to meet him.

"You took my tooth." she said, her voice just barely above a hiss. Her claws, crackling with bluish sparks, popped out of their sheaths. "I should fucking kill you."

"You're the one that got sloppy. You're going to make me pay for your fucking mistake?"

She kneeled there while Wires got his bearing, adjusted his jacket, and walked off. When he got home, Pika was already there, unrepentantly using her footclaws to tear a hole in his couch. They locked eyes for a brief moment, then Wires retreated into his room. There was a text message from Pride waiting, and he hastily punched in an answer.

---