FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Black Fox

"Well, here we are. The forest's edge."

"The sun has already set. We were in there for a while."

"I guess so."

After retrieving Narati and sealing the deal, the group got out of the forest, accompanied by Arachne, the spider queen, herself. Despite of the Rachnids persuading her to let them guide them, given how Narati had done great services to them, the queen refused, as she preferred to take them out of the forest herself, and that her talks with them were not finished.

She was very close to Narati, chatting like they were friends. Even if it was only two hours since his 'kidnapping', he seemed close to the spider queen already. Raine was glad that he could find a new friend, yet Karkas did not seem so enthusiastic with his choice of friends and allies. Narati mostly talked about the world outside and Fa'ar in general to Arachne, while she in turn told him about the Rachnids and their category as a Chaos Race.

Then, at the forest's edge, the group looked outside and saw Diamondback's Nest near it. They walked out, glad that they weren't lost in the forest maze. Everyone immediately walked outside except Narati, who looked at Arachne's sad face.

"You okay?" asked Narati.

"I'm fine, really. It's just...even if this world is mad, people might fear us. We might not the worst monsters, but we were still hideous in some."

"Only the elves do that." He then remembered Aranis. "Some...elves."

"How about you? You did say that your race is refused entry into some towns."

Narati chuckled. "Well, even if people hate it, that's my town. They have no choice but to abide to the rules, unless they revolt, which is problematic. But until then, I wish this place does not become like the free-towns I've seen around. First way to avoid that is to ban slavery."

"Slavery, huh? Did you know that in Asterios's time, slavery is a norm?"

"A norm?"

"It's a culture. After a war, the prisoners, if not negotiated for freedom, would lose their rights and reduced into slaves. Living as a slave wasn't all that bad, except maybe dignity. Many servant slaves lived in relative comfort, and those who were well-educated lived with the scholar and share knowledge and somehow become their assistants."

"How about labor, or...sexual ones?"

"Hmm...it's not a topic I want to discuss, but since you asked.... Basically, they were stripped of all garments and forced to work in plantations and mines. They were mostly death row prisoners or irredeemable criminals. The sexual ones were complicated, and I prefer not to talk about it. There was, however, ways to freedom. Either your owner release you or you fight your way through the arena."

"That was a harsh life."

"Even then, it wasn't as bad as your description." Arachne sighed and made a smile. "Nara, if you met one of those people...do not end their misery there and then. They may be slaves, but they are also victims. For the slaver, well...do whatever you like. I've heard from Raine that you kill everyone."

"Because they chose that life..."

"No, they're not," said Arachne with a stern tone. "They don't have the strength to fight. That's all. Not everyone is strong enough to fight back, and not everyone, especially those who are weak, have deadly knowledge like you."

Arachne looked towards the rest of the group. They turned around and looked towards Narati. Raine waved his hand to the Fa'ar, beckoning him to follow the human.

"But I guess our talk turned into something you are sensitive with. Just remember this, Narati. If your town is attacked or raided, and you are at the loss, pull one of our webs three times. It will signal us to strike. But, on my command, we will fight without warning, so you can count on us."

"Is that going to work?"

"Well, it's an agreement between us, so yeah, it will." Arachne kissed the rat with a forehead. "But you may pull the web if you want another...session."

Narati made a grin. "Oh, I'm looking forward for it."

"Then goodbye, for now," said Arachne while embracing Narati. Her six-foot body made her lift Narati up so they could be equal when hugging.

Narati then walked towards his friends, while waving his hand towards Arachne, who smiled and walked back towards the forest, disappearing into the shadows. Looking back, the Fa'ar felt sad that, despite of being a formidable Chaos race herself, Arachne and the rest of the Rachnids felt so out of place for their appearances, and it made him sad. The reason Fa'ars didn't look weird was because he was still considered a beast race, even if he couldn't use magic.

After that day, Diamondback's Nest became a popular trading spot, especially after their official trading post was finally built. In a year, the town flourished, and food became a stable resource, both for them and for their deal with the Rachnids. Narati, on his insistence, wanted a house for himself, and the carpenters in that town happily made him a decent one, along with the workshop he asked for. He lived near Asterios's blacksmith shop and Kazan's magic shop, effectively becoming the 'shopping district' of that town.

Even after settling in, the Wanderers were still top priority for them. With the success of their early jobs, their reputation and popularity grew, enabling them to create a guild in the neighboring town. The day by day operation was mostly maintained by Karkas, who regularly went to the neighboring town to work in it, while Narati and Karkas stood by in Diamondback's Nest.

To be simple, their life was a normal one, with no fights involved and no more trauma. Life felt so easy, and even the new recruits were unique themselves, especially one who came to that town one day and ask for a job.

Unlike many other potential recruits, this one was different. While many looked like they were veteran fighters and were mostly hardened to death and even those around them, this one was a rare addition. The recruit was cheery, full of energy, and somehow liked to play around, like a kid. The recruit was something that they group cherish, for it was a rare thing to find someone who's optimistic in that wasteland.

The recruit's cheery personality seemed in tune with the race. The recruit was a beast kid, a humanoid with bestial body parts. The face was human, but the rest wasn't. The recruit was dark-skinned with dark brown hair that's bushy and seemed to cover the part where the ears were supposed to be. Instead of humanoid ears, a pair of canine ears sprouted on top of the head, with some recognized it as fox ears. Somehow, the recruit was different from other beast hybrids, with digitigrade legs and fur around the hand. More than that, the recruit's eyes were not a human's, but of a beast, clearly a fox. To complete the appearance, the recruit had bushy tail mostly associated with a fox.

Narati was the first who met the recruit, who smiled and said, "Hi, there, fellow critter!"

"Uh, hi? Critter?"

"Well, you're a rat, and I'm a fox! We're both small creatures, so yeah, we're critters. Anyway, Hi."

"So...what is your business in this pleasant town?"

"Finding a job, of course! That's what we do nowadays, right? I have a feeling you're around my age even if you're shorter than me."

"S-short? You don't look like you're that much higher than me!"

"Of course, doofy! I'm a fox! Small canine!"

Unable to find a way to deal with the newcomer, Narati assumed that he was trying to find a job with the Wanderers. Many potential recruits came directly to Diamondback's Nest to join the Wanderers, which were both a place for everyone to join, regardless of race, and a refuge for those unlucky enough to become slaves. Most of the time, with the help of Narati, the slaves were freed and given a place to stay, in turn, he needed to work for them based on their expertise for a while before they either leave or settle. It had a mixed result. Some left, and some stayed. It was, however, for the best. They did not want to expand too fast to the point they could not sustain it once it grew, and Diamondback's Nest would become a den of criminals if that happened, one thing the group tried to avoid.

Narati was somehow impressed by the fox's cheery and optimistic attitude, so he took him to meet with Raine. The human wasn't doing much except helping with business, so he could usually be found by the city center idling. Upon seeing him, Narati said, "Raine, there's a new one here."

"New one? Oh...that fox?"

"Yes, sirree! Name's Alter! I'm a black fox from my father!"

"Right...so what are you good at?"

"Uhmm...how about this?"

In a second, he disappeared, then the next second, he appeared beside Raine, with his short sword on his throat. Narati could see his seriousness, with his pupils became small slit, like an excited cat.

"I could kill you where you stand and you won't even know it," said the fox with a smile. Raine sighed.

"You see that, Nara. We got another psycho on the team."

"Huh?" The fox relaxed and sheathed the sword. He had a confused look on him. "You're not surprised?"

"I can sense your killing intent even before you jump here, kiddo," said Raine. "And I know you're skilled enough to not accidentally kill me. But well, damn, kid. You sure know how to fight."

"Do I?!"

"Oh, don't get too excited, kiddo. Nara will take you around the town while I do some paperwork for you."

The fox was clearly far more excited that he let on, and he quickly went to Narati. As a Fa'ar, he had never seen someone so excited around, especially around a Fa'ar.

"Hey, what's your name? I like meeting new people. My name's Alter."

"I'm uh...Narati."

"Narati? Wow, that's a mouthful. How about Nara, or Ratty, or..."

"Nara's fine. Ratty's a bit...you know..."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. I usually don't care about it, and I don't care about it now. I mean, you don't seem like a bad one. I mean, yeah, you kill people, but not to trick them or something, right?"

"That's...deep, you know."

"I don't think you consider it deep, but, yeah. I'll stop there. Wouldn't want to get blown up, would I?"

"Yeah...better that."

"But seriously, you look like a decent fellow to me. Let's hang out sometimes when you're not busy, yeah? I like talking with unique males."

"Yeah...are you hitting on me?"

"Hitting on you? No, no! I'm trying to be friends, that's all. Anyway, see you later, Nara! Oh, and uh...what's my job right now?"

"Standing by."

"Gotcha."

The fox happily walked away, humming a tone Narati couldn't figure out. The rat sighed and smiled looking at the fox. "Somehow, she's gonna fit in," he said.

Narati returned to his workshop, finishing some of the work orders before the day was over. Along the way, he met Asterios, who was lifting a box full of junk metal.

"Hey, there Narati," said Asterios. "Want some?"

"I'm good, thanks. What are you going to do with those?"

"Farming tools, kitchen utensils. You name it. I'll melt it down tomorrow, though. Scavengers give me a good deal from these, and the metals are still in decent quality."

"You don't have an assistant?"

"He's off for the day. He works in the house, so you don't see him often. Anyway, what's with that fox?"

"She's new. Wanting to find a job. Apparently good at killing."

"Huh, go figure. Anyway, I'm going to the bar. You coming?"

"Nah, work order first. Raine wants a sprinkler system installed before tomorrow, so I'm gonna finish this before sundown."

"Okay, then, if that's what it is." Before Asterios left, he turned around and said, "Don't work yourself up, okay? Find someone to help you."

"I will if they don't end up blow up my workshop."

Asterios smiled and walked away, while Narati returned to his shop to start delicate machinery works.

All in all, it was a regular day in Diamondback's Nest. The excitement of adventure and danger was far behind them, as they were now happily settling down into a life that they could not imagine in a world of ruins.

But somehow, that day wasn't going to get away that easily. They were the Wanderers, after all. Mercenaries got muns from muscle works, and brain works, if they preferred it that way. Nothing would stay peaceful forever.