FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

You know...it really is unfortunate that I'm writing a story about travelling the world during a time where...well, y'know.

I know I don't normally made author notes in these chapters, but I'd be remiss to not address this now. I really did choose an odd time to start writing this series... For one, Kamen Rider 01 gets released in the midst of me starting this one, a show revolving around androids and animal powers (I swear to god I was working on my stuff first). Then, when my cast reaches Australia, it's at the tail end of the fires going on in REAL Australia (I planned out the journey a year before writing, I swear x2). And then...well you can guess the last one. I hope everyone is staying safe and staying healthy, and hopefully those who are reading get to enjoy doing so from the comfort of their own home.

Here's to hoping 2020 decides to finally chill the hell out.

Kamen Rider Wild

CHAPTER 10

Felicia held her necklace up to eye level. From it hung the empty shells of the Vials Lambda had cleaved in half. She dropped the necklace to watch the android run its huge circle around her. Further away, she saw another batch of mob androids coming in to replace the ones she'd already torn apart. Whilst Felicia knew she could handle them, she also knew that she couldn't handle Lambda, not in this form at least.

She clenched her teeth as she dove out of the way of yet another of Lambda's charges. She tried to stand back up, but the sand beneath her gave way, and she found herself tumbling down a sand hill. She let out a pained grunt as she once again landed on her wounded shoulder. She scrambled back up to her feet with grit teeth and frantically searched the area of Lambda. She eventually caught sight of it on the other side of the hill as it raced down it and away from her, seemingly unable to simply make a quick U-turn to come right at her again.

With no hope of ever striking her mechanical assailant, Felicia gave into her flight response and took off running as hard as she could. She had to push herself extra hard, as the sandy floor made it much more difficult to run at her top speed. Even resorting to all fours did little in aiding her efforts. Things only got worse as the mob of androids began to leap off of the hill she'd fallen down and began raining upon her.

"DOCTOR!" Felicia screamed out at the top of her lungs, throwing her weight against an android in her way, "I need HELP!" She was answered with the sound of the jeep's horn in the distance. At the same time, she noticed Lambda beginning to complete its wide turn and aiming itself right at her. Any hope of diving out of the way this time was lost to the mob androids swarming around her. She desperately tried to hack away at them in hopes of opening up an escape for herself, but there were simply too many.

Lambda was racing in fast and she only had a second to spare. With adrenaline surging through her veins, Felicia dropped down on all fours again and leapt upwards, landing right on one of the mob android's shoulders. She leapt up into the air just in time for Lambda to swing at her feet and instead lop off the head of its ally. The other mob androids were bowled over by Lambda as it charged through them, once again forced to make a wide turn-around. Felicia hit the ground on all fours again and took off.

"DOCTOR! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she screamed, frantically looking around and finding nothing but more sand hills and more androids coming her way. She could definitely hear the jeep's engines, but the jeep itself was still out of sight. She ground her teeth together as she pushed herself to race up one of the hills. Her feet and claws sunk deep, the sand itself slowing her ascent. Luckily for her, the same held true for the androids chasing her. When one _did_manage to catch up to her, she used its face as leverage to push herself the rest of the way up.

As she raced down to the more even plain, she caught sight of Dr. Kagami racing towards her. The relief she felt was immediately washed away by the sight of Lambda chasing after him, rather than her. The thought of Dr. Kagami being put in danger brought new life to Felicia's limbs, filling them with newfound energy as she ran after them with everything she had and more. "DOCTOR!" she screamed out at the top of her lungs.

"Felicia!" Dr. Kagami screamed back, "I can't lose it!"

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Her mind raced along with the rest of her as she tried to come up with a plan. That's when she remembered how long Lambda took to turn around. "Doctor! It can't make sudden turns! Turn as quickly as you can!" Right away, the lion followed her instruction and threw the vehicle into an abrupt right turn. He himself lurched to the side of the vehicle as leftover momentum carried him and the jeep forward several more yards.

Felicia's heart nearly stopped once she saw the jeep slow to a stop for the briefest of moments. And in that moment, Lambda nearly closed the space between it and Dr. Kagami. Right as it leapt into the air and aimed itself for the back of the jeep, the tires regained their traction and the jeep was propelled forward at top speed. Clouds of sand blew right into the android as the jeep raced away to safety. Relief flooded Felicia's system as she watched Lambda burst through the cloud and run away from Dr. Kagami.

The knowledge that they'd only bought themselves a couple of seconds kept her from relaxing too much. Lambda was still on its way over, and Felicia's lungs were reminding her that she couldn't keep running forever. Luckily for her, Dr. Kagami's turn had already sent him in her direction. Felicia shot back onto her feet and desperately waved for him to come. Just as she did this, one of the mob androids grappled her from behind and knocked her off balance. She and the android fell to the ground, prompting the others to start piling on top of her.

Felicia's savage roars filled the air as her claws ripped and tore through her robotic assailants. She broke through the wall of metal limbs entrapping her for a brief moment, only to get dragged right back inside the pile. "DOCTOR!" she pleaded, unable to ignore the burning pain riddling every muscle of her body. She tried to fight her way out again, but there were too many limbs that were latched onto her and were pulling her away from freedom. The sound of the jeep's horn blared in her ears before the cocoon of androids was suddenly blown apart on one side. The resulting chaos gave her the chance she needed to break free from her mechanical prison.

As she ran out, she caught sight of several android limbs flying off the front of the jeep as it drove on at a noticeably slower pace. "Get on!" Dr. Kagami urged her, "Hurry before they catch up!" Felicia didn't need to be told twice. With her heart hammering in her chest, the armored tigress chased down the jeep and leapt up. She nearly landed flat on her face as the sand beneath her feet gave way on her mid-jump, but her quick reflexes made her reach up in time to grab onto the lip of the jeep's trunk.

Her feet dragged across the sand at a rapid pace until she managed to hoist the rest of herself onto the trunk. Her body crumpled onto the back of the jeep with a loud thunk that made it lurch momentarily. "Are you alright?!" Dr. Kagami shouted.

"I'm f--" Felicia had no time to even finish her sentence as the sounds of more thunks reached her ears. She glanced back and felt horror flood her system as she noticed pairs of mechanical hands clamp onto the lid of the trunk. Felicia grabbed onto the jeep's railing and hoisted herself back up to her feet with a harsh growl, just in time for one of the mob androids to raise itself up to its torso. Felicia drove her foot into its face before it could clamber the rest of the way onto the trunk, sending it tumbling across the sand as Dr. Kagami raced along. One of them used its ally as leverage to leap off of it and onto the trunk, only to be greeted harshly by Felicia's waiting claws.

As she sent that one flying off of the jeep, she noticed one of the androids was trying to climb its way along the side of the vehicle towards Dr. Kagami. That was when Felicia's body acted purely on its own. Without hesitation, she rushed forward and flung herself off of the jeep. Her claws clamped onto the railing, and the built up momentum sent her swinging right at the dexterous android like a club. Her foot_plowed_ through the android's torso, immediately making it go limp. It tumbled lifelessly across the sand once its grip gave way, allowing Felicia to swing back onto the trunk.

"Hang on tight!" Dr. Kagami suddenly yelled before the jeep lurched to the side. Felicia's legs gave out and she collapsed across the trunk as the jeep swerved away from Lambda's furious charge at them. "Are you alright?!"

"Y-yeah," she managed to croak in response, barely keeping it together from all of the pain riddling her body, "H-hurry and toss me the bag! My Vials got destroyed!"

"Here! Take it!" Dr. Kagami shouted at her, holding the bag out behind him, "Grab it quick! I can't turn as quickly with one paw!" Felicia clawed back to her feet with the aid of the railing before snatching the bag away. She maintained her grip on the rail as she knelt down and frantically rummaged through the bag. She immediately clipped a new set of tiger and wolf Vials onto her necklace.

"Where are the cheetah Vials?!" she shouted urgently, digging through the assorted Vials as quickly as she could.

"Everything's still mixed up in there! I didn't get to organize everything!"

A frustrated growl left Felicia's throat as she quickened the pace of her search. Just when she thought she'd found the right one, a sudden thunk against the jeep startled her to the point of jolting, causing the vial to fall right back inside the bag. She whirled around to find that another cluster of mob androids had managed to grab onto the lip of the trunk. One of them came diving in with its fists clasped over its head, forcing Felicia to block using her gauntleted arm.

A shock of pain shot through her bad shoulder from the impact. With a cry of pain, she tore her other arm out of the bag and rammed her fist right into the android's gut. A loud crunch sounded as its insides caved in, but as it crumpled in on itself and tumbled off of the trunk, Felicia realized in horror that the crunching hadn't just come from the android. She opened her paw to find an entire handful of vials had been crushed from the blow. "D...Doctor!"

"Dammit! Never mind that for now! Focus up! There's more on us!"

With anger and frustration broiling from within herself, Felicia dropped the bag and stood up to face the unwelcome guests. She let out a furious roar as she drove her foot against one of the hands hanging onto the trunk, warping it harshly as the force of her foot bashed it in and cleaved several fingers off of its owner. Felicia then grabbed its remaining hand and yanked it off, using her strength to swing the entire android like a club against one of its allies. Both were utterly demolished in the process. She wasted no time in shooting back down to the bag. After several swipes, she finally found the Vial she was looking for; the cheetah Vial. Immediately, she tore the Vial in her belt out and jammed the new one inside.

D-N-ANALYZE!

"We've got incoming on our tail!" shouted Dr. Kagami. Fury once again began to build from within Felicia as she turned around and saw Lambda racing up behind them. Its cold eyes stared back at her as a deep growl rumbled in her chest.

"I. Have. HAD IT WITH YOU THINGS!" she snarled with enough force to startle Dr. Kagami.

"F-Felicia?!"

Then, without hesitation, Felicia flung herself off of the jeep and right into Lambda. The action caught both Dr. Kagami and Lambda by surprise. Her arm bashed against its head and sent it tumbling along with her across the sand.

CHEETAH!

Felicia rolled swiftly onto all fours before she reached down and smacked the right button of her buckle.

D-N-ASSIMILATION!

Lambda quickly righted itself and lunged right at Felicia, thrusting both its daggers directly at her head. Before it could make contact, a thick layer of black scales encased Felicia's entire body and deflected its attack. Lambda's momentum carried it past her as the scales peeled away to reveal her new form.

The orange that had previously dominated her suit now took on a more yellowish hue, and the stripes that had covered it were now black spots. Her left arm was no longer covered in the hexagonal armor she'd adorned in her past forms, and the large crest on her head had shrunken down to form "ears" on her helmet. And finally, the long white hair that hung down from her head was now bunched up into a ponytail-like warrior's stripe.

There wasn't much Felicia knew about the feral animals Dr. Kagami studied, but when it came to cheetahs, there was one fact of them that she could never forget. After looking around and finding Lambda begin its large circle, she tensed her legs and took off like a missile, blowing a huge cloud of sand into the air behind her. Immediately, Felicia could tell that this form was several times faster than her wolf form. The lack of heavy armor weighing her down most likely contributed to this fact.

Her eyes locked onto Lambda's back, who finally noticed her sudden boost in speed. It continued to run at its top speed, but Felicia was slowly gaining on it. She shot up from all fours to just her feet as she closed in on it and immediately noticed how much easier it was to run this way in this form. With predatory instincts kicking in and Lambda continuing to draw closer, Felicia threw her arm back and swung at it with all of her might.

Only for her claws to bounce uselessly off of its back.

Dread filled her system as she stumbled back from the failed blow. It was at this point that she realized she lacked the significant strength boost her previous two forms had granted her. Lambda seemed to notice this too, as it suddenly slowed down and raked its knives across her chest plate. She cried out in surprise as sparks flared off of her body, causing her to stumble even more. Suddenly, Felicia found that it was now her that was being chased. Lambda was now keeping pace right behind her, its daggers just out of reach. With Lambda practically breathing down her neck, slowing down now spelled imminent death. And as luck would have it, the two of them were headed straight for a sand hill with a fairly steep incline. If she could just turn without slowing down--

A huge sand cloud was blown into the air again. Felicia frantically looked around to figure out what happened and noticed Lambda was now running off to the side. Or...was it? A quick glance over revealed that she was no longer running up the sand hill, but rather alongside it. Somehow, without even realizing it, she'd been able to turn without even so much as slowing down. After one test kick and another giant sand cloud, she confirmed that she could turn on a dime with ease.

With her lack of strength, though, there wasn't much she could do with that other than run circles around Lambda. That left DNAnnihilation as her remaining option. The power boost it provided was hopefully enough to break through, but she still had to hit the android with it in the first place...

Her heart jumped to her throat as she caught herself leaping over a sand hill she'd run up without realizing. Just under her, Lambda shot up from the other side of the hill and lunged at her. They narrowly missed her legs as she drew them up before the two combatants shot away from each other. Felicia stumbled a bit once she landed, and once she reached the bottom, she kicked another sand cloud into the air and ran alongside the hill. That was it; the moment she needed to strike was when she herself was going to be struck.

After surveying her surroundings one last time, she kicked herself off to a direction that allowed the android to chase after her again. It took her bait and caught up to her within seconds. Knowing that she was on the clock, Felicia looked to her left and glanced over to the sand hill the two of them were running alongside. It was long and tail-like, and at the rate they were going at, they were rapidly approaching the tail's end.

She made a sharp left turn as soon as they reached it, forcing Lambda to begin its arduous turn. Felicia kept her eyes on it as she counted down in her head. Once she hit a certain number, she made yet another abrupt turn, running parallel with the hill once more. She continued to count and kept track of the distance between her and the android. She hit another point in her count, and immediately, she made yet another left turn, now racing up the long sand hill. She kicked an indent into the top as soon as she reached it and raced down the other side, disappearing from Lambda's view. But with her footprints and the indent she had left behind, the android would be on her in a matter of seconds.

That's what she was counting on.

With razor-sharp focus, Felicia counted down one last time and smacked her belt's left button.

D-N-ANNIHILATION!

A tremendous amount of energy surged through her legs and focused down to her feet. After several more bounds, she threw herself to the side to make the sharpest u-turn she could possibly make. Sand clouds were blown into the wind before she took off like a rocket and raced towards the indent she'd left on the hill. Lambda would be there soon, and she had to be there before it.

Five.

Halfway there.

Four.

Just a little further.

Three.

Her heart was pounding.

Two!

She reached the bottom!

ONE!

Using the sheer amount of momentum she'd built up, Felicia leapt into the air and kicked both of her feet forward. Just as they passed the hill's peak, Lambda's head emerged from the other side. It had no time to react as her feet connected with its torso and punched through it with the force of a freight train. The armored cheetah soared into the air as the rest of Lambda combusted and blew apart in a brilliant explosion that didn't even leave so much as a trace of it behind. Felicia landed on all fours, and once she rose, she threw her head back and roared out as loud as she could, allowing the wind to carry her cry of victory outwards. Once she was done, she set her eyes on the station out in the distance.

Now that playtime was over, it was time to clean up.

***

Omega's shoulders were incredibly tense. As usual, his fingers were furiously typing away, entering strings of commands one after the other. However, there was a different air to him this time around. His hands appeared more fidgety, his breathing was coming out ragged and sharp, and he wasn't jumping from one display to the other as he usually did. Instead, he was stuck on the same screen, letting out grunts and growls of frustration each time an error message popped up.

"'...Sir-'"

"'QUIET!'" Omega barked at NexUs, retyping the command he'd faltered on. Immediately after sending it through, he was greeted with yet another error message. The human sharply cursed and typed it in again, and he was given the same error message. He did this over, and over, and over before roaring out in anger and swinging his fist down upon the digital keyboard before him.

"'...Sir? If I may?"

Omega inhaled deeply, his fingers twitching. "'...What is it?'"

"'The level of stress I detect from you is well above optimal levels. I highly suggest taking a moment to step away. Not doing so will only continue to hinder your productivity.'"

Omega stared long and hard at the display before him, not moving a muscle. Eventually, he raised a hand and swiped it across the digital screen, casting it away for the time being. He released the breath he'd been holding as he stepped back and turned away from the console. "'NexUs, tell me where Alpha is.'"

"'One moment,'" they replied, leaving them in silence for a moment, "'I detect she is still in Alice Springs.'"

"'What is she doing right now?'"

"'Sir, as of Objective 6, I am afraid that I am not permitted to share such information at this moment.'"

"'What?'" Omega's head snapped up, "'She's opted for secrecy?'"

"'Yes sir, for the moment.'"

Another sigh left Omega's throat. He sluggishly lumbered forward to begin pacing around the room. "'NexUs, review all of your currently assigned objectives. It's been a while, so I need to hear them again.'"

"'Of course, sir,'" NexUs answered, "'Objective 1: Maintain the lives of all living beings aboard the Ark. Objective 2: Preserve masters Alpha and Omega until their ultimate goals have been achieved, and the safety of the lives aboard the Ark are ensured. Objective 3: Maintain quality of life for the lives on board. Objective 4: Support masters Alpha and Omega in any action that would assist in Objective 3. Objective 5: Should I put any of the lives aboard the Ark in danger, I am to be automatically shut down. And added by order of masters Alpha and Omega, Objective 6: Upon request, I am to maintain secrecy of any subject from one master to the other until otherwise permitted to share.'"

"'...NexUs, answer me this; why is it that you console Alpha privately? I don't recall such an action being among your objectives.'"

"'Well, sir,'" began the disembodied voice, "'I do believe it fulfills Objectives 2 and 3.'"

"'But the preservation was in regards to our bodies, mechanical parts or otherwise.'"

"'It was decided that mental health still applies to this objective, albeit unintentionally.'"

Omega went silent as he pondered their response. "'...Tell me then, NexUs, how exactly do you help her?'"

"'Well, I unfortunately cannot offer her genuine life advice, and nor am I a replacement for professional help. I can, however, offer retrospectives and logical judgements. This allows me to bring a more impartial view on scenarios that stress may otherwise cloud proper judgement on.'"

"'And...how effective has your help been to her thus far?'"

"'I am afraid I cannot properly evaluate that, as the answer would be subjective by nature. However, I do detect decreased anxiety levels after most of our talks.'"

Omega came to a stop as a thought occurred to him. Despite all of the chances she had to come to him to talk about her problems, Alpha came to _NexUs_for her emotional support. Rather than coming to her husband, she was talking with an AI that wasn't even properly programmed to deal with such issues. This realization...spoke to him. It said something about their relationship that Omega just didn't want to acknowledge out loud. Sluggishly, he lumbered back over to the console and summoned his displays and keyboard once more.

"'...Thank you, NexUs,'" he muttered, "'thank you for being there for...for my wife. Now, please bring up the footage from Felicia's latest fight. It's time to analyze it.'"

"'Right away, sir.'" Up above, the overhead display sparked to life showing videos taken from all of the androids that had been involved in the fight.

"'You said she achieved a new form, correct?'"

"'Yes sir,'" the disembodied voice answered him, "'Based on my observations, I believe it utilizes cheetah DNA.'"

"'Bring up the footage starting from when she changes into this form,'" Omega ordered them as he stepped away from his console to get a better view at the overhead display. All but one of the screens went black as soon as the footage was brought up, likely the mob androids that had been destroyed by then. This wasn't what concerned Omega, however. What did concern him was the sight of Felicia atop a vehicle.

A moving vehicle.

"'NexUs,'" Omega began, his voice low and tense, "'Rewind several seconds. I want to know how she got on this vehicle.'"

"'Right away, sir.'" The footage rewound to the point where several more points of view sprang to life. Once the video resumed, it showed Felicia leaping onto the jeep as it slowed for her. Confusion and anger boiled together from within Omega.

"'NexUs, find footage that shows who is driving this vehicle. I want to know who is aiding this girl.'" Rather than answer, NexUs simply began going through the video at a rapid pace, rewinding and fast forwarding through all of it at once. Eventually, the footage stopped and paused, once again having returned to Lambda's point of view. From it, Omega was able to peer through the opening in the jeep's trunk. NexUs zoomed in and played around with the brightness until the image was crystal clear. Once they were done, Omega could only stare.

"'...NexUs...who is that?'"

***

Dr. Kagami glanced up at the moon shining overhead in the midst of this quiet drive. After admiring it for a couple seconds, he returned his eyes to the road. He rolled to a stop as they reached a red light. While waiting for it to turn back green, he turned away from the empty streets and glanced over to Felicia, who was out like a light. She'd been understandably exhausted from her fight, and as soon as they escaped the sandy hills and rolled back onto the streets, she fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. The former tigress, now turned cheetah, was wrapped up in a blanket he'd given her and was slumped over in her seat. A smile crossed Dr. Kagami's muzzle as he returned his attention to the road.

As he did this, his eyes came across a hauntingly familiar silhouette. It was one that made his heart jump straight into his throat. Standing in the middle of a barren parking lot with her hands clasped neatly behind her back was Alpha. Her eyes, glowing ominously in the darkness, peered straight through the tinted glass and directly into his own. The old lion gulped nervously. He wanted nothing more than to race off into the distance and leave her behind, but the thought of what she might do if he did so kept him from making such a rash decision. But when she raised her hand and motioned for him to come with a finger, he very heavily reconsidered that judgement.

With the light turning green, Dr. Kagami realized it was time to make a decision. He made one last glimpse over to the sleeping Felicia before driving onward and pulling into the empty lot. The doctor made sure to drive _well_away from the human before he felt comfortable enough with parking. He made sure to keep the engine on and scan the area for any other androids before he unbuckled his seatbelt. After checking to see if Felicia was still asleep, Dr. Kagami carefully stepped out of the jeep and eased the door closed.

He eased out another nervous sigh as he turned to look over to Alpha, who was now beginning to walk towards them. Adrenaline surged through his veins at the thought of her getting near Felicia, and thus he was prompted to start moving as well. He met her halfway, and the two of them found themselves standing in the middle of the lot with not a soul around to bother them. Alpha offered a polite bow to him. "Hello Doctor. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"What do you want?" Dr. Kagami asked her, his voice flat and his tone sharp. Alpha held her hand up.

"I just wanted to talk. You're completely safe, I assure you. No one else but you and I know that we're here right now.

"I think you'll be surprised to find that that's not enough to make me trust your word," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. A defeated sigh left Alpha's throat.

"I understand. But I would still like to request that you hear me out... As friends."

A low growl rumbled in the mane-less lion's chest. "We. Are long_past the point of friendship now." The statement seemed to physically strike Alpha, who seemingly flinched in response. Before she could get a word in, Dr. Kagami continued, "You and your little swarm of minions have effectively _ruined our lives. Felicia is marked as a god damn fugitive now, and because of that, she can't return home to her family! She can't take care of herself! I have to take care of her now! And the ONLY way I can do that is by keeping her safe and hidden away from the likes of YOU."

A very tense silence passed between the two of them as Alpha struggled to find her voice. "I'm...sorry that things had to turn out this way."

"What. Do. You. Want?" Dr. Kagami repeated, his tone communicating to the human just how little patience he had for her.

"...Fine. Right to the point then..." After a moment, the human straightened up and clasped her hand behind her back once more. "All I want is for you and Felicia to let this all go."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm giving you two another out," she answered simply, "I promise to clear Felicia's name so long as the two of you cooperate with me."

"And why would I do that?" The lion once again narrowed his eyes at her. Alpha stared at him silently.

"Because it's in your best interests."

"How so?"

Alpha turned to the side and began to quietly pace around in front of Dr. Kagami. "With every station Felicia destroys, she becomes more and more of a threat. The bigger the threat she becomes, the greater the countermeasures we have to take to stop her."

"I thought you said you were going to get to the point. What are you on about?! What are you planning to do to her?!"

By then, Alpha stopped pacing around. Slowly, almost hauntingly, she turned to meet his gaze and said, "I'm saying that, if you two continue to do this, then at some point...one of you is going to be seriously hurt. I don't want that. Not for you...and not for her."

The two of them stared each other down. It didn't take too much guessing to understand what she was trying to imply. "Okay...one last question. With all of the secrecy surrounding these stations of yours, and all of the deception and lies you've been spreading around the world, how do you expect _either_of us to trust you?"

Alpha's head lowered in defeat. "...I...don't have an answer." With that, Dr. Kagami turned his back to her and began to walk back to the jeep. He made it several steps before a hand gently clamped around his shoulder. "...Hiiro," Alpha croaked, her voice riddled with pain and sorrow, "Please... I don't want to do this." For a moment, neither of them said anything.

"Alpha..." Dr. Kagami began, his voice gentle, "...please take your hand off of me." After a moment, his shoulder was released, and the lion made a step forward. "...You know...if you really do care...and you really don't want either of us to get hurt, you'd put a stop to all of this yourself." He stood there for a moment and silently waiting for a response. When he got none, he resumed his earlier stride. Alpha could only stare in silence as she watched him walk the rest of the way over to the jeep.

"'But that's the problem, Doctor,'" she muttered to herself in her own language, "'I really do care... Immensely. But I care more about the future of my own kind.'"

Dr. Kagami kept his eyes on Alpha through the rearview mirrors as he drove out of the lot and far away from the human. She never moved, never shouted, never even twitched. She just kept her eyes on him as he drove away. It sent an unsettling chill down his spine, and it took him a massive amount of effort to tear his eyes away from her.

"...Doctor?" a gentle murmur came, startling the lion out of his trance. Felicia stirred slightly and shifted a bit in her seat, "Is everything alright?"

For a moment, he genuinely considered the question. Eventually, he sighed and answered, "There's nothing to worry about. Just go back to sleep."

Too tired to argue, Felicia just mumbled something incoherent before pulling her blanket up and quickly falling back asleep.