FSE

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"Hey, are you ready?"

Lys spun around, startled. Jack stood behind her, offering his hand. The fresh, clean AC/DC shirt and jeans made him look younger somehow, more vibrant. Lys gave him her claw and took a step towards him. The comforting rays of the sun coated her hide in a pleasant warmth, soaking into every scale. It felt so good just to be outside without caring about what anyone else thought. A soft breeze drifted past, carrying the summer smell of fresh cut grass and distant charcoal barbeque. The gentle wafts of air played on the edges of her skirt. When Jack showed it to her, she couldn't believe her eyes, an honest to elders dress. All she wanted to do was move about and watch it twirl around.

"You need to hold still, sweet," Jack said.

"Sorry." Lys straightened herself out, making sure Jack was right behind her. His hands rested on her shoulders, rubbing them. She looked up, staring long into his face.

He began to smile. "What?" he asked, laughing.

She beckoned him closer and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her back.

She turned back around and stood up straight, feeling more content than she ever had.

"Smile!"

A bright flash blinded her; the warm sun faded into the yellow glow of the bedroom lamp, the breeze into the hum of the air conditioner, and the soft dress in her claws shifted to the heavy picture frame she held in her hands. Her golden eyes reflected back at her from the glass as she looked into the photo, she could barely make out the logo on her shirt, most of it had disintegrated with time and wear.

A younger version of Jack stood between two older humans in front of a screened-in porch. Jack's arms slung over their shoulders, a genuinely happy smile on his face almost out of character for him. On the left stood an older woman with light brown hair in the process of turning silver. She wore a white, knitted sweater and a pair of pants. The clash in clothing seemed just right somehow for Jack's family. The wrinkles accenting her motherly smile made Lys feel warm, like it was meant just for her. On the other side of Jack stood an older man of thinning brown hair and thick mustache. The weathered looking polo, shorts, and sandals he wore almost made her laugh. The smile on his weathered face wasn't quite so warm or sincere, but the way he stood relaxed, arm wrapped around his son said all the things his eyes tried to hide.

Her hard claws tapped against the glass as she traced out the people in the photo, staring into it with a deep sense of longing, trying to figure out where, if anyplace she might fit herself into the picture. Her mind pondered if the smiles would remain on their faces if a little green kobold suddenly invaded their space, perhaps riding on their son's shoulders or standing in front of him. How out of place would she look there among them, green and scaly, not even three feet tall. Perhaps they'd treat her like a child, not that she'd mind being adopted by her mate's parents. Her long, slow breaths fogged up the glass, hiding the scene. The smiles, the warmth, the love. She didn't deserve it, not someone like her, not a kobold. She put the picture back where she'd found it, a hallowed place on the dresser, separate from the discarded energy drink cans and tossed clothes. A clean circle among the rubbish Jack hadn't gotten around to throwing away yet. She set it back with the utmost care, trying not to leave a trace.

The kobold sat there on the bed, staring off into nothing. All the color went out of the world and an ache built behind her yellow eyes as they grew misty. Good thing Jack wasn't there to watch her blubber over something she should have been happy about. For the first time in her life, she had a future to look forward to. If that wasn't enough, she had someone who genuinely cared for her and wanted her to be happy and to top it all off she loved him in return, the very things life was all about.

Certainly not her life though, she couldn't shake the terrible guilt of going from a thief and scavenger living day to day to falling asleep in someone's arms every night. Good things happened so rarely in her life that they felt like mistakes. All her good fortune had come from hoping to hitch a ride and steal some food.

"...so stupid...'' She wiped her eyes and went into the kitchen. The bloodstains from her outburst yesterday waited, dried into the tile and carpet, another reminder of how she didn't belong here. All of it needed to go, she'd already planned to before Jack got home as a surprise, but now a terrible harrowing chastised her and she felt a need to pay her dues. Her toeclaws barely tapped the floor as she went over to the sink. A musty smell of mold and cleaning agents greeted her muzzle when she opened the cabinet. A relatively clean bucket sat behind a line of plastic bottles, the labels all peeled and faded with age, showing how often Jack cleaned up before she arrived.

With a rag in hand and a bucket of hot, soapy water, she knelt down and put her back into scrubbing out the darkened stains on the tile. Trails of dark red streaked over the floor, getting into the rag and onto her fingers. The scene played out in her mind again, feeling the distant anger well up, the sickening sensation of her claw digging into Jack's flesh and that awful scream.

"Shit!" She slammed her fists into the floor, throwing droplets of ruddy water into the air. "How could Lys do that?"

Speak properly, stupid animal. I'm never going to belong here. I'll never be able to walk down the street without a hundred eyes staring. I'm never going to be able to go with him anywhere. All of this is a joke, a sick joke someone is playing on Lys.

Lys...

"Me!" she snarled. She reached for the bucket to wet the rag again, but knocked it over in her anger, spilling water all over the tile and carpet. The kobold slumped down onto the floor, tail curling around her knees. Tears began trickling down her scaly cheeks as a muffled scream slipped through her clenched claws.

"Elders help me, it's hopeless." There was no holding back the feelings of despair and she didn't bother trying. She kept trying to imagine herself in that photograph between the sound of Jack yelling in pain and the thought of always having to hide, always having to be careful. Warm tears flowed into her scaly hands as she sobbed, letting those feelings have their way with her.

The whole world could pass by for all she cared, if this was what life had in store, she never wanted to get up again, there was just no point. Definitely not if it meant having to hide herself away for the rest of her life. Jack once told her she deserved to be happy, but apparently that was a lie. Trying to get more out of her life was just too damn much to ask of this rotten world. The torrent of black thoughts came on so heavy and draining she lost track of time, almost drifting off in her sorrows. As the time passed the emotional pain in her heart became eclipsed by the physical one growing in her knees pressed into the hard floor. She ignored it for as long as possible, determined to live out the rest of her life on her knees in self-pity, but dull ache turned to sharp pain forcing her to her feet.

Angry, she rubbed at her legs, offended that they had the audacity to force her out of the nice, deep emotional pit she'd dug for herself. Nevertheless, the kobold stayed dead set on wallowing in anguish. Her eyes searched the apartment, trying to find things to be upset about. Everything was as she'd left it, a wet mess on the kitchen floor, Jack's kitchen floor, in Jack's apartment where she slept in Jack's bed and even used Jack's shower and Jack's toilet. All of it was his, she was just a guest in his home, in his life, waiting for the moment when he'd get tired of her and change his mind. Her eyes wandered to the counter; the same one she'd stood on to dance when she'd danced with him. The faint sound of that slow music came back to her though tried so hard to fight it, but the soothing tones won out and she could almost feel his strong hands guiding her, swaying in time.

He really loves me.

There would never come a day when she'd find a note telling her to sleep on the couch. She wasn't going to wake up to find a lock on the fridge and she was never going to have to deal with being a stranger in a place where someone loved her deeply and truly. She'd been living these last two weeks like she was still in the back of that damn trunk, waiting to be dumped on the side of the road. Only that scared kobold in the trunk didn't exist anymore and hadn't for a while now, she was never coming back and that suited Lys just fine.

The kobold wiped the last of her tears away and grabbed a few towels out of the bathroom to dry up the mess. The rest of the work went quickly except for the stains in the carpet, those were going to require some extra care, but they blended in anyway. She smirked.

Now I'm starting to think like Jack.

Once the floor was done, she remembered the dishes in the sink. It was hard to tell if she still felt some sense of obligation or if she wanted to surprise Jack, in the end it didn't matter, it made her feel good to do something nice for her mate.

***

"Finally," Lys breathed a sigh of relief and went to sit herself down on the couch for some well-deserved TV. Half the time she wasn't quite sure what was going on in most of the shows she watched and had to ask Jack a dozen questions about references she didn't get. So, in times where she was alone, she usually went for cartoons, those were easy to understand. The kobold didn't quite get why watching these weird characters blow each other up was so funny, but it certainly was. It didn't take long to find someone mindless, but right as the first bomb went off another sound made her leap about five feet up.

Someone was knocking at the door.

Her first instinct was to hide under the couch. Normally there'd be a knock or two followed by a foot shuffle and some grumbling, but this was different. It was lighter, faster, and it just kept going. The machine gun thwap against the wood grew obnoxious, but all she could do was wait for whoever it was to leave and that's when she heard a voice, not some mere grumbling.

"Lys? Is Lys in there? Please be in there!"

She did a double take, her heart skipped, and her claws began to shake, there was no possible way.

"Lys! For elder's love, hurry before someone comes! Please!" The knock grew faster and louder.

She bolted up from her position behind the couch and that's when she noticed the focal point of the knocking came at about her height. The doorknob felt unusually cold in her claw, like it was trying to warn her, but she turned it anyway.

Immediately the door pushed inward, knocking her against the wall though she managed to keep to her feet. Jack had warned about this, over and over. Now she'd let some idiot bugler into the house like a foolish hatchling. She pushed the door back with a snarl and her hands open, ready to make whoever barged in earn it. Swinging her claws down, rushed forward, but she stopped at the last moment. On the receiving end of her anger stood a kobold of yellow scales with blue eyes and black horns, just a little taller than her. He wore a ratty looking hoodie with a missing hood and a pair of shorts that look like they used to be pants until someone awkwardly shredded them at the (kobold's) knees.

"Wait! Lys! Wait! It's--"

Her jaw hung open; the tiniest squeak of a gasp hissed out of her open mouth like she'd forgotten how to breathe. "Rodil!" She charged at him arms wide and the two embraced in a long hug. It felt like a dream too good to be true, words couldn't express how good it felt to see a familiar face and one of her own kind after all this time and she cried anew. They pressed into each other tighter, their tail tips touched in common greeting. And then she stepped back and nailed him hard in the stomach.

"You ass of an asshole! Why are you here and why did you and the others leave me?!" She had her fist clenched ready to lay in another.

The yellow kobold wheezed and doubled over. "I...couldn't get to Lys. Too many brownshirts and too much noise. Rodil tried, he tried," the kobold said between coughs.

"Well, you didn't try hard enough. You have no idea what Lys--I had to go through." Her eyes narrowed. "How did you know I was here?"

The yellow kobold straightened himself out, rubbing at his stomach while keeping an eye on his friend in case she tried to hit him again. "Saw Lys the other day wandering around the park. Rodil couldn't believe his eyes."

She shoved him. "You've been spying on me?"

Rodil stepped back, bumping into the doorknob. "Lys is friend, what was Rodil going to do? Watching her go around with some strange human in the rain and places. Needed to make sure she was okay. Followed you back to this place." He rubbed his head and started to smile. "Easy to do when Lys is wearing red."

"You waited all this time to see if I was okay?! How long have you been hanging around out there?" Lys pushed him again, but he braced himself for it, wrapping his arms around himself, only budging a few inches

"Stop hitting. Wanted to come sooner, but that human never leaves. Was going to come yesterday, but then the black and white car showed up and the blackshirt went upstairs." His scaly features sunk. "Was so worried he was there for Lys."

"Rodil, I. I'm really glad you came, but--"

He cocked his head at her in a half-scowl. "What's with Lys? Talking like humans talk. Is this man doing something to Lys? We should leave while we can. Rodil came to save Lys." He started to reach for her arm, but she pulled away.

"Lys talks...I mean I speak just fine and no Jack isn't 'doing something' to me."

"Jack?"

"My m...friend."

Rodil stepped closer with a look of panic on his muzzle. He ran his claws over her face while she looked at him perplexed. "Friend? Is Lys sick? This Jack must be doing something to her brain."

"Stop it." She brushed his claws away.

Rodil grabbed her by the wrist again and started pulling her towards the door. "Going to get Lys out of here. Lys been trapped here too long to see danger, maybe can get--"

She wrenched her hand away. "Damn it Rod, stop. I'm not sick and Jack isn't doing anything to me. I'm fine Roddy. I'm not trapped...I...I live here."

Seeing her friend's shocked expression made her sick to her stomach. He didn't get it, but then, she wouldn't have believed it herself two weeks ago. Now he was eying her like she was a total stranger and growing more upset by the minute. "What's happened to Lys?" He backed away from her slowly.

"It'd take too long to explain. You shouldn't even be here; you're going to get us both into huge trouble if anyone finds out."

"Rodil isn't leaving until Lys explains. Making Rodil very scared."

Lys peeked outside the door. Jack wouldn't be back for several hours, but that hardly made her feel better. Anyone could have seen Roddy coming up the steps and pounding on the door like a maniac. Her mind was still trying to process the fact that one of her old friends was here trying to rescue her. There was no possible way she could tell him everything, he'd never believe it and even if he did it'd just convince him that something was wrong.

"Sit." She pointed at the couch.

The yellow kobold glanced around very carefully like any moment someone would jump out and do to him what they'd done to her. His toeclaws slid across the carpet without ever leaving the ground as he made half inches towards the seat. Lys sighed and went to sit down while he was still eyeing everything. Rodil looked at the couch, poked it, and then sniffed it. "Just come and sit you hatchling, no one else is here."

Rodil lowered himself down onto the cushion ever so lightly, ready to bound away at a moment's notice. Lys rolled her eyes, but deep inside she couldn't blame him. All of this was no-kobold's-land and she knew first hand that humans disliked trespassers with a fiery passion. "Ok, Rodil is sitting. Now tell Rodil what's going on, please." There was a deep pleading in his voice and he began to hold his tail in his claws.

She took a deep breath and started at the beginning, with all the interesting parts taken out.

***

"Do you understand now Roddy?"

"Yes...no. How did hiding in a human's car make him like Lys? Makes no sense. Why would any human ever take a kobold home with them? That's just stupid." He sneered.

She sighed and held her head in her claws. Trying to explain the situation was impossible especially while omitting all the details that would have made Rodil flip. Now she was starting to understand how Jack must have felt talking to his friends. "Not all humans are cruel."

"No, some are worse."

"Well Jack isn't that way. He's been very kind to me. Look, even sewed me shorts."

By this point Rodil was sitting in relative comfort on the couch, but he still casted glances at the door just in case the knob should turn.

"But why would he sew shorts for Lys?"

"Because we're friends. I said that already."

His blue eyes narrowed in on her in a way that made her feel nervous. It came to mind that she'd used similar tactics against Jack to great effect and now she was getting a taste of her own medicine. "Makes no sense, what does this Jack get out of being nice to Lys? Why would Jack sew shorts and just let a kobold live with him?"

Her rump threatened to fall off the couch with all the fidgeting and shifting. It felt about twenty degrees hotter, she'd be sweating if such a thing were possible. Rodil was her best friend out of all the people she used to run with and she felt deeply touched that he was willing to risk life and limb to save her from peril, but he could be incredibly stubborn and thick at times.

"Why did you let me live with you guys?" she asked, thinking herself clever.

He laughed. "Easy, because Lys was quiet and quick. Lys provided for the group, but this?" He shook his head. "What does Lys provide for this man?"

No answers came to mind, no suitable half-truths to tell. If only she could just tell him.

"Is Lys some kind of pet?"

She felt her entire body tense up, the edge of her lip curled, revealing the tips of her teeth. Her friend and partner in crime continued to bear down on her with an unrelenting gaze. "No," she said with a growl.

"Then what does Jack get out of letting Lys stay here? Rodil doesn't like this, not at all, not at all."

"We're just--"

"Is Lys doing something with the human? Something..." He leaned forward, ogling her up and down like he was trying to find the guilt. "For elder's sake, please say no."

Her claws clenched into fists. "Lys is not 'doing something' with Jack, and it's none of Rodil's damn business what Lys does!" She leapt from her seat. "Maybe Rodil needs to go."

The yellow kobold stayed his ground, only now his inquisitive look was one of disgust. "Is this Jack forcing Lys to be a mate? Rodil will rip him up. Come, please let's just get out of here so Lys can clear her head."

"Jack isn't forcing me. I am his mate!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "He's done more for me in two weeks than you guys did in all the time Lys was there. I love him and I am never going back!"

A loud banging rose up from the floor, both kobolds hunkered down in total silence. Once it became obvious that it was just a grumpy neighbor downstairs Rodil slipped off the couch. "Lys has lost her shitting mind," he hissed under his breath. "Human giving her pills or something, or is he giving Lys room and food for sex?"

"We're not talking about this anymore. You need to leave, now," she screamed under her breath

Rodil looked at her forlorn and began to turn away, but then he spun about, dashing for her, grabbing her by the wrists. "Not leaving without Lys, can't leave her here."

"Stop it! Let go of me!" The two of them struggled and Rodil was bigger and stronger, but the past few weeks of good living and good eating gave her more energy than she'd ever had before. She broke out of his grasp and stuck him across the face open handed, hoping he'd get the picture. Rodil lost his temper instead, shoving her backwards, the points of her horns left marks in the wall. She rebounded, trying to kick his legs out from under him, but he was too quick, dodging out of the way by rolling up onto the couch, then he jumped down on her, hard.

"Ahh!" It took the wind right out of her and she felt him grab her arms again, pinning them behind her.

"Stop fighting! Trying to help Lys." The yellow kobold lifted her to her feet, trying to get her to the door. She dug her toeclaws in, leaving rents in the carpet and making him stumble. It gave her time to force him into the coffee table, causing him to tumble over it. She heard something shatter and Rodil fell over the other side, laying there motionless.

"Rodil, are you alright?" She peered over the table, but sprang back when he started to get up, rubbing his back. The yellow kobold rubbed his back and looked on the verge of tears.

"Lys, what happened to you? Please come with Rodil, please," his voice was low and broken.

Oh, how she just wanted to scream (again). He just couldn't accept that there was at least one human in this world who not only didn't hate kobolds, but had one for a mate. Watching his heart break like this, all she just wanted to go over and console him, but then he'd try to rescue her again. "Rod, nothing has happened to me. I'm fine. I'm--"

"No! Lys isn't fine, Lys is sick in the head!" The yellow kobold bolted for the front door, opening it wide.

"Rodil!" By the time she got over to the door he was already down the steps and running through the bushes, in another instant he was gone from sight.

A loud thumping came from downstairs again. "Piss off!" She shouted at the floor, jumping up and down as hard as she could. Despite being furious it felt good to be assertive for a change, she almost wished the asshole downstairs would come up here to discuss it with her. She cast one last glance out towards where Rodil had sprinted off to and then slammed the door. In her dreams she often saw herself meeting up with her old group and reconciling somehow. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen now and it didn't sit so well with her to know that an old friend had been stalking her for over a week. Granted, his intentions were good, but Roddy always was the thickheaded one.

A broken mug lay shattered on top of the mess of forgotten magazines that had split off the coffee table. Lys gathered everything up and threw it away. "Why can't things just go right?" She sat down in front of the TV and stared at the blank screen. Perhaps the world was playing a trick on her after all, she finally met a familiar face only to have him try and save her from the only good thing that had happened in her life.

"I sure hope Jack is having a good time."