The flustered lynx sat still with peering eyes. She was inside of a new house now. Most of the furniture was cleared out for dance-practice, and three people stood about her. The leader, Ano, was a male human with blonde hair and purple eyes. Normally this would be an interesting quality, but Rynk simply found the purple irises to be strange and unbecoming. The second was a woman. Her name was Inxie, and she looked the same as Ano. No doubt they were siblings. The third was a mobians girl; a wolf. She was a slate color, with black hair and green eyes. Her name was Zapix.
Ano was explaining everything about their group to the young lynx, but Rynk did not pay much attention. She recognized where they were all from. Ano’s skin and accent told everything; Supretan. Inxie was the same though with both of them the names seemed incredibly odd. Ano sounded somewhat Supertan, but Inxie did not in the slightest, and Zapix did not sound like a name at all. Zapix… with her slit eyes and black highlights, was a Geiser; a citizen—former citizen—of Gei Si Heir, the people who took part in the Refine.
Ano caught on to Rynk’s attitude and asked her “Is something wrong?”
The lynx looked over to the tall human and answered “You haven’t kill the wolf, Icken, or did you forget where you came from?” Icken was a term used when referring to a hypocrisy towards one’s kin.
Ano looked towards Zapix then back to Rynk, as Inxie walked in front of the wolf to guard her. “That’s right.” The lynx hissed. “I mean, why should we let the mobian live but not the Hellborns right? I know where you’re from and I bet you can’t even pretend to say you didn’t say a bad word about us.”
“I can actually,” Ano spoke sternly, taking a step towards Rynk. “What are you trying to do? We’re all your enemy?”
“Anyone who does nothing is my enemy.” She replied stubbornly.
“Well that’s really nice, child, but that isn’t going to be tolerate.” Ano held up the controller to Rynk’s collar, and flipped the switch off. “If you have something to say, you might as well say it as loud as you need to. You leave Inxie alone, and stop blame everyone else because you had a bad life. Most people who live here now had a bad life too. That’s why we live here in fact. Emit had ask us to take care of you and we’d like to. We’d like to know you, teach you, and become friends, but if we can’t be friends this is going to be a difficult relationship.”
“You want me to get along with you?” The lynx scoffed. “Get me out of here.”
“We’re not discus this right now. We have practice to get to. You can join us, or sit there. We aren’t going to punish you either way. If you want to leave and fight the whole world, feel free. Emit has his reasons but we aren’t going to torture you into submission. Now if you want to be a part of this, we’re perfectly fine with accept and appreciate you.”
“I thought we weren’t going to-“
“Can we please start… n-now?” Zapix spoke up nervously. Ano looked over to Zapix, seeming a bit surprised after realizing how much time they were wasting. With a sigh he nodded his head and the three backed up to the middle of the room where they began discussing and performing twirls, flips, presses, lifts, and mid-air spirals.
Rynk sat stubbornly at the back wall. She would have left but had no way of really getting anywhere. These people were certainly not interested in getting her out… but… the more she sat, and the more she thought, the guiltier she felt. Sure she’d apologize to someone she thought she had wronged… after she had hurt them, like the lizard, but here these were simply misguided citizens. They weren’t being mean, just stern. It was hard to consider having a friendly relationship with them as they were basically brainwashed prisoners, but she did not have that much of a reason to actually be upset with them. They did not put her here. They did not imprison her. They were simply living their lives. They did not want to hurt her, but they did not want to cause trouble.
Rynk rarely considered that maybe the people who don’t take part in her rebellions had good reasons to keep to themselves. This was a family, and if they broke Emit’s rules they would be in danger from Emit. Ano cared about Zapix, that was evident. Maybe that’s why the orphan lynx was so hostile. Zapix had a father figure to hold and comfort… one that didn’t experiment on her, or trick her into fighting a dishonest war, or enslave her in a giant hotel.
Before the lynx could change her mind however, the day was over and the three were cleaning up. Dinner was had which Rynk attended silently. Ano and Inxie prepared for bed, and Rynk decided to start towards her new room, but was caught by Zapix before entering the new bedroom.
“May I talk to you?” The wolf girl asked.
Rynk felt hesitant to speak. She was not ready to converse She just wanted to go to bed. “No.” She replied grimly.
“Please? I don’t mean to-“
“I’d like to be left alone…”
“But…” Zapix attempted to show a sign of reassurance by placing her hand on Rynk’s shoulder, but the lynx took this a completely different way. Her left foot landing on the wolf’s stomach, and shoved her to the floor.
At first Rynk had her typical look of distain with her, but this was soon replaced with a sorrowful guilty-looking wilt. She pressed her palm to her face. “Sorry- I- I’m so-“ It was too late. The wolf was running away. Now things were going to be harder.
Rynk closed her door and leaned against it, her right hand still pressed against her forehead. Her cringing caused her eye to itch again so she had to keep it open. She wanted to be nice. She wanted to make friends with these people, but she couldn’t. Not here. Not in this place of slaves and subordinates. Her greatest fear currently? Becoming friends with this family only for them say “Emit says you need to be kill now” or “Emit says you need to be hypnotize again” and then performing the act because their king said so.
The next morning, what Rynk expected to happen, happened. Ano pulled Rynk over to a hallway corner, and they began their talk. Rynk interrupted him mid-speech with a partially croaking “Hey… I know what you’re going to say and…” She took a deep breath, “I’m not proud of when I kick her. I thought she was doing something and I was wrong so I react then. You don’t seem like bad people… do… do you actually believe in everything Emit says?”
“I… well, yes.” Ano replied hesitantly, caught off-guard by the response.
“Even the part about his rules not apply to him? About him being allow to do whatever to whoever because he’s your provider?”
Ano did not give a vocal response, but his silence said everything. “Well,” The lynx inhaled, “we aren’t going to be friends then...”
Rynk did not join the dancers for breakfast. She did not plan to join them for practice either. Whether or not she did want feel hostile towards them, she wanted no part in pleasing Emit. That was of course before…
“We’ll be performing at Cкручивание Tокарный Rород.” Inxie informed the group. The only part about that name Rynk understood was “city”, but it sounded like somewhere other than Emit’s Domain. She was also a bit confused why there was an “ing” at the end of perform, but that was unimportant.
“… You mean out of here?” She asked.
“It’s inside of Nekai but outside of Emit’s Domain, yes. We may be citizens of Emit’s Domain, but we aren’t restricted.”
“Wait, people can actually leave?” The young lynx was becoming incredibly confused.
“This is a safe-haven, not a prison.” Ano explained. “One day when the Domain is able to expand in all corners of Mobocan, everything will be at peace and it will be safe to go wherever. Currently however, Emit’s Domain is the most safe of any place on the planet. You know how things are in Supreta, even for regular citizens. Where did you live there by the way?”
“Sem-retches.” The lynx carefully pronounced, putting emphasis on her wording. Ano recognized the name very much so, prompting a small cough of surprise.
“Well-*cmph*” He began to say, “you know what it’s like then. Then again not many people know how Ytaris work. Then there’s Gei Si Heir. Most people think it’s just a paradise of peace, but if anyone upsets that government, they’re gone. That’s how we found Zapix. Then there’s Nekai; a place where if you aren’t married at nine years old, you’re considered old.”
Rynk remembered the marriage rules in Supreta. The youngest there was fourteen, her age, not that she had any form of marriage on the mind, but… it was not mandatory in Supreta. Did people have to get married at that young in Nekai?
With all this talk about different countries, Rynk almost forgot what they were talking about; being stuck in Emit’s Domain. “Wait,” She yanked back, “what about the part where people CAN’T leave this place?”
“Emit takes those that are living terrible lives, and brings them here,” Inxie informed. “He keeps them here until they understand his generosity. Once one understands it, true goodness evol-“
“Okay, you can stop there.” Rynk held up her hand. “I don’t need to hear that garbage.”
Inxie sighed. Ano narrowed his eyes a bit. “That was very rude,” he scolded.
“I don’t care,” Rynk replied. “I don’t hate you people, and I don’t have anything against you, but that doesn’t mean I have to put up with your wacko belief. But, if this means I get to leave this place for a while, let’s get to practicing.”
This presented an issue. Ano realized at that moment that if they were to bring Rynk she would most-definitely attempt an escape. Until now the human was not under the assumption she would be that much of a trouble, but if she was going to be, he would need to make sure things would not go badly.
Practice was delayed for a couple of hours. Rynk spent this time exercising; sit-ups, push-ups, a back-flip or two (until Inxie had her stop before she stomped through the floor with the landings). Zapix and Inxie were chatting amongst themselves for the most part and did their best to avoid getting near the lynx-girl.
While they did not think highly of using the collar-mechanism against Rynk, the two dancers kept the controller in close proximity of themselves in case they needed to. Inxie herself, while protective of Zapix, was incredibly curious of Rynk herself. She went on and on, questioning what happened to the moon-stripes feline, but not to Rynk directly. It was gnawing away at her and so she finally opened Rynk’s door and asked to come in.
“Are you going to talk about Emit and his beliefs?” The lynx asked sternly while in the middle of a leg-stretch.
“No.” They replied.
“Then come on in… this is your house though. I don’t see why you’d have to knock. Isn’t there a rule or something about not having any rules?”
“I… thought you didn’t want to talk about that.” Zapix said faintly, keeping behind Inxie the entire time.
“… Right.” Rynk stood up, stretching her arms out a bit. “What do you want?”
“I was thinking it would be nice if we all talked together.” Inxie suggested as the two stepped to the middle of the room, now facing Rynk.
“You want to get to know me?” Rynk questioned.
“Well yes, if you don’t mind.” The human girl replied.
Rynk crossed her arms. “That depends on why you want to know.”
“I’m just curious about you. I lived in Gei Si Heir most of my life. That’s how I met Zapix. Very little is known about Banshees, and you being one, well… it’s a rare opportunity.”
“… I’m only part Banshee.” Rynk answered hesitantly, though growing more reasonable as she went on. “I was take when I was little and a doctor guy experiment on me. I don’t know if I was a lynx before or a Banshee before. I can’t control sound and I’m not tall as you can tell.”
“A Supretan doctor? Who?” Inxie questioned in interest.
“I don’t remember much during the process, or before it. The company was call ‘Melcro’ so maybe that was his name.”
“I’ve heard that name before.” Zapix murmered.
“You what?” Rynk took a step towards the wolf girl in interest, but unfortunately Zapix in a startle jumped back. “N-no, I’m serious.” Rynk stammered, trying not to seem dangerous by holding her hands up.
“Well…” Zapix relaxed again, “The Gei Si Heir military would talk about how Supertans are always a threat, and when they list off known ‘Supretan Terrorists’ they would mention the name ‘Melcro’ as a… supplier.”
“Sounds about right I guess.”
“Anyway, you don’t remember anything before the doctor?” Inxie attempted to get them back on track.
“Nope. I was only like… eight, though so I don’t think much else happen. I’d tell you both more but that’s all I really think you need to know. I’m only mention that because I doubt it can be used against me and I’m guess if Emit tells you to reveal a secret about me, you will.”
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” Inxie huffed.
“If it’s not true, then yeah.” Rynk retorted. “But is it true?”
“… Well, I’m not really sure.”
The sound of the front door opening interrupted the ladies. They all exited the bedroom and met with the entering Ano. “Okay,” He began, giving his attention to Rynk. “We’ll be going on the road and you get to come with us but…” His face scrunched up a bit as he held a breath of reluctance. “we’ll… have to use the collar.”
“As if I’d expect something less from him.” Rynk rolled her eyes while puffing some hair out of her eye.
“I hardly blame Emit for that.” Ano retorted. “Can you at least promise us you won’t try to run off while we’re gone?”
“Sorry, can’t.” She replied immediately.
“Then are you at least willing to finish the dance routines while we’re there BEFORE trying to leave?” He stressed.
“… Sure.” She replied in a very non-serious tone; the kind that should be an obvious sign of the opposite such as “Sure I’ll run into that pile of cacti” or “Sure I’ll ride on a plan in my undergarments”. In this case it was “Sure, I won’t leave in the middle of the dance.” It was a sarcastic sure that she wanted noticed as nothing else.
Unfortunately Ano was too willing to believe her and said “Alright, good. Then let’s get to practicing.” Rynk felt a bit guilty as she watched them all prepare the equipment for their practice. They believed what she just said and while she had no intention of being dishonest, but if she corrected their misunderstanding would that mean she would have a lesser chance of escape? The decision was easy for her; stay dishonest. Say whatever to get out. That did not change how bad it felt for her.
The moon-striped lynx shoved away her conscience for the time-being and joined in with the routines. Ano had her give a demonstration of how experienced she was with choreography, as well as how flexible and fit she was. Rynk told him that they’ll see while they practice. Most of the movements in the first routine involved a very up-close set of movement. The three, and now four, would flip about, twist, jump, and roll, around each other, getting as close as possible without colliding.
This was difficult for Rynk for one very large reason; her arms. No matter how much she kept the rest of herself in check, her arms were very flying about whenever she could not see them in her direct line of sight. She attempted to go through the routines with them crossed, but this simply caused her to lose balance more easily. This would take practice.
The second routine was much easier, as she had much more room. The group would dash and leap about on ropes and ribbons, doing mid-air twirls that would create patterns with the strings and waves surrounding them. It was very similar to the lynx’s training with Art. Rynk prepared to do a triple flip from atop a tall stool, and land into a handstand. She succeeded, but instead of landing her palms, she rammed her fists into the ground.
“Great now we have to repair that.” Inxie groaned. “Why did you punch it exactly?”
“I had combat train, not dainty train.” Rynk replied. Ano had them move on and the practice went on.
It did not take long for Rynk to master the second routine, but unfortunately three days later and the first was still an issue. “Can’t you just… move the routine around so you don’t hit my arms?” She suggested. “I’m pretty sure we can telegraph where they’ll fly about.”
Ano was reluctant but they tried it… and unfortunately it failed. No matter how well they guessed, it was incredibly difficult to instantly dodge something when you’re trying to remember a specific planned movement. “You’ll just have to practice controlling them so they don’t fly everywhere.”
Rynk groaned. She did know how to keep her arms from moving as much but it always made her sore. Not only that, but she would now had to tighten and soften her muscles back and forth in specific positions now. To say the least, it was not a fast transition. In fact it took another few days until this was accomplished. When it was however, Rynk expected that the group would be ready to go out to the normal world.
“We aren’t done.” Ano informed her. “We have to practice with an actual set now, and with costumes on.”
Rynk gaped in irritation, collapsing on the ground beneath her. It made a large thud though she did not seem harmed. Reluctantly, she continued. One more week, and then one half-week after that, they were finally ready to go.
As the group drove out of the Domain, Rynk was kept in the far back with Inxie, the front blocked from their view as to not allow the lynx to see their pathway out. Ano was almost as upset about this as Rynk was, but orders were orders. The lynx did not talk with Inxie but instead went over her options of how to escape.
Rynk remembered the delay in the remote’s signal. While in the car it was turned off. Emit knew that she was not going to risk this family’s life in an attempt of escaping the car. However it was kept on the highest frequency. All it took was a press of a switch and not only would Rynk become weak, but if she accelerated her heartbeat while out of everyone’s sight, the jolt in her heart might just cause it to explode.
The controller was an arm-band with a cap on the top to keep the button from being pressed accidentally. It was as fashionable as the rest of their jewelry, and on the wrists of every member, except for Rynk of course.
Rynk picked at the collar with her claws, making it seem to be a scratch in the back of her neck. It was hidden below her now long hair though even with this cover she had to be very careful. Even if the remote was turned off, the collar itself was still reactive to the pressure and damage. Every time she picked at it, she nearly collapsed.
The first few scratches made a noticeable noise. Inxie was about to question what Rynk was doing but the lynx interrupted her. “Can I lay down?” She asked swiftly, attempting to mask her weariness.
“Why do you need to lie down?” Inxie asked back, putting emphasis on the “lie”. Rynk could not tell if she was referring to dishonesty or an incorrect usage of words.
“I can’t lie… down?” The lynx gave a confused stare.
“Why do you need to?”
“I’m just tired!” Rynk explained, raising her arms in irritation before limping her head to the left and bracing it to her palm, showing off an on-looking pout. “Fine. Forget it. Whatever.” She sighed and went back to her regular position, crossing her arms with a look of anger in her eyes, though not even to seem furious—simply put off—sad almost.
The motions, tone, and guilt, all sunk in deep with Inxie. Not five seconds later out came “Okay. You can lie down.”
Rynk gave a soft nod to the human and shifted on to her back with her hands bracing her head. Rynk knew from experience that human hearing was far less potent than most animobians. With her head and hands muffling the noise, and the current position masking any dreariness, the rest of the trip was spent damaging the collar.
Apparently Rynk scraped off more than she could chew, and discovered that she was waking up at one point. She did not remember if there was a dream before her wake but normally her dreams consisted of a song. None came to mind so perhaps there was no dream at all.
When the lynx awoke, the car had stopped, and Inxie was telling her to get up. She groggily rose and followed them out of the car. They were in an incredibly pale grey area. It was not the kind of grey that Rynk was used to in Semretches—A wet dark grey with black polish and damp corners and streets. It was a sort of dusty grey, a concrete grey. Nothing was very shiny. It was more like the city was inside of a cloud, only there was no cloud.
The buildings were very straight and close together, most being higher than ten stories. The streets were practically white, a quart-looking pavement with squares everywhere. Most everything else that was not grey or white stood out greatly.
The people around wore mostly black or grey themselves, but most also had some sparks of color here and there; a red wrist-band, a green tophat, or a yellow scarf. There were a lot of scarves.
A very unnerving part of the people however was how young so many of them looked. There were young boys and young girls paired with older girls and older boys. At first Rynk thought these were parents with children, which she found incredibly charming at first glance… but… then she realized, these weren’t children. She saw some of these young ones, usually girls, holding babies in their arms. It seemed odd but not incredibly. It was when they kissed each other, the young and older, that she became disgusted.
Rynk remembered when they told her “No young marriage” {Something like that}. Nekai had young marriage, and since there were practically no couple that were both adults, this seemed to be the norm.
Aside from this distraction, Rynk found everything else strangely charming. Something about the whiteness and light grey seemed… clean. “One of the first times we were out here,” Inxie spoke. “we had no band to protect ourselves. They tried to take Zapix from us and sell her off to a husband.”
Rynk noticed Zapix walking further forward, ahead with Ano, as Inxie told the tale. “How’d you get her back?” Rynk asked.
“Ano had to pretend she was his,” The human’s voice nearly broke at the last word. When she continued it was much softer. “He couldn’t sleep for weeks… or stop apologizing.”
“They made him kiss her?” Rynk scrunched her face up.
“No, but it hurt them both none the less.”
“None the less?”
“… Anyway.”
“Anyway what?” Rynk became more and more confused.
“Anyway means none the less.” Inxie replied irritably.
“Oh…” Rynk looked around as they walked. “How close are we? And why did we stop the car?”
“Not too far. White streets aren’t for cars in Nekai.” The human replied, now speeding up her stroll. “Stay close. Nekai may not be as against Banshees as other countries but they’ll still be a problem.”
“Right…”
The two caught up with Ano and Zapix, ending their stroll at a large metal stage in the center of what seemed to be a park. The trees in the park were orange. The leaves were not just orange, but the trunk and branches as well; all the same exact shade. If the shadows each casted were not there it would be hard to tell that they were separate, and some still were.
The trees were so noticeable because they were the only plants in sight. This worried the young lynx. {Where’s the grass…?}
The stage itself had large red curtains and behind them a small house. They unlocked the doors and sat down a set of packages being carried by Ano. The house had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living-room, and a bathroom; the basics.
“We’ve got three hours to get ready.” Ano informed the group. “If you need to leek do it now.”
One bathroom break later and outfits were being put on. After that came the make-up. After that came the jewelry. Ano wore a black and blue suit with a feathery pattern going from his left stomach-side and spiraling to his right shoulder. His make-up was a star design, with a giant white and black one on his forehead.
Inxie had green. It was a two-piece lime dress with an undersuit of lemon-yellow that made a spiral around her arms and legs. The lime dress had three layers at the bottom, fading in a wave-like pattern. Her make-up was vines, with two underneath and over both eyes, stretching to her ears.
Zapix wore a very pale pink with grey. It was similar to Inxie’s in structure, pink for the main fading dress, and grey for underneath. However it also had a spiral that went around her neck and tail. Her make-up was filled with flowers. Due to her fur, they added multiple designs on her arms and legs. A center pink daisy lay on her forehead.
Rynk wore purple, with the same structure as Zapix and Inxie. The dress was a dark purple, and the undersuit was a semi-dark plumb. She wore no make-up. She did not need it with all of her stripes.
All of them wore three earrings on each ear, two arm-bands on each arm, and a neck-collar, all of which were gold.
Apparently the public was informed of their arrival before even leaving Emit’s Domain. People were crowding the stage with seats set up everywhere. For a brief moment Rynk actually felt nervous. Whether or not Emit was ruining her life, she was not being forced to do any of this. Yes she agreed to the show for other reasons, but for the moment perhaps she could actually enjoy herself?
It was doubtful. Another time perhaps this would be a good fun time, but too many upsetting things were happening. She wanted to get out, and after that find a new place to hopefully live. Unfortunately Nekai was not that place.
Ano gave a speech about how amazing they’ll dance and how proud he was of them. Rynk did not pay much attention. It angered her a little bit, but she kept her temper regular as best she could. The group was put into their positions, the sound-effects played, and the curtains tore open.
Ano dashed forward first, performing a mid-air flip and landing in a slow turning decent. The announcing voice called him “Mist-Nova” (In Russia of course). Next came Inxie, charging into the air, flipping, and landing on Ano’s shoulders. She was “Earth-Stream”. Zapix came third, posing atop Inxie’s shoulders upside down. She was “Life-Petal”.
Rynk knew what they would call her and it took everything in her to not bare teeth at the thought of it, even if it was being spoken in a different language than Singskrit. Still she played her part. With a dramatic uproar of music she charged the fifteen feet of three individuals, and landed her feet to Zapix’s, balancing still and silent. She could not close her eyes. She was not that skilled.
“Moon-Cat!” The announcer yelled, and everything silenced. Rynk was busy holding back a cringe at the name but gradually noticed the gapes, the wide-eyes, and the utter shock of the audience. Whether they were scared or thrilled… they were amazed by her.
Something felt… good about this. There weren’t any strings here. These were pure eyes of neutrality right now… at least she hoped they were. If they did begin to oppose her then she would simply make her departure sooner, but they had yet to say anything bad.
A sound, a snapping… no a crackin-… {clapping…} Instinct, no it was… spontaneous. She saw the metal floor below her. It could take the action.
She fell forward, flipping and flipping downward until she hit the floor, driving her arms into the ground, using her palms to brace it from denting. It was not a clank, it was a ring, and it stretched the pause. Ano and the others were figuring out what to do next.
Rynk nearly went into a random routine of her own, but when she raised her head to look at them she saw the couples, kissing, and remembered how sick this country was… like all the others.
The lynx rose into a regular standing position and waited for the others to start up. Oh the crowd cheered, but so suddenly, she hated their joy. She hated herself for thinking so badly, for ruining the moment, but she could not stop it.
The show went on. She did as directed. They danced. The group went through runs, flips, catapults into the air to land on each other’s hands, and many other fabulous feats. All Rynk did now was wait for her opening.
A second tower was starting now. They all lined up behind each other. Their backs were turned to her. Rynk had counted the time it took for them to get to her in the practices. Fifteen seconds was all she had.
Past the curtains, up the wall, on to the roof, leaping and smashing on to the floor below, Rynk made her escape. She dashed forward while tearing at the collar simultaneously. She could not disconnect the wires until this time or their bracelets would alert them. Now there wasn’t exactly a reason not to.
Rynk had made sure to be on the rooftops when pulling it off. If she passed out she would have a better chance of hiding there than the narrow streets below. True to her suspicions, the collar sent charges into her body. It felt like she was pulling out her own veins. Rynk was barely conscious but had to keep pulling. She needed them out.
She did not know if they were all out by the time she collapsed. She could feel nothing anymore. She saw the collar in her hands and wires connected to it, stringing towards her. She could not do anything about it yet. She was not asleep but she was far from fully conscious.
Ano was explaining everything about their group to the young lynx, but Rynk did not pay much attention. She recognized where they were all from. Ano’s skin and accent told everything; Supretan. Inxie was the same though with both of them the names seemed incredibly odd. Ano sounded somewhat Supertan, but Inxie did not in the slightest, and Zapix did not sound like a name at all. Zapix… with her slit eyes and black highlights, was a Geiser; a citizen—former citizen—of Gei Si Heir, the people who took part in the Refine.
Ano caught on to Rynk’s attitude and asked her “Is something wrong?”
The lynx looked over to the tall human and answered “You haven’t kill the wolf, Icken, or did you forget where you came from?” Icken was a term used when referring to a hypocrisy towards one’s kin.
Ano looked towards Zapix then back to Rynk, as Inxie walked in front of the wolf to guard her. “That’s right.” The lynx hissed. “I mean, why should we let the mobian live but not the Hellborns right? I know where you’re from and I bet you can’t even pretend to say you didn’t say a bad word about us.”
“I can actually,” Ano spoke sternly, taking a step towards Rynk. “What are you trying to do? We’re all your enemy?”
“Anyone who does nothing is my enemy.” She replied stubbornly.
“Well that’s really nice, child, but that isn’t going to be tolerate.” Ano held up the controller to Rynk’s collar, and flipped the switch off. “If you have something to say, you might as well say it as loud as you need to. You leave Inxie alone, and stop blame everyone else because you had a bad life. Most people who live here now had a bad life too. That’s why we live here in fact. Emit had ask us to take care of you and we’d like to. We’d like to know you, teach you, and become friends, but if we can’t be friends this is going to be a difficult relationship.”
“You want me to get along with you?” The lynx scoffed. “Get me out of here.”
“We’re not discus this right now. We have practice to get to. You can join us, or sit there. We aren’t going to punish you either way. If you want to leave and fight the whole world, feel free. Emit has his reasons but we aren’t going to torture you into submission. Now if you want to be a part of this, we’re perfectly fine with accept and appreciate you.”
“I thought we weren’t going to-“
“Can we please start… n-now?” Zapix spoke up nervously. Ano looked over to Zapix, seeming a bit surprised after realizing how much time they were wasting. With a sigh he nodded his head and the three backed up to the middle of the room where they began discussing and performing twirls, flips, presses, lifts, and mid-air spirals.
Rynk sat stubbornly at the back wall. She would have left but had no way of really getting anywhere. These people were certainly not interested in getting her out… but… the more she sat, and the more she thought, the guiltier she felt. Sure she’d apologize to someone she thought she had wronged… after she had hurt them, like the lizard, but here these were simply misguided citizens. They weren’t being mean, just stern. It was hard to consider having a friendly relationship with them as they were basically brainwashed prisoners, but she did not have that much of a reason to actually be upset with them. They did not put her here. They did not imprison her. They were simply living their lives. They did not want to hurt her, but they did not want to cause trouble.
Rynk rarely considered that maybe the people who don’t take part in her rebellions had good reasons to keep to themselves. This was a family, and if they broke Emit’s rules they would be in danger from Emit. Ano cared about Zapix, that was evident. Maybe that’s why the orphan lynx was so hostile. Zapix had a father figure to hold and comfort… one that didn’t experiment on her, or trick her into fighting a dishonest war, or enslave her in a giant hotel.
Before the lynx could change her mind however, the day was over and the three were cleaning up. Dinner was had which Rynk attended silently. Ano and Inxie prepared for bed, and Rynk decided to start towards her new room, but was caught by Zapix before entering the new bedroom.
“May I talk to you?” The wolf girl asked.
Rynk felt hesitant to speak. She was not ready to converse She just wanted to go to bed. “No.” She replied grimly.
“Please? I don’t mean to-“
“I’d like to be left alone…”
“But…” Zapix attempted to show a sign of reassurance by placing her hand on Rynk’s shoulder, but the lynx took this a completely different way. Her left foot landing on the wolf’s stomach, and shoved her to the floor.
At first Rynk had her typical look of distain with her, but this was soon replaced with a sorrowful guilty-looking wilt. She pressed her palm to her face. “Sorry- I- I’m so-“ It was too late. The wolf was running away. Now things were going to be harder.
Rynk closed her door and leaned against it, her right hand still pressed against her forehead. Her cringing caused her eye to itch again so she had to keep it open. She wanted to be nice. She wanted to make friends with these people, but she couldn’t. Not here. Not in this place of slaves and subordinates. Her greatest fear currently? Becoming friends with this family only for them say “Emit says you need to be kill now” or “Emit says you need to be hypnotize again” and then performing the act because their king said so.
The next morning, what Rynk expected to happen, happened. Ano pulled Rynk over to a hallway corner, and they began their talk. Rynk interrupted him mid-speech with a partially croaking “Hey… I know what you’re going to say and…” She took a deep breath, “I’m not proud of when I kick her. I thought she was doing something and I was wrong so I react then. You don’t seem like bad people… do… do you actually believe in everything Emit says?”
“I… well, yes.” Ano replied hesitantly, caught off-guard by the response.
“Even the part about his rules not apply to him? About him being allow to do whatever to whoever because he’s your provider?”
Ano did not give a vocal response, but his silence said everything. “Well,” The lynx inhaled, “we aren’t going to be friends then...”
Rynk did not join the dancers for breakfast. She did not plan to join them for practice either. Whether or not she did want feel hostile towards them, she wanted no part in pleasing Emit. That was of course before…
“We’ll be performing at Cкручивание Tокарный Rород.” Inxie informed the group. The only part about that name Rynk understood was “city”, but it sounded like somewhere other than Emit’s Domain. She was also a bit confused why there was an “ing” at the end of perform, but that was unimportant.
“… You mean out of here?” She asked.
“It’s inside of Nekai but outside of Emit’s Domain, yes. We may be citizens of Emit’s Domain, but we aren’t restricted.”
“Wait, people can actually leave?” The young lynx was becoming incredibly confused.
“This is a safe-haven, not a prison.” Ano explained. “One day when the Domain is able to expand in all corners of Mobocan, everything will be at peace and it will be safe to go wherever. Currently however, Emit’s Domain is the most safe of any place on the planet. You know how things are in Supreta, even for regular citizens. Where did you live there by the way?”
“Sem-retches.” The lynx carefully pronounced, putting emphasis on her wording. Ano recognized the name very much so, prompting a small cough of surprise.
“Well-*cmph*” He began to say, “you know what it’s like then. Then again not many people know how Ytaris work. Then there’s Gei Si Heir. Most people think it’s just a paradise of peace, but if anyone upsets that government, they’re gone. That’s how we found Zapix. Then there’s Nekai; a place where if you aren’t married at nine years old, you’re considered old.”
Rynk remembered the marriage rules in Supreta. The youngest there was fourteen, her age, not that she had any form of marriage on the mind, but… it was not mandatory in Supreta. Did people have to get married at that young in Nekai?
With all this talk about different countries, Rynk almost forgot what they were talking about; being stuck in Emit’s Domain. “Wait,” She yanked back, “what about the part where people CAN’T leave this place?”
“Emit takes those that are living terrible lives, and brings them here,” Inxie informed. “He keeps them here until they understand his generosity. Once one understands it, true goodness evol-“
“Okay, you can stop there.” Rynk held up her hand. “I don’t need to hear that garbage.”
Inxie sighed. Ano narrowed his eyes a bit. “That was very rude,” he scolded.
“I don’t care,” Rynk replied. “I don’t hate you people, and I don’t have anything against you, but that doesn’t mean I have to put up with your wacko belief. But, if this means I get to leave this place for a while, let’s get to practicing.”
This presented an issue. Ano realized at that moment that if they were to bring Rynk she would most-definitely attempt an escape. Until now the human was not under the assumption she would be that much of a trouble, but if she was going to be, he would need to make sure things would not go badly.
Practice was delayed for a couple of hours. Rynk spent this time exercising; sit-ups, push-ups, a back-flip or two (until Inxie had her stop before she stomped through the floor with the landings). Zapix and Inxie were chatting amongst themselves for the most part and did their best to avoid getting near the lynx-girl.
While they did not think highly of using the collar-mechanism against Rynk, the two dancers kept the controller in close proximity of themselves in case they needed to. Inxie herself, while protective of Zapix, was incredibly curious of Rynk herself. She went on and on, questioning what happened to the moon-stripes feline, but not to Rynk directly. It was gnawing away at her and so she finally opened Rynk’s door and asked to come in.
“Are you going to talk about Emit and his beliefs?” The lynx asked sternly while in the middle of a leg-stretch.
“No.” They replied.
“Then come on in… this is your house though. I don’t see why you’d have to knock. Isn’t there a rule or something about not having any rules?”
“I… thought you didn’t want to talk about that.” Zapix said faintly, keeping behind Inxie the entire time.
“… Right.” Rynk stood up, stretching her arms out a bit. “What do you want?”
“I was thinking it would be nice if we all talked together.” Inxie suggested as the two stepped to the middle of the room, now facing Rynk.
“You want to get to know me?” Rynk questioned.
“Well yes, if you don’t mind.” The human girl replied.
Rynk crossed her arms. “That depends on why you want to know.”
“I’m just curious about you. I lived in Gei Si Heir most of my life. That’s how I met Zapix. Very little is known about Banshees, and you being one, well… it’s a rare opportunity.”
“… I’m only part Banshee.” Rynk answered hesitantly, though growing more reasonable as she went on. “I was take when I was little and a doctor guy experiment on me. I don’t know if I was a lynx before or a Banshee before. I can’t control sound and I’m not tall as you can tell.”
“A Supretan doctor? Who?” Inxie questioned in interest.
“I don’t remember much during the process, or before it. The company was call ‘Melcro’ so maybe that was his name.”
“I’ve heard that name before.” Zapix murmered.
“You what?” Rynk took a step towards the wolf girl in interest, but unfortunately Zapix in a startle jumped back. “N-no, I’m serious.” Rynk stammered, trying not to seem dangerous by holding her hands up.
“Well…” Zapix relaxed again, “The Gei Si Heir military would talk about how Supertans are always a threat, and when they list off known ‘Supretan Terrorists’ they would mention the name ‘Melcro’ as a… supplier.”
“Sounds about right I guess.”
“Anyway, you don’t remember anything before the doctor?” Inxie attempted to get them back on track.
“Nope. I was only like… eight, though so I don’t think much else happen. I’d tell you both more but that’s all I really think you need to know. I’m only mention that because I doubt it can be used against me and I’m guess if Emit tells you to reveal a secret about me, you will.”
“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?” Inxie huffed.
“If it’s not true, then yeah.” Rynk retorted. “But is it true?”
“… Well, I’m not really sure.”
The sound of the front door opening interrupted the ladies. They all exited the bedroom and met with the entering Ano. “Okay,” He began, giving his attention to Rynk. “We’ll be going on the road and you get to come with us but…” His face scrunched up a bit as he held a breath of reluctance. “we’ll… have to use the collar.”
“As if I’d expect something less from him.” Rynk rolled her eyes while puffing some hair out of her eye.
“I hardly blame Emit for that.” Ano retorted. “Can you at least promise us you won’t try to run off while we’re gone?”
“Sorry, can’t.” She replied immediately.
“Then are you at least willing to finish the dance routines while we’re there BEFORE trying to leave?” He stressed.
“… Sure.” She replied in a very non-serious tone; the kind that should be an obvious sign of the opposite such as “Sure I’ll run into that pile of cacti” or “Sure I’ll ride on a plan in my undergarments”. In this case it was “Sure, I won’t leave in the middle of the dance.” It was a sarcastic sure that she wanted noticed as nothing else.
Unfortunately Ano was too willing to believe her and said “Alright, good. Then let’s get to practicing.” Rynk felt a bit guilty as she watched them all prepare the equipment for their practice. They believed what she just said and while she had no intention of being dishonest, but if she corrected their misunderstanding would that mean she would have a lesser chance of escape? The decision was easy for her; stay dishonest. Say whatever to get out. That did not change how bad it felt for her.
The moon-striped lynx shoved away her conscience for the time-being and joined in with the routines. Ano had her give a demonstration of how experienced she was with choreography, as well as how flexible and fit she was. Rynk told him that they’ll see while they practice. Most of the movements in the first routine involved a very up-close set of movement. The three, and now four, would flip about, twist, jump, and roll, around each other, getting as close as possible without colliding.
This was difficult for Rynk for one very large reason; her arms. No matter how much she kept the rest of herself in check, her arms were very flying about whenever she could not see them in her direct line of sight. She attempted to go through the routines with them crossed, but this simply caused her to lose balance more easily. This would take practice.
The second routine was much easier, as she had much more room. The group would dash and leap about on ropes and ribbons, doing mid-air twirls that would create patterns with the strings and waves surrounding them. It was very similar to the lynx’s training with Art. Rynk prepared to do a triple flip from atop a tall stool, and land into a handstand. She succeeded, but instead of landing her palms, she rammed her fists into the ground.
“Great now we have to repair that.” Inxie groaned. “Why did you punch it exactly?”
“I had combat train, not dainty train.” Rynk replied. Ano had them move on and the practice went on.
It did not take long for Rynk to master the second routine, but unfortunately three days later and the first was still an issue. “Can’t you just… move the routine around so you don’t hit my arms?” She suggested. “I’m pretty sure we can telegraph where they’ll fly about.”
Ano was reluctant but they tried it… and unfortunately it failed. No matter how well they guessed, it was incredibly difficult to instantly dodge something when you’re trying to remember a specific planned movement. “You’ll just have to practice controlling them so they don’t fly everywhere.”
Rynk groaned. She did know how to keep her arms from moving as much but it always made her sore. Not only that, but she would now had to tighten and soften her muscles back and forth in specific positions now. To say the least, it was not a fast transition. In fact it took another few days until this was accomplished. When it was however, Rynk expected that the group would be ready to go out to the normal world.
“We aren’t done.” Ano informed her. “We have to practice with an actual set now, and with costumes on.”
Rynk gaped in irritation, collapsing on the ground beneath her. It made a large thud though she did not seem harmed. Reluctantly, she continued. One more week, and then one half-week after that, they were finally ready to go.
As the group drove out of the Domain, Rynk was kept in the far back with Inxie, the front blocked from their view as to not allow the lynx to see their pathway out. Ano was almost as upset about this as Rynk was, but orders were orders. The lynx did not talk with Inxie but instead went over her options of how to escape.
Rynk remembered the delay in the remote’s signal. While in the car it was turned off. Emit knew that she was not going to risk this family’s life in an attempt of escaping the car. However it was kept on the highest frequency. All it took was a press of a switch and not only would Rynk become weak, but if she accelerated her heartbeat while out of everyone’s sight, the jolt in her heart might just cause it to explode.
The controller was an arm-band with a cap on the top to keep the button from being pressed accidentally. It was as fashionable as the rest of their jewelry, and on the wrists of every member, except for Rynk of course.
Rynk picked at the collar with her claws, making it seem to be a scratch in the back of her neck. It was hidden below her now long hair though even with this cover she had to be very careful. Even if the remote was turned off, the collar itself was still reactive to the pressure and damage. Every time she picked at it, she nearly collapsed.
The first few scratches made a noticeable noise. Inxie was about to question what Rynk was doing but the lynx interrupted her. “Can I lay down?” She asked swiftly, attempting to mask her weariness.
“Why do you need to lie down?” Inxie asked back, putting emphasis on the “lie”. Rynk could not tell if she was referring to dishonesty or an incorrect usage of words.
“I can’t lie… down?” The lynx gave a confused stare.
“Why do you need to?”
“I’m just tired!” Rynk explained, raising her arms in irritation before limping her head to the left and bracing it to her palm, showing off an on-looking pout. “Fine. Forget it. Whatever.” She sighed and went back to her regular position, crossing her arms with a look of anger in her eyes, though not even to seem furious—simply put off—sad almost.
The motions, tone, and guilt, all sunk in deep with Inxie. Not five seconds later out came “Okay. You can lie down.”
Rynk gave a soft nod to the human and shifted on to her back with her hands bracing her head. Rynk knew from experience that human hearing was far less potent than most animobians. With her head and hands muffling the noise, and the current position masking any dreariness, the rest of the trip was spent damaging the collar.
Apparently Rynk scraped off more than she could chew, and discovered that she was waking up at one point. She did not remember if there was a dream before her wake but normally her dreams consisted of a song. None came to mind so perhaps there was no dream at all.
When the lynx awoke, the car had stopped, and Inxie was telling her to get up. She groggily rose and followed them out of the car. They were in an incredibly pale grey area. It was not the kind of grey that Rynk was used to in Semretches—A wet dark grey with black polish and damp corners and streets. It was a sort of dusty grey, a concrete grey. Nothing was very shiny. It was more like the city was inside of a cloud, only there was no cloud.
The buildings were very straight and close together, most being higher than ten stories. The streets were practically white, a quart-looking pavement with squares everywhere. Most everything else that was not grey or white stood out greatly.
The people around wore mostly black or grey themselves, but most also had some sparks of color here and there; a red wrist-band, a green tophat, or a yellow scarf. There were a lot of scarves.
A very unnerving part of the people however was how young so many of them looked. There were young boys and young girls paired with older girls and older boys. At first Rynk thought these were parents with children, which she found incredibly charming at first glance… but… then she realized, these weren’t children. She saw some of these young ones, usually girls, holding babies in their arms. It seemed odd but not incredibly. It was when they kissed each other, the young and older, that she became disgusted.
Rynk remembered when they told her “No young marriage” {Something like that}. Nekai had young marriage, and since there were practically no couple that were both adults, this seemed to be the norm.
Aside from this distraction, Rynk found everything else strangely charming. Something about the whiteness and light grey seemed… clean. “One of the first times we were out here,” Inxie spoke. “we had no band to protect ourselves. They tried to take Zapix from us and sell her off to a husband.”
Rynk noticed Zapix walking further forward, ahead with Ano, as Inxie told the tale. “How’d you get her back?” Rynk asked.
“Ano had to pretend she was his,” The human’s voice nearly broke at the last word. When she continued it was much softer. “He couldn’t sleep for weeks… or stop apologizing.”
“They made him kiss her?” Rynk scrunched her face up.
“No, but it hurt them both none the less.”
“None the less?”
“… Anyway.”
“Anyway what?” Rynk became more and more confused.
“Anyway means none the less.” Inxie replied irritably.
“Oh…” Rynk looked around as they walked. “How close are we? And why did we stop the car?”
“Not too far. White streets aren’t for cars in Nekai.” The human replied, now speeding up her stroll. “Stay close. Nekai may not be as against Banshees as other countries but they’ll still be a problem.”
“Right…”
The two caught up with Ano and Zapix, ending their stroll at a large metal stage in the center of what seemed to be a park. The trees in the park were orange. The leaves were not just orange, but the trunk and branches as well; all the same exact shade. If the shadows each casted were not there it would be hard to tell that they were separate, and some still were.
The trees were so noticeable because they were the only plants in sight. This worried the young lynx. {Where’s the grass…?}
The stage itself had large red curtains and behind them a small house. They unlocked the doors and sat down a set of packages being carried by Ano. The house had two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living-room, and a bathroom; the basics.
“We’ve got three hours to get ready.” Ano informed the group. “If you need to leek do it now.”
One bathroom break later and outfits were being put on. After that came the make-up. After that came the jewelry. Ano wore a black and blue suit with a feathery pattern going from his left stomach-side and spiraling to his right shoulder. His make-up was a star design, with a giant white and black one on his forehead.
Inxie had green. It was a two-piece lime dress with an undersuit of lemon-yellow that made a spiral around her arms and legs. The lime dress had three layers at the bottom, fading in a wave-like pattern. Her make-up was vines, with two underneath and over both eyes, stretching to her ears.
Zapix wore a very pale pink with grey. It was similar to Inxie’s in structure, pink for the main fading dress, and grey for underneath. However it also had a spiral that went around her neck and tail. Her make-up was filled with flowers. Due to her fur, they added multiple designs on her arms and legs. A center pink daisy lay on her forehead.
Rynk wore purple, with the same structure as Zapix and Inxie. The dress was a dark purple, and the undersuit was a semi-dark plumb. She wore no make-up. She did not need it with all of her stripes.
All of them wore three earrings on each ear, two arm-bands on each arm, and a neck-collar, all of which were gold.
Apparently the public was informed of their arrival before even leaving Emit’s Domain. People were crowding the stage with seats set up everywhere. For a brief moment Rynk actually felt nervous. Whether or not Emit was ruining her life, she was not being forced to do any of this. Yes she agreed to the show for other reasons, but for the moment perhaps she could actually enjoy herself?
It was doubtful. Another time perhaps this would be a good fun time, but too many upsetting things were happening. She wanted to get out, and after that find a new place to hopefully live. Unfortunately Nekai was not that place.
Ano gave a speech about how amazing they’ll dance and how proud he was of them. Rynk did not pay much attention. It angered her a little bit, but she kept her temper regular as best she could. The group was put into their positions, the sound-effects played, and the curtains tore open.
Ano dashed forward first, performing a mid-air flip and landing in a slow turning decent. The announcing voice called him “Mist-Nova” (In Russia of course). Next came Inxie, charging into the air, flipping, and landing on Ano’s shoulders. She was “Earth-Stream”. Zapix came third, posing atop Inxie’s shoulders upside down. She was “Life-Petal”.
Rynk knew what they would call her and it took everything in her to not bare teeth at the thought of it, even if it was being spoken in a different language than Singskrit. Still she played her part. With a dramatic uproar of music she charged the fifteen feet of three individuals, and landed her feet to Zapix’s, balancing still and silent. She could not close her eyes. She was not that skilled.
“Moon-Cat!” The announcer yelled, and everything silenced. Rynk was busy holding back a cringe at the name but gradually noticed the gapes, the wide-eyes, and the utter shock of the audience. Whether they were scared or thrilled… they were amazed by her.
Something felt… good about this. There weren’t any strings here. These were pure eyes of neutrality right now… at least she hoped they were. If they did begin to oppose her then she would simply make her departure sooner, but they had yet to say anything bad.
A sound, a snapping… no a crackin-… {clapping…} Instinct, no it was… spontaneous. She saw the metal floor below her. It could take the action.
She fell forward, flipping and flipping downward until she hit the floor, driving her arms into the ground, using her palms to brace it from denting. It was not a clank, it was a ring, and it stretched the pause. Ano and the others were figuring out what to do next.
Rynk nearly went into a random routine of her own, but when she raised her head to look at them she saw the couples, kissing, and remembered how sick this country was… like all the others.
The lynx rose into a regular standing position and waited for the others to start up. Oh the crowd cheered, but so suddenly, she hated their joy. She hated herself for thinking so badly, for ruining the moment, but she could not stop it.
The show went on. She did as directed. They danced. The group went through runs, flips, catapults into the air to land on each other’s hands, and many other fabulous feats. All Rynk did now was wait for her opening.
A second tower was starting now. They all lined up behind each other. Their backs were turned to her. Rynk had counted the time it took for them to get to her in the practices. Fifteen seconds was all she had.
Past the curtains, up the wall, on to the roof, leaping and smashing on to the floor below, Rynk made her escape. She dashed forward while tearing at the collar simultaneously. She could not disconnect the wires until this time or their bracelets would alert them. Now there wasn’t exactly a reason not to.
Rynk had made sure to be on the rooftops when pulling it off. If she passed out she would have a better chance of hiding there than the narrow streets below. True to her suspicions, the collar sent charges into her body. It felt like she was pulling out her own veins. Rynk was barely conscious but had to keep pulling. She needed them out.
She did not know if they were all out by the time she collapsed. She could feel nothing anymore. She saw the collar in her hands and wires connected to it, stringing towards her. She could not do anything about it yet. She was not asleep but she was far from fully conscious.