The World Hates You [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Honker sulked on the sidewalk as people brushed past him. He was just a stray Ace. No one loved him here. He choked back the tears that were threatening to burst forth. He took a deep breath. At least someone had taken care of his wounds from his little scuffle with another Ace.

The swan dog moved forward. He needed to beg for food. Stealing was something he couldn't quite muster yet. He still wanted to desperately cling to his morals. He didn't want to be someone's pet or a handbag. He wanted to be himself, but he couldn't go back to Mommy and Daddy.

He watched as people walked down the streets, completely ignoring his white form. The swan dog stopped in mid-step when he saw someone from a region he'd never seen before. He honked curiously as he approached the scraggly feline.

This was probably a really bad idea, but he made a soft honking sound and looked cute at him.

Lythero sulked like he normally did.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Pawpads struck the ground in an uneven rhythm as the sway-backed feline sauntered down the street, sickly yellow eyes watching his surroundings in an uninterested sort of way. He'd been in this forsaken place for almost a week now, and already he'd left the main drag of the city in favor of the dingy back alleys.

Besides, he'd gotten the information he'd wanted. It had been a discrete transaction, and his purchase was carefully stored away at the hotel he'd rented. No one needed to know what it was he came here to do.

But he needed his excuse for coming, and this place was the perfect place to go through with his plan. In his bag was a small pouch filled with fresh tobacco that he'd brought from the Marsh, and stored carefully away in a different pouch were several small pouches of a fine white powder. That was where his money would come in, from some junkie desperate for just the smallest amount of Golfam heroin.

He leaned back to wait, ears flicked back, a sneer marring his face as he looked around. This was the part of the business he hated. When some movement caught his eye he turned to it hopefully, only to growl what he saw. An Ace, how vile. But then, business was business. "Wot der fek d'yew wan'?[/b]" the feline snarled around his oversized fangs. "Dof a fekkin' Afe like yew effen haff money? If yew don', ge' de fek ou' afore I fekkin fang yew.[/b]" he grinned, showing off the fangs in question. "An' don' giff me does fekkin' puppy-dog eyes, neiver. Won' do yew noffing good.[/b]" What a mangy little creature. He wouldn't get any freebies.

[Kari Muffin]

Honker wasn't quite sure what to do. For a long moment he hadn't been able to process what the man had said. He had honestly never heard such a strong accent before. The swan dog's ears drooped. "I'm sorry...." he said quietly. He made a move to walk away but stopped in mid step.

The swan dog squeaked with horror at the fact that Lythero had just decided to start talking. His horrible mouth just suddenly came out and everything. One day Honker was going to grow up and he would be in charge. Really.

Lythero had something else in mind. "You're a complete and utter clod aren't you?" The parasitic monster said to the Golfram feline. "Your such scum you don't even have the right to talk down to this idiot Ace. Frankly. I'm surprised you can talk at all."

Honker's eyes widened. Shit. Why was Lythero such a horrible jerk?

[carcinoGeneticist]

"'Ehhh, I fout fo. Yew'd be'er be,[/b]" the man cackled, looking rather pleased with himself. He always had a good eye for a beggar, having been one himself before he learned that it was much better to sell drugs than to use them himself. "Be'er be forry, dat if. Iffen yew wasn', I'd take yer fokkin 'ed righ' off, I woul'.[/b]" he continued to stare the Ace down, lip curling to reveal another several centimeters of fang. He was damn proud of his fangs. They were slightly yellowed, but in absolutely pristeen condition. They were his main weapon, after all!

The man had turned his attention away from Honker and was glancing around for a potential customer when he heard the Ace returning. His tattered ears flicked back and he growled low in his throat, the sound a note of very clear warning.

"'o de fek do yew tink yew are?![/b]" the feline snarled as he took a step towards the Ace, every fur on his mangy body standing almost fully erect. It made the feline seem many times larger than he actually was, a trick that years spent in the backwater swamp had taught him. The Ace was nothing more than that, an Ace, so if he pissed Kristoff off... no one would miss him.

"Afef fould fow refpekt,[/b]" he spat, accent only thickening as rage overtook him. "An' yer jus' a fekkin stree' rat. I'll claw fome mannerf righ' back into yer fekkin 'ed.[/b]" The man took another step forward and then he noticed the mouth coming out of the Ace's torso.

He froze. "Wot de fek are yew?![/b]" he cried out in alarm, grabbing a large chunk of debris that lay nearby and pitching it at Honker with all of his strength. "Fek mannerf, yer a fekkin monfter![/b]" Monsters needed to be put down.

[Kari Muffin]

Honker yelped as turned his head to see the angry Golfram cat. It wasn't him who insulted him--Lythero didn't even remotely sound like him! Christ! And now that he saw the mouth sticking out of his torso it just made things worse!

The swan dog didn't have the ability to puff up. And right now he was entirely too small to fight something that large. He was fast enough to dodge the chunk of rock that had been thrown at him. Well, it did nick his right shoulder, but it wasn't enough to stop him from hurrying backwards. He needed to run and hide as fast as possible. However, turning his back on the feline seemed like a bad idea.

Lythero cackled, "You're one to talk about freaks!"

"Shut up Lythero!" Honker squeaked as he decided to bolt as fast as possible away from the feline. Please. Please don't run after.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Oh, now that was just... disgusting. Kristoff cringed to himself as he watched the canine-looking muzzle speak from its location lodged somewhere in the Ace's chest. This horrible creature needed to die, and it needed to die soon and quickly so that it couldn't work its curse on anyone else. As it was, when he finally broke its stupid neck, he'd need to go to Meecha to make sure none of its bad energy stuck to him...

Meecha.

That thought made him stop for a second, but only for a second. He wouldn't kill the horrible creature, no. He would capture it and bring it back to the Marsh, and present it to his dear Meecha. Surely, the gift of a mutated Ace would be enough for her to accept his advances at long last! The very thought made him grin, forgetting the rage that he'd felt only an instant before. With a snarl, he activated his innate ability for speed and lunged after the Ace, long strides bringing him closer and closer until he'd finally caught up, and then...

He lunged, claws extended as he reached out to either grab or trip the creature. Either was fine, so long as he could keep him from running any farther.

[Kari Muffin]

Honker wasn't prepared for any of it. He let out a horrified squeal when the cat slammed down on him. His back was completely pinned as he frantically flailed. He needed to get away before the man killed him!

Lythero was still cackling at the entire situation. One day all these idiots would be bowing under his rule.

"What the hell do you think you're doing! Get off of him you bastard!" said a voice from out of Honker's immediate view. The swan dog flailed a moment. He knew that voice... that voice. His heart skipped a beat, not because of the fear of the man on top of him but for the realization he had made.



A Lakeland sparrow hurried forward from around the corner. He was dressed in a pretty pink corset, had a large bag slung over his shoulder and a rather interesting headband. The expression on his face was one of anger, his glittering purple eyes narrowed. He didn't know exactly what was happening he just saw that a grown man was attacking a kid.

A kid that was a swan dog.... wait a minute? His eyes widened in shock. Oh. Shit. "Let go of him this instant!"

A pitiful honk escaped the Tulgey swan dog. Lythero had stopped his cackling.

[carcinoGeneticist]

When Kristoff felt his paws connect solidly with the small body of the Ace he let out a pleased growl. As a dealer in narcotics, he was sure to hace something that could be used to knock the boy out for the trip back to Meecha... From the way one mouth whimpered and the other mouth laughed it seemed like this thing was two monsters combined into one. It was a real prize, a gift he'd be proud to bring back to his lady.

The man positioned himself to better avoid the swan-dog's bill and second mouth, pressing sharp claws against the back of the boy's head in warning. He looked around him - for now, he'd silence the child with a blow to the head and use the drugs later, he just needed to find something to hit him with - where was the rock he'd thrown before?

At the sound of a voice, the feline growled low with warning, ears flattening against his neck as he turned to see whoever had stumbled upon them. Abruptly his attitude changed - who on earth was that beautiful bird?! Yellow eyes went round as they fell upon glittering purple ones, and the cat hastily removed himself from Honker, head held low and tail swishing. "Ey dere, I din't mean nuffink by it..[/b]" he said, grinning nervously. "'ef fome kinna monfter or fomfink, I ju'... juft want'a take 'im 'ome, he'f clearly go' no 'ome for 'im, fee?[/b]" damnit, how had he pissed the owner of those beautiful eyes off so badly?!

[Kari Muffin]

Using his Diamond charm to recover he gave the feline a rather seductive smile. "But good sir, using force on a child is something a gentlemen like yourself shouldn't do." The sparrow moved forward as gracefully as he could muster.

Honker was shivering on the ground. He couldn't look at his big brother when he was like this. Lythero was going to screw everything up for him. Why did the world hate him so much.

Lythero was still furious. He always was. "Everyone here is a bigger freak than you dog." He growled as the sparrow drew closer.

Ez stopped in his tacks. His fist tightened for a brief moment. Zane had told him what happened the night Honker left. Something had bitten him when he had touched the little swan dog. The Lakeland sparrow let out a small sigh as he looked down at the shivering little canine. "You shouldn't run away like that. You just get into trouble."

Honker was confused but he didn't look up. He simply sniffled and started to cry.

Ez turned back to the feline. "He's a precious gift from a Corvie friend of mine you see. The leash I had him on broke--collar and all--and the poor little boy must have been starving all this time!" Honestly. In another life Ez should have been an actor. "Thank you so much for finding him sir."

"You lying twit!" Lythero hissed. But honestly. Who was going to listen to a tumor like him.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Kristoff let out a strangled-sounding meow, a rather pathetic sounding noise coming from a cat of his size and stature. Slowly, his fur began to flatten and he watched the Ace lay on the ground with a pathetic expression but only for a minute - he wasn't willing to bring his eyes away from the beautiful sparrow, not yet. "Beg yer pardon,[/b]" he said in his soft growl of a voice, looking thouroghly shamed. "Fwear to yew, I din' mean nuffink at all of it, I jus'... just was gon' take 'im to de loft Afe plafe, th'... th' poun'.[/b]"

He laughed feebly. "Bu' den yew comef alon', innit nife? For de li'l one? Takef ou' de mi'le man of de 'hole equafion, don' it?[/b]" Damnit, this meant that he would be going home with no money made from his sales and no gift for his Meecha. He was a waste of space.

But hope was not lost yet, and he turned a hopeful smile onto the sparrow's purple eyes. Surely, a person with such shining beauty would take pity upon him? "Fir? Fir, I haf a queftion for yew...[/b]" he began, putting on his most charming smile. "Coul' I perhapf afk yew for a reward fer findin' yer li'l Afe? Perhapf fome coin for a poor be'ar like me? Or... maybe one of dose nice feavers of yers?[/b]"