The Slums were a place not many cared to visit. It wasn't a vacation destination, it wasn't a luxury retreat, heck, it wasn't even at the same level of a sleazy motel. Everyone who came to live here had done so for one of two reasons. They were either here to be forgotten--running from law, family, or threats-- or they were here because they had been forgotten. Orphans of war, homeless, veterans down on their luck. No matter their background they all coexisted somewhat calmly in the trash-heap of a city the rest of society had forgotten about.
Julian supposed that's why she was here...though it was hard to be forgotten when no one ever really knew you existed in the first place.
The small black Kuhna picked her way carefully through the alley of smashed alcoholic bottles and refuse--her eyes and ears ever darting for danger. It wasn't easy being a person here, but as a Kuhna she could slide by a little more easily. Stealing food was simple when no one seemed to notice you in the first place, so was finding a safe and dry place to spend the night. She pulled her foot back suddenly as her train of thought was shattered by the sharp prick of glass on one of her pawpads. Not careful enough, but she hadn't been walking fast. The wound was too shallow to even be considered a scratch this time.
It was this pause that allowed something to catch her eye. A glint of something metallic in one of the garbage heaps across the alley, and a bit of soaking wet stuffing that had fallen to the ground. Julian crossed quickly, using her paws to dig through the trash until she unearthed the pair. A small plush ripped to shreds by some bored Lucain pet, no doubt...and a strange little thing that looked like it should be a windup toy. But there was no key or keyhole. She leaned in, taking each one by one in her teeth to pull them free. The plushie she had great doubts of saving...but the little metal trinket...now that she could save.
"Don't worry, you've found a friend," she confided in the two as if they might respond to her. They were words she'd longed to hear herself...but saying them to something else, even inanimate, made her feel a little better.
Julian supposed that's why she was here...though it was hard to be forgotten when no one ever really knew you existed in the first place.
The small black Kuhna picked her way carefully through the alley of smashed alcoholic bottles and refuse--her eyes and ears ever darting for danger. It wasn't easy being a person here, but as a Kuhna she could slide by a little more easily. Stealing food was simple when no one seemed to notice you in the first place, so was finding a safe and dry place to spend the night. She pulled her foot back suddenly as her train of thought was shattered by the sharp prick of glass on one of her pawpads. Not careful enough, but she hadn't been walking fast. The wound was too shallow to even be considered a scratch this time.
It was this pause that allowed something to catch her eye. A glint of something metallic in one of the garbage heaps across the alley, and a bit of soaking wet stuffing that had fallen to the ground. Julian crossed quickly, using her paws to dig through the trash until she unearthed the pair. A small plush ripped to shreds by some bored Lucain pet, no doubt...and a strange little thing that looked like it should be a windup toy. But there was no key or keyhole. She leaned in, taking each one by one in her teeth to pull them free. The plushie she had great doubts of saving...but the little metal trinket...now that she could save.
"Don't worry, you've found a friend," she confided in the two as if they might respond to her. They were words she'd longed to hear herself...but saying them to something else, even inanimate, made her feel a little better.