The Mimic in Monsterland

I legitimately have absolutely no idea what is going on. Who is this lady? Why did she hit me? The back of my head was still slightly throbbing. I rubbed it and looked at my heath bar. Damn, those smacks brought my health down like 3%! I turned over to the strange mouse-nosed woman who was leading me through the town. Are all the women in this city so scary?

Now that the excitement was over, I finally took some time to examine the woman. She wasn’t very tall, taller than what's-his-head that she brought along, but not by much. She had her shock white hair so tightly bound in a bun that I wondered if it hurt. She had a mouse-like nose, which should look odd on a human’s face yet it didn’t look out of place. Heck, she was honestly kinda pretty, in that librarian way. She was missing the glasses and pencil skirt, but doubt they have those on Kniyas. Her clothes were the basic medieval style clothing, a red cloth long sleeve shirt, a belt hung over her shirt with a small knives tucked in it, and some black pants. She had her sleeves rolled up tightly and neatly, revealing her forearms. They were covered in fur the same shade as her hair.

She must have noticed my staring as she looked back at me. That fierce and fiery rage she showed earlier all gone, now replaced with an indifferent look. I awkwardly opened my mouth and started speaking. “So… where are we going?”

“Not now. We will speak when there aren’t as many eyes on us.”

“But I don’t even know your name. Or his.” I pointed to our short blonde companion who looked just as confused as I was. And mumbling something about how something took all morning. He was no longer in his armor, wearing clothing much like the mouse woman's.

“Hey, ask her how she knows Len.” Tutor spoke up.

I slowed my pace down, letting the other two take the lead. I whispered to Tutor.

“What do you mean? She hasn’t said anything about him.”

“Were you not paying attention? After she smacked you she whispered in your ear.”

I tilted my head, trying to remember. I was so flooded with nervous tension by the whole, being surrounded by spears and very angry looking guards, thing to notice the quiet words of a pissed off lady who, at the time, just smacked the shit out of me. A little trying on my already bad listening skills in Apis form.

“Could I get a summary?” But my question must have came out at a louder volume than I meant for it to. The woman’s gaze fell on me after the words left my mouth. I turned my head and whistled. She shook her head and started speaking to the teen.

“Real smooth, you dork.” Tutor said with a giggle. “She said to play along and that she would take you to see Len.” I nodded.
And how does she know who I am? Apart from Len, no one has seen me in this form. I scratched the back of my head with my tail.

My eyes wandered along the streets. The buildings looked like they came right out of a fantasy game. Each one, made out of wood and stone. I was even walking on a cobblestone road. A grin grew on my face. I really wanted to break off from this lame group and go explore. Climb some walls. Run along the rooftops. Play in some of the trees littered about. The grin turned into a full toothed smile as I started to venture toward a building that had some vines hanging off it. Perfect.

But before I could indulge, a hand with great velocity found itself on the back of my skull. “Owwww.” I made the most incredulous look I could. ”What was that for?”

“You seemed to be getting distracted. And in all of my time leading and training young ones like yourself, I haven found light physical punishment most efficient when handling your type.”

“And what type is that, huh?”

Her visage grew dark for a split second, then resumed its indifferent state. Well that is terrifying.

She raised her hand once more. I threw my arms and tail behind my head.

“Okay, Okay, I get it. No distractions.”

She lowered the furred appendage and sighed. “Look, once we get out of this district we can talk more candidly. For now be patient.”

I nodded in response and we all continued on. I would have to settle for staring at the awe inspiring cityscape for now. Poor me.

Not long after, We found ourselves in front of a huge metal gate. It was a portcullis gate like those in medieval castles and currently open. The walls surrounding the gate were made from one of the giant roots coming out of the Capitol Building tree. Still can’t believe that’s its name. So mundane. I was expecting something like Yggdrasil, you know, really dig into that high fantasy trope.

The roots climbed about 30 feet in the air. Bet I could climb that. Little miss mousey must have noticed my thoughts. She cleared her throat pointedly. I lowered my head, but kept my eyes on the roots. I'll be back. Those roots will be conquered.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Really, must you be so similar to him?”

“Who?” She ignored my question and walked up to the guards. Each carried a spear, but one of them held it kind of clumsily. The guard in question had big padded hands like I did in Ursa form. Why carry the spear then? The other guard looked at the woman. She gave him a curt nod. He responded in kind and we walked through.

The root was much wider than I first thought. It was hard to grasp the actual size of the roots from the top of the tree. But these roots were massive, it was a good 20 feet to the other side of it. But that does make sense. That tree is incredible. The roots would have to be that size. How much water does it need?

We arrived on the other side while my mind ran through other questions about the scientific nature of the tree. I barely noticed that my guide had stopped.

There was a lot more hustle and bustle on this side of the gate. People of all shapes and sizes were running around. People sat in front of pop up tents, shouting about the different wares they had for sale. It must be a mercantile district of the city. I didn’t get a view of it from my window in the tree.

Some vendors were selling food, others weapons and armor. I was about to walk up to someone selling some odd colored fruits. They looked like blue and purple apples. Another clearing of the throat came from the scary mouse lady. “This way.”

She led me and blondie down an alleyway. The sounds of the street died down and she stopped us in front of what I think was a storefront. The sign on the door said Gran’s Good Garbs in Kniyan. I felt a small pang of sadness while reading the name.

The lady opened the door and a chime rang. “Welcome, Welcome. Give me a moment.” Someone said from behind the counter. The store was filled with different kinds of clothes. From soft, cloth basic clothes to intricate designed leather armors. I walked up to an outfit that I recognized. It looked just like the armor and clothes I had on when I first arrived on Kniyas. Same white shirt, black pants, and leather jacket.

“Alright what can I do for… Oh Daila. Hello dear, what brings you around.” I turned to look at who was speaking. It was an elderly woman with dark brown skin and long straight black hair, with some grays poking out here and there. She wore an immaculately colorful sleeveless shirt. Admittedly, I don’t know much about making clothes or dying them. But I can’t imagine it was easy, especially using medieval age technology. She must be a master.

My eyes caught her gene trope. She had feathers running down her arms. A mixture of brown and white feathers ran from the back of her hands up to her shoulders.

“Greeting Mrs. Warbler. Sorry to intrude, but may we see the selection in the back.” The elderly woman’s smile never faded, but her eyes changed slightly. A code?

“Sure thing, let me get the door.” Mrs. Warbler came around the counter and walked up to the door, locking it and returning to the counter. She kept the counter latch open and the mouse lady gestured toward it.

I walked through it and into a door. The door led to some poorly lit stairs. A chill went down my spine. Yep, this is fine. Totally fine. Definitely not a murder basement. One of the stairs creaked as I put my weight on it. I’m going to die. Resigning to my fate, I carried on.

Gratefully, the actual basement wasn’t as poorly lit as the stairs. And instead of torture implements, there was a variety of cloth rolls and tanned hides hanging on racks. There were a few tables with what looked like sewing supplies on them. Different sized hooks and needles and spools of thread.

A let out a big sigh. The elderly woman walked up to me and looked me up and down for a moment. I’m not sure what she was looking for or at. She shook her head after she slapped the side of my leg.

“These are much too small. Who made these for you?”

“Umm, I kinda just grabbed them.”

The woman made a ghastly expression. “Tell me you don’t like this…this… oh I don't even have words for this abomination of an outfit. These ridiculous pants and that tasteless sigil.”

Where is this sigil people keep going on about? I can’t see anything like that on the top.

I looked down at the armor for what felt like the hundredth time today before the mouse lady, whose name I still don’t have, spoke up.

“Mrs. Warbler, thank you again. But we have some pressing business to attend to. Actually if you wouldn’t mind, we do need to get him some different clothes.”

The elderly woman, whose disgusted gaze never once left my clothing for a second, nodded her head. “Is he the one Len spoke of?”

“Yes.”

“Oh then I know just what to bring you. Give me a moment.” She scurried up the stairs.

The blonde just shrugged his shoulders and moved over to a large table with nothing on it. It was placed on the far side of the basement, away from all the tailoring stuff. Six wooden chairs were placed around it. The woman sat down at the head. The teen sat next to her on one of the sides. She beckoned me over, pointing at the chair across from the teen.

“Please sit Mr. Foster. We have much to discuss.”

——

The girl made her way through the busy merchant district, trying to get to one of the alleys. She made a decent haul today and wanted to count. Once she was sufficiently hidden by Gran’s shop, she sat on the fenced off patio on the side of the store and pulled out the bags of coin she lifted.

She whistled. “Good Payday today.” She counted the coins. “212 silver.” She crossed her arms, her finger thumping. She shook her head. “It’s still not enough.” An exhausted breath left her nostrils.

This wouldn’t barely put a dent in what she owed that bastard. “Asshole.” She collected the coins and shoved them in the hidey hole she had made under one of the bricks on the patio. She had little caches like this throughout the city.

She pulled out her notebook and calculated the new total. She closed it and looked at the cover. It was at one point blue, but the amount of wear, tear and dirt that covered it made it look almost black now. A gift from…she shook her head. Now is not the time for that.

The sun was starting to set, and she had one more place she wanted to hit before calling it quits for the day. It was one of the new builds in the Academy District. In the next hour or so, the crafters would call it quits. She would see if they left anything valuable in the building. The bluebloods who contracted the crafters for this normally left some treasures behind.

It was a risky play. There were typically a few brutes patrolling, but she was good. And she needed money now. Morn’s deadline was approaching fast. She didn’t have time to do things the safe way.

She left when the sun fell under the horizon.