The sun peaked over the hills, radiating gold across the barren landscape as Kita and Raya travelled to the next city. Fully supplied with a tent, food, water and a change of clothing- Kita wasn't expecting Jan to be taken to a different city, he must be precious to the raiders for them to have made this trip. Sounds like a logistical nightmare.

  "Will the myst pass through here?" Kita asked Raya.

  "Not yet," Raya responded, pointing to the horizon on her right. "When it does it will come from the South,"

  "How do you know that?"

  "The stars. Depending on their alignment. The myst will generally travel from East to West, or South to North. But this can vary slightly,"

  "Of course,’ Kita said with her posh voice. ”Are you familiar with the fact that it grows larger with each rotation?"

  “Oh, so you can learn new things,” Raya chuckled, “Yes this is true, although not many are aware of it,”

  "You must know because of that fancy, royal education you got,"

  "It is primarily from experience, but my fancy education did teach me a lot,"

  "You can probably do large calculations and stuff with your mind, huh?"

  "Something like that," Raya replied.

  "Well then, you can manage our coin," Kita chuckled.

  "Oh, you’re giving me permission?” Raya raised an eyebrow

  “Well, a good leader delegates,”

  “Unless we want all of our coin spent on an assortment of soups, it’s for the best that I am in charge of the coin,"

  "That wouldn't be a bad use of coin," Kita answered.

  "No, it would be an expensive one,"

  "Coin is made to be spent, no?"

  "On more than just food, Kita," Raya chuckled.

  "Sure. There were a few pretty men and women I wouldn't mind spending my coin on either,"

  "Of course," Raya grunted, "And after the sex, we can die of starvation,"

  "Were all of your people immune to having a good time?" Kita asked, prodding at Raya.

  "I'll have you know that our national celebrations were unrivalled. People would travel from distant regions to attend them,"

  "Such a well-mannered Princess could never participate in such buffoonery," Kita’s posh voice returned.

  Raya chuckled, reflecting on her days of royalty with a prancing smile. "Back then, I wasn't the most well-behaved Princess,"

  "Oh? You were a rebellious heir?"

  "I would often drink to the point of inebriation. Whether I was at a celebration, at the castle or even on the battlefield,"

  "An alcoholic Princess. I'd love to see that," Kita laughed.

  "I've reformed since then," Raya chuckled.

  "Did Mother and Father approve of your behaviour?"

  "They didn’t know... No one did. In my drunkenness, I would successfully win battles, entertain my family at the dinner table, socialize with my citizens, and spearhead the council on behalf of my Father,"

  "Heavy is the crown, huh?" Kita asked, stunned that this polite, patient Princess was a productive alcoholic.

  "I presume you don't drink?" Raya chuckled.

  "Ugh, no," Kita scoffed, "I prefer to alter my consciousness, rather than dull it,"

  "The expectations everyone had for me were overwhelming." Raya said, scratching the back of her neck, "My family always expected me to be the star of the family. Always smiling and strong. My soldiers expected me to be brave… And ruthless in the face of any foe. And my people expected me to understand them and their needs. Despite how they would ebb and flow." She shrugged, "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't overwhelming… Dulling my mind was the only way I could cope with it all,"

  "Are you drunk right now?" Kita squinted in jest.

  Raya laughed, "I no longer carry that burden. I only drink for leisure when it is available,"

  "Way to dodge my question,"

  "You'd know whether or not I was drunk. I'm much more susceptible to its effects these days,"

  "No longer reliable in combat?" Kita asked.

  "I still fight with skill… But I may be a tad clumsy,"

  "A drunken, Warrior Princess," Kita laughed, "There has to be a joke for this," She added, rubbing her chin as she contemplated.

  The stars beaded the darkening dome above them as a gust of wind blew past Raya and Kita. Kita turned her head to what she hoped wasn’t the South when she saw a violent streak of flashes amongst a blanket of clouds over the horizon.

  "Please tell me those are just clouds," Kita said, pointing into the distance.

  "Thunderstorms often accompany the myst,"

  "So the winds suggest a thunderstorm?"

  “Not exactly,” Raya responded, “It will not be carrying clouds in about seventy rotations from now. But there is a simple saying- If you can feel the winds of the myst, you are too close,"

  “Where should we set up the tent?” Kita asked, squinting her eyes as the wind transitioned into a consistent push.

  “Just beyond there,” Raya said, pointing to a lowered part of the landscape.

  They arrived at the sight a few moments later and scrambled to assemble the tent. Raya did most of the work whilst Kita did whatever she assumed was ‘helping’. She did, however, start the fire in the wood burner with a few dead tree branches that she’d nearly gotten lost trying to collect. They successfully made camp before the shadowy storm blew overhead- beating against the tent as it tried to devour all that was in its path.

  "How do the cities escape this?" Kita asked, glaring worriedly at the shaking fabrics.

  "I'm not certain. A combination of weather analysis and the alignment of the stars,"

  Kita's eyebrow raised, "How the hell does the alignment of the stars determine where the myst flows?"

  "I'm no observer. I don't understand the ways of the beads in the sky," Raya chuckled.

  Kita wouldn't consider herself 'unintelligent' but she knew she was not the brightest flame in the fire. Using the stars to guide the motion of a 'sandstorm' is a truly strange design. They spent the rest of the night chatting and sharing nuts and water before they fell asleep.

  The next day, they continued their journey and after nearly half a day, they had a few hours before the myst would pass over again. Fortunately, Raya identified the location of a city she had once heard of- located at the base of a nearby mountain with a small cave entrance.

  A soft light radiated from deep inside the cave as the surrounding fog of the impending myst slowly started to limit their vision.

  "Ah, I love camping with strangers all around me," Kita sighed, and Raya laughed- Thinking Kita's joking.

  These cave dwellers are probably poor and smelly. Ugh, she'd rather sleep in the myst than deal with the pungent smell her mind imagined much too vividly.

  "Can't we just camp out here," Kita groaned.

  "Are you worried they'll steal the coin you no longer have?" Raya's sarcasm had Kita rolling her eyes.

  "Not all of us had servants to bring beautiful men and women to the bedroom in our castle, your Heiness,"

  Raya chuckled, "Our tipi isn't strong enough. The myst will be quite forceful tonight,"

  "Have you ever seen anyone get consumed by the myst?" Kita found herself curious about watching someone die in such a horrific way. Maybe she could cast a spell that does something similar.

  "I have," Raya responded, to Kita's surprise. "It's quite gruesome,"

  "Oh yeah? Was it a friend of yours? Family maybe?" Kita chuckled, "Some of your citizens?"

  "Not quite,"

  "Who then?"

  "You," Raya responded, passing a smug smile to Kita.

  "Seriously?" Kita asked in awe.

  "Indeed," Raya responded. "I couldn't get to you in time, but when the myst passed. I found your… mangled body in the dirt,"

  "How'd I get caught in it?"

  "You didn't want to sleep in a cave with people 'lesser' than yourself, and opted to challenge the myst,"

  "Haha, very funny," Kita replied, thinking Raya was messing with her. "What'd it do to me?"

  "It melted away most of your skin and muscle. So much of it had deteriorated by the morning, I could see the beat of your heart through the gaps in your ribcage. Your body used over three hundred souls to stay alive throughout a single night,"

  "Woah, that's pretty gross," Kita chuckled.

  "It was," Raya laughed.

  Ahead of Kita, the cave entrance peaked at the same size as one of those villainous office doors. It tunnelled deep into the cave and they squeezed their way through as the walls tightened.

  Kita poked her head out the exit of the slender hallway, stumbling out to a gargantuan sight. From her elevated position, she witnessed the largest cave she'd ever seen- as far as she knew. Much wider than the canyon, an entire city expanded amongst an isolated biome of glowing rivers and tipis scattered amongst this seemingly subsurface world.

  At the cave's ceiling, dozens of large, circular tents hung suspended on chains as though they were the eggs of some ancient beast. Interconnected with walkways, their only link to the ground was long, steel wires that lead up to platforms amongst the orb-shaped homes. She could see a figure in the distance, smaller than the tip of her finger, rapidly climbing up one of the wires with some sort of harness at their waist.

  "This isn't as small as you made it seem," Kita responded. Staring into the naturally illuminated glows of purple and sapphire, coupled with the accenting glow of orange lights scattered in homes and pathways throughout the city.

  "It's grown a lot since I was last here," Raya said, with an expression as perplexed as Kita's.

  "When was that?" Kita chuckled," When they'd just found it?"

  "... Yeah," Raya stammered.

  Kita raised both her eyebrows as she whistled in shock, "Alright then, Grandma,"

  Raya chuckled, rolling her eyes to look at Kita, "You're older than I am,"

  At the farthest end of the city, a large stairway led up to a populated marketplace that was occupying a low, but large platform that looked as if it was once a gigantic boulder.

  "Food," Kita commanded, seeing the marketplace.

  "I'll set up the tipi," Rays added. "Bring something back for me,"

  "Where are you thinking of setting up?"

  "Over there," Raya pointed at a lesser occupied part of the common area. Beside the glowing lake.

  "Alright," Kita nodded, then headed down the pathway that led to the marketplace.

  °?°?°?

  Kita slouched over as she made it up the last step to the marketplace, huffing heavily thanks to her poor stamina. When she raised her head she was greeted by an expansive marketplace. Stalls and stands with food and different ornaments on sale, alongside Tipi selling clothes, weapons, and all the goodies Kita could imagine. It would be tough for Kita not to spend all of this coin Raya has entrusted to her. Maybe I should have been the one to set up the tent.

  She slowly walked past the plethora of stalls selling all sorts of decorative items- Making her contemplate a future in which she settled down and decorated a cute tipi with all of this useless crap she could collect. Figurines and hanging sculptures made of polished stone with glowing liquid, flowing in all directions through the stone. Kita stepped up to the table of a stall that caught her attention and gently placed her hands on a… bird. A polished dark stone accented with a purple liquid glow, flowed among its spread wings. It was shaped like that obnoxious one she'd met- Rayn. She remembered.

  "Many dream of soaring the skies," said a young, dark-skinned man with short white dreadlocks and an amalgamation of turquoise and white robes draped across his body.

  "I'm not the dreaming type," Kita responded.

  "You gaze at this piece with the eyes of one," He smiled.

  "Did you make it?" She asked.

  "I did," He nodded.

  She lifted the piece closer to her face. Casting a soft purple light onto her nose as she watched this liquid dance amongst the fine details and patterns of the sculptures.

  "What is that stuff?" She asked. "It’s thicker than water, but equally as transparent- despite its purple tone,"

  "Most believe it flows from the depths of the cave," He lifted a larger one of his sculptures. "It does hydrate us, but some believe it does more,"

  "More being…"

  "We call it, Vhifet. The next life source. We see it as our world's message to us. One of future abundance. A world better than the one of the old humans. If one is to drink Vhifet, their soul will rejoin our world when the time is right, and they will be chosen to experience the era of Vhifet."

  "Hmm," Kita mumbled, in an interested way. "The last thing I would want is to come back here,"

  "You're not of faith?" He asked.

  "The way of gods is not my concern," She responded.

  "I do not mean faith in god. Do you have faith in a good future?"

  "I'm not so sure I'll have one," She dropped her eye contact, taking note of the numbness her missing soul had left. Incompleteness trickled through her like an itch she could never reach. "All that exists is now,"

  "Yes, but you are not designed to only perceive now. You need not work for your future but you must believe in it,"

  Kita glanced up at the guy. He had a way with words. If Kita was any more downtrodden, she'd have been converted on the spot. Drinking the slime water and whatever other weird rituals they probably have. But, no faith will get her soul back. To her knowledge, most faiths require their participants to have souls anyway and she's not exactly suited for the lifestyle.

  "How much for this?" Kita asked, holding up the little Rayn statue. Trying to ignore the idiotic ramblings of her mind.

  "Twenty-one coin," He smiled.

  "Is a meal included? She asked, raising an eyebrow at the price.

  The man laughed, raising his hand to his chest as his head leaned back. "Since we had a lovely conversation, I can give it to you for Fifteen,"

  Kita chuckled at the man's animated behaviour. "Alright, Fifteen it is,"

  She swung her backpack around and grabbed some coin out of a pouch.

  "Here you go," She said, taking her hand out of the bag and reaching out to him, "Fifteen coin,"

  The man reached his hand out to collect the coin, and in doing so, his fingers collided with Kita's. Inducing a sudden lapse in Kita's vision- She couldn't see, or even feel her body anymore.

  There was only darkness.

  Kita looked down to her hand, where the Rayn statue should be but instead, she was holding a basket with a few vegetables and eggs. A little confused, she reached for her head and felt a hair band wrapped around it as her hair draped freely over her shoulders.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  What was I doin'-

  “Here you go, Kita,” A voice interrupted her thought.

  She spun in a panic, raising her hands to guard.

  “Oh”, she responded as her eyes came upon the vast plantations and animal kraals, tightly surrounded by a luscious forest.

  “You’re too young to be going crazy, my sweet,” said an old lady who was placing a few slices of ham into Kita’s basket.

  “A’jem offered a generous cow recently, so there is a little extra for everybody today,” The old lady smiled, with her wrinkled forehead and white clothing.

  Kita smiled, “Thanks, Ami. Did you do something with your hair? It's pretty,”

  “Thank you, my sweet”, Ami giggled as she pushed her grey hair behind her ear.

  “Today is the recurrence of me and A’jem. When the dots of Yeo appear in the night sky, we are reminded of our bond.”

  “Yeo?” asked Kita.

  “I won’t be able to give you the full story today, my sweet- But according to the scriptures, Yeo is the spirit of provision, and due to our bond matching on this day- we are tasked with the provision of the crops,"

  “I didn’t know the spirits provided our tasks?”

  Ami made her way to the nearby pile of greens that had been plucked.

  “They once did… Today, they seem to be dealing with other matters,”

  “What matters?”

  Ami chuckled, Carefully rooting some of the nearby crops and placing them into a basket beside her.

  “I’m sure your Mother would like those recipes to make breakfast, Kita. We can explore your curiosity at another time”.

  “Oh... Of course. Thanks for the extra slices, Ami.” She said, turning to make her way back up the hill.

  “M’pai Yeo Ket’p prauvhishk,” Ami calls out to Kita. May Yeo continue to provide. Kita’s mind translated.

  On her way up the hill, she could see above all the trees surrounding Ami’s farm, with the sol casting a warm, orange light against the pinnacle of the whispering greenery. The village resided atop a flat hill, making the walk quite steep and suited for the youth of the village. At the top of the trail, she could see the entire surrounding area. The greenery extended far beyond where she initially thought it ended. She walked this path every day, Yet it seemed so unfamiliar now. The town reached from the North, round to the East and South side of the hilltop. To the west is a stretch of mountains leading straight up north. Kita had been told that the sea resided to the South, and she’d been dying to see it for the first time. Ta’ah and I should make the trip sometime. She arrived on the Eastern side of the village and walked up to two large, interconnected tipis. She walked through the entrance draped with beads that clattered like a soft rain as she stepped through them. Her heartbeat rose as she passed through this uncannily familiar place. She knew she lived here, but it felt like she hadn't been here in a while.

  There was wooden art on every countertop and suspended from the ceiling of every room. Some are much bigger than others, occupying a space on the floor but standing as tall as the shelves and cupboards. In the centre of the ceiling is a chandelier, with dozens of fireflies circling its nest in the centre.

  As Kita stepped into the hall of the connected tipis, she could see a lady seated in the other room in front of a small fire in the middle. Kita could only see the back of her head, and hear a chopping sound emanating from the lady's lap… she was preparing a meal. Is she?- Kita's eyes widened in shock as she recognized the back of her lady’s head. Sitting in the chair she always sat in when she chopped vegetables for breakfast and dinner. Kita stumbled backwards, and the basket of meats and vegetables slipped out of her hand, crashing to the floor as a plethora of coin spilt out.

  Surprised by the coin in her basket, she looked back up to see if the lady noticed the mess, but was met with the face of a man, looking at her with concern as he mouthed some words she couldn't make out. What is this? She realized something was off. She was not really here… Was she? The fabrics of the tipi around her slowly dissipated to reveal the bodies of shoppers and residents all around her. She tried to glance past the man's head, at the lady still sitting in the chair- But all these tables and people got in the way.

  "Mom?" Kita asked, catching the ladies' attention as she started disappearing.

  "Perfect timing, Ki," Her soft, loving voice responded as she slowly turned her head. Kita's heart raced, as the lady slowly turned around to see her- But before Kita got the chance to see her face again, she was back in the cave. Everything came back to her like a vortex as she heard the man's panicked voice.

  "Miss, are you okay?"

  What just happened? Kita tried to recall why the shopkeeper was so concerned. Noticing that her hand was trembling uncontrollably- She quickly put her hand behind her back, hoping the man didn't notice. Faint images dissipated in her mind as the feeling of an unfamiliar memory faded away. She was tired. That's all.

  "I'm fine," Kita stepped away from him. Tilting her head to see past him, only to see shoppers and passersby. What did she see? The experience slipped away from her like a forgettable name, leaving her with questions and vague ideas. She crouched down to pick up all the coin she'd dropped, then stood back up with her arm outstretched. Hoping the man would just take the coin and go on with his day without trying to get all religious about what just happened.

  He squinted in confusion, taken aback by her strange behaviour. Then he looked down at her hand, back up at her.

  "Thank you for your business, Miss,"

  Kita nodded her head, without saying a word. Anything she'd try saying would slur out of her mouth and make things more awkward. Pacing away from the man's stall with haste, she massaged her temple; straining under the weight of her worrying and thinking. For a brief moment, she wasn't here. Where was she? Why can't I remember? She didn't want to lose it. She sat on the floor, amongst the busy shoppers, taking a deep breath before closing her eyes and concentrating on the fading memory. Thinking of the most immediate difference between that world and her own. The greenery. Air that was so… fresh. Every breath felt rich.

  "A farm?" Kita inquired, vaguely envisioning an unfamiliar old lady who accompanied it.

  She tried to recall further. Who was the lady? It was lost to her… But, a word came to mind.

  "Yeo," she said to herself, uncertain of the meaning as the sound rolled from her lips.

  A numbness trickled in her stomach- creating the urge to throw up in discomfort. There was something inside of her that she desperately needed to eject, but it was trapped beyond her body.

  "Mother?" She whispered to herself. Her eyes widened as she recalled what came next, and the numbness grew larger- a good and bad sign. I saw my Mother. What did she look like? Kita couldn’t place a face or even a hair colour. She was certain she saw her, but she also knew she didn't. This may all be a daydream. This hollow feeling was irrational. Why would she miss someone she couldn't remember? She knew nothing about her Mother, yet the thought of whoever that might be made Kita feel… Sad? Is this sadness? The distance between herself and her emotions was larger than she knew. She should know what sadness felt like and why she was sad… Right? Kita rose to her feet, more confused by the details she barely recalled. It was unnecessarily frustrating. She'd rather go about her day than continue straining her mind over nonsense. All these thoughts of family life, religion and her past are a part of her that she couldn’t deal with all at once. She was not built for that life anyway. Someone who had no grasp of their emotions or sense of self wasn’t fit for a 'regular' life. No, most people in this world haven’t had their lives taken from them. They haven’t had their entire sense of being wiped clean, like a dirty rag. Nobody could truly understand what she was going through. Nor would they understand what she would have to do to get it all back. She was a monster. A killer.

  But, it was the only way for her to get her soul back... I must get it back.

  Every beat of Kita's heart sent the thought of her past echoing through her mind. She was walking through the marketplace without any attention to the stalls she was passing or where she was going, straining her mind as she tried to think of her mother's face, or any memory that could remind her of what she was like.

  Food, she reminded herself, but concentrating on anything else was easier said than done right now. She glanced at the stalls around her, trying to take in the details of what was being sold as she continued to remind herself of the food she was supposed to be buying.

  "Excuse me," A soft voice called out to Kita.

  Kita glanced around but saw no one.

  "Down here," The voice prompted Kita to look towards the ground where she saw a steel creature with four legs, a pointed snout and a thick, metal tail. Finely printed geometric patterns covered its entire body as the steel jingled and scraped along with its movements.

  "Oh, great," Kita scoffed, "What are you supposed to be?"

  "Uhmm," The creature stammered, “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve met one of you before. A bird or something,”

  "A bird? What’s that?”

  Kita rolled her eyes, “A flying creature or something?”

  “Ooh, there was a creature that could fly?!”

  Kita looked down at the creature, noticing its tail slowly whipping from side to side. She turned back to look at the stall in front of her, opting to ignore the creature-

  ”I’m a Fox!"

  "And what is it you want from me, Fox?"

  "I could use your help," The Fox responded.

  "With what?"

  "I can't find my owner. Everyone I ask seems more interested in selling me for coin than helping me,"

  Kita rolled her eyes, "Sorry, I can't help you," She responded, as she walked away from the fox.

  "Why not?" The Fox asked, stepping in front of her.

  "Uhh," Kita stuttered, failing to come up with a lie quick enough, "I don't want to,"

  "You're supposed to be nice!" The Fox yelled in frustration.

  "What makes you think I'm supposed to be nice?" Kita raised an eyebrow at the creature.

  "Your eyes," The creature lowered its head, "They're like my owners,"

  "I hate to break it to you, but eyes like mine mean the opposite of nice,"

  "Not true," said the Fox. "My owner is very nice,"

  "Well, I'm not," Kita shrugged.

  "Not true," The Fox called her out, "I can smell honesty from you,"

  "You can smell honesty?"

  "Mhmm," The Fox nodded.

  "Ugh," Kita scoffed, "Where did you last see your owner?"

  "We were here together, but that was two days ago,"

  "Two days? Have you checked at home?"

  "I don't know how to get home. I've been running through the whole city trying to find it. I don't know what else to do-"

  "Ok, ok. What's your owner's name?"

  "Starlet,"

  "Then go and ask people where you can find her,"

  "I tried that already. No one wants to listen to me,"

  "Fine. Let's go find your owner,"

  The fox's tail starts to wag in excitement as the metal parts slide against one another. "Thank you, Miss,"

  "Kita," She corrected.

  "Kita," The Fox said, "That's a pretty name,"

  Kita turned to a lady standing at the stall across from her and briefly glanced at the miniature sculptures on her table.

  "Excuse me, have you heard of someone named Starlet?" Kita asked.

  The lady shook her head, "Uncommon name, that. I'd remember if I had,"

  "Have you ever seen this fox before?" She asked, tilting her head towards the fox.

  The lady leaned over the table to glance at the creature posted against Kita's leg, "How much do you want?"

  "Huh?"

  "I'll buy it from you," The lady clarified. "Fifty thousand coin,"

  Kita glanced at the creature by her side. It would be less of a hassle to take the coin and leave the fox with this lady. But, something about it just didn't sit right with her. If she didn't care, she'd have done it in a heartbeat. Maybe the fox reminded her of Rayn- Another ancient creature representing the times when life roamed all across the lands. Or maybe she's a sentimental idiot.

  "It's not for sale," Kita shrugged.

  "Eighty thousand," The lady countered.

  "What? Who would you even sell it to for more than eighty thousand coin?"

  "There are some wealthy folk in this world. A creature like that could easily sell for over two hundred thousand,"

  "I'm not for sale!" The fox chimed in.

  The lady's face brightened as she realized the creature spoke. A large smile crossed her face as she stared at the fox with wondrous eyes.

  "Maybe half a million since it speaks," The seller added.

  "She's not for sale," Kita concluded as she turned away from the lady's stall.

  "Why don't you know where your owner lives?" Kita asked the fox as it scurried by her side amongst the passing waves of shoppers. Trying its best to dodge and weave its way through everyone.

  "We just arrived in this city five rotations ago," It answered. "My memory isn't very good,"

  "Are there any shopkeepers that would recognize you and Starlet?"

  "Oh. Yes! There's a shopkeeper that liked us a lot," The fox wagged its tail as it started pacing ahead of Kita. "Follow me,"

  She started jogging to keep up with it as it scampered its way between the legs of passersby. This one's much more lively than Rayn. Also a lot more sociable- it was surprising how polite this little thing was.

  "What's your name?" Kita asked between her shortened breaths.

  "Ari," The fox responded. "I knew you'd ask,"

  "Oh, so you know everything,"

  Ari laughed a strange, high-pitched cackle that sounded more like squealing than laughter. "Everything except where my owner lives,"

  "Hm," Kita chuckled under her breath.

  "This shop right here!" Ari called out, dashing into a turquoise tipi with white lining dressing its edges. Kita briefly slid as she brought her jogging to a halt and glared at the designs of the tipi. The colours of Vhifet were mesmerizing. Almost inducing Kita into a trance whenever she came to notice the blends of turquoise and white around the city.

  "C'mon!" Ari called out, momentarily sticking her head out the entrance of the tipi.

  Kita walked into the tipi to a space that felt much larger on the inside than it appeared from the outside. No- it was much larger. How was this possible? The fabrics of the tipi are hidden by bookshelves arching to the top where they connect to appear as though the bookshelves infinitely rise to the heavens. The floor was an amalgamation of carpet and mirrors, which gave the tipi its sense of scale.

  "Ari!" An old man called out in his frail voice. "Welcome back,"

  "Hi there, Mr Bookkeeper," Ari responded, wagging her tail.

  "Where's Starlet?" He asked as he crouched down to scratch Ari behind the ear.

  "I don't know," She responded as she let out a delighted growl in response to the man petting her. "Kita is helping me find her,"

  "Kita, huh?" The old man reiterated as he stood to his feet and extended a hand towards Kita. "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

  "Sure," Kita responded, shaking the man's hand. "Do you have any idea which part of the city Starlet is in? This one can’t find her way," She added, passing Ari an annoyed glance.

  "I'm not so certain," He said, stroking his chin. "If I remember correctly, she said something about the Southeast,"

  "Excellent!" Ari barked, "That sounds right to me,"

  "I'm not so sure my memory is as sharp as it once was. So please take that information with a grain of salt,"

  "Better than what we started with, right Kita?" Ari asked enthusiastically.

  "Right," Kita murmured.

  "You don't seem like the most lively young lady," The old man chuckled in response to Kita's demeanour.

  "You don't know the half of it," Kita scoffed at his judgment.

  The old man walked over to one of the nearby shelves and reached for the very bottom, where he slid out a thin book that could easily go unnoticed amongst the dense ones beside it.

  "I think this might help with what you're going through," The bookkeeper said as he handed Kita the thin book. "

  "How would you know what I'm going through," Kita asked as she glanced at the book cover.

  Records of the Old Humans.

  The bookkeeper chuckled, "Most people your age are going through some sort of existential crisis, young lady,"

  "How is a book about the old humans meant to help, exactly?"

  "What better way to learn about existentialism than from those who no longer exist," The bookkeeper chuckled. "I wrote that one myself, using all the stories I've heard from my travels,"

  "The bookkeeper was the most knowledgeable person I've ever met!" Ari commented.

  "I don't think a book is my salvation," Kita waved the book in her hand. "These are merely pages,"

  Ari gasped loudly before she headbutted Kita's lower leg. "You're supposed to say 'thank you',"

  "Sometimes, the stories we read have a piece of us embedded within them," The old man smiled, unfazed by Kita's hubris. "The two of you should get going, I have some customers to assist,"

  "How much for the book?" Kita asked.

  But the bookkeeper just winked at her and passed Ari one last scratch behind the ear before walking to a set of customers that just entered his store.

  Kita and Ari stepped out of the bookstore once the old bookkeeper turned his attention to his customers. She glared at the book in her hand as she scanned a few of the pages trying to get an idea of the point of the book.

  Chapter 7

  The old humans believed there were worlds beyond our own, and dreamt of exploring these unknown terra in hopes of expansion. For all we know, the old humans may be alive and well- Living in a world far from here.

  "I enjoyed that book," Ari chimed in.

  "You've read it?" Kita asked as they both started walking to the stairway that led back down to the city. “Better yet, you read?”

  "Mhmm," The fox nodded, "I hope she gets her soul back,"

  "What?" Kita stopped in place, glaring at Ari. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, the bookkeeper only wrote the book because he met one of the old humans," The Fox said as it pranced around Kita. "Apparently, she's doomed to spend eternity wandering in hopes that she reunites with her soul,"

  "Aimlessly," Kita murmured under her breath, "Did she ever find it?"

  "The book doesn't say," Ari responded. "I hope she did, though. I want Starlet to get hers back too!"

  "Hmm," Kita exhaled.

  "But it reads like a myth," Ari’s tail stops wagging, “And that scares me because that might mean Starlet can’t get her soul back,”

  "The old humans are just a myth," Kita dismissed, putting the book in her bag.

  "I don't think so," Ari disagreed. "I think there were great cities all around the world. With giant towers reaching to the skies,"

  "Towers reaching the sky?" Kita chuckled, "Fiction,"

  "I saw it in a dream. It's possible! We know so little about them,"

  "The land was once covered in vast shades of green," Kita added, "Life was so abundant, it carpeted the floors of this world,"

  "Ooh," Ari grunted, titling her snout and raising her tail. "How do you know?"

  "I guess I saw it in a dream too," Kita sighed, clutching onto the faint images of her alternate memories.

  Upon leaving the marketplace, the pathway split into two. A path to their left led to the West of the city, and another to their right led to the East. The bookkeeper suggested they try the Southeast district, which would be located on the other end of the city- Since she'd committed to helping this fox find its home, she might as well see what it knew. What kind of creature knew how to read? Many humans can't even do that. This fox is very different to Rayn, albeit she wouldn’t be surprised if Rayn could read too. Ari seemed knowledgeable and quite the avid reader considering she befriended a bookkeeper.

  "This town has more knowledge about the old humans than any other,"

  "You've been to all the others, then?" Kita jested.

  "Almost," Ari levelled, prompting a wide-eyed response from Kita.

  "Seriously?"

  "Starlet isn't my first owner," Ari responded, "I have been alive for thousands of rotations… Some days, I dream about the first one,"

  "The first rotation?!" Kita uncontrollably blurted aloud. "So you're old-old,"

  "Rude! I am a young, cute fox and that's all I will ever be," Ari scoffed adorably.

  Kita chuckled, "So, You don't remember the old world? When you were a real fox,"

  "I am a real fox,"

  "I mean… A flesh one,"

  Ari rolled her eyes, rotating her head rather than her eyeballs, but still getting her frustration across. "Memories, no. Most of them occur to me in dreams,"

  "How come?"

  "I don't know. It's been so long since I was a flesh fox, the memories are likely to be fading,"

  "You don't miss other foxes? Or that old world?"

  "The last dream I had was of myself as a pup, running through the dirt and wrestling with my siblings… It was nice, not being the only one,"

  "I uhh-" Kita bit her lip, tempted to share her dream with Ari but worried that she might find it stupid, or think it was a joke. Screw it, she thought to herself.

  "I don't have any memories of my family," Kita released with a heavy exhale. "I thought I saw my Mother before you showed up… But it was just a daydream or something,"

  "Did it feel like you were there?"

  "Yes. It was as if I was living in a different world and completely forgot I was ever here… but I got dragged back to this one somehow,"

  "I may have spoken of dreams before, but those aren't 'dreams',"

  "What?" Kita asked, reacting to a chill that passed through her body in response to Ari's blunt response.

  "I have them too. These experiences feel more like realities that we have a connection to. I’m not sure how else to describe it, but ‘dream’ isn’t accurate,"

  "Realities," Kita pondered.

  “It’s strange, experiencing a reality you prefer over the reality you exist within,”

  Kita said nothing, nodding her head as Ari’s words resonated with her.

  "My first owner bought me at an auction. He had purchased three other creatures cast in steel, just like me. He put each of us in a glass cabinet for permanent display on the outside of his home where passersby could experience his wealth- Remnants of the past that none of his rich comrades had... Bragging rights. I was trapped in that box for three hundred rotations. Every day was claustrophobic suffering, and my dreams would taunt me with memories of running freely across a vast landscape. I can remember how badly I wanted to die… to end the pain rather than remain trapped in a body that may never cease, despite being caged for an eternity," Ari sighed, exhaling a deep breath of discomfort, "Then, there was my second owner. A man who treated me with love every day of my life. He was such a kind man, that he would place treats around the city, and let me search for them so that I could feel as though I was hunting again and it worked. I felt like I was hunting again. All he wanted was for me to feel happy, and as long as my tail was wagging, he was smiling. He taught me how to read, and how to speak just so that he could ask me how I am,"

  Kita felt the swelling of tears in her cheeks but managed to hold them at bay. She knew she was a monster, but she’d forgotten there were people far worse.

  "Until you reconnect with your soul, it will call to you with those dreams," Ari added, “And if I could reconnect with my body…”

  Kita knelt beside Ari, and gave her a scratch behind the ear- where the bookkeeper did it, “Let’s hope that we can,” She said with a soft smile.