Charlotte Eldess's Story

In a dingy apartment on the outskirts of the downtown core, a ragged-looking orange cat mewed expectantly from his perch on a sleeping figure. Meowing a bit louder, the tabby began to paw at their face. The sleeper, a young Naturan woman, grunted incoherently and rolled over, blearily cracking open an eye. She was greeted by two yellow ones stared back at her impatiently, followed by another, more desperate meow.

"Frank, one of these days, I am going to turn you into breakfast." The woman sighed and sat up groggily, causing her tiny bed to creak in protest. The scruffy orange tabby, Frank, sensed that his work was done and scampered from the bedroom towards the kitchen, mewing excitedly. Clumsily staggering out of bed, the Naturan stifled a yawn and checked the beat-up cellphone that had been resting on the stack of milk crates which served as her nightstand. Just a few texts from co-workers but nothing too urgent. Grumbling about her stupid cat, the female rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glanced at the time. It was still pretty early in the morning, or at least early for a night-shift worker who just got home a few hours ago. Sighing as another pitiful meow echoed from the kitchen, the young Naturan shuffled out of her bedroom and stumbled towards the pantry. Finally silencing the orange cat-beast with offerings of kibble, the woman busied herself with making her own breakfast.

She was just finishing up the dishes when the familiar ringtone of her cell chirped from the bedroom. Dashing to grab it before the call went to voicemail, the woman answered it breathlessly, "Hello? Charlie here."

"Charlie, where the HELL are you?!" The bellowing snarl of her supervisor, exploded out of her phone's earpiece.
"S-Sir?" The Naturan woman stammered, holding her phone away from her ear, "I'm on the night-crew this week."
"I know that, you idiot! Apparently, your dense, scaly hide didn't get the memo but the Naturan crew is working a double-shift today. Everyone ELSE has been here since SIX IN THE MORNING! I expect you here in half an hour, otherwise you can start looking for a new job!" The seething rage of Charlie's supervisor was palpable even through her tiny phone, even after he had ended the call.

Panic flooded through her veins and Charlie tossed her phone on the bed, thrashing about as she tore off her pyjamas so she could get her work gear on. The crocodile Naturan bounded through the tiny apartment, grabbing her work shoes and a few personal things, stuffing them into a well-patched backpack as she went. Dashing out of her apartment towards a nearby bike-rack, Charlie fumbled with the lock on her prized possession. It was a old bike with rust patches barely covered by red spray paint. It's vintage frame had been patched with new metal so many times it was probably more patch-job than original, but it was perfect in every way to Charlie. It could support her weight, was surprisingly responsive, and could sprint beautifully; this red patch-work piece of metal was everything she needed from a city bike.

Finally freeing the bike from the lock, Charlie swung her leg over the seat and took off, sprinting at a reckless pace down the streets. She was used to riding on the main roads but today was different, the Naturan would have to take a few shortcuts in order to get to the worksite in time. Charlie heard a furious yell behind her when she nimbly cut in front of an elf dressed in business wear as she zipped into a nearby alleyway. She honestly couldn't care less. Only one thing mattered right now, and that was getting to the construction site in time. Deftly, the crocodile Naturan sprinted through the alleyway and recklessly through traffic, causing several humans and elves to shout insults at her. Charlie glanced at the time quickly, ten minutes left... She'd need to take the marketplace shortcut, it was risky since there were so many pedestrians but desperate times called for desperate measures. Charlie veered into the market, weaving through the crowds of people as she passed through the main square.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly until a shock of red hair caught the edge of her eye. The hair belonged to a grizzled human but the Naturan sitting beside him was what really made her stare, she had seen that face before...but where? Then it hit her, that Naturan's face had been plastered all over the news for the past week. He was Connor Tavarin! Charlie was brought back to her senses suddenly when there was an ominous 'crunch' that came from her front wheel. In the split-second that she had time to realize that noise was very, very bad, her front bicycle tire seized up and sent her flying over the handlebars. Shit, she thought, before slamming into the ground.

Connor notices the fox naturan sitting across from them. He was a bit worried that some of the naturan would either be trying to ask him questions or try to pick a fight with him for going against what's been considered normal. For now, the girl seemed to just be minding her own business but it seemed she was being a bit flirtatious as well, something Connor didn't really like. Sighing, he just idly waved at her. Alex laughed "Better get used to that attention. To them you're either a hero or an idiot. Perhaps both." he says, amused. Connor nervously scratched the back of his head. Were his actions really so odd?

Before Connor was able to think about his actions, someone on a bike came speeding through the marketplace. He noticed that the rider had looked at him before the front wheel of the bike locked up, sending her flying over the handlebars. Both Connor and Alex responded by rushing over to her aid. Some pedestrians laughed, others stayed quiet, and some even took pictures of the incident. Alex and Connor helped her up "Hey, are you okay? That didn't look like it was very fun." Connor says, hoping the rider wasn't hurt. Alex gave some of the surrounding people glares to get them to go about their own business. The crowd soon dispersed and Alex grinned "That's right, leave." he goes to investigate the bike "Wow, this thing's ancient...nice old model. A shame it's rusted all to hell." he says, admiring the old model. He goes over to Connor and the crocodile naturan with the rusted bike in tow "You were going pretty fast, ma'am. Got someplace you need to be I'm guessing? Can't blame you for having a busy lifestyle, but you have to watch out so you don't hurt yourself or anyone around you. Here's your bike by the way...hopefully it's not busted up beyond repair, but it's definitely seen better days." he says, rolling it over to her.

Connor avoided saying too much, not wanting anyone to get in trouble for his opinions. Still, he wanted to say something "You looked at me before the crash. I know you know who I am and I'll just tell you now...I'm nobody special. Don't take anything I say seriously...it's just the ramblings of an idiot. You'll just end up getting hurt if you follow what I say anyway." he said. He didn't want to sound too negative about his ideas, but he thought it was best to deter anyone from listening to him so they wouldn't get hurt because of him. Alex sighed "Kid don't be like that. Besides, that's not going to stop people anyway. If they listen to you it's because they think what you have to say is worth listening to whether you like it or not."

Sitting in a park the Elven Woman leaned over an open book. Sat nicely in a park bench. Ophelia stared down at the material she'd already gone over, and made sure she made no errors in her lesson today. What fun one it was, perhaps not to some, but to her every lesson was the best. To pass long her knowledge of the flame was something Ophelia had reamed of, and for it to be a reality, was surreal. Skimming she found no visible errors, and continued peacefully until she felt a shadow drape over her. A tall shadow, with a grin on its face she could not see but she knew it was there. She let out a sigh as a tall and lanky elf took the rest of the bench up. He placed his arm around her shoulders and grinned at her. She could do nothing to this man, who was in a much higher position than her. "Dean Charles, t-to what do I owe the pleasure?" She stuttered, she always had to watch her tongue around this man. This selfish, greedy, idiot of a man. He pulled her close to him, and let his hands explore her body, mainly her chest.

He finally spoke in a higher pitched voice of a snake. "Why, you know I always look forward to getting to know you my dearest Ophelia." He snickered and grinned. He looked down at her and licked his lips.

Ophelia just shook her head and said what she always did. "Sir, our relationship is strictly professional. It would not be appropriate to try and connect on an emotional level." She gulped and tried to pull away, but was stuck in the mans much stronger grip.

He stroked her hair and chuckled. "As I recall your no longer a teacher at this hour. That IS what you told that young man, isnt it?" He chuckled darkly. "You know my offer still stands, Ophelia."

"Sir-" She stammered and this time used a bit of force to tug herself away. "While I apreciate the offer, I cannot marry you."

"Oh? And why is that? You give me that every time, but with no reason. What is the deal? I have money, power, looks, and I control your salary." He brought his long finger to Ophelia's chin and had their eyes meet. "What more do you want?"

She pushed him away slightly and looked back to her books, not wanting to see him any longer. "I want someone who would treat me as a person, not an object. I am sorry sir, but we are on a strictly professional relationship." She gathered her things and stuffed them roughly in her satchel. "I'll have no more of this. See you at work tommorrow, Dean." She started walking when he called after her.

"You will come with me," The words left him with lustful eyes and a disgusting grin. "Sooner or later Ophelia, I love you."

Ophelia huffed and continued walking. She needed to go to the market, she'd have no more of this. Always her, always harrassing her. Why couldnt she do anythign about it? She threw her arms up in the air and growled. So bothersome that Dean Charles. She'd made her way to the market and was about to stop for a basket of Apples, when she saw a Naturan woman fall off her bicycle. After seeing little reaction from others she made her way over and looked over the woman. "Are you okay? Did someone push you?" The Elven woman was always quick to help, but unsure what to do outside of combat situations.

Amarette watched the activity around her, eyes watching each and every thing with careful precision. Much like the creature her family came from, she knew when to stay out of the way. For a small girl like her, a situation with a human and an elf mixed in wouldn't go well once more naturan crowded together. Gods forbid they think that three naturan together were some sort of uprising. Annoying.

Still.

The reptilian naturan girl had come flying in at a high speed. Obviously late, probably to one of the slave-like jobs naturan had to hold. It made her fur stand on end when she thought about it. Enslaved, paid next to nothing, mistreated and abused at every opportunity, and people were surprised the naturan acted out?

But those WERE some of her brethren over there, and she could pick out the human male she'd come with searching for her in the crowd. And the naturan girl was very pretty. So, with little flourish, Amarette stood, and stalked over to the gaggle all surrounding the bike, face scrunched into a sad expression.

"Oh, goodness!" she mewed, "that was quite a nasty fall! Are you alright, miss? You must be pretty late, to be going that fast!" Pulling her lips into a smile, she swished her tail beneath her skirt and glanced over to the rabbit. "Or maybe just excited to meet our little local celebrity here. I know I am!"

((Sorry for the late post, work has been kicking my butt hard this week!))

Charlie was vaguely aware of two sets of hands helping her up. The crocodile-naturan wheezed slightly as she stood up, taking a moment to let her body and mind to register the crash. Nothing felt hurt, but then again, she could be in shock. The young woman briefly looked herself over, finding that her only injuries were a scratched forearm and a scraped up shoulder. Whew, she thought to herself, that could have been a lot worse.
"I'm fine, thanks. I've got a tough hide," Charlie growled softly to Connor, warily watching the red-haired human wheel over her bike. The man had been polite to her so far but that did nothing to dispel her worry. Humans had this strange knack for being unpredictable, which Charlie realized was quite ironic coming from her.

The naturan woman murmured her thanks to the human as she took her bike back from him.
"It's an old Iron Paladin model, they used to be popular about forty years ago. I was lucky to find it in one piece," Charlie muttered as she inspected her bicycle, making a mental note that nothing seemed dented or broken so there must be something wrong with the front gear cluster that caused the crash, "The frame's fine even though it's rusted, I'll just need to take the clusters apart when I get home after...work."

The crocodile-naturan turned pale, barely registering what Connor said to her. Maybe if she sprinted there she could still make it... Charlie stammered slightly, the young woman wasn't the best with words but she didn't want to ignore what the rabbit-naturan had said. "L-look, I don't think your ideas are bad, they've just...well, they've just made life a little complicated for some of us," Charlie blurted out as she hefted her bike onto her shoulder, noticing a young elven woman and a fox-naturan who had been sitting nearby rush over.

"Really, I'm fine. I've got a thick hide," She said nervously, backing away from the newcomers. There were too many people around her now; she was just a naturan, so why was everyone so concerned for her safety?
"Connor, it was nice meeting you but I'm going to lose my job if I stick around. Thanks for helping me up," Charlie turned on her heel and started to run from the plaza of the marketplace. Maybe there was still a chance that she could make it to the construction site! The crocodile-naturan had barely made it over the edge of the main square when the familiar little ringtone of her cell phone chirped out of her backpack. Sighing sadly, Charlie fished it out of her bag and prepared herself, clicking the 'answer' button as she held the phone away from her ear.
"Charlie here..."
The number of expletives and insults that her supervisor screamed out of her tiny phone could have made a sailor blush and she was fairly confident that most of the plaza had heard him ream her out. One thing was certain though, she was definitely and without a doubt, fired.

Alex scratched at his beard thoughtfully. After thinking for a moment, he turns to Connor "I think I've seen her before at the construction site...word on the street is the foreman's not the nicest guy around. This would be as good a time as any to take more notes on behavior, so I think we should check this out Connor. Actually, seems like you got a fan here, so catch up when you can." he says, laughing as he ran after Charlie. Connor was about to object, but of course Alex just rushes on ahead without giving him a chance to speak, though more in a joking manner than not caring what he had to say.

Connor sighs, looking at Amarette "Celebrity is a bit much...I'm probably more of a public nuisance than a celebrity around here." he says. He was thinking about what Charlotte had said. He knew he had made life complicated for a lot of naturan recently and that was definitely not something he was proud of, but the fact that she still thought his ideas had merit made him feel slightly better. "I've made life pretty hard for a lot of naturan with my outburst back then. I don't want to make things worse than they already are. At the same time though, I don't want them to stay the way they are. I can't decide what I want to do." he runs his hand through his hair in frustration. "Sorry, I'm rambling. I have to go meet with my friend, the big guy that just ran off. Yes, he is my friend even though he's human." he turns around. He pauses for a moment before turning back to Amarette "You can follow if you want." he said. He starts to walk off, hoping she would actually follow since he didn't want anyone to take advantage of her flirtatious act. He had heard far too many stories of naturan trying to attract the rich and powerful in an attempt to make their lives easier. None of those stories ever ended happily.

Meanwhile, Alex finds the construction yard as he's approached by a worker "Sir you can't be here!" he shouts to him. Alex pulls out his ID "Major Alexander Maximus Brullen. I'm here to investigate some rumors. If you see a brown haired rabbit naturan, let him pass too. He's with me." he says. The worker nervously and quickly salutes "I-I'm sorry sir! You may pass." he steps aside. Alex walks passed, eyes scanning the area for any sign of Charlotte or the foreman. He takes note of the naturan workers. "Bags under their eyes...about to collapse from exhaustion and it's not even nine yet. This isn't right." he mutters to himself as he continues his search.