A heavy snow storm blanketed the small Russian town, the fresh falling snow wrapping around every corner, clumping like the claw marks of an animal, the wind its deep growl. The streets were empty; except for a lone figure trudging down the town’s only road, their snow white tail blending with the storm. The only thing standing them out was the Russian officer’s coat and hat, and the stripe of pink in their fluffy tail, weighted to the ground by snow.
Their hands shakily left the warmth under their arms, rubbing them lightly to get a least a little feeling back in them, mist escaping their fingers as they puffed hot breath into their hands.
“It’s colder than usual…” they muttered to themselves, their hands quickly retreating back, a wave of wind washed over them as they continued along the street, tucking their head down in their furry pelt. They soon came upon a small corner café; the paint flaking away from age, the door creaking at the push of the white figures foot as they entered.
The worker behind the counter stepped out and greeted them with the ever usual ‘servers’ smile, the figure returning the smile as they removed the coat and hat. She flung the long hair she used as a scarf over her shoulder, fixing the suspended yellow frilled skirt over her blue blouse, adjusting her head band as her pink tinged snow fur fluffed out in the warmth. Her pretty pink eyes sparkled in vintage bulb glow, her snow boots clopped on the wooden floors, the worker leading her to a table by the window, taking out their order pad.
“Can I order you anything?” they cheerily asked, pressing their pencil to the paper, the wolf setting her back pack down by her feet, glancing at the menu on the table in front of her.
“A pot of Honey Jasmine tea, please…Oh! And some macarons too,” she said, returning the worker a genuine smile as she handed them payment. The worker went to leave, but the wolf then stopped them.
“Wait…” she flicked a few notes and coins in the worker’s hand, before they took back a Greek style coin, a Cerberus printed on its face.
“Wrong coin…” she gave a nervous smile and a small chuckle, the worker giving them the same smile, before leaving for the kitchen in the back. The wolf relaxed as she starred out the window at the white covered town, resting her head in hand with her tail brushing the wooden floor. A slight shake in the coin made the wolf jump, but she smiled as she held up the coin.
“Okay, you can come out…” they said, lowering the coin into the bag. A faint grey mist drifted over the rim of the bag, something inside rustled the bag as worker returned with the wolf’s order, leaving it on the table before attending to another customer. The wolf poured herself a cup of the tea, her body shivering as the cup warmed her hands, smiling softly as she raised the cup to her lips.
A low rumble made her pause. She glanced at the other customers, none of them had noticed, so she ignored it before it happened again. This time, the other customers toke notice, a shadow passing the window drawing everyone’s eyes to the storm outside. The elderly owner reached under the counter and drew a double barrel shot-gun, his finger against the trigger. Another rumble and another shadow made everyone jump, but it then fell dead quiet, some of the customers slowly slipping under tables or moving as far back as they could, but the wolf didn’t budge.
There was a sudden flash before the inter window shattered into pieces, everyone ducked and the wolf cover her eyes from the flying glass. She uncovered her eyes as her seat tipped back, that’s when she saw him. A white yellow tinged fox against her falling table, his feet locked on the rim and base, the blade of the sword in his hand, glimmering from the fires outside. A flash of blue and a roar of thunder made the wolf scream in terror and dive behind the fallen table from her back on the floor, clutching her ears tight against her head, shivering in fear.
She coward, her body curling tight and her eyes shut, she heard was her rapid heart and her panting breath, before a rattle snapped her back. Another made sit up to find herself in an empty café, the other customers and the workers had fled. She crawled over to her bag, clutching tightly to her chest before rising to her feet. Carefully she slipped to the coat hangers and retrieved hers and hat, hastily dressing, swinging her pack on her shoulders.
“Go back…” she whispered to the pack, the mist seeping back before she pulled the leather straps to tighten it. She tied her jacket, pulled down her hat and stepped out through the door.
The center of the town was spotted with fire and debris from the buildings around. The people were running. Some carrying luggage, their families but all were taking for the mountains. The wolf went to slip within the fleeting crowd’s, when sparks in the mist caught her eye.
The mist opened as the fox slid out, his blade a brake to stop him in front of the wolf, he stood, spinning his blade to forehand and lowering before glancing back at her. His deep brown eyes were hard and tired, his clothes old, scuffed up and stitched back together in a lot of places. His whitish yellow fur rough and his tail ruffled, what of his body she could see was covered with small scars and stitch wounds.
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