With a final nod to the sign, Flisety turned her attention to the ground beside it. If she focused hard enough, she could make out a faint line, glimmering with palest pink. The enchanted border. A similar line had circled Borelton, but this one stretched so much further.

She lifted a paw, and then hesitated, gaze darting from the line to the nearest watchtower and back again. The deserted border felt odd to her. Borelton had been small enough that there was never a guard far away, and even if no-one was in sight, she wasn’t used to entering a town as a stranger. Usually all she had to do was speak her name. This time, her name was as foreign to them as all of Lunerda was to her.

She swallowed, shaking her head slowly at her own fear. This place might be far bigger, but the system was the same. It would be fine. She had a right to be here.

Her paw lowered, and then landed on the sparkling border. A jolt went through her, and she felt her pad stick to the ground. She knew without trying that if she attempted to shift it away, it would remain there, pinned by magic.

Her heart gave a few anxious tremors. She did her best to chase them away, fixing her gaze on the silver shimmer of the houses ahead. It was fine. She could do this.

There was a crackle from below, and then a voice spoke, echoing through her trapped paw and resonating within her mind. “State your name and business.”

“My name is Flisety,” she replied, failing to steady her tone as she angled her snout downwards. When silence greeted her, she hurriedly added, “I come from Borelton. The Wylfire leader gave me permission to take residency in Lunerda.”

“Wait a moment. A guard will be sent to check your clearance.” There was a pause, and then the voice spoke again, its broken tone touched with warmth. “I hope you enjoy your stay, Flisety.”

“Thank you,” Flisety answered, though she wasn’t sure if the wolf was still listening.

She gave her paw a futile tug as her eyes scanned the streets ahead. A wolf was emerging from a nearby shelter. They smiled at her, and she returned the gesture, before turning her head down until they had walked away. Her tongue flicked over her fangs, trying in vain to chase away the heat of embarrassment. She felt so exposed out here, alone and pinned to the border. Lunerda’s magic seemed to sap away with the seconds.

A glance at the watchtower. Then another. It couldn’t be that far away. Just how long was this guard going to leave her here?

Thankfully, the thought didn’t have to linger long. Another moment dragged by, and then a green shape appeared from behind a row of houses. His paws, squat but burly enough to form a small stamp as he marched his way towards her, matched the grass almost exactly in colour. A cloth bag was slung over his back, bouncing against his flank with every step. Once he was close enough, Flisety could make out the scowl his snout twisted into, and the flash of green-tinged fangs he shot her as he reached the border.

Hesitantly, she made to step back, quite afraid of his poisonous glare. Her heart beat faster when her stuck paw prevented the movement.

“Clearance?” he barked once he’d finally come to a halt before her.

“I’ll just get it for you now. Sorry,” she added with a dip of her head as she cursed herself. She’d been standing here for a good few minutes, and should have had enough common sense to retrieve her clearance while she was waiting. From the exasperated breath the guard blew out, she guessed he’d had the same thought.

Her teeth caught on her satchel’s leather strap and sent it swinging towards her, before she dropped it by her paws. Reaching inside, her claws fumbled within, a growl beginning within as time slid by and she still hadn’t grasped what she was looking for. Eventually, she managed to pull out a small card, formed of tree bark and still tingling with the recent Earthwylf magic used to extract it.

The guard snatched it from her before she’d got a good grip, his gaze scraping over the card’s etched words. Flisety knew the details of her identity and licence to move location were legitimate, but that didn’t prevent the buzz of fear that he would simply reject her before she’d even had a chance to step inside Lunerda’s borders.

“Where are you from, Kinetiwylf?” the guard asked absentmindedly. It took Flisety a moment too long to realise that he was addressing her.

Forcing a smile, she replied, “Up in Borelton.”

His eyes flicked upwards for a moment, mild interest sparking within. “The front of the war, huh?” He opened his jaw, as if to ask another question, but seemed to think better of it. Shaking his head, he looked back to the card. “And why are you relocating?”

The smile fell, her snout drooping a little. “Personal reasons,” she stated, keeping her voice even.

“Which are?” His head tilted to the side. At her hesitation, he smirked, before clicking his glare back into place. “I’m security, Kinetiwylf. Spit it out.”

Something stirred within her in response to his uncaring tone. It bubbled, threatening to rise to her throat. Taking a steadying breath, she pushed it down, commanding it to stay away.

“I…” Her claws shifted uncomfortably as she cast him another glance. His stance hadn’t changed. “I lost someone in the war. I guess I had to get away.” A bitter taste coated the words, its sharp edge cutting deep into her tongue. She swallowed hard.

Above her, the guard shrugged and turned back to the card. His glare subsided. Perhaps it was Flisety’s imagination, but a flare of amusement seemed to light in his eyes, as if the whole thing was merely a little joke. “Ah, well,” he said, a slight attempt at sympathy drained of any meaning.

The twisting in her stomach flared a little more. She grabbed for another breath, pressing her fangs together.

“All seems fine,” the guard said after a moment of examination. He tossed the card to the ground in front of her. “Since you’re currently without an occupation, you’ll be put in temporary accommodation in the Aest Ring.”

A slight chuckle hung off his final words, making Flisety wince. She knew of the ring system in Lunerda, and it was the one thing she disliked about the place. The Aest Ring was the lowest class, around the outskirts of the city. But without a job, and at the young age she was, she could live nowhere else.

“If you obtain an occupation -- of enough importance, of course -- you’ll be relocated.” He looked her up and down, his eyes raking her pink fur with a touch of disgust. “But being what you are, that might be more difficult, so I’d get comfortable.”

A snarl built in the back of her throat. Though she fought it back, its fiery influence remained. She hated that his words were true; work for a Kinetiwylf could be hard to come by, especially in a town as well-established as Lunerda. But she hated more the mockery, almost delight, with which he spoke them.

With far more ease that she had, the guard reached into the cloth bag at his side and produced a similar card to Flisety’s clearance card, though this one appeared much older, its edges worn with use. And the careless way in which he handled it, most likely. He dropped it at her paws beside the other. “Your residence card.” He bent down to study the card for a moment, then added, “Find your shelter at the western edge of town. Only a short walk from here, which I’m sure your dainty paws are pleased about.”

Her claws dug at the packed earth. Dainty paws. She might have as skinny a frame as any other Kinetiwylf, but that didn’t make her weak.

Another writhing sharpness, more forceful than the first, pricked at the back of her jaw. This guard deserved a lesson in how strong she really was. He shouldn’t be allowed to treat her this way.

“Enjoy your stay,” the guard said, already turning away from her. “I’m sure you’ll find your ring most pleasurable.” He barked a laugh to himself. The sound remained, gradually fading until he vanished once more.