Sitting around an overturned box and using it as a table, the three guys muttered over cards - poker, by the sounds of things. Between them on the box, little pieces of paper with scratched notes on each sat crumbled in a loose pile.
“I’ll see you and raise you - my next essay we have to do for bio,” one said, dropping a scrap of paper in the center.
“Shit, a measly essay? Don’t you have anything better?” another said with a smirk. “I’ll see your essay and raise you buying me lunch for a month.”
A hiss came from the first and he narrowed his eyes at the other.
“I’ll pay to see your hand. Essay and lunches.” The third slapped down two slips of paper and all eyes turned to the last, the first who’d spoken.
He muttered and rooted through his slips of paper until he found the right one, dropping it into the pile. “I’ll see you.”
As the second splayed his cards on the box table - to shouts and groans and laughter - Felix quickly strode to his bunk and snagged his coat, sliding into the comfortable, familiar leather. He smoothed his fingers over the dark leather and breathed in deep of the smell. Gunpowder, cigarette smoke, and the barest hint of alcohol. All smells from his late father.
He rummaged in the bunk for a moment before he found his glasses case and contact lens carrier shoved under a couple shirts and a pair of boxers. Grateful there were bathrooms in each cabin, he quickly went to the sink and washed his hands thoroughly. Frowning at his reflection, he took a breath and went to work. Holding one lid open with the tips of his fingers, he used his other hand to pluck the contact from his eye. After stowing the contact and soaking it in the cleaner fluid, he repeated the process with his other eye. Though this one stubbornly avoided his efforts, Felix managed to corner the bastard and pluck out the contact. Once his contacts were out, he blinked rapidly and dabbed away a few tears. Then he slapped on his square-rimmed glasses. With the slight, familiar weight on his nose, he stared at his reflection a moment longer, then turned and left the bathroom.
After a quick stop at his bunk to stow his contacts, the contact solution, and the empty glasses case, he turned back towards the door. One of the guys finally noticed his presence.
“Where ya goin’, Felix?”
“Lookin’ for Nikki,” Felix said, not pausing to explain further. He just left, letting the cabin door swing shut behind him. His boots crunched on the dirt, leaves, gravel, and pine needles as he made his way through the camp. He skirted around several buildings to keep out of sight of the professor, taking to the forest around them for several yards before he met up with the main path.
Felix didn’t bother looking back at the camp; he oriented himself and started down the path, scenting the air regularly to catch Nikki’s scent. Since they’d all used the trail recently, the scents of the class were all mixed up together. Felix frowned in concentration as he picked through the scents, shoving aside anything that wasn’t Nikki.
The smell of ink, of formaldehyde, of isopropyl alcohol, of ethyl alcohol, and the earthy smell of plants - that was him. Bright green eyes popped open as Felix caught the familiar scent. With a grin, he broke into a lope and started off, his tail flicking in pleasure and excitement. The scent didn’t deviate from the path all the way to their survey site.
His grin turned into a frown when he stepped into the clearing and caught a whiff of sulfur. Scrunching his nose, Felix started going over the site. The moonlight glinted off forgotten tools and Felix growled at each distraction. In the grass, by a clump of trees off to the side, another shine caught his attention. Hoping it wasn’t yet another pair of scissors, Felix loped over-
Narrowed eyes widened as Felix caught sight of the discarded, half-open purple and blue galaxy backpack. Hanging out of the bag, a hint of neon pink practically glowed under the moonlight.
Nikki’s bag.
Felix snatched up the bag and zipped it closed, securing his best friend’s water bottle inside. After slinging it over his shoulder, Felix glanced about the area. He took in several deep breaths, trying to pinpoint where Nikki had gone off to, but the scent of sulfur practically wrapped itself around Nikki’s scent.
And there was another scent mixed in, an earthy chlorine scent.
Felix recognized the scent and another look around where he found the backpack confirmed it. White drops of dried semen caked a small patch of grass.
“What the hell happened to you?” Felix growled out.
Scenting the air, Felix squared his shoulders and took off into the woods, following the scent of sulfur. With how mixed it was with Nikki’s scent, it stood to reason that Nikki was with this other person - and probably in danger. Nothing good ever smelled of sulfur.
His boots pounded on the forest floor as he followed the scent, stretching his legs out to leap over fallen trees and a small, bubbling creek. The scent of sulfur grew as he ran, choking his lungs with the acrid stench.
Finally, he skidded to a stop just inside the treeline ringing a narrow clearing. Inside the clearing, a black, yawning cave took a bite from the ground and the base of the mountain. The sulfur scent curled and settled in the cave entrance and Felix bared his fangs at the rocky formation.
As he took a step forward, leaves rustled toward his left. His ear twitched toward the sound, swiveling, his eyes soon following. There, just inside a bush, a pair of bright glowing eyes stared back at him.
“I wouldn’t go there if I were you,” said a low, quiet voice. “That guy’s nuts.”
“What do you mean? Who is?” Felix asked, watching the bush warily. “Come out so I can see you. Who are you?”
A small red head popped out from the top of the bushes. Several pairs of dark red sloping horns flowed away from his forehead; a pair of the dark horns curled around fin-like ears. Bright red skin shone under the moonlight with hair the same color sweeping down the creature’s back. Felix could see hints of gold and black cloth between the leaves as the creature stayed in the bush. From the creature’s shoulders, a pair of red bat-like wings fluttered nervously. White eyes surrounded by black sclera shifted towards the cave before snapping back to Felix.
“Stayin’ here invites him to come out…” the creature said. “We can talk away from here. You … you can call me Tyan.”
Then the creature leaped from the bush, his wings pumping the air as he zipped over to Felix. Tyan was small, no more than a foot in height, and the gold cloth around his body reminded Felix of the old Chinese Cheongsam. Open at the hip, the gold cloth hugged his chest and contrasted with his red skin. A black sash kept the cloth in place, along with a few black synchs near the neck. The same gold cloth wrapped around his legs below the knees and arms below the elbows. From Tyan’s zipping about, Felix saw the strange outfit exposed his back, giving his wings plenty of mobility. From his waist, a long tail with a tuft of fur matching his hair flicked and twisted, betraying the creature’s nervousness.
“Come away, come away, before he knows you’re here,” Tyan insisted, going so far as to grab the tuft of fur at the tips of Felix’s ears and tugging away from the clearing.
Felix swiped the air above his head, trying to get Tyan to let go, but the small creature just zipped around to his front and pushed him away from the clearing. Not expecting such strength from a small body, Felix stumbled back, blinking at the creature.
“I can’t leave without Nikki,” Felix muttered, swiping at the air again.
“Who’s Nikki? That the grey-hair he brought back?” Tyan asked. But then the creature shook his head and shoved Felix again. “If that’s the grey-hair, you aren’t gonna get him back and if he sees you here, you aren’t leaving, so go, now.”
“What-? You saw Nikki? Grey hair, stripes on his tail? He was wearing a red and blue flannel-”
“I didn’t pay that close attention,” Tyan cut Felix off, once again shoving the feline away from the cave.
With a hiss, Felix swiped at Tyan, aiming to catch the creature in his grasp - only Tyan was much faster and zipped out of the way. Now behind Felix, he tugged at the feline’s short reddish-brown tail, tugging him away from the clearing.
“I’ll tell you more when we’re away!” Tyan insisted.
“Promise?” Felix asked with narrowed eyes. Tyan’s head bobbed several times in an enthusiastic nod.
With one last look towards the clearing and the shadowed cave, Felix turned.
“Fine. Lead on.”
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