The heavy smell of smoke woke me up from my sleep, fire was quickly spreading through my bedroom, having been breathing in all the smoke in my sleep, sent me into a coughing fit.

I get off the bed as I see the fire approaching it, looking around me, I run for the door, opening it, I instantly back away from the doorway, the roaring fire is eager to kiss anything that comes in its way.

I walk back towards the bedroom window, open it, and breathe in some fresh air, hearing the fire truck sirens I shouted for help, and got no answer in return.

I can't jump from this level, my bedroom was pretty high, it's the attic on this section of our house, and my wings are still undeveloped, I look back at the bedroom door, right after the doorway is a landing and a narrow staircase.

I gulp down the lump in my throat, I have to do this if I wanted to survive, I have to make a run for it.

And make a run for it is what I did, once in the burning hallway, I patted myself down turning off any fire I caught by accident.

Walking down the hallway, I was careful not to get too close to the walls, avoiding any fire that my pajamas can catch up on.

I reached my parents' bedroom, the door was open and the room seemed empty, hearing a crash from the direction I came down from, I don't waste time standing in the doorway and moved forward, I walk further down the hallway and reach Paloma's bedroom.

I put my hand on the doorknob, and wince when the heat burns my hand, I pull the sleeve of my pajamas down to cover my hand, and quickly turn the door knob open.

I stand in the doorway, the bedroom was burning from floor to ceiling, and my father was by the window as he helped the firefighter carry my sister out, her wings were undeveloped as well.

"Dad!" I call out to my father, assuming he didn't hear me over the commotion, I walk further inside Paloma's bedroom and call out to him again, "DAD!" He had his leg over the windowsill, "Dad!" I called out to him again desperately, dodging the fire that was spreading.

This time he looked up, annoyance was all over his face, and his facial expression made me take a step back.

Was I not supposed to come out of this house alive?

Were they planning on leaving me behind?

I hear a creak above me, making me look up, the beam was falling down, the fire had weakened its support, and the last thing I remember was the annoyed face of my father.

I woke up with a gasp, jolting upright, breathing heavily as if I was stuck in that burning house again.

I was still in my work clothes, tugging the tie off, I unbutton the collar with my trembling hands, the burn was back again to being painful, and any medication the doctors have given me at the hospital, has long worn off.

I was drenched in sweat, I feel gross, a shower is a must.

I glance at the digital clock beside me, it was around three am, might as well get up and start my day.

I stand up and stretch my wings, taking off my clothes as I head to the bathroom, my hand hovers over the light switch, I don't need it since I can see in the dark, but the truth is I don't turn it on to avoid looking at myself, to avoid looking at my reflection in the mirror.

I hate looking at it, I hate looking at the constant reminder of that night.

I can even feel it without seeing it, the skin so tight, like a tight outfit that doesn't seem to fit.

I turn the lights on, and remove the bandages from my hand, opening the water tap, not having to worry whether it's cold or hot, the water is always cold, ever since the water heater broke three years ago.

I've gotten used to showering in cold water, ever since the house fire, I couldn't stand having hot water run over my burns, the skin was too sensitive, I hated feeling the heat, it made me feel like I'm back in there, surrounded by the flames.

I close the water tap and walk inside the small porcelain tub, sliding the curtains, I turn the water knob open, allowing the cold water to wash away yesterday's stress.

I sigh as I put my hand on the cool wall tiles, resting my head against them, and lean forward, letting the water run down my back and legs.

I love the water, and I love swimming, I used to swim a lot before the fire, I don't like going to the beach anymore, it's too hot, too exposed.

I have a dream of one day owning a house in the middle of a forest, preferably by a lake, where I can go and swim whenever I want.

Is that ever gonna happen?

I lean back and stand upright, squeezing shampoo in my hand and continuing my shower, I can't be wasting water like that.

Afterward, I wrap myself in a bathrobe and load the laundry, then I apply the antibiotics cream to my burns while I sat down to relax, let myself air dry, and enjoy the quietness of my apartment.

I've lived by myself for years now, I've had many nights and days like this, sometimes to pass the time, I'd listen to conversations between my neighbors, and picture the things they discussed in my head.

The neighbor to my left is a single man, who happens to be a Shark human-hybrid, from what I can hear, I'm pretty sure he works in security.

I've seen him around many times in the past few years, I've actually ridden the same elevator with him many times as well, he seems to have a -no fucks given- kind of attitude.

Like it doesn't concern him if I'm an Owl human-hybrid living in his vicinity, he's going to live his life with no care for external influence.

Though he doesn't say much when he's at home, he's either grunting while working out, cursing while watching sports, or ordering lots and lots of takeout food.

The human hybrids to my right are a couple, from what I heard, one of them used to be in a relationship with a serial cheater, and the current relationship they have, had developed from friendship to relationship during the breakup.

Sometimes, the girls can be pretty loud.

I hear the washing machine peeping, which means it's done washing, I get up to remove the clothes from the washing machine and into the dryer.

The apartment didn't have a washing machine or a dryer when I moved in, but rather it was something I invested in after a year of living here.

Saves me the trip to the damn laundromat.

Once the dryer is on, I head to the bedroom and wear sweatpants and a t-shirt, I'm planning on making food and I don't need extra burns on my body.

I first make a light breakfast, nothing much, something to get by, I'm not that much of an eater anyway.

After eating breakfast I make my coffee and pour it inside my thermal mug, I don't need much coffee either, I've bought the tallest thermal mug I could find, and I sip on it during the whole day to give me a boost whenever I'm feeling sleepy.

For lunch I make sandwiches, nothing fancy today, and maybe for a while, just feeling the steam on my hand is agitating the pain again.

After I'm done, I check my phone for the time, and it's a quarter past five in the morning, I usually wake up around this time, and start my day, but since I've done most of the things I need to get done in the morning, I find myself looking around me kind of feeling bored and lost.

The phone which has been in my hand vibrates, alerting me to a text from Mr. Raynard, which is followed by a chain of texts after.

"Good morning, Puma."
"I hope you're coping well with your injuries."
"Just wanted to let you know that, there's no pressure about coming to work today, if you need to take the day off, that it's completely understandable."

I read his texts and think over my reply, then I type:

"Good morning, sir."
"Noted, sir".

I think that's a good enough reply, I put the phone on the coffee table and head to take the clothes out of the dryer to fold them, I put aside the things that needed ironing and sat down to start folding.

In the middle of folding, the phone vibrates continuously, this time it was a phone call from Mr. Raynard.

I swipe the green circle to answer, "Hello," I greeted, sounding kind off confused with the phone call.

"Hi," He greets back, he sounded kind off out of breath, "Why are you up so early?" He asked.

I frown at his question, is he serious? I guess common sense is not that common anymore, "Just because," I put the phone on speaker and placed it back on the table, "do you need something, Mr. Raynard?" I ask as I continue to fold my clothes.

I can hear him sigh through the phone, "how is your hand?" He asked.

"It's fine, sir." He didn't really call me to ask me that did he?

"I'm assuming that you're coming to work today," he says, the sound of metal clanking can be heard in the background.

"Your assumption is correct, sir".

"Then, when you get to the office I want you to arrange for a business trip this weekend," he says and pauses, I could hear his heavy breathing through the phone, he's probably at the gym exercising, his pause gives me just enough time to get up and grab the magnetic note pad and pen on the fridge, "I need you to book flight tickets to Verglas For the both of us, we have a casual business meeting with Bianca Bernard,"

Bianca Bernard? I've heard that name before.

"Ms. Bernard has offered to let us stay at her guest cabin, so don't worry about where we are staying, rather I want you to book a car rental instead," Mr. Raynard says.

"Noted sir, how long will the trip be?"

"Just the weekend, we should be back at the office by Monday," Mr. Raynard answers.

"Anything else, sir?" I asked.

"Yeah, make sure to pack warm clothes for the trip," he adds.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be hanging up," I alert him.

"Yeah, sure, I'll see you later at the office then," Mr. Raynard says.

"Later, sir," I say and wait for three seconds to give him a head start to hang up first, which he did.

I finish folding my clothes and ironing the rest, then I get dressed and ready for work, I may seem stoic on the outside, but my heart is beating like crazy right now, I like it when I get asked to do things, It makes me feel kind of important, like my assistance is needed.

Like I'm needed.

Having everything ready and packed, I grab my things and bolt through the door, it's probably six and a half because in my hurrying I walked straight into Mr. Maverick, my Shark hybrid neighbor.

"Oof!" I exclaim as I collided with his chest, I can feel myself falling back, and I'm prepared for this fall like many others before it, but instead, I'm yanked back up and pulled into Mr. Maverick's hard sweaty chest, he had his one arm around my waist securing me until I regained my footing.

"I'm so sorry, I was in a hurry and I didn't check if the elevator was empty or not before walking into...you," I apologized as I took a step back and out of his personal space.

"It's six thirty in the morning kid, what is the rush for," he stated I think, I don't think he meant it as a question, but he doesn't budge, and he's holding the elevator back from closing.

"Work, and I'm not a kid I'm twenty-nine," he looked shocked, I know, I don't really look my age.

The elevator doors attempted to close again but they failed, so I clear my throat and excuse myself as I walk past him and got inside the elevator after he made some room for me.

"Have a good day," I say, he nods his head, before he walks off down the corridor and into his apartment.

The elevator door closes which reminds me to press the ground floor button.

The subway trip was like any other trip, uneventful, except for the research I did on Ms. Bianca, and the town she lives in.

There's not much information about her, except that she's an heir to a wealthy family, and that she's in the same business field as Mr. Raynard.

The town she lives in is a few hours drive from the nearest airport, the weather there can be colder than in other areas, even if we are at the beginning of Autumn, we have to be mindful of the cold weather, and heavy rainfall there.

The only flight available is this Friday at ten pm, and the seats are limited as well.

Having been given Mr. Raynard's information by Batricia previously, I book two first-class tickets for both of us and continue to do my research about the car rentals in the area.

I'm walking down the street away from the subway station, and while checking the map for the nearest car rentals next to the airport, I'm interrupted by another call from Mr. Raynard.

"Hello," I greet him again.

He ignores my greeting, and goes straight to the point of his calling, "I see you've booked the tickets," must have been notified since I used the company's card.

"Yes, sir, would you like me to send you the flight detail?" I asked.

"Sure, for now, I want to know when will it be?" He asked.

"This Friday at ten pm, sir," I inform him as I crossed the road.

"What about the car rental?" He asked.

"I'm still looking into it," I inform.

"Let me know if everything is all set," he says then hangs up.

I walk into the building and head straight to the elevator after scanning my ID, there were a few people in the lobby, but none of them were waiting beside me, when the elevator arrives I walk inside and press the top level, when the doors start closing I hear someone calling, "hold the doors!" But in my panic I didn't.

The doors close for a second then open again, a tall, slim black cat human-hybrid is standing outside pressing the down button.

"Hi," he greets as he walks in, then presses the close button.

"Hi," I greet back kind off awkwardly, I'm still taken back by the situation, no one has asked me to hold the doors for them before, Mr. Maverick never asked as well, we just happened to have the same schedule, so we're always waiting for the elevator together.

"So, how was your first day? Do you like working at Fox Holdings?" The Cat hybrid asked, his pupils going thinner.

"..." I don't answer his questions, still weirded out by his familiar behavior.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners, my name is Noir, I'm the one who wrote your employment contract," he introduced.

"Yes, I've heard about you," I remember now, he's the one who added the termination fee clause.

"Yes! Hopefully, you've heard some nice things about me," he says and I don't say anything, avoiding his statement by looking away.

"..."

He is flabbergasted, but chuckles and shakes his head nonetheless, "anyway, welcome at Fox Holdings Puma, I'm looking forward to working alongside you," He says and extends his hand for a handshake.

I look at his hand then back at his face, he reminds me of him, the attitude, the cheerfulness, the eyes.

I see a glimpse of the past, a face I thought I forgot, pupils so thin, and words like venom.

"Why does everything goes wrong whenever you stand beside me?!" The words that ended what I thought was a genuine friendship.

I shake my head, shaking the bad memories, I take Noir's hand in mine, shaking it.

"Likewise," I say.

He leans down, bringing his head to my level, his face right in front of mine, his eyes unblinking, his pupils dilating slightly, "may I say, you smell so heavingly, is that your natural scent?"