"We get them a lot," Amber said as she stuffed another cookie into her mouth.

For such a small and thin woman, she sure did eat a lot. We had just got done with dinner. And she had eaten almost as much as me. And I've always eaten more than others.

"They're called pagans. The church does not like them, nor do they want us to associate with them, which is why they request things in such odd ways," Lughes explained.

"So... he's not a danger to us?" I asked.

"Most likely not. He probably just wants a painting of his god, this giant mouse thing," Amber said as she eyed the plate of cookies that sat in the center of the table. Was she going to eat all of them? I was tempted to not have any, just to see if she could or not.

"Are there many paintings like that? Here? Can I see them?" I asked Lughes.

"Oh... there are. I'll show you later," he said, excited.

Amber rolled her eyes, but said nothing. And not just because she had grabbed another cookie.

"Are there... lots of these pagans?" I asked another question, interested. It was a little odd, to find out that there were humans who worshiped people like us, or large animals... I mean... really?

Gods? Us?

"Oh indeed! Most used to be, until the churches grew so powerful. The church has slowly been proselytizing this world, and probably will get us all someday," Lughes said.

The bearded goat chuckled, as if he himself had nothing to do with any of it. Not even the world, which he so obviously lived within.

"Most the wars lately have been over religion," Amber said.

"Ah, they have been. In fact right now is some kind of siege, down south. Over a kidnapped saint," Lughes said, as if remembering something he had just talked about with someone. Probably had.

"Saint?" I asked.

"My mother was a saint," Amber said, with a cookie in hand.

Frowning, I wondered what that meant.

Lughes nodded, getting my attention. "A holy woman. The church uses them to display their power, or grant wealth," he explained.

"For her it was a curse," Amber though said.

I wanted to ask far more, but could tell by the way Amber bit into the next cookie that I shouldn't. She hadn't even chewed that one.

"So... how many of our kind are there? Or how many do you know?" I asked Lughes.

The goat scratched his beard, and I heard the odd sound as he did so. It really was more wool than anything else.

"Hm..." he pondered something for a moment, but before he could decide on what to say Amber grumbled something.

"Wait... you haven't explained the society to her yet?" Amber then asked, nearly dropping her newly grabbed cookie.

"Oh! Oh... no, I'm so sorry," Lughes startled, and I wondered why he was so odd. I hadn't thought goats, or sheep, to be so... air headed.

"He's been busy," I said for him. I admit I was growing impatient and wanted to know all about it... but I also knew I had time. We all did.

Or well, those like us did.

"She's been here for a month already," Amber spoke with a harsh tone, which told me she was annoyed not just for my sake but because this happened often.

Lughes was bad. He seemed to not only be scatterbrained but also forgot the urgency of stuff, sometimes. For a human, it was probably worse and far more annoying when he did so.

"Yes, well... We belong to the Non-Human Society," Lughes then said.

"We do?" I asked.

"Well, you should. I don't know if you belong just yet," Lughes said with a sigh.

"Do I need to pay or something?" I asked, smiling. I knew that wasn't the case, but it was a funny thought.

Amber snickered as she chewed another cookie. There were only a few left.

"No! Nothing of the sort... we just need to get you written into the ledgers. The tomes," he said happily.

"What are those?" I asked.

"Just books. That have the names of those like you," Amber said.

"Names..."

Lughes coughed, and went to grab a cookie. Before he could, Amber grabbed another. Lughes hesitated before he picked up his first cookie, and I smiled as he wearily took a bite of it. As if unsure if she'd snatch it from his hand or not.

Maybe she would, when taking into account that glare she had.

"It sounds fancy, but all it is are a bunch of your kind keeping in touch with each other. Writing letters, and stuff," Amber then said.

"Are you part of it too?" I asked her.

"I am, but I'm a human," she said plainly.

A human, in a supposed non-human group. Quaint.

"Most live alone. Families who live out in the middle of no-where. Others live like us, blending in. Some also live in whole villages. Not too far from here is a large village of foxes, one of my friends lives there. Kathrene," Lughes said.

"Whole villages?" I asked, and was shocked to hear it. I hadn't thought it possible.

"There are a few villages with predators, but I'll be honest I don't know of any cats. You'd think there'd be quite a few of you, but in the end you are still predators," Lughes said with a sigh.

Frowning, I wondered why he would say it that way. "What do you mean?"

"Predators die early, I guess. Something to do with the way you guys don't hide," Amber said.

"Predators fight back," Crane entered the room, carrying a plate. She placed it on the table, near Amber.

Another stack of cookies made Amber smile. It was a rare sight on her face, and I planned to eventually buy her similar snacks later. She'd probably give me such a smile if I brought them when she least expected it.

"You mean to the humans, don't you?" I asked.

"Well, yeah? What else will you fight with?" Amber asked.

"There used to be other things to fight," Crane said as she took a seat at the table.

Amber's look told me she didn't know anything about it, and it didn't seem Crane or Lughes were in any mood to tell her.

"Those like us have an easier time blending in, and also living with the humans. Predators find it difficult, especially if they have to be subservient," Crane explained.

"Ah... That does make sense," I agreed. My parents had hated humans to the point that they had chosen death over asking them for help.

Those like me had a tendency to either live in solitude, or ended up with their backs to the wall.

We didn't run and hide when that happened. We stood and fought. We held our ground.

And obviously, like my parents...

We always lost.

"Which is why it's rare to see you. It's a sad thought, but you may be one of the last of your kind Renn," Lughes said.

"Probably," I said. It was a sad thought, but nothing that I wasn't used to thinking.

Amber groaned, sitting back to stretch. Did her stomach hurt? "Vim should be here soon. Just ask him. These two are too air headed to be of any use," Amber then said.

"Oh! He will be won't he?" Lughes grew excited as he nodded, remembering.

"Him?" I asked.

"Vim," Crane corrected. "The society's protector. He travels around checking in on everyone, and it's about time he comes here... in fact, he might even be a little late," she said.

"He's not. He usually shows up as the snow begins to pile," Lughes said.

"It has been. For a month," Amber complained.

Lughes waved her comment away, which told me he hadn't actually noticed the snow yet.

Was he that old?

"How old are you?" I asked him.

"Hm? Hm..." His eyes went dull, as Crane snickered.

Sitting patiently, I wondered if he was older than me. He looked like it, but looks really didn't mean a whole lot when it came to our kind. Sometimes we looked young forever, other times we aged quickly...

"He's nearly four hundred years old," Crane answered finally, when we all realized he wasn't going to remember.

Lughes tilted his head, as if he was wondering if she was correct or not.

"Is he really?" Amber groaned, staring at the old man sitting next to her.

"I must be. Shelldon is older. Probably why he sleeps so much," Lughes said after a moment. I could tell by the way her smiled that he had abandoned all effort in remember his actual age.

"Is he sleeping now?" I asked. Maybe that was why I hadn't met him yet.

"No," was all Crane said.

Great. That meant he's been talking to them. He was just hiding from me.

Was I that scary?

"It's not really you, Renn. I've only met him once, and I'll be twenty in a few months," Amber said.

"Twenty! So old!" Lughes said happily.

Amber smiled, but shook her head.

"I do remember her when she was a baby. That wasn't that long ago," Crane said, nodding.

"Right! Vim brought her and her mother. All bundled up, wasn't she?" Lughes nodded, closing his eyes as if to relive the memory.

The one being talked about was silent, ignoring them both. She was more focused on the plate of cookies near her.

She couldn't possibly be...

She was able. It only took her a few bites to eat another.

Were they that delicious?

"So... Vim brought you here?" I asked her.

"He brought my mother. I was just a baby, not like I had a say in the matter," Amber said, as if annoyed over it.

Annoyed, yet still lived here. Still stayed here, with them.

Smiling at her, I watched her grab another cookie... but this time she didn't go straight to eating it. "He's okay. At least he's a little more normal than these two," she said as she pointed her cookie at Crane.

"Okay, she says. Don't let her lie to you, she absolutely hates Vim," Crane said.

I sat up a little, since the way Amber's face contorted told me that Crane was telling the truth.

"You hate him?" I asked, and wondered why. Amber was a little... prickly sometimes, but she seemed like such a good-hearted girl. If she hated someone, there was probably a good reason.

"I don't! Not really... he's just..." she sighed, and I realized this was something that was talked about before. Maybe even in length.

"She doesn't like how dangerous he is," Lughes said plainly.

"No! It's not that!" Amber tried to argue, and I wondered if she was blushing. It was hard to tell, with her skin tone.

"It's okay, Amber. He scares me sometimes too," Crane said, nodding in agreement.

"I said it's not that!" Amber's voice became a little higher, as she tried to defend herself.

"He's dangerous?" I asked, and wondered why Crane was scared of him. Granted she had been a little scared of me when we had first met too, but that had been for obvious reasons. She was worried I was here to hurt her, or her family.

"Vim's a predator. Like you. It scares us sometimes," Lughes said gently.

"Ah..." I understood, and wondered if that meant Crane and Lughes felt a small sense of discomfort around me.

That hurt more than Lughes saying I was the last of my kind.

"There's nothing to actually be afraid of though, he's our protector," Crane said.

Lughes nodded, as Amber sulkily lowered her head, as if she hoped she'd be forgotten amidst the conversation and left alone for a while.

"What... what do you mean by protector? I get the meaning of the word but..." I didn't know exactly what I wanted to ask, but I felt like I needed to know.