“Kituki!” Ishikawa called me from the front of the store. I bounded to the front, giggling happily with a large smile on my face.

“Yes Mr. Ishi?” I asked almost bouncing from the attention.

“Would you mind sweeping the store for me? I’ll handle the sales and the heavy stuff.” He asked with a smile.

“OK!” I turned and ran for the broom in the utility closet. I grabbed the broom and made my daily rounds of the store. A few hours later Ishikawa gave me my payment for the week’s work. I ran out of the store chuckling, carrying one of my many dolls with me on the way home. It was getting dark so I decided to take a faster way home. I’m still a good forty years away from being able to stay out after dark.

Heading between two buildings, I bounded up the sides of them up to the rooftop and ran along towards the southern Shingtagu homes. As I bounded over I saw the landlady looking around, as if she lost something. I landed just a few feet away and smiled at her.

“Ah! There you are Kituki, I was beginning to think you got lost.” She smiled looking over at me.

“Nope! I just got held up at Ishi’s store. Here miss Landlady!” I handed her my payment for this week’s job.

“Are you sure Kituki? I mean, it’s your entire week’s pay. I wouldn’t want you to go hungry trying to keep up with the rent. You’re just a young girl. Barely eighty years old.”

“I’m sure!” I said running into the building. Later that night, I was looking up at the stars outside my window, trying to think of a life with a mother or a father. Trying to imagine what it would be like to be loved, to be able to show the world who I am. “That stupid law…Because of it, I have to hide my heritage. I don’t even know who…or where my parents are. People said I appeared in the middle of the night one night with no explanation. Someone left me here in Miss Landlady’s care. ” I thought to myself.

My name is Kituki Hameda, or at least… that’s what I’ve been told. I’m Eighty Years old, still a young girl with a lot of future ahead of her. I don’t know how I came to be an orphan in this world or why my parents gave me up to live alone. But I’m here now and making the best that I can. My room is a one room apartment, with not much more than a bed covered in my many home made stuffed animals and a mirror in a corner. The bed itself is covered with a sheet that’s been mended a few dozen times.

I stood up from the window I was looking out and looked at myself in the mirror with the hood of my father’s robe down. The image looking back at me was a little Grishikular girl, who had rabbit ears on her head, white fur covering her body, and a fox tail poking out of the tattered black robe behind her, white hair flowing down to her behind, red eyes that somehow showed innocence in them, and a sad smile of loneliness. She was no taller than Two foot five inches. The robe she had on had several patches showing the decades of use. I turned around, closing the windows and blinds so I could take off my robe. Pulling it off revealed a pink dress that left my arms exposed. “Oh how I wish I could show people this.” I did a few twirls before getting tired and turned in for the night.

The next morning, the sun shone through the pink curtains waking me up with its brightness. I opened my curtain and looked out the window. Shingtagu is a trading town where Grishikular, Druswar, and Grishikleer live. It’s a must stop for traders, and consumers alike that want to get a great deal on anything or to stock up for a long journey. I’ve been here for a long time, and watched my friends grow up and die, leaving their children to run their stores and businesses. They were good friends, but because they were Druswar, their blood line made them mature much quicker. So I was left alone, that much sooner. Everyone has their own lives to live so I don’t bother anyone much anymore. The dolls are the only friends I have left.

Getting ready for the day, I pulled on my robe and pulled up the hood to hide my ears. I ran out the door with my stomach growling, and carrying my favorite doll with me. “I think
I may have to use that skill today. This is the third day in a row I haven’t had food…” I thought. “I really don’t want to…maybe tomorrow.” I instead made a detour to the park on the north side of town. Looking around for kids I realized they must still be with their parents learning to survive. Sighing, I walked around town bored. “There’s nothing fun to do...”

Passing by the north gates, I looked outside to be met with the endless sea of trees. At first glance I thought I saw a traveler coming, but looking back I saw nothing. “I must be really bored to imagine things.” As I was thinking my stomach growled telling me to feed it soon. “I guess I can’t help it. It’s either that or I starve.” I wandered to the trade district of town.

As soon as I got there, I used magic to bring my doll alive, and had it dance around in the street, climb people, and jump from shoulder to shoulder. The Grishi that had gathered were laughing and enjoying themselves. While they were busy with my doll, I was trying to pickpocket someone when he pulled away suddenly and the pouch pulled off his belt. He turned around to find his missing belt pouch and found me holding it yelling angrily at me.

I took off running with the pouch no sooner than I was discovered. The doll managed to jump off someone as I passed and onto my shoulder. I ran into a bar, making my way through it, and out the back of the kitchen. From there I ran along the back alley ways only to look back briefly to see if someone was following me. Satisfied when no one was, I jumped up to the roofs to look for a suitable place to get food.

”Mr. Ishi always has yummy foods! Though with what I just did, going back would just mean I’d be starving again.” I sat there for a while, afraid of facing the consequences. I must have passed out because next thing I know, It was after dark and I was waking up. Realizing how late it was, I started running home along the roof tops. Before I jumped, I saw strange guards asking a civilian a question. “What’s going on?” Taking a few smells of the air revealed that the guards were dogs.

I watched them for a while and used my rabbit ears to listen in.

“Are you sure you haven’t seen a Grishikular girl, Sir?” queried one of them.

“I’m positive. I wasn’t even aware there was one living here,” The frightend man responded.

“So you do know!”

“No! I swear!”

“Don’t lie to us! Do you know what happens to those who lie to us?” The apparent leader growled.

“N-no! Don’t hurt me please!”

The leader didn’t listen and in one smooth motion, grabbed the man’s neck lifting him off the ground. The man struggled desperately to survive but his efforts were futile. With-in minutes, the man stopped moving completely. His lifeless body was thrown to the ground, like nothing more than a rag doll. “Next time, you’re asked something, don’t lie.”

I waited till they left, and kept waiting for a while. “Is…he sleeping?” I jumped down from the roof careful to be quiet and made my way over to the body. A few quick sniffs told me he wasn’t alive. I was so scared that I ran back up to the rooftops and slept there for the rest of the night. The earlier images replaying in my head again and again.

I woke up later in the night unable to sleep anymore. Still scared to move, I peered over the edge. A group of Grishi gathered around the dead body and where gossiping amongst themselves. I didn’t care what they were saying. I just wanted to get away so I just ran across the rooftops making a detour home.

I landed on a roof outside my home, and wanting to be careful, took a few good sniffs of the air around me. I didn’t smell any dogs nearby so I quickly made my way inside and collapsed on my bed, my heart beating fast. “Who were those dogs?” I contemplated all possibilities, but my mind kept wandering to other things. I finally gave up and pulled out one of the dresses I’ve been making for a while, as well as my sewing kit.

The dress was a light blue color with white frills along the all the openings. A bow tied in the back of the dress just at the waist so it would fit the curves of anyone who wears it. The entire dress was made to look elegant but durable at the same time. “I can’t wait to finish this, it looks sooo cute,” I smiled to myself as I was sewing. I found myself wondering how my mother would feel if she saw this. I immediately stopped sewing at the thought. I sat there for several minutes trying to imagine a mother, but no face matched the name. I finally slapped myself out of the trance and went back to work, thinking only of the project in my hands.

A few hours later I replaced the dress in my closet. ”Just a few more hours and I’ll be done!” I chuckled to myself happily. Looking out the window, I realized I hadn’t been to Ishikawa’s today. The prospect of running into those five guards that killed a man for not having the information they wanted scared me, so I didn’t want to venture outside my four walls yet. “What if they ask me for the information I didn’t know? Are they going to kill me too?” I thought about that for a while before I finally succumbed to sleep. I woke up later to find myself covered in a light blanket. Some food and water sitting by my bed with a note was sitting next to it. Picking up the note I saw that it was from the landlady. It read:

Dear Kituki,

I saw you were home today after staying out for a day and a half. I hope you find this meal acceptable. I wanted to get it to you while it was warm but you had already fallen asleep.
Signed,
Vera

“Thank you miss Landlady.” I ate the meal without much fuss. It wasn’t delicious, but at least it was filling. I took off everything down to my underwear, making sure to properly hang up the robe, and dress so it didn’t wrinkle too much more. I then laid down to sleep the rest of the night in my own bed.

While I was sleeping I had a nightmare. The dogs had found me and started interrogating me about my parents. When I said I didn’t know they stabbed me with a sword. Each time they asked me a question I didn’t have the answer to it. They slowly made the cut bigger to each of my answers. I was writhing in pain begging for them to stop. They just laughed and started cutting my fingers off one by one, all the while telling me to make my screams loud enough to make the dead rise up.

I woke up in a cold sweat, feeling my stomach for a wound of any kind or blood. When there was none I was relieved, but I broke down crying, hugging one of my dolls tightly. It took a while for me to finally calm down, so long that the sun was starting to shine in my window onto my curtains giving the room a pinkish tint.

I got up slowly and pushed myself to get ready for work for the day. Though more than anything I wanted to disappear at that moment. I finished getting ready and made my way to Ishikawa’s. Every second that passed felt like minutes, fearing that Ishikawa would yell at me for not even showing up yesterday for work.

“Ah! There you are Kituki. I was worried when I saw Enforcers walking around yesterday and you didn’t show up for work,” Ishikawa greeted me as I walked into the store.

“Sorry Mr. Ishi. Enforcers?” I queried.

“Um..Nothing. Never mind. It’s not important. Can you sweep the store for me while I handle the customers?” He turned and walked away before I could give my answer.

“Um…sure…I can do that…” I responded, wanting to take my mind of things I busied myself with my normal routine at the store. Making sure I didn’t have time to think. After a few hours, I had completely forgotten the incident and soon was back to myself.

The sun was going down as I left Ishikawa’s grocery store headed for home. Half way there, I heard a familiar voice that made me stop in my tracks in fear and head for the rooftops again. Listening in, I managed to pinpoint where they were and watch without being seen.

“I’m sure you don’t want to anger the claws of the council, just tell us what we want to know.” Said the dog leader.

“I told you, I don’t know anything!” The woman being interrogated yelled.

“Worthless!” The leader yelled slapping her to the side. “Kill her, liars don’t deserve to live.” He said walking off while one of the other dogs stabbed a sword through her stomach. She cried in pain for only a moment before the sword was pulled out and stabbed through the head, killing her instantly.

As soon as the woman was dead the rest of the dogs followed their leader in search of whoever they were looking for. “This is not good. If they keep this up, they may just kill the entire town.” I thought to myself as I moved away from the body. I slowly made my way home making sure I wasn’t seen by those dogs as I jumped from roof to roof.

By the time I got home, those thoughts of fear were invading my mind again. I went inside and hid under my bed with a doll and fell asleep there. The same dream as before came again. This time, my jaw was cut off, as well as my arm. Each cut only an inch apart. I was scared and begging for mercy.

I woke up banging my head against the bed above me, screaming in fear. It took me a full minute to calm down. I curled up with my doll in my arms, squeezing it tightly. I refrained from thinking all together. It was hard to do but staring at the same spot on a wall seemed helped me some. “Those dogs are really starting to scare me,” I thought every so often.

I must have been staring for hours because eventually the sun started shining into my window. I slowly crawled out from under my bed, looking around. When I was content that no one was here to kill me, I got ready for the day. Sighing, I walked out the door, scared to see those dogs again.

As I was walking to Ishikawa’s I felt someone watching me, but when I looked around no one was looking in my direction. Taking a side path, that feeling still followed. So I jumped up to the roof tops and looked around one more time, trying to spot something out of place. The feeling quickly subsided though so I kept to the rooftops as I continued heading for work.

By the time I reached Ishikawa’s store, my nerves were so much on edge, that when Ishikawa called my name I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“Are you ok Kituki?” Ishikawa asked me.

“Y-yeah! I’m fine Mr. Ishi! Why do you ask?” I responded with enthusiasm.

“You just seem different than usual. Something happen at home?”

“No, Mr. Ishi. Everything is fine.”

“Well, alright. Sweep the store for me please Kituki?”

“Sure!” I smiled, running for the broom to sweep out the dirt that has been dragged in from outside.

Later on in the day I was stocking shelves when a woman tapped on my shoulder. When I screamed and jumped, she went backwards into another shelf, knocking it over. It caused a chain reaction, till all the shelves were knocked over up to the wall, and inventory was all over the floor, broken, and now useless.

“OH! I’m so sorry! You surprised me and I knocked over the shelves.” The woman said, trying to help pick up the shelves so we could get to the fallen food.

“It’s my fault, I’ve been in a daze all day.” I replied trying to lift the shelf. Unfortunatly I was too small to move it.

“Kituki, I think you should go home for today.” Ishikawa voiced, lifting the shelf.

“But Mr. Ishi-“ I got cut off.

“You’ve been distracted all day, I’ll clean up the mess, but this will be deducted from your pay. I’m sorry Kituki.”

“Yes Mr. Ishi.” I responded sadly, walking out the door and heading home.
I walked to the park and sat down in a wide open grassy field. Looking around there was no one nearby, so I could relax and rest for a bit. Lieing back, I fell asleep, keeping myself alert to move, should someone find me.

I must have fallen asleep faster than I anticipated, because the next time I opened my eyes, the sun had set and it was pitch black, save for the lights from the town. I got up and headed for the lights slowly. It felt like someone was following me again, so as soon as I could see well enough to move without falling over, I ran for home.

When I got home, I collapsed on my bed and just laid there. “This is bad… I don’t know who to trust…” I thought to myself. I was broken out of my thought process when I smelled something burning. Standing up, I saw my closet was on fire and it was quickly spreading throughout the room, trapping me in the middle. Thinking quickly, I grabbed my emergency bag and my favorite doll that I couldn’t live without.

I pulled up the floorboards revealing a tunnel made long ago when I was bored, and jumped down into it. Following the tunnel out I reached out to street level, and went to leave when I saw the Dogs standing outside arguing with the Land Lady.

“What gives you the right to burn down my property?” She yelled at the leader.

“We are the Enforcers. Arm of the Council of The Tribes. We have word that a Grishikular was here, and our orders are to find it, and kill it. And we will kill anyone that stands in our way.” The leader responded. My home collapsed as he was talking. “Search the remains. We want to be sure we got her.” All but two of the dogs went to stop the fire and search the remains.

Suddenly one looked my way and turned to the captain, before a figure swooped in and knocked him out.

“Who the hell are you!?” demanded the leader.

“Aww. You don’t remember me….how disappointing.” The figure responded.

“Kill her!” He commanded. The other dogs drew their weapons and charged the tall woman. She dodged with ease, hitting each of them once with her staff.

“Please, I’ve seen Druswar stronger than you..” She grinned. “You’re nothing but mangy mutts.” The leader drew his weapon and slashed at the woman. She grabbed the wrist with one hand, pulling him down to the side, and spun around, throwing him on to the other three dogs, knocking one more out.

The dog leader was so angry I could hear him growling from where I was hiding in the shadows.. “Grab the fallen and retreat!” he ran off with his two remaining men picking up the unconscious and running off after him.

The Land Lady went over to talk to the woman. While they were talking I could see the woman accurately for the first time. She looked proud, and confident while she talked to the Land Lady, Almost like a wolf would. Her hair was pitch black and down to her butt, her tail poking out from her robe, with an elegantly designed wooden staff in her hand.

I stood there, looking around for a way to leave without being seen. As I started to move, I heard the woman call out, “Let’s go! It’s time to leave!” I turned back and she was staring right at me.

“You better listen to her Kituki.” The Land Lady said looking this way. I slowly stepped out of the shadows, scared out of my mind. “What does this woman want with me?”
The woman leaned down a picked me up with one hand, placing me under her arm.

“Wait…what are you-!” I started to say before she took off running faster than I’ve ever seen someone move, jumping over buildings without straining herself. I grabbed on tightly to her robe, to make sure she didn’t drop me. Everything went pitch black again as we left Shingtagu. But that didn’t stop her. She kept running despite the lack of visibility, I was in awe.

Eventually she stopped running and put me down. I heard her walk off and rummage in the bushes, stopping every so often for some reason. The woman came back and I heard a bunch of wood hit the ground. Seconds later a fire was started and I could see again for a short distance.

“Who are you?” I asked her, but she didn’t respond. “What do you want with me?” Still no response.

After a while of trying I eventually gave up and sat there staring into the fire thinking. “Why won’t she talk to me now?” I wondered. I looked over at the woman to find she had laid down. I hugged my doll tightly, and curled up a short distance away from the wolf.

My dream was pleasant for the first time in a while. I was naked in a field of flowers. The sun was shining, and the view was beautiful. I was out playing and dancing in the field, happy as can be till I saw a figure in the distance waving for me. I ran closer to it, and the figure started to become clearer. But before I could make out the figure though, the dream ended.

I was woken up when the woman roughly pushed me away from her. A quick look revealed her hair was glowing white on the underside. I didn’t think much about it at the time, but I didn’t see it the night before.

“Ow! That hurt!” I reacted, holding a hand where she had pushed me.

“That’s what you get for trying to sleep next to me.” She scoffed and walked away. Leaving me wondering how far away I had to sleep to not sleep next to her.

I stood up and looked around. The morning sun was shining through the forest trees. There was a huge crystal blue lake next to me, and off in the distance, exactly on the other side of the lake, was Shingtagu. I was amazed how far we had traveled in just one night. “Wow…I knew Shingtagu was big, but it looks like a pebble from this distance.”

Looking around I realized the woman had walked off and quickly sniffed around to catch up with her. I took one last look behind me at the only home I’ve known for years, and ran off to find the woman.