The slime imitation of the cat girl wrapped its gooey arm around the chest, satisfied with accomplishing its feat in catching KuliKuli inside. It spun around to scan the backstage area where the wall was burned through as a consequence of their battle. One of the many hats scattered on the floor rolled around on its own before slowing down to a stop. The slime cocked its head and glanced around the mess it made, with shattered bookcases and upside down couches surrounding the creature as a reminder of its aggressive pursuit against the Nekomata. It lowered its head, leaving no doubt that Arcaye would be displeased by the mess it made. Unbeknownst to the slime creature, Felix carefully snuck around to the back of the wardrobe when he bent down and picked up a leather shoe.
He threw the shoe to the corner of the room opposite of his presence, catching the slime's attention as it dropped the chest and shot out its arm. It penetrated the shoe with terrifying accuracy before dissolving it slowly. The monster approached the area to inspect where the noise came from, allowing Felix the opportunity to approach the chest and slowly open it before peaking inside. He saw a number of wands and rings inside along with a few gloves and head braces, with a few hats piled on top. He recoiled with a puzzled look, picking up two hats and looking inside. Bewildered, he reached out for the next hat when a green paw smacked it from his hand. He fell back in shock, kicking his feet to push himself further from the approaching monster when the chest shook. The monster glared at the container, pulling its head back when the hat jumped in the air briefly. Felix saw this and crawled behind the wardrobe while the slime monster reached for the hat when out popped KuliKuli's little cat head, peaking out of the hat.
Her eyes flashed and she ducked back inside, appearing from another hat in the other side of the room. The slime tossed the hat away and raised its arm to grab her when Felix pressed his hands on the wardrobe and pushed. It groaned and crashed over the green imitation of KuliKuli, with Felix climbing over it and ran toward the exit.
"Hurry!" He shouted, with KuliKuli growing back into her humanoid form. She rushed through the crater in the wall which lead back to the halls surrounding the circus, with Felix looking back when the wardrobe burst from inside. The monster pierced through the cabinet and spilled out in a pool of sticky green sludge, returning back into its shapeless appearance and gliding across the floor and secreting a green mucus trail like a snail. He turned his head and found the shelf stocked with different colored potions, choosing to pull it down as dozens of spherical glass bottles shattered and crashed, sending piles of broken glass over the floor. It immediately combusted with an explosive force, sending Felix back as a fire began to spread. The creature pulled back as the flames burned away at its body. It whimpered and squealed in pain, crawling away from the fire and through the exit, seemingly abandoning the chase.
"Felix!" KuliKuli cried out, kneeling down and patting his leg. He looked down and realized that his pant leg had caught on fire, a sense of panic arose as his Nekomata put the flame out quickly. They helped each other up and ran down the hall where they came from while the fire began to grow.
CRASH!
With a whip of her tail, the snake girl named Szy'Rya struck the fractured glass at the biome, setting Umeko free. She shielded herself from the impact before carefully climbing out from the display when Reta offered her a hand. She stared but slowly reached out and held it, nodding in return as Reta helped her down. They spun around to the exit when Felix and KuliKuli ran past the door, quickly returning as they acknowledged their presence inside.
"Fire! We have a fire, we have to go!" Felix shouted.
KuliKuli ran inside, grabbing hold of Umeko's other arm when she yanked away. Reta scowled and chided her in their language, resulting in Umeko groaning back before offering for KuliKuli to help her. She accepted with a bit of reluctance, maintaining a serious look on her face as she and Reta carried Umeko out of the biome. Due to her large size, Szy'Rya slipped through the door as the last one behind the group.
"Where is the exit? Are we still under Arcaye's illusionary spell?" Felix asked with his head turned to Janette.
She raised her hands in return. "I-I don't know, I don't even know how that works. How bad is the fire? I don't see-"
Her hair covered her face when a sheer force swept through the halls as the backstage room fulminated in a roar, the flames bursting through the big top as the whole tent began to catch in flames. Everyone had ducked to cover themselves, raising their heads and seeing the ashes of fire burn through the circus and spread quickly. Not a word was spoken as one look between everyone was enough to acknowledge the urgency of their situation. They ran further down and didn't stop, finding a sense of relief in their hearts when they finally found the exit they had been unable to see, confirming that Arcaye's illusionary spell had been lifted.
Arcaye casually strolled down the sidewalk, tipping his hand and greeting the numerous pedestrians who recognized him. A chain of keys swung around his finger before he stuffed them into his pocket, while walking with his snake staff as if it were a walking stick. When he arrived at the entrance to a tavern, he knocked on it using his staff and waited briefly before someone opened it for him. He was met with a wave and a friendly greeting of familiar faces. The tavern was full of his workers and performers who had wiped the makeup off their faces and changed into more casual clothes before sitting down for a pint to wet their whistles and relax for the night. He waved back with a smile, removing his red coat and placing it on the hanger as the barkeeper, a short ginger dwarf, slapped her hand on the bar to grab his attention.
"Aye if it isn't the man o' de hour! Will ye be coverin' everyone 'ere for a round on yer tab?" She teased, with some of the gnomes raising their mugs and smiling in an attempt to persuade him.
Arcaye chuckled and shook his head as he placed his hat over the hanger. "Aye now, I'm not that generous! Just needed to clean up a bit before closing down. Had a few things to take care of but it'll all be well and done soon."
The sight of the big top igniting with a growing spread of fire in the top emerged, lighting the sky. Some of the workers gasped and jumped off their stools, sending them to the ground as they ran out for a better look. Arcaye spun around with wide eyes, watching his beloved circus as it began to burn quickly.
"Ooh," The dwarf pressed her lips in a low whistle, casually polishing an empty mug in her hand. "You 'ave a funny way o' takin' care o' things. I s'pose now ain't a bad time fer think' of retirin' soon?"
"Oh my GODS!" He yelled out, running down the street as his men hurried behind him, some of them stumbling behind due to their drunken stupor.
KuliKuli and the others hurried out of the circus entrance as a crowd of onlookers sat around and watched the growing fire. Some of them shouted out to call the guards while others called for water. A small few were making haste with a few buckets in hand in a futile attempt to stop the blaze from engulfing the rest of the circus. A few gasps were here when they saw a cat girl with a few others emerge from the exit followed by an enormous snake girl slithering behind them. She hissed and showed her fangs, preventing anyone from following as they ran down the streets and into an alleyway.
When they were finally alone, they settled down to catch their breaths. Janette was coughing hard, falling down with her face covered in soot while she clutched her chest. KuliKuli noticed dozens of people running past the alleyway, including a panicked Arcaye leading his workers back to the fires. She sank to her knees feeling a wave of relief flow through her, interrupted by the hiss of their accompanying snake girl as she barely managed to squeeze her body through the narrow passage with them.
"Thank you, for helping us." KuliKuli said though a few breathes, feeling her chest burn due to their sprint.
Szy'Rya bowed her head silently before staring down the hall. "The night can only hide me from their sssight for so long."
"You can stay with us, we have a cabin several hours from-"
"No."
KuliKuli turned around, spotting Felix as he kneeled next to Janette to comfort her as she slowly caught her breath. He shook his head with a guilty look. "I'm sorry, but no. We can't take her with us."
"What, why not?"
"Because look at the size of her, there isn't any room for her in the cabin. And besides, she would bring too much attention for us if we try to leave. We can't fit her in the carriage, and the city has plenty of lights so it won't be as easy as you would think to leave without a few heads turning around. We just barely escaped with out lives, and some of us are hurt. We are going home, no questions about that."
"But Felix, we can still try." Her response was met with Felix standing up with a serious look on his face.
"KuliKuli, I tried doing something different tonight and look where that lead us to. There's no way I'm risking our safety by trying to bring her along. We can maybe fit Umeko, but not her."
Janette shot her hand up, slowly climbing back to her feet as her coughing fit had paused and gave her a moment to speak. "I could take her to my house, we have plenty of room and she won't bring any attention there. But-"
She turned her head and coughed again, holding her head as she sucked in air. "Agh, I can do that. But I have workers around the place, the snake would be too big."
Szy'Rya hissed and raised her body up, her green hands pressed on her waist as she looked down on them. "I do not need your care or hossspitality. I was fine looking after myssself, and I prefer to keep it that way. I will make my leave after a time has passed. I will search for a new home to claim before mating season arrives."
Felix raised his hands up while giving KuliKuli a look, finding the situation to resolve itself. Umeko had kept silent, rubbing her stomach and looking up at Reta for comfort. She held her arm back, saying nothing in return. There was something about the way they looked into each other, a shared history that KuliKuli noticed at this time. It reminded her that she had not known her new friend as well as she thought, she was rather clueless about Reta's history until tonight. That revelation left her with a feeling of guilt, wondering if she was perhaps a bad friend for not asking Reta about her past before. There was a look of pain between Reta and Umeko, yet also a feeling of camaraderie that connected them. Despite her reluctance to work with outsiders, Umeko accepted their help, but now the issue focused on how she would be returning home.
Would that mean that Reta would be leaving as well? KuliKuli felt her stomach turn at the thought, choosing not to think about it instead.
Felix poked his head out, casually walking into the sidewalk to see if anyone was nearby. There had grown to be a large gathering of people wanting to help put the fires out, with some of the gnomes bringing out the polar bear and her cub, guiding them into small carts linked to another cage where a lion was pacing around behind bars. He snuck back into the alley and whistled for them to leave, with Janette being held by KuliKuli as she shot him an angry look before passing by. Reta offered a hand when Umeko slapped it away, standing up on her own. The two began to leave when Reta turned back to give the snake one last look.
"Arigato, umm, thank you. For helping us escape and for freeing her."
"You firssst." Szy'Rya smiled back, watching them slip away. She turned around and slipped further into the darkness, hissing one last time before disappearing.
The slime imitation of the cat girl wrapped its gooey arm around the chest, satisfied with accomplishing its feat in catching KuliKuli inside. It spun around to scan the backstage area where the wall was burned through as a consequence of their battle. One of the many hats scattered on the floor rolled around on its own before slowing down to a stop. The slime cocked its head and glanced around the mess it made, with shattered bookcases and upside down couches surrounding the creature as a reminder of its aggressive pursuit against the Nekomata. It lowered its head, leaving no doubt that Arcaye would be displeased by the mess it made. Unbeknownst to the slime creature, Felix carefully snuck around to the back of the wardrobe when he bent down and picked up a leather shoe.
He threw the shoe to the corner of the room opposite of his presence, catching the slime's attention as it dropped the chest and shot out its arm. It penetrated the shoe with terrifying accuracy before dissolving it slowly. The monster approached the area to inspect where the noise came from, allowing Felix the opportunity to approach the chest and slowly open it before peaking inside. He saw a number of wands and rings inside along with a few gloves and head braces, with a few hats piled on top. He recoiled with a puzzled look, picking up two hats and looking inside. Bewildered, he reached out for the next hat when a green paw smacked it from his hand. He fell back in shock, kicking his feet to push himself further from the approaching monster when the chest shook. The monster glared at the container, pulling its head back when the hat jumped in the air briefly. Felix saw this and crawled behind the wardrobe while the slime monster reached for the hat when out popped KuliKuli's little cat head, peaking out of the hat.
Her eyes flashed and she ducked back inside, appearing from another hat in the other side of the room. The slime tossed the hat away and raised its arm to grab her when Felix pressed his hands on the wardrobe and pushed. It groaned and crashed over the green imitation of KuliKuli, with Felix climbing over it and ran toward the exit.
"Hurry!" He shouted, with KuliKuli growing back into her humanoid form. She rushed through the crater in the wall which lead back to the halls surrounding the circus, with Felix looking back when the wardrobe burst from inside. The monster pierced through the cabinet and spilled out in a pool of sticky green sludge, returning back into its shapeless appearance and gliding across the floor and secreting a green mucus trail like a snail. He turned his head and found the shelf stocked with different colored potions, choosing to pull it down as dozens of spherical glass bottles shattered and crashed, sending piles of broken glass over the floor. It immediately combusted with an explosive force, sending Felix back as a fire began to spread. The creature pulled back as the flames burned away at its body. It whimpered and squealed in pain, crawling away from the fire and through the exit, seemingly abandoning the chase.
"Felix!" KuliKuli cried out, kneeling down and patting his leg. He looked down and realized that his pant leg had caught on fire, a sense of panic arose as his Nekomata put the flame out quickly. They helped each other up and ran down the hall where they came from while the fire began to grow.
CRASH!
With a whip of her tail, the snake girl named Szy'Rya struck the fractured glass at the biome, setting Umeko free. She shielded herself from the impact before carefully climbing out from the display when Reta offered her a hand. She stared but slowly reached out and held it, nodding in return as Reta helped her down. They spun around to the exit when Felix and KuliKuli ran past the door, quickly returning as they acknowledged their presence inside.
"Fire! We have a fire, we have to go!" Felix shouted.
KuliKuli ran inside, grabbing hold of Umeko's other arm when she yanked away. Reta scowled and chided her in their language, resulting in Umeko groaning back before offering for KuliKuli to help her. She accepted with a bit of reluctance, maintaining a serious look on her face as she and Reta carried Umeko out of the biome. Due to her large size, Szy'Rya slipped through the door as the last one behind the group.
"Where is the exit? Are we still under Arcaye's illusionary spell?" Felix asked with his head turned to Janette.
She raised her hands in return. "I-I don't know, I don't even know how that works. How bad is the fire? I don't see-"
Her hair covered her face when a sheer force swept through the halls as the backstage room fulminated in a roar, the flames bursting through the big top as the whole tent began to catch in flames. Everyone had ducked to cover themselves, raising their heads and seeing the ashes of fire burn through the circus and spread quickly. Not a word was spoken as one look between everyone was enough to acknowledge the urgency of their situation. They ran further down and didn't stop, finding a sense of relief in their hearts when they finally found the exit they had been unable to see, confirming that Arcaye's illusionary spell had been lifted.
Arcaye casually strolled down the sidewalk, tipping his hand and greeting the numerous pedestrians who recognized him. A chain of keys swung around his finger before he stuffed them into his pocket, while walking with his snake staff as if it were a walking stick. When he arrived at the entrance to a tavern, he knocked on it using his staff and waited briefly before someone opened it for him. He was met with a wave and a friendly greeting of familiar faces. The tavern was full of his workers and performers who had wiped the makeup off their faces and changed into more casual clothes before sitting down for a pint to wet their whistles and relax for the night. He waved back with a smile, removing his red coat and placing it on the hanger as the barkeeper, a short ginger dwarf, slapped her hand on the bar to grab his attention.
"Aye if it isn't the man o' de hour! Will ye be coverin' everyone 'ere for a round on yer tab?" She teased, with some of the gnomes raising their mugs and smiling in an attempt to persuade him.
Arcaye chuckled and shook his head as he placed his hat over the hanger. "Aye now, I'm not that generous! Just needed to clean up a bit before closing down. Had a few things to take care of but it'll all be well and done soon."
The sight of the big top igniting with a growing spread of fire in the top emerged, lighting the sky. Some of the workers gasped and jumped off their stools, sending them to the ground as they ran out for a better look. Arcaye spun around with wide eyes, watching his beloved circus as it began to burn quickly.
"Ooh," The dwarf pressed her lips in a low whistle, casually polishing an empty mug in her hand. "You 'ave a funny way o' takin' care o' things. I s'pose now ain't a bad time fer think' of retirin' soon?"
"Oh my GODS!" He yelled out, running down the street as his men hurried behind him, some of them stumbling behind due to their drunken stupor.
KuliKuli and the others hurried out of the circus entrance as a crowd of onlookers sat around and watched the growing fire. Some of them shouted out to call the guards while others called for water. A small few were making haste with a few buckets in hand in a futile attempt to stop the blaze from engulfing the rest of the circus. A few gasps were here when they saw a cat girl with a few others emerge from the exit followed by an enormous snake girl slithering behind them. She hissed and showed her fangs, preventing anyone from following as they ran down the streets and into an alleyway.
When they were finally alone, they settled down to catch their breaths. Janette was coughing hard, falling down with her face covered in soot while she clutched her chest. KuliKuli noticed dozens of people running past the alleyway, including a panicked Arcaye leading his workers back to the fires. She sank to her knees feeling a wave of relief flow through her, interrupted by the hiss of their accompanying snake girl as she barely managed to squeeze her body through the narrow passage with them.
"Thank you, for helping us." KuliKuli said though a few breathes, feeling her chest burn due to their sprint.
Szy'Rya bowed her head silently before staring down the hall. "The night can only hide me from their sssight for so long."
"You can stay with us, we have a cabin several hours from-"
"No."
KuliKuli turned around, spotting Felix as he kneeled next to Janette to comfort her as she slowly caught her breath. He shook his head with a guilty look. "I'm sorry, but no. We can't take her with us."
"What, why not?"
"Because look at the size of her, there isn't any room for her in the cabin. And besides, she would bring too much attention for us if we try to leave. We can't fit her in the carriage, and the city has plenty of lights so it won't be as easy as you would think to leave without a few heads turning around. We just barely escaped with out lives, and some of us are hurt. We are going home, no questions about that."
"But Felix, we can still try." Her response was met with Felix standing up with a serious look on his face.
"KuliKuli, I tried doing something different tonight and look where that lead us to. There's no way I'm risking our safety by trying to bring her along. We can maybe fit Umeko, but not her."
Janette shot her hand up, slowly climbing back to her feet as her coughing fit had paused and gave her a moment to speak. "I could take her to my house, we have plenty of room and she won't bring any attention there. But-"
She turned her head and coughed again, holding her head as she sucked in air. "Agh, I can do that. But I have workers around the place, the snake would be too big."
Szy'Rya hissed and raised her body up, her green hands pressed on her waist as she looked down on them. "I do not need your care or hossspitality. I was fine looking after myssself, and I prefer to keep it that way. I will make my leave after a time has passed. I will search for a new home to claim before mating season arrives."
Felix raised his hands up while giving KuliKuli a look, finding the situation to resolve itself. Umeko had kept silent, rubbing her stomach and looking up at Reta for comfort. She held her arm back, saying nothing in return. There was something about the way they looked into each other, a shared history that KuliKuli noticed at this time. It reminded her that she had not known her new friend as well as she thought, she was rather clueless about Reta's history until tonight. That revelation left her with a feeling of guilt, wondering if she was perhaps a bad friend for not asking Reta about her past before. There was a look of pain between Reta and Umeko, yet also a feeling of camaraderie that connected them. Despite her reluctance to work with outsiders, Umeko accepted their help, but now the issue focused on how she would be returning home.
Would that mean that Reta would be leaving as well? KuliKuli felt her stomach turn at the thought, choosing not to think about it instead.
Felix poked his head out, casually walking into the sidewalk to see if anyone was nearby. There had grown to be a large gathering of people wanting to help put the fires out, with some of the gnomes bringing out the polar bear and her cub, guiding them into small carts linked to another cage where a lion was pacing around behind bars. He snuck back into the alley and whistled for them to leave, with Janette being held by KuliKuli as she shot him an angry look before passing by. Reta offered a hand when Umeko slapped it away, standing up on her own. The two began to leave when Reta turned back to give the snake one last look.
"Arigato, umm, thank you. For helping us escape and for freeing her."
"You firssst." Szy'Rya smiled back, watching them slip away. She turned around and slipped further into the darkness, hissing one last time before disappearing.
