The room was a great symphony of
voices mixed with an orchestra of silverware and glassware from the
crowd that occupied the popular pub. It was a small establishment,
purposefully kept local and out of the way, its wood paneled and
newspaper-wallpapered walls known mostly to railroad and steamboat
men. Vitani's time was spent between the rush of lunch and dinner,
and depending on the day of the week, the madness of the evening
crowd.
Being a barmaid paid well and it meant that she did
not have to deal with her overbearing mother. Unfortunately it did
not pay enough for her to be able to strike out on her own, a fact
which she greatly lamented. Vitani had come to hate life in the
time-haunted old plantation she had grown up on. Born the middle
child with a perfect younger brother and an unstable mess of an older
brother she found her time working in town to be all her own. Getting
away from her mother's snarls made working late nights at the counter
worthwhile even if it meant she was filling glasses for an unruly
gathering that catcalled her behind her back.
There were,
however, other incentives. One of which she found was a bright beam
of light on an otherwise gray existence.
“Hiya 'Tani!” A
familiar male voice called, instantly drawing the lioness's
attention. “Good to see you!”
With a sly smile and a roll
of her eyes Vitani finished sorting the glasses, only then sauntering
over to the lanky, scruffy mutt that had called her. “Hey Scamp,
good to see you're back in town. The usual?”
Scamp's
triangular ears flopped forward as he plopped himself down on a
bar-stool. Vitani couldn't help but eye up the handsome mongrel.
Countless men came to her bar, most of whom she was friends with and
had no qualms about getting chatty. However there was something
different about Scamp. Perhaps it was his seemingly eternal optimism?
Although some, including the lioness, would call it foolishness. He
reached into a pocket on his cotton shirt and quickly produced two
coins which he slapped down on the hardwood counter-top. “Yep, two
glasses if you will. Just got into town an hour ago, Angel is still
down in the yard cleaning up so hold her's until she gets here,” He
flashed a white toothed smile, “It was a rather slick trip, if I do
say so myself.”
“Which way did you guys go?” The
lioness grabbed two clean glasses off the rack, and ducked one under
the fountain nozzle. Her thin tan tail whipped back and forth from
the seat of her black rainy daisy skirt. “North or
South?”
“South, to Atlanta,” Scamp spun around in the
bar-stool and leaned back against the bar, placing the back of his
arms on the counter-top. “Spent the night in a hostel, then back
today. If I can I plan to not leave this bar-stool for the rest of
the night.”
Vitani grinned, rolling her eyes playfully
before placing a glass down next to the mongrel’s open hand. She
couldn’t help but feel a slight upbeat at the handsome mutt’s
presence. “You're welcome to it, be nicer company then most of the
rats that pop in this late. Just try not to go all blotto on
me.”
“No promises,” Scamp grabbed the glass and tilted
his head back, taking a quick sip. “How are things since I've been
gone? Going well with your folks?”
Vitani's ears flattened
and her scowl told Scamp everything. The feline's tail whipped
against the back of her legs as she let out a snort. Standing back,
she put a hand on each of her nicely curving hips, while her long
tail rigidly hung high. “Mother's doing her usual thing, wants me
to find some nice male lion with dough so she can inherit something.
I think Nuka's finally lost it from working in the plantation fields.
He's convinced that the mansion is haunted and claims that spirits
are following him around and causing mischief. Honestly, the guy is
clumsier then a bull in a china shop and I'm pretty sure he's
bringing it all upon himself.” She wrinkled her nose and gave her
head a little shake. “So yeah, I think I'd rather spend my time in
town.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Scamp's ears
flicked forward and he gave her a cheesy grin from over his shoulder.
Vitani could hear his tail whipping against the back of the bar. “If
nothing else, it’s nice to come back to a cool drink and a warm
face,”
“Good to know I’m appreciated! Especially by
someone who is willing to put up with frequenting this dump to do
such.” The lioness crossed her arms over her chest and smiled, it
was so hard to not admire that cute puppy face. “So, how was your
trip?”
Scamp huffed, blowing his wandering bang out from in
front of his face. “It went pretty well until Mom gave Angel the
throttle. Just for practice you know.”
“Right, Angel has
been talking about wanting to move onto engine crew at some point.”
The lioness felt a slight hint of jealousy about the idea that Angel
was starting to forge a better life for herself.
Scamp’s
tail began to wag against the barstool. “Well, she brought the
train into the yard all stretched out, set up the brakes and brought
the head end to a stop. Apparently she looked at my mom and said
'Wow, I got that stopped like a pro!' and then WHAM!” With a wide
grin plastered on his face the mongrel held his hands out and gave an
almighty clap, mimicking the railcar couplers bunching up. “The
slack rolled in and banged the locomotive so hard it tossed Angel out
of the engineer’s seat. My parents were not amused.”
The
lioness chuckled. Scamp had a way of showing such expression. He was
so outgoing, far removed from those she usually had to associate
with. From outside came the low wail of a steam whistle. The Watering
Hole was located close enough to the railroad yard that it wasn't
uncommon to hear the goings on from the bar. Vitani had actually
worked long enough to start recognizing the individual whistles. “So,
if Angel is moving up to the cab are you planning on changing ends of
the train too?”
Scamp arched an eyebrow, his head tilted as
if he was thinking, making one floppy ear stand up at an odd angle.
“Nah, I don't think so. I like being a conductor, the money's swell
and I like being in charge of the train,” He rubbed a hand on his
chest and that toothy grin was back. “Did you know the conductor is
actually fully in charge of the train?”
“Mmmm, is that
so?” Vitani wasn't sure why, but she was blushing badly under her
fur.
“Yes, indeed. It's not a job just anyone can handle,
lot's of responsibility that falls on my shoulders.”
“Yeah,
responsibility that you like to skirt. Right tenderfoot?”
His
big ears swiveled back as Angel sauntered up to the bar. Vitani
flicked one ear at the sound of Scamp's nervous laugh, despite her
words, Angel’s fluffy tail was wagging playfully front the seat of
her brown trousers. As she slid into the barstool next to Scamp she
plopped a small notebook on the bartop. Vitani couldn't help but
notice a smudge of coal dust on the blonde furred dog's cheek. No
doubt a small trinket from being tossed from the engineer's
seat.
“Hiyah Angel, just you know...talking shop.” The
young mongrel tried some spin control however little seemed to pass
Angel. Vitani turned away to fetch the two ordered glasses, but kept
an eye on her two customers. She felt herself deflate slightly at
Angel's presence.
“Yeah, well maybe next time you'll take
responsibility and do the car count instead of leaving it to me.
After-all,” She fluttered her eyelashes. “You are the conductor,
the big dog in the caboose.”
“But Angel, I figured you
would need to walk the train anyway. If nothing else just to be sure
you didn't smash any couplers on that roll in you did. ”Angel
rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Scamp hard, sending him almost
falling out of the barstool.
The two railroaders laughed as
Scamp pulled himself back upright. The lioness secretly loved
watching the pair. Even though they were always picking on each other
everyone knew that the two railroaders were very much in love. Vitani
couldn't help but feel a slight envy at the chemistry they seemed to
have. She had no interest in such grungy and hard work as that of the
railroad. Yet it seemed like Scamp and Angel were a glow of light and
warmth set before such a harsh world. Her envy though, seemed to be
more towards one member of the duo than the other. As she returned
with two glasses full of refreshing hard drink she silently wished
she had someone like that in her own life. It would make dealing with
her mother and her family far more bearable.
"Oh, Scamp,
when will you learn?" She asked as she placed the glass in front
of him.
Angel burst out with a gruff and happy, “Oh, I
don't think he'll change anytime soon. Either way, he'll always be my
tenderfoot!"
The handsome gray mongrel nodded in
agreement, bringing the glass back to his lips. As much as she wished
she could stay and spend time with these two the lioness could see
another customer finishing his glass, while yet another saddled up on
another barstool. She sighed, her maw wrinkling and ears flicking
back. It was going to be another long day.
*********
The
sun had long vanished from behind the Appalachian range that ringed
the town of Marceline when Vitani started her way home. Flipping the
sign on the front door to 'closed' she plucked a fob-watch, sans
chain, from her breast pocket and sighed. Another day wasted behind
the bar counter and not much to look forward to on the return home.
Brushing off her weather-beaten skirt and blouse the lioness started
to silently plod down the sidewalk, her eyes drifting down to the
cobblestones. A cool wind fluttered her skirt and pulled on the fur
of her tail. A recent rainfall had left puddles in the street and
long lines of standing water in the gutters. Turning the dirt roads
into a surge of mud and muck. Reflecting back the glow of the
gas-streetlamps.
She had long known that she had a crush on
him, just his happy outlook on life and his seemingly bottomless
level of optimism drew her to him. These were two things Vitani felt
she needed more of in her life however he was happily with another
girl. A fellow dog who seemed to match him in every way possible. The
lioness had no reason to openly dislike Angel, other then the fact
that she was with Scamp. They were a cute couple and the three had
been friends, or at least acquaintances, for a long enough time that
she felt reprehensible for her developing affections.
Her
ears perked up, and her eyes glanced up as the wail of a steam
whistle reached her ears. She wasn't far from the W&A RR's yards.
Lonesome and melodic, it sounded like a cry from somewhere in her
heart and for a moment the very ends of her mouth turned up as she
imagined that it was Scamp, calling out into the night for her. The
town was closing up for the night, other then the railyard and the
distant clopping of the occasional horse-drawn wagon echoing down
some distant street one could be forgiven for thinking that Marceline
was abandoned.
“Shit, I have it bad,” the lioness tiredly
whispered to herself. Admitting openly for the first time that
something was happening her mind was so preoccupied that she
misjudged the drop from the sidewalk to the muddy street. Her foot
twisted and her eyes burst open as her leg turned out from underneath
her. Vitani stumbled forward, throwing out her hands to keep from
falling completely into the mud. She landed on her side, hands
sinking into the muck as she fell to the street.
“Oh, for
god's sake,” Vitani moaned, laying sprawled out in the gutter. Mud
splattered on her skirt and blouse. Looking down at her leg she found
that one of her heels had snapped, the old worn material giving way
to leave her muddy and unbalanced for the rest of the way home. It
was enough to break the poor girl's heart; her lower lip trembled as
she balled her fists up and did her best to keep from roaring out in
anger. She could no longer keep her head up, her shoulder sagging in
defeat and dropping her head down. Her eyes fluttered shut as she lay
prone in the gutter.
But she would not remain that way for
long as a dark skinned, slender-as-toothpicks, very human hand slid
under Vitani's chin and slowly forced her head to rise up. She saw no
eyes as they were covered by the rim of a black and red hat, only a
roguish grin with a thin black mustache welcoming her.
“Looks
like you could use a hand there 'darlin'.” Those were the
hauntingly friendly words that hummed out through this sinister
smile, "How'ya doin'?"
Vitani instantly recoiled.
Eyes narrowed and teeth set, she whipped her head out from his grasp
and scrambled back in the mud, a dirty hand fumbling into her blouse
for a blade she tended to keep there. The man stepped back, holding
his hands up for her to see that they were indeed empty. That smile,
sharp and thin, never wavered.
“Now hold up there little
one, no cause for alarm. Allow me, if you please, Miss Vitani,” He
plopped the hat back atop his head, then extended a hand for her to
grab.
Vitani's expression turned to one of shock. “How did
you know my...”
“Your name? Why sweetie, it's all in the
cards.” In the glow of the street lamp's flickering flames, the man
cast a long shadow against the brick building facade. Vitani
hesitantly slipped a hand into his, and allowed him to pull her out
of the puddle. She quickly discovered that he was a lot stronger then
he initially appeared. Once she was upright, and attempting to wipe
the muck off her blouse and skirt the man pulled his top hat off in a
greeting, revealing the square-shaped hair-style of his.
“Excuse
me?” The lioness started to back away, her steps uneven due to her
broken shoe heel.
“The Cards, the Cards. The Cards will
tell...” He laughed, with a roll of a hand, soon, a set of tarot
cards were in his hand, all the suites and Arcana visible as he
fanned them out perfectly, before closing again, to which they
vanished. Another roll of his hand and a new card appeared. “Allow
me to introduce myself, here's my card.”
Taking the card
and looking it over Vitani read it out loud, an eyebrow raising as
she took in it's odd wording.
“Dr. Facilier, Tarot Readings,
Charms, Potions...” Looking up from the card she saw from the
corner of her eyes the dark form of his shadow behind her, the way it
moved odd to the lioness's own motions. "Dreams made real... I
must say I'm skeptical.”
Dr. Facilier chuckled, curiosity
killed the cat. Leaning on his cane, he looked to Vitani with a gaunt
grin. "Yes ma'am, my power is unmatched for miles! I can see
your future, change it around some too and I can see you have a dream
for sure. One that perhaps I can help you abide to.”
Vitani
pressed the card back at the man then stumbled past him with a roll
of her eyes. “Yeah, I don't think so.”
“You don't think
you deserve him?” His voice stopped the girl in her tracks as she
turned her head to look back at the strange man from over her own
shoulder. “There is nothing wrong with desiring the company of
someone your heart yearns for, especially when life can be, well,
less then pleasurable.”
Vitani opened her mouth to retort
when the evening air was split by the shriek of a steam whistle. The
way it blew, with such a lonesome wail her mind made it out to be
Scamp's train, calling to her in a voice that used no words. The
lioness closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring
while the card somehow found it's way into a pocket. “Dreams...made
true?”
The Shadow Man nodded ominously. “Mmmhmm. What's
his name, if I may be so bold?”
“Scamp,” His name fell
from her lips as a tender whisper, her head bowing to cast her gaze
at the sidewalk. “He's just, such a nice guy. Goofy!
But...well...”
His movement was oddly quick, suddenly
putting an arm around her. "Say no more. Why, with a little
encouragement my dear..." he promised, tapping her chest with
the head of his cane. Almost instantly his shadow shifted from his
feet, grinning devilishly as it rubbed its thin fingers together.
"Ain' nothin I can't do, with the right connections! All it
takes is the right price."
“I don't have much money,”
Vitani started to say.
“Leave that to me,” The Shadow Man
whispered before giving his cane a spin, and bringing it down on the
ground. In an explosion of purple smoke and light Dr. Facilier's
shadow seemed to swirl around the glow of light from the nearby
street lamp, protracted onto the brick wall of a building facade.
Vitani's head whipped side to side, peering up and down the deserted
street to see if there was any other witnesses to what seemed to be
occuring.
“Don't be alarmed, parlor tricks, my sweet feline
friend,” The man laughed. “But, like a good magician, their
secrets are not to be told. Now then, let's look at the cards, shall
we.”
With one arm wrapped around her shoulders, he held her
close, his hand before her face suddenly had three cards between its
thin fingers. The center one was flipped around with a twist of those
digits, the image on its front showing a very stylized heart with a
sword through it.
“Ah, love. So sweet and innocent,” the
man began. The right hand card turned and to the lioness's
bewilderment showed a portrait of the smile tousled face and floppy
ears of Scamp. This had to be magic, either that or some crazy fluke.
Regardless, she saw the pup she admired in those chocolate eyes, no
matter if it was intended or not.
“Scamp...” Vitani
whispered again, feeling emotions well up in her chest.
“He
would be perfect for you miss. Such strong features and healthy
spirit, oh the good it would do to have him in your life...oh, but
what's this?” The final card turned, its image being that of a set
of lovers, hand in hand. “Why, it would would seem that he's
already spoken for. Someone else stands in your way! A jezebel
incarnate!”
“Her name is Angel,” The lioness admitted,
feeling all resistance to admitting the truth slip away. “She's his
girl, she has been for as long as I've known them.”
“So
he needs a nudge, I think I have just the thing,” The cards
vanished with a fold of his hand. In their place, his fingers
unfolded to reveal a small glass vial. Vitani's eyes widened and her
ears flattened back, her long tail flicking back and forth behind her
legs. The vial seemed full of a pink liquid that gave off a similarly
colored glow, the vial had a cork in it's flute and it's glass
surface was etched with strange runes. “Just a few drops of this
and your face will be all he will be able to think about.”
Vitani
felt her heart in her throat as he slipped the vial into her hands
and closed her fingers around it, letting go of her and stepping
back. It felt so light, as if she was holding nothing at all, yet she
could feel it pulsating with heat. “Just a few drops?”
“Just
a few,” His shadow mimicked chugging down a glass on the wall
behind them, “And he'll be all yours.”
“Wait! What
about Angel? Surely he won't just forget about her?”
“Hmm,
well....don't worry about her.” His grin split his face and sent a
shiver down the lioness' spine. On the brick and glass facade of the
closed store, in the glowing orb of light cast from the streetlamp,
the shadows began to swirl and morph. Creatures slithering along the
very edge while in the center formed a remarkable shadow silhouette
of a particular female dog. Vitani recognized the folded ear and
curly tail. The figures danced around the shadow dog, pointing and
jeering without noise while the ghostly Pomeranian stood stock still,
as if trapped and bound in place. “Magic is never free however
nothing says someone else can't foot that bill...”
The
shadows swirled, curling around 'Angel' like a serpent till only her
head, screaming silently was visible. Vitani's heart skipped a beat
as the edges of the circle of light closed down atop the phantasmal
image of her romantic rival like the closing jaws of some great
beast.
“Wait, this won't hurt her?” Vitani's tail whipped
around one of her own legs as she took a step forward, stumbling
slightly on her missing heel.
The Shadow man gave an
exasperated gasp, dramatically planting a hand against his chest.
“Ma'am, you offend me. Of course, nothing will come of Miss
Angel.”
Vitani couldn't see the laughing shadow behind her
back. She looked down at her hand, where the cracks between her
fingers pulsed with pink light. “Scamp...”
“Will. Be.
Yours,” The Shadow Man's smirk never died. “C'mon, don't you
think you deserve that? Someone in this world who actually cares
about you and will give you something to live for. A bright spark in
an otherwise dull life, sandwiched between an insane mother and a
retarded brother...Vitani, this is all for you.”
“All.
For. You.”
Her hand slowly released it's grip and the vial
seemed to call with the song of a siren. Her own eyes glowed with the
same deep pink hue, throbbing in time to the vial and it's strange
brew. It would be so easy. Then, just as if a gust of wind blew past
her, she felt her skirt rustle and the light from the gas streetlamp
flickered. Looking up from the vial, breaking whatever spell it
seemed to hold, she saw that the strange man had vanished. Vitani's
heart was by now thundering in her chest, her ears perked and she
whipped her head one way then the other, the tuft of fur between her
ears flopping as she did. The street was deserted, only her own
footprints in the mud could be seen. It was as if he had never been
there to began with, only his final three words echoed about her
skull.
She quickly dropped the vial into the breast pocket of
her blouse right next to his card. It would be a long walk home and
on a broken shoe no less. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves,
she pulled her skirt up so that it wouldn't drag and catch her foot
and started her way home. The clouds moved from in front of the moon
and their shadows seemed to creep along the building fronts and
streets making Vitani feel all the more as if she was being watched
by many eyes. She could feel the heat from the vial palpitating
against her chest.
******************
The
reflection that looked up from the polished bartop showed a level of
fatigue that matched the churning inner realms of Vitani's gut.
Drawing her rag over the surface, distorting the reflection, the
lioness let out a soft grunt. Returning home the previous night she
had dropped the vial into a drawer in her room, trying to put it out
of her sight and out of her mind. All night, the lioness tossed and
turned in her lonely bedroom, it was as if the vial called to her
with a silent siren's song. It would be so easy to just let a few
drops into Scamp's drink the next time the mongrel came by the
Watering Hole. Angel would be fine, she was a strong canine and would
support Scamp no matter what choices he made.
Even if those
choices were not his own.
What would happen to Angel
afterwards? The Shadow Man's words rang around the cat's head...what
was the price Angel would be forced to pay? The same loneliness that
haunted Vitani? That was something Angel could have! Or, was there
something more? The vial seemed so unnatural. By morning's light, she
grabbed the vial without thinking and quickly washed up for her first
shift. The scent of cigars and cigarettes seemed thicker then usual,
and the young lioness felt seemingly more aware of the shadows that
filled the corners of her bar.
“You look like death rolled
over,” A familiar voice snapped Vitani out of her string of
thoughts. The lioness looked up, her ears flicking back and a hand
drifting to the back of her head to rub her fingers down her own neck
nervously.
“Oh, uh, hello Angel,” Her throat was raw and
she could practically feel the trepidation rising in her
chest.
Angel sat bent over at the bar, one arm laying
causally across the counter top. Her head was tilted, making one
floppy ear stand up at an odd angle while an eyebrow rose. It seemed
the dog could see something was off. “Wow, anything I could do to
help?”
“Oh, it's nothing,” Vitani brushed it off.
Pulling herself up and quickly swallowing, her eyes darting around
the blonde furred railroader, looking for the very soul she was
dreading seeing the most. “Where's Scamp?”
Angel shot her
friend a questioning look but answered anyway. “Still in the yard.
He'll be here soon, we have a small rest before we set out on a coal
train this afternoon.”
Vitani gulped and her heart skipped
a beat as she clearly saw the shadows start to grow from the corners
of the building behind the dog, slowly spreading from the corners of
the windows and above the door. The lioness' ears perked as she
wondered if anyone else could see them, or if she alone was to bear
witness. The vial sat in her pocket, seeming like it grew heavier
every passing second. “Oh, well can I get you anything while you
wait?”
“Yeah, my usual,” Angel rapped her fingers on
the bartop, her curly tail giving great swooshes side to side above
the seat of her pants. “In fact, pour a glass for
Tenderfoot!”
The lioness' heat skipped a beat. A glass for
Scamp? The vial felt like it resonated a pulse that echoed through
the girl, she wasn't sure if that was real or if she had just
imagined it. Vitani put her back to the Pomeranian as she reached
over the back counter for the glasses that hung over the great
mirror. Seeing beyond her own reflection and the look of fatigue that
seemed etched into her thick feline muzzle, her throat became dry as
she could see the shadows behind Angel stretchering towards the
unsuspecting dog. “S-sure, coming right up” she stuttered.
Two
glasses were pulled off the rack, set down on the counter with a soft
“clink”.
“So, you and Scamp. You guys have known each
other for a while?”
Angel's ears perked up and the dog let
out a soft chuckle and playfully rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you could
say that.”
“But you had a life...before him? Right?”
The cork was removed from a bottle.
“Oh sure. When I first
met him he was this little mutt who spoke endlessly about adventure
and being a wild soul and traveling the world.” The end of Angel's
mouth cocked up in a sly smirk. “He tried so hard, it was beyond
adorable.”
“I can imagine that,” The very tip of
Vitani's tail flicked back and forth as the girl shifted her weight
from one leg to the other. A hand reached for the vial, tucked away,
was she really going to do this? “So, and forgive me from
asking...but could you go back to that life? Without
Scamp?”
Angel's big, floppy ears went backwards for a split
second at the abruptness of the question but she perked them back up.
“I've, well, never thought about that. He's just such a part of my
life. Why?”
The lioness started to pour the two drinks with
one hand while the other had it's fingers wrapped around the vial. If
she was going to do this it would have to be slick. With her back to
Angel, the blonde furred railroader couldn't see what the lioness was
up to while Vitani had a full view thanks to the mirror of both
herself and her victim. “Just, you two seem like you work so well
together.”
Angel had an eyebrow raised in her direction
now, clearly wondering where all this was leading towards. One end of
her mouth tipped up in a slight smirk as she reached out with a
guess.
“You like someone, don't you?”
It was like
she was hit with lightning, the sudden jolt that rippled through her
body caused Vitani's hand to shake spilling a small amount of drink
on the counter. The feline looked over her shoulder, the look in her
eyes saying everything.
Angel was quiet for a while the
sounds of the bar's few patrons becoming faded background noise.
Barely registering. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft.
"I
see everything in him, he's my entire world," Her blue eyes were
sparkling while the weak sun caught her fur through the dirty window,
making it shine a bright and beautiful gold. The shadows that swirled
around the back-wall seemed to retreat at that. "He saved me
from the streets, I couldn't imagine anyone I would want to be with
more." She went on warmly.
“Saved you?” One of
Vitani's ears perked in interest, the vial held tightly between her
fingers as she slipped it out of her pocket. The lioness realized
that for as long as she had known the two railroaders she had never
once asked about their past. “That bad, huh?”
“You
wouldn't believe it,” Angel motioned with her hand. “Let's just
say that I was not in a good place. Scamp found me and I found him.
Together, we found the railroad, we found a future.”
Vitani
could feel her heart pounding in her chest and she looked down at the
vial, its substance seeming to pulsate in time to her heartbeat. She
wanted Scamp, oh how badly she wanted him. To be saved herself, much
like Angel had been.
All it would take was one drop.
Her thumb passed over the cork in the
lid, pressing up till the cork popped free. Looking up into the
mirror, the lioness gazed at her own reflection, holding the vial
over the glass she intended to give to the mutt. Behind her sat
Angel, casually tapping a finger against the rough wood of the bar
top unaware of the shadows that crept towards her figure from behind.
Could she even see them? Or where the specters Vitani's personal
hell?
“That's what I want,” Vitani's voice was low and
wistful so that one she could hear, her head bowed slightly. “A
future...”
“So, who is he?” Angel's voice, upbeat at
the prospect of hearing some news, cut through the lioness's thoughts
like an arrow. “Is he one of our railroaders?”
She put
the vial down on the counter-top and turned around to face Angel,
planting a hand on the counter to each side and leaning back. The
shadows appeared like arms, fingers outstretched over Angel's head.
She couldn't do this, could she?
“Do I know him?” Angel's
voice was innocent.
The lioness opened her mouth to answer
when a familiar tousled maw appeared behind Angel. The shadowy
spectators retreated back into their corners. The pom looked over her
shoulder at him as he slid up to the counter, a big goofy smile
plastered across his face. Vitani felt her heart sink at the sight of
him. From those warm brown eyes to that bang that fell between her
ears, she just felt a natural attraction. The vial behind her seemed
to cast a heat into her chest from the base of her tail on up.
“Hey
'Tani! Angel. What's up?” Scamp yipped as he plopped down on a
bar-stool. Vitani felt sick at the fact he mentioned her
first.
“Fashionably late as always, eh Tenderfoot?” Angel
reached out and gave a playful tug on Scamp's sleeve. “Had you been
any later I would have taken your drink for myself.”
“Hey,
I was late cleaning up your mess Miss Engineer-in-training. You know
how much sand you threw on the ground getting that cut of cars
moving? I had to help hand buckets up to load that dome
again,”
Angel visibly blushed causing Vitani's heartbeat to
pick up instantly. She wondered if Scamp's ears could detect the
sound she was sure it was making. On the wall behind the lovebird
pups the shadows showed two silhouettes, one of Scamp the other of
Vitani. Sitting side by side, arm in arm.
“Well, perhaps I
should buy your first round them, provided we don't distract Vitani
any more then we already have.” Angel playfully rolled her
eyes.
“Right, I'm on that,” Vitani blurted out before
swiftly spinning back around.
She grasped the vial in her
shaking fingers, looking at it's patterned glass and the liquid it
held. There was Scamp's glass. There was Scamp. One drop and she and
he would be together. Did it work instantly? Would she have to
explain to Angel why her boyfriend suddenly got affectionate to her?
What would happen to Angel? At this point Vitani was sure that
whatever the price to pay was, Angel would suffer. Emotionally for
sure...and perhaps worse. Those shadows seemingly spiraling on the
walls and in her head were pushing her, telling her it was alright.
They might have been real, or figments of her imagination however
their actions certainly drove her. Making her hand slowly move the
vial over the glass.
One drop, just one drop.
*****************
“See you later 'Tani!” Scamp gave a
smile and a wave of his hand and he and Angel passed through the door
to the pub.
The sun was starting to drop and as the door
closed behind them the lioness could see them through the big window
as Angel slipped an arm though Scamp's, leaning her head to rest on
his shoulder. The two were off into the evening. Off to wherever it
was that railroaders went when they waited on their next assignment.
In so many ways it was like Scamp and Angel both gained their wishes.
Angel got her rescuer, Scamp his adventure. Both facing life together
while Vitani faced it alone.
The lioness took a deep breath,
there were still some customers in the dining room however she
couldn't really focus on them at the moment. Instead, she dropped her
towel on the counter and swung around to walk through the door that
led to the kitchen. As soon as the door shut behind her, it was like
a flood of shadows suddenly swirled around the room.
“STOP
IT!” The lion screeched, waving her arms in the air, attempting to
disperse them. They flew to the far corners of the room and she
reached for a door that led out back to the ally behind the pub.
If
the shadows inside had been bad, outside in the setting sun it was
worse. The alley may have been empty, aside from the number of casks,
crates, and garbage bins that lay scattered around its stone slabbed
avenue. Looking around the dark alley Vitani felt as if the great
shadows looked down from the buildings, glaring at her, waiting for
something. Glancing up she scowled and opened her arms as if to say
'now what'. Reaching into the pocket in her shirtwaist she pulled the
vial out, instantly her face was lit by the ebbing pink glow as she
held it up. She felt her face drop slightly as she took in it's
phosphorus glow.
She couldn't do it, as much as she wanted to
she just couldn't. Angel did not deserve whatever fate would have
awaited her and if Scamp was to become attracted to her, then she
wanted him to do it under his own volition. Not one that was created
by a cursed object. Vitani took a deep breath, settling her nerves.
Dropping to a knee, she leaned over and gently placed the vial on the
stone pavement.
For a few seconds, she sat there, on one knee
as if she was proposing, looking at the strange vial and the pink
ripples of light it cast on the damp stone of the alley-floor. She
rolled her lower lip and softly bit it, her tail curled around a leg.
She could try again, just lay in wait until she had enough
courage.
As soon as that very thought crossed her mind Vitani
stood up, her shoulders steady and a determined look on her face. She
raided a foot, and the heel was pressed against the vial with a sharp
'tink' of glass. The lioness closed her eyes and felt her heart
swell, the corners of her eyes growing moist as she recognized that
her only sure fire chance was about to be scattered. With a shift of
her weight, she heard the vial crunch before her foot sank down
suddenly.
It was like a great wave washed through her body,
Vitani kept her eyes clamped shut feeling energy surge through her
body. She didn't know what was real and what was imaginary or what
forces she had unleashed. Her back arched, and her arms felt as if
they where pushed up as if she was falling into a body of water. The
rush of air moaned as if a thousand voices called out and where
suddenly silenced.
With a great exhalation of air Vitani's
eyes snapped open and her mouth dropped in a wide “O”. She was
alone in the alley other than the shards of broken glass underneath
her foot. There was no sign of the substance inside the vial or
anything out of the ordinary. Her eyes slowly passed around the brick
and wooden walls that made up the urban valley she stood in. The long
shadows of the end of the day were steady and still, no figures
danced and no eyes glared down at her. Just the final rays of the day
slowly retreating.
A hand absentmindedly rose up and down an
arm and one ear slipped down. It was as if an immense weight had been
released from her while a small smile lifted the ends of the feline's
mouth. She wrinkled her nose while she gave her head a little shake.
Hands coming up to rub at her eyes removed any remaining traces of
wetness from the corners of her eyes and cheeks.
Taking one
final deep breath and a sigh of content, Vitani spun on her heels and
passed through the rear door of the Watering Hole. Her shift would
end soon and she had a long walk home. Leaving behind a few traces of
broken glass and gaining a resolve to bring change in her own way,
and her own time.
Somewhere, not far away, a steam whistle
blew.
The End
