Tales from the Street #4.

"Furries"

       The creature, whatever it was, sped down the street, running
on all fours. It had a tail, and was furry: that much was obvious,
though the puzzling part was the little red dress it appeared to be
wearing.
       Jas, Nikki and Airen swapped exclamations as the creature
swerved around the corner and scampered away. The disgusting
collection of louts chasing it on foot were a good half a block
behind, and they weren't gaining.
       "Strange." said Jas, watching from where she stood, behind a
few empty boxes and packing cases a street or so from the market.
She hadn't seen anything like that before, and she had seen a lot.
       "Mmm." said Nikki. "It looked like a little furry playbeing.
One of the A.I. ones." Nikki was knowledgeable in these things,
from a personal angle. She was shorter than average, with
unnaturally big blue eyes, lots of golden blonde hair, and two big,
beautifully soft cat's ears, with which she could express herself
exceptionally well. Kidnapped from her school, she had been
partially converted to a playbeing herself, before she had escaped
a year or so back. Now she lived on the streets with Jasmine and
Airen.
       "I wonder where she went." Airen mused. He was the first to
apply a gender to the creature. He was about Nikki's age, thirteen or
fourteen, and was about as average as a guy could get. Even his
hair was average, neither light or dark, or sometimes both. "I hope
she's all right."
       "Miaaa." said something, and they all glanced at where the
sound had come from.
       There standing upright, just behind them was the creature.
She stood perhaps two and a half feet tall, if you didn't count her
ear-tips. Like Nikki's ears, the creature's were large, though in
this case, the ears were not styled on those of a cat, though
exactly what they were styled on was a mystery. Airen was right.
The creature was definitely female, judging from the proportions of
her figure, and the general cuteness factor. Her hair, golden,
fanned out around her shoulders, and her skin was covered in short
golden brown fur. Her arms were proportioned much like those of a
human, her front paws easily doubling as hands, though her claws
were capable of inflicting a nasty wound. Her legs were different
though, much more like those of an animal in the positioning of the
joints. Her tail was large and bushy, perhaps half the size of her,
and was instrumental in her being able to stand upright on her tiny
paw-like feet. Her eyes were large, round and pink, even larger
than Nikki's, with minimal whites, and almost indiscernible pupils.
       "Mi-ah?" Nikki responded, crouching down so she was looking
the creature eye to eye. "Are you programmed to speak?" she asked.
       "I'm not programmed to do anything." the creature stated
emphatically between pants. "Please help me get away from those men!"
       "Huh!" Nikki exclaimed with surprise, loosing her balance to
find herself sitting on the concrete of the sidewalk. Realisation
dawned on her.
       "She isn't A.I. driven! She's a human like me!" Nikki
bubbled.
       Jas blinked twice. She wasn't entirely sure Nikki was human yet.
       Airen suddenly pushed the creature into a nearby box (she
squeaked in surprise), and threw his coat over it.
       Moments later, the rabble were thundering down the lane the
creature must have used, yelling comments like "Which way'd it go."
and "Anyone seen a furry?"
       Nikki nodded, pretended she had just been skittled by the
creature, and pointed off to her right.
       With out so much as a word of thanks, the youths ran by,
yelling indecent remarks, and voicing their less than wholesome
intentions.
       As soon as they were out of sight, Airen helped the little
lady out of the box again. He lifted her onto the window sill of
the abandoned building behind them, suggesting she jump through the
gap in the boards across the window. He followed her through, as
did Nikki, then somewhat more awkwardly, Jas, who reaching out to
stabilise herself was reminded of the recent loss of the limb she
was trying to use when she toppled to the floor. What she said
wasn't fit for anybody's ears, especially ears as large as on those
who were listening.
       Meanwhile, Nikki and Airen were working as a well
coordinated team, one climbing ahead, the other helping the
creature from behind, as they made their way up the splintered wood
that had once been the stair case. Jasmine followed when she had
regained her composure.
       Several minutes, four holes in walls, five broken windows, a
ladder and two planks later the four stopped on the abandoned top
floor of a building that now served as a bakery. Two floors below
them, the baker lived, the two floors below that devoted to storage
and the business.
       No one from the bakery ever came up to the top floors now.
They were in pretty poor condition. The baker didn't mind the three
them living there, as long as they stayed quiet, and out of his
way. He even let them have some of his left over bread and cakes
when they got a bit stale
       The creature settled onto the worn wood of the floor, still
panting from her run. Nikki sat cross-legged on a blanket and
waited. Airen sat beside Nikki, close enough to be in Nikki's
personal space, but not so close they would accidently bump.
Jasmine leaned against the wall, preoccupied with the bandaged stub
of her right arm. Her fall had awakened the nerve endings again,
and now she could feel a dull throbbing ache.
       "Okay." Nikki began, addressing the little furry girl. "I'm
Nikki, this is Darling..." She indicated the boy sitting beside her.
       "Airen." Airen corrected her.
       "And that is the princess." Nikki waved a finger in
Jasmine's direction. "Welcome to our humble abode. You should be
safe here for the moment, unless those louts have major corporate
backing."
       "Thank you." the creature said. "I think this will be safe."
       "What are you?" Jas asked.
       "Don't be rude." Nikki interjected. "The correct term is
_who_. As in 'Who are you?'"
       "Oh, all right, kitty." Jasmine muttered to Nikki, then
looking at the creature she asked, "Who are you then?"
       The creature stood, straightened her little red dress, then
introduced herself. "I am Fern." She paused, contemplating
something. "I suppose I'm a sort of fox-squirrel."
       "Suppose?" Airen asked, surprised.
       "Free-form mods." Nikki stated. "No particular base species.
Do you need recharging or any other type of special care?"
       Fern shook her head. "No. just food and water, though I'm
not expecting you kind people to feed me."
       "Not a prob." Nikki said. "We don't have electricity here,
so just as well. If you want anything to eat or drink anyway, just
ask me. Don't bother Jas, she isn't used to being a one armed
bandit yet."
       "You don't need to recharge yourself either?" Fern asked Nikki.
       "Nah. Mostly biowear, though a couple of glucose burning
fuel cells take care of power for the eyes. And you?"
       "Biowear."
       "Ouch. Must have cost someone a mint." Nikki stated. "I know
my package, or as much as I got away with is worth a bit."
       Fern glanced around nervously for a moment. "You called that
girl a bandit. _Are_ you bandits."
       "Chill out." Nikki responded. "A one armed bandit is a
gambling machine. But yes, I suppose she is a bandit. And ex-pick
pocket anyway."
       Jasmine made a raspberry in Nikki's direction.
       "As for me, I do stupid things like dancing on tables in
clubs, then beating off my admirers." Nikki continued, "And Airen,
he's a magician."
       "Magician?" Fern questioned.
       "Yeah. Makes things disappear, and re-appear, though usually
not in the same place." Nikki explained.
       Fern raised a furry eyebrow. "Oh." she said.
       "What about you, Fern?" Nikki asked.
       "What do you think?" Fern responded. "I'm a small furry
creature with a penchant for getting chased."
       "And I'm a slightly larger, less furry one." Nikki commented.
       "You get the picture." Fern agreed.
       "Seriously, who paid for your conversion and why?" Airen
probed. "I know Nikki was destined to be a white slave... but
aren't you are a little small..."
       Fern smiled, a sort of I know more than you smile. "Nothing
quite that unwholesome. The studio paid. I'm an actress."

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Copyright 1994 by Ken Stone.
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     _______     _     _______      "Mian"  ken.stone@blaze.bbs.net.au
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