Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 13

As soon as I left the Cultivar, I felt like every bit of strength left in my body melted away. It was only after the fact that the reality of the situation I was in finally sunk in. I felt both elated and scared as adrenaline coursed through my body

Finding a hole to lay in for a while, I sat there just giggling at my situation. I couldn't help but laugh as I tried to calm myself down. I was sticking my head out in the chopping block both metaphorically and literally with that deal.

I didn't have any fantasy that the piece of paper hidden inside the poach could even sway a baron but I held on to the hope that the Veraza would find use in me. I was useful, I could help them. By asking for an education, I wasn't only showing that I was smarter than most people but also have more to give.

I snuck out some pieces of candy and cookies from the longue and that at least helped calm my nerves. The strong sour taste of the lemon drop filled my mouth. After so long, the flavor seemed overwhelming but it did its job.

I could have pawned the crystals but it wasn't mine to use. It was something my family owned together plus I do not want to know what would happen if a family decided that we stole it.

Picking myself up, I crawled back up the surface so I could take a long walk. Since technically I wasn't supposed to work today, I got out of the Cultivair rather early. I had time to burn so might as well wander around aimlessly

This part of town was controlled by the Veraza's. From the banners over some buildings down the design of the the street signs and the symbols on the sidewalk, the Veraza's made sure everyone knew who own things

Thugs were often common but they didn't exactly harass people who came from this area. They were Veraza "employees" who were just there to "enforce the will of their employers" and "keep the peace". The matching theme of their uniforms made them almost like the police which made me wonder why they weren't called the police in the first place

While the Veraza owned this area and had men to enforce it, that doesn't mean that there still wasn't crime happening. Opportunistic thugs and criminals often happen to find themselves in the area before melting away back to where they come from

Speaking of thugs, my eyes soon find a group of men huddled together in an alleyway. Almost immediately one of them spotted me. He was a wolfish looking man with a gray shaggy mane that reminded me of that of a dog. His eyes were gold and the sneer in his face showed the elongated gold canine he had.

"What are you looking at, girl? Scram!" He growled out as he straightened up. I immediately booked it once I saw the bandalore of guns and explosives strapped across his bare chest.

They did not look friendly and I wouldn't want to be near where they were as I remembered what happened earlier.

Even with all the money flowing in, it seems to have only made greedy men greedier. All this violence just for a larger piece of pie.

Maybe talking a walk wasn't the best idea

The day passed by relatively fast. All that excitement from earlier made things go well. Even the usual excitement of playing with magic felt dampened.

I walked down one of the many entrances of my home and made sure I didn't enter the same one as before.

Something didn't feel right however as I heard some skittering chirping sound, a sound I had grown to hate. There was a plague rat nearby. I picked up my pace before making a run for it.

The sounds grew louder as I got closer to my home making it even more apparent that one of these pests found my home. The light coming from inside the room showed a large curled up silhouette My suspicion wasn't unfounded as I saw the biggest rat I ever saw in my life

Plague Rats were not your typical rats. They were your common rats, bigger and meaner cousins. I wasn't even sure if they were still rats as they were easily the size of dogs and this one was even bigger than normal. Its sharp beady eyes immediately honed in on me and it bared it razor sharp teeth

My eyes wandered around the room, trying to find traces of Jinx but finding none. What made my heart freeze was the pile of fur by the side. There was something over it, thick chunks of red covering parts of the pile

I saw red as I pulled out my knife.

"You killed Whump! Now I'll kill you!"

We circled each other, sizing each other up. I couldn't quite commit with how big the rat was and how limited my reach was with my shiv but I'll find a hole.

I was about to lash out when I heard someone call out behind me.

"Sir Floofington! Don't you dare bar your teeth on my brother!" shouted Jinx as she ran past me and straight for the best.

I was momentarily confused but seeing the beast cower before Jinx made it clear that it was at least friendly to Jinx. Even as she raised her hands at it, it still refused to attack

"But what about Whump?!" I shouted as I tried to process everything

Jinx tilted her head and it was now her turn to look at me in confusion. "What about Whump?"

I blustered and sputtered at her nonchalant comment as I waved my knife at the pile of fur.

"My new hat?"

"Hat!?"

"See?" She walked over to the pile and picked it up. She brushed away the red chunks before placing it on her head. I felt like I was going to faint at the sight of the fur hat. "Hat! Doesn't it look good? There's some tomato chunks on it but it still looks good"

"To… mato chunks?"

"Yup! May or may not have borrowed this which had some nasty shop owner throw rotten tomatoes at me but we have a hat!"

"But Whump?" I was honestly too dazed right now to even reply properly

'"Are you looking for Whump? Cause he's up there" She pointed up above the room and right at the mess of pipes above.

There nested among the protective metal pipes was a hissing Whump who looked bale fully down from above. It was then that all the adrenaline started to wear off

"You know what… just wake me up when Vi comes home"

"And so that's how I tamed the great Sir Floofington and why we should keep him as our pet!" Exclaimed Jinx as she finished explaining how she found Floffington, where she found him and yes it's him, and how she tamed it.

Vi was still staring at her dumbly and I can't help but empathize with her because why? Even Whump gave her the look. I gave him a gentle pat while he glared balefully at the rat.

Jinx did give us an impromptu lesson on Plague rats which was mildly impressive on its own with how coherent it was.

"So Vi, what do we do?" I asked her

"Adopt the rat! Adopt the rat! Adopt the rat!" Chanted Jinx as she wrapped her hands round the happy looking rat's neck. Whump was vehemently against it as he chittered away while waving his hands in front of him.

"I really want to say we need to get him back to where he comes from…" Vi said cautiously before Jinx interrupted her

"Booo!" Jinx then grabbed the highly decorated box and then opened and closed it repeatedly, trying to make it seem like it was speaking as she impersonated high Zaunite speech "I say, we must adopt the rat!"

Jinx jumped up and gestured at the box. "See! Even Mister Sparkles agrees with me!"

Vi facepalmed and so did I. "As you can see Ark, we can't convince her otherwise"

"I can see that Vi. I can clearly see that'' Whump cried out in dismay, holding the back of his hand against his forehead before falling backward. You silly whump, so dramatic

Jinx jumped up and down in celebration. "Yes yes yes! Take that Fishbone! You always doubted me but I got a pet! I got a pet" She shouted in glee as she danced around the twisted metal bear turned shark face

I couldn't help but grin as he reached for my poach. "Hey Vi, hungry?"

Jinx turned toward me while Vi perked up. "Yeah, got something?"

I pulled out my poach and opened it. "Cause your such a good girl, I want to give you this"

"What the hell Ark, I thought we were through this… ohhh" Vi's eyes widened as I opened the poach to reveal the food inside. They were simple Lady Fingers and Butter Cookies but for us Sumprats, they were way more valuable than gold at times.

Jinx gasped out as she reached out for it only for me to stop her. "I said it's for good girls''

Vi couldn't help but join in as she nodded eagerly and said "Yup! Only good girls''

"But I'm a good girl! I am the goodest girl!" Whined Jinx as Vi grabbed one of the cookies and ate it. She made a show out of it as she savored every last bite.

I gave Whump a puffcap both as a bribe and to distract him from the cookies. He did prefer them a lot more than other food

"These are good! Where the heck did you find them? These are way too expensive and they're often next to the bakers''

"Gimme gimme!" Said Jinx but I kept her at arm's length just to tease her more.

"I got them from work. I did some things at work and my boss was impressed. If things fall through, things will get better!" I conveniently left out the part where the collateral might just be my head but they don't need to know that. There was already enough worry in our lives.

"That's great!"

"Come on! I want my cookie!" Jinx shouted before pouting at both of us. I chuckled as I finally gave in, not wanting to push her any further

"Well you were a good girl… so go ahead!"

"Cookie!" Jinx grabbed the biggest cookie and started munching on it with gusto. I ruffled her hair while Vi shook her head with an amused smile painted across her face.

The small things in life are what makes things bearable. Their smiles and their laughter is for one's soul. I wouldn't trade this away

I nearly jumped as Floofington decided to try and sneak towards the cookie. Vi kept the cookie poach out of reach

"No Mr Floofington! Bad Mr Floffingtin, That's human food!"

"How do we even feed this… thing!" I asked. Even if we accepted the rat, I still have reservations towards it. I really don't like the idea of sleeping with the rat nearby

"Oh that's easy, I just take him to the dump! Cindy actually taught me a lot about Mr Floofington"

And just like that, my headache returned. of course Cindy was involved. At Least I know now what Jinx often does when we're out working. The things I do for love