Fuzzy and Rat Man – Tuesday, June 1st, 2074 – Morning - Puyallup Barrens

Fuzzy was never sure when she awakened to her powers. She just got better at reading animals which she'd just taken for granted as a huntress. She was born in the abandoned, decaying urban area that was the Puyallup barrens. Its sister slum, the Redmond barrens, located about an hour away, was like a bone picked clean. However, there was at least enough marrow left in it for the dogs to fight over. In Puyallup there wasn’t even that, at least not where she lived in the deep barrens. There were just the dogs that ate one another.

Fuzzy figured that she probably had parents once. She wasn’t that great with the details. Time was a fairly foreign concept to her. Even the sun was hard to see sometimes in the barrens due to the smog and the falling ash from Mount Rainier that would collect into ash drifts that covered much of the barrens. And besides all of that, the Seattle area doesn’t really do seasons all that well anyway.

The teenage girl didn’t look like anything special. Her blonde hair was short, uneven and looked as if she done it herself with a knife. It'd been cut that way to keep from being grabbed and to better fit under a gas mask. Her build was lithe and muscular with little fat to speak of and her skin was pale. Also she was short at only five feet tall. The teenage girl could be easily confused for a young boy as a result. Especially since she tended to hide her body under layers of leather clothing, and she often kept her face covered under her gas mask to keep the pollution and ash out of her lungs. Her eyes were a light blue, and her face, when not hidden, concealed fine, androgynous features.

Her most important possession was her bow that she’d cobbled together out of scrap. With it she would hunt and sell rats, cats, dogs, birds and other small game for their meat. She’d even occasionally kill devil rats, which were one of the local magical creatures which was the size of a small dog, but only if she could find one alone. Their meat was inedible, but their hides were tough and would fetch a good price. It was rare that she would find one alone, and she could never be completely sure if there weren’t more lingering in the shadows near a solitary devil rat. They usually ran in packs that could take down a full-grown man, much less tiny Fuzzy.

The man who’d raised her when she was little would pay well for their hide to make leather and would render their meat safe enough to use as bait, though he could do nothing about their foul smell. So she ended up going to him when she needed something. As time went by, and she became a better huntress she received a better bow through trading her numerous kills. With a better bow she could hunt bigger game. She bought traps. Not just ones made of scrap glass and other trash, but real traps that would snap a leg or rope that would break a neck. As she improved, she hauled in more meat and more hides that swapped for more gear and food. Eventually she became successful as a huntress which meant a full belly most nights and hunting gear that was in good repair. Life was tough in the barrens, but good.

One day she spoke to the man who’d taken her in as a child, like he’d taken in so many other children. After one particular trade, Rat Man, as she referred to him, handed her something called a credstick. She looked dubiously at a battered, black device, which was about the size and shape of an old-style pencil, not that she'd ever seen a pencil. She was told that the tiny piece of technology contained something called nuyen, which was something called money. Out this far in the barrens, people didn't really use nuyen. After all it was just a number and people had seen the nuyen on their credsticks get wiped out before not a decade earlier in Crash 2.0.

On occasion, Rat Man would play tricks on her. He’d show her how she could be cheated, and she’d learn how to keep from losing her kill to someone with a quick tongue. She stared at the numbers on the credstick and wondered if this was another one of his tricks. After all, numbers didn’t mean anything to her. Only food, clean water and her gear mattered to her.

“Nuyen is like magic," said Rat Man, "It can buy you anything."

“Like meat?” asked Fuzzy.

She turned the credstick between her fingers as she inspected it. It made of black plastic, scuffed and battered, with a cracked readout display, currently off. Rat Man showed her how to check the amount of nuyen on the readout and green numbers appeared. It baffled her and that meant she didn't trust it, though she appreciated that at least it was portable. Though the number readout didn’t shed enough light to be used as a flashlight, so she didn't see much point to it.

“Yeah, sure," he said, "Good meat too. Not just rat meat."

“You mean like dog meat?” she asked.

Rat Man wet his lips as he thought about what to say.

“More like soy meat," he said, "Maybe even some real bacon if you bring me two of those devil rats. Do you like pork?”

“What’s a pork?” she asked.

Rat Man smiled a greasy smile. He wasn’t creepy or scary. After all she’d lived and worked with him and the other children as far back as she could remember. He’d taught her how to shoot a bow when she was little, how to track prey, how to move quietly, how to butcher a kill and how to bargain for what she brought back. She knew men with creepy smiles, and she knew to run away and hide, or if necessary, menace them with her spear or shoot one of her precious arrows at them.

No, he was just physically greasy because he was Rat Man. It was a hazard of working with meat, fat and leather all day. That work showed on his body. Though he was barely taller than Fuzzy, the powerfully built older Hispanic man had big arms, big legs and since this summer had been a good one, a big gut. A big gut by Puyallup standards that is. No one would call him fat, though a gut like that in Puyallup was a mark of success. It meant that he wouldn't starve in times of hardship. His head was shaved, his nose was flat and wide and his lips were large. Like Fuzzy, he wore the same sort of homemade leather clothing made up of many animals in a patchwork with obvious, heavy stitches.

“Tell you what,” he said, thoughtfully, “You bring me two devil rats and I’ll bring you eggs and bacon. I’m talking about the real stuff, not soy meat. Do you think you can do that for me, Fuzzy?”

“I know what eggs are,” she scoffed.

“Damn straight you do," he said, affectionately, "Like a little runner you are."

“I’m good at running,” she boasted.

So the next morning she set up a few traps. Lone devil rats were trouble. While she could handle them alone, you rarely saw two. You either saw one or lots and lots were bad. She’d have to be smart and try to find one and then one more.

Fuzzy had a special place for skinning her kills. Too much blood and death attracted ghouls and they were much worse than devil rats. She wasn’t a good enough shot to kill a ghoul as they were fast, but she was small enough to slip away in the crumbling steel and concrete buildings that dotted Puyallup or lead them into a trap. Ghouls don’t see well and most were as stupid as animals and Fuzzy was smart. Rat Man told her that traps were no good if they got ghoul blood on them but more importantly she’d be no good if a ghoul got her. She was too sneaky for them though. They hunted by smell, but she smelled like rats.

Fuzzy and Rat Man – Friday, June 8th, 2074 – Morning - Puyallup Barrens

After a week of hunting she killed two devil rats. Making good on his promise, Rat Man cooked her eggs and bacon. It was her first time eating bacon and it was glorious. She came to the conclusion that porks are the best and that she wanted more. As she was clever, she even saved the bacon grease which she would later use to flavor her meals. After all, bacon grease was part of the porks, she reasoned. Though she wondered what porks looked like. Rat Man described them to her. They were pink, had squashed noses and curly tails which she thought was funny, especially when he made the “porks face” at her. With a finger he turned up his nose and snorted at her.

“They snort like that," he said, "And they like covering themselves in mud."

“Well I like bacon. Can I get more?” asked Fuzzy.

“Get me two more devil rats and we’ll talk,” said Rat Man, slyly.

Fuzzy sighed as she thought about all the time and materials she’d spent hunting just those two rats. She’d had other kills, but a week for one meal barely seemed worth it, no matter how tasty.

“That took me a long time,” complained Fuzzy.

“Well it’ll take less time if you're tooled up," he remarked, "What’re you working with?”

She blinked at him in confusion.

“Let me see your gear,” he explained.

She narrowed her eyes and took a step away. Trust was all fine and good, but she needed her gear to eat.

“It’s mine,” she said, suspiciously.

“Do you want better gear or not?” he asked, impatiently.

“I’ll keep my gear. You can have new ends instead,” she countered.

“Nuyen,” he corrected.

“That’s what I said,” she lied.

You didn’t admit weakness in the barrens nor give things freely, even to people you trusted. However, after some terse negotiation, a few days later she had a new bow, She also repaired her spear and traded in her old, rusty traps for new steel traps. They weren’t made out of trash or anything. She even got real arrows with white feathers. She’d only seen raven feathers before, but these were white instead of black which awed her. White feathers meant she’d be able to find lost arrows more easily among the ash drifts. To keep herself from being seen she’d even bargained for a cap for her quiver to hide the precious arrows. She had to be careful with them though. They were expensive. Pretty and expensive.

Fuzzy and Puppy – Saturday, June 10th, 2074 – Morning - Puyallup Barrens

The next night she found a puppy while on the hunt. It was wandering around aimlessly, barely even able to walk without stumbling. This was weird for the barrens. The puppy was weak and weakness wasn’t permitted. At least not for long. So it was a surprise that she was the one who found it instead of some other predator.

She hefted a stone to kill it because meat was meat, but the puppy started wagging its tail at her and was completely unaware of her intent. Consummate huntress that she was she still couldn’t follow through. It was just too cute and innocent. She sighed as she picked it up and lifted her gas mask to take a better look at it. Today’s ashfall was light enough that she could breathe without a gas mask for a little while.

“You’re too skinny for meat anyway,” she complained, “There’s barely any on you.”

The tiny, brown puppy licked her face and despite her misgivings, she giggled as the puppy was generous and enthusiastic with its licks. Maybe Rat Man would have ideas about what to do with it. So she brought it to him a few hours later.

“Yep. Just a mutt,” he said, “I thought it might be a barghest at first. Their spines don’t come out until they’re older, but its old enough that its eyes should be glowing by now if that was the case. I had to check the astral to make sure. It’s a shame. It would've been a serious payday for you. It’s probably going to get big though. Are you going to keep it?”

She pulled the animal away from him and frowned.

“It’s mine,” she said, suspiciously.

“Got a name for it?” he continued, undeterred.

“Puppy,” she decided, instantly.

“Right,” he drawled.

Rat Man furrowed his brow as if remembering something. He let his eyes relax again like he’d first done when he looked at the puppy. Then his eyes darted to her and opened wide. His greasy smile broadened, though he quickly hid it. Fuzzy didn’t like that at all.

Fuzzy, Rat Man and Julian – Thursday, July 19th, 2074 – Morning - Puyallup Barrens

The next time she came to see Rat Man, which was more than a week later, she met an elf. He wore clean clothes and seemed to know Rat Man. She’d seen elves before as there as a few of the kids she'd lived with when she was younger were elves and there was a small enclave of them in southern Puyallup, but she’d never seen one so clean. In fact, she’d never seen anyone so clean before.

The man was tall. His hair was long and blonde, and not greasy at all, yet still somehow shiny. His eyes were blue like hers too. Unlike other elves, his cheekbones weren’t high. If his pointed ears were hidden he could definitely pass as a human. He had strong features, pale skin and a somewhat hooked nose. He wore funny looking clothes that she’d later come to know as a suit. When he smiled he intended to be disarming, but instead she was momentarily startled his straight, white teeth. She'd never seen teeth so white or straight before.

“Hello there. My name is Julian. What’s yours?” asked the elf.

She just stared for a few seconds and sized him up before supplying him with an answer.

“Fuzzy,” she said, simply.

“Okay Fuzzy,” he continued, “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Okay,” she replied, awkwardly.

That awkward silence stretched. She tried to catch Rat Man’s eye, but his features were neutral and so she got nothing from him.

“I’m a teacher,” said Julian, “I teach at a school called Blake Island School of Magic.”

More silence. Fuzzy fidgeted nervously with her hands.

“I want to take you to school so you can learn,” he said, more carefully.

“Learn what?” she asked.

Julian smiled, which made Fuzzy feel increasingly nervous. She didn’t like it when people smiled if she didn’t know why.

“How to use your magic,” he explained.

If she was shocked or bothered by the fact that she possessed magic, one couldn’t tell just by looking at her.

“Oh. Okay,” she said.

“So you’ll come?” he asked.

“No,” she said, instantly.

Julian frowned. Fuzzy liked that. Someone who was all smiles wasn’t good, but she knew frowns.

“Why not?” he asked.

She shrugged and unsuccessfully tried to stop fidgeting. Instead, she only succeeded in cracking her knuckles.

“I’m fine here,” she said.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples which was a little funny to Fuzzy. No one should ever close their eyes this close to a stranger in the barrens. It meant you were begging to be attacked or robbed, but here he was, doing it. She thought he was weird.

“You’re weird,” she said.

He stopped rubbing his temples.

“I know,” he said.

“Okay. At least you know it,” she said, and smiled slightly.

“Are you happy here?” he asked.

She shrugged and he cocked his head at her. That she understood. He was trying to read her.

"I guess so," she answered.

“Well where I live there are no ghouls,” he said, as she smiled ever so slightly, “He tells me you hate ghouls.”

He made an expansive gesture to Rat Man, who nodded sagely.

“Good read,” she said.

“I’m sorry?” he asked, puzzled.

“What you just did. Good read. I care about that a lot. So yeah, I don’t like ghouls. They’re sneaky and fast and they eat people. No ghouls at school?"

He chuckled softly and smiled, which made her frown again.

“No. They’re not allowed. There are no ghouls on the island…”

Then he checked her back where her bow was unstrung and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

“There’s good hunting there too,” he said.

“I’m good at killing devil rats now,” she said.

“I bet you are. There aren’t any devil rats there though,” he said, “There are a few deer, some birds and a lot of small game.”

“What’s a deer?” she asked.

With a smile and a flourish, he pulled out a pair of black goggles and a disposable commlink. She’d seen commlinks before but never used one. They were for making calls and checking something called the matrix, though Rat Man told her once that something called reception was bad out here.

“Wear these goggles and clip this to your ear,” he said, “I want to show you something.”

She squinted at the items and looked to Rat Man.

“It’s fine, I’ll watch your back,” he said, as he tried to suppress a smile.

She scowled at first, but after some hesitation she did as she was asked, though she did retreat a good ten feet just in case she was attacked. The electronic device was just a simple disposable metaclip commlink, nothing fancy. There wasn’t even a display screen so the goggles had to do the work. However, the goggles stopped showing the world in front of her eyes and instead showed her deer. She was so awed by the look at the new animal that she didn’t throw off her goggles.

It was an introductory video with a man’s voice doing the narration. A soothing voice. She’d never owned a commlink before so this was all new. There were pictures called "trideo" that moved in three dimensions. It showed trees that weren’t scrubby, but tall and green. There was dirt that didn’t look sick or dead and it wasn't all covered in ash. She marveled at the deer. Oh sweet meat those deer looked so big, slow and lazy compared to what she normally hunted and their heads were the wrong shape for sharp teeth. There were colorful birds too! Her mind raced at the kinds of feathers she could use for her arrows. She was puzzled by a change from the animals to young people who were smiling and hugging while the soothing man’s voice talked about a school. The birds and deer were gone and she wanted to look at them some more. She wondered how they tasted and thought that if they tasted anything like porks then they must taste amazing.

She had so many questions and Julian answered many. Deer didn’t have sharp teeth. Those brown and green plants were what trees and bushes looked like when they weren’t sick. That water was called the ocean and the name for the small part of the ocean was the Puget Sound. No, she couldn’t drink it. It was too salty. She reasoned that that was okay because most water was bad anyway. After quick consideration, she made her decision and approached Rat Man and Julian to make a deal.

“Okay, how many devil rats do you want?” she asked.

Julian blinked in confusion.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

Fuzzy huffed out a breath in annoyance.

“How. Many. Rats?” she asked, as if to a stupid child.

“None,” he said, slowly, “You don't need to buy your way in.”

“Oh, so I am for sale?” she asked haughtily, and frowned, eyes narrowing, “I am not for sale.”

“Oh! No! That's not it at all! You are definitely not for sale. I want to train you,” said Julian, quickly, “That’s what schools are for. Schools don’t buy people.”

“Oh,” she said, and turned her head, “Rat Man! Do schools cost new ends?!”

Rat Man sighed as he met her eyes.

“He wants to pay you to attend. He’ll pay you in knowledge. I’m jealous," he complained, "You’ll have opportunities I’ll never have. Damn kid."

That grumble made her happy. It was his good deal grumble. She could trust that grumble.

“Okay. I have three things that I want before I’ll come,” she said, raising her fingers.

“And they are?” asked Julian, his tone politely interested.

“Yeah,” she said, sternly, “I want porks, new ends and Puppy comes with me.”

--

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