We soon arrived back at Laurent's mansion, where we bid farewell to Charles. Laurent invited me into his home again, and this time we took the opposite route through the hallway, until we reached a modestly-decorated living space complete with an array of single-seater couches around a large coffee table. Bernhard seemed to know the moment that Laurent had returned, and our arrival at the seating area was timed with the arrival of coffee and cake.

It had literally been decades since I last saw something as luxurious as a slice of cake or a cup of coffee, and yet, here we were, having coffee and cake.

"I must say," I commented absently as I sipped my coffee. "I'm more used to hunting for my food."

"Indeed," Laurent said with a grin. "Surely that should be reserved for when you're on the road and have no choice?"

I shrugged. "I'm often on the road."

"So is my daughter," Laurent told me, surprising me greatly. "She often makes a series of delivery and pick-ups in various cities across the mainland." He then took a nibble at his cake, a coffee-coloured affair with a lot of frosting. "She knows how to take care of herself, which I am thankful for."

I nodded. While Eveline and I seemed to get off on the wrong foot, so to speak, I did nonetheless agree with Laurent's sentiment that having children capable of taking care of themselves was a blessing, because you had to worry somewhat less. I never had any kids, and even I understood that. "So, I'm trying to find out what happened," I began.

"I think we've already established the events of the last half a century," Laurent said kindly.

I shrugged. "The problem I have is that I was kidnapped and given an ultimatum," I quickly told him, then explained what had happened to me back in Milton Keynes. "So now, I'm trying to find the original volunteers so I can alert them to what's happening. I'm pretty sure my captors are trying to keep track of me."

Laurent's expression turned grave, and I noticed a brief blue halo around both eyes. "I'll make sure everyone in the city is kept alert," he told me. "It wouldn't be the first time this city has been under seige."

"I hope they're prepared," I let out an explosive breath. "I just feel like wherever I go, I'm going to cause more issues for people, and after finding out about the beast folk in this town, the last thing I want to do is bring some kind of threat over their heads."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Laurent nodded. "You have a destination in mind?"

"I do," I replied, thankful I could get to something other than worry over what my presence here could do. "I'm heading east, starting with Dusseldorf, then Dortmund, then Hanover, then on to Berlin. There are volunteers in each of these cities that I might be able to find out more from, and if I can put them on alert for anyone who wants to hurt them, I'll feel better."

Laurent appeared to think for some time about this problem. I said nothing, giving him the time he needed. "How much do you know about fighting?" He eventually asked.

I shrugged. I knew almost nothing other than some moves I'd picked up from a self-defence class in the twenty-tens. "Not enough for it to count here, from what I've experienced," I admitted sheepishly.

"Then it's settled," Laurent said with vigour. "Eveline will join you on your mission."

My brain came screeching to a halt. "Wait," I stuttered slightly. "W-What?!"

Laurent smiled again. "My daughter is one of the best trackers I've ever had in my employ, has the most acute sense for danger, is a mean unarmed combat expert, and frankly, I need her to do more than just do the odd delivery every now and again. She needs more life experience than I can give her, and you'll be a good way for her to learn how to keep a target safe."

"I don't need a babysitter," I groused.

"And she'll probably tell me she doesn't want to babysit a human," Laurent laughed. "Truth is, she needs to interact with humans for more than just giving order details and collecting parcels. You're clearly not the sort of person who would be bigoted toward beast folk, and she needs to see that in strangers, not just people who she's known most of her life."

I frowned, wondering if there was something else going on here that he wasn't telling me. "So, this is about teaching her a lesson in being open-minded?" I asked doubtfully. "She seems pretty strong-willed. You sure this'll work?"

"Not at all," Laurent shrugged his shoulders. "It's the best idea I could come up with at short notice, and having her keep an eye on you will let her know I trust her with this responsibility. Frankly, Rick, she needs this."

Yeah, but I don't, I thought to myself. The last thing I needed on my quest was to be accompanied by someone difficult to work with, who clearly has some sort of beef when it comes to human beings like myself, because it was as clear as day to me earlier that Eveline just didn't like me, or what I represented. "The second she starts making my life difficult, I'm sending her home. No exceptions," I told Laurent forcefully when he went to protest. "I mean it, man. She wasn't exactly friendly earlier, and my mission is going to be stressful enough without someone having a bad attitude toward me whose supposed to be by my side."

Laurent sighed in resignation. "Yes yes, alright," he muttered. "I'll see to it she keeps her barbed comments to herself as much as possible."

"I'd appreciate that," I told the man, then stood up and stretched. "I think it's best if I get some supplies and prepare myself for the journey. It's going to be difficult finding what I need with the little I have to offer-"

"About that," Laurent interrupted me, standing with me. "Eveline would normally receive a significant amount to spend on a journey like this, just to ensure she can cover all expenses when staying in populated cities and towns. Having to forage and hunt in the wild is one thing, but it shouldn't be necessary in towns," and with that, Laurent touched his wrist to mine.

500,000 Data Credits received.

I felt my mind come screeching to a halt once again. Five hundred thousand data credits. For what? I looked suspiciously at Laurent. "Why the generosity?"

"Because while Eveline will be there to ensure your physical protection, I'm entrusting you to ensure she is protected from any emotional traumas she may experience," Laurent told me, a stern expression on his face, surprising me. "She needs to learn that she can trust others, and I want her to be able to trust you. That means you need equal footing with one another, so I can't have you going to her for credits every time you need to buy toilet paper." I supposed he had a point, and kept my response to a single nod. "Now, I'm going to have a talk with her, along with my wife. It might take a while, so feel free to go stock up on your supplies, buy a new tent, some bedding, whatever else you need."

"You got it," I told the man. "I'll wait outside for Eveline in about an hour or so?" Laurent nodded. "Good. Until then?"

Shortly afterward, as I was escorted out of the front door by a much less formal but equally distant Bernhard, I made my way to the marketplace to see what I could get.

I spent as little as I could possibly get away with, trading a combination of animal skins, nanocloud functions and data credits in order to get a much better backpack with dedicated stowage for a sleeping roll, a tent large enough to stand up in, and a pair of water flasks. I also bought two vacuum flasks (and was ever thankful that those were still being made) along with a much softer bedroll, the aforementioned standing tent, and a new utility jacket that had a lower portion dedicated to acting like a utility belt.

I even managed to get a much improved combat knife, one with a serrated edge on the reverse, a micron-thin edge along the front, and a composite rubber grip. It even came with a decent size and quality sharpening stone and a can of oil to help keep the blade honed.

Everything was a bargain at less than twenty-five hundred credits, and it showed that England was breeding a cesspit of degenerates determined to fleece everyone for what they could get.

Once I had everything I needed, I made my way back to Laurent's mansion and sat on the bench opposite.

As my mind started to wander over the varius thought landscapes and pointless meanderings I sometimes visited when I was at a loose end, I heard a sudden angry shout.

"This fucking tail!"

I tried to listen to what followed, catching snatches of conversation. Eveline was one voice featured prominently, and I heard Aline's voice as well. Laurent was there.

Ah, I realised. Laurent and Aline were trying to convince their daughter to come along on my trip, and it didn't seem to be going that well for them.

"She is needed to keep an eye on the cubs," Laurent's voice, barely audible to an unenhanced human's ears, was almost clear to me. "And while she is a good fighter, she is neither as skilled as you, nor can hide as well!" I could almost picture Eveline standing there, hands on her hips, glaring at her parents, her tail going fucking schizo. "Besides, the human, as you keep calling him, is a decent man-"

I was somewhat taken aback by this statement of Laurent's. He had barely met me. Did he know something I didn't?

"How would you know?!" Eveline protested. "He's been here less than a day. You can tell he's a good person just from looking at him?"

I almost chuckled at her agitation. She definitely had a point there, even if I were the one that was under discussion.

Still, I should probably stop listening now, because while this was useful to get an idea of how this city's folk thought of me, it was nonetheless a breach of etiquette, not to mention this was likely intended to be a private conversation. I diverted my attention elsewhere, hoping I wouldn't overhear any more of their conversation. I was sure she'd cut my fucking balls off if she realised I'd heard their discussion, and I had enough to deal with as it was. I didn't need any more on top of all that.

Beastfolk children chased after each other in a mock game of predator and prey. I had a lot of fun watching these kinds of antics when I used to visit friends who had kittens growing up, and it was nice to see that some instincts were still in place, even if they were in self-aware, semi-autonomous living beings with the power to communicate complex ideas to each other... You know, like us hairless apes.

These children were a lot smarter than your average kitty litter, though, and the games were far more tactical as a consequence.

One of the wolven children was running away from a squirrel-child, who pursued him with a delighted grin on her childlike face. She'd cut him off as he tried rounding a playground climbing frame, tackling him to the ground, and swiped his face with her bushy tail before cart-wheeling away in triumph, gloating and chanting how she had beaten the big bad wolf. The wolven child, on the other hand, skulked out of the play area with a sullen expression, Amelie rubbing his head in consolation.

She looked over in my direction, and I gave her a nod, unable to help the amused smile that had crept up on my face. In response, she gave me a wink, then sent the wolven child off with the others before giving me a wave as she walked off to join them.

I caught sight of Laurent and Aline as they left their manor, approaching me. Just behind them, tail slicing through the air in angry gestures, was Eveline. She gave both of her parents a perfunctory hug, her face a stony mask, and then stalked over to join me, saying nothing.

I looked over at Laurent, and all he offered me was a shrug and a kindly smile. "We've some additional provisions for the first leg of your journey," he told me. "When you arrive in Dusseldorf, you should be able to find Bart Henckel. He should be able to tell you more about what happened to the others."

I hoped that would be the case.

"Good luck," Aline added. "Be safe and keep in touch. We would really like to see you again."

I nodded to them both, shaking their hands. It was only a few minutes later, I found myself walking east toward the German border, Eveline stalking ahead, tail swaying angrily.

Fuck this noise. I determinedly ignored it and kept walking.

Once we were outside of the city jurisdiction and into the wild, she bounded back over to me in a leap that under different circumstances would have impressed the shit out of me, but her face was set with a look of disdain and anger, and I was already done with it.

"I'm going to hunt," she told me in a sharp tone, drawing in a breath and going straight on with her tirade before I'd even thought to protest. "I'm not asking, I'm telling you. It's bad enough I've been made to tag along with you in the first place-"

Yeah, you can fuck off, I thought bitterly. "Alright, enough," I'd said aloud, causing her to stop short. My nanocloud flooded my mind with calming compounds, which took the edge off for me, but I wasn't taking this shit lying down. "I didn't ask you to come on this trip. You can feel free to head right back home if you have such contempt for someone you've never spoken more than a word to today. I've a destination to reach and I'm not wasting any time getting into this kind of pissing match with you."

I checked my straps while I gave her a chance to adjust her attitude. Instead, all I got was a look of simmering anger, as though I had no right to speak to her in such a manner. "You don't get to dismiss-"

"Fuck this," I muttered. "We're done here. Do what you like, but I've a long journey ahead of me."

I then stalked off toward Sevenum, putting as much distance between her and myself as possible. She wanted to go off and hunt, that was her business. She wanted to make a point of telling me she didn't ask, that she was telling me she wanted to go off and do her own thing? Well, she doesn't need my permission or approval. By the same token, she also didn't need me to be an audience, and there was no way I'd be one. I had a difficult job to do, and already I was half-way to telling her to fuck off back to her parents and leave me the fuck alone, and it hadn't even been two hours yet.

Eventually, after setting myself a brisk pace, I had sight of Sevenum in the distance. Thankfully, Eveline didn't bother to try to talk to me or even to catch up to me, which given our friendship was going oh so incredibly fucking well at the moment, suited me down to the ground. Surely, since she had made it clear she was going hunting, she would be some way back, and I might even lose her long enough to get some peace and quiet when I got to the city and booked myself a room alone in a lodging that I had no intention of telling her about, just so I could guarantee that peace.

If I were really lucky, our little dispute back there might have been the last I'd see of her. Wouldn't that be nice?

I was nonetheless in need of some hydration, so I decided to stop and drop my backpack so I could grab one of my flasks. Slowly, I took a pull from it, swilling the water around and rehydrating my dehydrated tissues, then swallowing it. Thankfully because of the flask, the water proved to still be cold.

After a moment, I hefted the backpack to my shoulders once more, turning back toward the town.

Proximity Alert: Bipedal lifeform (1) approaching using natural cover.

I immediately scanned my surroundings, my visual overlay outlining classifications of objects as I did. Swaying grasses and trees, the town on the horizon, but little else-

Wait.

Fast-moving object ploughing through grasses.

It suddenly changed course, heading straight for me.

Shit, it must know I ID'd it. I dropped into a crouch, grabbing my combat blade from its scabbard. In that instant, the creature leapt forward, claws fanned out, a growl coming from its' throat, the gleam of the setting sun reflecting off of the teeth in its' snout.

Silver Wolf, my nanocloud provided unhelpfully.

I ducked, rolled and leapt as the wolf flew over my head helplessly, and I tried following up with my knife. I missed the wolf, its body spinning to one side, as if it predicted my attack. It bit at my arm, missing by inches, before landing clumsily on its' back, only to quickly roll back onto its' feet.

I'd barely turned to face my attacker when the wolf leapt again, growling ferociously.

Before I even had a chance to register a second presence, an orange blur tackled the wolf to one side, hissing sounds and angry feline screeching followed, as I was caught unawares by a second attacker who was flipping, leaping, gyrating and swiping lethal-looking claws at the wolf, both apparently intent on killing the other. I tried to keep up with the action as I watched, but they were just so damned fast.

Wait, was that feline wearing clothes?

The wolf bit at the feline's throat, but the feline was too fast, punching the jaw aside, before plunging extended claws into its throat and tearing a chunk out, quickly followed by more tearing as the claws ripped into the wolf repeatedly, until it fell to the ground and stilled.

The feline attacker breathed heavily for a brief moment, easing over time, and as I took in her golden mane and tabby stripes, I realised who this was.

Eveline!

She stood at that point, her tail swinging in agitation around her as she shook out the blood from her hands, her claws retracting back into her fingers, and then she turned around.

I couldn't help myself, as much as I really wanted to get my mind straight. I watched her chest heaving, upper clothing barely concealing the swell of her athletic breasts, her upper body rippling with muscle, her abs standing out like a sculpture even through her vest. Her cargo shorts did nothing to conceal those rounded hips, toned legs and rippling muscle that responded to every single movement she made, as she was doing now.

I was drawn to her face, her cat-like eyes narrowing slightly, her eyebrows, if you could call them that, were drawn together in a frown of displeasure, her lips drawn into an angry snarl, exposing curiously-human teeth that were offset with elongated canines.

"Are you serious?" She snarled at me, like a hissing cat defending its territory. "I saved you from getting your throat torn out, and all you can think about is fucking me?!"

Where the fuck is that coming from?! I had no idea what she was talking about. Sure, she was alluring and triggered a response in my limbic system that I'd have preferred didn't exist right then, but to actually get intimate with her was definitely never going to be on the cards.

"What are you talking about?" I demanded as she continued to stalk toward me.

"Don't play dumb with me," she retorted. "I know you were thinking about my body just then. You're putting out so many sex pheromones, you fucking reek like a rapist."

Oh hell no! Fuck this, I thought to myself, quickly instructing my nanocloud to override the automatic damping function it usually reserved for out-of-combat situations. "Okay, time out," I barked forcefully, determined not to let this bullshit continue. "Hold the fuck up, right fucking now!" I was furious. Eveline stopped in her tracks, though she continued to glare at me, hard. "Where do you get off, accusing me of being a rapist, when you know nothing about me? Ever since I met you, you've been hostile toward me. I've done nothing to warrant it-"

"That's a fucking lie-"

"What have I done?" I demanded straight away. "Come on, since you seem to know more about me than I do myself, what is it that I've done leads you to think I force myself onto other people without their permission?"

That question brought her up short for a moment, but she snapped out "You see me as a sex toy!"

This was crazy, I thought. "What gives you that idea?"

"Really?" Eveline asked, an incredulous bark coming from her throat. "The second you clapped eyes on me in Eindhoven, you polluted the air with your sexual desire."

Pheromones? That's what this shit was all about?! "Are you serious?!" I scoffed, putting all the scorn I could into my tone. "So because someone has a reaction to seeing an attractive person in their midst, that must automatically mean they don't see that person as anything more than a toy, and that makes them automatically a rapist." I stepped back, looked about me, and then roared at the top of my lungs "I mean, is anyone else listening to this fucking insanity?"

Eveline hissed at me, glaring even harder than before, but I was past caring.

"And you have the fucking nerve to get angry at me based on your personal prejudices?" I asked, in a far quieter but just as sharp a tone. "Fucking hell," I muttered, turning away from her, not wanting anything to do with this business.

"Are you telling me you don't want to have sex with me?" She asked in the silence that followed.

Sexual tension aside, I was never more certain in my fucking life. "No, I don't want to have sex with you."

"Yes you do, you liar," Eveline snapped.

"NO, I FUCKING DON'T!" I roared again, making my throat sore. "If all you are basing my intention on is the clouds of sex pheromones I'm supposed to be putting out, then you have a very fucked up view of humanity. No, shut the fuck up, I'm not finished," I raised my voice and put my hand up as she moved to protest. "You're obviously an attractive woman. It's clear my body is reacting to your presence and I won't deny that. Seeing you rip apart that wolf with nothing more than your bare claws and reflexes has made me feel all kinds of emotions I long ago thought were dead within me," I then took a breath, deciding I had to get a grip. "But you clearly hate being around me, and I've never forced myself on anyone. Not to mention your attitude toward me is incredibly offensive, so no, I don't want to have sex with you. I don't even want to be in the same city as you right now. So you can take your arrogant presumption about my fucking character and shove it up your arse."

And having finally said my piece, rendering her momentarily speechless, I felt a sense of satisfaction as I turned around and stalked off toward the city, retrieving my backpack where I'd dropped it earlier, and walking with the setting sun behind my back.

Of course, things weren't going to be that easy, were they? I realised that things were never that easy, when in the next instant, she called out to me.

"Hey!" She snapped, her sharp bark momentarily startling me. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you," I called back. Go the fuck home, I thought to myself, but couldn't actually bring myself to say the words for some reason.

"What is your problem?!" She yelled. Clearly she didn't like it when she couldn't get her way. "HEY! What the fuck is your problem, arsehole?!"

Fuck this, I thought to myself, as I turned around, continuing to walk backwards, letting my nanocloud plot a route where I could walk backwards without tripping myself up. "Did I just imagine that entire conversation a minute ago?" I asked, and when she couldn't give me a retort to that statement, I asked "Well?"

"What?" She asked, her arms out wide, surprised. "What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," I hissed at her, turning back around to continue my journey to the city. I didn't need this.

"Who do you think you are?!" She demanded, jumping ahead into a running gait to catch up.

"I could ask you the same thing, princess!" I said flatly. Seriously, Laurent and Aline had spoiled this girl.

"Fuck you," she barked, almost on him. "You don't get to dismiss me like-"

I felt a hand grip my shoulder, obviously intending to spin me around so she could confront me. At that moment, a combination of my nanocloud and my trained instincts kicked in, and I found myself gripping her wrist, pivoting on my heels, twisting her arm in the process until she was forced onto my back, which I used to lever her over and onto her back on the ground, where I quickly twisted her arm further until she was forced to roll onto her stomach, her look of astonishment quickly giving way to angry spitting hisses as I made sure to apply enough pressure to let her know what had just happened. My nanocloud prompted me to take my combat knife out and press it to her neck, to make her aware of the danger she had placed herself in.

Right now, she was pinned by my move, and I hoped she didn't have anything else left, because I wasn't sure what I could do next. I didn't want to hurt her over this situation, so to be sure I had her attention, I pushed my knee into her back, hoping it wouldn't cause any injury but would get my point across.

"Let me make this as fucking clear as I can," I said in as quiet a voice as I could as white hot fury poured through me. My nanocloud immediately tried to override my emotional maelstrom and get me back under control. "That's the very last time you ever try a stunt like that again. I don't know you from any other total stranger, and I wouldn't let them touch me like that, so I don't know what the fuck possessed you to think I would let you get away with it," I had to take a breath; my adrenaline was through the roof and my heart was racing. "Especially as you were the one accusing me of being a rapist and an objectifier of women."

"Let me go-"

"You don't get to make demands here, your majesty," I hissed back at her, the idea of her fighting me off a distant memory as my fury continued unabated. "You accused, tried, and convicted me in your mind of being the kind of person who would use others for his own pleasures and not seeing them as people in their own right, based on nothing other than your sense of smell and your own prejudices. I don't know your history, so I can't understand why, but you know nothing of me, what I've done, how I think or how I see other people, yet you seem to think it's OK to accuse me of being the worst kind of person that could exist in the world. You wanna know why I'm fucking furious right now? That's why!" I'd had enough, and wanted to put distance between us. I withdrew my combat knife, lifted my knee clear of her back, and stepped back so she could stand. I wasn't finished talking, however. "I find it extraordinarily offensive that you would make that kind of judgment against my character having spoken less than twenty words to me since we met. And yes, I'm sure you can smell the adrenaline pouring into my bloodstream, and you can tell how furious I am at you, so shouldn't you be wondering why I haven't tried to kill you yet? Or were you only concerned with the whole sex without consent thing?"

Amazingly, she kept her mouth shut, staring at me with a combination of surprise and anger. "Are you going to try and tell me that you have absolute mastery over your body that you can control your glands and stop pumping out pheromones, that you've never seen someone who hits all the right notes in your mind and makes you feel wet? Or is it only bad when you pick it up in other people? Because neither of those ideas is a good reflection on you as a person, and I'm done being accused and judged as a sex offender just because you smell something."

And with that, I was done. I stepped past her and off toward the city, hoping she would take the hint and leave me alone.

"Wait," she called out again, irritating me further. "Let me-" she began, then stopped, and I could hear her footsteps, though this time she gave me a wide berth. I'd obviously made an impression on her, at least enough that she wouldn't just start grabbing me whenever she felt like it. "Let's try that again."

Fuck off and go home, the thought blazed in my mind. My nanocloud was slowly getting me back under control, but I wasn't ready to have any sort of conversation with Eveline right now, so I continued walking, giving her nothing except to tell her "I'm too pissed off at you right now. You really want us to have a conversation, do it after I've calmed down."

Or better yet, don't talk to me again for the rest of the night, I thought irritably. I was no longer furious, merely irritable, but I didn't want to have to deal with any of this tonight. I was somewhat surprised when I heard a very human sigh behind me as her footsteps dropped back, apparently giving me some space.

Under different circumstances, I'd appreciate the gesture.

But not right now.

All I wanted now was to get some place to be alone and sleep.