FSE

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Dr. Dan sidestepped the punch. He grabbed the mugger's arm and pulled him forward. Kicking out the wolf's legs as he swung past him. He let go, and the wolf slid into the alley's trashcan. Dr. Dan placed his paw on his tool-belt and dared the remaining wolves to make their move. Their lips curled to snarls. His paw tightened around the smoke pellets.

"Danny?" The alley door opened. The dim light burned the wolves away. "Danny?"

Patricia stepped into the alley. She kept on paw against the door to hold it open, but peered around its edge to look for him. The tips of her long, white ears grazed the metal as they flipped up. She was the most intimidating rabbit he'd ever met. There was no telling when she'd hit him, or kill him, and it did not matter how many times Sean assured him everything was fine: his wife didn't care. But, that did not help him at all. She was going to hit him --or worse!

One of these days, Patricia was going to look at him and decide he was not worth her husband. She would tell Sean to drop him, and he would. Danny could never compete with her.

"Danny, come on. His fight's starting soon."

Why did he promise to come? He couldn't watch Sean fight. It was bad enough when he didn't see him getting punched in the face. He could still back away, Patricia had not heard him yet. He could leave the fight and all the predators behind. God! The predators. They're going to be everywhere. Why did he agree to this?

He took a step back. Patricia's ears snapped to him.

"Danny."

Damnit.

"He's gonna look for us. He's gonna know if we're not there. Remember, you promised? You said you'd support him tonight. And I promised him I'd get you in. So, you gonna make both us liars?"

She was right. He needed to be there for Sean. High up in the booth... surrounded by predators...

He stamped his foot, no. It bounced off the alley in a blur of gray. Everything would be alright. He could run if he had to. It would be fine. Right?

Patricia was by his side. She grabbed his paw and pulled him out of the alley, and through the door. The metal slammed shut, causing Danny to jump and squinch his eyes closed.

"Oh, come on. Scaredy-bunny." Her grip was iron around his paws.

Patricia drug him through the dark corridors. Flickering torches served as the only light to illuminate the dirt floor.

"We don't want to be late," the Princess jerked his shackles. Sir Dan doubled his step and marched beside her. If he were going to his death, he would walk with pride and focus on the one thing that mattered: he would get to see the Prince one last time.

He would not get to talk with him, nor get to slip into his powerful arms. No, he would be too far away for that, but Dan would see him and that would be enough. He would get to look across the crowd, and proclaim his love for the Prince through nothing but a twitch of the nose and upturned ears. The Princess could not stop him from doing that much.

She could banish him from the palace and order his death when he snuck back in to be with his Prince, but she could never touch that silent bond of love they shared. No, that would exist even after the axe fell.

There was nothing the Princess could do to get rid of their love, unfortunately, that meant he would die. But, there was no better death to be had.

"Listen up," Patricia pulled him to a stop and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "There's gonna be lots of predators. So just keep your ears up and follow me."

She let go of his shoulders and placed her paws on the access door. His ears flattened. The sound of claws clicking against tile flooded his ears. Thousands of predators, each with four claws, five if they weren't canine. All waiting to eat meat, hardly in control of their bloodlust and accidental maulings.

"On second thought..." Patricia grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.

They emerged into the current of an alien market. Hundreds of beasts, each a foot or two taller than himself passed before Dan. Their yellow fangs protruded from slick jaws and glinted in the harsh light of the red dwarf above.

The foul stench of meat clogged his nose, and it took everything in his power not to gag.

"Ears up," his guide chastised. He forced them to stand rigid. How could she be so calm? Her own ears were held loosely above her head, like she did not even know they were there. His guide was used to the creatures around them. She was at home with their dripping teeth and lumbering steps. But she had to have gotten used to it. She could not have been this calm on her first night. It just was not possible.

She had made this her home, she was not born into it. It was his guide's strength that let her walk as if she belonged. And if she could do it, he could too. His ears stopped shaking and he let one of them roll forward a little bit to match hers. Fake it til you make it. Just breathe. Every confidence boosting cliché he could think of. Imagine them naked.

An alien, large with rolls of fat scales the color of dead grass passed before him. No. Not that one. He would rather look at a sun flare than that. A line of creatures blocked their path. The giant monsters shuffled forward, crowding around a vendor. Behind the thin creature, flames leapt and licked the captured pig. Its mouth was burned open, its skin dried to a dark charcoal around the metal spit splitting its insides.

"Come on," his guide pulled him through the line. Their destination appeared through a break in the stalls. The space elevator. It would take them up, out of the markets to the coliseum. The roars of the crowd above could be heard under the din of those around them like the trickle of a stream. "It's just on up ahead."

Two aliens blocked their way. They towered over them in dark shirts that held close to their fur and proclaimed to Dan as loud as the market behind him that they could kill him if they wanted.

His guide dropped his hand and presented a pass to the guards, "He's my brother," she added the lie when they looked down at him. The two grunted and gave them access to the elevator without any other questions.

Dan's ears flattened as soon as they were past the guards. The door opened. The elevator had glass walls so they could look out over the spaceships as they ascended into the coliseum.

He took the far corner as Patricia keyed in their destination. He ducked his head down against the glass to look at the gears starting to turn.

"There's nothing to be scared of. Not with me at least. What? Didn't think I noticed?"

"I'm sorry, I--"

"Eh, it's alright. I'm not gonna do anything to you. You don't have to apologize --if you tell me what makes you think I would?"

The spacecraft disappeared, replaced by the dark apartments and skyscrapers that surrounded the stadium.

"You're not, jealous?"

"Jealous? Heh! Of you? What's there to be..." She sighed and leaned up against the railing to look at the city around them. Her ears folded down along her back. "Damnit. I shouldn't lie. Not to you at least. Truth is, yeah. A little."

"Really?"

"Eh, don't get too big for yourself," She didn't turn around to face him, but her ears perked a little. "There's nothing about your body I like."

"Oh, gee, thanks." Was insulting him really necessary?

"And whenever you get the balls to open that carrot holster of yours you sound like someone too good for this city --which I know is a lie."

Danny turned to face her. Sean must have told her about his home. He could see it from here. Nothing but a rundown slum just starting to get gentrified. He'd probably get kicked out soon. He could hardly afford rent now as it was. If artists were really moving in...

"So, what are you jealous of?"

"You've got nothing for him, but he wants you."

She was right. He had nothing to give Sean. He was going to leave him soon enough as it was, sooner if she kept reminding Sean of how pathetic he was. Patricia hit him in the arm.

"You don't nod when someone says you're worthless. Jesus!"

"Sorry."

She shook her head, "I can scare you into doing anything --saying anything, except for leaving him. I know I can't do that, and that's what I'm jealous of."

His fur prickled under her words. He was right. She was jealous. But it did not seem like something he should be glad about. He had always hoped he was wrong, part of him was certain he was. She'd said it herself, there was nothing of him to be jealous except for Sean. And she had him.

"Oh, what are you looking upset for? I might be jealous of you, but that doesn't mean I don't love it when he sees you."

The elevator stopped. "You should see him the morning after he spends a night with you, Danny. Jesus Christ! He's --"

"Patty!" A large fox charged the elevator, her claws outstretched. "Finally. Another round alone and I would've jumped for sure."

"Erin, this is my brother, Danny."

"Oooh! Isn't he precious! I swear, I could just eat him right on up."

Was it too late to go back down the elevator? He started a half step back before Patricia grabbed his hand. The fox laughed, tilting her head back and letting her teeth catch the bright lights.

"Erin, we talked about this."

"Ah, shoot, you can't blame me for having a little fun now can you?" Yes. He most certainly could blame her. Not that he would with her anywhere near him. Her paw was large enough to wrap around his head, and her claws were enormous. It did not matter if they had been dulled, they could still rip his eyes out with a simple flick of her wrist and she could eat his face off before the fight below ended.

"Well, come on now. No sense standing around when there's a fight going."

Dan took a deep breath and made sure his ears were up in a definitely-not-terrified, happy demeanor before following the two women to the edge of the hay loft. Below them, two wolves circled each other. Their paws raised at just below snout level. The gaslight highlighted the blood dripping from the gray wolf's lip.

Gray jabbed at the other. The wolf ducked around the blow and slammed his fist into gray's chest. Gray stumbled back into the arms of the yelling farmers and ranch-paws. They pushed him back into the paw of his opponent. His head snapped back and he collapsed. One of the ranchers separated himself from the wall and ran to the downed wolf. He waved his arm over his face, then stood.

A bell rang through the stadium. The standing wolf's arm was lifted by the ferret overseeing the fight as the victor's name was drowned out in the jeers of the crowd.

Erin laughed, tilting her head back again so her teeth fully caught the light. Couldn't she laugh any other way?

"Looks like I'm the only fox smart enough to bet on him."

Danny looked away from the fox's teeth. Anything to get that sight from his mind. The wolf wasn't moving on the mat. Three attendants surrounded him though, so Danny could not see if he was breathing. He had to be, right?

"It looks worse than it is," Patricia said.

"Huh?"

"The fighters. They're fine. The gloves protect them, and besides they're tough. They get up as quickly as they're put down."

"I'd hope that's not true in your boy's case," Erin said.

Sean had never been knocked unconscious. He'd lost more than his fair share, but he was always able to walk away from the fights. He said he wasn't likely to get knocked unconscious tonight either. His opponent did not have a record of doing that. He was like Sean and won his fights through points.

But he'd read the "The Game." One unlucky hit was all it would take. Then boom. Fight over. Career over. Life over if you were really unlucky. Sean had told him to stop worrying. Nothing was going to happen. It had taken a lot of convincing, and some talk of what they'd do after the fight, but Sean had gotten him to promise. He would be there for him tonight. And he swore to all the writings of London if anything happened...

"Not tonight."

"No," Erin agreed.

The odds were in Sean's favor. He was slotted to win. The way he said it, he was scissors and tonight he was going against paper. That is not to say his opponent was weak. Rather, Sean's boxing style was the perfect counter to his opponents. He liked to use his speed to avoid punches and get in close to score quick hits before getting back out again. His opponent was slower. An out-puncher who used his longer arms and power to score fewer, but harder hits. All Sean had to do was dodge a few hits as he closed in, then it would be all over. He'd warned Danny that he might get hit in the snout once or twice before he could get inside the other's reach, but assured him it would work out in the end.

Whenever these two styles came at each other, Sean's one. It wasn't a guarantee by any means, but he was the safe bet tonight.

"In the red corner! Weighing in at one hundred sixty-seven pounds, John Mercer!"

The crowd cheered as a fox climbed into the ring. Danny glanced to Erin. Would they put the wives of both fighters in the same box? Erin kept her nose buried in a program of the fights. She was scanning an ad for used cars, and hardly paid any attention to the commotion of the ring below. She turned the page.

No ring. She could still be dating the fox below. Or maybe she was having an affair. Either with one of the fighters, or was planning on slipping out for a quickie after the fight ended.

Erin cleared her throat and waved her paw, "I'm single dear, if that slack jaw stare's a question."

"What? Oh, no, I umm..."

"He daydreams," Patricia said. "Gets lost in his head."

"Sorry," Danny muttered.

"Eh, don't be. I prefer my own species anyway. And with more meat on their bones."

She leaned forward and looked over the railing down at the fox below. He'd shed his robe and raised a paw to the crowd. She liked that?

Rolls of muscle ballooned against each other, driving out his fur so it puffed away from his body adding to the illusion of greater bulk. But the muscle did not extend along his whole body. While he was not walking on chicken legs, he clearly did not spend much time working on his lower body. And he did not have much definition going on below his pecs.

"And in the blue corner! The one-sixty rabbit who won't back down. Sean Clark!"

The robe slipped from his shoulder's amid the chant of his name. His taut chest gently lifted up his short fur as he made a lap of the ring. Sean raised a paw to the stands and beamed up at the box. Unlike his opponent, Sean's body was perfect. From his strong back that could hold him up against the wall to his--

Patricia pulled him back into his seat.

"Don't get too excited," she mouthed and tilted her ears toward Erin. She'd returned her attention back to the program, but Patricia was right. He could not be caught fawning over his 'sister's' husband.

The two boxers went to their corners. Their seconds swarmed around them, rubbing muscles, squirting water into their fighter's mouths, and offering last words of advice before the fight began.

The referee stepped into the middle and held out his arms. The two fighters stood and approached him, stopping with half the ring in between them. The bell rang. And with a blur of fur, Sean charged the fox. He peddled backward, avoiding the first punch then stepped in, sliding under the thrown paw to fire two quick punches against the fox before slipping back out of reach.The crowd leapt to their feet. The fight was on.