FSE

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The two were running as fast as they could from the shack behind them. The wind was whistling loudly into their ears, both of them could feel their hearts trying to burst from their chests.

They easily heard the ruckus of clattering hooves behind them, followed by a loud, "Somebody stop them!"

Garvo and Mavis weaved in and out of streets and alleys, looking for any good place to hide. As they got deeper into the slums, they were starting to encounter more groups of people crowding the street and less shady alleyways.

"Church must have gotten out." Garvo wheezed to Mavis, who was only a few steps behind him.

"Garvo, listen I cannot get caught." Mavis rushed out.

"Neither can I." Garvo snapped back. They started to slow down as they made their way through the crowds, leaving a distinct path of where they went as people started cursing at them.

"If I get caught jail would be the least of my worries." Mavis responded as he jumped over a few rat pups.

"What do you mean?"

"HALT!" A new voice answered him. A few guardsmen were following their lead.

"Mavis, you can hide amo..."Garvo's voice faded out as he lost track of where the rat went. Quickly he searched around but could not find hide nor tail of him. Garvo swept his gaze among the countless sea of rats surrounding him. Reluctantly, he made up his mind and started running away knowing that Mavis could handle himself. Even if this decision caused his stomach to turn into even more knots.

He only ran a few meters before someone's extended leg tripped him. His jaw slammed into the ground before he could brace his paws out in front of him. His vision was clouded by his tears a moment before he felt a weight fall on top of him.

"Over here!" Some of the members of the crowd shouted. Garvo attempted to push himself up but whenever he did so an elbow or a fist would greet his ribs. His time was up.

The clanking of armor got louder each second, the sound of weapons being drawn rang into the air as they got within range.

"Fine job citizen, we can take it from here." A voice dripping with acid bellowed. The weight on his back was lifted off him and was moved to what felt like his stomach. A rough pair of paw pads gripped his shoulders and roughly lifted him to his feet. The blinding red, white, and silver colors of the guards uniform and armor came into view.

"Care to explain why you were running?" The same voice questioned. Garvo stayed quiet and let his shoulders slump forward. His eyes stayed on the ground. A gauntlet covered paw slammed into his cheek, knocking him backwards and into another guard who pushed him back up. Garvo's stance started to waver. "Answer me when I talk to you!"

The noise of hooves clacking against the ground came closer. "Guards! That man stole my coin!" A ragged voice called to them. The crowd of interested onlookers parted and made way for the bull. "He stole my coin yesterday morning at the Beast and assaulted me just now!" The bull was still clutching his throat, his voice sounded as if it were a broken melody of pitches.

"Is that correct?" The acidic voice asked. Garvo still kept his eyes on the ground. No matter what he said, their minds were set that he was guilty.

The hilt of a bronze sword aimed for his aching ribs. Garvo clutched at his stomach and tried to regain the air that was knocked from his lungs.

"Sounded like a yes to me sir." A guard on the side of him spoke with to his abuser.

"Great! Now sir, you said he stole a silver from you correct?" The voice took on a more peaceful tone.

"It was actually around six or so copper sir but he," Garvo tilted his head up to identify the voice as the general of the group, who happened to be glaring his wide eyes at the bull. " I mean yes sir, one silver."

The General turned his horned nose to stare his hunched over prisoner. "One silver." He mumbled as if tasting the words. "Luco, tie his wrists. I don't trust this petty pickpocket. The real tragedy here was that he wasn't even quick enough to get away with it, you'd expect a fox to be good at this sort of thing. Bloody low lives." He grumbled out.

A slightly shorter but less wide dark wolf wearing the same outfit pulled him to a standing position and grabbed his paws, tying them with twine that cut into his wrists. Garvo let out a growl, barely loud enough for the wolf to hear as his arms were painfully forced behind him.

The general finally stopped his mumbling to tell the bull. " Go up to the castle tomorrow and tell one of the guards that you're looking for Susanne, she will tell you what to do from there." Garvo's former target gave him one last sneer before walking off with a bounce in his step.

The Rhino turned back towards Garvo with his sword still unsheathed. "Now prisoner, you're going to be taken to another patrol who will then take you to the dungeon. Tomorrow you will have a hearing to find out your sentence. The usual punishment for this childish nature is losing your dominant paw, who knows, maybe I'll be the one lucky enough to perform the honor." He told Garvo with a terrifying sneer.

Without thinking, Garvo jumped forward and bit the General right the side of his muzzle where he lacked any form of armor. A coppery taste filled Garvo's pallet and an annoyed growl filled his ears. Instantly, the three other guards rushed him. Flurries of fists cracked into every limb in his body. He tried to hold the General as long as he could, but a well placed fist to his jaw knocked him loose. Before he knew it their weapons were soon pointing at him as he sprawled out on the ground.

"DON'T!" The Rhino let his paw go to his face and inspect the damage. A clear bite mark was indented on his grey armor like skin. "Muzzle him! Let him suffer," He commanded. The same wolf that tied him up jumped on top of him and wrapped a crudely made leather muzzle around him, the scent of old leather, spit, and blood wafted into his nostrils. The Wolf stepped off him and easily picked the fox up without an effort. "Oh boy, you are going to regret that." The General spat out at him, his lips curled in a psychotic smile.

Garvo glared at him as best as he could with the muzzle around him. Calmly, the General started to back away with his life giving fluid still dripping down his face. To get him moving one of them sharply prodded his back with the point of his sword directing him to move forward. He did so, terrified by his opponent's lack of interest in revenge.

What did he just do?

...........

They continued down the endless passages of streets and made their way to the exit of his district. A clear line of division could be seen between the poor and the average districts. Smoother stone paths were in perfect symmetry, no holes in the road to be a nuisance. More buildings were constructed of rock than wood, no crumbling buildings could be seen. It's people had a mixture of silk and cloth habiliments, no burlap clothing was in sight. Cleaner and better smelling citizens of all species made their way down the paths. Rats, feral and tame one's alike lessened the deeper they got into the district the majority here were the prey species.

Garvo padded behind the Rhino getting a few curious stares from the citizens, then again if he saw someone with a brigade behind them he would stare too. In what felt like mere seconds, the guard post was standing in front of him.

The post consisted of a three story watch tower and a small stone building conjoined to it. A Polar bear met the Rhino at the entrance of the building.

" 'Ello Cyrus, oi! Wha happen' ta your face?" The bear unpleasantly yelled in his accent soaked voice.

The general, now known as Cyrus, stepped to the side revealing the fox to the polar bear. The bear's expression quickly turned to stone as he looked up and down at the fox. " You'll rot in tha dungeons for this." He spat at Garvo, the fox stepped to the side and let the saliva trail past him.

"You know how the boys are in the castle, he'll be lucky if he even gets close to rotting ." Cyrus ghoulishly growled out. Garvo tried to keep his tail from curling between his legs and only slightly succeeded.

"What time will he be taken to the castle?" Cyrus passively questioned the bear.

"Not soon 'nough, just before twilight. The men transportin' today had ta deal with another issue." The Polar responded.

"You'll have to fill me in after we get him processed." Cyrus flicked a paw towards Garvo as he made his way through the open entrance of the building. A sword point met his shoulder blade again, he moved forward without hesitation and stepped onto the wooden floor. A brightly lit and open room was on the inside, a simple desk along with a few shelves of books and folders stood opposite of the door. Four empty cells stood all the way to the right of the room each one with a bench, bucket, and a tattered blanket inside. He was directed to the desk where the Bear plopped down on it's ornate wooden chair, his weight made it groan loudly. He pulled out an old leather book from a drawer and opened it to a blank page, it's yellow pages let out the faint smell of old age.

He picked up a quill that was dwarfed by his paw and started taking notes. "Name?" He spoke evenly, he looked up with a faint smile and let out a laugh. " Oh right, would ya loosen the bugga' for just a moment." Cyrus menacingly walked up to Garvo and gripped his muzzle, giving it a rough shake before reaching for the buckles and loosening it slightly. Garvo flexed his sore jaw as much as he could in the restrained place.

"Name?" The bear asked again. Garvo stayed quiet. The bear brought a paw to his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "If ya don't give me your name, then we'd have ta classify you as a person who's not from 'ere, makin' an exile or death sentence much easier. So, give me your name." He ordered.

Garvo questioned his options for a moment, realizing that he really only had one. "Garvo." He mumbled as best as he could with the muzzle constricting his movements.

"It speaks." He exclaimed." Now, surname?"

"Lebrun." Garvo answered. The bear put down a few more notes.

"Stand in front a the wall where the candle is mounted." The guard ordered. Garvo turned to the brown wall and walked towards it, turning around once he was next to the gold lamp holder nailed to the wall.

"Five feet, five inches." The bear mumbled to himself, Quill flying around the paper."Ripped shirt, dirty. Everything. Muzzled, cuffed, cut arms. Main fur color red, white secondary, black around paws, feet, and ear tips. And a swollen eye." Garvo cocked his head to the side; he didn't have a.

Crack! A grey fist slammed into where the bear mentioned. Garvo slumped to the ground, black and white dots filled his vision. He went to get up but stumbled to the ground again. His ringing ears scarcely made out. "That's a hint to what's to come fox." Garvo took a few deep breathes and kept a groan shut inside him. His head lowered onto the dirty wooden floor he was lying on, he turned off of his side and onto his back. He rapidly blinked to try and clear the dots and tears that clouded his vision. Luckily, his ears stopped ringing after he was able to realize what happened to him. " 'e's all set Cyrus, bring 'im ta cell two for me would ya?"

The bear reached for Garvo's muzzle. Garvo meant to put out his arms but they hung limp and tied behind him. Cyrus's dirty grey paws redid the buckles again and made them tighter making Garvo bite his tongue in the process. He dropped his muzzle and reached for the fox's foot and dragged him to across the floor. Garvo's arms scraped against the floor as his entire weight pressed down on them, he was smart enough to shoot his tail to the side so that his weight wasn't pressed against it. Cyrus lumbered to the opposite side of the building and opened the iron cell that was the furthest from the desk. He threw Garvo inside with a dull thud and slammed the door shut, the clink of the lock turning followed.

Garvo stared up at the faintly illuminated ceiling. The brown of the leather around his muzzle highlighted the bottom of his vision. Garvo forced himself to hunch over so that he could swing his arms out from under his legs and place them in front of him. The Twine was starting to cut into his wrists, creating an excruciating pain. By now there was a thin bare line of skin from it scraping his fur off.

He laid still for few minutes, trying to process from how his life went from bad to worse to even more so.

Tentatively, he wiggling onto his chest and pushed himself onto his knees. He scraped his way over to the brown cloth that was considered his blanket and looked it over. Multitudes of different stains covered it, some the same brownish color of the blanket others a dull red and orange. He tried not to smell it but, for once he was happy for the muzzle. The smell of leather and his just as appealing breath clouded the scent of everything else. He decided to shuffle past scrap of cloth and went towards the corner opposite of the bucket. From there, he fell back to his side and curled into ball, flipping his tail over his side and up against his chest to give him something to comfort him.

He's used to hiding his emotions at times like this, they usually only served to cloud his judgment or make him look weaker. Ultimately, as his nails raked through the fur of his tail he could feel a wetness start slide from his eyes. It wasn't the pain that he was feeling that did this, but the fear of the unknown of what could and what will happen to him in the next few days. All of the outcomes he thought of didn't end good.

The thought of Mavis paying off any sort of fine crossed his mind. But with an added charge of assaulting a kingsguard, even with his five gold it may not be enough. The only reason he wasn't killed on the spot was because they wanted him suffer, Cyrus made that perfectly clear.

His eyelids started to feel heavy as his mind started to drift away from his thoughts. He knew his body wasn't tired but he also knew that he was mentally exhausted. Even with the hardwood floor under him, having his arms and muzzle tied up, and the extreme amounts of pain flowing through his body he could feel himself starting to drift into unconsciousness. The final thing he felt was the fear of what he would wake up to.

...............

Garvo was roughly nudged awake by a foot that was kicking his leg." Wake up, it's time to leave." A new gruff voice was introduced to him. Garvo quickly blinked his eyes to clear the dull white fog of sleep from his vision. The fox's eyes darted up to see who was talking to him.

A spotted feline was standing over him wearing the same armor as the other guards. Garvo sat up slowly and tentatively got up to stand. He could feel his blood rushing to the various cuts and bruises covering his limbs, making them feel as if they'd burst from the pressure. His right eye was noticeably drooping causing him to have to focus through his non-dominant left one. "Saint Felis you're an ugly one ain't 'cha." His new guard grumbled. Garvo clenched his paws but kept loaded at his sides, knowing what would happen to him if he gave him the wrong look or if he threw a fist again.

A new sensation was brought to his attention. The inside of his locked mouth, along with his throat, has become as stiff and dry as his bones. He tried to moisten his pallet with his tongue which held to no avail.

"Follow me fox." The cat grumbled with a purr that reverberated through the cell. Garvo padded behind him out of paws reach. The cat's ropey, spotted tail lazily whipped through the air, curling and uncurling seemingly by it's own mindset. Garvo's stood frozen behind him.

The Polar Bear was still sitting at the desk, his feet were lazily resting on the table. He eyed Garvo through the entirety of his short walk out of the building. Before the door shut behind him, the bear called out." I'll be sure to give you a hand at the stocks!" A sadistic laugh was cut off as Garvo let the door slam behind him. At this mention, the thought finally occurred to Garvo that his punishment really could be him losing a paw. Instinctively he clasped his paws together as if they were about to pulled away, even though they couldn't get too far being tied up.

Once outside, four other guards awaited him. They were wearing their full blinding knight armor with sharpened axes hanging at their sides. The jail cart stood behind them, it was a simple wooden wagon big enough to fit about three men on each side that allowed for a feral horse to transport them. The feline walked to the men and started ordering them around, two of them made their to his sides keeping shoulder to shoulder with him. They were both a foot taller than him if not more, making him even more intimidated. As if the gleaming armor and weapons didn't do that enough. Another knight made his way into the watch tower, the other climbed up to the front to take the reigns of two beautiful feral horses. One was a glimmering shade of white, it's partner was a clean shade of brown reminding him of the chocolate he had but only hours earlier.

The feline made his way back to to him and stood proudly in front of the fox. "You will be brought to the castle and taken to the dungeons where you will stay until tomorrow for your hearing. If you are proven innocent you will be free to leave if not, you will be given a sentence, stripped of your rights and then and only then will you serve your punishment. Understand?" The cat calmly and professionally informed him. Garvo shook his head up and down timidly.

"You have nothing to fear if you are innocent, if you aren't you must accept the punishment." The feline started to turn which Garvo interrupted by mumbling out to get his attention, causing him to face Garvo again. Garvo motioned his paws up to his muzzle.

"That will be kept on until you get to the dungeon as well as your restraints. We can't let you harm another guard." The fox tried to speak with his mouth closed again, letting out unintelligible noises. The feline cocked his ear to the side in confusion. He brought his paw to Garvo's face, Garvo quickly jumped back at the cat's reach. Once he calmed down he cautiously let the guards paw make contact with the muzzle and loosen the buckles slightly.

"Thank you." Garvo was finally coherent enough to mumble out. The cat gave him a quick nod and turned around to go to the head of the cart. The men on the side of him motioned for him to go to the cart. Garvo followed their instructions and made his way to it. The end of the cart had two small steps that allowed for him to step into the cart rather than having to jump and dive to get on it. He sat down in the middle of the bench on the left side of the cart. The guards sat on the opposite side of him, each sitting at both ends of their seat. Garvo started to look around to his surroundings for the last time . The sun was just starting to set, giving off a bright orange glow that bounced of the buildings and streets. The smell of leather still dampened his sense of smell but he could faintly make out the smell of smoke as it blew out of a house's chimney.

The guards kept their heads pointed at him, it was impossible to distinguish their species under their helmets. They were too tall to be a smaller species like a weasel or rat and not bulky enough to be a bear or lion, they had to be a deer or a type of canine but, where are their horns if...

Garvo let this game play out in his head as the wagon let out a quick jump as it started moving. The ride quickly smoothed out as the horses went back to a familiar trot. On multiple occasions Garvo could feel himself get thrown side to side as the wagon either rolled onto a small crack in the street or if they turned to roughly. He put on quite a show for his overseers.

"How in all of Nanam was he the one that was able to bite Cyrus?" The knight on his left finally groaned out.

"You know how that hunk of muscle is, he probably deserved it. Still, I wish I was there to see it." The right one responded. Garvo felt his ears flick in embarrassment. So, he wasn't the only one who despised Cyrus. The cat in the front turned to his guards. "If I hear one more word from you two Cyrus won't be the only one hurting." He boomed out, daring them to talk back to him. They turned their attention back to Garvo. The fox gave them a wink.

"Quiet you." The knight on his right side bantered. The only hope that Garvo had was seeing that there was still respectable soldiers around his city to protect it from people like himself. The ride for the rest of the way stayed eerily silent except for the numerous occasions when citizens who were walking by decided to curse at him. They reached the end of the district at a foreboding pace, a deterring but beautiful sight met him as they came into sight of their end destination.

The castle could be seen glowing a dull orange as the sun's rays radiated off it's walls. The distant protecting outer walls stood high, squadrons of troops could be spotted making their rounds around the castle. The sight of magnificence and strength was lost to the fox who saw it as the walls that would imprison him and the protector of the people who had brought his family nothing but ruin.

The carriage wound it's way to the walls northern entrance which was dedicated to the soldiers and certain occasions such as the one he was in. The guards that they passed gave him glares and insults, much like the citizens. If only he didn't have on a muzzle.

The knight up front reined the horses to a stop with little protest from his steeds. A less armored deer yelled out command thats meaning was lost in Garvo's ears. The tall gate that stood in front of the carriage started to open up with a dull squeal of it's hinges. Deviously, the door inched it's way open foot by foot until it was wide enough for the horses to fit through. A whip of the reigns instructed them to move forward. Garvo turned his head to the doors trying to peer through the closing crack, taking his last sight at freedom. Much more quickly than they opened, they swiftly shut closed. The road they were on made it's way on a slight decline as it lead into the castle. Two guards stood at attention in front of the tunnel that lead to the depths of the fortress. Torches were lined across the wall as they delved deeper into the tunnel.

Another set of thick wooden doors stood facing them, decorative bits of steel inlaid the door swerving and swaying in all directions. Quicker than the first set, these doors opened to reveal a giant empty room. Only scraps of hay were left on the floor. This space is where the troops were given their orders and duties for the day. Ten distant hallways webbed across the room. With a slam, the doors closed behind them. The horses were led into an archway to the far left which opened into a hall. Brightly lit torches were on each side of arch.

As they got to the beginning of the hall, the knight holding the reigns brought them to a stop. The spotted feline hopped off of the front and made his way to the back to stand next to the stairs. First, the knight to the right of him got up and stepped off the carriage. Then, the second one stood up, waiting for Garvo to do the same. With trembling legs he forced himself to stand up and walk to the end of the cart. He expected a push as he prepared to take the steps but to his surprise he didn't get one. He hopped off of the steps and heard the knight behind him do the same.

A loud crack forced echoed through the hollow room, causing Garvo's ears to whip down for safety. The carriage started to pull away and make it's way back to the main room. The feline started to walk down the hall with silent footfalls. Garvo started to follow him without resistance, too afraid to put up any. Cyrus and the bear made a sure job of this happening.

There was a door about a dozen feet from the start of the hall that the cat turned to and opened. He shuffled through it and stepped onto the pristine wooden floor. A desk sat on the left side of the room, shelves and bookcases filled up the walls of the room. A simple chess table with two adjoining chairs was opposite of the desk. The hide of an unknown animal was the centerpiece of the room, it's grey coat mixed wonderfully with it's brown and white swirls. The cat guided him through the room and finally to another door.

A swirling stone staircase met Garvo's padded feet as they began the journey down the steps, it must have been a hundred dizzying steps before he came into view of the prison. Rows upon rows of steel black bars wound their way cutting rectangular patterns into the the large musty room. The prison was dimly lit. Garvo could hear a few groans and whimpers coming from it's inhabitants, along with the distant sounds of yelling. Garvo slowly backed up from instinct, his back met the knight's behind him with a quiet 'clank'. He hopped forward letting out a muffled yelp. Gulping audibly he shakily followed the feline. He kept his good eye focused on the cats back, not wanting to witness any of the horrors around him.

The cat led him to an empty cell in the middle of the room, there was no other prisoner near him. The guard unlocked the cell with a key tied to his waist and opened the rusty door. Garvo stepped into the cell and turned to the cat. The feline pulled a knife from its sheath at his side and pointed it towards Garvo. Instantly the fox jumped back, thinking of something that he could do to defend himself. "Don't worry, it's for the twine." After he caught his breath Garvo slowly made his way forward. Raising his wrists to the waiting feline. Making eye contact with Garvo, the guard moved his paw forward and swiftly cut the tight twine with a quick flick of the wrist.

Garvo winced as the twine finally stopped digging into his wrists, a sharp line cut across his wrists. The fur was trimmed away leaving a plain line that showed his dark skin underneath. He immediately brought his paws up to the muzzle around his face. His numb fingers tried to find the buckles but couldn't find the damn thing. He started to swing his head in anger and let out a growl of annoyance.

"Hey! calm down and let me help you." The cat ordered louder than necessary. Instantly Garvo froze, his paws came to a stop. The cat walked up to him and undid the muzzle, not so fresh air and terrible smells wound their way into his nose making him grimace. "Use this night to think about what to say tomorrow." He briskly made his way to the gate and slammed it shut. A quiet click confirmed that it locked. He started walking his way to the exit. Garvo ran to the door and yelled.

"Wait! What's your name?" He kept walking but called back,

"M'jirr." a deep growl started at the beginning of the name, which made it easily said by cats, not so much by others.

"Thank you Majir." Garvo called after him, butchering his name. M'jirr stopped walking for a moment and opened his mouth to say something but closed it soon after. He continued to make his way to the stairs and disappeared around the corner. Garvo ran his paw through the fur surrounding his muzzle. Each hair was all matted and sticking up in unnatural ways, a slick covering of sweat topped it all off. He flexed his jaw almost as if he was yawing and rubbed at his dry and pained wrists. He groaned feeling like he itched a two hundred year old spot on his formerly covered limbs.

Once he composed himself he surveyed the small prison, his tail swirled even tighter around his leg. So, this will be the room he might be trapped in for Canis knows how long. Well, either that or it will be one of the last rooms to see both of his paws together. He idly rubbed his 'twins' together, feeling out the grooves on them. No, that can't be real. Cyrus was just saying that to scare him, right? Garvo shook his head in anger, confusion, fright? He didn't know.

Just like last time a bucket and a blanket was on the cold stone ground in this case however, a flat worn out hide took the place of a blanket. The only thing missing was a bench and proper lighting. The cell was about four by five steps, the hide and bucket took up two of them. There was a small ledge on the wall that acted as a latrine for water, or at least what looked and smelled like water. He made his way to the hide and sat down on it. It didn't make the ground any softer but at least it wasn't as cold. The only good here was that he was used to sleeping on hard floors, so he wouldn't lose sleep to that. The fear of him dying would take it's place.

He fell onto his back to stare up at the ceiling, memorizing the cracks that covered it. A speech was starting to be thrown around inside his head, he had to argue with a bunch of thick skulled nobles so his best bet was to blame everything on his uprising. He couldn't make them understand him he knew that, it's not like anyone living in a freakin' castle ever could understand what it's like living on the streets. Quite literally in his case. He refused to give up until they announced his rule. After that, that's a different story. He recited his words over and over again time, making sure the nobles would picture him as a poor meek peasant. Not a resplendent, intelligent, brave, attractive; What was he saying again? Oh right, peasant. Before he realized what was happening, the blackness of sleep swept over him.