In A New Town

[rix_scaedu]

I wrote this to ysabetwordsmith's third prompt.

This town surrounded a Residence so the checkpoint in from the highway was watched not only by dogmen of the Master’s Guard but by a leavening of his wolffolk and a sharp-nosed foxman as well.  There was no concealing his nature from them, so he didn’t try, pushing back his hood so everyone could see what he was.  It was not amusing to note that as a free being he received a less intrusive inspection of his person and goods than the slave folk in the queue with him.  Of course, they had to go through their supervisors to lay any complaint whereas he could go straight to the Master, being technically the human’s equal.

He chuckled to himself and drove his old truck carefully through the crowded streets towards the warehouse district where he had rented space.  His was the only mechanical form of transport he saw; inside the town at least this Master’s people used handcarts or animal drawn vehicles.  There was a fair mix to the slaves on the streets too.  Catfolk and butterflyfolk, descended from pleasure slaves but not pleasure slaves themselves, mingled with rabbitfolk, dogfolk and others going about their business.  He passed a large school with the playground full of children of all types, so this Master believed his slaves should be able to at least read, write and figure.

He turned off the main road into the maze of warehouses at an intersection where a catwoman in a Master’s Guard uniform was controlling traffic.  The streets were narrow but not so narrow that the truck could not pass.  Fortunately the warehouse he had rented was not so far into the maze that he got to find out if the streets grew narrower still.  No-one paid him any attention when he hopped out of the truck, unlocked the roller door with the key he’d received from the agent, opened up and drove in.  Well, no-one seemed to.

They came after dark.  They always did with that odd mixture of shyness, boldness and caution.  Not many, never many.  Catboys, rabbitboys and a butterflygirl this time.  “Please can you tell us?”  Always the same question.  “Please can you tell us how the red-pandafolk overthrew the Making Labs and gained their freedom?”

Tonight he would tell stories and tomorrow, tomorrow he’d start teaching a martial class.