"..."
Sierra stretched forward and slid the small poster between her legs. She felt Ikade shift behind her and leaned back instinctively, catching herself just in time. The feline turned around and rested her chin on Sierra's head, flattening the librei's tufts without a semblance of an apology.
Calling it a poster was generous—it was really just a flyer, no bigger than a sheet of paper.
Ikade leaned a little farther in, absentmindedly putting more of her weight on Sierra's head while they talked about nothing in particular. She could feel the subtle movement of the feline's mouth against her hair as she spoke.
The flyer itself had a rough, textured surface. When Sierra tilted it side to side, the images within shifted with it—odd and little visuals stitched together like a collage. The most random of items, fragments of letters, shapes that didn't quite form words. Most of the text was blacked out or smeared, which only seemed to make Ikade more curious.
Another slip of paper was printed within, cursive writing scrawled so densely neither of them could ever hope to read it. The background looked like distant terrain viewed from high above among other things.
"Is this, like…a convention or something?"
They both focused on the fine print at the bottom. A flyer that required an invitation—an absurd contradiction if anything else.
Sierra nudged her head back slightly and lifted a hand, gently covering Ikade's eyes before she could read any further. With a practiced flick of her fingers, the flyer down folded itself into a neat little square and vanished into the purse resting beside her.
"…It's not for you."
Ikade wriggled, trying and failing—to free herself until Sierra finally let go. "Aww, why not?"
"Some things are better left to innocent minds."
Before she could say anything, she received a flick across the head. Feeling a pang of pain, Ikade lightly rubbed the spot and stood up soon after, speaking with mockery in her tone.
"Oh yeah? And who took it from me in the first place?"
She only received an annoyed glare from Sierra who also stood up, patting down her pants down. Walking up to her and smacking her across the back of the head, also throwing a glare at her.
Sierra bent her knees to reach for her purse, tossing it inside one of the bags full of trinkets. Grabbing them both, she signal with her head towards the exit and strolled that way—the feline followed suit, picking up both their drinks and finishing them within minutes.
They wandered through the busy corridors, some wider than others, some packed tight with shops and kiosks. Every now and then they'd pause to peek into a store, only to leave back out empty handed.
But even so, it was fine.
"Wanna check it out?" Ikade asked, slurping the last of some leftover ramen from a clear plastic cup.
They both stopped in front of a kiosk planted squarely in the middle of the corridor. A looping movie preview played across the screen, dramatic visuals flashing by while a small line formed to their right, people waiting for whatever showing was up next.
"Might as well." Sierra said with a shrug.
Ikade followed her to the counter, the two waiting a painfully boring minute before going up and looking at what movie were being played. A quick game of rock-paper-scissors decided who would hold them—Ikade lost miserably, clicked her tongue, and accepted the tickets anyway.
A quick round of rock-paper-scissors decided who'd pay. Ikade lost miserably, clicked her tongue and handed over the money, accepting the tickets with exaggerated disappointment.
The attendant reminded them to secure their bags, stopping them just before they wandered past without mentioning it. After that, they were waved through.
Inside, they checked their ticket numbers and slipped into the right theater, sinking into the most comfortable seats they could find.
Somewhere around the midpoint, both of them fell off asleep—
Only to jolt awake when a particular explosion rattled through the speakers.
Time passed. The credits rolled, and the two of them walked back out into the movie corridor.
Ikade's ear flicked sharply, lifting a hand to massage them—still sore from the relentless explosions. Sierra, on the other hand, responded absently to whatever Ikade was saying, stretching out her stiff limbs and twisting side to side a few times.
By the time they reached the main corridor, it was even more crowded than before. People moved in thick streams.
Ikade turned to say something—then her head snapped to the right.
She barely managed half a step back before someone slammed into her headfirst.
Thud!
She went straight down, landing hard on her bottom. Pain shot through her tail—far sharper than she could've imagined, squeezing her eyes shut while tears welled up response, a yelp tearing out of her chest before she cracked one eye open toward Sierra.
People nearby tossed quick glances her way, then looked right past all three of them, the current swallowing their attention without hesitation.
"The hell's your problem?! You blind, pinche coño?!"
Sierra moved in a single motion, smacking the woman across the head, her anger burning hotter than the ringing in her own ears. She dropped to a knee immediately after, pulling Ikade upright and catching the flinching tail wrapped tight around her leg, rubbing it gently.
"Ow—! I'm okay…ow."
Ikade lifted her eyes past Sierra, locking onto the woman who rubbed the top of her head, glaring right back.
Once Sierra made sure Ikade could stand, she turned and marched up to the idiot, grabbing the woman by the collar and hauling her up until her feet barely touched the floor, forced onto her toes.
The mustelan woman flinched hard and raised one arm raised defensively, the other fumbling at Sierra's wrist, trying to pry herself loose without much success.
Footsteps rushed somewhere ahead that Sierra caught the sound, glancing past the woman's shoulder. The mustela followed the motion, turning her head the same way.
"I'm fine, okay?" Ikade said quickly. "You don't need to grab her—see? I'm okay."
Ikade glanced at the people who had stopped to watch the scene unfold, a few lifted their phones. She shot them the sharpest glare she could manage, her ears pinning back, daring them to keep recording. Embarrassment crept in once she realized how far things had gotten to.
She stepped closer to Sierra and tapped her shoulder.
Now would have been the moment to notice Ikade's outfit in full. A plain sweater layered over a long sleeve shirt, a thicker jacket pulled over both. A simple black skirt finished it off, paired with a cap that failed to hide her ears poking up through the top.
Sierra looked over her shoulder and met Ikade's eyes. A bead of sweat traced its way down her back. She didn't want to be on the receiving end of it, at least not again.
"Hey—let her go, okay?" Ikade tugged at her arm while she spoke.
The woman dropped instantly, like a puppet with its strings cut. She jolted on impact and grabbed at her lower back just as a few people shoved past them, rushing forward without slowing.
Their faces carried a mix of focus and apathy, already done with whatever before passing by them, not even truly paying attention.
"was zur…hölle…"
Sierra leaned in, ignoring whatever was being said. She brought her mouth close to the newcomer's fluffy ear and murmured something low enough that only they could hear.
The idiot nodded rapidly, a nervous smile stretching across her face. Then, in what felt like the blink of an eye—
All three of them sat at a small table. The cafeteria buzzed around them, overlapping voices and clattering trays filling the background. Ikade stayed close to Sierra's side while the woman across from them fidgeted with her food, her utensils making more noise than anything else.
The newcomer had somewhat round ears perched high on her head, their tips black and gray and the inner fur a clean white. Her hair was short, colored a dirty wheat color with a faint black while curling softly at its end.
Sharp eyes, caught somewhere between blue and purple, kept flicking toward them—Sierra for the most part, cautiously.
"We're done here, right? I already apologized."
She was shut down immediately with a— "No."
Ikade sighed, her head drooping. She looked the woman over properly this time, from the black tank tucked beneath a half zipped jacket to the simple shorts and tights she wore.
The unfamiliar face scooted her chair back another inch, the legs screeching against the floor. The mustela lifted one arm halfway across her chest, hesitating before speaking.
"Your not a—prevent right? Its againsht the law you know?"
Sierra closed her eyes for a moment, then sighed. "What was your name again?"
"Eh? How could you forget already?"
Her tone came out blunt, though her expression carried more confusion than offense. She poked at the meat on her plate without looking.
"Ava." She said, suddenly looking straight into her with a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You can call me Ava."
"Alright then—" Sierra straightened, resting her arms on the table, pushing her empty plate to the center. "What'd you do to get them chasing after you?"
Ava took a bite out of her still full meal, then hurried to swallow, letting out a rough breath when the food finally went down.
"Why would I tell you? We don't know each other." Her choppy accent broke the rhythm of her words but stayed easy enough to follow.
Her expression settled into quiet thought, taking another bite of whatever sat in front of her, chewing slowly before finally speaking.
"Mhmm…a student. I'm on vacation, if that satisfies your curiosity."
The three of them sat in silence after that. Time drifted by while Ava finished her food piece by piece, the noise of the cafeteria swallowing everything else.
Ava stood up some time later, wiping down her face with a napkin.
She looked down, reaching into her pocket and placing down a hundred dollar bill on the table. Speaking one last time before disappearing into the misty noise.
"Goodbye."
Sierra offered no words in returned, the mood souring soon after.
"She's a terrible liar." She added a second later, standing up and grabbing onto their bags of purchased trinkets.
She tightened her grip and scoffed. "Such a shitty liar."
Ikade let out a weary sigh, picking up the bill and slipping it into her purse.
They carried their empty trays back to the return counter, stacking them into a wobbling tower. The metal clinked against the ceramic tiles when they slid the pile forward. Someone on cleaning duty approached, giving them a brief nod then lifted the entire stack in one smooth motion and vanished without so much as a word.
Sierra shifted the weight of the bags on her arm and turned toward the exit with Ikade following without comment—their footsteps became the only thing either of them noticed.
That was that.
By the time they made it back to their room, the noise of the place felt distant, muffled by the many turns and corridors. Sierra set the bags down near the wall while Ikade kicked her shoes off and flopped onto the couch without ceremony, sinking into it like her body had finally remembered how tired it was.
The feathered woman closed the door, the darkness sliced into the room like pie—cut only by the guiding light coming from the window. The depressing scenery beyond did little to alleviate their mood, the blanket of gray clouds made them feel tired and blue.
That feeling probably came from the food in their bellies, cooking away in the acid.
Sierra quickly replaced her shoes, rolling her feet to work out the soreness before turning to her side.
And flicking the light switch on.