La Catalina

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Ah, finally," Bohdan said when Sven dismounted his bike and approached him. "It felt like weeks since I last saw you. Anyway, come with me." Bohdan entered the lobby of the condo, nodding at the security guard at the desk. The guard nodded back. Bohdan pressed the up button on the elevator, and stepped in first.

"Come in, Sven," said Bohdan, gesturing. "It is roomy enough."

[Kurt]

Sven followed Bohdan into the elevator.   , as he stepped inside he asked a question. "How do you fit in this thing? Your head is litteraly an inch from the top!"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Well, it most certainly helps that I am not claustrophobic." Bohdan indeed was in a tight spot, as he was barely touching the ceiling of the elevator. After a short ride to the fourth floor, Bohdan allowed Sven to go first before stepping out himself.

[Kurt]

Sven stepped out into the familiar hallway. "Thanks for letting me stay with you for as long as I have." He said as he stepped to the side. "You got the key, so you lead the way."

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Oh, you are very welcome," replied Bohdan, stepping out into the hallway. He looked left and right to make sure he would not bump into anyone. Satisfied that the hallway was empty, he approached the door, and took out a key chain. Jingling a few keys, Bohdan found the one to his condo, and unlocked the door. He opened it, and stepped inside. "Come, get your things Sven."

[Kurt]

Sven walked into the condo once Bohdan opened the door, he went into the extra room where he had been staying and stuffed what was folded by his bag back into it. He exited into the hallway with his bag on his shoulder. "Thanks," Sven said "See you around big guy." he said as he jokingly punched Bohdan's arm.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"See you too," Bohdan said, rubbing the area which Sven struck. As he closed the door behind him, Bohdan surveyed his kingdom. He was once again alone in his condominium. He sighed sadly, his shoulders lowering as the air escaped from his lungs. He walked towards the sofa, and sat down on it, his immense weight making a deep sag in it. He outstretched his arms and wings across the width of the piece of furniture. However, his cell phone vibrated in his long jeans. Bohdan plucked it from his right pocket and answered the call.

"This is Bohdan," he said.

"Hello, Bohdan," said a voice which seemed to come from an old wise man. His smooth voice had the weight of decades of learned knowledge behind it. "I have a client with a problem. Meet me in Centurion Park, Town Square, in La Catalina. We'll discuss the job description there."

"I shall," replied Bohdan.

"See you there," the voice said before hanging up. Bohdan put the phone back in his pocket, and got up from his seat. He left his condo, and walked to Centurion Square, not that far from his condo.

[Naza Sutera]

Amelia stowed her New Balance trainers in her duffle bag with her track suit, which was soiled with perspiration. Putting on her peach-colored camisole, she pulled her slightly damp ponytail out of her shirt, letting it dangle freely down her back, and sat down on the bench to put on her shoes. After getting her foot properly seated in the black suede 140mm high heel (a la Salvatore Ferragamo), she picked up her phone which was sitting next to her. She unwrapped the earbuds from around it and unlocked it to call Korben. Slipping her foot into the other shoe, she held the phone to her ear and waited for an answer as it rang...

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben struggled to keep Salamon still when he heard his phone ring on the table beside him. He settled the little tykeriel beside him. Salamon grabbed Korben's sunglasses off his face, but the battered beaver did not mind. Salamon studied the sunglasses like an archaeologist examining a cuneiform tablet. Korben unlocked his vibrating phone and answered the call. It was Amelia.

"Hello," Korben greeted with a strained voice.

[Naza Sutera]

"Hellooooooooo~~~!" Amelia sang as she exited the neighborhood fitness center, her duffle bag slung over her shoulder. "How you doing, sweetums? You just wake up?" She noticed how his voice sounded a little strained.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben groaned as Salamon spread his tiny body lazily over Korben's torso. "I'm hurt. Car accident. I'll live..." he said with his still strained voice. "I'm at Cleon M-m-m-medical Center." Salamon crawled over Korben's wounds, making him feel a particular stinging pain.

"Ow, Sal!" he said. Salamon looked at Korben briefly before nonchalantly continuing his climb over Korben's body. Korben rolled his eyes.

[Naza Sutera]

Amelia stopped in her tracks, and remembered a phone call from her daughter about witnessing a car accident. "I'm going to come see you right now."

Immediately, Amelia ended the call and ran to her car. Dumping her duffle bag into the back seat, she hastily climbed into the driver seat and started the engine. She didn't waste any time as she dropped the car into gear and pulled out of the parking space and left the parking lot.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Naza Sutera
GOD DANGIT

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Kroben tossed his phone onto the bedside table when Amelia ended their call. He grasped Salamon in his wounded arms and placed him at his side in an upright, sitting position.

"No," ordered Korben, pointing his finger at Salamon. Salamon grabbed Korben's finger, and gnawed on it with his miniscule, yet already formidable, teeth. Korben yelped in pain as he recoiled his finger from Salamon's grasp. The baby tykeriel, disheartened by the loss of Korben's finger, began crying. Korben started to slightly become distressed. His vision scanned hurriedly around the room, searching for some object to grab Salamon's attention. He then took off his sunglasses, and gave them to Salamon. The baby was awestruck by this amazing new thing. What was it? Why did it look the way it was? Why was everything darker when he looked through it? Salamon had to investigate further, and placed them on his face. Korben chuckled, grasping his wound on his side as Salamon's visioned wandered the room, amazed by the altered world he saw through his sunglasses.

[Kurt]

Sven had made it back to his bike, once he made sure the bag was attached he put on his helmet. Slipping onto the bike he hit the ignition. Nothing happened "What?" he thought to himself. He tried it again, the same result. "Please don't be what I think it is." he said to himself as he manually switched the bike HUD on, It came up red instead of the normal Blue and a message flashed across it for a second before vanishing along with HUD. BATTERY CRITCLY LOW.. "Well I'm going to be stuck here for awhile." He had seen Bohdan leave the building after him, not wanting to bother him again he decided to stay, hoping someone would pull in the lot that would be willing to give him a jump. Sven got off the bike and sat on the concrete with his back to the bike, leaning against it.

[Naza Sutera]

Her eyes flipped open at exactly 8:00 a.m. No bird-like fluttering of the lashes, no gentle blink into consciousness. The awakening was rather mechanical in nature, like the spooky ventriloquist dummy click of the lids: she was asleep, then showtime! at 0800 hours. At that precise moment, the sun climbed over the skyline of the neighborhood across the lake, in all of its life-giving glory. It's reflection beamed across the artificial lake towards her bedroom window, glaring through her sheer curtains. Greeting her: Good morning, Amelia.

She sat up in her queen-size bed, staring at her reflection in a mirror that sat on a chest of drawers on the far wall of the room, smoothing her bedhead hair and rubbing eye crust out of her messy but rested face, pondering the wacky dream she had woken up from. Flopping down on her pillow, she began laughing about her REM sleep hallucination.

"...What?!" she said to the slowly-spinning ceiling fan, as she tried and failed to make sense of something that really made no sense anyway. 

Sitting up, she picked up her MacBook, which was sitting on her bed next to her, and sat it on her lap. Last night, before she dozed of, she had simply closed the screen rather than shutting it down, so when she lifted the screen, she didn't have to wait for it to boot up. She entered her password as soon as the computer woke up and opened a video recording app. She had to get this out there before it was lost to her.

***

So, I have to tell you this frigging dream that I literally just had, maybe about three minutes ago…

…So, there were two major events that happened in the dream, but I only remember the second event. Now, on the last event, I am boarding this plane. Though, I really don’t too much like to fly, but I’m getting on the plane for whatever reason. And… Something about it was fishy right out the gate, because when I got on… It just seemed a little goofy! Like, I remember the pilot was on the intercom, he was on the P.A. system, and he kicks in with this conversation about—

“Well, you know what? I checked the forecast, and thank god for great weather because you don’t even have to wear your seatbelts!”

He kicked in with this conversation about not wearing seatbelts because, like, even though it was night time and we couldn’t see what it looked like outside, that the forecast was talking about how it was clear skies, and, you know, they had gotten the green light, and I—and NO ONE--… I was the only who was looking around, like, “Ya’ll don’t find nothing weird about that?” I was the only one wondering, don’t nobody find nothing weird with this queen? With this goofy-ass motherfucker, talking about, okay, getting on the plane and not wearing seatbelts? And ya’ll acting like this shit is normal?

This is not normal!

But even though I felt that it was weird, I didn’t do anything. Everybody got on and sat down. So guess what I did: I sat down! And I remember thinking to myself, why am I getting on this plane when I feel that the pilot doesn’t know what he’s doing? What am I doing?

So, I’m on the plane, and I am sitting in my seat, and I think, “Well, you know what? Even though he said we don’t have to wear our seat belts, I’m going to wear mine anyway.” And by this time, they hadn’t closed the door. I reach to put my seatbelt on, and ain’t even no seatbelt available! So what if it had had been horrible weather, we ain’t got no seatbelts? So now, I probably wanna get off, but now they done shut the damn door. So the plane starts to pull out to take off. And you know that I’m not too much of religious or anything, but on today I was praying to god, because I was like “Lord, puh-LEEEEZE! What is going on?! Why did I get on this plane?!”

So we get ready to—to—to… You know how you gotta pull out then turn around, or turn around then pull out—I dunno how the hell it happens. But the point is, you know how the driveway--the “driveway”?—how the runway—is it even called a runway? Or the tarmac—whatever the fuck it’s called, the road was so short, I’m like, “Don’t we need more road to pick up more momentum?” Why does it seems it—it wasn’t even--…It just wasn’t long enough! It just was not long enough. It seemed like we turned around and started driving for like ten seconds, and then we were suddenly in the sky! We’re not even picking up enough speed to take off!

So we are in the sky, and all of a sudden the stewardesses started walking through the isles with the food and the snacks, I’m like… We just took off, and we just got into the air, and ya’ll are rolling through with the fucking thing, and how are they not rolling backward, because shouldn’t the speed of the plane and the angle—It was just too weird for me, I should have known I was dreaming.

Then, we are in the sky flying over all this water. And you know those big-ass boats with the oil on them? So we are flying and I’m like, “Are we going to hit that thing?” It seemed like we were too close! So, here we have this goofy-ass pilot on the intercom, talking about—“There goes Big Ben or something blah, blah-blah, blah-blah!” This guy is acting like this is a goddamn joke! Ain’t nothing funny about this! So I am clutching my armrest because it looked like we were about to hit the thing. But then we didn’t. So… we flew over successfully, and then there was this big-ass cable-stayed bridge. And all of a sudden, out of the clear blue sky, this stupid-ass pilot—and wasn’t even nothing going wrong! He starts screaming, “Oh my god, you guys… Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!” On the mic! Like, why is he saying that?! That freaked me out.

So, the plane is suddenly turning to the side and we began to, like, float to the water…--Or collide or drive—Girl… Now I know not to make videos as soon as I wake up out of my sleep, because I can’t even articulate what I’m saying. So we started to fly like we are going into the water, and I’m like, “…Bitch, we are really about to crash!!” Now I can see the water coming closer and closer to the window. Initially when I hit the water, I felt the impact slam us, the water began to fill the cabin and splash me in the face. And then I blink my eyes, and before I knew it, I am FLYING. My whole body just soaring through the air, so high in the sky like that song by John Legend. So, I was flying towards the bridge, and I said to myself, I have to grab onto the spire of the bridge, because the speed of me going towards the bridge will cause the cables to cut me in half, so I had to slow it up so I can grab onto the pole. So now I am hanging onto the bridge, and the impact of the plane caused, like, a tsunami that tried to blow me off the bridge, and then I lost my phone…

And I was like, “I am so over life right now. My marriage failed, my kids got taken, now I can’t even—“ Now I remember! I was boarding the plane to go visit my kids! It was back when my life went down the shitter, and I was deemed unable to take care of my kids at the time. And I was like, I can’t even call them to let them know that my plane went down, and that I’m hanging on the bridge.

And then, I just started walking away from the accident. And when I turned around, there was a bunch of people on the grass verge of the river and…--Now that I think of it, I’m thinking this looks like Orangestar Bay… Because, there was this…

…Ugh, I sound like a fool right now, I can’t even vocalize what I’m talking about. But I just wanted to get this out there in case someone knows how to translate dreams. Or maybe this was just a movie I saw. But what movie was ridiculous like this, besides… It was just too ridiculous!

Anyway, I saw the people on the grass verge, and I went over there, like, “I was in this accident, and I need help.”

And they already knew who I was. They were like, “You must be Amelia.”

And then the woman, this stupid bitch, she had an attitude, and she was like “She was sitting in isle such-and-such, and she was in the middle seat.” And she was like, “Oh, well, honey, she—“ How did she say it? I can’t remember how she said it, but she said something along the lines of, “Well, she walked away from the accident, so she’s not eligible to receive any money, she’s not eligible to receive any care, because if she was hurt, she wouldn’t have walked away…” That’s not how she said it, but that was the point she was making.

And I’m thinking, “I oughta slap you, bitch! Because I almost—I could have been killed!”

And then all of a sudden, this beaver guy that I’m dealing with, Korben, was in the group. And although it was crazy, I didn’t even question it. And he was like, “So Amelia, how did you get out?”

I said, “When the plane crashed, it tossed me in the air, and when I saw the pole of the bridge coming up, I positioned myself to grab the pole at just the right moment… and live.”

Then he turned around to—it seemed like General Pepper was in the group! He turned around and said to him, “This is why I love her. She is a survivor…” What else did he say? He said, “She is a survivor, and…” He said something else, but I can’t remember.

But that was a wacky-ass dream, and I’m trying to figure out, what the hell does that even mean? Maybe it was a random dream, but it seemed random, yet so specific, because I wasn’t even thinking about any planes. I felt like I had to get it out there before I forget, because you see I can’t even remember certain parts of the dream, so…

--But that was so random! Like…

“Alright, the weather is clear skies, so don’t even worry about buckling up!”

…Hmm??? Since when??

And then the plane ain’t even settled in the sky, and you got the bitches rolling through with the pretzels and the soda…

…I just don’t know how I feel about this flight! I just didn’t sit well with me… Uh-uhn. And then you see what happened with—At least it didn’t blow up into an inferno. I’m glad that didn’t happen. But… I’m really trying to figure out why I had that dream out of all the dreams. Does it mean, like… I’m losing control of my life and it’s crashing, or… I don’t know!

If you know how to interpret dreams, tell me what that means, because I have no clue. But, girl... Lemme wrap it up because I need to go brush my teeth and get cleaned up. Love you all, you all fucking rock, bye!

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Korben is a little boy, no more than six years old. His white t-shirt, black shorts, and black sneakers are allusions to his future fashion choices. He runs to the shut gate of his family's manor in La Catalina, a prestigious neighborhood of Corneria City, where the wealthy reside. Korben's small satchel is slung over his right shoulder, and hangs off the right side of his body. He looks to the right, where a sentry box, which housed a guard, lies. Korben goes up to the sentry box, and spots the long-employed guard at the front of the Dallas's home, named Wilson. He is napping. Wilson has a strange, gray eminence about him. Korben shakes his head in disappointment, and knocks on the door. Wilson is roused, and he sights Korben.

"Oh, sorry Korben," apologizes Wilson as he opens the gate, with a buzzing sound being emitted.

"Thanks, Mr. Wilson," says Korben. He enters the property, and Wilson closes the gate. He returns to napping. Korben runs up the long driveway to the front door of his illustrious family home. Although it is a lengthy journey, the hyperactive Korben has lost barely any energy. He opens the door, knowing it to be unlocked at this time. He is greeted by the butler, Urien, a rather tall, yet lanky, Cerinian fox and former refugee. He, along with Amanda, Korben's older sister, and the Zonessian Aves, Bianca, are the only people in the Dallas home who frequently talk to the small beaver. "Hey, Uri!" said Korben, calling Urien by his nickname. Urien, personally, enjoys the name. He has a strange, light blue glow coming from his very body.

"Hello, Master Dallas," replied Urien, bowing slightly.

"Look what I made!" Korben opened his satchel, and took out a rudimentary macaroni picture of his family: his parents, Arthur and Helena his two older brothers, Arthur Jr. and Craig, his older sister, Amanda, Urien, and the family maid, Bianca. Amanda and Urien are holding Korben's hands, and beside him. Bianca is also close to Korben. His parents and brothers are not that close to Korben, but nevertheless depicted in the drawing. The macaroni figures are colored with paint.

"What a beautiful artwork, Master Dallas!" said Urien excitedly.

"Thanks! See? I even made you and Bianca!" Korben pointed at Urien's depiction: a blue fox with a black tie. Urien chuckled in humor and flattery.

"You are certainly talented, Master Dallas." Korben, smiling, ran off to show it to the rest of his family. Urien, smiling, walked to another room.

Korben moves into the kitchen to find Bianca, the raven maid, and his parents talking on the patio outside.

"Bianca, look at the pretty picture I made!" he says, showing the maid his masterpiece.

"Wow, molta bella (very beautiful), Signore Dallas!" exclaims Bianca.

"Thanks, Bianca!" says Korben. Bianca has a peculiar light green glow around her figure. Korben runs to the patio outside, where his parents, whose whole figures are in black and white, and has muffled speech, are ominous to the young Korben. Nevertheless, he approaches them. "Mommy, Daddy," he begins, holding the picture up to them, "look what I made." Korben is simply brushed off by his parents.

"Sorry, Korby," his mother says, "but Mommy and Daddy are busy now. The picture looks good, though." Korben noticed the apathy in her voice. He shuffles back inside the house. Hoping to achieve the acceptance of his older siblings, Korben ascends the seemingly massive staircase to reach AJ's room. He tries to knock on the door, but there is no answer. Strangely, there is a sock on the knob. Korben tries knocking again.

"Please leave!" yells a distorted voice from inside. Korben shudders, and backs away from the door, which is leaking out shadows from the creaks. He runs over to Craig's room, next door. He knocks on the door, and it opens to Craig, irate over being interrupted in the middle of his video game, by Korben, no less.

"What?" asks Craig annoyedly, his face pixelated and his voice disotrted..

"I made a picture of us. Wanna-" Korben is cut off by Craig slamming the door on him. Korben shuffles off to his room gloomily, dropping the picture midway. He goes into his decorated room with a jet black Lamborghini sports car bed off to the side. He drags himself into his 'car', and assumes the fetal position. He begins tearing up, sniffling. Amanda then opens his door, with his drawing in her hands. He does not turn to look at her. Amanda approaches the vehicle, and touches Korben on the shoulder. He finally shows his reddened eyes and saddened face.

"What's wrong, Korben?" she asks. Korben sits up, sniffling.

"Uri and Bianca like my drawing," Korben begins, "but Mommy, Daddy, AJ, Craig, they don't wanna see it. And they probably don't like it." He is on the verge of crying before Amanda talks.

"I like it. I think it's awesome." Amanda smiles, and that makes Korben smile. She has an odd, bright white glow about her. Korben hugs Amanda.

 

~~~

 

Suddenly, Korben woke up in his hospital bed. The antibiotics coursing through his veins, like knives scraping against the sides of them, are almost unbearably painful. He groaned as he moved. "Hey, Korben," greeted Elizabeth, sitting in a chair opposite Korben's bed on the other side of the room. She still wore the same clothes she wore yesterday, and her short hair was messy.

"Hey," replied Korben.

"It's the morning, sleepyhead."

"I see." Korben glanced outside the window, its curtains open, to view downtown Corneria City, only a few blocks away. He sighed.

"Amanda came in the middle of the night," notified Elizabeth. Korben tilted his head curiously.

"What she say?" Korben asked.

"She was relieved that you were okay," answered Elizabeth. "She kissed you on the forehead while you were in Dream Land. Oh, and she left this..." Elizabeth stood up and walked to the table next to Korben. She picked up a macaroni picture and showed it to Korben, who took it from her hands. It was the same one he made all those years earlier. His fingers glided over the depictions of Amanda, Uriel, and Bianca. He smiled. Elizabeth walked back to her chair, surprised by this simple action.

[Naza Sutera]

Derek descended the auxiliary staircase that emptied into the breakfast nook. He yawned torpidly as he rounded the corner into the gourmet kitchen, which was disarranged with moving boxes and containers of last night's takeout. He checked the single-serve coffee brewer for water and filled it to make a morning cup of coffee. Getting a coffee mug out of a box on the kitchen island, he placed it on the cup rest of the machine and loaded it with a pod of Starbucks Breakfast Blend and started the brew cycle.

He yawned and scratched his hind quarters.

While his coffee brewed, turned around a picked up his phone off of the counter and went through his contacts until he found Amelia's name. He contemplated whether or not he should call her...

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

A dark blue Honda Odyssey sat within the bowels of a parking garage in Town Square. In it, were Iosif and Diana. They rose up from their sleeping positions in the back seat of the van and dragged themselves to the front seats. They were lucky that there was nobody in Lati Park just outside of La Catalina, where a fountain was. Now, after their fresh bath in the fountain, they were clean. The duo had finished another bar of soap, and were rapidly running out of those and other toiletries, such as toothpaste and toilet paper.

Not so long ago, Iosif and Diana were living in a modest triple decker in Little Sarmizegetusa, or Sar Town, as the Cornerians call it, in an effort to save their breath. Sar Town was the Vlach neighborhood of the city, where much of Iosif's people within the city resided. However, the two of them were evicted by the landlord after failing to pay three months' worth of rent. So, they now have no home, barely enough money to pay for food and gas, and are unemployed, with both of them losing their jobs upon their eviction.

"I am not doing crime, Joe," said Diana, settling into the front passenger seat. Iosif did not want to hear this once more. "I don't care if we're starving, I won't break the law to get bread."

"Oh, is that so?" replied Iosif, staring cynically at Diana. "This situation is very similar to Sandor's situation when he first came off the ship and into this city: no job, no home, no hope. Well, that's where we are, Di! That's our f--king situation!" Iosif slammed his hands on the steering wheel several times, honking the car horn in the process. He then grasped his head in anguish. "What in God's name are we going to do?"

"We survive," answered Diana frankly. "But we don't do crime!"

"We have to!" rebuked Iosif. "What, you wanna apply for a job? What'll you say when they ask you where you live? 'Uhh, a 2014 Honda Odyssey'? F--k that, man!"

"Well, what about general labor?" suggested Diana. "Maybe one of the janitorial companies. They're always looking for immigrants from the O-Nations to hire. We could also work as gypsy cabbies, or-or-or, or maybe, maybe bouncers for clubs, or ---" Diana was stopped by Iosif.

"Stop, Di." He placed his hand on her left shoulder. "We're going to do two things. One: we look for Sandor's place and ask him to let us crash there. Two: we ask if he has any connections to people who have problems." Diana stared at Iosif for over thirty seconds in total silence before answering.

"Fine, Iosif. But if we end up in a cell, I will make sure you stay there." Iosif scoffed, shaking his head.

"You underestimate me, Di," he said confidently.

"That's not what I thought last night," replied Diana.

"Oh! That hurts!"

[Kurt]

Sven woke up. He was laying on the floor of his new apartment on a cot. A few boxes were around him, as well as his duffel bag that he used as a pillow. He slowly Sat up and yawned. He winced as his neck poped. "D**N that hurt!" Sitting up he began to dig through his bag. He grabbed some clean clothes as well as his bar of soap and headed for the bathroom

 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan was already awake for an hour before getting his breakfast ready. He had taken a shower and dressed into his more formal clothing for the day's business: a dark red polo with the Ruthenian Imperial Coat of Arms emblazoned on the left breast, with neat, clean khakis, and black loafers. He wore a clergy cape with the hood draped over his head, and his medallion hung from his neck.

Finally, the microwave sang its herald of finished food, heated to boiling hot temperatures. Bohdan never minded the heat. In fact, he preferred cold breakfast. Nevertheless, since he was on Corneria, he should act more Cornerian, and heat his food to Cornerian temperatures. He opened the microwave, and took out a plate holding a Cinnabon cinnamon bun, its gooey sugary cinnamon spread haphazardly across the deliciously baked bread. He walked to a small table nearby the large window leading to a small balcony, which overlooked Town Square, carrying his plate. He placed the plate down and went back to his small kitchen nook, getting a fork and knife. Bohdan returned to his warm breakfast, and sat back down. He began eating.

[Kurt]

Svens shower was short, he was dressed as he stepped out the bathroom door. "What to do today...." he thought out loud to himself.

[Naza Sutera]

Amelia sat on her bed as she tied up her Doc Martens to complete her "Designer/Casual Urban" look. No high heels, sport coats, and blazers today; just a white tee shirt with the Louis Vuitton logo in glittery gold, and a pair of skinny jeans tucked into a pair of the aforementioned high top Doc Martens boots. She would complete the look with a black "Louis Vuitton Graffiti" bag with red print on it. She had made sure her she was coming correct with her make-up; her lashes combed to perfection and her eyeliner on fleek.

She stepped out of her bedroom dressed for the day to see that her kids had gotten ready for school. Max was sitting at the bar/island enjoying his morning bowl of cereal, while Kiersey prepared herself some strawberry Pop Tarts using that convoluted and overly-priced toaster that she spent upward of one-hundred credits for from Alessi. Behind them, the TV was on in the adjacent and open family room, on the Corneria City Bay Area news channel.

"You two are the loves of my life," Amelia began, "and I bid you a good morning." Max felt awkward as she kissed him on the forehead and hugged him, as did Kiersey when her mother came to her and pulled her into a warm and loving embrace. "Okay, so I'm going to visit my friend again at the hospital. You two enjoy school."

"Alright, mom. See ya later," Amelia's daughter said to her mother, while her son just gingerly waved. Going into the garage, she climbed into her Porsche, which, while was a lovely car, was long overdue to be traded in, as her upkeep was getting expensive, even despite Amelia's goodly income. She started the car and opened the garage using the HomeLink button, and began backing out onto the street. Once she was onto the street, she closed the garage, put the care in 'drive' and pulled away.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Bohdan finished his Cinnabon roll. He placed his plate and utensils in the kitchen sink, and washed them. Bohdan placed them on the drying rack and dried his hands with a towel hanging off of the counter. Bohdan looked around for his brown messenger bag carrying his work documents. He discovered it lying on his sofa, and he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. Bohdan also found his keys for his condo and car on the coffee table, as well as his wallet, cell phone, and pistol in its holster. He took the weapon out of its holster and unloaded the magazine.

The Buha M2290's stopping power was unmatched in the Ogniemite nations. 16 rounds in the magazine, plus one in the chamber, its main drawbacks are its size, weight, and slow firing rate. However, this is easily countered with its sheer power, damage, and high accuracy. He loaded his pistol and placed it in its holster, and put on the holster.

"Never leave home without a weapon," Bohdan said to himself. Once again, he looked around to see if he forgot anything. Satisfied he did not, Bohdan left his condo. He opened the front door, then closed it and locked it. Bohdan went to the elevator, and pressed the 'down' option on the holographic console. He entered the elevator, thankful that it was empty. He rode down the elevator and left the condo, but not before nodding to the clerk at the front stall of the complex.

"See you later, Mr. C.," said the clerk, a ferret with brown and beige fur.

"Have a good one," replied Bohdan as he left the condo and went to his Lamborghini. Bohdan went into his supercar, and turned it on. He drove away towards the Ruthenian Embassy towards downtown.

[Naza Sutera]

Amelia pulled into the parking lot St. Cleon Regional Medical Center. She drove up and down a couple of aisle before finding a decent spot. Turing into the space, she shifted the vehicle into park.

She heaved a sigh she was holding in and ran her fingers through her hair.

Amelia barely slept last night knowing that Korben could have died. Sure, he's relatively fine now, and he was wide awake when she saw him the day before, but it was still heartbreaking and scary to see him like that: all broken and battered, covered in bandages and casts.

Picking up her phone out of the cup holder, she called Korben's cell. Just then, it dawned on her that she drove all the way here and he might be knocked out from his morphine drip...

[Zaphyr Stone]

The two ladies chatted a short while as Jolene went and grabbed her apartment key out of her locker to give to Laika.

"Here you are, friend." She smiled, "I'll run by the store on the way back and have a duplicate made for you. That's the only key, so don't lose it."

"You got it!" Laika grinned, "I'll see you this evening. Lots of boxes to unpack."

They exchanged an excited hug, and the brindle shepherd hurried back out to her motorbike to get to the apartment complex in time for the movers.

----

"You know, the name sounded a little pretentious, but I have to hand it to you, Johnny, this neighborhood is awesome." Jack smiled from the large window of his new home office.

La Catalina was not his first choice. Despite his shining career as a middleweight boxer and the fame he received from it, Jack Darcy still considered himself a man of the people, and he preferred a quiet life in simple accommodations. His manager, Johnny, had talked him into indulging a little more with his accumulating wealth. After finding this house and seeing how perfect a fit it was for him, he caved and bought it. The otherwise down to earth bull terrier found upscaled living a dream.

"You should trust me more." Johnny chuckled.

The blue nose pit bull was replacing a stack of signed papers in his briefcase as he snickered. "See? I told you. You should trust my judgment more."

"Yeah, yeah, you did good." Jack laughed, leading him out to the foyer and to the door, "Is that all you need from me?"

"Yep, I'll make some phone calls, and with any luck, I'll have your next fight lined up by the end of the day."

"Awesome, thank you, sir!" Jack beamed, showing him out, "I'm gonna go out for a run, but I'll have my phone with me."

He saw Johnny off before retreating back inside. He changed into a light blue tank and gray gym shorts. He adjusted the prosthesis that protruded from his knee, donned an armband and slid his phone inside before heading out with his wireless headset. Plugging in and giving a few stretches, he started off at a steady jog, an upbeat tune playing in his ears.