Someone Stole Sandor's Shoes!

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Good morning sun," said Sandor as he opened his eyes to view the sunlit beige ceiling in his room. He sighed, slowly sitting up on his bed. His feathered upper body was illuminated by the rising sun. Sandor dragged himself off his immensely comfortable bed. His jeans he wore last night were still wrapped around his legs. Sandor shuffled out of his room. He first attended to his son: Salamon. Sandor moved down the hall and entered an adjacent room, where Salamon was wide awake in his crib, gazing at the mobile of the Lylat System and its celestial bodies. As it was day time and Salamon was awake, it was not lit. Sandor approached the crib and looked down, where he caught Salamon's attention. Salamon cooed. Sandor, smiling, took Salamon and carried him out of the room.

"Are you hungry Salamon?" he asked. Salamon squirmed in his arms. Sandor walked towards the stairs and descended, and eventually reached the bottom, then turned left and down a long hallway to his kitchen towards the back of the house. Sandor longed for something sweet to start his day. He hungered for cereal. Upon entering his kitchen, the large window offering a glorious view of his backyard, Sandor placed Salamon in his kiddie chair facing the living room beside the kitchen. Salamon stirred in his chair, uttering baby noises: pleas for food. Sandor opened a shelf full of baby food, and took out a package of Gerber's peach flavored baby's food. He tore off the seal, took out a plastic baby-safe spoon much smaller than regular ones, and spoon fed his son for a few minutes before putting the baby food down on the counter. Sandor then took out a box of Lucky Charms. Unfortunately, Sandor ate all of the marshmallows the day he bought the box. So, he was forced to nourish himself with bland oats in the shape of four leaf clovers. After pouring a healthy amount of milk onto the cereal, Sandor began eating his cereal. A few minutes passed before his bowl was empty. He then fed his son until the baby food was depleted. Sandor threw both of them into the sink to dispose of later. He shuffled to his shoe rack to put on his favorite pair of worn gray and white sneakers when he noticed a truly horrifying site. They were not there. Sandor stared at the rack for what seemed like half the day before casually reaching into his pocket and finding his cell phone. He called Bohdan, and said, "Atya, it's me, Sandor. I need you to look after Salamon for some time. Can you do that?"

"Of course, Sandor," replied Bohdan, waiting for his eggs to boil in the small pot heating on his stove top. "Um, for how long must I take care of Salamon?"

"An unspecified amount of time," said Sandor.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because." Bohdan rolled his eyes.

"Very well," rescinded Bohdan. He hung up on Sandor to watch his eggs boil. Sandor put his cell phone back in his pocket. He went up into his room and closed his door. He screamed at the top of his lungs in seething anger, awakening the whole neighborhood.

[Shmibli7]

From the second floor of his suburban Cornerian home, Kimber Sinclair sat straight up in his bed. Upon hearing Sandor's scream, the raccoon immediately went for the nightstand which held his 13 millimeter pistol. But, as he awoke and realized that there was nothing to be worried about, he put his hand down and rolled over in his bed. The teenage procyon had been under enough ssurveillance as it was, as he was a Venomian defector, the last thing he needed was his name in an article. 

He looked beside his bed and picked up his phone, calling Sandor after scrolling through his rather short contact list.

"What in Carasov,  Sandor?" He demanded when the line clicked 

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"F--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ck!" Sandor screamed into his phone. He took a few heavy breaths later, before continuing. "I have been robbed Kimber. Come to my home!" He hung up, and paced back and forth before hearing the ear shattering cries of his son, Salamon, who evidently heard his screaming. Salamon was bawling, his eyes wet with tears. "Oh, Salamon, it's okay, my little man," he comforted. Sandor took up Salamon into his arms and bounced him up and down, making train noises. "Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch..."

[SF Redd]

"Escort mission... another escort mission... and another..." Korr sighed as he listed off all the missions on the electronic board in a room of the pair's mothership, which was currently docked at a hanger in Corneria's capital. "You got anything, bro?" He asked over his comms to Sholt.

"Just the usual. More dammed escort missions. Not even any well paid ones, either." Sholt replied as he finished asking a bartender of any bounties or jobs. The brothers had become bored with the uneventful escort missions that had been the sole jobs available for the past few months. If they didn't find any other work, they would inevitably have to accept one however, to keep themselves fed.

Korr sighed as he leaned against a windowsill, from which he could see much of the city. He eyed their job tracker. '0 jobs accepted. 0 job requests' it read.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber got out of bed, threw on his sleeveless black Venomian robes and pants and went downstairs where his friends, Kosovo and Solomon, sat in the den watching the news. Kosovo, a wolf and fellow Venomian, looked at Kimber, who never was dressed until twelve noon.

"Where are you headed?" He asked.

"Over to Sandor's." Kimber replied. "Apparently, he's been robbed." 

"Robbed?" Said Solomon,after sipping his coffee.

Solomon was a former citizen of Sauria.  He was a former sharpclaw, a ceretosaurus to be exact. He left at eighteen, when he decided to pursue a profession in medicine. His hulking reptilian body, razor sharp claws, and large horn on his snout disguised his caring nature. He was a gentle giant who would rather patch someone up than shoot them down.

"Yes." Kimber said. "He told me to come."

"I'm coming, too." Solomon commanded.

"No." He said, starting a two minute argument, which Solomon won.The next thing they knew, both of them were at Sandor's door.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor heard the faint conversation between two people behind his front door. By now, he had calmed down Salamon, and the both of them were quiet. He turned on the monitor next to the door, and it showed two familiar figures: Kimber, and his lizard friend, Solomon.

"Hey, get in here," ordered Sandor, clutching onto his child, still half-naked.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber walked into Sandor's house, unfazed by the unabashed rudeness he was met with upon his arrival. 

At the sight of Sandor and his son, Kimber looked confused.

"I've been to your house, like, what? Four times? And I didn't know you had one of those." He said, pointing to Sandor's son. "Anyway, what was stolen?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"My shoes," rumbled Sandor with rage. He looked down onto the empty shoe rack. "Some szánalmas kis életét (pathetic low-life) stole them. I will sever their head, roast it, and eat it with fine silverware and cheap champagne."

Moments later, Bohdan, in his red sports car, pulled up to Sandor's house. He had hastily eaten his somewhat hard-boiled eggs and quickly donned on jeans, a tank top, and a red vest with his iconic religious hood draped over his head. His shoes looked also hastily equipped, as his laces were still untied and fumbled over them, knocking down one of Sandor's potted ferns as he approached the house's door. He tried the knob, forgoing knocking, to see if the portal was unlocked, which it was. He entered the house, closing the door as he came in.

"Ah, Bohdan!" Sandor exclaimed, startling Salamon. "Here." Sandor gave his son to the dragon priest, who took him in his arms.

"Once again, I do not know why I should take care of Sala-" began Bohdan, before being cut off by Sandor.

"And you don't need to know. Just know that I need you to care for him for some time."

"Hmph. Fine, but if you do not come back, I will take him to Child Services." Sandor's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't," Sandor threatened.

"I would," assured Bohdan. They glared at each other for a few moments before Sandor gave up.

"Fine," he accepted reluctantly. "If I don't come back... Yeah." Bohdan nodded.

"Salamon, say good bye to your daddy," Bohdan said to Salamon. "He is going on a trip, but he will be back soon." Salamon reached out to his father with his stubby right arm, holding onto Bohdan's neck with his left.

"Daddy," he uttered. One of his first words. Sandor clutched Salamon's tiny hand with his own. After a few tender seconds, Bohdan and Salamon left Sandor.

"Now..." began Sandor, "...we need more people. I have a strange feeling that this is something bigger than just my shoes. After all, it's always bigger than just shoes."

[Shmibli7]

Kimber couldn't contain himself.  He laughed. Loud. 

"More than just shoes?" He asked. "Did it ever occur to you that it might? Okay... So, say that it is. How am I supposed to explain to Kosovo that I need him to join us to go looking for a pair of... Whatevers."

"Oh, Sęlmœn,  you're serious, aren't you?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"I..." Sandor began, while opening a closet in the hallway and rummaging through the various objects, "...am..." he continued, throwing out various toys, articles of clothing, and melee weapons, "...VERY..." he announced as he put on a plasma and bullet proof vest, "... serious," he ended as he slipped on a red t-shirt. He took his Ogniemite medallion out from inside his shirt, as it was hidden under it. He also took out an Sz. 17 fully automatic compact blaster and cocked it.

"We're going on a recruiting drive!" he said, walking by Kimber and Solomon.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber sighed and followed Sandor out of the door.

"Alright, Sandor. Let me get Kosovo... Wait, why do you have a gun? Last time I was over, you told me to put mine up. What kind of influence do you think a small time their has?"

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Before Sandor opened the door to exit his home, he turned to Kimber, confused by the wording of his sentence.

"Uhh, what?" he questioned with a puzzled look on his face. "'Small time their'? You Lylatians are so damn strange."

[SF Redd]

Korr arrived at the bar at witch Sholt was waiting. He looked around the place. It was a gloomy, barely lit establishment, definitely not for someone who couldn't show their mettle. Many of the people here were bounty hunters, mercenaries, or just criminals, and most everyone in the place was armed with at least a small blaster, including the two brothers, who had an assault rifle and pistol each. This was a bar in which they were well known, however, so their presence with such weapons didn't stir up anything. "Hey man, how's it going?" Korr said as he sat next to his brother.

"It's been so damned slow here recently." Sholt replied in the bustling bar, referring not to the amount of people, rather, the amount of jobs. It wasn't even as if they weren't looking in the right places. Everyone knew to point employers towards the pair for their reliability and efficiency, so if there was anything, they'd have heard by now. Neither of them had any alcohol for the time being, and were just discussing their financials in a cornered off booth at the back of the bar with a bottle of water each.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber groaned as he followed after Sandor. "Us Lylatians don't go ballistic over shoes." He said.

"This man is troubled." Solomon said from behind  him. "The least we can do is-"

"Yeah, yeah. Help him" Kimber said. "Ugh... I hate it when you do this."

Solomon simply smiled and placed his gigantic hand on Kimber's head. "Such large hostility for sucn a small fellow." He said.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor walked out of his house, with the two Venomians following behind him. He went to his garage and opened the door manually, revealing his orange McLaren P1 and a dark orange Toyota Camry LE Sedan. He smirked, and unlocked the car with his keys.

"Get in!" he yelled.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber whistled lowly as the vehicles were revealed. 

"Alright." He said climbing inside. 

Solomon followed suit, cramming into the back of the car.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor raced to the Camry's driver's seat, pulling the door open. He jumped into the car and slammed the door. Forgoing the seat belt, he immediately revved the engine, put the car into drive, and slammed his foot down onto the gas pedal. The engine roared as the Camry unexpectedly sped out of the garage and onto the street, narrowly avoiding a mailman. The surprised postal worker leaped out of the way when he tried to cross the street to deliver some papers to Sandor's home.

"Goddamn!" he yelled, almost being struck by the Camry. Sandor heeded no attention to this government worker, and he sped off down the road, almost breaking the speed limit. Sandor's last intention was to end up in jail. He had never been apprehended for any crime, so he was not about to let his own recklessness betray him.

[Shmibli7]

At the sudden start of the car, Solomon flew backwards and gripped the seat, holding on for dear life.

In extreme contrast, Kimber sat as if it didn't bother him. In actuality, it didn't. He was used to riding in jeeps with no seatbelts through bombed out roads. This was nothing he couldn't handle.

"So, who exactly are we going to recruit?" Kimber said, making quotations with two of his small fingers.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Well," began Sandor's explanation, "my team leader is taking care of my adopted son, the medic is dating some woman, and the sniper is... 'sniping'. Anyway, they're too busy to be bothered to help me with this. Although, I do have other friends I can call. And we're going to a local bar. There's always some bored mercs in those bars waiting to get hired for anything." Sandor's sedan sped down the road, barely managing to stay below the speed limit. The screaming, heavily modified engine, echoed throughout the neighborhood.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber sighed. He didn't like working with people outside of his friends.

"Think about it, Sandor. These people are gonna be low-rent. Just like the guys during the Terteroba affair." He argued.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor slammed his foot as hard as he could on the brake, bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt, throwing nearly everyone inside forward. The Ogniemite religious protection medallion hanging from the rearview mirror jostled back and forth. Sandor glared at Kimber, and pointed at him.

"Nobody is 'low-rent'. Nobody."

[Shmibli7]

Kimber sighed. 

"Sandor, you know as well as I that there are those who are low-rent. I was before I drug myself out of the gutter of sociisim. Now, put the damn car in drive-" 

Solomon put his hand over the teenager's mouth, pulling him into his seat. 

"Proceed." The Saurian said, gesturing to Sandor.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

"Oh, look at you, with the pitiful past and the boobly woobly," mocked Sandor, imitating baby noises. "Blah! Enough of this nonsense! Here!" Sandor opened the glove box on Kimber's side and took out an IHOP menu. "Reading materiel to shut you up." He threw it onto Kimber's lap, and continued forward.

[Shmibli7]

Kimber shrunk into his seat, muttering to himself.

"I wonder how he'd like his balls chopped off." He said.

From the back, Solomon stayed silent. Half from fear and half from the sheer entertainment it was.

After a while, Kimber felt a vibration in the pocket of his pants. He took out his cellphone to see who it was and met with an awful sight: The name of his probation officer.

"Pőləmå." He swore.

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

Sandor kept driving, uncaring of Kimber's mumbling and his burst of a strange word. He was too busy enraged that some savage would dare steal something - anything - from his home. How outrageous! His house is supposed to be a sanctuary, especially for Salamon, and it has been breached! Tainted by the footsteps of an unwanted outsider! Blood must be spilled in order for retribution! Redemption! Salvation!

"Aaaaagh!" screamed Sandor suddenly as his Camry's speed increased past the speed limit of the local roads. Soon, the car and its occupants found themselves in the inner city, where wide avenues meant large throngs of traffic.