"Look at all this space!" Ken exclaimed as he ran through the dilapidated building. The large home Ken was currently running through sat at the edge of one of the middle-class areas. The house was two stories, with plenty of rooms and a large fenced backyard. The house would certainly need a lot of repairs and replacements, and would need to be furnished as well.
Despite the plenty of things that would need to be fixed, the pipes still seemed to work in the place so running water was not an issue, one that Ken was grateful for. Though, it still wouldn't matter to Ken if the water ran or not. He was happy either way.
Completely ignoring the landlord, Ken excitedly searched every nook and cranny of the house. A few bedrooms, a kitchen, basement, attic, two bathrooms, and a few closets occupied the home along with more than a few spiderwebs.
"What do you guys think?" Ken asked his two furry companions currently nestled in his shirt pocket. "The place is kind of a dump," Rex replied. "I don't think it's bad boss," Dex commented, "It's better than anywhere else we've stayed since it'll be our own place."
"I guess you're right," Rex huffed, "So, we getting the place or what?"
Ken nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! It'll take some time and effort to get most of the broken things fixed, but it's worth it. We definitely got lucky finding a place like this in a good area."
A thought crossed Ken's mind and his eyes narrowed slightly, "In fact, I think the deal is a little too good." Hurriedly making his way down the stairs and to the entrance of the home, Ken found the landlord standing by the door.
"Oh! Are you done with your run through? How did you like it?" The landlord, who was a squirrely looking man with a mustache that held more gel than the hair on his head, asked. The man had tried to force his best smile with his hands clasped together.
After making his escape from the strange fox lady yesterday, Ken had found a few landlords that were looking to rent their properties. Most of them had told Ken to kick rocks, along with the landlord standing in front of him. Instead of leaving immediately like Ken had done with the others, Ken took the coins he had acquired and shoved them towards the man's face. It was a good thing he had done that in the moment because afterwards, the landlord seemed a little more inclined to actually listen to him.
They had gone through a few other properties earlier the next day, but they were either slightly out of budget, or just didn't feel right. However this property was not only in a good location, but it was very big as well. Even with the long list of things that would need to be done in order to restore the home, Ken had a feeling this place was the one.
Now that he was actually thinking about the cost per month it would be to rent it, the deal did seem a bit too good to be true. With how much coin Ken had currently, he could pay the first month of rent and still have a third of his money left over. Most places like this one would either take all he had, or it was a lot smaller and in a worse area.
"I do like it," Ken replied, "But why is it so cheap?" Sweat seemed to almost instantly form on the man's head. "A-ah well as you can see, the place needs some repairs, and it would be on the renter to make those repairs." The man tried to play off his nervous expression, and Ken was almost buying it.
"What's the real reason?" Ken asked sternly. The man audibly gulped as the fake smile on his face disappeared. Now, the landlord seemed a bit nervous as he looked around the dimly lit room. "Well, previous tenants have expressed concerns about the place being haunted."
"H-haunted?!" Dex gasped. Ken looked down at the white mouse who somehow seemed even whiter. "I don't like ghosts, boss!" Dex practically had tears streaming down his furry face as he shook in Ken's pocket. The landlord quirked a brow at the mouse for a moment before returning his attention back to Ken.
"Haunted? How so?" Ken asked. "I'm not sure exactly," the man replied wryly, "I've only been told by previous tenants that they believed the place was haunted. Most of them left for that reason and it has been hard keeping a tenant more than a month. This place gives me the creeps as well." The landlord muttered the last part under his breath with a shudder.
Ken thought to himself for a moment. He had never seen a ghost. Even if one really did live here, maybe it wasn't a bad one. He already liked the place, and the idea of seeing an actual ghost excited him slightly.
Nodding, Ken spoke, "I'll take it." The landlord seemed surprised momentarily, until he cooled his expression, and a genuine smile formed on his face. "Good! Now, how about we do some paperwork and process payment back at my office!"
///
Ken groaned as he felt the rays of the morning sun fall upon his face. Currently, he was laying down on the grass in the backyard of the home he now had. After some arguing between himself and the two mice, Ken relented and opted to sleep outside with the mice since Dex had not wanted to sleep inside the house the previous night. Dex said he'd feel a lot more comfortable once the rest of their furried friends came to live in the house.
Sitting up, Ken looked back towards the house with a smile on his face. He finally had his own place. Well, with a few roommates as well, but that didn't bother him. They were partners afterall, ones who had helped him.
Life was going to be a lot different for them from now on. Standing up and stretching, Ken began to make his way towards the meeting area he and Fitz had agreed to meet at today.
///
"Huh," Fitz said, "This place ain't too bad. Still a lot cleaner than the jail. Lot less people looking to kill us too." The rat laughed and turned to Ken, who stood with a smile on his face. "Yep, this is our home now. Make sure to tell the others who aren't here where this place is. For now, I'll go out and get some cleaning supplies. This place is long overdue for a makeover." Fitz agreed and soon began to send out the rats who were with him to go and bring the others.
///
"I need to go with the official envoy to the human kingdom Father!" Lina pleaded with the older man behind a grand wooden desk. Until now, the fox man had been reading over documents detailing some issues that have been affecting the beast kingdom.
Blitz, Lina's father, sighed as he removed his glasses. "Sweetheart, the envoy is for a very important event. King Titus will be going personally, along with some very high-ranking officials. You were already entrusted with the task of delivering those messages and have completed that. Plus, you just got back from the human kingdom last night. It's only been a week since you left. Why are you demanding to go back?"
"Because I found a human that can speak to me, yet he doesn't speak our language. It's like he's speaking the human language, but I hear ours. It's some strange magic that I haven't figured out yet," Lina huffed.
Blitz' eyebrows rose, "A human who can speak our language, yet doesn't actually speak it?"
"Yes!" Lina exclaimed, "It was strange! He could understand me even though I wasn't speaking their language."
"Well, there are humans who can speak to us," Blitz calmly replied.
"Scholars and maybe a few others," Lina scoffed, "But this was some kid on the street. Like I think he was homeless or something. And, he was talking to his pet rodents, or so he says. I still don't believe he was actually talking to them though. But-"
The older man held out a hand, cutting the girl off. "Did you say he spoke to rodents? And he was just some peasant on the street who somehow understood and talked to you? What did he look like?" The man was speaking with a seriousness that had caught Lina off guard. Now feeling a little unsure, Lina spoke up again, "Y-yes father. He was talking to his rodents like they were talking back to him. And when he first bumped into me, he spoke to me in our native language. I had on my cloak at the time so I'm sure he didn't see what I was. I couldn't sense any magic during my short interactions with him. He said he was my age. He was a few inches shorter than me with white hair, and his eyes were gray and yellow."
Lina's father studied the young woman for a moment, before turning his attention to the woman who had been sitting quietly on a couch in the study the three of them were in. Lina looked to her mother, who was a more mature and taller version of her.
When Lina's gaze finally landed on her mother, she was a bit shocked. Instead of a casual or teasing expression that usually adorned her mother's face, Lina noticed that Vera suddenly seemed very focused. The older woman was giving her husband a look that Lina couldn't recognize.
Her parents stayed silent, letting the quietness consume the room for an uncomfortably long minute. It was soon broken as the older couple nodded and Blitz stood up. "Come Lina, we must go see the king at once."
The girl's face was one of confusion, but she nodded and began to follow her father in silence as the two began to make the short trek to the king's castle.
A short while later, as the last of the sun's light vanished from the horizon, the father and daughter duo soon found themselves in an empty courtroom, save for King Titus, themselves, and a few guards.
Titus stood up with hands outstretched and a smile plastered on his face. "My good friend Blitz!" The King bellowed as he began to make his way down the steps. "And young Lina as well! I have been informed of your time in the human capital. You did well!"
The King's delighted demeanor faltered slightly as he noticed the seriousness on his friend's face. "What's the matter Blitz?" Titus asked, now with furrowed brows. The blonde-haired fox man looked to his daughter and nodded, "Tell him what you told me, Lina."
Looking between the two men, the young woman soon began to recount her experience with the strange young man she had run into. After her account, Titus' face was one of surprise then one of thoughtfulness. As the lion kin thought to himself, Lina's mind was racing with even more questions. Soon, the King spoke back up, "Do you believe it's true Blitz?"
"I believe it's worth looking into, your Majesty," The fox man replied. Titus nodded, "I believe so as well. For now, we must prepare as normal for our stay in the human capital in a couple of weeks. Blitz, do you mind if I borrow your daughter for this envoy? I believe she might be of use finding this boy. I assume you remember his scent?" The King turned his attention to Lina.
"Yes," Lina replied with a slight bow.
"Good. What say you, Blitz?"
"I do not mind. I believe that would be in our best interest, your Majesty," The fox man replied.
"Alright," Titus clapped, "Then we will continue as planned. Go and rest for now. And maybe explain to your daughter what we are referring to since she seems a bit lost. It would be best if we could stay on friendly terms with that boy if he truly is what we assume him to be."
More questions filled Lina's head, but what she felt right now was dread. She feared that she might have already fucked up slightly.