_____*Equestria, 9:57 AM*_____
It was another beautiful day in Equestria, as a breeze blew through the air, the city of Atera seemed to stir from its slumber.
Inside an apartment complex, was room one nine two, it is the home of Seth, a reclusive rabbit, formerly alone in her apartment, but now she had three new roommates, and she knew nothing about them.
Seth lay in her bed asleep, enjoying the warm feeling of the covers and the sheets brushing against her fur, she smiled as she snuggled into her soft pillow, it was a perfect morning to sleep in, as Seth didn't have work tonight, so she could do whatever she wanted with her night off.
Unfortunately this world is a cruel place in many ways, even though the dark curtains blocked the sun, they could not block anyone from opening a door with no locks.
Such was the case as the door slammed open and a voice called out. "Morning!" It called out happily.
Seth's eyes shot open as she screamed, she fell out of her bed, her back impacted onto the soft floor and she groaned, she rubbed her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "It was such a nice morning too." She muttered sleepily as she slowly stood up.
After she got up, Seth stretched out a little before making her bed, it didn't take long however until she finally registered that the voice came from a real person, she growled and stomped out of the room. "Who the fuck threw my door open!?" She snapped.
Seth looked around the room and saw Syrin immediately point to Storm who was.....making breakfast? Seth was about to accuse Shade before she saw him sleepily leave his room, barely able to walk.
Seth looked at Storm who was fully energized and aware. "Storm, do not do that again." Seth warned before returning to her room out of anger.
Seth sighed to herself as she picked out a pair of clothes and headed for the bathroom, she saw Shade sitting at the dining table and she returned her focus to the bathroom.
Seth closed the door behind her and took her boxers and tank top off, she turned on the shower and stepped inside, the cold water soon warming up, Seth resisted the urge to sing to herself in the shower on the count of others being in the building, she grabbed her shampoo soap and covered her chest, legs and arms with it before rinsing it out.
A few more minutes in the bathroom, and Seth stepped out clean as a whistle, she now wore a dark blue tee shirt and dark blue jeans, she walked to the dining table as Shade went into the bathroom. "How are you making breakfast?" She asked Storm. "There wasn't anything to make it from." She added.
Storm simply grinned and said nothing as he beat the eggs.
Syrin took a sip from a coffee cup and sighed. "Since he won't say anything, I will, Storm woke me up, dragged me to the store to buy groceries." She said as she held her head. "This city is really loud in the morning." She mumbled.
Seth sat down and looked at Storm. "At least I learned something about you guys." She muttered.
"What's that?" Syrin asked quietly.
Seth looked at Storm. "You two are not lazy and will get what needs done.....done, and that Storm is picky about his food." She replied.
Storm put the eggs into the pan and chuckled. "Actually, I just hate canned and reheated food." He said calmly.
Seth rolled her eyes. "Then you are shit out of luck, because I happen to like my canned tomato soup." She joked.
Storm pondered this for a moment before looking at Seth. "Let me make your soup for lunch, you'll see the error of your ways." He said with an amused tone.
Seth sighed and looked at Syrin. "I can't tell if he is being serious or not." She remarked.
"He's serious." Syrin said. "I haven't had canned food in about......fifteen years?" She estimated.
"Sixteen." Storm corrected. "The year we were in Manehatten." He reminded.
Seth watched as Storm started on the toast. "Do you want some help?" Seth asked quietly.
Storm shook his head. "Na....I used to cook for a living, I'm fine." He replied.
Seth rubbed her eyes and looked at Syrin who looked like she had a hangover. "You alright?" She asked.
Syrin nodded slowly. "Just waiting for the aspirin to take effect." She replied.
"So, if you don't mind me asking, how long were you a chef?" Seth asked.
Storm moved the eggs around a little before answering. "That would be about......five years." He replied.
"How old are you two anyway?" Seth asked.
Syrin chuckled. "Don't you know it's impolite to ask a girl her age?" She countered, she then blinked. "I'm twenty six." She answered easily.
"Twenty eight." Storm added. "And you?" He asked.
Seth crossed her arms. "Twenty two." She replied.
"I wonder if Shade's twenty four?" Syrin muttered with a quiet laugh.
Seth stood and walked to the television, she grabbed the remote and turned it on, switching it to the news. "Authorities were shocked today as the hooded maniac strikes again." Seth's ears perked up at the sound of that as she listened.
Even Syrin and Storm seemed to listen at this. "The notorious thief managed to break into a woodshop last night, it is believed that the thief incapacitated the clerk who was working there and then made off with all of the bits in the store." The news anchor continued.
"In response to the return of this thief, police chief Hunter has issued a reward for any information that leads to the capture of this criminal, surv-."
Seth switched the channel and leaned back in her chair. "I wonder if they'll catch the thief?" Syrin muttered.
Seth sighed. "They might, but so long as he or she doesn't go after me, I'm fine." She said before walking over to the table, she then saw Shade walk out of the bathroom, he looked more aware now, which was a good sign.
"Really, you don't care that an international thief if back?" Syrin asked out of confusion.
Shade raised an eyebrow at that. "The hooded maniac is back?" He asked curiously.
Seth nodded as she began watching what appeared to be a documentary on Griffon history.
"Hey Shade, how old are you?" Syrin asked.
Shade gave Syrin a curious stare but answered her anyway. "Twenty seven." He answered out of confusion.
Seth looked at the kitchen and saw Storm beginning to put breakfast on plates, she got off of her chair and walked over to the dining table. "You didn't need to go to all of this trouble you know." She said.
Storm looked at her with a sincere expression. "I have no reason to make breakfast, that's true.....but then we would be starving, and starving people fight." He tapped the side of his head. "Believe me I know." He added as he grabbed a plate and handed it to Seth.
Seth looked at the contents for a moment, she didn't want to openly admit to it, but it looked delicious, well, as delicious as eggs can get with a little bit of seasoning that is, she took the plate and nodded wordlessly at Storm before walking to her chair and sitting down.
As Shade and Syrin ate at the small dining table, Storm and Seth were eating at the coffee table watching tv.
Seth took a bite out of the eggs and smiled a little bit, they were tasty and weren't undercooked at all, then again Storm did say he cooked for a living, and without any evidence to counter it or prove it, Seth would work under the assumption that he was good with eggs.
The apartment was quiet for some time as the residents ate breakfast, soon however Seth was interrupted by Storm. "Seth.....did we do something to earn your anger?" Storm asked curiously.
The question caught Seth off guard if she was perfectly honest, she crossed her arms and thought on it for some time, thankfully Storm seemed to be in no hurry, as he ate what was left of his food while waiting.
Seth eventually sighed. "None of you did anything to piss me off Storm, I was just having a bad day, and having three complete strangers suddenly living with me?" She shook her head as she rubbed her hands together. "Not a good combination for me." Seth noticed the glances from Syrin and Shade. 'So they're listening in?' She noted curiously.
Seth leaned back in her chair and looked at the clock on the wall, according to it, the time would be around ten forty eight, she sighed and stood up. "Well, I would absolutely love to stick around here, but I have things I need to do." She walked into her room and came back out wearing a gray sweatshirt and a gray beanie. "I'll be back later." She said before walking to the apartment door.
Shade walked up to Seth with his hands in his pockets. "You mind if I tag along?.....I would like to get some knowledge of the general area." He asked.
Seth sighed and opened the door. "Come on, I'll give you a small tour." She said before closing the door.
_____*streets of Atera, two minutes later*______
Seth walked slowly through the streets and looked at Shade. "Ok, let's hold up here." She said as they reached a crossroads.
Shade looked around and examined the buildings, they walked to the right when leaving the apartment complex and were two minutes away if walking, the buildings nearby were a small green walled flower shop, a red bricked hardware store, a brown walled store of some kind, and what appeared to be a small restaurant with red brick walls.
"Ok, the place with flowers is called Pera Garden, don't go in there pickpockets love that place." Seth warned before looking at the hardware store. "Carmine Hardware is a good place for getting wood, stone and brick, paint, tools and nails, the basic stuff when you want to personalize your place." Seth then looked at the small restaurant. "Gervason's." She said.
"It's a nice family restaurant, more of a store with a food area though, they sell sodas, snacks, and can make good lunches when you eat there." Seth explained, she then looked at the brown store. "And that is called The Bazaar, it's more of a bargain store for getting clothes, toothbrushes and even some toys if that's your thing." She explained with a shrug. "I personally only go there when I need to buy socks or paper." She then continued walking, bring Shade along.
After three more minutes of walking, they came up to another crossroads that they stopped at. "Alright, i only know two buildings here, so that's it for the tour." Seth pointed at the brown bricked store. "That's Atera produce, the only grocery store I know, it's decent enough for The Slums I suppose." She looked at a large purple building. "That building there is a bar, The Watering Hole, it's a nice place to hang out." Seth pointed out before looking at Shade. "Alright, I'm heading into the grocery store, you coming with?" She asked.
Shade shrugged. "Might as well." He replied.
_____*back at the apartment*______
Syrin looked at Storm who was asleep on the couch, she sighed and turned off the television to avoid waking him up, she then browsed through the books until she found one she was interested in reading, The Savage Kingdom, she opened it and saw writing on the back of the cover, she raised an eyebrow as this writing was added manually, she read the writing curiously. "Happy anniversary Seth." The writing said.
Syrin blinked and set the book back before grabbing another book and reading it. 'Was Seth married?' She pondered, deciding to take this time to learn a little about the rabbit.
She walked over to the table holding the television up and examined the contents, it was almost completely bare save for two photographs, one on each side of the television, she picked up the one on the right and looked at it.
It was a photo of Seth, dressed in her purple tee shirt, gray sweatpants and gray beanie, she had her left arm holding the camera while the right arm held her side, she seemed to be smiling and she could tell that the photo was taken in the living room.
Syrin set the photo down and picked up the other one, it was another photo of Seth in the living room, but this one had an unfamiliar white fox wearing a white tee shirt and a black leather jacket, Seth once again was wearing her other set of clothes, with the exception of the beanie, they were shoulder to shoulder with smiles on their faces. 'I wonder who she is?' Syrin pondered as she placed the photo back where it belonged.
Syrin then walked to the bookcase and noticed an oddity, there was a small plastic box on the bottom shelf, she pulled it out and looked at it, the plastic was clear and smooth, but it was the object inside that was of interest, it was a small silver pocket watch with griffon engravings on the back, she looked at the engravings curiously. "Good thing I understand griffon." She muttered.
The engravings were simply one word, and they read. 'Hunter.'
Curious, Syrin returned the box to where she found it and sat down on the chair. "Strange." She muttered as she grabbed the remote.
Syrin turned the television on and switched to the news. "-to catch this maniac." The news anchor shuffled some papers around and continued to speak. "With the hooded maniac's return, the public has expressed extreme concern that the streets are once again unsafe, we have the surveillance footage from this weeks most recent break in, let's play it again." After a moment, the view shifted and showed footage of the break in, there didn't seem to be much to see at all, until a thud came from somewhere off camera.
Syrin watched with interest as a hooded figure stepped into the camera's view, it's outfit was completely black and it concealed the thiefs face, but once thing that was noticeable, was that two rabbit ears poked out from the hoodie, the fur was brown, but before the thief did anything else, it looked at the camera with a grin, it's eyes were green, the thief then grabbed a nearby screwdriver and threw it at the camera, it's hands covered by black gloves.
Syrin blinked in confusion and shock. 'That thief, looked a lot like Seth.' She thought to herself as she shut the television off and leaned back.
"Maybe I'm just tired." She mumbled as she closed her eyes.
_____*Meanwhile.*_____
Seth exited the store with a bag of food, she looked back and saw Shade carrying nothing. "Anything you need Shade?" She asked.
Shade shook his head. "I don't get any money until next week, so no." He replied.
Seth shrugged and started walking back to the apartment. "Let's go then." She said.
As the two walked back, they passed by a few other citizens who seemed too....avoid Seth? "Uh, why are they avoiding you?" Shade asked with worry,
Seth chuckled. "I seem to have a reputation." She replied.
Shade did not believe Seth, but for the time being he kept quiet. "So why did you leave?" Seth asked.
"Huh?" Shade asked, not expecting a question. "Why did you leave the Night Wolf community?" Seth asked curiously.
Shade blinked, but answered her. "I did not like living like they do, i felt that I should go out into the world and make a life there." He replied.
Seth looked at Shade. "Do you miss it at all?" She asked.
Shade shook his head. "When you live in a strict family like mine, you can grow sick of having no privacy quickly.....so what about you?" He asked.
Seth stopped walking and looked at Shade. "What about me?" She asked.
"What was your family like?" Shade asked.
Seth said nothing and resumed walking. "Let me in on something Shade, I avoid talking about my family like a plague, I don't want to talk or see them, you understand?" She asked.
Shade nodded. "Got it." He replied.
The two walked in silence from there on out, Shade did notice something about Seth however, when he asked about her family, her right arm twitched slightly.
Seth looked at the sky for a brief moment and sighed as she walked. "Sorry about avoiding your question, but when I talk about my parents.......if it helps satisfy your curiosity, I did not love my parents, they were assholes." She stated.
"If you don't want to talk about them, I won't pry." Shade replied calmly.
Seth looked at him as they reached the complex. "Thank you for understanding." She said.
They walked to the apartment door and Seth turned the knob, it was locked, she pulled out her key and unlocked the door, she went inside and looked at Shade. "Try to be quiet." Seth said as they stepped inside.
Shade looked to the couch and saw that Syrin and Storm were fast asleep, he quietly walked to his room without saying a word.
Seth locked the door and set about putting her groceries away, she didn't buy much, she had a small box of lettuce, some carrots, a few potatoes and a few bottles of water.
Once everything was put away, Seth headed for her room, she opened the door and walked inside, she closed it and then got onto her bed, she looked at the time and saw that it was almost eleven thirty. "Well, might as well do something." She walked up to her door and threw her beanie onto the bed, she then took her sweatshirt off and set it on a coat hanger.
Seth opened the door and walked out, she closed the door and noticed Shade step out of his room. "You play cards?" Seth asked.
Shade nodded. "I know the rules to poker." He replied.
Seth shook her head and walked over to the small bookshelf. "Let me show you a real game." She said as she grabbed a small red box.
Shade watched as Seth set the red box down on the table and looked at the others, he walked closer and saw that the name of the game was UNO. "What's this game?" He asked.
Seth grinned. "The most rage inducing yet fun game to exist, come on, I'll show you." She replied.
Shade took a seat across from Seth as the rabbit set the cards up, she shuffled the cards and then gave them both seven, she then placed what appeared to be a seven card but with green outlines. "So, how do we play?" He asked.
______*later that day.*_______
Storm's eyes opened slowly and he rubbed his eyes, he sat up and looked around, Syrin was asleep on the chair, Shade was nowhere to be found, and Seth was playing chess by herself on the dining table.
"What time is it?" He quietly asked.
"Almost three." Seth replied.
Storm yawned and stood up. "Sorry I missed lunch." He muttered.
Seth looked at him. "You don't need to apologize, no one here is expecting you to cook every single time." She said as she stood up. "Don't stress yourself out over nothing." She added as she cleaned up her chess set.
Storm stood up and stretched. "That's......good of you to say, at least tell me you all ate something." He said shakily.
Seth looked at Storm with a puzzled glare. "Are you alright?" She asked.
Storm looked at his right hand and saw that it was shaking, he took a deep breath and it soon stopped. "Sorry about that, I did not mean to worry you." He replied.
Seth rolled her eyes. "I wasn't worried, I just don't need someone having a nervous breakdown on me." She said defensively.
Storm walked to the kitchen and grabbed some bread and cheese. "You didn't answer my question." He said.
"I can't speak for Syrin, but Shade and me ate lunch." Seth said as she carried her chess set into her room.
Storm sighed and began to make himself a grilled cheese, as he worked, he heard a groan from the living room. "Good to see your awake Syrin." He said.
Syrin seemed to jump and look at Storm with a panicked expression, she seemed to calm down though. "You startled me." She remarked.
Storm shrugged as he made his food. "Well then Syrin, you may want to have some food, it's almost three after all." He said.
Syrin groaned and got up off the chair. "Are Seth and Shade back?" She asked.
"They are, and if I'm not mistaken, Seth appeared annoyed that you slept on her chair." Storm replied.
Syrin rubbed her eyes. "I dozed off, not my fault." She muttered.
As Storm cooked, he noticed Syrin go into the bathroom, he then noticed Seth walk out. "If I may ask, where is Shade?" He asked.
Seth pointed at the door. "In your shared room." She said before leaning on the counter. "So Storm, what exactly are you?" She asked.
Storm gave Seth a puzzled expression. "You need to be more accurate." He stated.
"Alright, what species are you?" Seth asked again.
Storm chuckled. "I am a hybrid between Wolf and Demon." He answered.
"Demon?" Seth asked curiously.
Storm placed the pieces to his sandwich on a pan and turned the stove on. "Specifically the Reaver demon species, they stand upright and have blades on their arms, the majority of them are brown skinned, but gray skinned ones are known to exist." He answered.
Seth blinked and crossed her arms. "How does that side of your blood help you then?" She asked.
Storm grinned. "I am fireproof, and if need be, I can actually make bone blades emerge from my arms, but I haven't needed to do so yet." He replied.
After a few minutes, Seth spoke again. "So Storm-"
"Storm is my nickname, call me Karak." He said.
Seth blinked. "Ok, Karak, why do you concern yourself so much about others being fed?" She asked. "Frankly it's a little strange to me." She added.
Karak blinked and soon shrugged. "You know, I don't actually have a reason, I guess I just enjoy cooking." He replied.
While Seth didn't exactly buy it, she decided to let it go. "Well, anyway I need to ask you something." She walked to the dining table. "Do you have anything you need to do on Tuesday?" She asked.
Karak looked at Seth. "Uh....no, why?" He asked in return.
"I have someone coming over on Tuesday, it's private." Seth replied.
Karak nodded. "Very well then." He flipped his sandwich. "What time should I come back home then?" He asked.
Seth blinked. "Th.....that's it?" She asked in confusion. "I, I just say I have someone coming over and you just.....clear out? what?" She said.
Karak looked at Seth. "You forget I am half wolf, I can tell this is important because your heartbeat changed the second you began talking about it." He replied.
Seth rubbed her eyes and spoke. "Just, don't be here around two pm." She said.
"I will do my best, but you may wish to tell the others." Karak reminded.
Seth looked at the hallway and sighed to herself. "This is going to be a long day." She muttered to herself.