Chapter 4:
Running Wild
It is often said that while Garland was a city of the old world, Algrade was a city of the new.
The University City was founded over the richest lost-tech dig-site ever uncovered as some centuries ago thousands of people migrated there for work.
Never before has the notion ‘first-come first-served’ proved so apt.
For a few hundred years many fortunes were made on the technological wonders uncovered there, but eventually, perhaps inevitably, the most profitable sites were monopolized by the founding families.
Today these families live in the city proper, with all sorts of lost-tech conveniences at their disposal, their wealth inherited from ancestors who struck it rich long ago.
Meanwhile, people eked out a living however they could in the shanty towns outside the city; their own ancestors either too late or too unlucky to have made any significant finds, and now their descendants were either too poor or too stubborn to leave, convinced that all it would take to set their family up for life was one lucky find.
A rare occurrence, but it happened often enough to keep people digging into the hills and mountains surrounding the city.
In the midst of this bizarre juxtaposition of wealth and poverty intellectuals from all over the world flocked to the site to study the lost technology even as the hopeful diggers pulled it from the earth.
Hence why it became known as The University City.
Though it was certainly famous for its dig-sites, Algrade was also famous for its high society, boasting the largest population of elegant Flutterby anywhere outside of the wilds.
Sitting at a much higher elevation than even Garland, it was also known for its winters: the locals typically measuring the snowfall in feet rather than inches.
One such snowfall had taken place the previous night and had insulated the city with its icy blanket, enforcing a sacred hush on the city that muffled most sounds.
All but the loudest.
“Gangway!!”
There were a couple of startled exclamations and even a shrill scream of alarm as a Lapine did nothing to arrest her frantic pace through the narrow and winding streets that abutted the walled-off neighbourhoods of the city center.
Her blonde hair had streaks of red dyed into it and was cropped close to her bunny ears, which were long and grey with numerous piercings running up the sides.
“Look out! Hot-stuff coming through!” She said blithely as she deftly leapt over a startled busker and his cart.
“Hey! Official courier, watch it lady!”
A woman had walked into the street and obliviously blocked her path with a rolled up carpet over her shoulder. With no time for another leap, the bunny girl ducked under the rug in lieu of being clothes-lined, with one leg leading the way while the other folded beneath her to support her weight as she slid across the icy cobblestones.
The woman yelped as the bunny girl cheekily slapped her rump on the way past by way of chastisement.
“Oh! These blasted couriers! They’ll be the death of me I swear!” She complained as she did everything she could to balance the rug on her shoulders and stay on her feet.
But the energetic young monster girl wasn’t listening, already having regained her footing and resumed her race through the University City. Another fifty yards, not to mention three side streets and a shortcut over the snow covered roof of a shed, and she reached her current destination.
She rapped her knuckles against the wood frame of the door while using her other arm to unsling her messenger bag from over her shoulder, her breath coming out in icy puffs.
“Algrade Courier Service! Delivery!” She called out.
One bare rabbit foot thumped the ground anxiously, her cheeks were flushed with energy beneath her warm pink eyes, the cool winter air no match for the heat her vigorous run was generating in her body.
“That you Becks?” A muffled voice came from inside.
“Hullo Miss Abernathy! I have another parcel for you!” She called back.
A minute or so later a woman of later years opened the door, pulling a woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders to ward off the chill.
Both eyes were covered with a scarlet wrap but Rebecca had delivered to her many times and knew that she was blind, so she kept talking to help the woman find her way.
“This one is smaller than the last, but still, you get a lot of presents!”
“Presents! Ha, they’re herbs dear, for my tea. Come inside you little punk, this cold is no good for my joints. Would you like some carrot juice? Made fresh yesterday, I used up the last of the ones from my window garden.”
Rebecca’s foot stopped tapping at that: carrot juice was her very favorite.
“No, thank you.” She finally said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice; “I have to finish with my deliveries.”
The blind woman chuckled as she felt her way into her kitchen, the bunny close behind.
“My dear girl, we both know you will make up the time, I heard you coming from four blocks away with all of the ruckus you make! Now stop tapping your foot and have a drink with an old lady.”
A smile slowly stole across the lively monster’s face.
“Well, maybe just one glass.”
She shifted her bag back behind her hip and settled at the table while the old lady took a kettle off the stove and poured herself some tea before fetching a tall glass of the promised juice for Rebecca.
“So how did your application go?”
The bunny’s pierced ears drooped at the old woman’s words.
“I, uh, didn’t get in. No bond-mate and too many applicants more qualified. Try again next year they said.”
The kindly woman’s face fell as she set the drinks down on the table.
“Oh drat! I’m sorry dear. I know how badly you want this.”
The Lapine shook off her melancholy as she sipped at the beverage.
“It’s alright, gives me more time to prepare, next year will be different! There’s a retired lawkeeper living on Bleaker Street, he’s been showing me some moves.”
The old woman chuckled as she sipped at her tea while the eager young monster did her best not to chug her juice.
“The Aegis will be lucky to have you Becks.”
Rebecca beamed at the words of encouragement and made small talk for a couple minutes before finishing the last of her drink and bidding her farewells with an endearing kiss to the elderly woman’s cheek.
Several minutes later she was back on her route, and true to Miss Abernathy’s words, she did make up the time.
After making a few more deliveries in the crowded city she ended up in front of a narrow three story building with multiple chimneys spewing forth white smoke. A chalkboard sign shaped like a loaf of bread sat out front, advertising a sale on dinner rolls at Renaldo’s Bakery.
She pulled the door open and began her usual spiel.
“Algrade Courie-”
Before she could finish an enormously fat woman wearing a ridiculously puffy winter coat shouldered into her, forcing her back outside while still holding the door handle.
“-Will never shop here again!”
The woman didn’t even notice the bunny as she trundled off in a breathless huff.
“Great! There goes half our business!” A familiar voice shouted sarcastically from inside.
The Lapine cautiously peeked in through the doorframe, her ears perking up when she spotted the young brunette with flour on her cheeks and a golden crown askew on her head.
A willowy man who likewise had flour caked onto his sweaty brow was wringing his hands in distress at the angry fat woman’s departure, his eyes flitting from the door to the brunette and back again.
“Cordelia, you shouldn’t have done that.” He said with great anxiety.
She rolled her eyes.
“Read the sign!”
With one imperiously jutted finger she indicated a sign on the wall above an entire shelf dedicated to plates full of free samples taken from a variety of pastries.
Try it and buy it! Sampling is welcome, grazing is not.
The angry young woman continued.
“That water buffalo was costing you at least two hundred coins a month. Coming in here every day just to ‘see what was new’ with the samples.” She threw up her hands; “Nothing is new! Bread and pastry! Same as yesterday! She was always ‘trying’ with no ‘buying’!”
Rebecca smiled as she let the door close and stepped into the warm air of the bakery, the scent of fresh bread filling her nostrils.
She didn’t eat bread, but she could certainly appreciate the smell!
“It was long overdue and now it’s done.” The brunette finished her tirade before turning to the bunny; “Hey Becks.”
“Hey Cordy! Everything okay?”
The Lapine really liked the fiery woman, though the wannabe punk bunny was a little bit scared of her.
“It is now. Right?” Cordelia turned her head back to face the willowy man, a challenge in her voice.
He wiped at his brow, flaking off some of the sweaty flour before heaving a sigh.
“Miss Loskins, you are going to be the death of me. But… thank you, my heart can’t deal with situations like this.”
“Don’t worry about it. And if you have to be formal it’s Missus Loskins. Or for your own safety if my girls are around, Queen Loskins. Now what have you got for me today Becks?”
She moved behind the counter while the nervous owner went to help another customer who probably wasn’t hiding behind the shelf full of dinner rolls, but sure looked like she was.
“Same as yesterday, and the day before. Another dense little box from Kettering.”
Cordelia rolled her eyes.
“And the day before that and the day before that! It’s my dad and Helen being smart-asses! I’ve been here a few weeks and I get more mail than Renny does! They just keep sending me flour! Saying the stuff in Algrade isn’t any good.”
Rebecca pulled the somewhat weighty package out of her bag and set it on the counter.
“I don’t get it, isn’t all flour the same?”
Cordelia just stared at her.
But before she could say the biting comment the bunny was dreading, a trio of armed Hornets burst into the bakery, causing the nervous owner and equally nervous customer to jump.
“My Queen!” One of them proclaimed; “Who dares anger you?!”
They leveled their glares, and their lances, at Rebecca who immediately shook her head and held up her hands.
“It was the fat lady!” She squeaked.
“Oh for- girls! We talked about this! If you come flying in every time I get pissed off over nothing you’ll wear out your wings!”
Though she was admonishing them, Cordelia’s tone was far gentler than before as she came around the counter again to deal with her bond-mates.
It took a minute of persuading, along with a few ardent kisses, to convince the protective Hornets to get back to their patrol.
Renaldo’s Bakery and about five blocks around it had become a very safe place to be since Queen Cordelia started working there.
Once they left, along with the rattled customer, the willowy man approached the brunette with a nervous, yet stern, look on his face.
“Missus Loskins, while I appreciate the fact that I will never be robbed while you are working here-”
“I know Renny! And I’m sorry. I’ve told them so many times not to come charging in like that.”
He sighed and rubbed at his temples.
Rebecca took the opportunity to flee from the coming argument and get back to work.
She had one last package in her bag, and her heart beat in her chest at the thought of delivering it.
As a Lapine she was adept at running for long distances at impressive speeds, her powerful legs pumping easily as she alternated between sprinting and hopping along on her way. This made her ideal for courier work, though ever since she was just a kit she felt it also made her ideal for chasing down bad guys.
Her dream for as long as she could remember was to join the Aegis; it was why she left the family warren and came to the city in the first place. She was much more wide-eyed and innocent then, before she had her ears pierced and began to dye her hair.
Each year her confidence in her application was stronger than the year before, yet each year she had been rejected.
But today the disappointment she felt at the latest failed application was tempered with no small amount of desire for the recipient of her final package.
After another brisk run through the city, the bunny soon found herself outside a workshop abutting a large scrap-yard.
She took a steadying breath before rapping her knuckles against the frame of the broad open doorway.
“Algrade Courier Service!” She called to the men working just inside the two story building.
The main floor of the place was dominated by four enormous presses around a massive central crucible, their cylindrical metal columns raising and falling at a steady rate as they used brutal force to shape the heated metal being fed into them by sweaty workers on the shop floor.
Meanwhile on catwalks above, other men were standing by, ready to apply grease to the cylindrical columns whenever the presses paused in their work.
Several of the rough looking men inside turned to face her, not bothering to hide the hungry gazes that trailed up and down her body.
Though Rebecca hated to admit it, they intimidated her. She did her best not to show it though, lifting her chin and staring back at them.
Fortunately the very woman whose name was on the package was just coming downstairs from her office to the Lapine’s left.
“Ah perfect, my favourite courier!” She spoke over the din inside.
She was of average height, with large and shapely breasts and a confident demeanor that commanded respect. As she walked casually down the stairs she used both hands to skillfully tie her dark cherry hair into an elaborate knot at the back of her head.
The attractive woman wore a warm smile that matched her words; at least she did until she caught on to the bunny’s nerves, and the source of them.
Without hesitation she directed a stern frown at the hard-eyed workers.
“Am I paying you to stand around? Get back to work. There’s more steel coming tomorrow, so make sure there’s enough room in the loading area. And stop ogling the couriers.”
Her voice was low and rich, like fine chocolate, and even berating her employees it made Rebecca’s heart flutter in a way she had never experienced.
One of the men glared at the Lapine for a moment longer before sullenly replying.
“Yes Miss Reindel.”
Carol Reindel had moved to the city of Algrade shortly before Cordelia, and like the young brunette she also received a constant stream of packages, which suited Becks just fine.
The poised woman had made an immediate impact on the young monster girl standing at her door, who was already nursing one hell of a crush.
“I’m sorry about them Rebecca, come up to my office?”
Anyone else would have been corrected and told to call her Becks, but hearing her full name on the other woman’s lips was an almost sensual thrill.
“Thur shing.”
Carol raised one striking eyebrow.
“Sure thing.” The bunny corrected herself.
She felt like a complete buffoon but Carol merely smiled indulgently and ushered her upstairs.
Once the door to the office closed and the sounds of the machine shop were muffled, Carol turned to the little solar heater and cranked the temperature knob to maximum.
“Those idiots leave the door open when the crucible is firing, and my office always ends up freezing as a result. I had forgotten how cold the winters could be in this city.”
A moment later and she had cleared several sheaves of paper off her desk and danced her fingers across the empty space.
“Now let’s see what you have for me.”
Her voice was a seductive purr and Rebecca had to swallow at the invitation in her tone.
Bunny girls were as prolific about sex as Katje, but the flustered Lapine couldn’t help but feel bashful whenever the beautiful older woman spoke to her.
It was as if she was a newcomer in the city all over again.
She fumbled with her bag for a moment and pulled out her last parcel, a neatly packaged box roughly the same size and weight as the one that held Cordelia’s flour.
Placing it on the desk, she absently lined up the neat little package with the edge while desperately wracking her brains for something witty to say, something interesting, anything to stay in the seductive woman’s presence a little longer.
“Nice box.”
Except that.
Literally anything but that.
To say that she was mortified would be an understatement, but Carol simply chuckled at the Lapine’s unintentional phrasing.
“I’ll confess I’m a bit of a stickler, and my shippers know that about me.”
Ignoring the little parcel, she reached one hand up to the side of Rebecca’s head, nearly giving the bunny a heart attack.
“You have something in your hair.”
Her voice was low and quiet, intimate.
“O-oh?”
The nearness of the attractive woman made Rebecca blush, she felt the slightest of tugs on her scalp and Carol’s hand came away holding a little piece of straw, likely from one of the packages in the courier warehouse.
With a twist of her fingers the straw drifted away in the suddenly charged air of the increasingly stuffy room.
Carol smiled with one side of her mouth, her face now inches from the enthralled bunny’s.
“All gone.” She murmured.
Rebecca drew in a shuddering breath.
“Th-thanks.”
Carol’s smirk never left her face as she turned away, her attention now on the little package, examining the shipping label.
Rebecca took the moment to steady her breathing and force herself to get a grip.
“Would you like to-” Carol began.
“I should probably-” Rebecca said at the same time.
They both stopped and waited, until Carol finished her thought.
“-like to have dinner some time? As you know I am sort of new in town and don’t really have much of a social life at the moment.”
For once, Rebecca had control of her mouth, so instead of saying something stupid she was able to give an earnest reply.
“I would love to!”
Inside she was jumping up and down for joy.
She had the hots for Carol since she first saw her: the knowing twinkle in her eyes, the swell of her large breasts, and the way her voice seemed to wash over her like warm honey, all served to make her the star of all of the Lapine’s recent fantasies.
“Great. Come by after you finish your deliveries?”
“Sounds good.” Rebecca nodded enthusiastically, her ears perked up in excitement at the sought after date.
It took every ounce of her self-control not to leap and skip for joy as she left the machine shop.
Watching her departure from her office window, Carol Reindel smiled wide.