The days bled into weeks, and Calamor settled into a tense stalemate. Whispers of Valen and Mona's deeds hardened into legend, their names a specter on the city's breath. The authorities watched, their grip tight, but fear of another uprising kept them from acting openly. They waited, hands hovering over the city's pulse.
Valen and Mona moved with the precision of dancers in a deadly waltz. They gathered information, helped those they could, and laid the groundwork for the battle they knew was coming.
In the quiet of Valen's home, Mona's world expanded. Her eyes, once simply curious, now held the spark of knowledge. Her nimble fingers, once skilled only in picking pockets, now danced over her bowstring, a deadly marksman emerging from within. Her nightly visits to Luna at the Crescent Moon opened her eyes to both the wonder of human culture and the grim reality her kin faced. A bond had bloomed between the three of them, a family warmer than the cold alleys she'd once known.
Mona's likeness, once a beacon for bounty hunters, was now met with fear and awe. The streets whispered of the "golden-haired shadow," the catgirl who outwitted the best of them. But it wasn't just her elusiveness that granted her reprieve—it was the shadow of Valen that loomed over the city's underbelly, his magic-infused whip promising retribution to any who threatened her. The bounty remained, but the hunters had grown wise. They waited, their greed held in check by the specter of his wrath.
---
The soft glow of candlelight flickered across Valen's modest home. Mona sat cross-legged on a rug, her tongue poked out in concentration as she traced letters on parchment. Valen watched with patient eyes.
A sharp, insistent knock shattered the quiet.
Mona's tail shot straight up, ears swiveling. Valen's hand went to his whip. "Hide," he murmured.
She darted into the attic with silent grace. Once sure she was safe, Valen went to the door, his heart pounding. "Who's there?"
"It's Captain Cassian. Open up."
Valen took a calming breath and swung the door open, his hand resting on his whip. "Captain. What brings you here?"
Cassian stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the room with disdain. "Serious allegations, Valen. Witness accounts say you had something to do with the attack on the guards."
Valen's mind raced. How? They were so careful. "On what grounds?" he asked, his voice steady.
"We have been told the assailant carried a whip. One with magic imbued. And also of a graceful helper." Cassian's eyes slid to the empty space where Mona had sat. "Your involvement with the Crescent Moon is no secret. Fioré's girls have loose lips. They're quite vocal about her hospitality towards non-humans. And your frequent visits."
Cassian sighed, the weight of his duty heavy on his shoulders. "I've no desire to bring trouble to your door, or to any... acquaintances you may be harboring. But my hands are tied. The citizens demand action. Without clear evidence of your guilt or innocence, we have only this hearsay. But vigilantes do not seek a trial." He narrowed his eyes, the warning clear.
"I know my rights, Captain," Valen said firmly. "You've no formal charges. Come back when you have more than whispers." He gestured to the empty room. "I suggest you leave."
Cassian's eyes searched Valen's face. He knew the man was hiding something, but even with the testimony he received, he was powerless. "Very well. But understand, if you know anything, it's in your best interest to come forward. The longer we don't find them, the more others will suffer." He turned to leave, pausing at the door. "Valen," he whispered, "if you're protecting someone... be careful. There are forces at play here that even I don't understand." With a tight nod, he was gone.
Valen waited until the footsteps faded. "Mona, it's safe."
She descended from the attic, ears flat. "Why are they lookin' for me, Valen?" she whispered. "I didn't do anythin' wrong."
"It's not about you. It's about the gold on your head and the fear you've put in them. If Cassian is involved, he's playing his own game." He paced. "We can't risk it. We'll wait a few hours, then you need to go to the Crescent Moon. Warn Fioré and Luna. The streets are too guarded for me."
A few tense hours later, Mona hovered by the window. "Remember," Valen whispered, "stick to the rooftops. Don't stop until you're there. Your agility is your greatest weapon."
"I'll be careful," she promised, and slipped out into the night.
---
Mona moved like a shadow across the rooftops, the city a labyrinth of silver and shadow below. She reached the Crescent Moon and scaled the wall to Luna's window, slipping inside. "Luna! Wake up! I need you to get Madame Fioré."
Luna jolted awake. "What's wrong?"
"Just get her, please."
Luna padded out and returned moments later with a stoic Fioré, clutching a robe around herself. "What is it, chérie?"
Mona's ears were flat with urgency. "They know. Valen said to warn you. Captain Cassian knows about us. He was at Valen's, askin' questions."
Fioré's eyes widened briefly before darting away. With a nod, she spoke. "You did well to come." She produced a rolled parchment. "Mona, I need you to take this to Valen. It contains information that could change everything."
As Mona took the parchment, Fioré turned to Luna. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
Luna's gaze was fixed on the parchment, her expression unreadable.
"I won't let you down," Mona promised.
Fioré gave a sharp nod and fled back into the night.
Once Fioré left, Mona turned to her friend. "Luna, what's wrong? You seem... Sad."
Luna's eyes filled with tears. "I'm scared," she admitted, her voice choking. "Everything's falling apart. I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want to lose you too. You can't… You can't take that to him." She looked at the parchment again, her voice faltering. "Humans are cruel when they're desperate…"
Mona stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her. "Luna," she murmured, "Valen is different. I trust him."
Luna barely returned the embrace. "Mona, I..." she started, but the words wouldn't come. "Just, come back safe," she finally whispered.
Mona gave her a final, reassuring squeeze before climbing out the window.
---
Mona streaked back to Valen's house, the parchment hot in her hand. She slipped inside. "Valen! I've got somethin' from Fioré!"
He took it, his eyes scanning the crude map. "The docks. This must be where they're holding the next shipment." He looked up. "Was anything amiss? How are they?"
"No trouble. But Luna... she was cryin'. Said humans can be cruel when they're desperate. She didn't seem like herself."
Valen's expression softened. "Luna's seen a lot. Her words come from fear, not accusation. She just wants you to be wary." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "But I promise you, I am not like those people. Now, let's prepare. We only have a few days."
---
The moon grew fat. Disguised as a dockworker, Valen moved through the shadows. Mona, a golden-haired shadow on the rooftops, had found her perch.
"Valen," she mewed, "I've got a clear shot if things go sour. You go in. I'll watch your back."
He smiled, a mix of affection and pride. "Look at you, little strategist. Good idea. I'll come in from the back. Stay safe."
Mona's nose twitched as she caught the familiar scent of her kind. Confirmation. She signaled Valen as such, and slipped into the building from an opening near the roof. Her eyes adjusted in the dim light. A wooden transport box stood in the center, but there were no guards she could see. She tensed. Somethin' is wrong. But she couldn't warn him. She could only react.
***
Valen approached the warehouse from the back, his heightened senses picking up on something amiss. He saw the back door ajar, torches inside flickering as if in a gentle breeze. He drew his whip, his eyes narrowed.
Valen's heart skipped a beat as he pushed the door open wider. His eyes scanned the room, his whip at the ready. It wasn't empty. Captain Cassian stood calmly before him, but it was the figures flanking him that froze the blood in Valen's veins. A trap.
In the shadows and under the walkways, three guards stood with him in a semi-circle, each one holding a battered, terrified beastfolk hostage. A knife was pressed to each of their throats. Valen's gaze swept over them. A young badger boy, a trembling rabbit girl... and his eyes snagged on a catgirl. Her fur was matted and her golden eyes were wide with terror, but even through the grime, her resemblance to Luna was striking enough to make his breath catch.
"Valen," Cassian said, his voice like ice. "So it really was you."
"You're surrounded," Cassian said, his smile smug but his eyes tight. "But it doesn't have to end in bloodshed. This is a simple transaction. Your surrender for their lives." He gestured with his chin to the hostages. "I'm a reasonable man. Surrender, and they go free. My word as Captain."
Valen's mind raced. It was a lie, he knew it in his soul. But the three pairs of pleading eyes held him captive. His whip felt heavy in his hand. The dark magic within it pulsed, but unleashing it now would be a death sentence for them.
"Look at them, Valen," Cassian pressed, his voice a low, persuasive rumble. "Their lives are in your hands. Not mine. Make the noble choice."
Valen slowly raised his hands, setting the whip to the floor. "You've got me. Let them go."
Cassian let out a sharp laugh. "Good." Cassian nodded, and a guard released the badger boy. "See? A man of my word. But, we are not done." He stepped closer. "The lost little kitten. With the golden hair. Where is she?"
How does he…? No. She didn't. Valen sighed. "She's… Not with me right now. Let the others go, and I'll bring her." Valen sank to his knees, hands behind his head.
Cassian smirked, stepping forward, hand on his blade.
***
From the rafters, Mona watched, her heart a frantic drum. She saw Valen's surrender, the way his shoulders slumped. She saw the cruel certainty in Cassian's face. He wouldn't let them go, even if he gave up. It was all a lie. Her eyes locked on the catgirl who looked so much like her friend, and a protective fury ignited within her. She couldn't let this continue. They would all die here and she'd be on the run. Alone. Again.
Without a sound, she notched an arrow. She didn't aim to kill, but to disrupt. The string sang, and her arrow buried itself deep into the shoulder of the guard holding the rabbit girl.
"Mona, no!" Valen roared, but it was useless.
The man screamed, his grip loosening. The rabbit girl didn't hesitate; she sank her teeth into his arm and bolted into the shadows.
Chaos erupted.
Panic ensued among the guards. They were thugs, not seasoned soldiers, and the sudden attack broke their nerve. Valen dove for the whip.
The guard holding the catgirl jolted. He saw his companion wounded, two hostages gone, and Valen's whip flaring to life. The negotiation was over. His panic turned to brute instinct. The catgirl in his grasp struggled, a muffled cry escaping. "This is your fault!" he snarled at the struggling catgirl, and in a burst of vicious frustration, he dragged the knife across her throat.
For a heartbeat, there was only the horrible, wet sound of it.
The catgirl's eyes widened, a silent gasp escaping her before she crumpled to the ground.
A profound, sickening silence fell.
Cassian's face went white. He stared at the dead catgirl, his smugness wiped away by horror. "No..." he breathed. "You moron! I said no one gets hurt!"
But the spell was broken. The sight of blood, the death of one of their own, sent the remaining guards into a frenzy of self-preservation. They saw Valen's whip beginning to glow. The time for bluffs was over.
Cassian's moment of humanity vanished, replaced by the battle-hardened captain. The horror in his eyes crystallized into cold, focused rage. He drew his sword, its point aimed at Valen. "You see what you've done?!" he snarled, his voice cracking as he pointed at the body. "You brought this! Take him!"
Valen didn't need a second invitation. The time for negotiation was dead on the floor. He pressed his thumb to the crystal, welcoming the searing pain as the dark magic surged through the whip. It crackled to life, a lash of purple lightning.
"Mona, go!" he bellowed, cracking the whip in a wide arc. The electrified lash sent the panicked guards stumbling back, breaking their formation.
Understanding her role instantly, Mona became the bait they couldn't resist. She gave a defiant yowl from the rafters and then leaped down, dashing for the alleyway.
"After her!" Cassian roared, his voice raw. The guards, eager to chase a target that wasn't the crackling demon of a man with the whip, scrambled after her.
Cassian turned his full, furious attention back to Valen. "You've ruined everything!" he screamed, and lunged.
Their blades met in a shower of sparks. Cassian grunted. "You're naive, Valen. Stupid. Blinded by ideals. But I've seen the true face of the world."
His boot shot out, catching Valen in the chest. "You stand in the way of Calmlr's progress! For what? Some lost kittens?"
Valen rolled, regaining his footing. "You've become the monster you claim to fight." He lunged, the whip cracking, aiming for the captain's legs. "The beasts you speak of feel pain, they love, they fear, just like us," Valen said, ducking a wild swing. "Put 'progress' above suffering, and the real monsters are those who hold the chains."
Cassian's face reddened, his swings growing wild. "You speak of love as a divine right. You're wrong, Valen! I will not let Calamor regress for the likes of you!" His blade arced down for a killing blow.
Valen saw the madness. His whip coiled around Cassian's sword arm, yanking him off-balance. He closed the gap, the whip wrapping around the man's neck, and slammed his head into the stone floor. Cassian went limp.
Valen stood over him, chest heaving. The dark magic whispered of vengeance, but killing him would mean a death sentence. He had to think of Mona, of Luna. He let the whip dissipate and turned away. He needed answers. And he knew where to find them.
---
Mona's heart hammered as she fled, the guards' shouts fading behind her. She scaled a slick wall, finding refuge on the rooftops. The image of the dead catfolk burned in her mind. The injustice fueled her. She had to make Valen understand—this fight was for all of them.
She lost the guards in the maze of tiles and leaped down to the Crescent Moon, bolting inside. She found a call girl. "Please, wake Madam Fioré! It's urgent!"
The girl nodded and slipped away, returning quickly. "Madam Fioré will see you."
As Mona ran to the door, she heard shouting. It was Valen's voice.
"—ing of this? Blood was spilled, Fioré. Innocent blood."
Then Fioré. "That is the risk you bring to us all!"
Mona burst into the room. Valen stood rigid, his whip pulsing with malevolent energy. "Valen?" she breathed, her chest heaving.
His eyes were locked to Fioré. He did not turn to her. "Mona. What are you doing here?"
"I came to warn Fioré! A-and Luna! And… They know... Cassian..." The words wouldn't come out right. The image of the catgirl spilling crimson onto the stones flashed behind her eyes. Her tail lashed.
Valen's eyes smoldered with a fury she'd never seen. "There's no need. Fioré sold us out. I knew the moment Cassian spoke about you."
Mona's fur stood on end. The pieces crashed together in her mind. The letter. The trap. The dead catfolk. "You... you knew?" she whispered, her voice trembling. She looked at Fioré, the woman who had given her a friend and kindness. "Why? We're trying to help! And you... you just let them..."
Fioré averted her gaze. "Mona, chérie, you know I care for you." She took a gentler tone with Mona. "But Luna is my family. The Crescent Moon is all we have. To keep those we love safe, we must make... difficult choices."
Valen stepped forward. "Difficult?" His voice was a low growl. "I remind you: an innocent is dead because of your choice. And you call it 'difficult'?" His hand tightened on the whip. "If your love for Luna is so strong, why do you stand in my way? I am doing this for her sake, too."
Fioré's face paled. "Valen, no." She looked to him, her piercing gaze laced with a poison he'd never seen before. Her voice was low, rumbling. "That death is because of you. I warned you of the danger, I pleaded with you to leave it, but your thirst for 'justice' led us here." A single, powerful step forward. "And you will not use my Luna against me. She is safer away from you."
"I did what had to be done!" Valen's eyes flashed with pain. "I've spent half my life fighting for my flock! I've watched helpless girls be claimed, innocents slaughtered! I picked up the pieces and sent them to a better future. But you?" He scoffed. "You took in one catfolk and made her a pet in all but name. You throw elves to a life of bed service. That's your idea of rescue?"
Fioré's gaze was unwavering. "We do what is needed to survive. To keep my girls safe. My help is different, but it is help. I've given them a home. And you come here with your grand conspiracy, expecting me to throw it all away?" Her voice cracked. "These girls rely on me to eat, to have a roof. I've given them a better life. If you threaten that, I'll do what I must to protect my flock." She pleaded with him. "Your intentions are good, Valen. You want to save the world, but you can't do that by burning down everyone else's."
Valen's gaze turned to ice. "Your 'success' is built on the backs of the very people you claim to protect. You've nestled into the comfort of ignorance." He turned and strode toward the door, pausing only to deliver his final blow over his shoulder. "But the day will come when that ignorance burns to ash, and the haunting melody of those you've turned away will be all you hear." His hand closed on the doorknob. "Let's go, Mona."
But Mona stood rooted, the argument spiraling around her, stuck on one thing. The dead catgirl. Her kin. Betrayed. She stepped toward Fioré, her whole body trembling with a new, fiery anger she'd learned from Valen. "You said 'flock'," Mona spat, the word feeling ugly in her mouth. "But you just... sold us. And one of my kin died in a dirty box for it. She… She looked like Luna." Her voice broke, but her glare was unwavering. "You're not good. You're just a human who locks us in a pretty cage and calls it help."