To Kill The King

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Ni Fazeeb (KNEE FAH-ZEEB): My Friend

A well-aimed kick to the gut sends the young man crashing through his second-story window, a thump tells Tabea that he landed conveniently stomach up on the deserted street below. She quickly squints her big brown eyes through the darkness and frowns when she notices the angle of his neck. She gracefully leaps from the busted window sill and lands with light feet next to the Critian's body. Her fingers tell her the obvious, he's dead. Died immediately from a broken neck caused by the fall, a possible fractured spine as well. Tabea sheaths her knife with only slight disappointment and crouches next to his bleeding ear,

"It's nothing personal ni fazeeb," she whispers lowly, her accent harshening the consonants, "it's just business." Tabea smiles sarcastically then removes her carving knife and cuts his thin lips into a wide smile, 

"Hey, put on a happy face, then everything's okay," Tabea hums under her breath. She smiles one last time then stands up and spits on the corpse. As she's turning to leave, Tabea notices a pair of reflective green eyes watching her from a dark alley. She smiles wide and points to the corners of her mouth where old scars matching the corpse's stand out prominently against her tanned skin; as if inviting the stranger to smile with her. Dropping her hands, Tabea rolls her eyes behind her black eye mask and steps over the body, heading towards a fire escape stairwell.

Rows of widely spaced fruit trees are spread sporadically between patches of wild forest left to grow in peace. During the day, farhas, sphims, and great blue duzes run and frolic in sunny pastures. Amidst the many trees runs the grass-covered cobblestone road Tabea trudges down. The road makes its way to a pleasant farmhouse, but not before passing a billboard proudly stating that this is the Kistler Family Farm, never mind that there are only two living Kistlers left.

The farmhouse's old age is beginning to show as the wooden shingles begin to lose their grip and the trim paint peels back to reveal paper-white wood. A tall silo filled with silage looms off to the right, a large bird enclosure beside it. Dozens of tirbsis living in the small pond to the side fill the air with their lazy splashes. Nasty little buggers. The old farm never fails to welcome Tabea back from her late-night adventures with sounds of nature and the creaking of old wooden farm buildings complaining about the humidity.

A thump sounds from the side of the house as an alert straiss approaches Tabea. The domestic creature has a round head, two brown eagle eyes, floppy rabbit ears, no visible nose, and an indented jaw containing a mass of sharp teeth. The straiss has a serpentine neck and his shoulders are spike-tipped. He has a snake torso with a segmented waist and four very long feline legs and a heavy tail that is currently wagging from where it drags in the dirt. The straiss' fur is mostly blue and mottled light yellow with dark grey sections and light blue highlights. His front and underbelly are tan.

The alpha male straiss bares his sharp teeth in a welcoming grin as Tabea approaches and scratches around his long, droopy, dark grey, and light blue ears.

"Hey Banzai," she whispers with a smile. Soon, younger male and female straiss come around to greet Tabea with their own grins and slowly wagging tails. She puts a silent finger to her smiling lips as she backs towards the front door, bumping into every curious snout and body obstructing her blind path, hissing at them to move all the way. When the door is finally shut, Tabea leans against it and sighs, listening to their tails drag in the dirt as the straiss slink away. Tabea's mother always makes them stay outside because even though the animals never make a sound, they still manage to create quite the ruckus when cooped up all night. 

Tabea sneaks up the stairs to the bedroom she shares with her little sister, quietly stepping over sleeping bodies of isaleses and undressing without a peep before sliding into her chilly bed and closing her eyes.