Jackie slides a foot out of his car, it’s a tiny electric thing. Barely holding together in the slightest, especially after a road trip across the entire country to get here. Two triangular cat ears poke out of his messy brown hair, they are both a light orange with fluffy white stripes. 

 

He looks down at his clothes, a ratty white shirt that he’s honestly been wearing for too long during the week long drive to get here. As well as blue jeans with rips going along the hems. But it’s the only one of his options that has a slit in the back for his curled up tail, so he’s had to make due during the drive. Hopefully once he’s got a job he’ll have the spare cash to get something custom made to fit his body type.

As he looks around the parking lot of a surprisingly nice apartment complex. It’s almost 8 stories tall, and has the overly sanitized look that screams that this place must have expensive rent. After all this is Change City, the fastest expanding city in the nation! 

 

The idea of finding a wanted advert for a roommate at 300$ a month had simply been too good to pass up. Especially considering the fight that led to him moving all the way out here to get away from his family.

 

Jackie hums as he stares at the apartment complex. He’d been expecting the place to be in old town, around where all the gentrification hasn’t quite yet reached.

 

But instead here he is, on the north side of town closest to Sapphire Inc’s main factory. Where he can walk basically anywhere without much difficulty. Maybe they’d given the wrong address? Maybe this was all a mean spirited joke at the expense of people trying to move into the city…

 

He shakes his head as hard as possible, no he’s not going to get caught up in doubts now that he’s right outside of the complex. He’s going to march up to room 201 and find out if this is real or not… but maybe it’s best to leave his things here until he’s sure.

 

He looks back at the back seat of the car, filled with everything that he’d been able to take with him and sighs. Forcing himself to get going, putting in the code for the bottom gate. Sighing in relief when it actually unlocks and lets him inside. 

 

At that point it’s just a quick walk up the stairwell to the second floor. Stopping at the first door in the line, and knocking lightly on it a few times. He’d sent a message to the person who lives here when he got into town, but never gotten a response. 

 

After a moment of tense waiting, Jackie almost walks away when he doesn’t get an immediate response. Only to hear thumping, and the door clicking unlocked. Slowly sliding inward to reveal a seven foot tall woman, dressed in only a pair of pink pajama pants and a red sports bra.

Jackie flicks his eyes upward, getting a good look at a myriad of scars that are on full display. Climbing up her chest and ending in her right shoulder where there’s a barely faded scar that looks to be from a massive bullet hole, causing a flush to sneak its way onto his cheeks.

Once he’s able to get past the scars. Jackie is met with the woman’s ocean blue eyes, and crimson red hair that flows halfway down her back. Her expression on the whole is placid, like his arrival is merely a mild inconvenience to her schedule. 

 

As he stares up at her his hairs start to stand on end. Just standing before her causes his instincts to rocket up to high alert, like he’s standing in front of a tsunami just waiting for it to crash down upon him and wash him away. “So you’re Jackie right?”

 

Her voice is gruff, enough to make him wonder if she smokes despite not smelling of it in the slightest. Shuddering he nods ever so slightly, and this leads her to step aside. “Well come on in, I’ll show you around.” 

 

Despite his anxiety, the woman seems perfectly calm. As if she doesn’t even notice it, and obviously has to be pretty laid back to be wearing nothing but a bra and some pj pants in front of a total stranger.

 

He presses himself to walk inside the home behind her, trying to cling on to the good news that this is in fact his new roommate. Who he will actually be able to afford living with, so a little bit of the cold shoulder shouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It’s not like he’d expected to be friends with someone he’s randomly moving in with.

 

While Jackie walks inside he can’t help but be bewildered looking at the furnishings of the apartment. All of it is top of the line, definitely no older than two years old. The living area has a tv almost the size of the wall, with a Gembox system hooked up to it the all too familiar Sapphire Inc logo plastered on the side. 

 

In the opposite direction is the kitchen, which is a massive mess. Covered in all shapes and sizes of take out boxes, while different cooking supplies sit on the counter fresh as the day that they were taken out of their packaging. He’s definitely going to have to clean that up so he can try out cooking somewhere that isn’t the back of his car.

 

As Jackie’s caught up staring at the kitchen. He feels as a pressure like a lead weight lands on his shoulder, causing it to slump. Immediately he flicks his head back to see what did it. Only to have his eyes land on a single finger from the woman that’s been placed there. 

 

“You’re going to be in the room right here.” The woman picks her finger back up, freeing him from the weight as she points down the hall to a door on the right. Across from it is an open door showing off the inside of the bathroom, and at the very end of the hallway is a door with a sign saying ‘keep out’ hanging there. 

 

“Oh yeah, thank you… but uh, if you don’t mind my asking. What’s our name? You forgot to put it on the ad.” Jackie chuckles weakly as he rubs the shoulder that she’d touched. Walking over to the door to his new bedroom, and pulling it open.

 

Inside it’s fairly plain, but at the very least does come with a queen sized bed and desk. Another small relief, he definitely doesn’t have the money to afford buying a bed right now. 

 

“Oh- uh, right I forgot.” The woman chuckles weakly, leaning up on the doorframe as she starts to talk. “My name is Artifal, but you can call me Arti.” 

 

While she talks she walks over to the room with the keep out sign. “This is my room obviously, just don’t go in here please. I need my privacy, but if you ever knock I’ll try to come see you if I’m home.” 

 

Jackie nodded slightly, looking at the door. “Sounds fair to me. This rent here is really unbelievable. Are you sure that you want that little?” Jackie gives her a look a bit confused; he had only taken this shady of an offer, because she was only asking three hundred dollars a month for rent.

“Ah yeah that, well I don’t technically pay rent here. I’m just here on work stuff, so you giving me a few hundred a month to have walking around money is more than enough. It’s not like I’m fussed about income.” Arti chuckles to herself at the thought, and shakes her head. Simply walking away from Jackie once she’s done affirming that the rent is how it is. 

 

After a moment of standing there bewildered by the woman’s blasé behavior, Jackie hears her voice once again. “Just unpack, I’m gonna be watching TV until I head out to work today!” 

 

Taking a moment to himself, he sits down on the bed. Only now realizing that even the spare bed is one of those memory foam ones, instead of just a random junker. This is all just too damn weird, too lucky after the life he’s had. 

 

That or he’s just being paranoid and is searching for any reason why he’s not allowed to have a lucky break. Groaning, he flops back and rubs his face a few times. 

 

No he’s going to make the most out of this, one way or another. So what if he’s living with someone who’s about as easy to read as a book with the pages torn out. She’s been nice to him so far, no point doubting her until he’s given a reason.

 

Slowly he drags himself out of the bed, refusing to fall to the temptation of just sleeping in a real bed for the first time in over a week. Best not to risk having everything he owns stolen by the time he wakes back up.

 

As he walks back through the apartment he glances at Arti. Who’s now draped over almost the entire couch, with one leg kicking against the ground as it hangs off. She’s got some random procedural drama on, the characters rambling about magical crime and the intricacy of how magical law interacts with the rest of the world. 

 

He doesn’t pay it too much mind, giving her a small wave as he walks outside of the apartment and back to his car. Groaning as he looks at everything, this is gonna take six trips at the very least.

 

Best to start with the heaviest first, he pulls his old tv out of the trunk, and starts to stumble his way back upstairs. Fumbling his way past Arti, who in the few minutes he was gone has gone from draped over the couch to laid face down and seemingly half asleep.

 

The next trip up is much lighter, he tosses his laptop bag over his shoulder. As well as grabbing two bags, one filled with different games and the other containing his old consoles. Even while this broke, he couldn’t quite bring himself to sell them off, too many happy memories attached.

 

Finally he starts to bring his suitcases up two at a time. Each filled with a different type of clothes for all types of occasions.

 

By the time he’s upstairs for the last time, he can’t help but pant to himself. His entire body was heavy from carrying all of that multiple flights of stairs. 

 

He reaches back and locks the door, before dragging the rest of his clothes into his bedroom and starting to lay them out in individual piles. 

 

A few dress shirts for interviews, both masculine pajamas that he’d been given by his family, as well as their more feminine counterparts that he’d bought for himself. A few crop tops, boxers, panties, and three pairs of shoes. 

 

Then there’s his cosplay collection, filled with different copies of his favorite character’s outfits. A few dresses, and skirts. Anything that he’d felt the need to hide away from the rest of his family. 

 

Out of everything he could fit in the car, this all felt like the most important. He looks around the room and doesn’t see a dresser, sighing he guesses he’s going to be using the suitcases for that for now.

 

Finally he walks back out of his bedroom, happy with how he’s gotten everything set up so far. And walks into the kitchen, starting to throw most of the trash away and put it into bags. Finding a parking tag buried beneath a box with a half eaten burger in it. 

 

Picking it up he looks over at Arti, opening his mouth to ask her if she has a car. Only to see her entirely out cold, and decide that he’s just going to use this one for the night. Best to ask forgiveness rather than have his car towed and be unable to get it back. 

 

With one last trip down stairs, he clasps the tag into place before heading back up and looking at Arti who’s still face first on the couch. He nervously walks over and pokes her shoulder. “Hey, do you want me to make us something to eat for dinner? I know a thing or two about how to cook, so I should be able to work with whatever you have on hand.” 

 

Arti groans, and rolls over onto her back once again. Blinking a few times as she stares up at Jackie and runs the question through her head a few times. “Uh… well I don’t really cook, so I doubt we’ve got anything for you to make. But you’re welcome to try if you want.”

 

Jackie nods and walks over to the kitchen, poking around each of the shelves and cabinets. Only finding some noodles, enough to make spaghetti without any sauce. He shakes his head slightly, figuring this just means he’s going to be filling the shelves himself. 

 

At least he still has some supplies from the road trip. Taking one last agonizing trip down the stairs, he goes over to his car and pops the trunk. Pulling out a few grocery bags filled with herbs, spices, and three bottles of sauce. 

 

Once he has all the supplies he carries them over to the kitchen. Starting to put it together to the best of his abilities, getting a little frustrated at the few ingredients that he doesn’t have on hand and making a mental note to pick them up at the store in a few days.

 

Going into the fridge to grab them some drinks, Jackie is met with shelves and shelves full of energy drinks. A few day old meal boxes, and nothing more. 

 

Shaking his head, he turns around and fills two cups with water and ice. Placing them down on the table, before looking over at his roommate. “Arti, meals ready. Come on and eat, I’ll go get some groceries tomorrow, so I can make real meals.”

 

He watches as Arti groans, rolling right of the couch and slamming into the ground at full force. The girl not even bothering to break her fall before she stands up and starts to walk over to the kitchen. 

 

Swooping around the table and heading over to the fridge. Grabbing one of the energy drinks, cracking it open, and chugging almost half of the container in three seconds. “Ah, much better.”

 

She blinks a few times as she sits down across from Jackie. Glancing down at the meal, sniffing it a few times. As he’s unable to tell if she’s checking it for poison or just because she’s picky. 

 

Jackie is left sitting there, silently starting to go through his meal as he tries to get a handle on his roommate’s behavior. Almost jumping when she shifts from poking at her food, to eating. Devouring the entire plate in less than a minute. 

 

Once she’s done, she wipes her face off with her arm and looks up at Jackie. Only now seeming to process his presence for the first time since sitting down. “Sooo, what brings you all the way out to Change City? I know you’re an anthro, so there’s that… but that hardly seems a reason to travel cross country.”

 

Jackie winces, her words feeling like a shot to the gut of ice cold venom. Of course she’d inevitably ask about this, it’s not like people appear out of nowhere without a history. “Well ya see, a few years back I came into a little money. I used it to get the changes you see now.” His ears flick slightly, and tail wraps around his waist. 

 

“And well my family wasn't great before the change, and after… well I pushed things a little too far with the transition. I needed to get away, to somewhere I could feel safe expressing myself.” Without even thinking he starts to hug himself, looking away from Arti as he talks. His voice starting to die in his throat as he tries to push all of this out.

 

“Especially given my pension for dressing more femininely. Both in cosplay, and casually.”

Jackie goes silent, sitting in the moment. Waiting for yet another rejection, to be told that this isn’t going to work out once again. 

 

Then there’s a light pressure on his shoulder, making him look up and see Arti looking at him. In a way she’d not done up to this point, there’s a softness in her eyes and expression. Like she’s actually afraid of something. “Okay, I want to start with the fact that I support you completely. You can do whatever it takes for you to be comfortable in your body.”

 

She sighs and shakes her head, as she looks out the window. Leaving him sitting there in silence for a moment, unable to bring himself to respond. Rushing relief flooding through his entire body. 

 

“But… I’m gonna need a few house rules. I don’t want you going out after dark alone, I need to know when you get to wherever you work and when you get off please.” She slowly pulls her hand back, starting to rub at the spot on her right shoulder where her largest scar sits. “Please, it’ll help me feel more comfortable…”

 

Jackie’s eyes land on Arti’s scar as her demeanor shifts. For the first time the woman looks vulnerable, like what he’d said had picked at a wound that has long since festered and gotten infected. “Of course, I mean you’re already being so generous about rent. I don’t mind doing a few things to help you feel comfortable.”

 

He reaches out and squeezes her hand that’s still limply sitting on the table. “While I’m not going to hide what I like anymore. If there’s anything that will help you feel please tell me, I’d like this arrangement to be good for both of us.”

 

The pair sit there for a minute in silence. The only sound being the tv that Arti had left on before coming over, the woman’s expression distant and hazy. Leaving Jackie to simply wait, hoping that she’ll snap back eventually.

 

“So… is there a reason for these rules?”

 

The moment the question slips out of his mouth, he’s already positive it was a mistake. As Arti’s expression shifts from that quiet consideration, to something hollow. Like every bit of life has been sucked out of her expression. She slowly sits up, pulling her hand away from Jackie, and takes a deep breath. 

 

“Honestly, I’m worried about your safety. You’re new to town, so you probably haven’t heard, but there’s been a reported kidnapping. This is only an issue, because the victim in question is quite similar to you.” Each of her words are distant, like she’s reading off of a script that she’d had to go over thousands of times. 

 

“They disappeared about a year ago, from Change City College. When her parents found out…” She starts to rub her arms slowly, obviously mulling over how much to tell Jackie. “I was hired as a private eye. I already had this place set up from an earlier job, so at this point I’m just here looking.”

As everything is described to him Jackie sits perfectly still. The apartment, and city he’s moved to from a light second chance. To a crushingly tense prison, where moving so much as a finger could insite danger. “A-alright, I’ll keep a low profile.”

 

Despite the pressure of his own anxiety, Jackie stands up and puts his hand on the table. Flashing the best smile he can muster. “So, other than avoiding the college, which should be easy given I’m not here to do that. Is there anywhere else you’d recommend me stay away from?”

 

Arti tenses up as she’s asked, before muttering out. “Sapphire Inc.” She presses her hands against the table, making it creak and bend slightly like it’s fighting against a hydraulic press to avoid shattering. “They bankroll the college, as well as most of the city. If there’s anyone who could make someone disappear without there being any details, it’s them.”

 

She pulls her hands away from the table, looking at the small cracks that formed from the pressure. Sighing she shakes her head. “That and they have those visors, which might as well be cameras on half of the people in the cities’ faces. It’s all so damn creepy.” 

 

Jackie steps back walking with her though the living area, and over to the couch. Where Arti flops down in the corner and kicks her feet up on the coffee table. “Yeah, visors definitely weren’t as big back over in Washington as they are here. Though I remember seeing more and more in the months before I left.” 

 

He slowly sits down on the couch across from Arti, doing his best to relax and allow the girl to ramble until she’s gotten what’s upsetting her out of her system.

 

“Especially those tendrils that slide inside of your ears.” Arti shudders, and shakes her head. Getting her hair behind her ears, revealing that they’re long and pointed. Confirming without a doubt that she’s an elf, not an exceptionally tall human. “I do nightly walks around the campus, and most of the town. Trying to find any new leads, but with so few options in regards to the case I’m just spinning my wheels.”

 

“Well I’m definitely no master of electronics, and most certainly not a detective… but I’d be more than happy to help you out in any way that I can.” Jackie gives her a thumbs up, and crosses his legs. 

 

“Uh… yeah sure. It'd be nice to have a friend to help out with everything.” Arti’s expression sours slightly when the word friend slides out of her mouth. Shuddering lightly before she shakes her head and continues. “I have some time before I gotta go out to work. Do you wanna watch anything while we talk? I don’t own the most, but this place came with a buncha streaming services so I’m sure we can figure something out?” 

 

She reaches out and grabs the remote, wiggling it lightly, before tossing it over into Jackie’s hands. Causing him to grunt as it comes in way faster than a light toss should have caused. 

 

“Watching something with a new friend sounds lovely.” He starts to flick through the show options. Trying to escape the seemingly never ending cavalcade of procedural dramas that Arti is obviously overly fond of. 

 

“Soooo, what do you like doing for fun? I mostly play video games, and explore the internet. Maybe go to a convention if there’s one that seems interesting to me, and I have a cosplay ready.” Jackie flashes her a small smile, and picks out an anime about teens that go around killing soul eating monsters. 

 

“Ehhh, I watch a little bit of anime?” Arti shrugs, and turns back to start watching the show that Jackie turned on. Her posture shifting to be a little bit more defensive for seemingly no reason. 

 

“But uh, in case you’re wondering, the only reason I’m this worried about you going out is because I have noticed some people acting… odd around me.” 

 

Jackie frowns as she pivots the conversation back to something that’s obviously upsetting her. Despite this he stays quiet, giving her time to get her emotions out. 

 

“It’s especially bad when I visit the college. Like yeah, I’m out of place, but I see people in those creepy headsets just standing in windows and staring at me.” She slaps her hand against the couch and groans. “And gods forgive me if I try to talk to anyone, they’ll deny the existence of the missing person! Once I even got into the records for the college, and she was marked as an early graduate!”

 

Jackie squeaks, when her slap on the couch sends him bouncing up an inch, before landing back into place. Finding it a little weird that Arti didn’t seem to be implying that she got those files legally either. “Well, that’s actually really odd. You’d think that they’d be really eager to brag about early graduations, especially given it is the only college in the nation that uses visors for education.”

 

He hums, pulling his phone out and starting to look up Sapphire Inc. trying to find out if there’s anything that he can add to maybe help Arti. “But if you’d like, once you leave I can take some time tonight and try to dig up some info about Sapphire Inc. for you?”

 

Arti nods a few times, and leans back. Flopping her arms down against the couch, before she rolls over to make eye contact. “Alright, yeah, that sounds like a plan to me. As for a goal, I’d like to know more about the ‘Gemstones’ who work for Sapphire.” She taps the couch lightly as she hums. 

 

Jackie quickly searches them online, assuming that Arti’s pause is to give him a chance to get up to speed. Only to be bewildered when he sees a picture of all of them from one of the product announcement videos. There’s at least fifteen women excluding Sapphire. All with the same naming scheme for their first name, and the same last name. 

 

But despite this the only consistency in their looks is that there’s not a single man in the group. There’s a range of skin tones, body types, even a few anthros. Making it very obvious that none of them are genetically related. 

 

“So what’s so weird about them?” Jackie tilts his head slightly, as he looks back up at Arti. Sure they aren’t biological siblings, or related to Sapphire, but that’s not what decides if people are family if they want to be.

 

“They don’t have histories Jackie!” Arti throws her hands up into the air, before slapping herself in the face with them. “Not a single one of them has any information about their pasts anywhere online. There’s no stated reasoning for why this group expands every few years, just that Sapphire apparently keeps adopting girls!”

Her hands slide off of her face, leaving red marks as she looks over at Jackie. “And given the disappearance, I’m pretty sure you can see why I’ve suspected their involvement on some level.”

 

Jackie hums and keeps tapping through articles. Trying to see if he can find anything that could be even the smallest thread to pull. Even if the thread is just something to give Arti so she can latch onto it and calm down when it leads nowhere.

 

“This is so much more than I signed up for, I expected something normal. A few months of work, in a place where I have a home set up, but nooooo this has just spiraled into me slamming my head into a brick wall hoping it’ll break if I hit it in just the right way.” She chuckles weakly, and looks over at Jackie’s phone. Checking out what he’s reading through, and only backing off once he glances up at her and leans back.

 

“Well all I can find is what they make public openly.” He taps on the webpage a few times. Navigating the labyrinth that is the Sapphire Inc website user interface, wondering why anyone would make a website so obtusely designed. 

 

“Which is just a list of products, and an application section. Which seems surprisingly open to hiring despite how popular applications to work there must be.” Leaning his head toward the tv, he shrugs slightly. 

 

“But why don’t we focus on relaxing until you go out? This is obviously stressing you out, and we’re not getting anywhere with it.”

 

Arti rolls her eyes, and turns to start actually paying attention to the show that Jackie had turned on. Her voice dropped down to a pout. “I’m not stressed, it’s just frustrating. This is the first time in two years I’ve had a hard time with a job. It’s weird to feel so stumped.”

 

“Well I’m already gonna be helping you out, so hopefully I can see something while I’m at work to help you out.” Jackie flashes her a smile, and gives her a gentle nudge on her shoulder. “You don’t have to handle this alone anymore.”

 

Arti snickers and rubs her hand under her nose to hide a small smile. Failing miserably as she looks away. “Sounds good to me, but remember your safety will always come first. I don’t want you doin anything dumb to try and get information.” She then leans back and moves her legs off of the coffee table, kicking them up on the couch angled right above Jackie to not be touching him.

 

“But you’re right, for now I’m going to watch this new show with my new friend. No need to let work consume my life when I’m not on the artificial clock I punch for myself every day.”

 

Jackie blushes as the woman's legs suddenly lock him down in his spot. Leaning slightly against the edge of the couch, as he forces himself to stare at the tv. “Yeah, this one’s a classic. I’ve been watching it since I was like 10.” 

 

                                                                                                                            * * *

Jackie is only broken out of the trance of watching episode after episode when Arti’s legs kick out from in front of him. They’d both gone silent over the last few hours, it was honestly nice not feeling pressured to maintain the conversation the whole time. 

 

Arti stretches as she stands up, arching her back slightly and doing a few basic exercises to get her body up and running. “Alright, it’s time to head out. I’m gonna get dressed, and then I’ll show you whatever you might need while I’m out.”

 

Jackie nods slightly and stretches in his spot on the couch. Not moving because in the time that passed his butt definitely fell asleep. “Well I’m not going to be moving so don’t worry.” He chuckles and flops over onto his side, watching Arti walk away. Not even bothering to try and watch Arti as she heads into her bedroom. 

 

He lays there for a few minutes, starting to drift in and out without anything to keep his mind moving. Until he hears a click from behind him, and Arti walks out of her bedroom and into the living room. 

 

She dressed this time, wearing a large gray duster that goes down to her heels. It’s covered in stains from dirt… has many rips, and dark splotches, that Jackie can’t help but think are blood. Alongside it is a pair of ripped gray cargo pants, and black boots with dented steel toes at the end.

 

Her hair is tied back in a ponytail that’s tucked into the back of the duster to keep it from being grabbed should she get into a fight. 

 

As she walks past him and over to the coffee table. Jackie is shown an image painted onto the back of the duster, it’s a jack playing card holding a heart over the top and a diamond on the bottom. It’s definitely not made with the most skill, but he can’t help but wonder where he remembers it from. 

 

“Alright, so I’ll be back as soon as I can be. I never kept track before now, so I’ll try to not wake you up if I get back while you’re asleep.” She grabs one of the shelves in the coffee table, pulling it open. Revealing a desert eagle as well as several cases of bullets sitting there. 

 

“Now if there’s a break in, this is where I keep my gun. Don’t play with it please, but I don’t keep it in a safe because I have to take it with me so often.” 

 

Jackie winces, trying to ignore the blatant lack of gun safety in that one sentence. Let alone trying to imagine if he could even manage to pull the trigger on that beast of a gun without having it blow his arms back entirely.

 

Arti doesn’t seem to notice his concern in the slightest while she pushes the coffee table back shut. “I’ll lock up. Don’t let anyone in, including if they say that they’re me. I have the key, imposters will not. You’re an adult, I’m sure you can handle it.” 

 

Jackie eyes the drawer a few times, shaking his head. “I am not really a fan of guns, but thank you for telling me about it.” He sighs and forces himself to stand up. Walking over to the door alongside her. “I don’t stay up much later anyway, you have a good night Arti. I hope you can find whatever you’re looking for.”

 

She gives him a slight nod and steps outside the room. Quickly it swings shut, and it locks from the outside. Leaving him alone in their apartment for the first time. 

 

Jackie groans, at least the rent is cheap. Even if his roommate is insane, and a detective apparently. Which he can’t help but find a miracle given her complete lack of social skills. 

 

He walks down the hall, over to the door for his bedroom. Glancing over at the keep out sign, giving an amused chuckle at how immature it is before shaking his head. It’s not worth digging into, hopefully she’ll open up eventually. 

 

Jackie pulls the door to his room open, taking a few lazy steps over to the bed before his legs give out and he flops down. Enjoying the sensation of the mattress shifting to conform to his body shape, while he crawls over to the pillows and grabs one to hug while he tries to sleep. 

 

                                                                                                                        * * *

 

Peridot Gemstone stands at the end of an alleyway, her floppy brown dog ears perked up, waiting for a familiar sound. While her emerald green visor hides her eyes as she watches and waits, after all it’s almost time. 

 

As that thought rolls through her head, Artifal Carter walks past the alley. Follow behind her, don’t let her see you. Peridot slowly creeps up to the edge of the street, watching as the woman hums to herself. Looking around at the billboards in the area, seemingly hardly paying attention to any one thing in particular. 

 

“Well at least I’ve got a roommate who won’t disappear at the first chance this time.” Arti hums and shrugs to herself, only stopping to stare at a Sapphire Inc billboard. A sour expression sliding onto her face.

 

Peridot leans up against a bus station waiting area. Eavesdropping on Arti as she talks to herself. Of course she talks to herself, she’s a fool. 

 

“I swear if I could find one solid lead pointing to you… that would be nice, ugh!” Arti kicks the ground as she complains at the billboard, cracking the concrete under her boot in one fluid motion.

 

Peridot pauses and stares at the crack in the concrete. Her visor taking data samples of the magical signature that the woman had left behind without noticing. Good she’s just as strong as she used to be.

 

Peridot nods to herself and starts to sprint to catch up with Arti. Going over to the end point of all of her walks through town, Change City College. It’s not hard to blend in with the college kids, especially only a few years after graduation. The only issue is how little foot traffic there is to blend in with. 

 

As she watches the detective, Arti’s head is constantly on a swivel. Perspective that one, Peridot hums and nods to herself and keeps a fifty foot gap between herself and the detective. Prioritizing distance above ease of hearing, after all with her increased senses from being an anthro she’ll still be able to hear if she focuses. 

 

“Gods those things are creepy, I don’t get how people live like that.” Arti shudders and shakes her head, as she looks away from a group of students in visors. Continuing her trip through the campus, she’s headed to Grant’s old room.

 

Peridot loses track of Arti for a few minutes, traveling around the campus. Breaking into a dash in order to get into place to continue her surveillance without being seen.  

 

The complex itself is a tiny thing, generally only used by the lower income students at the school due to its comparative affordability. Only two floors, and a central lobby that the students occasionally hang out in. 

 

Peridot watches from around the corner as Arti stops. Looking over each of the cars that are here tonight, before leaning up against the wall. Pulling out a pack of cigarettes, and lighting one. 

 

Despite lighting it she just stands there, letting the smoke trail up through the air. She doesn’t take a hit of it a single time, as she yet again starts to ramble to herself. “Damn it, I check here every few days and it’s always the same cars… if it wasn’t for the pay, and pressure, I’d just cut my losses with this goose chase.” 

 

She pulls out a notepad, flipping through its pages for almost half an hour before shaking her head. Flipping it back closed, and pulling out her phone. 

 

Peridot’s eyes shoot up as a stream of the Sapphire Inc is displayed. A duplication of Arti’s connection on her phone. The woman proceeds to explore the website, looking at the different options. Until she gets over to the tendril tech display page, Peridot hearing. “Gods, all this is so creepy! I know she was a big fan, but I’d love nothing more than to never have to think about this again.”

 

Thanks to her overly sensitive hearing, the sudden yelling startles her, sending her tumbling out from behind the trashcans she’d been using to hide. 

 

Peridot slowly presses herself up off of the ground. Only to look up and see Artifal standing there, a soft smile on her face while she holds her hand out. 

 

“Hey there, are you alright?” The detective keeps a casual posture, obviously trying not to intimidate her. Despite this Peridot’s hairs stand on end, she quickly takes the woman's hand to stand up. 

 

Immediately letting go once she’s back on her feet, before silently running away at the highest speed that she can possibly manage. Almost instinctively starting to dash on all fours until she’s out of eyesight. 

 

Once she’s done running, a black van with the Sapphire Inc logo rolls to a stop next to her. The side sliding open, as a few girls pick Peri up and help her get comfortable inside. Complimenting her on how good of a job she did.