This is something Kazerad drew for Rick2Tails quite some time ago. I was looking for something to color since I’d not done any of those for awhile and thought this was awfully cute. Porcupine-Dodger peeking at a Rick2Tails sketchbook apparently (though I thought it was a Elder-scrolls version of the Kama Sutra. On second thought, there’s probably not a heck of a lot of difference.)
First task, darken up the lines and flat colors:
…throw in a background and shading…
Then I shiny-ed her up a lot to make her looks more sweaty, and of course the standard eye-highlights. So final version came out like this:
It’s my current obsession now. I’ve got the whole story pretty well worked out now. Up to ‘chapter 7′ up now at http://bdfanfic.tumblr.com and I’ve also got a new artist doing my images. Anscer. I posted some of her work to the Prequel fanart booru, but I might as well post them here too. First, this is her first drawings of Porcupine-Dodger she drew as a practice to see if she could do it. She’s more an anime artist than furry/prequel.
And then this is the one she did for Dodger: Continuation (5). She’s going to do one for Continuation (7) as well, but it will have to be added later. (I’ve already written (8)!
I’m working on coloring it too, but I put it up in the story as-is till I get the coloring done. She’s got her own style, but I’d say it works pretty well!
Oh… did I mention Anscer’s my daughter? Don’t worry, she’s an adult. (No, don’t ask me how old I am. Old enough I should know better probably.)
Rather than clog up your feed with yet another of my ever-expanding Dodger fanfic posts, I’ll just make this a notice that it’s up. New character – the gal on the right here.
I’m probably going to add another image to the post tonight as I have a new artist who’s going to be helping me out occasionally. It’ll be interesting to see what her rendition of ‘anonymous fantasy dodger criminal’ looks like.
I think she’s just going to send me line art so I’ll probably color it
too. She’s been working on doing Dodger too. Her comment, “Dodger’s
really a chrome dome, isn’t she!”
(And yes, I know that was just Dodger’s imaginary representation of the criminal class. She’s just had one actually appear.)
http://bdfanfic.tumblr.com is where I’m posting them now. Probably best to go to the archive if you’re not up to date though.
She waited a moment, then put the key in the lock and opened the door. Yellow-Eyes was still on the bed but awake as she set the plates down and locked the door behind her.
“Everything okay?” he asked taking a plate.
“Yeah. A couple of guys tried to pick my pocket, but no problem. I didn’t have any money there anyway, thanks to you. Apparently there’s a Thieves Guild in this town!”
“Of course. Not uncommon in a city of this size.”
“They called you ‘Kem’.”
Yellow-Eyes didn’t even pause. Between mouthfuls, he grunted, “Yeah. They call me that here.”
“Which is your real name then?”
“Neither. Can you get me some water from the table?”
Dodger crossed to the table, filled a mug from a pitcher there, and brought it back.
“Well, what’s the plan? Are we going to see your friend?”
“No. She’ll come here.”
“She?”
Yellow-Eyes looked up. “Yes. She.”
“When?”
He resumed eating. “Don’t know. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”
“So, we’re just going to stay here?”
“I am. You do whatever you want. Go see the city. Just watch yourself.”
Dodger sat on the floor cross-legged and dug into her dinner in earnest. Once she started eating, it was all she could do to keep from wolfing it all down at once. It was as if her body was reminded how long it had been since she’d last eaten – and how little it had been even then. It wasn’t till her plate had been picked clean that she looked up. Yellow-Eyes was watching her.
“You okay?” he asked.
Dodger wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Fine. Sorry. I was pretty hungry I guess.”
“I guess!”
“Well, I think I’ll take a look around anyway. You’re really just going to stay here?”
Yellow-Eyes nodded.
“Okay. I guess I’ll see you later.”
“Two knocks, then two,” he said as she was walking out, though this time she looked both ways down the hallway before she turned back.
“Wait, we’re going to change the knocks every time? Why?”
“Someone might have heard you last time.”
“You’re paranoid. You know that, right?”
“Two knocks, then two more. I’ll keep the key and lock up behind you.” he said.
She tossed the key back to him, but he let it hit the floor without making any effort to catch it.
“Lazy too,” she said.
“Dodger. If you get in trouble, I won’t be looking for you. You need to know that. You’re on your own here. Be careful.”
“Alright DAD.”
“That’s the point. I’m not your dad. I’m an architect. I wish you well, Dodger, but I’m not even you’re guardian here. You don’t have a guardian.”
“Okay, okay. Got it. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
The hallway was still clear when she closed the door and by the time she got to the stairs at the end of it, she heard the latch turn. She went back down the stairs. In the public room, the place was getting busier. She took the plates to the end of the bar. Mr. Broad was talking to someone at the other end of the bar, but he noticed her and nodded so she set the plates down and walked out.
The stars were just coming out as she stepped into the cooling air. The streets, though far from deserted, were certainly less bustling than they had been earlier. Yellow-Eyes, a.k.a. Kem, a.k.a. who knows what had given her a fair idea of the city layout with the tower in the center. It did make it easier to navigate though.
But mostly she just watched the people. Such a variety of people. And not just the variation in races she had read about, but the sizes, ages, clothing styles. It was like the vines back in the Marsh – no two were exactly the same.
“No wonder humans think we all look the same. In comparison with them, I guess we do!” she thought. “Not many kids though. I wonder if they keep them indoors?”
She found herself back in the area with the graves. When she came near the one Yellow-Eyes had placed a rock on, she noticed it was gone. At least, if it was the same headstone. They were all so similar she might be wrong, but she didn’t see any rocks on the other nearby headstones either and she was fairly sure she was at the right place.
“Must be some sort of signal,” she thought. “He puts a rock up there and his friend notices, and comes to that inn as a pre-arranged meeting place. Gotta write that down.”
She sat and scribbled some notes about the two men and what they’d told her of the Guild as well as what she’d learned from Yellow-Eyes. The locking of the door and the code knocking she could use too. Even the nasty restroom could be handy. This trip was turning out to be a bounty of ideas!
When she’d finished her notes, she just sat back and watched the people go by. There were certainly Argonians as well as Orsimer occasionally, but they were still a minority compared to the humans with their swirly ears and their patchy hair. She began to notice patterns though. While there were exceptions, the males tended to keep their hair cropped short, while the females’ hair was usually longer and more elaborately kept. Also, the older the males were, the less hair they tended to have if they weren’t completely hairless.
Yet facial hair ran the opposite way. In fact, she finally decided that the females didn’t have facial hair at all! She saw not a single case in which a female sported any below the nose or under the mouth. That must go beyond style and be an actual physical trait.
She also noticed that the females tended to dress to emphasize their breasts, while the males wore loose fitting trousers as a way of de-emphasizing their own sex. She thought back to Yellow-Eyes and his comment about only needing a jacket. She saw no Argonians here without a full outfit though – minus the footwear. Humans may just see a crocodile in a jacket, but he really should have a full set of clothes. She decided to see if she could find him some pants.
Of course, she actually did have some coin. But she certainly didn’t keep it in her pockets like those cutpurse’s seemed to expect. Yellow-Eyes had seen to that long before they got to the city. The problem was going to be to find a clothing store with clothing for Argonians that would fit Yellow-Eyes. She stood up and began to wander around, now with an eye to finding such a store.
However, she began to realize that the storefronts were all closing down for the night. Only the taverns and brothels seemed to stay open much after dark here, so she gave up on that idea and came at last full-circle back to Luther’s. She climbed the stairs, having only elicited a couple of glances by the patrons and knocked the pattern. Within she heard the lock turn and the door opened. Yellow-Eyes was still alone.
“No friend?”
“Not yet.”
Dodger noticed the room had been rearranged somewhat in her absence. A new set of bedclothes had been arranged on the floor among other things. Yellow-Eyes sat atop those, leaving the bed empty for her. She sat down on it.
“You need clothes, Yellow-Eyes. No one walks around without pants here.”
“I’ll get some as soon as I can.”
“I was going to buy you some, but all the shops are closed after dark.”
Yellow-Eyes turned to look at her. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll make my own way.”
“I know. I wanted to,” Dodger said, laying down and turning to the wall.
“Well… thank’s Dodger,” she heard as she closed her eyes.
“No problem.”
She drifted off to sleep then, probably as happy as she could ever remember being. She was on an adventure for the first time in her life, and the next day would bring more adventures without a doubt.
Suddenly she was awoken by knocking. Three knocks, then one. She looked over at Yellow-Eyes, but he was already up, sword in hand and standing at the door. He signaled for her to be quiet, and she backed up away from the door with her feet pulled up.
Author’s note: I’ve decided to continue my fanfiction on a different blog. bdfanfic.tumblr.com. I’ll reblog to here from there for a while, but eventually I’ll stop putting fanfictions there at all and reserve it for other oddities. So, if you want to follow my fanfic stuff, be sure to add bdfanfic.tumblr.com blog to your… whatever it is. Here’s part 3 of Dodger: Continuation.
They resumed their journey in the bustling street. Eventually they came to a district full of what appeared to be graves. Yellow-Eyes stepped off the path and grabbed a small stone, setting it gingerly onto an otherwise unremarkable headstone.
“What’s that for?” Dodger asked, not able to resist the question.
“Never you mind. Let’s go.”
They returned the way they’d come and passed through to an area where she read “Elven Garden” above the gateway. Dodger was nearly ready to ask Yellow-Eyes where she might stop to use a bathroom when instead he stepped up to a building with a sign overhead that read “Luther Broad’s Boarding House”. Within, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light. Yellow-eyes was already speaking with a man she could only assume was Luther Broad in quiet tones. The man nodded and handed him a key.
“Come Dodger. We have a place to stay for the night.”
“Where’s the restroom?” she asked, and Yellow-Eyes gestured to a door to their right.
Once inside, she wished she had done her business outdoors. The stench was powerful, and there were two men there pissing into the same hole while another was just finishing up. As disgusting as the place was, she had to admit that she’d discovered a new fact about human anatomy she’d not known before. Her books had been quite unclear as to certain details. Looking at the stinking hole, she was at least gratified to see the other two were finishing up, and they left her in peace while she did her best to complete the task as sanitarily as she could manage while not gagging.
She saw Yellow-Eyes waiting for her by the stairs as she tried to adopt a non-nonchalant attitude.
“Sure, I piss in stinking shitholes all the time with other humans around,” she thought to herself. “No big deal, right?”
But as they entered their room, she let loose.
“Oh my god! Yellow-Eyes, that place was awful! How do you stand it? I’m going outside next time!”
“You’ll get used to it,” he said, laying down on the bed.
Dodger crossed to the meager window and tried to look out. “I doubt that very much.”
“Dodger, don’t piss outside unless you go all the way out of the city. It’s a crime and you could get put in jail. This place is full of laws you mustn’t cross.”
Dodger scratched at the window, hoping to clean through the dirt. She finally managed to get a bit of a view, but her window just looked out onto the next building so she turned back to Yellow-Eyes.
“Only one bed?”
“Dodger, I’m penniless. My friend will help us out, but I don’t want to push it. You can have the bed, just let me take a quick nap. I know the owner though, and he knows I’m good for the rent. And he knows you’re with me. Why don’t you go down and get us some food?”
“Good idea!” she nodded, suddenly feeling the emptiness of her belly.
As she stepped to the door, Yellow-Eyes caught her attention and tossed her the key.
“Lock it.”
“Nice place you’ve brought me to,” she said, catching the key.
“I brought you nowhere, young one. You came here of your own free will.”
“Good point. Okay, I’ll be back shortly.”
“When you come back, knock three times, then once before you open the door,” the Argonian said, closing his eyes.
“Jeeze,” she thought as she stepped out into the hall. “Is he paranoid or what?”
Suddenly she had a thought and looked around the hall. No one there, but she should start checking. Maybe he wasn’t paranoid.
“So, you’re with Kem?” the man she figured was Luther asked as she sat at the bar. It was still afternoon and there weren’t many patrons around.
“Kem?”
“Well, that’s what he calls himself here anyway. Why, what do you call him?”
“Mostly Sir.”
“A good girl, you. Sure, I’ll get you some food. Want anything while you wait?”
“A drink would be nice. Maybe some ale?”
“Ale huh? How old are you kid?”
“Seventeen,” she admitted.
“Yeah. About what I figured. Have some Root Beer.”
Dodger took a sip as Luther walked into a back room. “Not bad, really,” she thought. Somehow she had figured it would taste like the bathroom smelled. But mostly the public room smelled of humans, smoke and stale beer. She saw a couple of men looking at her, but decided it would be best to ignore them as much as she could. That worked for a minute, but then she saw them approaching from the corner of her eye.
“What’s a scaly girl like you doing in a place like this?” one of them asked. She was actually please to notice he didn’t slur his words.
“I’m traveling with a friend. Name’s Dodger. What’s your name?” she asked, standing up from the stool and holding out her hand in greeting.
“Oh! You speak the language well. Glad to meet you Dodger. I’m Falric and this is my brother Elric.”
Dodger was pleased to see her insight was right. Give a stranger your name and they’re not a stranger anymore. And hopefully they’ll be kind. She shook Elric’s hand.
“Are you travelers too?”
“Traveler? Oh no. We live here in the city,” Falric replied, resting his hand on her shoulder.
Suddenly she felt uncomfortable. Customs vary widely, but what she had learned of human custom indicated that physical touch is not normal among strangers. This man was getting a little too personal. She decided the direct approach might be best. She took his hand and pulled it away from her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Falric. I’m still not familiar with human customs well, but where I’m from we don’t touch like that. Really, I apologize. It’s just not comfortable for me.”
The man’s reaction was a relief.
“Oh. I see. Well I meant no offense. So where are you headed?” he continued.
She felt a rustle behind her and spun around to face Elric, catching his hand deftly.
“I don’t have any money. Sorry Elric,” she said, baring her teeth in what could have been a sweet smile, or could have been something more.
“Oh. Um… sorry Dodger. My brother… sticky fingers you know.” Falric said.
Dodger released the Elric’s hand, making sure he scraped his wrist on her talons first.
“Oh, I know all right.”
“Listen, Dodger. You seem like a girl with her head on straight. If you ever need a job…”
“If I need a job pick-pocketing travelers, I’ll look out for you two. Or I’ll just freelance.”
“Oh, you don’t want to do that, Missy,” Elric said, rubbing his wrist. “There’s a Guild you know. You’ll lose your hand or worse if you don’t join the Guild.”
“A Guild huh? Tell me about it Elric,” she said, putting her arm around his back and lead the two brothers back to a table nearby. “I’m very interested…”
A few minutes later the bartender returned with two covered plates. He stepped up to the table where the three were talking.
“Hey, what’s this? Dodger, you don’t want to hang around with these two!”
“Oh, it’s fine Mr. Broad. My friends here were just telling me all about a Guild I might be interested in joining.”
The owner’s eyes opened wide. “Oh? You?”
“You never know.”
“Best ask your friend Kem about that,” Mr. Broad warned, setting the plates down.
At that, the other two men’s eyes followed the same path. “Kem? Is he here? You’re with Kem?” Falric said, suddenly pulling back away from her.
“I… suppose so. Yeah. I’m with Kem. Why?”
The two stood up with alarm. “Listen, tell Kem we didn’t many anything by it. We were just… well, you know. Business!”
“Yeah, business!” said Elric as they walked as quickly as reasonably possible to the door. "Gotta go now. Nice to meet you Dodger!“
“Nice to meet…” Dodger was saying as the door closed behind them. “…you too.”
“One question,” Dodger said after they’d risen in the morning and resumed their trek to the Imperial City. “Why did you need my knife when you had that sword last night anyway?”
“Can’t throw a sword,” came the terse reply.
Dodger nodded to herself and they walked on in silence.
As they got nearer the city, the road became wider and Dodger began to see other people on the road. First came a farmer, driving a wagon loaded with just what she expected – corn and lots of it. She waved and called a greeting to the old man as he rumbled past, but he didn’t even slow down and Yellow-Eyes took her hand and led her off the road before he got too close.
“Are they all so friendly in the city?” she asked sarcastically.
Yellow-Eyes looked at her before replying, “Be grateful he didn’t run off the road to hit you. They don’t intend any disrespect, Dodger. Most of them don’t even see us as people. We might as well be the grass or the trees. You wouldn’t expect him to talk to a passing tree.”
“But, they’re not all like that. Right?”
“No. There are exceptions. It’s like those slavers yesterday. I think they really believe the bullshit they spouted. They had to muzzle me so they could imagine I couldn’t talk. Otherwise I’d shake their world view and they might even feel guilty about binding us all up as slaves.”
“But they had respect for that Briarbird guy.”
“They did indeed. On some level, I think humans see the elves as superior to themselves. High elves at least. It’s a sure bet the High Elves do.”
“He decimated them didn’t he?” Dodger laughed, kicking a rock down the road.
Yellow-Eyes didn’t respond.
“Well, technically he didn’t. Decimated would mean he killed a tenth of them. He killed ten-tenths of them. He deci-decimated them.”
Yellow-Eyes kept walking.
“You probably didn’t know that,” Dodger muttered.
Still nothing.
“It was supposed to be funny,” Dodger said to the ground as they topped a hill.
But when she looked up, she saw the city. “Oh… my… god!”
Yellow-Eyes took her hand to help keep her out of trouble as they approached the city, steering her this way and that to avoid the increasing traffic while her eyes were glued upward to the walls as much as the awesome spectacle of the White-Gold Tower that loomed larger than any tree she had ever seen, ever even imagined. In her experience, only mountains could rival it’s size. But this had been built by… someone anyway!
“Human’s can’t be all bad! Look at what they built!”
Yellow-Eyes didn’t even turn to look at her. “Bullshit. This was built by the Aldmer. Humans just took it over.”
“Oh. Well, anyway it’s so… BIG! Surely you must be impressed. Briarbird said you were an architect.”
They passed within the gates without incident.
Once inside, and away from the guards Dodger noticed, he said, “Not that kind of architect.”
Dodger pulled at his hand and he stepped aside out of the road.
“What do you mean, not that kind of architect? How many kinds are there?”
Yellow-Eyes looked around, then led them to a more secluded area, where he knelt before her.
“Dodger, I know you’re young…”
“Seventeen,” she reminded him.
“Seventeen. But do you really think the Imperials would send someone like Briarbird to find me if I was just a designer of buildings?”
“Well, I didn’t really think…”
“You need to start thinking, Dodger. This is no place for a dope who can’t put two-and-two together. Do you think my friend went through all that expense to find me just to have me draw up plans for some outhouse? An emergency office tower?”
Dodger began to pout. “You think I’m stupid.”
“No, Dodger. I don’t. I think you’re unusually smart in fact. But you need to use that brain. Especially here. I’m not kidding when I tell you ‘I’m not your nanny’. You’re going to have to take care of yourself, and that means keeping your eyes open and that brain of yours engaged. Now, you said you were a writer, so you know words. Let’s see if you can puzzle out just what kind of an architect I am.”
Dodger brightened when he said she was smart. So she thought about it.
“Well… no offense, but you look kinda rough. Those scars didn’t get there designing buildings I guess.”
“No, they didn’t.”
“And they said they found you with your tail caught in a printing press in a warehouse. That’s an odd situation for a building architect.”
“That was an odd situation for me. Maybe I’ll tell you about it sometime. But the word… architect. What does it imply, other than buildings. What does an architect do?”
“He… um,” Dodger thought furiously. Yellow-Eyes was being unusually talkative. He wanted something from her. She needed to work this out. “He… makes plans.”
“Good. Yes. I make plans. But not plans for buildings. What kind of plans would someone want that are valuable enough to send an Imperial agent out for? An obviously highly qualified Imperial agent at that.”
“Something big. But not big like a building. Someone… wants you to make plans… for something big…”
Suddenly Dodger’s eyes grew very wide and she looked at the Argonian with newfound respect and something like awe.
“Something CRIMINAL!”
Yellow-Eyes nodded, closing his eyes in a sign of satisfaction.
“You’re a… mastermind!”
“Well. Sort of. I plan things. I don’t do them, but I plan them. I have a reputation among certain people of being very successful at it too. My friend wants me to plan something. I don’t know what yet, but he went through a lot of expense to get me here. If you’re going to tag along, I figure you should know what you’re getting yourself involved in. This isn’t some petty drug thing. It’s not even smuggling or slave running. It’s big, and likely political. It usually is with… my friend.”
“Is it dangerous?” Dodger asked, eyes practically sparkling.
“For me and you, if all goes well, no. For the field operatives, sure. But I just make plans.”
“You’ve been a ‘field operative’ though, haven’t you.”
Yellow-Eyes looked at her with more seriousness than she’d seen in him before. Normally he either just ignored her, or looked down on her like a child. This time he looked at her like an equal.
“Yes, Dodger. I have been. I got out of that though. It’s a bloody business and not one I recommend. But I owe my friend my life, so I come when asked. You don’t. I’ve already told you that you should go home. But you’re right. I can’t stop you. I can advise you though. Seriously advise you. Go home. If you get involved in this any more than you are right now, I don’t want to be responsible for any consequences. You’re making a very grown-up choice right now. It’s up to you, but staying with me is not wise.”
Dodger looked at the Argonian she called Yellow-Eyes. She noticed the little wrinkles around his eyes for the first time. The scar on his head looked deeper than she’d noticed too. He was certainly no young buck. His eyes had seen a lot. This was as serious as he knew how to get. He was trying his best to warn her off, but he didn’t understand that his warning had the opposite effect.
Dodger smiled back, a smile that was more mature than her years. “Thank you Yellow-Eyes. I know you’re being serious. But I also know what I’m doing. There’s nothing waiting for me back home. I need to get away. I’ll stay with you, if you’ll have me. For a little while.”
Yellow-Eyes stood up and sighed like an old man. “Mistake. But it’s your mistake Dodger. Always remember, it was your mistake. Deal?”
Dodger held out her hand and grabbed his. It felt at once strong and old at the same time. She shook it once firmly. “Deal.”
Her first inclination was just to return home. She was well aware of how close she had escaped slavery. Or worse. But the warmth of the drink and the relief of having escaped, along with the Argonian stranger’s words caused her to rethink that decision. Her fascination with humans in general was too deep to let his cynical words stand. And besides, if she returned now she might as well admit defeat. As weird as this day had turned out, she also realized she had learned practically nothing that she could use in her book.
“WAIT UP!” she called to the stranger and raced to catch up.
He looked at her askance. “Now hold on young one. I am no babysitter, and you have no business coming with me. Go home to your clutch. The Imperial City is no place for a hatchling like you. I’d thought you would have learned your lesson back there.”
Dodger stood defiant. “You can’t stop me. I’m going to the Imperial City with you or without you. We might as well travel together. I’m seventeen, I’ll have you know. I’m not a hatchling.”
“Suit yourself,” he shrugged. “But don’t expect me to be your nanny. You’re on your own when we get there. And here, give that bottle back. I don’t need a drunk hatchling…”
“Seventeen!”, she insisted.
“…drunk teenager then. I don’t need some drunk teenager staggering around slowing me down. Keep up or don’t. But you don’t need that.”
“Yes sir, Mr… what did you say your name was?”
“I didn’t.”
“Well, what should I call you then?”
“You shouldn’t. But ‘Sir’ will do.”
Dodger groaned at that. This was going to be a long, boring walk.
“Well, I’m Kakar-Sutheeth,” she said, holding out her hand in the common human way of greeting. “And I’m glad to meet you.”
The stranger looked at her hand, a smile coming over his face.
“Shut up!” she said at his non-existent words. “Just call me Dodger.”
“Dodger it is then. A porcupine?”
“I said shut up about it,” she said, knowing a blush was stealing over her face against her will.
They did find a road before long, and the stranger seemed to know where he was and where he was going, so Dodger kept pace and tried not to ask too many questions until the sun began to set.
“Um… sir?”
“Yes Dodger?” he sighed as they climbed yet another hill.
“How far is it to the city? Will we get there tonight?”
“Not tonight, no. I’ll stop before nightfall. You can continue on if you like, but I’d advise against it. Unless a Legionnaire comes up behind us that wants to keep guard over you, it’s not safe at night.”
“Oh. Okay.”
They walked on for a while until he came to a stop as the sky began to darken. He pointed at last to an outcrop of rocks some way off the road. “There,” he stated.
Dodger followed dutifully, taking another drink from her water flask as she followed him.
“Do you have a knife?” he asked.
“Sure! Unlike you, I came prepared!” she said cheerfully as she dug around and produced the small blade.
“Hmph. Got any food in that pack of yours?”
“Well,” she stammered. “Not a lot. I’ve got some jerky left and a little green-leaf salad.”
“Prepared eh?” he said, looking at the knife in his hand. He looked at her again and the knife suddenly looked a lot bigger than she remembered.
“You can have it!” she said, proffering her pack whole.
“Oh relax hatchling. I’m not going to rob you. You stay here. I’ll be back in an hour or less.”
She watched his back fade into the darkness and settled in atop the rocks in a little cubby and picked at her salad. She decided that, as gruff as the stranger was, she was duty bound to offer him half anyway so she separated what she had. That crack about being prepared was stupid, she realized, and she hit herself on the head for having said it.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
But as time went on, she began to wonder if he was even going to come back. It had certainly been more than an hour and there was still no sign of him. She wouldn’t blame him if he’d abandoned her altogether. Eventually she pulled out her blanket and tried to sleep. But the breeze was cold, the blanket thin and small, and the rock was hard. She snuggled up to the rock behind her closer, the heat of the day still radiating from it a little.
She heard him return finally, whispering her name, “Dodger? Are you there?”
“Sir? Yes, I’m here.”
“Sorry, it took longer than I thought. I’ve a little food if you’re interested,” he said, climbing up to where she lay.
Dodger took one look at the raw mystery meat he offered and shook her head. “Thanks, Sir. I really appreciate it. But I’m good.”
He nodded in the darkness, her eyes able to pick out his silhouette against the night sky.
“I’d cook it if I could. I don’t eat raw meat as a habit. But a fire out here isn’t a good idea.”
“I saved you some salad,” she said, sitting up and offering it.
“Thank you, I’ll take it young one,” he said. “We’ll be in the city by midday tomorrow. My friend will put us up and feed us when we get there.”
“Oh! That would be wonderful!” she said, not hiding the delight in having a more formal plan for her future, if even just for another night. She offered him her water.
The stranger took the water bottle gratefully and drank a draft before handing it back with a grunt, then lay down with his back to her and his jacket over his shoulders. It didn’t even reach to his tail, she noticed, then looked to her own blanket. Too small but better than that.
“This is silly,” she said. “Sir, turn around.”
“Hmm?” he grunted, turning over.
She snuggled up against him, stuck her tail between his legs and put the blanket over them both, using his arm for a pillow and pulling his other arm over her.
“A human would be warmer,” he said.
“I’m sure they would,” she agreed. “But you’re all I’ve got tonight. Now don’t get fresh. Goodnight, Sir.”
“Yellow-Eyes,” he said a little later. “Call me Yellow-Eyes.”
“You don’t have yellow eyes, do you?”
“You don’t know?,” he asked.
“I’m color-blind,” Dodger admitted, a little ashamed. “I really don’t know.”
“No, they’re not yellow.” he answered, shifting a little and obviously not planning to explain further.
“SIR!” Dodger exclaimed at a sudden poke in her backside. “I SAID DON’T GET FRESH!”
Yellow-Eyes reached between them and handed her knife back to her.
Dodger laughed nervously and accepted the knife, noticing the handmade sheath of leaves he had created for it. “Oh. Heh. Sorry.”
Yes, I know it’s been done before – there’s just too many similarities to resist a Prequel/Night in the Woods crossover. I recently bought and played NitW and really liked it. I think Kazerad sort of mentioned that it’s kinda an overdone crossover when I asked for a Katia/QW Night in the Woods at one of his streams recently. But I knew Kaz would come up with a unique spin on it. And he did. Never underestimate the power of Kazerad when he’s drinking at a bar!
If you’ve not played Night in the Woods, you may not get the reference. There’s a dream sequence where Mae (protagonist anthropomorphic cat) meets an apparent god. A rather impersonal, unfeeling, uncaring god who shows her the nightmare creatures that live beyond the stars. All very Lovecraftian.
Here’s a shot of that scene from the game:
So leave it to Kaz to substitute Mae for QW (well, really Dodger who may or may not be Quill Weave in a younger form) and the Cat God for Katia. Clever actually!
So of course I had to color it.
I’m pretty pleased with the outcome. One kinda odd thing though. There’s some details that are faint but show up just fine on my laptop monitor, but don’t show up on my desktop. Oh well. It still looks pretty good IMHO. Just the barest of yellow hints at the edges. Glowing eyes. Yup, pretty successful color job if I do say so myself, even if there’s not really a heck of a lot of coloring really to do.
Got a couple more Kaz-drawn coloring jobs I’m working on too, though neither are especially noteworthy honestly. But I sure did like this one!
bdprequel 