Advent Of A Gunslinger

Down below the surface…

A wolf-like diamond dog man had entered Kolasi’s room. “Boss. Everyone suddenly disappeared. We’re not sure where they went off to, but it’s possible that we’re bein’ attacked.”

“Attacked? Seriously?” the bulldog boss scoffed as she sat in her chair with her hindpaws resting on the desk in front of her, “Ain’t nobody plum loco enough’ta come down here like they know what they doin’. It was probably just the smell of some cat meat that got ‘em actin’ up.”

“...I hope you’re right,” said the wolfman as he held up what appeared to be a crudely cobbled-together rifle that looked like it was made of various pieces of scrap material. “But just in case…”

“Fiiine. Go on ahead,” she rolled her eyes, “Now get on outta here. I gotta deal with one of our new prisoners.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll be out on patrol with the others.” And with that, he turned and left to take a lift that would transport him to the surface…

Kolasi got up from her desk, and left the room with a pistol in her paw. “Alright. Now to see what that birdman really knows about bones…”

Meanwhile, in mainland Caninia…

The leopard messenger had left the kingdom of canines with intent to return to his homeland in Abyssinia and inform the royal family of what had been happening there. “This was quite the bust. I can’t afford to waste any time. But…Gah…this wind is only going to get worse as time goes on. I have no choice…”

He would travel towards the South to avoid the strong headwind that was facing him in the direction of his home. However, this also led him further off of his path. While the desert was harsh, he was prepared at the very least with a backpack filled with supplies and a visor to keep the sun out of his eyes.

Unfortunately, there had been someone watching him the entire time from a nearby mountain range…

“He has de stench of dog upon him, miss. What do you tink we should do?”

“What elze? Take intercept him before he can travel back to Abyzzinia. Go on. Toute suite.”

“Calm yourself. I can manage dis…”

The leopardman’s ears quivered alongside his nose twitching. Something was off. The desert air had become contaminated with the scent of something else. Something fierce.

“What the hell…? Is someone there?”

In a quick panic, he turned and looked around behind himself, only to see…nothing. Was it a mirage? Was his mind just playing tricks on him from the severity of the desert’s heat in combination with the coarse sand?

“Blech. I don’t have time for this. I need to--” But as soon as he opened his mouth, he could practically taste the air. Someone much larger than him was nearby. “...This is bad.”

And as soon as he turned around, he found himself face-to-face with a big, black cat man who was almost twice his size.

“Hey there,” Alade greeted the leopard in his usual deep, but casual tone.

“EHK!” the leopard let out a mix of a squeal and a chirp as he stared up at the jaguar-like man, “Wh-who…who are you?”

“Let’s just say I’m a man in de neighboorhood,” Alade folded his arms, flexing his biceps in the process, “Now…I have a quick question for ya. It’ll only take a second.”

In the face of the overly-muscular cat that could probably snap him in two, the leopard messenger was unable to move or think. All he could do was respond with a slow, “...Y-yes?”

“Why were you dere? Speaking to de Dogs, hm? Why would an Abyssinian be out here dis far?”

“T-that’s--ahem--that’s confidential,” he replied with a bit more confidence. It would seem that he was rather dedicated to his work--even in the face of danger. “I can not and will not divulge information to parties that are not allowed to have it.”

“...Dat’s undastanadable,” the jaguar man replied with an unexpectedly reasonable tone, “Your job is important.” And surprisingly? He stood aside to allow the leopard to keep going. “Go on then.”

“...” While he was suspicious, the messenger didn’t question it and took off immediately.

A few moments later, a certain brown unicorn teleported over and beside the Abyssinian. “Why did you let him go?! He could’ve provided uz information!”

“Capturing him wouldn’t have helped us,” he explained, “I got all de info I could eva need just from smelling him. He was just speaking to the dogs about something important. And maybe…we could use dat.”

Topaz clapped her hooves. “Ooh! You mean we can finally work towards building my new kingdom? How wonderful!” She looked up at him with a small smile. “Of courze, you and your wife are more zan welcome to join me once we finally take control of zat ruzty buck known as Klugetown.” She scoffed and looked upwards while giggling. “Hmph. Such a lackluzter name. How about…Calicotia?”

Alade placed the palm of his paw over his face while shaking his head. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear you say dat. Anyhow--what shall we do? You’re still de boss here, miss.”

“Zat’s right…Zula isn’t going to be expecting you for anyzing anytime soon…” Topaz gave it some thought. That messenger had been speaking to the diamond dogs and according to Alade, it was something rather important. Maybe there was a way that they could take advantage of the confusion that was going on down there…

So she came to a conclusion. “Alright. Follow me, Monsieur.” She started to trot down the desert path towards the dog kingdom. “We should be back home by suppertime.”

And of course, Alade was following her, at her side as per his contract. “Undastood.”