Morning sunlight slipped through the cracks in the hut, warming the straw-strewn floor. Rinni stirred beneath the thin blanket, her soft ears twitching before her eyes fluttered open.
She sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes. "Allen?" she murmured.
Fina was already awake—pacing like a wildcat, fists clenched at her sides, her tail practically vibrating with rage.
"They took him," Fina spat.
Rinni blinked. "T-took him? What? Why?!"
Fina turned, slamming a fist against the wooden door. "Because they're paranoid idiots with power complexes and zero fashion sense! Open the godsdamn door!"
Rinni scrambled over, thumping beside her, hands pounding the wood. "Let him go! Allen didn't do anything! Give him back!!"
No one answered.
The silence pressed in—thick and tense.
Fina snarled. "I swear, if they hurt him, I'm tearing out someone's throat."
——
Meanwhile… deep in the stone cell beneath the foxkin's ceremonial hall...
