As they walked the streets, Mira would cough and hug herself for warmth; she would never be more than a foot away from Artison as they continued down the open path. As a group of five men passed her, she practically hid behind Artison. These guys were much larger, with the only color of their fur barely showing near the roots of their fur, covered by soot and dirt the rest of the way. Most of them just walked by, carrying picks, shovels, or other large tools; the one with a large haversack looked at her like she just insulted him.

"You lived down here?" Mira said and coughed again, she covered her mouth for a moment like she was going to vomit, "How could those clouds taste so awful? And for so long?"

"Let's just... get you a drink... wash the taste out of your mouth..." Artison said, he took her hand in his and led her toward one of the buildings. "We should be able to get one here still.”

Mira looked up at this building, which looked like it was made by piling sheets of metal siding together and then painting the name over some cloth and hanging it above the doorway. The inside of the tavern was not much better. Metal tables filled the main room and industrial barrels were used as seats. The walls inside were metallic too, with cloth in between and a stone base. Artison took a seat at a table, and Mira sat beside him and coughed again. The wolf tugged his trench coat collar a little more over his neck and chest, trying his hardest not to stake out the faces of the tavern for long. Artison heard Mira still coughing and his ears lowered. He looked around once and a while and then waved to a barmaid who walked by.



"Ey, A couple of drinks please, the light stuff," Artison said to her,

A female coyote, who was the barmaid only scoffed and left to the back of the bar, and Artison's ears went completely down.

Mira watched that, and tried to clear her throat again, "What was that about?"

"I know how to talk with these people, tiz been some time but I remember it all." Artison said, "Though tiz clear I'm not recognized as from here anymore. Tiz a strange connection." he kept his head down, only looking to Mira once and a while, "And people from down below are not the most fond of those up top." he gestured with his hand pointing through the ceiling of the bar."

"So, that was not just because you are a man?" Mira asked.

"Believe me, it may have been part of it," Artison said, "But I would still get the same disdain." He watched as the barmaid came back with just two opened bottles before them.

Mira didn't think twice, she took the bottle and bottoms up. She swallowed twice and then put it down fast. She grits her teeth trying to keep it down.

"Well, at least you're drinking like the locals." Artison smiled at her, weakly, "Not bad huh?" And he drank the same way, tongue sticking out afterward. "Well, it's how I remember it."

Mira wiped her face and looked around the tavern. a lot of people were giving her the evil eye, but she dared not speak to them in return. She just turned back to the table and looked down. "Artison, what do we do?"

"We finish our drink, then we talk a bit..." Artison said, "Once our bottles are finished, we can continue toward... My home." He took another sip and looked at Mira.

"What? Drink more?" Mira looked to the bottles, then she looked to Artison "Why not just leave them?"

Artison looked back to her, "Tiz real offensive to leave an unfinished meal. People around here don't take well to food or drink being wasted."

Mira looked at the bottle again, her face soured as she swallowed hard, but she took it and drank a little more. Both of them took sip after sip... and once they were done, they walked out of there, Artison looking over their shoulders once in a while.

---

Part 9


Part 8: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/57924749/


Part 10: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58148329/


Mira (C) Calypso-Dreams

Artison, Loretta, art, and character (C) WatchNR12