From Axis of Conflict
Chapter 5 : She Who Dares

It’s been three days since the riots, Kyrlen thinks, shaking her head. Maybe four. The stresses of survival have muddled the passage of time, and she looks to her feet in lost thought. The shapely pardus girl balances atop cobblestone failing to dodge puddles at the intersection of Yst Market and Peyper Stryt, her tail curling from left to right in irritated thought. Light struggles to reach the ground from the enormous dome, smothered by layers of lazy smoke and ash that hang in the air like curtains of grey silk. She stands just in front of the ruins of Tte Golden Basket, a favorite bakery operated for many cycles by the lapina female, Saraf, – or ‘Huny’ as most know her – so-named for her penchant to include the ingredient in virtually everything she prepares. The lapina is one of the many selfless kin Kyrlen has been proud to call friend, here in the Kompleks, and so she despairs while surveying the destruction of her friend’s shop. She shakes her head with disgust, wondering dolefully what has become of her companion since the power went out … since the rebellion.

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