> "Hey, Kaban. Have you noticed how quiet it is?"
>
> Kaban climbed up beside her, settling her elbows on the roof
> of the bus, and replied, "My hearing isn't as sharp as
> yours... but yes, I had. It's strange."
> <...>
> For the rest of the trip, though there was nothing obviously
> wrong, both travelers felt vaguely uneasy; but nothing
> happened, and they entered the remains of Renraku City
> without incident.

I feel like there's a setup there that was never realized. I mean, I'm not jonesing for a jumpscare here, but with the whole "it's too quiet..." schtick I was expecting something to happen.

Maybe I'm just jonesing for cliches.

> "Somebody's following us," Serval murmured. "Whoever it is,
> they're almost silent, but I'd swear we're being stalked."

Okay, never mind, clearly I'm just impatient!

> "The name's Brown Rat," the brown-clad Friend went on.
> "Norway to my friends. I don't know if you two qualify yet.
> Who are you and what's your business in my little empire of
> ashes?"

Oooh, she's snarky, I like her!

Also, curious: is Norway original or was she in the source? (Her name is both blindingly obvious and subtly clever and if she's original I wish to congratulate you, sir.)

> Brown Rat looked her over with obvious distaste. "Great.
> A cat of some kind. My day is complete."

Instinctual dislike, or...? Because, I mean, you said that the Friends don't actually hunt and eat each other, so...

Maybe Norway just doesn't like the hunter-and-prey game. (Or maybe I'm overthinking things.)

> Kaban shook her head. "I'm not from outside. I was born
> in the Savannah from a Sandstar eruption. I'm a Friend.
> I just... happen to be a Friend whose animal side is
> also human."
>
> "... That's confusing," Brown Rat declared.

Don't feel bad, Norway. Self-referential objects can be a bitch to debug.

> "I've been feeling like something's out of place about
> this city since we got here," Kaban said, as much to
> think it out aloud as to explain it to the others. "It's
> not just that it's empty, I knew that. And looking at
> this," she went on, gesturing to the mostly-ruined block
> ahead of them, "I've realized what it is. There's too
> much damage."
> <...>
> "This city wasn't just abandoned," Kaban insisted.
> "It's been destroyed."

I mean, we already knew it wasn't a peaceful exodus? But the sort of damage described here (and the vagueness of the descriptions) makes me think...

... well, I've already mentioned Fallout, though I doubt you're heading anywhere near that territory. But still.

Oh! I know! Twilight Zone, "Two". That's what's been running through my head this whole time. The whole deserted, bombed-out city thing going on.

Never mind, I'll shut up and get back to the story how.

> "Maybe," said Kaban, but she sounded unconvinced. "I
> admit I don't really know what humans are like, even
> though I'm one myself. I'm the only one I've ever seen.
> But I know I wouldn't ruin a place just because I was
> leaving it. I'd try to leave it in as good a shape as I
> could, as a favor to whoever came along after me."

Wouldn't THAT be nice. For a trait that humanity had, I mean.

> "The Mark Two represents a revolutionary new application
> of the power of the mysterious substance we call
> 'Sandstar'," said Lucky Beast as if they hadn't spoken.
> "By leveraging Sandstar's strange power along with the
> most advanced matter manipulation technologies available,
> it can generate consumables literally from thin air. It
> is genuine magic, in the Clarkeian sense of the word."

I am suddenly getting a REAL bad feeling about this.

I mean, not like 'Cthulhuian monstrosities are going to grab all the Friends in their tentacles' bad feeling, but more the 'that sounds like something lots of folks would cheerfully level this place to get' sort of bad feeling.

> "What does that mean?" Brown Rat wondered.
> "No idea. Doesn't matter," Serval said. "Did you hear
> what he said? It makes food out of nothing!"

Y'know, I'm amused by the realization that either of them could have said either sentence and it would still have worked just as well.

> ... and then sprang forward and hugged her with all four
> limbs, arms around her neck, long legs locked around her
> waist, crying joyfully, "Kaaaaaban-chan!"

*snorfle*

I'm callin' it now: catnip-infused Scooby Snax.

> "Well, by the looks of it, play your cards right..."
> Brown Rat muttered, but she stopped when Kaban shot
> her a moment's you're not helping! glare mixed with
> an incandescent blush.

Brown Rat, I love you.

You owe me a new keyboard, but, I love you.

> "The sample I provided was formulation 72-549,
> recreational supplement for felids," Lucky Beast
> explained. "Its active ingredient is a concentrated
> extract of Actinida polygama, also known as matatabi
> or silver vine. This elicits feelings of euphoria and
> intensely amplified affection in feline users."

Called it!

So I had to look that up. I've never heard of silver vine before. Today I Learned and all that.

> "Now she's biting me. Or... sort of chewing. And
> drooling on me," Kaban said uncomfortably.
>
> "lvvvymmm," Serval declared around an increasingly
> sodden mouthful of Kaban's shirt and shoulder.
>
> "Also, biting and drooling," Lucky Beast confirmed.
>
> "I don't suppose they've got something like that for
> murids," Brown Rat wondered aloud, then shook her head.
> "Nah, on second thought, forget it. Need to stay
> focused."

I stand corrected. There is nothing crypto, nor even sub, about the lesbian text here.

Norway is bestest Friend. Fact.

(Yes, I'm stealin' yo lines.)

> "We'll have to," Kaban said, nodding. "It's way too
> heavy for any bird Friends we know to fly it back—even
> all of them working together. I hope we can find a boat."

If there wasn't at least *discussion* backstage about quoting Monty Python here, I shall be very disappointed.

> "What the hell?!" Norway interrupted, pointing into
> the southward sky.

Clearly it's neither a bird nor a plane! It appears to be... a CLIFFHANGER!

Dammit. :D

I'm liking this. I'm really liking this. Something nice and light and ... I dunno, *innocent*, somehow. It's not the usual UF fare and I'm still waiting to see how it ties in, but even though I'm cocking my head quizzically at the screen in that regard, I'm also finding myself grinning from ear to ear.

Thanks for dropping this on us! I'll tackle part 3 this weekend sometime, soon as I can.

--sofaspud
--gotta pace myself, I can only handle so much innocent glee per dose. my old and cynical heartstrings aren't used to this kind of plucking.