Rain pelted Tawn's face as he stood his ground on top of the mountain. Everything he had trained for his entire life had lead to this. Back-breaking work and many blisters had forged his body into an armored chassis that could take any punishment and deal it back tenfold. He gripped the sword and shield tight. With what felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders, he marched toward the doors of the fortress. As he approached, the guards lining the walls kept their guns trained on him.

They didn't matter, though; through the doors were his friends, family, and love. Everything he held dear had been taken away, but he wouldn't let it stand for much longer. The doors were towering, but didn't daunt him in the least. This was it, the moment of truth. He raised his foot and kicked the doors where they met, swinging them both open; one hit the wall with a bang and bounced.

The corridor, a long carpeted path, was lined with the most heinous traps ever conceived: dog kennels. Each kennel held someone important to Tawn, from his mother to his best friend, Indigo. The face of his mother, vibrant and healthy, seem to not quite meet his own with its expression of regret, and brought about a nagging feeling of longing that was quickly snuffed out in favor of focusing on the current mission. Everyone was here to watch, which meant that the Dog Catcher was here as well. The limp dog ears on Tawn's head stood a bit higher as he took on an attack stance.

Tawn locked eyes with Him at the end of the path, brandishing a net and dog leash. "So, you've finally come, Tawn? Here to watch as I put your family to sleep forever?"

Tawn grasped the open front of his coat, arms crossed, and shook loose what water he could. "Alright listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. Give up my family or give in. I've already won."

"Foolish boy, your false confidence will be your downfall." The dog catcher held his net stick out and it changed into a glaive. "Now, fall before me or be put to sleep within the kennel."

"Never!" Tawn barked.

The catcher lept forward and stabbed his glaive at Tawn, but the faunus caught it with his shield, sparks flying as they collided. The dog catcher didn't give him an inch of progress, and took advantage of the shield blocking Tawn's field of vision to throw the leash around his neck. It cinched tight, restricting Tawn's airway, and he knew that he didn't have long before he would completely black out.

There was no way he could lose however, not when he was so close. Tawn swung his sword and slashed the leash, separating himself from the catcher. It didn't get the collar off but at least it wouldn't cinch down any tighter.

Tawn attacked, committing swish after swish of his sword. It all was for naught, though, as the catcher would not let a single attack hit him. Then, he pulled his glaive back and it transformed back into a net.

The catcher swung the net and caught Tawn, dragging him in the ground. The labrador faunus struggled and swiped but couldn't break the net as it constricted around him. The end near his feet closed into a ring small enough that not even a pencil could fit through.

The catcher lifted Tawn up in the net and started walking toward a kennel. "Well now, looks like I've completed my collection."

He threw Tawn into the very last kennel, the ring part of his net separating so that Tawn started fighting the net even harder and inching toward the opening. He was still stuck in it as he landed. He couldn't let the door close. If it did, then-

The door closed, locking him in forever apart from his family, from Indigo even, his friend from work. Everything he had trained for and everything he'd fought for was moot. Wasted on his attempt to be a hero. Work? Something tugged in Tawn's mind and it began to spin. No, the room spun slowly, his vision fading away along with the floor beneath his cage, the darkness mounting with the despair of failure until it crashed into a hard floor.

Tawn woke up from his dream, in a very different cage, one of the familiar soft brown walls of his shelter.

He hated that nightmare and it was coming to his dreams more and more. The look on his mother's face lingered in his mind the longest. It was the last way she looked at him before they took her into the hospital. The image of it alone sent chills up his spine, the sadness and disappointment she shot at him with it haunting him.

He wiped off the sweat on his forehead and pushed it out of his mind. There was no reason for her to look at him like that, or not one that he could think of. It was such an intense look though that it has been with him a little over four years now. Just thinking of the dream made him wonder what he could have done at ten to disappoint her so much.

It was a long fight with his brain as he attempted to push the thought of his mother and everyone out his mind. Exhaustion was his hero in the end and he managed to drift off again, hopefully to more pleasant dreams.

Tawn rolled over and reached for his nonexistent covers. The light was slowly creeping in from the holes in his cardboard box and into his eyes. Refrigerator boxes were great for sleeping in because they had so much room. That being said, they always started to go at the worst times. Fall was just around the corner, and he was going to have to find something that was fresh to last him well into the rainy months. Sure, there were homeless shelters, but all the people that would be there were thieves, addicts, and bullies.

He scratched behind his ear before opening his eyes fully, backing out of the box and into Vale. The air around him was warmer than he expected, and the sun was well above the hills - meaning it was nearly if not already seven o'clock. That could only mean one thing: he was late.

Tawn took off as fast as he could through the alleyways, over bushes, and across streets. Hopefully, Mr. Ranger wasn't up as early as usual, otherwise, Tawn was definitely fired; if not, he could just work his way in with the other workers. Mr. Rangers was the only one he worried about seeing him, the foreman didn't care if you were late so long as you got the work done that he'd assigned. After about a half mile, he finally arrived and, to his relief, the gates were still closed.

He worked at a gigantic mansion estate with about thirty other Faunus. It was a five acre plot of land that the owner, Gamboge Ranger, had managed to get his hands on a few years ago. It wasn't too good of a job since Tawn got paid in coins most of the time.

That said, Mr. Ranger was fair where it counted. He could guarantee that he'd be fed on the job - and Mr. Ranger would pay out of his own pocket, no less - and that if he messed up, he wouldn't be beaten and berated unnecessarily. The worst he'd get would be an insulting nickname and an up-front statement that he'd screwed up.

Tawn mostly worked in the flower gardens, digging holes so that the planters could come through and put the flowers in. It was hard work for five lien an hour, but it was all he could get. Still, Tawn held his head up high and wore a bright smile on his face.

He didn't have as bad of a life as he could in this situation. He could have been like some of the other kids his age and gotten addicted to the next big street drug trend. His parents had taught him a lot before they died, but the thing they emphasized the most was to hold onto what little money he had with an iron fist. He was only going to buy the essentials, and essentials were water, food, and a better place to sleep at night.

"Sleep late?" A familiar voice asked from behind him.

The boy glanced back and saw his friend Indigo standing behind him, her smile looking a little happier that he was there. "Yeah, had a bad dream again."

Indigo was one of Tawn's best friends since he started working for Mr. Ranger. Though she often told him very little personally, they had established a good relationship. She was a ferret faunus and had the tail to prove it. Being part ferret, she was a bit shorter than the rest of the kids her age, that made her stand out in a crowd but also easily concealed when she wanted to be.

She crossed her arms and gave him a flat look. "Was it the dog catcher again?"

"Yes, but this time I was fighting him with a sword and shield. I was like a knight from the old days," he said, a sense of longing coming over him.

Indigo smacked him in the back of the head, bringing him back to the present. "Alright, dreamer, just make sure you are paying attention today. We don't need you digging another crater in the garden."

He winced at the pain in the back of his head and the memory of a couple weeks ago. He let himself get lost in thought and just kept digging. The entire time, he got faster and faster until he dug himself a hole deeper than he was tall. Still, to Tawn, digging was therapeutic and kept him from focusing on everything holding him down.

"I just got distracted. It won't happen again." Tawn smiled, still rubbing his head. "So, any idea why the gate is still closed?"

She shrugged waving for Tawn to follow her through the crowd of workers. "No idea, might have just felt like he needed to sleep a bit longer than usual today."

"Nah, he's not a lazy ferret like you," Tawn joked, trying to think of a reason that Mr. Ranger wouldn't open the gates yet.

His comment was met with another smack to the back of the head from Indigo. "Stupid mutt."

He chuckled a bit just in time to see a woman walking toward the gate looking worse for wear. There were cuts and bruises all over her body and her clothes were torn like there had been a struggle; she was even gripping her shoulder and limping a bit. It took her a while to get to the gates and once she did, she didn't carry any news that he was too keen on hearing.

"Go home, we have no work for you today!" She called to the crowd of workers waiting outside the gates..

"What's going on?" One of the other kids asked.

"Yeah, why are you beat to shit?" Another called.

"Does this mean we are all fired?" A third chimed.

"Just go!" She turned around and began hobbling back to the door. "There is nothing here

that you are needed for."

Everyone began to slowly disperse as the woman continued to hobble back until all that

was left was Tawn and Indigo. "Something's wrong…"

Tawn looked over at Indigo. "You think?"

"We… I should go in there and check it out." Indigo suggested - or maybe determined.

She turned on her heels and started walking down the fence line, and Tawn followed her closely. "Alright, I'm coming too."

She stopped and put her hand out to stop him. "Tawn, you're too young to come."

"Too young? You're like ten," Tawn said, putting his hands on his hips. "I'm four years older than you."

"Older? Tawn, I'm-" She cut herself off for a second and looked down at herself. "Oh, right."

"What?"

She brought her sleeve up and began wiping away make up that Tawn had no idea was there. Then she started moving, her back and joints cracking the entire time. At first, he thought she was in pain but to his surprise, she looked fine. In a minute she was a whole head taller than Tawn. In fact, her full body filled in, and she looked like she was twenty-one. He tried to say something but her entire transformation was unbelievable to him.

"Tawn, I think you can see now that you are a lot younger than me." She smiled, her new, older feminine look making Tawn feel a lot different about her.

"What the hell just happened?" He questioned, gesturing to her new body.

She smiled a bit awkwardly. "Yeah, my bones aren't as set as a lot of other faunus, being part ferret and all. It kinda allows me to shrink down and let my childish looks do the rest. Makes it really easy to pull off long term operations like this."

"That's… uh, cool I guess." He scratched his head. "Okay, I'm still confused. Why do you want to go in there? Why are you faking that you are younger? And why can't I come?"

She crouched down a bit to get to Tawn's eye level. "Tawn, you're too young for what I'm about to do. Go home, but call the cops first."

"I'm not that much younger than you."

"Tawn, you're fourteen and haven't attended anything that would teach you fighting skills."

"Yeah, but... "

She turned away from him and reached under her now way-too-small shirt, drawing a sai from her side. After that, she crouched a bit and leapt high enough to clear the fence with room to spare. Both her feet touched the ground on the other side and she balanced herself with practiced efficiency. A quick glance at Tawn and she signaled for him to stay put before rushing off on her own.

"God, just because I'm part dog doesn't mean you have to treat me like one," Tawn mumbled to himself.

He turned around and started to walk away but stopped for a second to look back at the house. There was always a chance that Indigo didn't know what she was getting into and needed help. Then again, he didn't really even know Indigo to begin with, and the fact she wasn't a child but a groan woman also went to show he really didn't know who she was.

Tawn just kept walking down the road, hands in his pockets. Indigo asked - well, more like ordered - him to call the cops, but it wasn't as easily done as she thought. Being poor didn't really help with being able to afford and own a scroll.

"Ah, hell, what am I gonna do…?"

A small tingle in Tawn's gut told him that he had to help her and do what she said. It wasn't just that the worst might happen if he didn't, but no matter what, he made sure he was loyal to everyone he considered a friend. Whether it be stray dogs that wandered into his box or someone he met on the street, if they became his friend, he was their friend for life.

The answer was simple once Tawn gave it the slightest thought. All he had to do was head into one of the nearby stores and call someone. That idea got him moving, and he started running down the street looking for a store that was open. His search immediately proved to be futile as all the stores in the district were closed.

Closing his eyes, he began to think of ways to get the cops out here to help. Slowly, his hands began to work their way up his scalp and he started playing with his ears. It was a bad habit he had while thinking, but in a time like this, he couldn't worry about habits.

Let's see, the nearest police station is twelve blocks away and there's no guarantee that I could get them to listen to me. All the shops don't open for another hour so that's out of the question. God damn, if only I could get into them and… That's it!

He let go of his ears and started running for the nearest shop, being a restaurant. That meant there were tons of chairs outside, ripe for exploiting. Without a second thought, Tawn pulled one of the chairs out from the table and looked at it.

This was a defining moment for him. There could be another way to get the cops but for the life of him, he couldn't think of one. Every other way would take time, and every second he waited was another second wasted. Right now, Indigo could be getting beaten or hurt, and he was just sitting here looking at a god damn chair.

Tawn hefted the chair up and threw it at the diner's window, shattering it. A smile started to come to his face but quickly went away when he realized there was no alarm going off. His fists clenched in anger at the cheapness of the restaurant. It didn't matter, though; it wasn't like he could go to the people and berate them for not having an alarm system for when he wanted to throw a chair through their window. There was no time for that.

Taking up another chair, he ran to the next shop and tossed through their window. Immediately, he was greeted to the sound of alarms blaring. Now, all he had to do was sit and wait for the cops to show up so he could explain to them what was happening. Pride welled up so much in him that if he had a tail, it would have been wagging, but all he had were his ears that perked up. A few seconds later, he realised what he was doing.

"Wait a second… I'm a faunus trying to get the police to help me." He said to himself. "Ah hell."

Sirens began to close in on him, and he thought of all the outcomes getting caught entailed. Not one of them ended with him managing to convince the police to follow him to the manor. Most of them ended with him going to jail or getting deported or… the dog kennel.

That thought got Tawn running back to the house as soon as the first cop car that crested the hill. He took off through the alleys once he was sure that the police had seen him. All he had to do was jump the fence and run into the house with them close behind. Then, he was home free - or, at least, he would have helped Indigo enough.

He got to the end of the alley just in time to see the police car pull right ahead of him and stop. Searching for any way out of it, he noticed that the car wasn't directly in front of the alley but rather was just a small distance from it. He quickly saw that the car was positioned in such a way that he could use the car as a step to vault the fence into Mr. Ranger's estate.

He followed through with his plan and jumped on the top of the car and used that to leap toward the fence. That was when he realized the fence was farther than he expected. He wasn't going to clear it.

Tawn was almost there, he wasn't going to clear the fence but he couldn't afford to to miss. The police were right behind him and if he didn't make it over the fence or at least a good way up it, he would be caught and Indigo wouldn't receive the help she told him to get. He had to make it, for her and everyone inside the house that was in trouble.

Tawn caught the edge of the fence and slammed against it, his grip somehow managing to hold through the pain as the thin wire fence bit into his palm. Without time to think, he scurried up the fence and fell over on the other side. He slammed into the ground with a thud.

Fighting through the pain, he stood up from the ground and winced at discomfort in his gut. If he broke something, it would have to be dealt with later. He needed to get into the house or at least make them think he was in it. Then, maybe they would rush in and find whatever Indigo needed help with.

Making his way forward, Tawn heard the shouts of the police officers but nothing that made sense to him. They seemed far off and horribly muffled. He just kept moving though and ran off behind the house. After he was out of sight, he gave himself a couple seconds to rest, leaning against the house while he tried to inspect what damage might have been caused.

After a quick examination, he guessed the the pain was coming from his lower right side. At worst he had fractured his hip, at best he just bruised something. Either way, he could keep moving and he planned to.

Just as he took a step, a hand shot over his mouth and another around him. "Well well, looks like one of the workers didn't want to take no for an answer."