Arabian Nights

Prologue
''The arctic wolf coughed as she crept out of the rushing river, water dripping from her fur, her skirt, and everything else on her. Her dark red fur was matted as it dried. She coughed up water, hacking up a little more than water. a tinge of red was in the liquid. "M-Mira...h-h-help m-me..." She whispered, limping towards the woods.''

O N E
Lilac and were selling flowers for Valentine's day. They were pretty darn cheap, having been ordered for like, 20 gems. They sold quickly, but a black (I'm guessing she's a wolf) wolf swiped a bundle of flowers as she ran by. Lilac started after her, growling. "Rude." She turned back. "Forget her, I have some left to sell." So Lilac sold the rest and had about 60/70 ish gems. "Enough for hot chocolate," Lilac said with a grin. She made her way up to Mt. Shiveer and entered the hut. A dark brown pig with a light brown spot over one eye sat on a cushion in front of the fireplace. Lilac ordered a hot chocolate, paid the 7 gems, and sat next to the pig. "I'm Lilac, what's your name?" Lilac asked. The pig turned to look at her. "Fireblaze."

They soon began to chat, when Lilac mentioned someone had stolen a bouquet of flowers from her stand. Fireblaze nodded. "Probably Night," she said. "She's a pretty well-known thief." Lilac looked inquisitive. "Is she not the one who stole a ruby from the museum?"

"Yes," Fireblaze replied, sipping her cocoa. Lilac sighed. "Don't you work for that flower boutique? 'Sweet Flower?" Fireblaze nodded, seemingly done with talking. "I buy my flowers from there. You get paid pretty decent, huh?" Fireblaze spoke. "I quit today. I found a better job as a gardener." Then a light bulb lit up in Fireblaze's head.

"They need another worker. Why don't you get a job there?" Lilac was surprised. "O...Oh, I g-guess I could, huh?" The fox laughed nervously. "I- I'm not very g-good with people..." Fireblaze shrugged. "You don't have to interact unless they ask for help finding a type of flower. It's a restocking job." Lilac breathed out. "Thank's Fireblaze. See you around? Same time next week?" Fireblaze nodded, "Sure."

Lilac headed home, smiling. Maybe she'd get the job, who knows? She could sure use it. Maybe if she got the job, she'd stay in town longer. "I might even get to buy an apartment, or a shack and fix it up; so I can live there!" Lilac thought about all the possibilities. "Oh well," She yawned as she entered the cardboard box she'd made into her house, "If I don't, I'll probably head west." She fell asleep quickly, smiling.

The next morning, Lilac woke up with excitement. She headed out, her tail wagging just a little bit. She made her way to the boutique and stopped. "Do I really need this job?" She wondered. Then she nodded. She did need the job. She had made a few friends here. Did she really want to leave them? Fireblaze was going to expect her there next week. Lilac firmly nodded. "I will get this job," She said determinedly, and went inside. "Hello there, I'm here to apply for a job?" She asked the cashier.

The cashier nodded. "Wait here," He told her as he went to the back. Lilac waited for him to come back. I hope I get the job, Lilac thought, ''I don't really want to leave. ''She yawned. She had gotten up pretty early. Maybe just a quick nap, she thought. ''No! I have to stay awake! He might come back any second now... ''Lilac sighed. ''Maybe the boss is busy, or maybe this is just a test! I bet he's just testing my patience.''

Finally, he came back. "Come with me," He said. We entered the Boss' office. It had light blue paint on the walls, and his desk was made out of rich, brown wood. He had papers splayed on his desk everywhere. It annoyed Lilac. "So, you want the stocker job, yes?"

"Yes sir," Lilac forced herself to remember her manners. He nodded. "We'll give you a trial for a week. If you work out right, we'll keep you. If we get bad reports, we'll not keep you. Deal?" Lilac smiled, extending her paw to his. "Deal."

T w o
Alpha and Luna boarded the train. "Aren't you excited to see your family, Alpha?" Luna cried excitedly. "Sure I am, just less than you, Luna." Alpha rolled her eyes. "I know! I get to see Mom, Dad, and oh! You get to meet them too! EEE!" Luna squealed as they found a seat. Alpha seemed paranoid. "Yaay. Are they as weird as you?" Luna huffed, "Really Alpha?" Alpha mumbled an "mhm." She pulled out her phone and checked the notifications. "Theif steals Moonstone of Love for Valentine's day," Alpha read. Luna gasped, "Oh really?" Alpha nodded. "Yeah. And apparently taxes are about to raise again." Luna groaned. "Ugggh. I hate the government."

"Luna?" Alpha asked, look at her friend. "Yeah?" Luna asked, glancing at Alpha. "Do you think we'll uh... go on an adventure before we leave from Berlin?" Luna nodded, "Why not?"

Alpha shrugged. "I just sorta... remember when we were kids?"

"Yeah. You wanted to build a treehouse and I told you we shouldn't, because you wanted to use the builder's wood that they left in a pile clsoe to our property. We argued about that a lot."

"Yeah, and that time we put out traps to catch the mince that were eating oour snacks in the playhouse and stayed overnight."

"Also that time when we did that lemonade stand and it ended up as a joke stand- a penny for each joke. We didn't earn that much money, did we?"

"Nope. Then mom made us give it all back, so we had to do odd jobs to earn the money."

"Your mom only payed us a dime every hour we spent in the garden!"

"Yeah!"

They chatted until Luna fell asleep. Alpha smiled. She took a blanket out of her suitcase and put it over her friend. "Sweet dreams, Luna," Alpha whispered before falling asleep herself.

Luna jerked awake when the train stopped. A fuzzy green blanket was tucked on her. She pulled it off. Alpha looked at her. "Up already? C'mon, this is the stop." Luna got up, grabbed the blanket and got off.

"A-Alpha?" Luna asked quietly. Alpha looked at her. "Where are they?" Alpha blinked. "Who?" Luna frowned, "Our parents, duh."

"We're walking to their houses, remember?"

"...Oh." Luna's stomach twisted into knots. "I... don't remember where they live..." She grinned weakly. Alpha groaned. "I guess you'll come with me then phone your parents to pick you up." ''Remind me how I beame friends with this idiot? ''Alpha thought. She smiled. It would be nice having Luna tag along.

The walk was silent and long. Luna happily skipped- while Alpha simply walked quietly. Then she saw the apartment. It was a large building, the last time she remembered. Wonderful, expensive paint on the outside- red, white, and grey. streaks of bright purples, pink, orange, and yellow splattered it.

This couldn't be the right street! This building was crumbling, once fine stone gates now tarnished, crumbling waste. Did people even still live here?