Repetitive music played on loop from the ceiling speakers of the busy supermarket. A short, chubby penguin in a gray shirt and pants stood behind a cash register, while an endless line of creatures flooded his aisle, while the grimy conveyer belt brought the entire inventory of the store - mostly cold groceries - to his tired arms, his freezing hands. Bags were filled and tosses into creature's rust-stained metal shopping carts with haste.

"You could be a little more gentle, you know," a snake hissed at him as he finished tossing her groceries. "You might squish my bread."

"Sorry. Your bread's fine, though," he mumbled quickly. He charged her card once she slid it through the reader, and went on to the next customer.

The never ending motion of his right hand tossing, rolling, or handing something to his left kept going. Even as the metal and plastic around his station began to glaze over, and the conveyer belt cease to function. Fog came out of his muzzle as ten-foot icicles formed on the ceiling, and all the figures before him froze over. Time stopped, as did his job, and best of all, so did the noise emitting from the ceiling intercoms. Every chilled breath he took was bliss in his throat and chest, and he blew them in all various sorts of shapes. Sometimes, he fog froze mid-air, and he poked and prodded them into smiley faces.

A blue, dead hand waved in front of his eyes, and he jumped back in shock. The ice and fog vanished, the customers became impatient once more, and the music played in his aching ears once more. He stood in front of a cheetah, tall and thin with a well-formed chest. Most would find the tall, strong-looking feline attractive, and her perfume-laden scent mesmerizing. Her spotted arms returned to her waist, and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright, Mil? You look a bit out of it. I didn't take your breath away again, did I?"

Mil looked down, seeing his hands full of groceries, and then he set them down. "I'm fine. Sorry, I guess I was just into my work too much."

"More like daydreaming," she snorted, and shoved the bird aside. "No one could get into this work enough to not realize it was their break time." With a few taps, she logged Mil out, and then entered in her own password. Without hesitation, she began to bag the groceries he had put down before, and was much more polite and interactive with the customers while she was at it.

"Thanks, Tersh. Guess you have me covered," he muttered with an embarrassed smile, too quiet for her to hear, and walked off.

The floor was littered with fallen debris of shirts or food, and a raccoon swept up some pile of redness that hopefully was only tomato sauce. The penguin stepped around it and the waves of creatures, and headed to the break room hidden in the back of the store. His foot slid, at first only on some pink toy a child must have dropped when it was no longer desired. Then the slips became more constant, as if the environment meant for it.

Snowflakes fell down in thick enough amounts to obscure his vision. Though his body shivered, he spread his arms in delight, catching flakes in his palms and on his exposed tongue. The area melted away, becoming an open snowy plains, as he walked aside a frozen lake. The flickering artificial lights melted into twinkling stars and a shining moon, turning the icy water to a beautiful silver. The thought crossed his mind that he should perhaps go ice skating, or crack a hole in the lake to swim, but he decides against it in favor of heading towards the large, inviting castle beyond the lake.

It was a rather plain-looking square shape with no entrance. However, at its side was a ladder of stone, build into the side of the rocky building. He practically jumped on it, and climbed up to the top of the structure, where he found a wooden door with a latch. After a few tugs on the metal handle, having been frozen to the wood, he finally got a good enough grip to pull it open. A wave of heat rushed out towards him, melting a bit of the snow surrounding the door instantly, and he climbed down the ladder inside, closing the door on his way down.

Inside, the warm comfort of being alone took form through the absolute quiet inside. Only the sounds of a crackling fireplace kept him company, lighting up the scenery. The ground was covered in a stained red carpet, and the walls left bare. In a corner of the single-room area sat a small bed, with a book case and table in the adjacent corner. He took a seat at the table, the wooden chair squeaking painfully under his weight as he leaned back, and stared into the crackling fire.

There were two rooms in the break area, one of them a smoking room that he never went to. The other was slightly larger, with round tables scattered in the area. Next to the door was a table with a few expired dessert foods that the managers gave to the employees rather than throwing away, but like always, they had all been eaten before Mil arrived. With no food, he took a seat in the back, away from everyone else, and leaned back in the chair, trying to think quietly to himself once more.

"You should come with us," a doberman whispered to the hippo sitting in front of him. "I saw two spirits the last time we went to the cemetery for Halloween. It's just that time of year when they're most restless."

The hippo's teeth chattered, and the cup of coffee in his hand shook, spilling some out onto the table. "R-really? Well, if it's like that, why would I want to go?!"

A failed attempt to hold back a groan forced Mil to hold a hand over his beak, and he instead rolled his eyes and turned in his seat to face away from them. 'How can they really be that disconnected from reality?' he thought, and shook his head. No matter how much he tried to ignore their ongoing conversation, the noise still picked up in his ears. 'You know what? I don't have to deal with them. I don't have to be here.'

All voices drowned out to the sound of a chilly wind from outside, the cold seeping in through the ceiling entrance. With a bit of a shiver, he crawled closer to the fireplace where he took off his simple black hooded robe to get more comfortable. He rubbed his hands together and warming them near the flames. The fire was so comforting against the cold, but it was precisely because of the cold that the flames felt so good.

A knock on the ceiling caught his attention. 'The wind must be battering the door,' he thought. But it became louder and more deliberate. "I'm coming!" he yelled, and crawled up the ladder just enough to knock the ceiling hatch open.

Two shivering foxes stood outside, staring inside. Their orange fur patterns matched exactly, but they were of opposite genders, and both of their faces were covered in frozen tears. "Can, can we come in?" the male asked with desperation, already trying to climb down.

"Er, yeah, of course," Mil nodded, and got off of the ladder to make way for the other two.

Inside, they huddled around the fireplace together. "Thank you." The female hugged Mil with a smile.

He patted her on the back, blinking his bright red eyes a few times. "It's no big deal. It's cold outside." With that thought, he gently pushed her away to look at her face. "Speaking of which, what are you two doing out?" His gaze changed up to the other male, his voice becoming critical. "It's not safe to be out with only what you two are wearing.

Both of the foxes only had plain jeans and simple, tattered jackets. The hoods attached to them did little to protect their ears from frostbite, and the male looked down, twiddling his fingers. "I, I..."

" We came to find you," the slightly shorter female spoke in the other's place. "Me and my brother, we heard rumors of a powerful mage who lived alone in these parts."

That seemed to pick the fox up, who immediately came closer to the penguin's backside. His chest came into contact with Mil's back, who looked over his shoulder to see into the vulpine's golden eyes.

"Yeah! We need your help."

"With what?"

An incessant beeping brought the penguin back to the break room. After pushing his face off the table and wiping the drool that had soaked his cheek, he looked down to his black wrist watch, saw the time, and pressed a button to stop the alarm. He pushed himself from the table and took a moment to stretch, his limbs. Bones cracked, accompanied by his happy sigh of release. "Break's over." His face darkened, and he slowly walked out of the room, past the others, ignoring them and their talk completely.

No matter how much time passed, the numbers in the main walkway never reduced. Bodies bumped into him with every step in the store, and his eyes blankly stared ahead to his register station. He slowed his pace, not enough for most to notice, but enough to give him about an extra ten seconds before he would arrive. Slowly, his head raised up to check a blinking light that seemed to be off more than on, barely clinging to life. "Just like me," he mumbled.

Mil raised a hand, and floated upwards. He tore through the ceiling, out into the night sky. The supermarket became a small rectangle below him, and soon enough, a negligible dot. Clouds soon blocked his vision of the world below, his only concern now being how much he could scoop up with his open beak.

If penguins really could fly, no one here would ever see him again.

"Back now, Tersh." Disappointment filled his voice, and he made no effort to hide it.

The last bag was loaded up, and she gently placed it into the customer's cart. Once the transaction was complete, she logged out of the computer and turned away from the register. Mil avoided eye contact with as she quickly pushed past him. "Well, try to not piss anyone else off while I'm gone. I'm off for a smoke."

A laughing group of young adults came to the penguin's register. The leading one, a skunk, had a few boxes of trading cards in his hands, and he whispered to his friends as he quickly pushed the aluminum containers towards Mil. "Shh, guys. I know how to do this," he snickered.

"Hey there," Mil nodded, and began scanning the items. He noticed the game, one he no longer played too often, but still owned some of the older cards. "Oh, neat. I didn't even know anyone played here."

The student-aged skunk raised an eyebrow, and grinned a bit. "Yeah, we do," he stated with a nod to the other three in his group. "We're a group at the university. You could play with us if you like, we meet up every Thursday."

"Oh, really?" For one of the first times he could remember in recent history, Mil was interested in something that existed outside of his head. "Well, I might have to see about that then."

With a smile, the skunk gave a thumbs up. "Sure thig, bro. Say, why don't you grab a pack there?"

Behind Mil was a rack of assorted items, always kept behind a cashier to ensure they didn't get stolen. Packs were easy to slip into a pocket, unlike tins. When he turned to grab the pack that was pointed to, the skunk leaned over the counter to grab one of the tins, and scanned it again. Mil turned back, and scanned the pack. But he noticed something odd. The tin he could have sworn he scanned before was in the bag white another tin was still outside. Were they switched, or did he just space off without realizing it again, and forgot what he really did? 'This job sucks anyways, I'm not going to take something this minute so seriously.' He tossed everything into a bag and allowed the skunk to take the contents once paid.

"Thanks, bro. Come by sometime."

"Yeah!" He gave a thumbs up, and watched as the next customers in line came, and the other college kids laughed to one another about the scheme they pulled. They probably only saved a couple dollars by switching the differently-priced boxes while he was turned, but Mil really did not care.

A tall rabbit stood before him, wearing a pearl-studded fancy cross around his neck. A warm smile covered his face, and he waited patiently as his fresh vegetables and meat were put into their respective bags. Even when Mil overloaded one and broke the bag, the man laughed calmly and helped him re-bag the goods. Before he left, he smiled to the short penguin, "Have a nice day, and God bless."

Though he may have smiled back and waved the man goodbye, Mil inside was rolling his eyes. 'Did you discover that smile yourself, or with a facade of comfort?'

"Uh, man?" An orange paw waved in front of the penguin's eyes, until he snapped back to attention.

"Huh, what?" Mil asked while rubbing his eyes clear.

Two foxes sat before him, huddled next to the orange glow of the fireplace. Their hoods were pulled back from their heads, apparently having warmed up enough to at least take them off. They both looked rather concerned. "You spaced off." The female tilted her head, and prodded the penguin's chest.

"You're not dying, are you? Wouldn't be of much use to us if you were."

"Dying? No, of course not!" Mil stood up and turned from the foxes, and walked towards the table. He grabbed a book and sat down to read it. "Now, I don't know what you two came here for, but I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" the fox asked with an annoyed tone. "You never do anything, you just sit here in your frozen fortress, all alone. You've had thousands of years to read these books."

"Yeah. Me and my brother spent so much time to get here, you owe us at least your attention!" She slammed a fist on the table, knocking Mil's book out of his hand. It landed on the floor, face-down.

After a long moment of staring at his empty hands, Mil looked up. "Alright. You two can stay here long enough to get warm, and then you can go."

"Not good enough!" she hissed.

"I just want to be left alone!" the penguin yelled. He stood up, and kicked his chair down angrily. The other two took a step back in surprise, and looked frightened. As tough as they liked to act, they were obviously desperate and afraid.

A moment passed, everyone looking off to the side or the ground, until the male vulpine took a step forward and grabbed Mil's shoulder. "We know. But that's not the important thing right now. There's big stuff goin' on, and we need you."

"We heard of the legends. You're the only one," the taller, female fox growled, placing her hands at her side and turning around. "If you won't help us, then you're a waste. A power gone down the drain for nothing. The height of uselessness."

" Hey, no need to be so harsh, Vahls." The brother sighed and leaned on the table with one hand. "Millard the Magnificent, do you have any idea what's going on, or have you been cooked up in here for that long?"

That name annoyed him, even if he had been the one who came up with it. "Just Mil. Please." A hint of begging laced the penguin's voice. After taking a deep breath, he picked up his chair and sat down again. "I have been in here for that long. What's wrong?"

"It's the whole friggin' world!" Vahls exclaimed, holding her arms out wide. "When's the last time you went out for a walk?"

"Uhm." A finger tapped away at his beak as he thought on the question. "Not too long ago, I was walking by the lake."

The male fox shook his head with a disappointed groan. "We mean actually going off into the world, man! When's the last time you were in town? Any town?"

"I don't remember, boy!" Mil yelled, throwing an arm between the two of them. "You two, just sleep in a corner or something. I'm studying here."

"My name is Mau, not boy," he growled. "And what could you be studying that's more important than saving both worlds?" To answer his own question, the shorter fox bent down to pick up the book that Mil had been reading and spoke the title out loud. "On the Nature of the Absolutely Inabsolute. Wow, that sounds kinda boring." The last part was whispered to his sister, but was still loud enough for all of them to hear.

The book was quickly seized from Mau's hands. "It's beyond your feeble mind," Mil scoffed, and quickly put the book back on the shelf. But he paused, pulled it back out, and placed it in an appropriate alphabetical order. Satisfied, he nodded at the shelf, and sat back down.

"Right. Well," Mau began, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Look, basically, shit's going down."

"That's not very helpful." Mil stared at the other male with a rather unamused look.

He stomped. "I'm being basic!"

"Well, maybe we should be a little more informative," his sister interjected. "People in the city have lost their wills. No one can make anything. Blacksmiths' work come out damaged, merchants can't make any good deals."

"Sounds like people are just in a bad mood," the penguin shrugged. "Why is that my problem?"

"Because it's more than that, more than people just in a bad mood. It's like a spell," she explained. " It's like everyone's lost their enthusiasm for their own existence. You might be able to help, because you're the legendary mage."

Mau approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You might be able to-..."

Mil shook his head. "I probably couldn't do anything to help you. Besides, it'd be pointless if we don't know any sort of cause of this catastrophe. And is it really such a catastrophe at all? Why is it bad? Maybe the world needs a break from itself, and you are all being stubborn."

"You just don't understand!" Vahls yelled, and headed towards the exit ladder. "You're not going to help. I'm just going to go find someone who will!"

"Be my guest!" Mil waved her off, rather happy to see her walk away. Her brother was not so happy.

The wooden door was shoved open as if Vahls could not get out quickly enough. Mau began to follow, but before he took hold of the ladder, he turned to Mil with a sad expression. "I really looked forward to meeting you. I practiced every day to try to become a mage like you. But I guess it was all for nothing, wasn't it? You seemed so... cool."

Rusted hinges creaked as Mil closed the front door behind him. The floor under the weight of the penguin groaned as the creature made his way through the barren living room. Mysterious sticky goo in the kitchen stuck to his shoes as he walked over the tiles. The counters were covered in various containers of food, spices, and so forth, instead of being in the cabinets, as he was too short and too lazy to reach them. A cold air tickled over his body from the refrigerator once he opened it and rummaged about. Tupperware was stacked everywhere inside, leftovers that made easy and fast meals for the lazy penguin, but he was not getting food. Chills filled his palm after he grabbed a glass bottle and twisted the cap open, taking a drink and closing the refrigerator with a foot at the same time.

He waddled back to the living room and plopped down on the brown, torn couch. Nothing of interest was on the television no matter how many times he changed the channel. He tossed the remote aside and took another swig before staring at the wall. There, a frame with cracked grass hung from the wall, showing off his degree from the local university. It was dated years ago, and since then, he still had failed to make anything of his life. Every day was the same, and there was no escape.

A small grin crept over his beak, and he chugged down the rest of his drink. "Yes, there is," he laughed to himself, and closed his eyes.

Screams filled the snow-coated forest. Despite their efforts, Mau and Vahls couldn't get away from the dark formless mass coming towards them. A branch that had been sticking out of the ground was hidden by snow, and caught Mau's foot. He tripped and fell face-first into the ground, screaming in fear and pain. His sister turned and saw him, taking a moment to decide if it was better to run or to help him, and leaped towards her brother to help him get back on his feet. But by then, the black blob was too close to avoid. It screamed at them, and both looked upon it with horror.

A wave of snow fell down on them quite suddenly, temporarily blinding their view. A flash of light shined through the white snowy fog, and the menacing evil screeched as it dissipated into nothingness. Once everything settled, they saw Mil standing there, pushing a blood-covered blade back into its sheath with a smirk.

"Y, you saved us!" Mau cheered, crawling back up to his feet with a little help, and ran towards the penguin for a hug.

While the penguin paid little attention to the embrace, Vahls crossed her arms and kept her distance while speaking up. "So, you finally came back to help us. What's the deal?"

"There is no deal," he explained, and pushed the male fox off before beginning to walk back home.

She scoffed, and began to walk the opposite direction. "Thought so. Come on, Mau."

"No, wait," he shook his head, and kept following the bird. The taller fox sighed, and went with him. "Master Mage Mil, what can you tell us about what's happening in the rest of the world?"

"I told you, I'm isolated. I only followed you because I could sense the danger, and..." The penguin stopped himself, thinking on his own statement.

Mau chuckled, and crossed his arms. "And you wanted to help? Why's not important right now, but what is is that you said you could sense something."

"And how is that useful for you, little man?" he asked without looking towards the foxes, still walking towards home. Though the way had no path or footprints, and most others would have easily gotten lost.

"Just come with us to town, and you'll see," Vahls sneered, and grabbed the penguin by the shoulder to force him to face her. "Otherwise, I'll drag you there."

The younger male fox raised his fists in excitement, and nodded. "Yeah! It's only a two day's walk from here. We can make it soon if we just go now."

Something filled the penguin's cheeks as he grinned, his eyes as they gleamed. "Oh, so you really need me that badly? Well, it'd be a shame of me to make you wait two days." The other male nodded enthusiastically, though the female did not share the same response. He extended his arms. "Hold my hand, both of you."

"Alright, you arrogant prick." Vahls rolled her eyes after her self-whisper, and took one of the penguin's hands, while Mau took the other.

"Is this some kind of oath of friendship or an alliance?" he asked, flicking his fox tail and sweeping the snow behind his feet with it.

Before any answer was given, a flash of light blinded them. The embrace of energy felt warm, but cold quickly overtook the sensation. When the light faded, and their senses ceased to be overloaded, they found themselves standing in the middle of a town, whose buildings were mainly constructed of wooden planks, and the ground was open dirt whose 'road' was only present from the many years of travels that had compacted the dust into a visible trail.

On both sides of the dirt, creatures stood behind carts. Street vendors who used to call for people eagerly to buy their goods with smiles on their faces now stood there with blank expressions, monotonously repeating the same phrases to those who passed them, who in turn pretended they did not hear. Everyone's eyes looked familiar to Mil. Distant, troubled.

"Hey, I just teleported!" Mau looked down at his own hands for a moment, and then back around the environment. He did not seem to be taking in the depressing mood in the atmosphere, and gave a thumbs up to Mil. "That's impressive!"

"They've really lost themselves, as you can see." Vahls motioned to the general populace with a hand.

A horse with dull brown eyes mumbled a generic greeting. The mold-covered table in front of him had various fruits and vegetables on plates and bowls, while he motioned to them slowly with one hand as the group approached. They were not looking down at the food, only in the creature's eyes.

"Would you be interested in some irresistible morsels?" His voice was completely monotone, and without even looking to see, the horse grabbed a random fruit. A banana, brown and black with age. "After one bite, you won't be able to stop, ever."

Vahls snorted. "Worst sales pitch I've seen, ever." Her voice imitated the horse's.

"You see? They won't even eat or drink, and simply let the food rot," Mau explained, and grabbed the banana out of the horse's hand. He brought it close to Mil's face, and the penguin could smell the rot. "They'll all die like this."

Mil pushed the banana away, ad looked back and forth from the short fox and the equine. "Is this..." His voice was too low to be heard clearly. In an attempt to hear better, Mau leaned in, just as the penguin balled his hands into fists and raised his voice. "Is this a joke? Do you think I can't see what you're trying to tell me?"

"Huh?" Mau narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. "What're you talking ab-?"

"I can do whatever I want, this is my fantasy, and the only one I'm helping is myself!" A fist sneaked under the fox's chin, slamming Mau's open muzzle shut. The impact made the short male fall back and clutch his bleeding mouth. He turned to walk away, but the last thing he saw was a flash of metal from Vahlz.

"Aagh!" The scent of blood instantly overwhelmed his sense of smell, and he covered with both hands the gaping slash above his eyes Once he looked around, through his red-soaked vision, he saw the beer bottle had rolled off the couch, still bobbing back and forth in place. With an angry yell, he grabbed it and threw it against a wall, shattering the glass. "Fuck you!" he yelled, and fell down to his side, curling up in a ball. "I don't... have to help anyone."

As he cursed in a puddle of his own tears, he drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

"Something looks better about you. Did you get a haircut?" The tall cheetah laughed, and lightly flicked a finger on Mil's forehead.

A light surge of pain made him wince in response. "I just tripped when I was at home, that's all."

"Oh, so no big deal?" Tersh asked a bit sarcastically, before her voice softened a bit. "It looks a bit bad, hope it heals up soon."

With a shrug, the penguin continued to head towards the bathroom, next to the back entrance towards the break area. "See you later," she waved, and disappeared behind the black doors.

The lights were no better in the restroom than they were in the rest of the store, and the privacy level was minimal. No walls separated the urinals, and the locks on the two toilet stall doors had been broken for years. Just as he walked in, he bumped chests with a tall, sweaty bull, wearing the loosest possible sleeveless blue shirt. Even though the contact was only for a second, the thing's sweat clung to him like glue. "Er, sorry, in a hurry," he said, and shoved the penguin to the side on his way out.

Once the door closed and he was inside by himself, he finally spoke up. "Jerk, just because you're so big, you can get by with being a brute." A confident smile plastered over his beak at those words, and he walked towards a stall and pushed the half-open door. A flash of silver made him leap back. He tripped on the wet ground near the toilet, and continued to crawl backwards with a gaping beak and fearful look.

"Y-...you're...!" Paralysis kept Mil from scrambling up and running, or even from screaming for help. In a second, it didn't matter, because an orange paw gripped his beak painfully tight.

"Pissed off?" the fox hissed an angry whisper into his ears, and then slapped him with the flat side of the blood-lade blade. "Yes, I am. I don't know what got into you, but you can't just punch my brother like that and then run off."

"You, you can't be here, not like this." He shook his head, and then finally pushed himself back to his feet. "People will see you."

Vahls spat at the penguin's feet. "Not like I'm any uglier than you. Speaking of that, why are you dressed so funny?" She looked around, and placed her hands on her waist. "What is this place?"

"You can't be here right now, please." He grabbed her shoulders and started to push her back into the bathroom stall where he found her, but she knocked his hands away.

"Don't touch me," she growled. "Whether I like it or not, you're my only hope right now. You're the only one who can do anything, so how can you waste your eternal life just moping around like everyone else? Now, hurry up and do something!" Her hand delivered a harsh slap against the bird's cheek. With a yelp of pain, he turned and ran out the bathroom.

Not knowing quite where else to go, he headed straight for the break area. As usual, a few people were in the first room yapping away about their accomplishments of stocking shelves, but Mil hurried past them. He knocked the same doberman's coffee over that had been sitting on an edge of the table by bumping into the dog in the midst of his rush. "Damn it, Mil!" he barked at him.

"Sorry!"

Inside the smoke room, a giant, choking fog covered everything. He coughed, and covered his face with his shirt while he squinted around. A yellow cheetah sat in a corner of the room, staring into a magazine she flipped through without real interest. She looked surprised when the penguin took a seat next to her, but she smiled a little.

"Miss me so much that you couldn't wait ten more minutes?" Tersh chuckled, and looked back to her magazine.

Mil thought it might be bad to tell her what really happened, since she would likely just think he was losing his mind. Perhaps he was. "I just wanted some company."

"Well, if you'll be here anyways, you might as well give me a light." She held an unlit cigarette between her fingers near Mil's face, waiting.

He sighed while reaching into his pockets. "Er, sorry, I don't have one," he stated shyly, pulling his pockets inside out. Though, he did wish he had one. Just for her.

When the penguin looked confused, Tersh rolled her eyes. "Sarcasm isn't your style." She grabbed the blue lighter from the male's hand, lit her cigarette, took a heavy puff, and tossed the rectangular plastic on top of the table.

"I," he stammered, and failed to get anything beyond that out. Mil stared at the lighter for a moment, wondering if it had somehow fallen into his pocket from somewhere else. But that sounded ridiculous.

"You what? You want one?" she asked, and reached for the pack lying next to her. "Didn't know you smoked. I never see you in here."

Mil shook his head and held his hands up. "N, no, sorry. I don't. I meant, you should stop, you know?"

She laughed, and patted her co-worker on the back. "Aw, that's sweet of you. Did you come in here just to say that?"

"Um. Yes," he nodded. At least that was a better excuse than, 'I'm scared, help me.'

"Well, I appreciate your concern." A white cloud flowed out of her yellow muzzle as she exhaled slowly. "But I've heard all that junk. It's too late for me; I couldn't quit even if I tried. And I have."

"You just need a little help." A fox took a seat on the other side of the two. A short male, wearing the same work uniform as they did.

"Oh, I don't know you. New here?" She extended a hand, and took the vulpine's paw. "But it'd take magic to get me to quit.

"Yeah, new." After the handshake, he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair comfortably. He then looked over to the penguin, grinning a little. "Magic, huh?"

"M-M-Ma..." Mil stuttered for a bit, eyes wide and staring at the fox in front of him. There was no sign of the punch to his chin from earlier, and the clothes were not the same, but everything else matched. "Mau?"

An elbow jabbed him gently in the side. "It says so on his name tag," Tersh laughed. "Don't be so goofy."

Mau extended a hand to the penguin, his eyes never ceasing to pierce into Mil's. "Hello." Mil wordlessly shook his hand. "Are you ready for your big day?"

"Big day?" Without realizing it, he was shaking in his place.

Tersh backed away slightly, looking between him and Mau. "Uh, so you two know each other, right? Should I leave you two alone?"

"Yes, we know each other. No, so not leave." Mau's voice was sharp, and his eyes demanded her to stay still. "Mil, it's about time you started living up to your name and finally helped out."

"Help with what?"

No words were given in response. Instead, he waved slowly around the room, and Mil looked. Most were not talking eye-to-eye with one another, simply staring off at something as they whispered to each other. Their eyes were sunk in, lips cracked, fur unkempt, scales unwashed, clothes torn and dirty. He looked at Tersh, and her yellow eyes were as dull as the dead's. It was too painful for him to stare at, and he looked back down to the table, and tried to space off again.

"No, not that. Not this time," a familiar feminine voice growled at him. Claws dug into his shoulder, piercing into his skin.

Tersh jumped up from her seat. A couple others in the room finally took notice, but only stared at them for a couple seconds before returning to their dreary, private existence.

"Wow, where did you come from?" the cheetah asked after a gasp. "You came out of nowhere!"

"Magic," Vahlz stated simply, without looking up to her. "Don't be stupid. Isn't that much obvious?"

A more gentle hand grabbed his other shoulder. Mau leaned in and whispered. "Don't you understand yet? That you don't belong here?"

"You can't stay here." The female fox nodded in agreement with her brother.

With a single tear dripping down his beak, Mil looked up and between the two before him. Slowly, he smiled, and nodded. "I understand now. Thank you." He rose up and hugged both of them from over the table.

"I'm going to go now, Mil. You, you take care." Tersh slowly turned around and starting walking away, her fur sticking up straight like the scared feline that she was. As soon as she stepped out of the break room, she did not find herself in the non-smoke room. A pure white light blinded her, and she swung her hands before her eyes defensively, having assumed someone flashed a light close to her face. But her hands felt nothing, and her eyes slowly adjusted. It was a plain white room with no doors, and no one inside but a chubby penguin standing before her in a black robe.

Mil stepped towards her, and grabbed her hand. She pulled it away and backed up against the wall. "Don't be afraid now. You should be happy."

"What the fuck's going on, Mil? None of this is making sense. Am I dreaming or am I losing my damn mind?!" Her words were barely spaced from one another in the midst of her fear, and she was breathing heavily enough to become light-headed. "G, God damn it."

"Calm down," he soothingly whispered to her with a smile. "You're right, this is a dream. So there's no reason to be afraid, okay?"

The chuckle Mil loved to hear ringed in his eyes. "Must be a pretty shitty dream then. Your eyes aren't smiling, I can tell. I know you enough for that."

Now that she had calmed down, Mil stepped towards her, and rested a hand on her waist. "I will be." Then, he kissed her. Excitement flooded his heart when he felt her kiss back without any hesitation. A freezing chill spilled into Tersh's maw and down her throat, collecting in her chest, but she did not pull back. Her tongue explored the bird's beak, playing with his own wet muscle for a moment more before they broke the touch.

"Damn it, I know you're a penguin, but you're not supposed to feel like an iceberg, too," she laughed, and slapped his shoulder.

With a gentle passion, Mil leaned on the fox, and pulled her to the ground with his weight. Now on top of her, he stared at her body, eyes glancing down in desire and appreciation. Tersh seemed a bit taken aback at first, but calmed down quickly. "It's okay," she whispered to him, and leaned up to give him another quick kiss. Feeling more confident with her approval, his hands traced her cheek. The warmth and soft touch of her fur encouraged him further, and his mouth salivated, a string of saliva oozing out and falling onto Tersh's lips. Upon feeling the cool liquid fall onto her face, she opened her maw and gulped down the fresh drink.

Claws dragged over the avian's thighs and over his back, and he shivered in delight. Tersh hugged the male closer, pressing her chest against his. As both began to pant more heavily, Mil ran his hands up her shirt, and lifted the cloth over her head. Like in any good dream, she had nothing underneath. Red shined through the penguin's white cheeks. Slowly, while holding his breath, he lowered his face to her plump chest. With one lick at a time, he slowly matted down her fur, soaking her breasts with saliva. His sharp beak carefully wrapped around her nipples, and he began to suckle on her. A gasp escaped her lips, and she raised her hands to hug his head and press him more deeply into her. Dribbles of white leaked down her side and the bird's mouth, pooling at her side, while her legs wrapped around Mil's waist.

After swallowing, Mil looked back up to her. "We don't have to do this."

"Shut up and make my dream come true," Tersh laughed out. They kissed once again, drool covering each other's chins and lips from the amateurish haste. She unwrapped herself from the penguin, allowing Mil to grab the waistband of the fox's pants. He tugged on them until they were low enough for her to kick them off herself. They hugged each other tightly, simply enjoying the radiation of their body heat. An uncomfortable whimper came from the bird, and Tersh could feel a warmth become intense and rub against her thigh. She didn't need to look down to know what was happening. She smirked, wrapped her thighs around the avian's girth, and squeezed.

He gasped, and immediately bucked against her legs. Tersh could feel the muscles on the bird's bag tense up as she traced along his body, lowering her hands until they rested upon his rump, and squeezed. The penguin's hands did the same, but did not stop at the fox's firm, furred ass. A hand lowered further, rubbing over her thighs, and slowly lifted it up. In compliance, she rested her leg on the penguin's side. After a moment of slight hesitation, Mil closed his eyes, and pressed forward. Jolts of pleasure coursed between both of their thighs, and they gritted their respective teeth as groans filled the air. His meat was buried only half-way into the fox before he stopped, being too overwhelmed to go further. Impatiently, Tersh slammed herself over the remainder of the pulsing rod.

The penguin screamed, and laid still for a moment. Then, finally giving in to his lust, he slapped his hands on her ass, Mil's fingers dug in for a firm grip before he pulled out, leaving only his twitching, dripping cock tip inside. He extracted himself at a teasingly slow pace, and the feline growled at first in a feral demand for more. More was given, and he rammed himself back inside with full force, before pulling out slowly once again, and again.

"S, stop teasing, you bastard," she panted, and bit the bird's neck roughly. The hot pain that squeezed around his neck made Mil cough on his next moan, but he did not seem bothered by it. In fact, he seemed thrilled, thrusting in and out of her wet sex with more speed. Every pulse of his shaft made him feel her ribbed tightness more vividly. An inner warmth began to well up inside his shaft, and he knew it would only be seconds more before...

At the start of it, Tersh gasped, and squeezed Mil more. But it was not purely a lustful embrace, some other emotion being present, but he was not in the mindset to think much on it. White overflowed from the cat, and the heavy, endless thrusting splashed the cum onto his own sac and helped to make both of them generally more messy. During the final few moments of his climax, the fox let go of Mil's neck to take in a deep breath, and made a loud, ongoing single moan. Hot juices gushed from her crotch, soaking the bird's shaft and sac, mixing with the rest of the sticky sex fluids from the both of them.

"I," the cheetah finally managed to gasp, and placed a hand on his chest. "I like you. I always have..."

"Excuse me, Ms. Tersh?" An extremely annoyed voice questioned her.

It was not Mil standing before her now, but rather the doberman manager, his shirt still stained, although now dry. Clearly not having the best day, his eyes narrowed and lips pulled up to expose his fangs. She looked around, seeing the usual break room, and the door behind her having only just now closed itself once she shoved her way out. "Er, sorry," she chuckled nervously, pulled her hand away from him, and turned around to go back into the break room, hearing the dog behind her murmur some curse.

"Mil?" she called, but the penguin was no longer inside. A few faces looked around for the short, fat male, but shrugged upon failing to spot him. "Must've left already... What a weird daydream. At least it wasn't bad." With a disappointed look, she turned around and walked back to her station.

But Mil ended up being late to return from his break, and the overweight bear who managed the registers quickly lost his temper, pacing back and forth and demanding to know where 'that damn birdbrain' had gone. After thirty minutes, they assumed he had walked off the job, and the bear noted he had better, because if he did come back, he would wish he had not.

On her way home, as her car was stopped at a red light, she pulled out a cigarette and lit it with the blue lighter she had gotten from Mil. Funny, she thought, since she did not remember picking it up, but she was never one to complain about good luck. Orange glowed over her yellow and brown-spotted fur, and as soon as she inhaled, her throat burned with agony. Spit erupted from her maw due to her incessant coughing, soaking her hands when she sought to cover her mouth. "Argh, what the hell?!" She crushed the cigarette in her own hand, snuffing it out in the process, and tossed the pack into the passenger's seat.

Back in the white room, the two foxes stood talking to each other until their attention was brought elsewhere. They turned and saw a robed penguin standing their. Mil pulled his hood down, and smiled. "It's time to go." He reached for their hands, and took a tight grip on them. As they walked into the increasingly bright light, he looked to his left. Mau had a silly grin on his face, happy to finally see his role model in action. To his right, Vahlz looked strangely content, and had a small smile.

They reached a white door, and it began to slowly crack open on its own. The bird took a deep breath, and stepped forward.