Tabby

"It's about time I caught up with you." The mirror spoke, disdain evident in her voice despite her grin. She had failed to take care of this target too many times to count. But finally, he was cornered. That bounty was going to be hers, sooner rather than later. It was only a matter of time now.

"You...!" The imperial hissed with an air of dramatics, "My men told me you were no better than dust. How'd you come back from the dead?" He stood his ground as he spoke. Then, he tried to flare his wings, only to hiss in pain. The head of the arrow Tabitha had shot sat buried in his wing's elbow, rendering him incapable of flight. The bounty hunter's aim was perfect.

"It's not hard to come back when I wasn't dead in the first place." She stalked closer as she continued. "Why not make this easy for me? Your death can be painless. I'll get my money. I go home happy, and you don't have to do anything. Again. Ever." She readied her crossbow again. Unfortunately, she knew it wasn't gonna be that easy. It never was, especially not with Valentino. Still, Tabitha could hope.

"Tabby... You know me. When have I ever agreed to go down without a fight?" The imperial smiled at her, and then took in a large breath, preparing a fireball...



Tabitha wiped her claws of the imperial's blood as she stalked back to the Refuge. Her wingtips were a bit singed, but otherwise, she got out of the scrape unscathed. In her bags was the large sum of money she collected from this kill. That imperial was the boss of a gang, rival to her client's. One that she was once a part of...

Of course, she was compensated very nicely for this bounty. Lucky for her, the money would pay for at least a years worth of rent and groceries. Yep, compensated nicely indeed.

For now, she thought about settling back in at home. Maybe taking a nice, long nap, too. First, though, she wanted to stop at some stores. She was running low on books she hadn't read yet. As she entered the smaller city she called home, she noticed a few things. New dragons were in the square, some renovations had been finished up, and- Of course. Flitty, a green little fae, was zipping around between the newcomers.

The tiny woman noticed Tabby and beamed. She flew over as fast as her wings could carry her.

"Tabitha! It's lovely to see you, was your hunt successful?" The smaller dragon chirped, speaking fast as she skidded to a halt. Flitty was one of the few that bothered to speak with Tabitha. She was also one of the few that Tabby really respected, as a fellow fighter and the one who kick-started the Refuge. The small city, in spite of being a city, was quite peaceful. Even quiet on some days. Tabitha was more than glad she could call it home.

"Very. Hardly got scratched, and I got a good payout." Tabitha said. She did not bother to go into further detail, but Flitty payed no mind to this. They both understood, Tabby was simply a woman of few words.

"That's really great! I'm glad you're safe." Flitty smiled sweetly as she paused. "You're heading home now, right? Or are you going to stop at the bookstore first?"

"Bookstore first. Maybe some CDs too. I need some new music for my radio. Anything you'd recommend?"

"You should definitely check out this new band! They're called-" Flitty landed and sat on Tabitha's back as she continued. Tabby sauntered along the path towards the shopping district, listening intently as her friend rambled on...

Friend is a word she hasn't used in a long time. It's a dangerous word, too. Being a friend could get someone killed, in her line of work. But, lucky for Tabitha, the Refuge kept her secret. No one important knew where she and her friends slept at night. So, maybe... Just maybe, a friend was alright.



Tabitha closed the door behind her with her tail, her hands preoccupied with all her new items. Nearly fifteen books and six new albums. That was a record, even for her. Flitty had recommended quite a few on both ends, which Tabitha had no issue with. They'd been friends long enough for her to know that their tastes tended to line up.

The little green fae had stayed with her the whole way home. Flitty cared like that. Despite the Refuge being plenty safe, she still wanted to make sure Tabitha made it home without any interference. Despite Tabitha being more than capable of holding her own. If it were anyone else, she might be offended at the notion.

But it was Flitty, and she knew very well that Flitty did it out of love. It always amazed her how much love was stored in that tiny little body.

Tabitha drifted towards her couch, and plopped down. She reached out with a single claw to turn on her radio, and tuned it to a station she liked. The combination of flutes and drums alerted her to the fact that it was more traditional Nature music they were playing today. A small smile crept onto her face as she drifted to sleep.