MinxDiaries: Fortuano

[alliant]

* NO POSTING PLEASE *

This is what happened when we last saw Fortuano:

(backflash then reality) c:


Darkness. All around me, swirling in massive cyclones. An earth-shattering thud as a tree hits the ground. A clap of thunder. A screech of pain from my mother, who stands to the right of me. Then silence.

It's like we are in the eye of a storm. All is eerily calm. I turn to my mother, whimpering. Then I see her. Her body soaked in blood, her head tilted the wrong way. I know it when I see her eyes. They're glazed over, a glossy sheen replacing the usually-vibrant green. My mother is dead. Just as I realize this, just as it hits me, so does the storm. It rages around me like a giant, uprooting trees and throwing them randomly around our small grassy plain. Lightning screams across the sky. It illuminates my hopeless situation for a split second. Then it's gone.

A second thumping sound, from across the moor. Then a closer one. Then I can practically feel the vibrations in the ground. Wait- I can feel the vibrations. A loud CRACK echoes over the open wasteland, then I am pinned to the dirt by a wooden giant. A great sycamore. Pain explodes through h by body, sharp bursts targeting my lower left leg. I try to move it, and the agony is insane. It sweeps over me. Once it reaches my head, I clench my teeth. It is too much. The pure pain seeps into my brain, and my breathing hitches. Then I black out. The last thing I see through closing eyes is a pair of large pale hands reaching towards me.




SIX MONTHS INTO THE RESCUE:


I awaken from my deep slumber smiling. Today I get to go explore our enclosure for the first time in a week. Reaching over my furry body, I sink my paws into the soft blankets surrounding me. This is paradise. My food arrives through a small hole in the ceiling of my caged-in area. I eagerly munch it up, then start to clean my fur with my paws. Lick, groom. Lick, groom. Lick, groo- "Morning, Lucky one," Comes a deep caterwauling voice to my right. I sigh. Lucas is at it again. "Hello, Lucas." He comes into view, a pudgy brown minx with lifeless-looking fur. Nothing like my rich green coat. "How ya doin' t'day, squirt?" He rumbles in a mocking tone. I close my eyes. "Lucas, my name is Fortuano." He laughs. "Yeh, and ah'm the King of Ireland. Oh wait, that's you." I grit my teeth. Just because I'm green and 'lucky', all the minxes assume I'm Irish. Well, I'm not, but they won't listen. "Lucas, you know very well that I'm not Irish." He grunts. "Oh, I be rich handsome forest-grass colored minx who's name is NOT squirt, despite me bein' tiny. Oh nah, my name be the 'Fortuano' 'cause of that I'm soooooo lucky, yup." He mocks in a high voice. I snort. "I do not sound like that, thank you very much. I believe my grammar is more.... refined than that." To this he only winks at me. But his eye is off-centered and he looks a bit lopsided. "Kid, ah'm named Bull, naw 'Lucas'. Fancy dat?"

That is how most non-enclosure mornings go. In general. With rare exceptions. But today is special. Today is an enclosure day. Today I get to see Myriad. Oh, she's wonderful. She has soft blue fur and wonderful silver eyes.. oh...

I get lifted up out of my cage and placed on a table. The compulsory exam before entering the presence of other animals. I'm used to it.
The white-coated men comb me, examine my ears and paws, stick something sharp into my tail which hurts for a moment but then is fine. They check my hurt leg, which is doing fine today. Then they prepare a small thin stick with yellow liquid inside. It is known as "The Pricker" by all the other inmates. They pause a moment, looking over me, then plunge it into my rear. Pain shoots through me and the men press down on the top, pushing the liquid inside me. It stings. They pull the needle out and wipe the stain off my fur, then plop me into the enclosure. I'm free to go.

As soon as I sit down, I see Myriad. She's wincing. I rush over to her. "Anything wrong?" She grimaces. "My exam was tough today. New men. They were rougher. But I'm fine." I smile and we walk into the enclosure together. This is my life, and I love it.

[alliant]

Suddenly, a new minx is gently lifted into our enclosure. She has bluish-green fur and is tightly clutching a red chunk of coral. She's shimmering with health and her paws are dainty and refined. She'd be beautiful, but for her eyes. They're hideously scarred black orbs.Myriad follows my gaze and as her eyes set upon this new minx, her grip upon my hand tightens. "Fortuano, what is she?" Myriad whispers. "A minx, of course." I murmur back to her. " I'm going to go say hello." Myriad looks at me despairingly, then loosens her grip on my hand. "Be safe." She mutters to me.

I pull away and walk calmly over to the minx. She does not acknowledge that I am there. Of course she doesn't see me. She must be blind. I hesitate, not wanting to intrude, but then curiosity takes over and I step up to her. "Hello? My name is Fortuano."

I'm standing there in a place I've never been in. It smells deeply of forests and fresh dirt. The air is very humid. Soft moss carpets the ground. Small buzzing sounds make the whole place seem exotic, like a jungle. I can hear a voice. It's quiet, but if I strain my ears..

"What is she?" "I don't know." I flinch inside with a sickening feeling in my stomach. I stop listening. There must be two of them. They don't sound like any minxes I've heard before, but there is a slight tone to their voice that reminds me of home. I can tell one is male and the other female. It sounds like the female was the first to speak. Soft paw steps near me. A male voice utters a few words quietly. Any other minx wouldn't be able to hear him. But I can hear him fine. "Hello? My name is Fortuano."

Thanks to living with a family of minxes who've put up with my blindness since birth, I know how to control my facial expressions and reactions well. It was a must before all the other minxes in my community saw me. But a flicker of surprise crosses my face at hearing him introduce himself. Most minxes and people don't dare come near me, much less address me like a normal minx.

"I'm Iskra." He snorts. "Sorry, sorry!" He catches himself quickly. I frown. Maybe this minx isn't different, still treading around me like I'm glass. "Your accent is just so funny!" For the second time that day, I lose control of my expression. "Y-You aren't scared by me?" I blurt out quickly, without thinking about what I'm saying. I would bet anything that he frowned. "Afraid? Of you? Why?" Joy flits through me. No one has ever treated me like a normal minx before. But I'm a bit cautious. "You know...?" The tone of his voice changes. "Your eyes?" I nod. His voice softens. "No one will bother you about it here. Welcome to the Minx Conservation Center."

[alliant]

FROM MYRIAD'S POINT OF VIEW:



I'm gently lifted into my new cage at the hospital and instantly curl up in my blanket. I don't know why I've been brought here, but I'm sure Fortuano's missing me. I must try to heal as fast as I can to get back to the MCC. The lights go off in my sector, and sounds of breathing soon fill the small room lined with Minx cages. I can see in the dark. Fortuano doesn't know this. No one knows this, not even the scientists. So as the darkness falls over everything, I finally get the privacy to glance at my companions.

There is a mother Minx, with two beautiful Minx kits. They're glowing orange and radiant like the sun, whilst the mother has cool blue fur. I wonder who the father is. They look peaceful. Next to the family is a scraggly gray Minx that resembles a Minx in Fortuano's sector names Lucas. I've never seen Lucas, but Fortuano has described him to me. This Minx has unhealthy-looking reddish pink eyes, and a distinct overbite. I move on. There is a young female Minx there, younger than me, who has....wait, no, that can't be correct... she has two heads. One is a calm bluish violet, the other a sunflower yellow. She seems happy and in no pain, but I keep looking anyways. Next to her is a sickly Minx kit, with tiny paws and green fur. He reminds me a bit of Fortuano. He gives a dry, hacking cough and I shut my eyes. Why am I here? I'm not hurt or sick or mutated. I'm a normal Minx.