"Mister Arvetis..." Todd put down the empty wine glass. He was glad to have had it; it gave him the courage to do this.
"Just Arvetis, please. It's not my last name, and I don't go by 'mister' anything. Makes me feel old."
"Of course. Arvetis, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for earlier." Lisa gave a little squeak from across the table, and tried to hide it as a cough. Todd knew she hated bringing up painful subjects with friends, and he felt bad for creating a scene, but he thought it needed to be said.
"Mister Parks, it's really nothing." Arvetis put his fork down and folded his paws.
"Please, if I'm calling you Arvetis, then I'll be Todd. And I just didn't mean to imply that all Wolves were... like that."
"I didn't think you were implying anything of the sort."
"And I recognize those marks on your cheeks," Todd continued. "You were a member of the Contrite Order. I would never imply that you would hurt a Sentient." Arvetis held his paws up in a gesture that said both "stop" and "I surrender."
"Todd. Please. It was nothing; I understand. But I accept your apology, if it will make you stop repeating it."
"It will. Thank you." Todd was smiling widely. Arvetis didn't appear to have held a grudge, and he was glad of that. He didn't know exactly who would be deciding whether he stayed here, but Arvetis seemed to have a fair amount of authority. Besides, Todd liked the Wolf. His conversation was interrupted by another poorly-disguised squeak from Lisa, and he looked over to see her staring at her lap, hiding her face.
"Dear, you're crying," Arvetis said, and put his large paw on her shoulder.
"Lisa? Hey, Lisa, what's wrong?" Todd wrapped his paw around hers again, heart sinking. She'd been so happy only half an hour ago.
"Hey, it's nothing, you know?" Lisa wiped her face with the sleeve of her dress.
"Lisa, that's the third time someone's said that in the last minute, and the third time it's been bull-" Todd glanced to Geraden at his right shoulder. "Patties," he finished. That got a little smile out of her, but she kept her head down. "Come on, babe. You can tell me."
Lisa turned her nose up towards Todd's face, looking at him skeptically, her eyes glinting from behind her whiskers. Todd hated that look. It meant that she didn't think he was going to understand what she was about to say.
"All right," Lisa sighed. "You know how sometimes you want something to happen to you really badly, but it doesn't, and you see it happening to everyone else around you? And eventually you start to think that maybe it's on purpose, even though you know that's silly?"
Todd blinked. This one was a whopper. He considered faking understanding, but he knew she'd see right through that. He gave a slow shake of his head. "Lisa, sometimes I really don't get you."
"I know." Lisa gave another sigh, and drew herself together.
"Is there something I can do?"
Lisa just gave him the skeptical look again for a second, then shook her head and squeezed his paw. "It's OK. Really. I'm just a little overwhelmed about everything. You've only been here a day, you know? And look at you." She was smiling again, and Todd smiled back, hoping he'd saved the moment somehow.
"It's a nice place." He wasn't sure what to say. Lisa gave another sniffle, and Arvetis took his paw off her shoulder and beckoned Raakhi.
"I think our Murine friend here could use another glass of your wine, if you don't mind." Raakhi nodded and smiled at Lisa, then filled her glass. Lisa thanked her, and Todd felt a pang of longing as the Tiger turned away with the pitcher, but he didn't want to push his luck.
"Arvetis, do you mind if I ask about your time in the Order?" Todd tried to steer the conversation onto more navigable ground.
"I do not. What do you want to know?"
"I'm sorry," Lisa interrupted, "but history class was a long time ago for me. I know about the Order - it was a group of predators who helped refugees and repaired species relations after the war, right? But I was wondering what the significance of the marks is."
"They are in honor of... of Philosparganon." Arvetis brushed his cheek with his paw. "He was the founder of the Contrite Order. His face was scarred, and so the members mark their faces like his."
"How did you come to join it?" Todd asked.
"That is a very long story," Arvetis said with a chuckle. "And it's one I will leave Geraden to tell. He is the storyteller here. I believe he has one planned for tonight." Lisa perked up her ears at that.
"A story?" she asked, and took a sip from her wine.
"As soon as we're finished here," Geraden joined the conversation, "I'm going to tell one."
"Is it a new one?" Lisa seemed excited at the prospect. "You're not going to tell the one about the Fur Coolers again, are you?"
Geraden chuckled. "No, this is one is going to be more somber. And, while it isn't new, I don't believe you've heard it before."
"Oh, goodie, it's new to me, then!" Lisa clapped her paws together. Todd didn't really understand her excitement, but he didn't want to make any tactless comments. He was about to push his plate away and stand up to stretch his legs when he felt a paw on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Brutus standing behind him.
"Hey, Todd. I tried to get a seat near you, but they were all taken. I'm going to go get changed and read a book before bed, so I wanted to wish you a good night."
"I hope you'll stay a little while," said Geraden, and tapped his fork on his empty wine glass, standing up. "Excuse me!" he said in a loud voice. "It appears that most of us are finished with our food, so I'd like to invite those who want some after-dinner entertainment to join me in the Gathering Hall for a story." A twitter of happy noises fluttered down the table; apparently stories were popular here. "I'll give everyone ten minutes or so to change into more comfortable clothing and, if necessary, fresh diapers, and meet you there."
"A story, eh? Guess my book will have to wait," Brutus said. "Is it a good one?"
"I like to think they're all good. But I'm afraid you've heard it before. It's the story of Geraden Warkyn and Arvetis Agathos."
"Ah, an old one. Sometimes the old stories are the best stories."
"I think I'm going to go to bed," Arvetis said, standing up. "Good luck with your story, dear, and don't be too late."
"Night, hon," Geraden replied.
"Doesn't he like stories?" Todd asked as Arvetis headed for the exit.
"Normally, yes." Geraden said into his lap. "This one, however, he tends to avoid. I feel bad for putting him in that situation, but I think it's time I told it again."
"I think we're done too," Todd said, looking at Lisa. She nodded and stood up.
"I'll come with you," Brutus said. She and Todd walked down the length of the table with Brutus, meeting up at the end of the table and heading for the door.
"Geraden said something while we were eating," Todd remarked as they walked. "He believes in that Progenitor stuff, huh?"
"Well, the evidence is pretty compelling," Brutus replied. "Think about it. There are certain Sentient traits that we almost never share with our dumb animal counterparts. Bipedal gait, binocular vision, a complex mouth structure that allows language... the list goes on. And these same traits are the only ones that remain common between all Sentients. The logical conclusion is that they came from some other source, entirely separate from the dumb animals."
"But who were these Progenitors? And how did they give us these traits?" Todd sounded skeptical.
"Who knows? Maybe someday we'll figure it out. It would be a great boon to species relations. We'd finally understand how we're all connected to each other. If you'll excuse me now, we're at my stop." Brutus opened a small door set into the stone wall corridor. "I'm going to get a diaper change and freshen up. I'll meet you in the Gathering Hall."
"See you there," Todd replied, thinking about what Brutus had said. The Rabbit disappeared into the room, and Lisa gave Todd a poke in the side.
"Why are you so gloomy?" she asked, continuing down the hall.
"Huh? Oh, I guess I'm not sure about this whole story thing. I mean, I understand that acting like a kid is sort of the theme here, but is 'storytime' really the best entertainment we've got?"
Lisa tsked. "You don't know what you're talking about. Geraden's stories are amazing. Just show up and get comfortable; it'll be a better time than you ever had at the movies." They had reached the fork in the corridor where they had to split ways to go to their separate rooms.
"All right, all right. I guess I'll find out what it's all about. See you in a few minutes."
"In a few, tall, thin and ugly."
Todd rolled his eyes, flicked Lisa's large ear, and continued to his room. He opened his wardrobe and regarded the outfits. His sailor suit was beginning to chafe at the neck and the diaper cover waist, so he wanted something softer. He picked up the footed pyjamas... no, too warm in this Flordia heat. He continued pawing through the outfits until he came to a blue onesie. He shrugged and pulled it out, deciding that he might as well try it. He stripped off the sailor outfit, blushing a little at his crinkling, even though he was alone. He patted the front of his diaper and found that it wasn't all that wet. It didn't even feel moist inside. Not wanting to waste the warren's resources, he decided not to change it.
He slipped the onesie on; it seemed to work just like a T-shirt. He was a little confused by the strip of cloth dangling from the back, but quickly figured out that his tail went through a hole in it, and it came down under his crotch. He pulled it under and forward, snapped it to the front of the T-shirt part, and looked at himself in the mirror.
He couldn't help but smile a little ... it really was adorable. The edges of his diaper peeked through at the legs, and the puffy rear stuck out when he walked. Lisa would love it. He left the room with no hesitation, still emboldened a little by the wine, and noticed that the onesie was incredibly comfortable to move in. It exerted a constant upwards pressure on his rear, making him feel like he was being carried. He reached the intersection where he and Lisa had separated, and found himself a little unsure of which way to turn to get to the Gathering Hall.
"Oh my God, too cute!" came an excited squeal from down the corridor. Todd turned and saw Lisa standing in front of the door to her room. She was wearing exactly the same thing he was, except pink. "We match!"
Todd saw that the fabric of Lisa's onesie stretched tightly across her small breasts, and made no secret of appreciating it. "I hope I look as sexy from the waist up as you do," he said, grinning. He also noticed that she had changed her diaper, and the new one was pink to match her onesie. She must have wet during the feast.
"Hush, you letch," Lisa replied, but smoothed the fabric and set off down one of the corridors. Todd followed her and eventually recognized the passage with the carved double doors at the end. They were standing open, and people were milling about in the hall behind it. They stepped in, and Todd suddenly understood why the room had a large fireplace. There was a slight chill in the air... not uncomfortable, despite his thin clothing; he had been a little too warm all day. He took a deep breath and thought about an old-style warren he had visited while writing an article on species relations. It had been small at the surface, but very deep, delving hundreds of feet into the ground. He remembered the stairwell in the Chapel and wondered if that was the case here. Was all this just the tip of an ancient maze of underground passages beneath him? Was the chill in the air the night breath of unfathomable tunnels guarding the secrets that made Brutus nervous?
Lisa sat down on a wide, plush cushion near the front of the hall, next to a group of resident Dogs, all wearing footed pyjamas of different colors and snuggling up against each other. She waved to one of her friends in the Dogpile, then patted the cushion next to her. Todd sat down, noticing Brutus standing to their left.
"Hi, guys," Brutus said, holding out a folded blanket. "You might want this; it's a long story."
"Thanks!" Lisa took the blanket and spread it over herself and Todd, snuggling up next to him. Todd sighed happily and put an arm around her. The room was starting to fill up with residents now, talking quietly among themselves and finding seats. After a little while, Geraden strode to the front of the hall, still wearing his blue silk robe, and stood facing the back of the hall in front of the fireplace. The crowd quieted down, and all heads in the room turned to the stately Rabbit. He cleared his throat.
"Thank you all for showing up," he said in a loud, clear voice. "Please get comfortable."
"Tell the Fur Coolers!" someone shouted from the back of the room. Most of the crowd groaned, and Geraden chuckled.
"No, I'm afraid tonight is going to be a little less silly than that. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the past to address the present. You see, about a hundred and fifty years ago, the Sentient Species went mad. It wasn't the first time this has happened, as we Rabbits know, because we keep our lore. It is, however, the only time most of today's people remember anything like it. They think it won't happen again, because they've seen how wrong it is. But if we don't remind ourselves of it regularly, how will we ever hold onto that knowledge?
"At that time, a century and a half before now, there lived a Wolf. He was proud, though he didn't deserve to be, and intelligent, though that was a natural gift he didn't have to work for, and he led the entire United Predatory Nations. That, however, was an inherited position; he didn't earn it, he took it from his dead brother. His name was Arvetis Agathos."
