Help! My Doll became a Pet!

The city of Arkology was basking in the blue radiance of the Great Machine above. Long shadows obscured the shallow streets when a man dashed through the alleys which sprawled like a maze between the shanties on Arkology’s highest deck. His throat was parched, but he kept gasping for air to fuel his souring limbs. Aware it would be a matter of time before his pursuer would catch up with him, he was looking for a hiding place. There! He spotted an abandoned workshop beneath one of the many shanty-like apartment complexes. After fleeing inside, he squeezed his eyes to scan the twilight of the old store whose shelves had turned to moldy breeding grounds for a wide variety of mushrooms. The moment he spotted a doorway, he propelled himself toward the exit. But before he could reach his goal, suddenly, a cabinet by the wall ahead started to tremble.

He stopped dead in his tracks when the old cupboard moved in front of the doorway and then collapsed into a collection of boards and misplaced objects barring his way out.

“Oh, curses!” he hissed in a panic as he looked for another way out. But he lost all hope when he heard the sneering laughter like the cooing noises of a dodo.

*I would appear yae ran into a dead end, Al-zahef.* spoke a feminine voice distorted by static.

“What? No. Leave me alone!”

*Yae shouldn’t have run, kip. Yae know better than to run for the Strix.*

"Y-You don’t understann’. T-the Eiraf. H-he commanns the spirits. If I talk, he’ll senn his spirits on me!”

His reply was met with more condescending laughter. *Ia too can command the spirits, Al-zahef. And Ia can do it, right now.*

“No, he’s too powerful. He-”Al-zahef squinted his eyes as he saw something moving by the entrance.

Then, a small apparition appeared whose dark form contrasted starkly against the Machine’s bright light. Its long shadow glided across the tiles as the creature, the size of his lower arm, came toward him walking upright like a human. However, the malformed proportions of its silhouette were that of a demon or imp.

He moved away as the creature stepped out of the light, its true appearance became apparent in the gloom. It was a plush child’s play thing. The horror had buttons for eyes and a stitched mouth shaped in as a malicious grin.

“No, please. Don’t come any closer!”

*As yae can see, Ia too have a spirit host. This is the toy of the girl killed by the Eiraf’s so-called curse.*

“What? I-I din’t know of any youngster-”

*Silence!* screeched the Strix.* Her father is still stricken, and shae cannot rest until the curse is lifted and her murderer has endured proper justice.”

“Ju- what”

*Don’t ruin the moment, Al-zahef!* the Styx growled agitated. *Now, if yae tell mae where Ia can find the Eiraf, Ia can appease her spirit. Or…*

Al-zahef crawled with his back against the wall as the haunted doll approached him with its taunting smile. “No, no! Alright! I’ll know where he is!” he said his heart pounding as the demon was standing at its feet. “But, you have to protect me!”

*Leave it to me.* said the Strix. *But yae have spared us the effort of going through the interrogation, there is still the matter of yaer hand in his daughter’s death.*

His heart skipped a beat as another gestalt appeared in the door opening. “But you said you’d protect me! I-I didn’t know!”

“Would it have mattered, Al-Zahef?” The Strix finally revealed herself. Though she looked like a typical scav in brown overalls, her gas mask reassemble earth’s bird of prey, with a crocked beak and a pair of goggles with an owl-like brow. She raised her left hand at was protected by a gauntlet with claw-like fingertips. “Well, Al-Zahef.”

The doll too raised her left arm.

“I tol’ you,” he spoke word for word, while shuffeling away from the doll. “I din’t know.” Suddenly, he reached for his neck as he felt a force squeezing his throat shut.

“Al-Zahef,” spoke the Strix as he struggled to breath. “Yae don’t sound like a man who feels guilt over murder. But a man who regrets getting caught.”

“I-Plea… I-Agh.”

The Strix’s cooing laughter resonated through the room. “Pleading for mercy? Al-Zahef. This is Arkology. Kips get killed for less than murder.”

“B-but… Eiraf,” he groaned.

“Indeed.”

Both the doll and the Stryx lower the arm, and he was free to breathe again. “Thank you!”

“Very well. But realize, your life now belongs to me.”

“Yes, yes! I under-” He got distracted as the doll looked away. He followed her gaze to a large centipede crawling over the ground.

Suddenly, the doll ran to catch it and started chasing it through a mushroom patch.

“Wh-“ mumbled Al-Zahef. “What is it-”

“Don’t mind her! Eiraf. Where is he?”

“I-uh,” he mumbled watching the doll hold the centipede by the tail.

“Anwin!”

The doll turned around at the uttering of the word.

“The Eiraf!” repeated the Strix. “Where?”

“Oh-On the second deck! Behind the Babi Hitam saloon. You can’t miss it!”

The Styx stared at him, while the doll was trying not to be distracted by the centipede running in circles around her. “Very well, Al-Zahef. Ia’ll spare yae this day. However, yaer life belongs to me now. Would Ia have need of yae, yae better do as commanded.”

He nodded profusely. “Yes. Yes. Anything. Just, do tell the Eiraf it was me!”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t and cannot do, Al-Zahef!”

“No! O-Of course not!”

“Ia’ll let it slide as it was part of our agreement”

“T-Thank you Strix.”

“Anwin! Leave the beast alone. Wae are leaving!”

The kip collapsed its a exasperated position as she turned her back on him and walked into the light with the demonic toy following in her wake. He met the Strix - The Avenger - and lived. But now he owed him her life. What did that mean?

Outside, the Strix sat on one knee to pick up the doll who can running toward her at full speed. “Good job, Anwin,” she told the doll. The doll was sway her head for side to side as the Strix petted it on the head. “But our work ain’t done,” she said and put the doll back in the carrying pouch on her side. “It time to visit this Eiraf, and share with him our discoveries, don’t you think?”

Anwin raised her arms in the air.

She sighed. “Still not sure what that means,” she whispered to herself. “Regardless, It’s time to find this Eiraf and drag him out of his den and deal out some Arkology style justice! Then, Anwin, you can play with a centipede.”

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Hope you enjoyed the prequel to my feel good-stories on Anwin and Igraine aka The Strix. To receive updates, subscribe to https://www.associationofishtar.com. And if you enjoy this art, it by following our Kickstarter page

Would you want to see art of the Strix and Anwin together? Want to learn more of the city of Arkology? Check out our primer