Cold Steel, Warm Hearts

Chapter 1: The Interview

"Yeah dad! I got the job! – No dad, I don't need you to pick me up. I'll come to the institute when I'm done at the mall! Yeeeees I will be fine dad. Love you lots!" Echo happily hangs up the phone with her father, as she skips to the bus stop.

When someone says big things come in small packages, they couldn't be more right when it comes to Echo Warren. This young rabbit folk is as spry as they come, not in just body, but also in mind. Echo is a graduate from Featherwurst University with honors in Botany and Film Studies and recently she has just landed her first, in her opinion, real job. 

Echo pulls out her phone to look up when the next bus will be there and adjusts her bag on her shoulder. Since she just finished the final interview, she was all dolled up with a red silk bow around her ear, a very nice flower covered dress and her black foot pads, to round off her outfit. She punches in the mall's address and see's that the next bus will be in 10 minutes. 'Great, that's not that long! Then I can be to see the sweet boys in no time!' Echo thinks to herself, looking around to see what's around.

There is a few kids running down the street, there is a mother with a stroller who looked over in her direction, so Echo diverts her gaze. There a quite a few little stores in the area, as well as a coffee shop! 'I may have to go there before work, I hope the price isn't that bad...' Echo contemplates what she would be able to buy there, as it looks like a mom and pop shop.

As the bus pulls up, she hops on, and scans her transport card on her terminal, then decides to take a seat near the back door. There were a few other people that came onto the bus with her, some of them being a young Elvin mother with 2 children, one in a stroller and a young boy that took a seat right next to Echo. The boy looks at her as she is playing a game on her phone, "Are you a real bunny?" The boy asks curiously.

"Yes, I am a rabbit." Echo coldly, not looking up from her phone.

"Oh. Can I pet you? Please??" The boy asks, reaching out his hand to touch her arm. Echo pulls away and shuffled over a bit.

"Please don't touch me. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Echo quipped, looking over to the mother to pull her child away. Before she could say something else, she hears a shrill voice.

"How DARE you tell my child what he can and cannot do! You're just a bunny. You and your kind should let children pet you! Don't household creatures like to be pet?" The boy's mother screeched at poor Echo, who starts to get scared as she is getting targeted.

"I shouldn't have to—" Echo gets cut off by the rambunctious child grabbing hold of her ear.

"Yay soft bunny lady!!" The boy shouted in joy, pulling and tugging at Echo's ears, and his mother taking pictures and cooing about how her boy is so precious and 'That wasn't hard, was it?'. When Echo heard the next stop gets called out over the speaker, she presses the button to be let off. Echo scurries to get off the bus and calls her dad again.

"H-hey dad. Could you come and pick me up? I, uh, don't want to be alone right now..." Echo trails off when her father picks up the phone.

"Not a problem kiddo," he started, "what bus stop are you at? Do you want to come and spend the day with me and the animals?" He asked, trying to distract his stressed daughter.

"I would like that dad, I'm at Park and Mahogany. When do you think you will get here?" She asked, looking around nervously as she doesn't want what happened on the bus to happen again.

After some time, her father was able to come and pick her up. As they drive to her father's work, she tells him about what happened on the bus, and he just listens. When they pull up to parking garage, she can see the sign for the institute in clear letters: The Royal Institute for Animal Sanctuary and Rehabilitation. Echo hops out of her father's truck and goes over to him. The pair of them go up to the reception desk, there is an elderly Tiefling named Ramon.

"Well if it isn't the Father Daughter Duo! Gulberz, your kid is dressed up real nice to be coming here!" Ramon said, leaning over the counter to give Echo her visitor badge. Echo takes it and flashes a big smile at the older man.

"I had the final interview today, and I got the job at the botanical Gardens!! Isn't that exciting!" Echo happily chirps, bouncing to the entrance to the non-public entrance. Gulberz chuckles, then gives a half-hearted salute to Ramon and follows his excited daughter to his department. As he walks through the gated doors, he breaths in the smell of animals and grasses. Seeing the animals, he has cared for all these years always brings a smile to his face. He see's Echo walk straight up to the extra guarded area, the one she is always drawn to: The 'exotic' animals.

As Gulberz thinks back to that faithful day when he had just started here, a young orc fresh out of college, getting told to prepare 5 separate enclosures in a rush. At that time, he thought there was just another rescue, but oh was he wrong. Back then, magic was unregulated and that would lead to some... mishaps. There was a necromancer and druid who apparently had wanted to use the poor beasts now within the walls as black-market trades. When the police found out about it, they busted the operation and found Pleistocene based animals caged up. There was a female woolly mammoth, a handful of woolly rhinos, a pair of giant ground sloths, 3 dire wolves, and a full pack of ravenous epicyon, or bone crushing dogs. They were all rushed to the institute and have been here ever since.

Echo runs into the woolly rhino enclosure and straight to Gerome, her favourite. Gulberz catches up to his daughter and joins her, his face lighting up when he gazes on the majestic beasts. 'I still don't know how she can talk to them and they let her ride them.' Gulberz thinks to himself. The animals notice that Echo and Gulberz were in their enclosure, Patricia waddling up to Gulberz for some pets.

Gulberz chuckles, "Oh hello Patty! How are you doing since I was gone for oh so long!" He says teasingly as he rubs down her sides and belly, being sure to be careful as she was pregnant.

This was the first time the woolly rhinos were able to breed, as the woolly mammoth was able to breed with the elephants they had on site. For the rest of the day, Echo and Gulberz spent it with these animals, as they relaxed from the day's events.

Three days later, Echo had an epiphany. "Dad, I think I should move out."

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For the next week, Echo starts searching for an apartment, or at least someone who is looking for a roommate. She remembered her friends from when she went to university saying that getting a roommate would be the cheapest bet. 'Now all I have to do is find one that is cheap enough, but also not anything sketchy...' Echo thought to herself, as she scrolled though Kijiji, looking for this magical place. By this point, she has messaged multiple people, most of the places have either already been filled, they didn't want animal folk renting, or they just never responded. After a bit more searching, she found this lovely place that was offering a room, and it was only $600.00, and it was all inclusive! She quickly shot off a message, asking if the room had been taken yet.

Two hours later, Echo got a message back: Hello Echo, thanks for reaching out! My name is Ted, and the room hasn't been taken yet. 'SCORE!!' Echo thought excitedly to herself, quickly shooting back a message. That's Great! How big is the room? And would I be able to take a tour of the place?

Echo, filled with delight, started pacing her room, awaiting a response. Then Ted, as he called himself, sent another message. The room is 8x14 feet. You wanna see it? I work from 7-3:30 next week, no guarantees about a tour though.

Echo pauses for a moment when she sees that message. 'No guarantees about a tour? What? I thought that was par of the course... Huh. I still might as well go and check it out.' Echo thinks to herself, pulling up her schedule for next week to see if she has any days free. What's the address? I wouldn't mind knowing where it is. She asks, noting that he never put an address in the description of the apartment. He response quickly with the address so she puts it into google to see where it is and what's around. How about next Wednesday? We can meet at the Starbucks nearby, then you can show me where the apartment is? She takes a deep breath and sends her reply.

Sure.