Snippet from Kapykeeper of the Lost Cities: Chapter 1, Written by Shannon Messengbara, edits made by capy.
“It’s okay,” he said, holding out his paws as he moved closer, like she was some sort of wild animal he was trying to calm.
Not that he was wrong.
Sophybara was a raccoon after all.
“You don’t have to be afraid. I’m one too.”
Sophybara froze.
“My name’s Ritz,” he added, stepping closer still.
Ritz? What kind of a name was Ritz?
Ritz as in the ritz crackers her family always ate?
She studied his face, searching for some sign that this was all part of a joke.
“I’m not joking. It’s not my fault I got named after a cracker. Go ask my parents what they were thinking,” he said, almost as if he had heard her thoughts.
Maybe he did.
She wobbled on her paws.
She’d spent the past seven years wishing she could find someone else like her—someone who could do what she could, someone who also didn't look like a raccoon.
None of the fellow raccoons in her class were able to do what she could do, none even closely resembled her.
And she'd searched, and searched, and searched.
Now that she’d found him, she felt like the world had tilted sideways.
He had the same shaped paws, same fur color...
Maybe Sophybara wasn't really a raccoon after all.
Maybe... she was some type of alien species.
Her hind paws began to weaken.
She wasn't normal.
Ritz grabbed his paws to steady her. “It’s okay, Sophybara Capster. I’m here to help you. We’ve been looking for you for twelve years.”
Twelve years? And what did he mean by “we”?
Better question: What did he want with her?
The walls closed in and the room started to spin.
Air.
She needed air.
She jerked away and bolted through the door, stumbling as her shaky paws found their rhythm.