The New Order
The art for this piece was depicted by Refegi as part of a YCH in December 2024. This is also the first time that art is posted here on the same day it is being uploaded to FurAffinity. This will hopefully be the norm from here on out.
Unfortunately, it also means I’m less likely to have additional thoughts to add, especially now since I just wrote this story today as of the time of writing this.
The Oplentian nobility have been deposed, and the Titan Syndicate are in control. From your hovel in the slums, you ponder this turn of events. This should be a good thing, shouldn’t it? But something doesn’t feel right.
You started noticing it shortly after that huge titan wolf took the throne: The one Volpes had backed as the new ruler. Your friends and neighbors would go to him, petitioning the new government for aid in the reconstruction efforts. Inevitably, the support would come, but when those same people returned, they were different.
All you would ever hear from them is how they were tired of being weak. Within days, they would sign up to join the army, bloating in both muscle and ego as all soldiers were ordered to undergo the titan transformation. You remembered watching one of the induction ceremonies. It always stood out to you how not a single recruit even hesitated as they were handed the potion.
And your district wasn’t alone. It spread among the rest of citizenry like a virus, even in more affluent parts of town. So many of the people had become soldiers that this so-called Emperor began ordering them to split their monthly schedules between civilian work and training. It was smooth. In your opinion, it was too smooth, as if it was orchestrated.
Those same friends, the ones you drink with and work alongside, were now titan soldiers. Worse, they were negging you to join them, saying that you didn’t need to be so small anymore. There personalities were so different that you began to drift apart, an uncomfortable rift forming between you.
Whatever this city was becoming, you wanted nothing to do with it. You began to form a plan. A storm was coming, and when it did even the titans would be off the streets, patrols light. As risky as it sounded, it was an opening, one you were eager to take advantage of. You had to get out of here. There was no other option.
The initial joy of a well-executed plan coming together faded quickly once you were outside the city walls. It was still pouring, and without a carriage or means of transportation your exodus from Oplentian territory was going to be long and perilous. Your whole body shook from the cold, damp air but still you pressed on, gritting your fangs the whole way. You could feel your fur puffing out, and you briefly wondering if this was similar to the “goosebumps” you remember your human friends talking about in the old days.
It was difficult to tell how far you’d been walking, but the rain refused to let up even an inch for what felt like hours. In hindsight, you were woefully unprepared, but it would have difficult make arrangements without raising suspicion. Your limbs were starting to grow numb to anything but the chill, and your waterlogged clothing clung tightly to your slim form. Exhaustion took you, and you knelt down on the damp road.
As you tried to breath steady, recover your stamina, you heard something approach. Unfortunately, you were powerless to do anything about it. All you could do is look up at it, and what you saw shocked your system fully alert.
He was right there. You figured that he might have sent a soldier, possibly even one of your old friends, to pursue you. You never figured that he might hunt you down personally. In stark contrast to your failing body, his massive sword sat comfortably in one hand. The rain glided off his form as much as does yours, fur and muscle exposed, but he appeared unphased by it. His bright glowing eyes, beacons in this dark, misty rain, pierced you with a scornful glare.
“I give you people everything. Power. Health. Prosperity. And still you run, hide, cower. Weaklings, the lot of you.” And weak is exactly how you felt as he lifted you up onto his shoulder with a single hand, carrying you like a sack of potatoes. “You can’t become a titan until you’ve strengthened your pathetic mind. Consider yourself lucky, because we have ways to fix you.”
His warmth kept you lucid for a time as he hauls you back, but eventually you passed out. You woke up in a hospital bed, as you were nursed back to health.
Soon, the next recruitment call sounded across the city. Even since that day, the Emperor was all you were able to think about. All you wanted to do is let him free you from this weak body you’ve been cursed with. You smiled as you joined the line. Sure, this city’s changes seem scary, but you’d do anything for that wolf. You were sure of it.
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