Blog

The True Criminal

This piece from LittleBadWolf in September of 2022 was the perfect compliment to a story I had been mulling over in my head. I wanted to show a more ruthless side to Volpes, to remind the audience that was an antagonistic and villainous force. The best to do that was to show the way he treats the nobility that he (rightfully) considers the enemy of the common folk.

The story was labeled Mature on FA because it is one of my darker stories. See the content warming below before you read on. And to top it off, LittleBadWolf was kind enough to throw in a hoodless variant of the art as an alt, which you’ll find at the end of the tale.

CONTENT WARNING:

Kidnapping
Violence
Mention of Murder

---

A sack draped over his head, Lex had no idea where the brute was taking him. The brown-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned human had been abducted on his way back home. By the time he had time to think, he was already bound and blinded. Panic stricken, he had not the presence of mind to think about anything other than what was happening to him or if he would make it out alive, tears being to stream down his face.

Whether it was seconds, minutes, or hours, he would not be able to remember. Regardless, eventually he could feel solid ground beneath his immaculately tailored shoes, rich flowing coat brushing against the floor as he was placed in a chair far more uncomfortable that the ones at home and in his new office. When his kidnapper pulled the sack off of his head, all he could see were the confines of a rugged, worn-down shack, slowly being devoured by termites and time.

Whoever took him was careful not to leave anything in view aside from a table victimized by wood rot, and glass windows covered in moss. He tried to turn his head to get a better look at his surroundings, but as soon as he did a powerful hand clasped the back of it and recentered his line of vision.

“Hold your horses, kid. No lookin’ until the Master shows up.”

With the adrenaline beginning to subside, the noble’s brain began to wake up. “Master” implied that whoever was responsible for this was organized, part of a hierarchy. A rival merchant family perhaps? Or somebody looking for ransom money?

From behind him, a door opened, and he could hear the footsteps of the new arrival as the floorboards creaked underneath him. Though clearly a foxkin, the man entering his view was unlike any foxkin Lex had ever seen before, powerfully built, robes hanging loosely on a large, yet evenly proportioned and muscular body. But more impressive than that were his eyes, glowing unnaturally blue and green with the gaze of a predator. From a pocket in his robe, he removed a knife, taking it into his hand.

“Well, well, well. What have we here? Lex Sanders I presume? Scion and soon to be head of the Sanders family?”

“What of it?” Sweat began to drip off the human’s face, and the fox noticed that he had started to tremble in his seat. Anger burning in his eyes despite the neutrality of his tone. Volpes gave his knife a lick, imperceptibly cutting his tongue before the wound began to heal, stabbing the blade into the table as he sat down.

“I’ve heard much about you, boy. And of your little ‘misdeeds’ in the eleventh, sixteenth, and nineteenth districts.”

Those numbers themselves meant almost nothing to the nobleman, having made no efforts to memorize the layout of Oplentis, the city he and his family line called home, away from the regulations of the Magistrum and the other city-states. What truly sent a cold chill down his spine was the reference to his ‘misdeeds’.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” It was all he could bring himself to say in his defense.

Opening a drawer on his side of the table, the foxkin produced a file, revealing its contents, photographs and reports, to his captive. “Are you saying this wasn’t you entering and exiting a building where my men discovered the bodies of several of our fair city’s homeless population?”

Lex thought he had been clever, avoiding witnesses and keeping a low profile, wearing filthy peasant garbs to obfuscate his true origins, bribing guards to keep their heads low. Evidently, he wasn’t careful enough, or fast enough in disposing of the corpses. It was a long shot, but Lex thought to try the usual way of dealing with his problems.

“My father can pay whatever you want, just don’t hurt me.”

To his surprise, the fox’s face only contorted further into rage. “You think I’m doing this for money, do you?”

Having had time to process what was happening to him, Lex finally found his spine. “Everyone’s out for the money, just like those parasites asking for charity. The Sanders family earned its wealth, and freeloaders belong in the dirt. Who the fuck are you, anyway? If not money, then what are you after.”

“I am Volpes.”

On reflex, without even thinking, Lex scoffed in disbelief. “Volpes? Impossible. Everyone knows that freak’s territory is the thirteenth district. Stay out of there and the guards’ll let you do anything for the right price.” The foxkin couldn’t help but smile at his growing reputation.

“And what else do they say about Volpes?”

“That his people are all freakishly strong, and that he has an undeniable presenc- oh shit.” As the situation finally set in, and Lex realized that the fox truly was Volpes, the titan could hear his heart begin to race.

“You might have gotten away with one or two, but with the sheer number of bodies piled up it was only a matter of time before you caught my attention.”

The noble began to grovel, bowing so quickly to Volpes that he banged his head on the table. “But… but I stayed out of your territory. You can’t do this.”

“All the poor and homeless of this city are under my protection, Mr. Sanders, even if they reside outside my territory. When they tell me and my associates that friends and family are going missing, I act.”

Thinking on his feet, Lex saw the knife still wedged in the table. He lunged for it, but as he gripped it with his hands, a force impacted his face like fuzzy cold concrete, knocking him onto the floor alongside the chair he rose from. As he recovered, he found himself seated once more, only the arm of the chair was hanging off the side and his head was still pounding, making him woozy. Looking up, he saw Volpes mockingly played with the knife in his left hand. There was a discoloration of the fur on the back of it: Dark red. Touching his lips, the noble finally noticed that they were moist with his own blood.

“That wasn’t as stupid as leaving nearly a dozen dead bodies in your wake, but it was still stupid nonetheless.”

Nursing his wound, the captive realized he was running low on options. “So what do you want from me, then?”

Volpes’s mouth formed a devilish grin, as his eyes focused on the murdered in the room. “Justice.”

“And what do you mean by that?” After all he had done to cover it up, all he could do was clutch himself tightly as he once more checked the bleeding of his lip.

“That depends on you, Mr. Sanders. The underworld has a few ways that you could repay your debt to society. You could, for example, choose to work for me.”

“And if I refuse.”

The titan’s grin widened, both hoping for and expecting that answer. “Then you get to choose the knife or the hand.”

Lex’s face made no efforts to hide his bewilderment. “What?”

Faster than his size should allow, Volpes’s right hand had an iron grip on the same hand Lex tried to grab the knife earlier. “You’re right handed, judging by your foolishness from before. Good to know. Now, you get to choose the knife or the hand. If you choose knife, I render this hand impotent by cutting off each finger one by one. Choose hand, and I crush it with my own.”

“And if I don’t choose?” His face was wreathed in sweat, beady eyes started to bulge out of their sockets.

“Then I get to.”

As he let go with his right, Volpes enclosed Lex’s mitt with his own bloodied left hand, trapping it like a vice. Slowly, gradually, he began to apply his immense strength to it. Though he was not beastkin, the pain shooting through the synapses of his hand with the intensity of molten fire caused Lex to howl until he grew hoarse. Despite owning and operating a pharmacy in the slums as a cover, the screams did nothing to faze the titan crimelord.

“STOP! STOP IT PLEASE! I’LL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!”

Upon the young man’s surrender, Volpes released his grip, shoving the hand backward hard enough to make the murderer wince. “Really? So soon? I was starting to enjoy myself.”

“Psycho! Psycho! I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me anymore.”

“Perfect.” Reaching back into the drawer, Volpes pulled out a vial containing a dark green liquid. “If you intend to work for me and repay your debt, then you’ll need to heal that hand of yours. Drink this, and you’ll find yourself good as new.”

“Fine…. Fine. Whatever.” Pain still ringing in his ears, Lex hurried to open the vial and pour its bitter, foul contents directly down his throat. As he swallowed, the ringing stopped, replaced by numbness as his lip and broken hand started to knit themselves back together. The concussion he didn’t even realize he had from being violently backhanded to the floor had lifted from his brain, causing his nausea to pass. “Thanks, Master. I promise that you won’t regret this.”

“I already do, Mr. Sanders. You will never harm a single soul ever again, in this city or otherwise. And when I give you an order, you will follow it to the letter or die trying.”

He knew better than to give Master Volpes an attitude, so he kept himself under control for just a few moments longer. “Of course, Master Volpes. As you command.”

“Good, then go.”

Once he and the titan he trusted to abduct his new thrall were left alone, the kidnapper spoke. “You aren’t makin’ him a titan, boss?”

Volpes shook his head, “Would you trust a murderer with the strength that we possess? No, he shall ever be beneath us, and beneath those we protect. Utterly, completely expendable save for his family’s fortune.”

The other titan merely shrugged. “Fair enough. I still think he got off easy.”

“He’s lucky I have a use for him, otherwise this would’ve turned far uglier. On another subject, are the shipments ready?”

“Yes, boss. The Captain awaits your command.”

“Then see it gets done.”