“A Leap Forward” by MikasiWolf (part 3 of 3)

Speaker: 00:00:02

You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

Speaker: 00:00:04

I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

Speaker: 00:00:06

and Today’s story is third and final of

Speaker: 00:00:09

“A Leap Forward” by MikasiWolf (https://twitter.com/mikasiwolf?lang=en),

Speaker: 00:00:11

who is a Wolf Mercenary writer.

Speaker: 00:00:13

“A Leap Forward” had formerly appeared in Claw the Way to Victory by Goal Publications (formerly published by Jaffa Books),

Speaker: 00:00:19

and Furry Trash by Rabbit Valley Press. https://www.rabbitvalley.com/item.php?item=9809&return_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rabbitvalley.com%2Fsearch.php%3Fsearch_text%3DFurry%2BTrash%26return_number%3D25%26page%3D0 by Rabbit Valley Press (https://www.rabbitvalley.com)

Speaker: 00:00:21

and you can find links to more of his stories

Speaker: 00:00:23

on his Wikifur or Furaffinity page https://en.

https: 00:00:26

//en.wikifur.com/wiki/MikasiWolf https://www.furaffinity.net/user/mikasiwolf/ [if this is the second or third entry] Last time, Lesaut and Snoss leapt off the top of a moving train in a bid to escape the cops.

https: 00:00:31

What happens next?

Please enjoy: 00:00:33

“A Leap Forward” by MikasiWolf,

Please enjoy: 00:00:37

part 3 of 3

Please enjoy: 00:00:40

He dropped to a roll a quarter-second too late,

Please enjoy: 00:00:43

and he felt something sharp scratch several parts of his pelt as he tumbled over in a jumble of fur and tail.

Please enjoy: 00:00:48

His body ached and hurt even as the largest brunt of the fall was dissipated, and he groaned,

Please enjoy: 00:00:52

clutching his sides

Please enjoy: 00:00:53

as he lay painfully on the uneven ground.

Please enjoy: 00:00:56

Taking a look around as he staggered slowly upright,

Please enjoy: 00:00:59

the civet saw that he was on top of an uncompleted building,

Please enjoy: 00:01:02

tools and machinery lying about.

Please enjoy: 00:01:04

Looking down, there was no end of debris that could have caused the cuts on his back,

Please enjoy: 00:01:08

despite his thick fur.

Please enjoy: 00:01:09

His tail hurt worse than it ever had,

Please enjoy: 00:01:11

and he was surprised it still worked.

Please enjoy: 00:01:14

Snoss lay on his side next to a stack of I-beams, and Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:01:17

stumbled towards him.

Please enjoy: 00:01:19

To his relief, the horse was still conscious,

Please enjoy: 00:01:21

clutching his hooves as he breathed.

Please enjoy: 00:01:24

“You okay, Snoss?” asked Lesaut as he bent over him.

Please enjoy: 00:01:27

Slowly and carefully,

Please enjoy: 00:01:28

he flipped his mentee over.

Please enjoy: 00:01:29

“Fuck! My leg hurts!” cried Snoss, and Lesaut was quick to assess the situation.

Please enjoy: 00:01:34

The wall of his right hoof had a large split down the middle,

Please enjoy: 00:01:37

and it appeared to have gone through his skin.

Please enjoy: 00:01:39

Already a trickle of blood had seeped through it,

Please enjoy: 00:01:41

staining the dirty concrete.

Please enjoy: 00:01:43

“You'll be alright;

Please enjoy: 00:01:44

it’s only your hoof that's broken,”

Please enjoy: 00:01:46

said Lesaut, pressing his pads over the horse's leg

Please enjoy: 00:01:48

to check for broken bones.

Please enjoy: 00:01:50

The civet hid his relief.

Please enjoy: 00:01:52

“What were you thinking, Snoss?

Please enjoy: 00:01:53

You know better than to land that high without dropping to a roll!”

Please enjoy: 00:01:57

Snoss moaned. “I won’t ever let them catch me.

Please enjoy: 00:02:00

And your pelt's bleeding.”

Please enjoy: 00:02:02

The sound of police sirens came from far off, and Lesaut knew their respite

Please enjoy: 00:02:06

was only a short one.

Please enjoy: 00:02:07

His whole body hurt, but Snoss was still his responsibility until they were safe.

Please enjoy: 00:02:12

He would like to know why the police were after he who was thrust under his care, but Snoss was hardly in any shape to explain.

Please enjoy: 00:02:19

The worst thing that could happen was for him to panic,

Please enjoy: 00:02:21

and Lesaut needed the horse calm to be evacuated.

Please enjoy: 00:02:24

Despite being so much lighter than the horse was, Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:02:27

lifted Snoss slowly and gradually,

Please enjoy: 00:02:29

draping him across his shoulders.

Please enjoy: 00:02:31

At least his toned muscles had shown to be useful in more than just

Please enjoy: 00:02:34

The Movement. *** “Tell me, Liam.

Please enjoy: 00:02:38

Is Snoss a criminal?”

Please enjoy: 00:02:39

The two of them sat on a tiled roof overlooking a series of shorter ones after the cat helped patch both mentee

Please enjoy: 00:02:45

and mentor up with some plasters and antiseptic.

Please enjoy: 00:02:48

This used to be the post office until the newer one was built closer to the main train station.

Please enjoy: 00:02:53

Even Traceurs rarely came here because of the long jump that had to be made to reach it,

Please enjoy: 00:02:57

but Lesaut had set up a pulley system with a rope he use to climb up the side.

Please enjoy: 00:03:01

The winch mechanism was padlocked so he was assured of some privacy.

Please enjoy: 00:03:05

Some of the old mail sacks from the building allowed him to craft a sort of

Please enjoy: 00:03:08

tent in which Snoss now rested.

Please enjoy: 00:03:10

Other than the jitters of having almost been caught by the police

Please enjoy: 00:03:13

and his cracked hoof, he seemed

Please enjoy: 00:03:15

to be fine. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:03:16

had an old digital watch, but he didn't need to look at it to know it was nearly midnight.

Please enjoy: 00:03:21

The familiarly that came with knowing the city

Please enjoy: 00:03:23

from running countless circuits through it was like a second instinct.

Please enjoy: 00:03:27

He had called a cab for Snoss

Please enjoy: 00:03:28

after making his way down the stairs of the construction site, and the driver had accepted their tall-tale of a rough night in the alleys,

Please enjoy: 00:03:34

though the coyote's nose never stopped twitching from the scent of blood and fear.

Please enjoy: 00:03:38

Fortunately, Liam still had enough prepaid credit to answer his cell,

Please enjoy: 00:03:41

and had come down as soon as he heard what happened. Liam turned his muzzle towards him, ears barely twitching.

Please enjoy: 00:03:45

“What makes you think that?”

Please enjoy: 00:03:46

His voice was careful, calculated even.

Please enjoy: 00:03:49

“The damn police tried to catch us.

Please enjoy: 00:03:51

What more evidence do I need?”

Please enjoy: 00:03:52

demanded Lesaut. “And Snoss was looking over his shoulder the whole night like a hunted

Please enjoy: 00:03:56

feral, and I thought he was just plain timid.

Please enjoy: 00:03:59

But he’s wanted for something, isn’t he?”

Please enjoy: 00:04:01

“If he is, will you retract the promise you just made?”

Please enjoy: 00:04:04

Liam asked coolly. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:04:06

snarled and got up,

Please enjoy: 00:04:07

and already he was prepared to thrash the cat where he sat.

Please enjoy: 00:04:10

But Liam stayed where he was without blinking,

Please enjoy: 00:04:12

and Lesaut had to fight to keep his fur down.

Please enjoy: 00:04:15

“Of course not! But I don't like the sound of this. Here we are, minding our own accursed business, when this guy comes along.

Please enjoy: 00:04:21

If the cops are after him, that means they will soon take to the roofs. And once that happens,

Please enjoy: 00:04:25

all of our Traceur brethren will lose their rights to The Movement!

Please enjoy: 00:04:28

Our clients will cease dealings with us,

Please enjoy: 00:04:30

and we will be without purpose, having to find our lives on the ground.

Please enjoy: 00:04:33

And I'll be damned if I ever let that happen. It’s dangerous down there, you know?

Please enjoy: 00:04:37

Especially for me.” Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:04:39

pointed at the spots on his arm.

Please enjoy: 00:04:41

Liam sighed. “Look, Lesaut, I admit that I didn't expect any of this shit to happen. But I promise you,

Please enjoy: 00:04:47

Snoss ain’t no crook.

Please enjoy: 00:04:48

He's a runaway, just like the rest of us. His aunt put out a notice for his retrieval.” Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:04:53

stared back at him.

Please enjoy: 00:04:55

“But why?” That was certainly a

Please enjoy: 00:04:58

first. “Snoss' parents died 4 months ago,”

Please enjoy: 00:05:00

said Liam. His voice became steadier now that Lesaut was listening.

Please enjoy: 00:05:04

“His parents left a trust fund for whoever was to take care of him after their passing,

Please enjoy: 00:05:08

and it was to be paid in monthly installments as long as Snoss lived with his guardian.

Please enjoy: 00:05:12

His aunt had volunteered,

Please enjoy: 00:05:13

and the reason why she’s demanding for his return

Please enjoy: 00:05:15

is that she only took him in for the inheritance.

Please enjoy: 00:05:18

Snoss overheard everything she said to her boyfriend.

Please enjoy: 00:05:20

He ran off a week back and

Please enjoy: 00:05:22

took the train here with less than a hundred quid and The Movement to guide him.

Please enjoy: 00:05:26

He left behind everything he had ever known,

Please enjoy: 00:05:27

friends, family, his familiarity with the city, but it was too much for him to take, Lesaut.

Please enjoy: 00:05:33

You know what it’s like to be held against your will, in a place where nobody understands you?

Please enjoy: 00:05:37

His aunt never cared for him,

Please enjoy: 00:05:38

and as long as I'm alive, I'll make sure she never gets him.

Please enjoy: 00:05:41

I found him trying to rough it out in the docks district, will you believe that?

Please enjoy: 00:05:45

As his only source of support,

Please enjoy: 00:05:46

we have to show him how to live to his full potential

Please enjoy: 00:05:49

and avoid the coppers till things die down.

Please enjoy: 00:05:52

That's where you come in.”

Please enjoy: 00:05:54

“But how did the police track him all the way from New York?” asked Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:05:57

as he paced.

Please enjoy: 00:05:58

All kinds of thoughts were racing through his mind, and he didn't know if that was good or bad.

Please enjoy: 00:06:03

In Clichy, things were simple:

Please enjoy: 00:06:04

you avoided the cops to avoid trouble.

Please enjoy: 00:06:07

Now, they had a greedy aunt right out of a movie to content with.

Please enjoy: 00:06:10

“Intersection's an intercity transit hub just like New York.

Please enjoy: 00:06:14

It’s not like it’s the first place New Yorkers have to go if they want to get anywhere else.”

Please enjoy: 00:06:18

“Remember those tracker cams I told you they have in London?”

Please enjoy: 00:06:21

asked Liam as Lesaut nodded impatiently.

Please enjoy: 00:06:23

“Well, New York has them too.

Please enjoy: 00:06:25

They must have cross-referenced his image at their station with those from the shitty cams at our very own train station.

Please enjoy: 00:06:31

Whatever it is, we can't let them find him.

Please enjoy: 00:06:34

There's only so much we as Traceurs can do to hide him from the Grounders,

Please enjoy: 00:06:37

so we have to teach him how to survive,

Please enjoy: 00:06:39

staying out of sight in the topside.

Please enjoy: 00:06:41

I'm not just asking you to be a mentor, Lesaut but a big brother too. Snoss

Please enjoy: 00:06:45

is alone. He needs someone to look up to.

Please enjoy: 00:06:48

The kid's only sixteen, and you know how vulnerable they are to influence at that age.

Please enjoy: 00:06:52

Make sure it’s a good one.” Lesaut's

Please enjoy: 00:06:55

eyes flickered.

Please enjoy: 00:06:56

“Yes, but-” “Skyler convinced me and the other cubs

Please enjoy: 00:06:59

that he was doing it to help us,

Please enjoy: 00:07:01

but now I know all of that is bullshit,”

Please enjoy: 00:07:03

said Liam. His face was a mask of calm,

Please enjoy: 00:07:05

and there was no anger for his former mentor.

Please enjoy: 00:07:08

“We were being used,

Please enjoy: 00:07:09

and I, being the fool I was,

Please enjoy: 00:07:11

believed him. The same thing

Please enjoy: 00:07:13

must not happen to Snoss or anyone else we have the means to help.

Please enjoy: 00:07:17

Do you understand that?”

Please enjoy: 00:07:19

There was urgency in his tone, and Lesaut knew Liam had told him all he could about the horse under his care.

Please enjoy: 00:07:24

No lies, no trickery.

Please enjoy: 00:07:26

Only honesty, one of the principles of The Movement.

Please enjoy: 00:07:30

“Of course.” said the civet as he breathed out.

Please enjoy: 00:07:33

“Is there something you're worried about?”

Please enjoy: 00:07:35

asked Liam. With his cap off, Lesaut could see that he was genuinely concerned,

Please enjoy: 00:07:39

ears turned to him.

Please enjoy: 00:07:41

What little light there was reflected off his eyes, as they frowned to better see him.

Please enjoy: 00:07:45

“You know you can always talk to me about anything, no matter what it is.

Please enjoy: 00:07:48

Earlier today, you seemed worried about mentoring Snoss.

Please enjoy: 00:07:51

Why exactly? Did something like this happen before?” “I...” Lesaut swallowed, fighting to take a breath. “I was nervous about it, that's all. I wasn't exactly a great teacher back in Paris. Don’t worry, Liam, I’m fine.

Please enjoy: 00:07:55

I'll be okay after a good sleep. I'll take good care of Snoss. That I promise.” He forced a smile back at the angora. Liam didn't look convinced, but he wasn't

Please enjoy: 00:07:57

going to get anything more out of the civet.

Please enjoy: 00:08:18

“Well, you know how to reach me,” said the cat with a smile.

Please enjoy: 00:08:21

“Just don't call after nine tomorrow alright?

Please enjoy: 00:08:23

I’ve got stuff I need to take care of.”

Please enjoy: 00:08:26

In a blink of an eye, he was gone,

Please enjoy: 00:08:28

a silent shadow flowing down the building by the various foot and pawholds it offered. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:08:33

got up on the parapet and looked down at the lithe form of the cat

Please enjoy: 00:08:36

dashing towards a neighborhood,

Please enjoy: 00:08:38

his dark chocolate pelt barely a signature on the unlit streets.

Please enjoy: 00:08:41

The cat was pure confidence and courage,

Please enjoy: 00:08:43

perfectly at ease on the ground as he was on the roofs.

Please enjoy: 00:08:46

Something told the civet

Please enjoy: 00:08:48

this would be the last he saw of the cat in full form,

Please enjoy: 00:08:51

a master bidding a silent goodbye to his disciple.

Please enjoy: 00:08:54

There was no ceremony and fanfare when passing on the reins of mentorship,

Please enjoy: 00:08:58

for those of The Movement knew to take things as they came. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:09:02

hung his head as his elbows rested on the parapet.

Please enjoy: 00:09:05

So much happened in such a short space of time.

Please enjoy: 00:09:08

His life had just taken a large turn,

Please enjoy: 00:09:10

but was he who let his brother fall

Please enjoy: 00:09:12

worthy of the duty thrust upon him?

Please enjoy: 00:09:14

Snoss had taken an unnecessary risk as Cicel had,

Please enjoy: 00:09:18

but he was fortunate enough not to have met the fate of his predecessor.

Please enjoy: 00:09:21

What if it happened again?

Please enjoy: 00:09:23

Looking down at the height that separated him from the ground, Lesaut’s knees buckled as he sobbed,

Please enjoy: 00:09:27

memories of long past overwhelming him.

Please enjoy: 00:09:30

No one knew why he had come to Intersection,

Please enjoy: 00:09:32

and he had to bear the burden of it alone.

Please enjoy: 00:09:35

He had resolved not to let the past control him, but sometimes,

Please enjoy: 00:09:38

it was all too much. *** Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:09:42

fiddled with the locket around his neck,

Please enjoy: 00:09:44

staring out over the roofs

Please enjoy: 00:09:46

of the ever-evolving city.

Please enjoy: 00:09:48

Life below moved forward, while life above followed close behind.

Please enjoy: 00:09:52

The morning sun peeked out from the tops of the roofs that had ensnarled it,

Please enjoy: 00:09:56

rays of light bringing with it

Please enjoy: 00:09:58

life and renewal to the city. It was the dawn of

Please enjoy: 00:10:01

a new day, promises were reaffirmed, and important decisions were sealed

Please enjoy: 00:10:05

as rest brought new perspective to them.

Please enjoy: 00:10:08

He had come a long way from where he was,

Please enjoy: 00:10:10

one little civet in an ocean of so many others,

Please enjoy: 00:10:13

all brought together by a common desire.

Please enjoy: 00:10:15

A desire to live,

Please enjoy: 00:10:17

survive, and belong,

Please enjoy: 00:10:18

each new day an affirmation of life’s little successes.

Please enjoy: 00:10:22

He had made his way alone to this spot near the city center once more,

Please enjoy: 00:10:26

knowing that in the days that would follow,

Please enjoy: 00:10:27

he may not be able to.

Please enjoy: 00:10:30

He had peeked in on Snoss right before he left,

Please enjoy: 00:10:32

and left a breakfast of flame-boiled oats with a note telling the horse to wait for him.

Please enjoy: 00:10:36

Liam had mentioned that he may be visiting the city center today,

Please enjoy: 00:10:39

and Lesaut needed to be sure of a hunch.

Please enjoy: 00:10:42

It was too early for a football game, and a lone rabbit gardener could be seen reseeding the field,

Please enjoy: 00:10:46

his large brown ears twitching. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:10:49

settled himself more comfortably against his gargoyle friend and waited,

Please enjoy: 00:10:52

humming softly to himself.

Please enjoy: 00:10:54

A lingala folk song took his fancy, and soon he was bouncing along with the words.

Please enjoy: 00:10:59

Just as the public clock showed the time as 8.50am, Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:11:02

spotted the distinct form of the angora’s chocolate pelt alighting from a bus,

Please enjoy: 00:11:07

and Lesaut couldn't help but stare.

Please enjoy: 00:11:09

Liam had always hated public transportation,

Please enjoy: 00:11:11

but here he was, a commuter of the masses.

Please enjoy: 00:11:14

He had never seen Liam wear anything other than his assortment of tee-shirts and jeans,

Please enjoy: 00:11:18

and here he was in office work clothes, looking rather uncomfortable and out of place in them.

Please enjoy: 00:11:23

Beside him was a female British shorthair,

Please enjoy: 00:11:26

her prominent hips visible even from afar.

Please enjoy: 00:11:28

Lesaut whistled as he took in her swagger of a dance across the sidewalk.

Please enjoy: 00:11:32

She was dressed in the off-white apparel of a nurse,

Please enjoy: 00:11:35

and the civet figured that she was heading to work. Liam's gaze kept darting to the front door of the Transport Authority building as they stopped before it.

Please enjoy: 00:11:43

He lifted his head to the morning air

Please enjoy: 00:11:44

and breathed heavily

Please enjoy: 00:11:46

even as the female spoke,

Please enjoy: 00:11:47

her paw clutching his shoulder.

Please enjoy: 00:11:49

Liam grew calmer as the minutes passed,

Please enjoy: 00:11:51

even laughing as he spoke to her. The glass door to the main lobby opened,

Please enjoy: 00:11:54

and a uniformed wolf stepped out, setting a placard on a poster stand.

Please enjoy: 00:11:57

Upon it was printed:

Please enjoy: 00:11:59

“Walk-in Interview for Logistics Assistant:

Please enjoy: 00:12:02

9-10am”. Liam took one last breath before turning to his companion.

Please enjoy: 00:12:07

He and the female hugged,

Please enjoy: 00:12:09

and it was then Lesaut knew why Liam had really left The Movement.

Please enjoy: 00:12:13

He had found his love by chance when he had hurt himself,

Please enjoy: 00:12:16

meeting her in the hospital

Please enjoy: 00:12:17

in a stroke of fate.

Please enjoy: 00:12:19

Like the Traceur he was,

Please enjoy: 00:12:20

he had surmounted the obstacles of life to move from one stage of it to another,

Please enjoy: 00:12:24

each obstacle a new opportunity,

Please enjoy: 00:12:26

a new chance his life.

Please enjoy: 00:12:29

Just as Lesaut had left Clichy to avoid arrest,

Please enjoy: 00:12:32

Liam had given up The Movement

Please enjoy: 00:12:33

to be with his love,

Please enjoy: 00:12:34

someone he kept secret from the others to avoid misunderstanding and discord within their fragile community.

Please enjoy: 00:12:40

And Lesaut didn't blame him.

Please enjoy: 00:12:43

All of them sought purpose in their life,

Please enjoy: 00:12:45

and Liam of all people

Please enjoy: 00:12:46

had been no less deserving of it,

Please enjoy: 00:12:48

which was more than Lesaut could say for himself.

Please enjoy: 00:12:51

The Movement was the angora’s life,

Please enjoy: 00:12:53

and the civet knew how much it would have hurt

Please enjoy: 00:12:55

to give up everything he had spent his life perfecting.

Please enjoy: 00:12:58

Without him, they may not have a community that understands each other,

Please enjoy: 00:13:01

and the Traceurs would be lost among the masses,

Please enjoy: 00:13:04

important beliefs and philosophy worn away by neglect.

Please enjoy: 00:13:07

He watched Liam give one last smile to his girlfriend as they parted from each other,

Please enjoy: 00:13:11

disappearing into the confines of the building.

Please enjoy: 00:13:14

The civet couldn't help but feel a rush of happiness for the cat,

Please enjoy: 00:13:17

and tears started to fall.

Please enjoy: 00:13:20

Looking back, Lesaut realized that

Please enjoy: 00:13:22

he had learned more in the last one day than he had in the past six months.

Please enjoy: 00:13:26

Life was about moving forward, not staying in the past, as Ahsun had said,

Please enjoy: 00:13:30

and it was only after crossing an ocean that it came to him.

Please enjoy: 00:13:33

To live in the past

Please enjoy: 00:13:35

was to die in the present.

Please enjoy: 00:13:36

And with changes came new opportunities for one to go further,

Please enjoy: 00:13:39

be it in life or The Movement.

Please enjoy: 00:13:42

All of them had different fates,

Please enjoy: 00:13:43

different goals, and each person's journey was different.

Please enjoy: 00:13:46

Sometimes, it takes not just themselves, but others that they knew and respected

Please enjoy: 00:13:50

to give them that boost in their jump,

Please enjoy: 00:13:52

that purpose in their life.

Please enjoy: 00:13:54

Snoss was without somebody to guide him,

Please enjoy: 00:13:57

but it didn't have to be so.

Please enjoy: 00:13:59

He needed someone

Please enjoy: 00:14:00

not to restrict him,

Please enjoy: 00:14:01

but to protect him as he spread his wings to go further.

Please enjoy: 00:14:04

What happened to his brother back in Clichy

Please enjoy: 00:14:06

has been his greatest mistake, but Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:14:08

had learned from it.

Please enjoy: 00:14:10

Even masters at the art made mistakes,

Please enjoy: 00:14:13

but there was always something to learn from both successes and failures.

Please enjoy: 00:14:17

Should the law ever come knocking,

Please enjoy: 00:14:19

Snoss would have learned how to survive,

Please enjoy: 00:14:21

with Lesaut as the brother he needed to guide him.

Please enjoy: 00:14:24

And, through the philosophy,

Please enjoy: 00:14:25

Snoss would learn that life was more than simply running away,

Please enjoy: 00:14:28

but facing and embracing change when it came.

Please enjoy: 00:14:31

As in the words of the founder:

Please enjoy: 00:14:33

“The key to The Art of Displacement

Please enjoy: 00:14:35

is realizing that obstacles are part of your pathway.

Please enjoy: 00:14:38

And to move is to live,

Please enjoy: 00:14:40

for Movement is life.”

Please enjoy: 00:14:43

Liam had moved on,

Please enjoy: 00:14:45

and so would Lesaut. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:14:47

got to his feet even as Liam's girlfriend settled herself onto a bench,

Please enjoy: 00:14:51

and made the dash towards the roof’s edge.

Please enjoy: 00:14:54

His brother's locket no longer held bad memories, and was now a comfort against his neck ruff

Please enjoy: 00:14:59

even as the wind soaked into his fur,

Please enjoy: 00:15:01

the drop of the edge opening below him.

Please enjoy: 00:15:03

And with a leap, Lesaut moved forward,

Please enjoy: 00:15:06

not merely to the next place,

Please enjoy: 00:15:08

but the next stage of his life. ***

Please enjoy: 00:15:12

Two years later... Snoss wondered why anyone would choose to drive when they could run.

Please enjoy: 00:15:18

He had gone for driving lessons when he turned sixteen, and had hated it from the start.

Please enjoy: 00:15:23

It gave little freedom to one who was used to lots of open space around him,

Please enjoy: 00:15:26

and a vehicle was little more than a moving cage.

Please enjoy: 00:15:29

His peers had been nothing short of surprised when he chose walking to school over catching a ride.

Please enjoy: 00:15:33

Only that he walked paths

Please enjoy: 00:15:35

no one else had. Blocked alleyways became open roads,

Please enjoy: 00:15:38

fences mere gates to another path.

Please enjoy: 00:15:41

The sounds of Intersection's early-morning traffic jam were audible even from up high,

Please enjoy: 00:15:45

amplified rather than softened by the buildings around it.

Please enjoy: 00:15:48

Snoss reared forward on his handhoofs

Please enjoy: 00:15:50

as they lightly gripped the parapet,

Please enjoy: 00:15:52

the momentum of his swinging legs throwing him forward into a spinning arc.

Please enjoy: 00:15:56

His hoofs contacted the concrete landing of a lower fire escape perfectly and he rolled,

Please enjoy: 00:16:00

landing smoothly back up.

Please enjoy: 00:16:02

The file placed within the small of his back

Please enjoy: 00:16:04

rubbed slightly even as he shouldered the emergency door open with a bang,

Please enjoy: 00:16:08

finding himself in the all-too-familiar multi-story garage.

Please enjoy: 00:16:11

And who else would be waiting for him

Please enjoy: 00:16:13

but the cops? Snoss knew he could back out the door and make it to the next two levels down before the cops cried foul,

Please enjoy: 00:16:20

but here was a complete lesson in The Movement all set up for him.

Please enjoy: 00:16:24

Ever since his mentor saved him from near-capture,

Please enjoy: 00:16:26

the horse was determined

Please enjoy: 00:16:27

not to run away from any of life's difficulties.

Please enjoy: 00:16:30

He knew that the cops had probably staked out the place based on intel from

Please enjoy: 00:16:34

cross-referencing reported

Please enjoy: 00:16:35

and digital sightings,

Please enjoy: 00:16:37

but no matter. The horse

Please enjoy: 00:16:39

sailed over a Camorra in a dash vault,

Please enjoy: 00:16:42

eyes taking in every detail of the parking garage.

Please enjoy: 00:16:45

Already the cops had started towards him,

Please enjoy: 00:16:46

nightsticks and telescopic batons out as they yelled for compliance.

Please enjoy: 00:16:50

He recognized the pine marten barking out orders from the day he had met Lesaut,

Please enjoy: 00:16:54

and noted with some mirth that he was still a sergeant.

Please enjoy: 00:16:57

Snoss dropped to his feet and palms, flinching to the side as an overzealous officer struck out at him.

Please enjoy: 00:17:03

Throwing his body forward with arms outstretched,

Please enjoy: 00:17:05

he narrowly dodged the whistling metal implements,

Please enjoy: 00:17:07

and heard the cops yell as the cracks of metal on flesh resounded.

Please enjoy: 00:17:11

Snapping his head back up,

Please enjoy: 00:17:12

his eyes locked on the sergeant exactly as they had two years back.

Please enjoy: 00:17:16

With a venomous snarl, the sergeant drew his Glock 17,

Please enjoy: 00:17:19

and Snoss ran up against a van and sprang.

Please enjoy: 00:17:21

Years of constant training made everything he saw appear to slow,

Please enjoy: 00:17:25

foothoofs coming together on the pistol

Please enjoy: 00:17:27

as he approached the marten. .

Please enjoy: 00:17:29

.Caught in the momentum of the pull,

Please enjoy: 00:17:30

the marten tumbled in a mess of tail and fur right before Snoss landed,

Please enjoy: 00:17:34

the gun clattering right next to his hoofs.

Please enjoy: 00:17:36

Snoss bowed apologetically to the flabbergasted lawmen

Please enjoy: 00:17:39

before sprinting out through the other end.

Please enjoy: 00:17:42

He could almost hear the radio chatter that would be on the police airwaves,

Please enjoy: 00:17:45

but he wouldn't be caught today.

Please enjoy: 00:17:47

As long as the Traceurs avoided hurting the cops, they were pretty much safe from retaliation.

Please enjoy: 00:17:51

The marten was trigger-happy today, but anyone in his position would be,

Please enjoy: 00:17:54

trying and failing to round up the bums his captain had ordered him to.

Please enjoy: 00:17:59

He reached the drop-off point of his delivery,

Please enjoy: 00:18:01

dropping off the security-sealed file as he cleared an alley.

Please enjoy: 00:18:04

Today’s delivery sure was eventful,

Please enjoy: 00:18:06

and Snoss was hesitant about agreeing to it.

Please enjoy: 00:18:09

The contact he met looked like the nervous military type,

Please enjoy: 00:18:12

but he paid well enough to avoid any questions.

Please enjoy: 00:18:15

The horse made his way back to his roof,

Please enjoy: 00:18:17

throwing in a few false vaults and turns to confuse any watchers.

Please enjoy: 00:18:20

Even as the horse stepped into a disused water tower and lay back against his couch,

Please enjoy: 00:18:25

he felt almost sorry for the cops.

Please enjoy: 00:18:27

They were simply doing their job,

Please enjoy: 00:18:28

a difficult one considering the qualities of the suspects they were dealing with.

Please enjoy: 00:18:32

But the horse enjoyed his freedom,

Please enjoy: 00:18:34

and he was determined to keep it as long as he lived.

Please enjoy: 00:18:38

His cell rang, and the horse's face grinned when he saw the number.

Please enjoy: 00:18:42

He patched the cell through his Bluetooth earpiece.

Please enjoy: 00:18:44

“Yo, Mentor,” neighed Snoss.

Please enjoy: 00:18:47

The voice at the other end groaned.

Please enjoy: 00:18:49

“Come on, Snoss. I've told you not to call me that.

Please enjoy: 00:18:52

that.” “Old habits die hard, I guess,”

Please enjoy: 00:18:54

said the horse cheekily

Please enjoy: 00:18:55

as he turned on his TV set.

Please enjoy: 00:18:57

This close to an office block, Snoss was able to connect a couple of cables to give him all the comforts of an actual apartment.

Please enjoy: 00:19:03

He had to admit that the air-conditioning had been a little difficult set up,

Please enjoy: 00:19:06

but a couple of jobs he had done alongside Lesaut earned him enough to buy a portable model.

Please enjoy: 00:19:11

On the news channel,

Please enjoy: 00:19:12

a haggled-looking mayor was assailed by reporters on what was deemed

Please enjoy: 00:19:15

“The Topside Problem”.

Please enjoy: 00:19:17

Shortly after his near-escape,

Please enjoy: 00:19:18

the police had announced that they had reason to believe an unknown number of hoodlums had been living illegally on the roofs of Intersection.

Please enjoy: 00:19:25

Aside from unconfirmed witness sightings,

Please enjoy: 00:19:27

the police has yet to come up with any progress.

Please enjoy: 00:19:30

They would come a day when the cops took to the roofs,

Please enjoy: 00:19:33

decked out in Freerunning gear and training, but today was not the day.

Please enjoy: 00:19:37

“So, what's up?” Snoss asked the civet. Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:19:40

chuckled. “Aside from the usual drama about us?

Please enjoy: 00:19:43

Liam asked if we would like to celebrate his kits’ first birthday with him.

Please enjoy: 00:19:47

I told him that I'd check with you.”

Please enjoy: 00:19:49

“Count me in, bro!” exclaimed the horse,

Please enjoy: 00:19:51

seating up straighter.

Please enjoy: 00:19:53

“What do they look like?”

Please enjoy: 00:19:54

“I've seen them a month back.

Please enjoy: 00:19:56

They're pretty cute.

Please enjoy: 00:19:57

Two of them’s brown like him while the other’s grey.” Lesaut

Please enjoy: 00:20:00

cleared his throat.

Please enjoy: 00:20:02

“But enough about him, eh?

Please enjoy: 00:20:03

How are you doing so far? Have you

Please enjoy: 00:20:05

made any consideration to your, err...”

Please enjoy: 00:20:08

“Coming of age?” asked Snoss.

Please enjoy: 00:20:10

Lesaut mumbled in affirmation.

Please enjoy: 00:20:13

“Sure have. The moment I turn eighteen a month from now, my aunt no longer has custody of me.

Please enjoy: 00:20:18

That means the cops ain't got any reason to catch me no more.

Please enjoy: 00:20:21

But I'll still run with you guys till the Flow tells me to take it easy like Liam.”

Please enjoy: 00:20:25

“That's not how the Flow works.

Please enjoy: 00:20:27

Have you forgotten everything I taught?” groaned Lesaut.

Please enjoy: 00:20:30

“And you've got a thing coming if you think Liam has it easy.

Please enjoy: 00:20:33

Do you know how many train and bus schedules he's in charge of?

Please enjoy: 00:20:36

Not to mention the number of subordinates he has to oversee with a

Please enjoy: 00:20:39

pain-in-the-tail boss to answer to.

Please enjoy: 00:20:41

And you know just how cats and dogs get along!

Please enjoy: 00:20:43

Liam told me there were times he wished he could run with us again,

Please enjoy: 00:20:46

but now it’s just a passing dream.

Please enjoy: 00:20:47

Delores would have his pelt if he tried anything like that again,

Please enjoy: 00:20:50

ever since he became a father.”

Please enjoy: 00:20:53

“Nothing like freedom, eh?”

Please enjoy: 00:20:54

laughed Snoss. He stepped out of his den,

Please enjoy: 00:20:57

looking down at the vast expense of the city that was his home.

Please enjoy: 00:21:00

With its countless paths,

Please enjoy: 00:21:03

routes, and waypoints, it was a maze of opportunities and lessons abound.

Please enjoy: 00:21:07

Not for the first time,

Please enjoy: 00:21:08

the horse realized just how fortunate his life was.

Please enjoy: 00:21:11

He may be miles from his birthplace,

Please enjoy: 00:21:14

but that was simply part of following the Art

Please enjoy: 00:21:16

of Displacement.This was the

Please enjoy: 00:21:20

the 3# of 3# parts of

Please enjoy: 00:21:22

“A Leap Forward” by MikasiWolf,

Please enjoy: 00:21:24

read for you by Khaki,

Please enjoy: 00:21:25

your faithful fireside companion. Thanks for reading!

Please enjoy: 00:21:28

As always, you can find more stories on the web at thevoice.dog,

Please enjoy: 00:21:32

or find the show wherever you get your podcasts.

Please enjoy: 00:21:34

Thank you for listening

Please enjoy: 00:21:36

to The Voice of Dog