Tales of Yibixus: Lea

Every young Grimalkin knows that once they hit their teenage years, they must undergo the ‘test.’ Something once celebrated has now become a ceremony of fear and discontent. Once an honor that fast-tracked a young Grimalkin into a world of prominence and importance—it is now a curse that all working families hope desperately to avoid.

Lea’s class lines up. All wearing their best formal clothing, every single child looks to have had their fur brushed several times. Female and Male grimalkins alike, waiting to be judged.

“C-children,” the teacher calls out and her voice cracks nervously. Having taught her young Grimalkins since they were very young—she hopes none of them get a positive result. They are her only family, and she cares deeply for each and every one of them.

“Miss,” the children all call out, standing to attention.

Gerda stands arrow straight and looks over her students. She tries her best not to give any of them eye contact. She can’t bear the idea of any of them being taken away—never to be seen again.

“Do you remember what we practiced?” Gerda asks, doing her best to remain professional in the grace of the big wigs from the Royal Guard.

“Yes, Miss,” the students reply in unison.

However, Lea doesn’t answer. She’s silent, looking down at her feet. Her ears are droopy, and her demeanor reflects the depressed feeling in the room. It’s cold and you could almost taste the fear.

“Lea, dear…?” Gerda whispers, approaching her as she looks nervously over her shoulder—hoping that none of the guards are watching. “Chin up. Don’t stand out.”

Lea looks up, and there’s a tear in her eye. “I’m….” Lea wipes her eye with her paw and sobs. “S-scared.”

Alarm bells blurring in Gerda’s mind, she knows she has to comfort Lea; otherwise, the entire class will be punished for discontent. Gerda looks over her shoulder, hoping that Lea’s emotional state hasn’t been noticed.

They are in the clear for now…

“Lea,” Gerda whispers. “I’m scared, too,” she admits. “It’ll all be over soon, and we’ll all be back home with our families and the people we love. Just be brave for me. I’m sure your test will come back negative.”

Gerda again checks the guards, and her heart sinks as one stares directly at her. Gerda knows she has to say something to try and hide the fact one of her students is crying.

“That’s right, Lea,” Gerda speaks loudly, pretending to give her students a pep talk. Gerda then positions herself directly in front of Lea to hide her. “Today could potentially be the greatest of your and your family's life.”

Gerda sees the Guard smiling as she speels off all the propaganda the Royal Family forces her to teach. She breathes a short sigh of relief before continuing her speech. “If you are found to be one of the best of us, a Formador, you’ll be leading our people into the future. Bringing our enemies to their knees and ensuring a prosperous future for all our kind.”

Only giving the suspicious Guard a quick glance, Gerda is pleased that they’ve lost interest. Still standing with her back to Lea, Gerda reaches around her back and holds out her paw for Lea to take.

As Lea puts her paw in Gerda’s, she squeezes tight to comfort her. “It’ll be ok,” Gerda whispers, talking directly to Lea and all the other grimalkin children who might be listening. “Just keep in line and don’t draw attention.”

Moments later, a scientist appears from the doors at the end of the room they are all waiting in. Gerda knows it’s Doctor Elm. She’s also heard all the rumors about him and his twisted experiments with the creatures discovered on the Seed worlds. He is infamous—protected from his abhorrent crimes by the royal family.

Appearing next to him is a Grimalkin with the darkest of fur. Her eyes are emerald green and fierce. Gerda can’t even bring herself to look in her direction. It’s almost like this one Royal Guard is the devil himself.

Stepping aside, Gerda allows Dr Elm to start shuffling the children into the testing chamber. As Gerda leans up against a nearby wall, trying to make herself as invisible as possible, her mind thinks back to when she had her test all those years ago.

The test chamber is a large, dark, and empty room. Gerda had once heard that the test chamber used to be a happy and exciting place. Still, since the latest and longest Grimalkin war isn’t going so well—it’s become the terrifying environment that all children have nightmares about.

Gerda thinks back to how a Dr stood by a small table in the middle of the room. She remembers feeling terrified. She also remembers when she first saw that iridescent orb. She remembers her heart almost stopping in fear as it floated above the Doctor like magic.

She can’t remember too much about the test. It was like a waking nightmare. Thankfully for her, she was a negative. She was quickly shuffled out of the room. Although she’d got lucky, the image of that orb haunted her for months after. Something about it felt so….unnatural.

“Hey, did you hear there’s a sparing matching tonight in the main hall?” One of the guards chats to the other Guard as the kids are slowly brought into the testing chamber one by one.

Gerda can’t help but listen in. Anything to take her mind off worrying for her students. She hasn’t had a Formador student for years, not since young Heidi. Gerda rubs her face and mumbles under her breath. “Such a good girl….”

“Yeah,” the second Guard replies enthusiastically. “It’s the Captain versus that Hybrid everyone keeps talking about. We all know the Captain’s moves are unreal—but I’ve heard that the werido hybrid thing moves so quickly you can’t even see it move. Not only that—it just gets going and going!”

Instantly, that makes Gerda think of the articles she’s been reading. Although they are contraband, she did manage to get hold of one describing a new ‘secret weapon’ that the Royal Guard is keeping under wraps.

“Shhh…,” the first Guard reacts nervously. “Don’t say it out so loud. There are civilians here.”

That same Guard looks in Gerda’s direction. Gerda does everything she can to appear like she hasn’t heard them talking. She doesn’t move or even breathe.

Staring down at her feet, Gerda fiddles with the belt around her skirt. She can’t wait to get out of her. She hates this place.

“Hey,” the second Guard whispers to the other one, trying not to be heard. Unfortunately for Gerda, she can still hear them whether she wants to or not. “I’ve been assigned to that Seed world everyone’s been talking about. Y’know S51e—where the Hybrid came from.”

“Have you?” the first Guard replies, unable to whisper quietly enough for Gerda not to hear.

“Yeah…,” the second one sighs. “I’m not looking forward to the portal transformation. Walking on all fours is so embarrassing.”

“Do you think that’s why they are so desperate for Formadors?”

“Must be.”

“That or they are making more—”

The Guard instantly stops talking. It’s almost like a human got their tongue. Gerda looks up from her feet to see the Captain of the Royal Guard standing by them with purpose. Her iconic sword hangs from her armor belt. Her emerald green eyes remain just as cold and emotionless as a moment earlier.

“Guards,” the Captain speaks. Her tone is short and sharp. “We’ve got a positive. Please Join the Doctor and ready the young Formador for transport.”

Gerda’s heart sinks, and a shiver goes down her spine. Her mind races, and thoughts of rescuing the student whose positive feeltingly flutter in her mind. However, with the Captain standing directly in front of her—her fear gets the better of her, and she can’t move a single muscle.

“Yes, Captain Ursula,” the two Guards shout in obedience.

As the two Guards scurry into the test chamber, Gerda finds herself alone with the Captain. The fur on the back of her neck stands up on end, and she can’t help but stare in awe and horror.

“Congratulations, Teacher,” Ursula says without looking in Gerda’s direction. “You’ve done the Royal Family proud.”

Gerda forms a fist with one paw. They are sentencing one of her students to a life of torture, and that doesn’t sit well with her.

“T-thank… you,” Gerda eventually replies—but only because it’s polite to do so.

“I’ve doubled your rations for this week as reward,” Ursula continues—her voice cold and calculated.

Gerda’s mouth twitches, and she almost bares her fangs in reaction. It’s the absolute worst thing she can do. Baring your fangs at a member of the Royal Guard means certain death. Just baring your fangs in a public place can get you arrested. However, she manages to control herself.

Ursula says nothing more. The noise of her heavy boots on the wooden floor echoes on the cold, thick walls as she walks away. As Ursula turns the corner, Gerda is left in silence—seething internally. She can hear her own heartbeat as it thuds wildly in her chest as she fears for the young student who’s been identified as a Formador.

As time passes, her Students start reappearing one by one. Gerda smiles at each one as they appear, but her students seem lost in their own thoughts. The waking nightmare that is the image of that orb flashes in her mind. She’s not surprised. She wants desperately to get them away from this place.

Eventually, all of her students are returned. Each and every one of them is deadly silent. Their faces are emotionless. Gerda stands in front of them and tries her best to organize them into a line. She’s desperate to find out who’s missing, but her mind is scattered.

“Teacher,” a voice calls out from the end of the room.

Standing at the door, Dr. Elm has a broad grin on his face. The sight of him almost makes her feel sick. How did a male Grimalkin come to demand such power?

“Congratulations,” Elm laughs, nodding his head enthusiastically. “You and you’re ‘negatives’ can now leave.”

Gerda forces a smile in reply. “Y-yes…Doctor.”

Not wanting to look at that man any longer, Gerda turns her attention to her student. Reading out each child's name to ensure they are present, she gets to Lea and no child replies. The silence is deafening, and it makes Gerda’s stomach churn.

“Lea?” Gerda calls out again, hoping and praying to hear her answer.

Silence.

The realization of who’s missing hits Gerda like a city tram. It almost breaks her, and she has to fight back the tears.

“L-Lea?” she calls out a third time.

Silence.

A single tear rolls down Gerda’s face, eventually running down one of her whiskers. Lea was such a gentle soul! Her parents—down-to-earth, hard-working Grimalkins. They don’t deserve this.

In a moment of utter grief, Gerda bares her fangs in public. The worst kind of fopar in Grimalkin society.