There it was, again. The shrill <BEEP!-BEEP!-BEEP!> of an alarm going off. Once more it started his day with as much annoyance and frustration as possible. That harsh, grating, electric squealing, and screaming of his alarm shattering the would-be serene morning moments before they have even really begun. And like so many mornings for so many others, for generations before and to come, following the sound of the alarm was the all too familiar groan of disappointment, mixed with anger, and no small amount of annoyance, that was quickly followed by the harsh <Whack!> on top of the clock.


Jin wasn't a morning person. He wasn't an evening, nor a night person either. In all honesty, the mundane nature of his life had made him dread simply being awake. His life was planned, routine, and utterly devoid of any of the small joys others would find. He had no great interests outside the typical lofty goals of someone in their 20s. He had no great vices. He simply worked his tail off and slept like the dead.


Jin cast off the blankets from atop him, revealing a fairly handsome, well-toned, young buck who was dressed only in his state-issued, lilac-blue, boxers. He lay there for a moment, his red and cream fur standing on end a bit as the warmth faded from his skin and was soon replaced by the cool, slightly moist air of his state-issued 2 room apartment. “Here we go again... Another crummy day after a dreamless night.” The buck sighed and simply lay there closing his eyes. A dangerous gamble. More often than not, doing so saw him fall back asleep, but even if he did, the alarm started up once more and once more he smacked the top of it. “Ugh,... I’m up... I’m up...” and with that he truly was. 


The world he lived in was markedly different than the world we know of today. The states ran everything. And worse than that, there was a strict caste system in place. One based on an eugenical hierarchy. The nobility and purity of one’s bloodlines, and species dictated their status. The purer the lineage, the rarer the species, the higher the social standing and the better chances of success. It was not impossible to rise above this caste system, people could still get rich of the business they owned became successful enough, but it was very difficult to do. Non pure-blood, non mythical hybrids where almost never considered nobility no matter how much wealth they acquired. It’s one reason that Jin was where he was. Even though Jin had a very pure bloodline, being a common breed of red-deer, in a very middle-class job, made him almost worthless.


Jin got out of bed, stretched, and went about his morning. He may have been a common species, but he was well taken care of by the state. A square 3 meals a day. Decent clothing. Proper medical and hygienic availability. He poured himself a heaping bowl of generic enriched bran and grain cereal with proper milk, a bit of luxury he splurged some of his spare credits on.


He was thankful for his pure bloodline. It could have been worse. His state-issued domicile, clothing, and food rations were fair. Simple, common items for a simple common species. But if he had been a mutt or half breed, things would have been worse. He likely wouldn't have his bachelor’s degree in mechanics, and engineering. And without that, he’d never have this job that ultimately provided his standing in society.


If not for this job he’d be like some of his childhood friends. Living in ‘dens’. The state issued multi-housing cells. Almost like jail. Entire families crammed into a single room, sharing restrooms with up to 20 other families. Life as a low caste was hard. 1 Meal a day. 1 Shower token per week. Not enough beds. Threadbare cheap clothing. He shuddered as he finished his morning breakfast thinking about it all. “It’s a crummy life, but it could be worse...” He thought to himself as he started to get dressed in his state-issued jumpsuit.


His jumpsuit had a tag on it that had his name and his social ranking. A one glance reference guide to what he was entitled to. Who should respect him, and who he should respect. The badge had three stars on it for the rarity of his species. Being a red-deer made him somewhat rarer than your common rat, or rabbit, but it was not good. The silver color of his badge marked him as a rather pure blooded lineage. Not perfectly pure blood, but having no divergent species at least 4 generations back was good enough to be silver tier.


Needless to say, Jin never would have to deal with becoming a diamond, or gold, nor have the chance to raise his status where he would be taken even better care of by the state. Most people go their entire lives without seeing a single diamond, and a nine star was rare enough of itself, that most people who were Gold-9 were so rare it was almost a myth if not for the rare interview with one now and then on the handful of state-run television channels. But the true rarity where those who had a direct bloodline from a mythical species. The 10 stars. And beyond them where the diamonds. A rank reserved for only those who could trace their entire family history back to the start of the caste system and had no other species in their bloodline. A Diamond-10 was so rare that at any given moment you could count the number of them in any hemisphere on one hand.


There was a bit of a genetic arms race though. Purebloods who sought to have trendier and trendier children. The worst off was these ‘celebrity breeds’. Half breeds of very pure species greased palms to classify their offspring as a new unique species to try and raise their purity and notoriety levels. Examples include Iala the snow leopard, king-cheetah mix, something barely distinguishable to most people. She was so successful as an actress and model that she ended up outranking her parents, who were already insanely rare and valued people. And then, there were the ones who had legendary blood. Dragons, Phoenix, Griffin, and Hippogriff to name a few. These people could be downright mutts but even a 10% purity of near-extinct or extinct species were often insanely valued.


Lastly, there were the sky cities. Where only diamond purity people could live. A place entirely separate from the world. And while trips into space were common now, and there were settlements on other planets, these were a haven for those deemed worthy to be saved in case the planet died under their very feet.


Jin scoffed, remembering the sky cities as he stepped in the elevator headed to his day job. The glass elevator started on the 14th floor and quickly descended the side of the building, not stopping for those below him, as his blood didn't mix with their blood so to say. Though these mega-blocks went well into the 200s and 300s of floors, housing the more rare species on higher levels. All the other people in this block were all silvers like Jin, with various levels of stars that determined how high over the city they lived. 


As he hit the ground floor he stepped out into the loud cacophony of the bottom floor where vendors set up stalls, and all shouted over one another for trade offers. Mostly peddling some miscellaneous ware or another, but sometimes buying things as well. He trudged through the sea of others wearing similar jumpsuits to his own while spying some who actually had money to buy their own fashionable clothing, or had inherited clothing or even made their own. But for the most part, the uniformity of the lower ranks was a clear sign of who could and could not afford things. It suited Jin fine. No one harassed him. They saw he was a ‘jumper’ like the other poorer people and simply ignored his presence. No need to draw attention with fancy clothing. He had plenty of other worries than to be hated for being above so many others in society.

He walked through the surging crowds, taking in all the smells of food, perfumes... And sadly the rancid musk of many of the less fortunate, less clean people. He followed his nose to one of his favorite vendors smiling and speaking to them briefly “Mornin Sev. I’ll have my normal.” To which the rabbit behind the counter replied “Coming’ right up Jin. 3 Dumplings and a rice cake.” Jin grabbed his badge and scanned it on the check out display, the badge containing a chip that identified him and had matching retina data on file that he had to use as his proof of identity. He looked down into the light and after a green flash and beep the rabbit set the food on the top of the counter and Jin took the bag and started to trot off to work more or less. 


He preferred the brisk pace of a nice morning jog over walking or taking the shuttles. It was only about a mile away anyway. This was barely a warmup for him. Though his hooves normally clopped along happily, he always knew when he didn't hear the familiar clip, or clop, that he’d stepped in gum, or something worse. And that's just what happened this morning. A big wet clump of gum sticking between his cloven hoof’s toes. He growled to himself and tried to scrape it off, but no luck. He jogged the rest of the way into work, half clopping, half squishing and he hated it.


He came into the mechanic shop that serviced the city’s shuttles, and the automobiles that the higher tier’s could afford on their social credit. This was a higher-end repair facility and as such only dealt with golds of rank 5 and higher aside from the shuttle contracts they where obligated to do for the state. Plenty of golds had cars, but all of them were still way out of his value range since he couldn't afford one at all being a silver. For laughs once he’d priced a car on his blood credit. It would knock him down to a hovel. A 1 room living quarter on the 6th floor. Something he simply could not see living with. As at that level of poverty, his daily shower tokens would turn into twice weekly, and his food ration would get even more bland and flavorless.


Jin walked into the back and the employee lounge, setting his food in the fridge before, he heard his boss over the loudspeakers.“Jin! Have you finished with that ‘82 yet!? The owner wants to pick it up. NOW!” Called out a large hybrid dog from the front of the automotive shop, a loud squelch heard as the transmission cut off. Jin knew his way around cars like the back of his hand. He didn't always fit in the smaller ones with his antlers, thankfully relatively small yet, but when it came to custom ones made for larger species like his, he was always first in line to jump on it.


He walked out to the intercom button near his work bay and keyed up before speaking “Not yet sir. I was half finished before curfew last night. I can't risk another viola-” The intercom cut him off as his boss roared over it “NOW NOW NOW! Worthless 3! I can’t believe they hired you on here. In my day, not even a 5 coulda’ worked here as POORLY as you do without being CANNED!” The young buck had walked away from the intercom, which still spews insults at him, and had ignored it before starting the last bit of tinkering on the car, but not before using a flathead screwdriver to pry that bit of gum from between his hooves.


He finished the car he’d been ordered to fix just before lunch. He walked into the break room, grabbed his lunch, and set down to eat his cold dumplings and rice cake. “Another craken’ long day and what do I have to show for it? Ugh....” He sighed and looked around, giving the air a good whiff. There it was... right on time. Her scent. The girl he’d come to know and enjoy being around. Even if they likely couldn’t socially afford to be together as a breeding couple, he liked to pretend that kids and bloodlines didn't matter for a moment. He thought of her in his life. Just someone to hold onto. Something, someone that was above his blood grade but not unobtainable. He knew he’d bump into her at closing time, but just getting a whiff of her scent calmed his mind some.


That is until another screech of the intercom came to life and once more, his boss threw endless insults at him and gave him yet another car to service with only half the time he’d need to fix things properly. He was not easy to anger, but it took time for him to cool off. It was about 3 hours later, and he pulled his head from under the hood of the silver car and wiped off his hands before grumbling to himself and slamming its hood shut. He had finished the repair job right before the deadline for him went out, sure. But it was untested. He didn't know if it was truly repaired or just patched. But, as often happens, his boss had kept such close tabs on his workers and micromanaged to the point they’d called the owner in without the car even being totally done. He took pride in his work, if not his appearance. His antlers dinged and scuffed, his white goatlike beard untrimmed and scruffy. He was filthy, sure, but it was expected in this environment. But the lack of care shown on his hooves, and nails of his fingers.


He walked up front to where his boss’s window was sliding it open before speaking in a polite tone. “Sir; the repairs are done but I need to tes-” “Don't you give me none of that shit! Keys, NOW.” Jin slammed the keys down on the inside sill of the window before saying plainly with no hint of anger or malice; “I refuse to sign the work order as my work is not finished, here are the keys. You sign the release forum.” And then he shut the door quickly but not harshly.


He was used to this, being walked all over. Even if he was relatively pure blood, the commonality of his species made for a low ranking in the world. His boss? Even as a mutt, he had noble bloodlines. That is to say, rare blood. Even if he was a thoroughly mixed species, he still had traces of the ancient wolf goddess “Morrighan’s” blood. Such strong mythical blood meant that he was treated well and afforded him status.


As he walked back to the car he was stopped by Nile, the shop's resident gashead girl. “Jin; I know you like doing a good job but you’re taking too long on these simple fixes.” He turned to face the mixed breed feline opening his mouth to speak but only getting out the odd syllable before being cut off. “And don't you worry, I know he gives you a hard time. I have royal blood too, but he still treats me like shit because his is pure enough to be considered a true descendant. Just take a breath. Relax. Besides, that’s the last order for the day anyway.”


“Yea, I know Nile. But, I'm tired of putting my name on cars that always come back because I'm rushed.” With timing as if he’d been listening there came a call over the intercom, the unceremonious digital screech at the start this time “Jin! Last second emergency. Since you did the least cars this week, you’re staying overnight to fix it. The customer will bring it around 45 after closing. And Jin! Make sure it's taken care of RIGHT, he is a noble!” 


This was enough to finally get a true response of anger from him where he growled and tossed the wrench he’d been holding onto into the toolbox with a great loud <PING!> and clatter. “Great... Just great. Some crackin’ bigwig calls in a favor with his nobility and I am the one stuck here after hours!” Nile just shook her head and knew when to call it quits. Besides, she needed to finish her last call up within the hour and had work to do. “Jin, go get yourself a cappuccino. You’re going to need it. Use my code.”


Jin sighed and nodded before slowly turning off and soon doing just that, inputting Nile’s code for the coffee machine using one of her allotments to allow himself to get a cappuccino. This had less to do with his bloodline and more to do with his recent joining of the company. The more expensive food was restricted to higher-paid employees. And since employers were responsible for feeding their employees during work hours, foods were sectioned into pay and loyalty brackets.


He sat there sipping his sweet french vanilla drink as he sighed, closing his eyes and even getting in a wink of sleep as he had nothing to do but to wait. Once the crew all came in for closing to grab their personal items he woke up, stretched, and shook his head. “Here we go.” Before stepping outside and starting to clean up the shop. 


He cleaned his bay, and as a courtesy to a few of his coworkers like Nile, even touched theirs up too. After all, cleanliness was a grade that determined their pay per week. Their work not being separated into hours worked, but instead per job done and overall quality of their work done and the quality and presentability to customers.


Time flew as he did this and soon enough there it was, the large black SUV like vehicle pulled up in front of the bay and he started to open the door for him. No sooner than it had opened all the way in pulled the SUV with blacked-out windows, and somewhat larger than normal, all terrain tires.


Out stepped a great horned dragon. An honest to blood dragon. Even their non-noble lines often lacked this one’s stunning appearance. He looked different than most dragons though, being furred, and scaled instead of simply scaled. He wore a suit, with a long coat that had a white, and diamond pin on it, and 10 stars which denoted he was beyond noble lineage. He was a near-extinct species. And pure as pure can get in blood. He had antlers that were large and seemingly labyrinthine in nature, twisting, and sprawling as if they where 2000-year-old tree branches and roots.


He spoke, plain, simple, with a confidence that only a noble could. “You will remove all 4 wheels. Then demount the tires from the rims CAREFULLY. You will not speak a word to anyone about this job. You will be paid by me to keep quiet. Understood? Also, I don't want to hear a single word out of you, and I want this done as quietly as possible.”


The young buck was taken somewhat aback by this all but simply nodded and moved to position the lift arms under the chassis of the SUV as to start. As he worked, the Kirin, great mythical deer-dragon, leaned back against another car and lit what Jin assumed was a cigarette from the corner of the deer’s eye. 


Jin turned to speak to him about it, opening his mouth to speak, but remembering the specifics of it before looking to the floor and thinking for a moment before holding up a single finger as if asking for a second of the kirin’s time, and then pointing to the large signs that read “No smoking, flammable liquids, and gasses present.”


It was only when Jin looked back from the sign he pointed at that he noticed it wasn't a cigarette at all. But instead a very old, highly ornate, carved bone, or ivory pipe. The kirin inhaled deeply from it before blowing smoke from his nose,... and electric-infused fire. The crackle of the electricity in the fire and smoke made a static hiss as it sputtered out of existence and the smoke rose in a thick plume. He was clearly very VERY pure of blood to have that ability. And to flaunt it before the deer was a very clear form of intimidation. 


Magic was nearly extinct in this world. The aether of the magical beings long dried up and gone now. With no one to worship them, and so many more creatures, the aether of the land was spread so thin in this era. To have magic means he must have been born with an extreme excess of it from his parents,... or that he is a literal god to some number of people who worship him and sacrifice their aether to him.


Jin simply nod, bow politely, and returned to his work, having done all he could for the situation. As he did so, he heard a simple click, and one last exhale. Unable to tell what was going on he snuck a peek back to see the Kirin putting the pipe back into his pocket. Apparently, his message had gotten across.


This brought a smile to his face. One that was however very short-lived. The moment he opened up the tire from the rim, he noticed something wasn't right. There was no air pressure. Or rather not nearly enough. And these tires had come in fully inflated, and looked brand new... but...


Once he started to de-rim them he realized, they where run-flats. Solid rubber honeycomb core tires that didn't need replacing at all. But instead, the honeycomb core of the interior had been partially replaced with metal segments that all held vials. But... vials of what? 


“I,...” He spoke without thinking before turning to try and look back at the kirin. But as he did, he felt a large talon wrap around his snout and clamp his muzzle shut, and another talon at his antler keeping his head looking towards the tire.


“Not. A. Word.” Spoke the kirin in his deep almost demonic tone of voice. “Remove each vial. Place them in this case. They will not harm you if broken, but I will. Each one is worth more than your entire family.” He spoke before releasing the buck’s snout and antler. He pat him once on the shoulder, letting his large powerful hand slide off where those long claws rubbed down his back as he did so. The kirin then set a metal briefcase on the table and opened it up. Up popped rows of holders all with frost condensing on them. 


The buck was trembling where he stood. He was alone, and easily half the kirin’ size. And never mind his ability to control electricity whereas the buck could barely control his own mind most times. He worked slowly, methodically. Every step of this process was done with a painful slowness that felt more like defusing a bomb. Every move, measured and paced as if he was a robot.


The most unnerving thing? The deep rumbled chuckle that came from behind him. From the smirking dragon who seemed to take great pleasure in the buck’s unease. He even tormented Jin from time to time, speaking in slow deep flowing tones, “That's it. No no no, don't drop it. Hehehe, That's right. Nice and easy eh?”


The vials were seated in sections of the tires that were hard to access, and apparently had been cooled by a brick of dry ice in each one, hence the light amount of air pressure in the tire as the dry ice had sublimated back into co2 inside the tires.


It took one long hour to finish the first tire. Perhaps the single longest hour of Jin’s entire life. And he had 3 more to go. Once done. He remounted the tire back on its rim, having not even been given instruction to do so by the kirin, simply deducing what needed to happen. “Oh? Putting the wheel back on, are we? Good boy. You’re a smart one aren’t you?” The buck didn't reply, only shivering more and blushing a bit at the oddly phrased almost insulting compliment.


Several more hours of this tension passed, slowly getting faster with each tire. And once the final one was done. The kirin walked up behind him, slammed the case shut, and quickly locked it. “Get that wheel back on my vehicle, and we will part ways. Your,... reward, for cooperation will come over the next few days. I’ll make sure your boss gives it to you.”


Jin couldn't be any happier to see the SUV finally backing out of his bay. And no sooner than the bay door had closed had he collapsed next to the pillar the door was framed in. “Crush this job....” Said the shaken deer as he curled up there against the freezing cold metal pillar and frigid concrete floor. He was averse to swearing and got inventive with his wording, but the sentiment was always the same.


After locking up, Jin had started his long walk home in this bitter cold. He didn't like the cold. He’d moved farther north in his self-appointed exile from his family. A decision he regretted tonight more than normal. His gut churned and his mind raced... What had he just taken part of? He’d entirely forgotten about the curfew until he’d already locked himself out of the shop.


It all came crashing back down to him that he was now out, way after curfew. He sighed and took a few deep slow breaths before breaking into a full-blown sprint. If there was one thing he did enjoy in life, it was a good, hard, run. And that’s what he did. With a breakneck pace, he ran, and ran, and ran trying to get home as quickly as possible.


When he got back to his mega-complex, he keyed himself in and walked the many flights of stairs up, soon getting to his assigned cube. And cube it was. More like a jail cell, these minimum wage cubes were designed with single-person efficiency in mind. 


At least his had a walled in toilet, and showering area made by the last tenant. On initial construction, you were often only afforded the shower curtain that went around it for privacy. The showerhead stood just over the toilet all rigged onto the same piping, along with the sink built into the tank of the toilet that used your gray water to flush it.


Yea, there was not much to these cubes. A murphy bed that doubled as a work space where the brace for the bed was a desk when upright against the wall. And a small kitchen consisting of a small fridge, a 2 eye stove, and small convection microwave. Aside from that there was not much else there. 


He opened the door, and as soon as the door closed he threw his coveralls and boxers into the corner for the moment, wanting to be free of the smell the kirin had left on his clothing. He slip into his shower and quickly cleans off the grime before toweling off, slipping on his boxers, and simply flopping into bed face first, and not bothering to move an inch until his alarm went off only a few hours later. He does his normal morning routine, heats a premade meal, and then dresses before shutting and locking the door behind him off on another lightless morning to open shop.


He opens shop and for the first hour everything is fine. That is until his boss gets there and gets a phone call. “What!?” you could hear shouted from the head office. Followed by only his name over the loudspeaker in a stressed and clearly angry tone. “JIIIN!”


Jin had no idea what was going on, and made his way into the office with a clearly worried and pained look on his face, not knowing what had gone on, but knowing all too well what was coming. “JIN!” Shouted the mutt of a wolf dog across the room at him. “You’re fired! The client from last night said you fucked up his order! He EXPRESSLY told me to END YOUR CONTRACT!”


“W-What sir!? N-no I-I-I... I did exactly as told! I promise sir!” Jin all but begged for understanding, not knowing how this was a ‘reward’ in any way for his services rendered last night. The dog barked at him “I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT! GET OUT!” And with that he was all but shoved out of the office before standing there weak kneed, and heartbroken. He looked around for Nile to at least tell her what happened. But... she was nowhere to be seen. “Why is she late.... Today of all days, I needed her.” He said barely knowing her in truth but knowing she’d at least have some idea of what's going on.


With nothing else to do now, he slowly walked his way back to his cube, not knowing what he’d do for work now. His mind swam with what had gone on the night before and what had just happened. Looking for a reason to it all, looking for meaning as he climbed those stairs once more.


But when he got to his cube, he found that his code wouldn't open it.  And when he punched in the code a red error flashed on the door. “Status: Evicted”. And just like that. He’d lost his job and his home.... All because of that ‘nobleman’ the kirin. What had he done to deserve this?


Pain consumed his very soul as he made his way down the steps, tears now rolling down his cheeks as his mind raced “It's not fair.... I did everything right... it's not fair.... And where do I go now?! The shelves?!”


He knew the only place for those who had no job and who'd likely been blackmarked like him were what was called ‘the shelves’. Megastructure with countless pods that barely fit a person. It was a place to sleep at night, and nothing more. The canteens at the shelves served only the basics of nutrition and would keep those who could not work alive, but that is all.

Beyond that, there were slums where people went to try and eke out a slightly better life. Some went to the shelves to sleep at night, but more or less it was a way to sell various talents or more likely one’s own body. A hub for illegal activities such as non-sanctioned prostitution, drugs, illegal black markets of organs, cybernetics, and foods.

Odds are, by week’s end, he’d be on a street corner selling himself to those who cannot go to brothels because of diseases, or tempers, or want things the brothels wont sell such as extreme kinks or straight up torture. These thoughts only drive him further into that void of depression. He turned his back against the door to his old cube, and slid down it as he started to sob hopelessly.