Silence.

Or a close to it as a desolate urban wasteland can get.

Wind blew through the ruined buildings, dust invading every crevice like some unwelcome invader.

Overall, there was very little noise to be heard, save for the trudging of four pairs of feet in the distance, muffled by the wind.

"ACHOOOOO!"

Well, that was until a very loud sneeze cut through the silence of the abandoned city. The source of the silence-shattering sound was none other than one of the pairs of feet, a soldier that seemed covered head-to-toe in military garb, a helmet covering his head.

Beside him were two other individuals; one like himself, a helmeted soldier, though his build was considerably bulkier and taller. The individual carried an air of experience around him, though his body language was now tense like a tightly coiled spring, ready for any sudden attacks. 

The other individual was quite different, being neither a soldier or even bipedal in their form. Next to his two humanoid companions stood an absurdly large cervid, a white-tail deer to be precise. However, contrary to one's impressions of them being nothing but a base beast, there was a spark of intellect behind the soft brown eyes of the remarkable creature.

"Private Morez!" hissed the taller soldier in hushed exclamation, "What in the hell was that? Are you trying to put this mission in jeopardy?!"

His partner rubbed the back of his helmet bashfully, embarrassed he had made such a loud noise in what was arguably an active, albeit quiet, war zone.

"Sorry Keetriv, some dust got up my nose. You know how these helmets were designed for people prior to the magipocalypse; they're just not the right shape to keep stuff from sneaking inside of it," Morez whispered apologetically, "My muzz is practically flush against the face plate."

The older soldier took in a deep breath and sighed before looking around.

"Thankfully, it seems as though we have gone unnoticed," Keetriv said, breathing a sigh of relief.

A deep, rumbling sound came from behind the experienced soldier, coming from their four-legged companion.

"Hmmmm. He was. Indeed. Quite loud." stated the deer in slow, stilted speech, his deep voice full of gravitas.

"The missile still alright 4611?" asked Keetriv, scanning the buildings for any movement.

"Hmmm. It is." replied the deer.

Strapped to the giant animal's side was a AGM-88 rocket, a remnant of the days before the apocalypse and a high value item the trio was currently escorting to base. Smooth, sleek and deadly, the munition would pack one hell of a punch. However, the reason they needed it was not for using but for duplication, as very few of them still existed and most of the schematics for making such devices were long lost.

"We've wasted enough time with this delay. Morez, 4611; we're moving back out. Let's go." Keetriv commanded, turning back to the front.

"Yeesh, alright Captain Serious."

"Hmmm."

The three trudged along quietly, passing several dilapidated warehouses, their concrete crumbling and windows broken from years of neglect. The city they were in currently had seen better days, however due to the war, it was currently a shadow of its former self.

Keetriv sighed.

"What a waste," he commented as the unlikely group walked past another abandoned shopfront, "I remember the days when streets like these were filled with people. You could walk into a store and, if you had money to buy it, you could just purchase just about whatever you wanted. Convenience at your fingertips. Shame that's all gone now."

A deep reverberating hum emitted from behind the older soldier.

"Hmmmm. You two legs. Are strange. You lament. What was. As if. It still is." commented the massive deer, "My kind. Believe that. One must. Appreciate. The now. As we cannot. Change what was. Nature cares not. For The past."

"Easy for you to say 4611, you weren't part of history," Keetriv said dryly.

"I actually gotta agree with the deer here, Keetriv." spoke the younger soldier, tilting his head in curiosity, "Why are you getting all worked up over a bunch of ruins from before the magipocalype?

"The Event," stated Keetriv in a sharp, correcting tone, "we refer to it as The Event, not the blasted magipocalypse. Only the ignorant term it as something that's so blatantly blasé."

"C'mon Keetriv." replied Morez, "No one calls it 'The Event' anymore, not since the portals started spewing out those nasty, little green gremlins all over the place."

"Hmmmm. I find it. Interesting. What you. Speak of. What is. This Event?" piped in the oversized deer, leaning his neck down so his face was near level with his two bipedal companions.

"Oh, well it-"

"SHHH!" hushed Keetriv, cutting off the beginning of Morez's explanation, "We've got company. Movement at 11 o'clock. Morez get in position. 4611 stay in the rear and guard that missile with your antlers."

Morez's demeanour quickly shifted, going from a somewhat slack and laidback stance to a laser point focus on the surroundings. Both soldiers trained their guns on the building ahead of them as a small avalanche of stones tumbled down a pile of rubble, disturbed by something at the top. Slowly, they pressed forward, keeping their eyes trained for any sudden movements. As they got closer, sounds of high pitched grunting were becoming clearer, coming from multiple different sources.

"What's your count, Morez?" whispered the older soldier.

"About four. Maybe five. You?" asked Morez in turn.

"I count five as well from the sounds of it." Keetriv confirmed with a nod, "Prepare to engage."

Keetriv raised his hand and lowered fingers one by one until he closed them in a fist, making the two spring it action and round the corner.

Before their eyes was a totally unnatural sight. Hunched over the corpse of what looked to be a crow the size of a pre-apocalypse eagle were five hunch-backed, green-skinned humanoids with long, gangly arms and long pointed ears, currently preoccupied with using rocks to pummel the poor deceased avian.

Goblins.

The two soldiers opened fire without warning, causing a wild, piercing shriek to emit from the throats of the first to fall. Unfortunately, the goblins were fast to react, not hesitating to fling themselves at their opponents, like some sort of rabid, wild beast ravenously baying for blood.

"Shit!" swore Morez, as their opponents quickly closed in.

He aimed his rifle and fired off a few shots at the nearest goblin, striking a lucky hit and sending the beast toppling to the ground; his fellow soldier doing much the same. However before he could readjust, he saw the last goblin leap towards him, mouth full of razor sharp, knife-like teeth aimed at his neck.

Morez ducked low and rolled away but the monster was persistent, scrabbling along the rubble, it's claws trying to find purchase to chase after and kill it's prey. It wasn't meant to be for the bloodthirsty, green-skinned savage though, as Keetriv's gun blew a hole right through it's deformed skull, painting the surrounding stone in it's sickly green blood. 

"Filthy pests." Keetriv commented disdainfully under his breath, reloading the weapon quickly, "They really shouldn't have come here."

Morez sighed.

"Thanks Kev. I thought my goose was cooked for a second," replied the other private.

Keetriv paused for a moment before stiffly nodding.

"It was no problem...but you will refer to me as Keetriv, not... Kev." The older soldier rolled the word around in his mouth like it was a particularly disgusting candy before gesturing across the street with his gun, "We should make camp soon, it's starting to get dark and more of these...things will be out in greater numbers."

Morez nodded, turning his head as their colossal cervid companion trotted around the corner, its eyes widening slightly at the carnage. Small yet muscular green bodies were strewn around the men but the giant animal's gaze was drawn to the form of the fallen corvid.

"Oooh. Sister. What have. They done. To you." the deer commented sadly, as he looked upon the crow's lifeless corpse.

"Sorry, bud." Morez patted the flank of the mourning deer. "She was gone long before we came here."

The giant deer turned to face the young soldier, it's warm brown eye staring at the faceplate of their helmet.

"Your condolences. Are unnecessary. Private Morez-" started the deer solemnly.

"Oh, okay!-" Morez replied indignantly, however the deer continued.

"However. They are. Appreciated," he finished.

"Oh. Um, no problem," Morez bashfully replied.

Turning away, the huge deer walked towards the building that the older soldier had indicated they take shelter in for the night, leaving Morez standing there a bit confused by their exchange.

The sound of snapping fingers brought him out of his reverie, Keetriv somehow impressively managing to do so through the thick gloves they both were wearing for protection.

"Earth to Private Morez. Do you copy? We need you to radio in our status to base. We're about due to report in at any time now." grumbled the grizzled vet.

"Oh, sure," replied Morez, coming out of his daze. "Let's set up camp first though; bit hard to contact base if I haven't set all the equipment up."

Keetriv nodded and gestured for the younger soldier to follow him. 

Once inside the abandoned warehouse the veteran began to set up camp with practiced ease, pulling various items out of one of their packs, which were strapped to the sides of their antlered ally. The two men quickly pitched the tent, pulling out all of the necessary supplies in an organized fashion and setting up the radio. When they finally did so, Morez tuned in to a particular frequency, fiddling with the knobs and dials as the snowy radio static gradually changed into a stronger and more distinct signal.

Flipping a switch, Morez began.

"Come in Base. This is Private Mica Morez. Do you copy? Over."

A short silence punctuated the still air before a response crackled to life over the radio.

"This is base. We hear you, private. Commencing with confirmation code: C638 dash 42B. Please confirm confirmation code. Over." The androgynous voice waited for a response as Morez referred to his code book for the appropriate reply.

"Copy that, base. Uh, let's see. Code is L9 dash DC343. Please confirm. Over."

Again, there was a brief stretch of silence as Morez awaited the voice on the other end of the radio. He didn't wait long, as after only a few seconds, the radio crackled back to life.

"Code confirmed, Private Morez. What's your status? Over."

Morez took a deep breath.

"En route to base four. 10 clicks from destination point, currently taking shelter for the night due to difficult terrain and prior encounter with hostiles. Company is Titan 4611, Private Mica Morez and Private Koslov Keetriv with one AGM–88 ranged ordinance inbound. Over."

"Hmm. Concerning, given no prior sightings in that area yet but understood. We will make note of it in your report. What of the enemy, Private Morez? Over."

Morez ran a hand over his helmet, desperately wishing he could run his hand through his fur.

"Five D-Class goblinoid hostiles. No signs of a commander presence. Exterminated with extreme prejudice. No casualties. Over."

"Noted. Good job, private. Take note that Titan 3247 has just performed aerial reconnaissance of the route between your location and base. Multiple Class D and several Class C hostiles detected. Possible indication of Class B or Class A commander in the area. Over."

Morez's eyes widened at the implication.

Taking out several patrols of D-Class goblins would be easy enough due to their violent tunnel vision but C-Class hobgoblins were even faster and sneakier than their simple cousins, often employing ranged tactics rather than a dogged, narrow-minded persistence. What was even more concerning was the possible presence of either a troll or ogre leading the whole lot. Morez swallowed heavily, hoping that if such a thing were the case, that it would be a troll rather than an ogre. 

While trolls were generally harder to put down as a result of their advanced regenerative abilities, they were still quite a straight forward enemy to otherwise deal with; simply get incendiary rounds or flamethrowers and let fire do the talking, all the while avoiding the giant clubs they usually swung around with their obscene strength. The real worry was if an ogre had joined the fray; while not as strong as a troll or quick as a hobgoblin, they possessed a cunning mind and often made better use of their subordinates abilities than any other type of goblinoid. That wasn't to say they were a slouch on the battlefield either, normally employing a giant cleaver of sorts to rush at their foes. One could safely say that witnessing such a thing in person was a pants-shittingly terrifying experience.

Having been silent for several seconds, Morez snapped out of it and schooled his slack-jawed expression beneath his helmet, thankful no one had caught him. There was no need to panic yet, as there had been no confirmed sightings and doing so unnecessarily could lead them to making avoidable mistakes.

"U-understood, base. Morez out."

Turning off the radio, Morez headed over to where Keetriv had set up a small campfire. He and 4611 had sat beside it, the older soldier finally having removed his helmet so that it was a bit easier to breathe.

Morez looked over his, colleagues face and studied his features. Where three decades ago one might have expected the face of a standard human, such a thing was nowhere in sight. Instead, if one were to compare to pre-apocalypse animals, Keetriv seemed to hold the visage of a doberman pinscher, his dark fur and pointed, triangular ears sticking straight up and creating quite the silhouette against the campfire.

Taking the opportunity, Morez removed his own helmet and scratched behind his ear, allowing his shaggy blond hair to tumble freely free from its confines. Like his companion, Morez had a head like that of a dog's, however, his was more like that of a golden retriever or a labrador. While this was personally the case for the two of them, not all people were dog breed hybrids, normally coming from any number of different types of mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian varieties. The only reason they had been paired up was a logistical one; Base often just put together those with similar physiological features to save on the necessary rations required for a mission.

Sitting down, Morez sighed in relief, finally glad to get of his feet and enjoy warming his hands by the fire. Keetriv sat across from him, working on trying to make their rations as palatable as possible. Morez was a bit bored so he really wanted to strike up a conversation with the other soldier to pass the time but his mind struggled to think of a topic to begin with.

"Man, I can't believe that we've managed to stay alive this long. It's almost funny how much worse things could've gone, ya know?" he remarked awkwardly, unable to come up with anything else.

Keetriv snorted.

"Hilarious." 

Morez chuckled nervously, awaiting a further response, but after a few moments none was forthcoming. It seemed as though that was all of Keetriv's thoughts on the matter.

He had known that the elder man didn't make for the best conversational partner, so instead he focused his efforts on the other...person in their group?

Companion? Ally? Emergency food source?

Morez didn't really know what to make of Titan 4611. His name technically wasn't even that, moreso a designation really. A number which identified the now gigantic animals of Earth who had chosen to register with the government. Morez, for his part, thought it was all pretty normal, having been born after the so-called apocalypse. He had grown up as one of the newly coined Homo Therians rather than being mutated, so large talking animals had been part of everyday life. He had also never seen a deer that was less than two meters tall, unless it was a baby. Case in point, Titan 4611, even laying down, was well over 4 meters tall including his branching rack of antlers.

"Hey, deer." Morez said somewhat loudly, looking at the enormous creature across from him.

The stag's ears twitched slightly at the noise.

"I have. A name. Private Morez. It is not. 'Deer'." He spoke with a gravelly baritone, causing Morez to wince.

"Oh, sorry. My bad. Well...uh, what is it?"

Titan 4611 tilted his head slightly. "Hmmm. I believe. You already. Know my. Designation. It is 4611."

"Yeeeeeeah, nah. I'm not calling you that when we're off the books." Morez said as he looked at the massive animal sitting next to him. "I'mma gonna call you Buck, maybe Bucky."

"But that. Is not my. Designation." The deer continued, still staring at Morez curiously.

"It's a nick name!" exclaimed the anthropomorphic golden retriever.

"Hmmm. What is. A nick name?" asked the big buck.

"It's kinda like a name you give someone you are close to-"

"But we are. Sitting. Quite far. Apart." interrupted the deer.

"-sentimentally. Close to sentimentally. Usually, you give someone a nick name based off one of their physical features or something they've done. It's a sign of affection or wanting to be close to someone, typically between friends," Morez continued to explain.

"Hmmm. Am I. Your friend?" asked the oversized cervid.

"Oh, uh. Yeah? I guess?"

"Hmmm. Then I. Shall give you. A nickname. As well."

"Oh no, you really don't have t-"

"You shall. Be called. Fluffy."

Keetriv began coughing and spluttering from across the campfire, unable to resist a strangled laugh, spitting out some water he was drinking, as he listened in on his two companion's conversation.

"Wha- buh- WHY?" demanded Morez, his head whipping around at the other soldier before turning to look back at the staring deer.

"You said. Nicknames can. Be based off. One's features. You are. Fluffy."

Morez'a face flushed crimson below his golden fur, mortified by the deer's embarrassing yet apt suggestion; without his helmet on, his fur coat was indeed quite floofy.

"No! No way. I refuse! I am not nor will ever go by the name Fluffy. Ever. In the entire fucking world." Morez declared firmly, rejecting the name outright.

The deer cocked his head at Morez, studying him closely.

"Hmmmm. Why do you.  Not want? To be. Named Fluffy?"

"..."

"It suits you," the giant deer stated, staring at the mortified, golden-furred soldier.

Several moments passed before a cough sounded from across the campfire, causing both their heads to swivel in the direction of the noise.

"I believe I can explain, 4611," Keetriv said, clearing their throat.

"Keetriv..." menaced Morez from across the flames.

"Oh hush, Morez. I've seen dirty dish rags more threatening than you. And stop squinting your eyes like that; you look like a near-sighted geriatric mole," reprimanded the dark-furred dogman. "Anyway, it's because Morez here went by a similar name growing up. Isn't that right, Fluffbunny?"

If Morez was blushing before, he was practically burning red now, his cheeks were so flushed that they were even visible through his thick blonde fur.

"Hmmm. I did not. Know that. Two-legs were. Bioluminescent?" the titan bended their neck to examine their embarrassed companion, "Also. You do not. Look like. A rabbit?"

Keetriv chuckled while Morez groaned, the latter picking up his helmet and popping it back on his head.

"Well, that's because ol' Fluffbunny here was a bit of a horndog when he was a kid." The doberman took a sip from a steel canteen, "You ever been in rut, 4611?"

The giant deer hummed contemplatively.

"Hmmm. Yes." he confirmed, "It is. Uncomfortable. Why?"

This prompted another chortle from the stern soldier.

"Heh, well, WE hadn't," prompting another swig from the canteen, gesturing between himself and Morez. "Y'see, prior to The Event, our kind never went into heat or rut. We just did the deed whenever. Of course, that's an oversimplification, but the point is we didn't have cycles specifically dedicated for having sex."

Looking over to Morez, the older soldier grinned as the other's body language indicated he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

'Ah, schadenfreude; why are you so sweet,' thought Keetriv, deriving a twisted sense of enjoyment from the younger canine's embarrassment before continuing.

"Anyways, Morez over here was hit one of the hardest. When he turned of age, he couldn't stop humping everything in sight, just like a horny rabbit."

"I GOT BETTER!" Morez loudly rebutted, lifting his helmet so his pouting face was visible to everyone.

"Yeah, AFTER you finally decided to take your libido suppressants after years of not taking them," Keetriv shot back, causing Morez's ears to flatten against his head.

"...they tasted yucky," Morez argued pitifully.

"He's not wrong," Keetriv replied, smirking. "They tasted like some ungodly combination of shit, piss, oranges and vomit. Somehow. But, hey, they stopped us from being hard 24/7, so I guess they worked?"

The large buck snorted at Keetriv's remark.

"Hmmm. So. They tasted. Slightly better. Than your. Rations." commented the deer as he looked from Keetriv to Morez, "Is this. Correct?"

Keetriv did a double take, his eyes widening at the deer's words.

'Did- did they just make a joke?!' he thought.

A smile grew on Morez's lips, despite how uncomfortable the earlier conversation was.

"I will. Continue. Calling you. Private Morez. Then." clarified the deer.

"Thanks. And...I guess I'll still call you Titan 4611 then," mentioned Morez, taking off his helmet.

"Hmmm. Good." responded the huge animal, before turning to face the communications officer again, "Also. What is. The Event?"

Morez's ears perked up at the question.

"Oh yeah, I never really got to explain it to you, since we were interrupted by hostiles!" Morez turned his body to face the deer front on before continuing his explanation, "So, about 3 decades ago, there was this experiment in a place called Rush Hour-"

"Russia," corrected Keetriv, with a roll of his eyes.

"-yeah, Russia. Anyway, they did this big science experiment thingy having to do with black holes and a particle accelerator; trying to create infinite energy or something. But when they turned on the device, nothing happened. Or so they thought!"

"So. There was. Something. Happening. Wasn't there?"

"Yup, you got it," Morez said, taking a swig from his own canteen, "they'd accidently punctured a hole into a different plane of existence that they couldn't see! At first, everything seemed alright, however, over time they noticed changes were taking place in their bodies."

"Then what. Happened?" asked the deer curiously.

"They were quarantined and summarily silenced," interrupted the stoic doberman, "Technically, while it did take place in Russia, it was was actually a joint venture between the countries of America and China too. The people in charge panicked and thought they could hush everything up if they just destroyed all the evidence...but it wasn't that they were too late to hide it, there was just simply no hiding it at all once it had started." 

"Yeah! See, there was this particle that just kept flooding through that invisible hole they made and it just kept spreading further and further away, mutating people, making animals bigger and, eventually, causing goblins to spawn. After goblins started appearing, people started calling it 'the magic particle'," lectured Morez, recalling the words from his history classes.

"They used to call it the Higgs-Boson or god particle," chimed in Keetriv, taking a deep drink from his canteen as his canine features were darkened by his train of thought, "Before they knew it, the damn things had spread globally and everyone was affected; no more regular humans or animals in sight. Some went crazy and killed themselves due to identity disassociation; unfortunately, some of those were people with access to nuke codes. No one knows who fired first, all that matters is that everybody else did as well; the rest of the world didn't stand a chance..."

The two soldiers fell silent and watched the fire crackling and the glowing embers reflected in the wide green pools of the giant deer's amber gaze.

"Hmmm. Interesting. My kind. Know this. As the. Awakening," remarked the giant deer.

"What? Really?" questioned Morez, leaning forward in his seat, hoping for further elaboration on the giant animal's unique viewpoint.

"Hmmm. It was. A time of. Great learning. Of awareness. Of sapience," finished the deer, before emitting a yawn. "I grow tired. We must. Deliver. The package. Tomorrow. For now. Let us rest." 

Both soldiers turned to one another, and with a nod of understanding, both stood up, stretched, and prepared for bed. The deer also rose, moving over towards where their bags lay, settling in for the night.

"I'll take first watch," offered Morez, walking over to the concrete rubble and scooping up his blanket from his pack.

"Mmm," agreed Keetriv, setting his rifle beside him on the ground, lying down within reach of his firearm. "Wake me when it's my shift."

Morez nodded and settled into his spot, wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders as he leaned back against the wall, gazing out into the darkness.

"Man, what a day," he muttered softly, running a hand through his hair and glancing at the rocket strapped to the side of Titan 4611, "Let's hope nothing happens tomorrow. The last thing we need is trouble..."