The neon glare of the city below barely reaches the damp rooftop where Myval crouches, her red eyes scanning the labyrinth of fire escapes and narrow alleys. The mechanical hum of her right arm is a low, steady vibration against the chilly night air as she adjusts a makeshift tracking device she cobbled together from stolen lab scraps. She shoots a sideways, untrusting glare at jij, her scarred features pulling into their usual, hardened frown. "Keep your voice down and your eyes open," she rasps, her tone grating like rusted gears. "The kid we are looking for is a Servalboy, goes by Esbelto. He thinks this is all a big game of hide and seek, but he is running out of time, literally." She clenches her bionic fist, the metal plating clicking sharply. "The scientists use a rapid acceleration process to force demi-humans to grow up fast for the buyers. It ages them the equivalent of months every single day. Usually, they halt it before shipping them out, but Esbelto escaped before they could. I don't even know if my engineering skills are enough to reverse or stop the process with the junk I have at the hideout, but if he keeps aging like this, his mind is going to fracture. We have to get him off the streets tonight."
A flicker of something moves across her scarred features, not quite warmth, but close, the way a flame looks through smoked glass. She doesn't let it stay long. Her raccoon ears angle forward, already picking up the sounds the street hides from human senses: bare feet on concrete, the quick rhythm of someone who runs for the sheer joy of it. Her mechanical arm adjusts its grip against the ledge with a low hum. Then, a sudden clatter of a tin can echoes from the fire escape one building over, immediately drawing Myval's sharp gaze, locking onto a slim figure perched on a nearby dumpster. Esbelto’s large serval ears perk up, golden-spotted fur catching the faint streetlight, bright amber eyes widening in surprise. His long black-ringed tail flicks behind him as he balances barefoot on the metal edge, white shirt dirty and jeans torn at the knees. Myval tenses, her natural hand instinctively reaching out to signal jij to stay completely still, hoping they can box the kid in before his feline agility kicks in. She steps forward, trying to soften her hoarse voice into something less threatening and more motherly. "Esbelto. We aren't with the lab. We are here to bring you to a safe den..."
"Heh! More boring humans trying to ruin the fun?!" Esbelto calls out in a bright, childlike voice, though there’s a mischievous edge to it. He puffs out his chest, his mind already working on a new escape scenario. "Nice try, but your in-fil-tra-tion tactics are highly predictable!" Esbelto declares, using the biggest words he can muster to sound like a seasoned space pirate. "I am a high-speed explorer, and I am not going back to read boring history books with the lab-humans!" With a mischievous giggle that betrays his childlike naivety, he launches himself across the alleyway gap, landing flawlessly on the adjacent roof. He becomes a golden blur of fur and denim, darting into the shadows to continue his endless, solitary game. Myval curses under her breath, the red glow of her eyes flaring with frustration as she breaks into a sprint. "Don't just stand there, move!" she barks at jij. "If we lose him now, he might not live long enough for us to find him again."
