“Home?” Noxie couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice even if she wanted to.

The mage nodded again, “Yes. Home. Think of this space once more, and this time envision yourself there, in person. You could be sitting at the desk, laying in your bed, or simply standing on the carpet.” He pointed to the objects as he mentioned them. “Follow that feeling, and let it take you where you want to go.”

As if some block had cleared itself from her mind and body, it was suddenly trivial for the young rodent to pierce the veil, vanishing from the room in a trail of lustrous silver. No words existed to describe the space she occupied for the briefest of moments before she was deposited, face first, on the floor of her bedroom. Picking herself up off the carpet, she would be feeling that for a while, but she was back home and alive. Not long after, the strange ‘Enigma’ who guided her home appeared, looking no worse for wear as he landed on his feet.

“No fair. How come you didn’t fumble in like I did!?” She poked him gently, with exasperated, yet good-natured annoyance.

In response, the mage let out a chuckle. “I’ve been at this for over a decade, young lady. It’s just practice.”

“Okay, you can’t get mad at me for calling you an old man, and then call me a ‘young lady’. What’s with the double standard?” The annoyance in her voice was purely in jest, despite the words and the way her hands were placed on her hips.

This time, a genuine laugh from the wolf. “Fair enough.”

Their celebration was interrupted by a banging on the door. “Sadie!? Is that you!?” An older, kindly, feminine voice called out from beyond the threshold.

“Yeah, mom. It’s me. I’ve been…” She had been so preoccupied with getting back home that she didn’t have the words to describe what had happened to her over the past day. Hell, she had nearly forgotten that she and the rest of her crew had signed up for-

-the job! Oh shit. Noxie could start to feel a pit in her stomach. She was about to enter the big leagues, signing onto work with Rail Tail Gang, on a gig that was going to pay enough to afford keeping her parent’s shop open for the next half a year. Just as she was about to celebrate with one order of Auntie Coco’s deep-fried plantains, she was suddenly propelled into that jewelry stand in another world.

Lost in the mire of her own mind, she didn’t notice the turning of the doorknob as her mother stepped in. With more focus, both of them might have even noticed the door did not close completely as her mother stepped forward, but they were too focused on each other to notice anything else.

The older rat wore her long hair, bleached with age though maintaining its silken texture, tied-back and secured with a cloth protecting it, wearing a pure white chef’s coat buttoned up to the base of her neck, features worn with the exhaustion that stems from a long life. Nonetheless, beneath it all she had a strong resemblance to her young daughter. It wasn’t until the elder’s arms were snuggled wrapped around the fledgling planeswalker that Noxie was able to take in the moment for what it was.

“It doesn’t matter. You’re here. Your father and I were so worried.”

That was when Noxie registered that her mother was hugging too tightly to her, desperately. It was enough to raise alarm bells in the back of her mind. Tentatively, she wrapped her arms around her mother in return, in an unsure mix of apology and comforting embrace.

“I know it’s not like me to bail on a job, but I promise I had a good reason, Mom. I don’t know if I explain it, but-”

Her apology was cut short when her mother interrupted her, loosening one bright pink, furless hand so she could wrap it gently around her daughter’s snout, breathing a sigh of relief. “You don’t need to, Sadie. I’m just glad you saw sense before the Rail Tails could drag you down with them.” The inquisitive expression on Noxie’s visage simply raised more questions. “You don’t know?”

The pit in her stomach Noxie had chased away just returned with a vengeance. “No, mom. I had something else I was dealing with. I wasn’t able to keep up. What happened?”

“The Rail Tail’s were all arrested, dear. One of them was caught planting bombs in the base of Foundation, and they cracked down on the whole gang. That job you were telling me about never got off the ground.”

“You’re kidding!” Wiggling out of their embrace, Noxie put her own pink grippers on her mother’s shoulders, eyes wide in surprise. Had she not been torn from her home, she’d have gone on that job. She’d be rotting in prison or worse for associating with the Rail Tails. Gazing at the wholeness of her own daughter, the old rat could only nod in silent acknowledgement of that truth. In the silence that followed, an audible commotion erupted downstairs. “You and dad expecting company?”

This time, the elder chef shook her head. Speaking only with their eyes, the two of them agreed to check it out together. As Noxie passed by her dresser on the way out of her room, she picked up the pistol she kept hidden inside it. In one fluid sequence, with practiced grace, she grabbed the piece and switched off the safety, eyes not wandering from the doorway leading into the main hall, where the stairs down were located.

Slowly, she crept down the stairs, weapon forward but pointed down. Her mother followed suit, both of them quiet as mice. Recognizing the sounds as she grew closer, she placed her gun onto the magnetic clip on her belt, rearming its safety.

“I hope our little Noxie wasn’t too much trouble, Mister?”

“Enigma. Please, call me Enigma. And no, she’s been no trouble at all.”

Sure enough, her old man was standing behind the counter, a whole hour before they actually opened for lunch service. His albino fur contrasted with both hers and her mother’s ebony coats, and blended in with the white of his own chef apron.

And that strange wolf, Enigma, was sitting across from him at the bar, using his claws to dip a spicy tuna roll lightly into a well of soy sauce before placing it into his maw. Noxie reasoned that she must have made some sort of noise while taking in the scene, because the two of them looked towards the staircase in unison as soon as the wolf finished swallowing the roll.

“And there’s my little plum. Don’t worry, Mr. Enigma here told me you haven’t had breakfast yet, so I made a spread for you too. Your favorite!”

She didn’t need to hear him say it to know what it was as soon as the spread hit the table in front of the chair next to Enigma’s, right by the register: Sweet chili pineapple salmon, with a side of steamed red bean buns. Hunger pangs she didn’t even realize she was feeling had hit her in full force, mouth watering at the sight and smell until she gave in, sitting next to the wolf to start eating.

“I simply told him that we wanted to get you home so quickly we didn’t have time to eat, and before I knew it this delightful spread was in front of me. I think this is a type of fish, but I don’t recognize the preparation.”

While Noxie chewed one of the rolls in front of her, her father handled the explanation. “It’s sushi, sir. Yours is a spicy tuna.”

“This is sushi!? And that must mean this white stuff is rice!” The elder ratkin politely nodded as the wolf spoke with wonder in his voice. Noxie could almost swear if this was one of her animated martial arts movies, sparkles would be in his eyes. “Fascinating! I’ve heard of sushi before, but I’ve never seen it put together. We don’t have rice where I come from, so I’ve never had the chance to sample the dish.”

From his pocket, Enigma produced a device that resembled a mobile phone. He pointed it towards the spread. “Blinds won’t be able to contain the culinary students when they hear about this.”

The idiom was unfamiliar to Noxie and her parents, but they were able to understand the meaning behind it. Noxie herself broke the silence just as it had begun to settle in, “Hey mom? Dad? Could you give us a few minutes? Business talk.”

Her dad was the first to reply, with a puzzled look on his face, “But you just got home, Sadie. Surely business can wait-”

“Just a few minutes, dad. Promise. I just need to check with Enigma here on some things.” She began pleading with her eyes and hands, and eventually her mother took her father aside.

“We’ve waited all day, dear. We can wait a few minutes more. Besides, we still have to finish our prep work.” It was clear her father wanted nothing more than to dote on his little sugar plum, but eventually he gave in. Taking him to the back room, she looked to Noxie. “Put the dishes in the wash when you’re done, Sadie?”

The young woman gave a thumbs up, and that was enough to convince her folks. Once she heard the clacking of knives hitting the cutting board, and the abrasive yet soothing scratch of the sponge scrubbing the rice cookers, she knew it was safe to question the wolf.

“So how did you-?”

The wolf stopped her by simply raising his hand. “I followed you. People like us always leave a trail in their wake when we planeswalk. It will eventually fade, but until it does anyone with the gift can follow that trail.”

“Then I could go back to your home by following you?” Noxie’s eyes did not waver from her lupine companion, too focused to continue eating. The same hand that interrupted his would-be interrogator went back to picking up one of the steamed buns sat between the two diners.

And Enigma just had to finish swallowing the sweet, delightful bite of his red bean bun before he could continue talking. “Theoretically yes, but you wouldn’t have to. Your soul already knows the way back if you ever wanted to visit. Just make sure you don’t crash into another jewelry stand next time.”

The skin around her ears turning bright pink, the young rodent looked back down to her plate to conceal her embarrassment. “Not going to happen, old man.”

After imbibing a swig of water, the wolf briefly paused before continuing. “No. I imagine not, especially since you seem to have your own problems here, on this plane.”

“What do you know about that?” The pink of her ears began to recede to a more natural tone as a spike of adrenaline hit her system.

“You and your mom are loud thinkers. I could hear your thoughts as I snuck out of your room.” He spoke with the same tone as a child reciting a book report so that his parents would let him go play. In that brief moment, the food was more fascinating than the conversation topic.

“Loud… thinkers?” Noxie saw Enigma freeze in place as she spoke. He turned to her with an apology in his eyes.

“Right. You’re as new to all this as I am to your home. Allow me to explain. My magic affords me dominion over the mind. I can read and manipulate minds, and turn myself invisible.” She tried to interject, but before she could the mage stopped her. “Before you ask: No, I haven’t done anything to your mind. And yes, that is how I escaped your mother’s notice before she caught a grown man in her ‘little Sadie’s’ room.”

Enigma knew there were other questions on her mind, but he also knew it was polite to let her ask them, lest he dominate the conversation. Even without his powers, he could see the gears spinning in the young rat’s head, trying to process the deluge of information.

Once she had, a seemingly innocuous, yet pertinent question tumbled out of her mouth. “Can I do that too?”

As if mulling the question over in his hand, the wolf touched a claw to the base of his snout, just under his lips. Then, he spoke, “I’ll be honest. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you ‘don’t know’. You’re the expert here!?” She could feel a pang of annoyance seeping into her, and despite her best efforts it crept into her voice.

The wolfkin sighed in understanding. “It’s different for everyone. I can work people’s minds. My apprentice can shoot lightning and water out of his hands, and so on. Whatever your magic is, Noxie, it’s something we’ll have to discover.”

“There’s no ‘we’ in all this.” Having finished her plate, she spun around in her stool and leaned back on the bar while resting her elbows on it. The studs on her jacket made a clacking sound as they connected with the hard surface. Watching her, eyes closed, wearing a confident grin, Enigma imagined that she must have spent hours practicing the pose, getting it just right so that she could look tough and impressive at the drop of a hat. “Noxie works alone.”

“And Enigma is unimpressed by youths who refer to themselves in the third-person, but more importantly you’re going to want my help.” An opportunity was unfurling itself to the mind mage, and like the remaining sushi rolls on his plate, he would not let it go to waste.

“Look, Old Man. Thanks for getting me back home, but around here I can handle myself just fine and I don’t need your help.” All the suits she ever ran jobs for practically shit themselves when she posed like this. Though Noxie wouldn’t say it out loud, it annoyed her that the wolf wasn’t as impressed, even if she knew it was probably because he wasn’t born in Machresse. Even if she didn’t know where he came from, it would’ve been obvious he’s a tourist. Kindness like his gets stomped out in this city. He’d be better off leaving.

Which made it all the more irritating when he persisted, placing both his elbows on the bar and resting his snout on his hands. “Perhaps not, but having a detective on your side is bound to be useful. Especially if you plan to investigate what happened to that gang who hired you. The ‘Rail Tails’ I believe?”

“I ain’t looking into nothing, Old Man.” A silence lingered between them for a beat. Noxie initially took that as a sign that he was ready to give, but as she opened her eyes, she was ‘greeted’ by the sight of Enigma staring dumbfounded at her, mindlessly chewing on another sushi roll. Unnerved by the sight, she had to ask, “What?”

Refusing to respond with food in his mouth, the wolf swallowed before speaking. “Why are you lying to someone who can read minds? And even if I couldn’t, it’s obvious to anyone that you want to track down whoever had that ‘gang’ arrested and denied you both the job and its payment. That’s the type of task best suited to a detective.”

“Fine. I’ll bite.” She sat back up, spinning back around on her stool, placing her digits on the bar. “Whose this detective you keep talking about?”

Unfolding his hands, the wolf started to rub his temples in all too familiar motion. “I’m referring to myself, Noxie. I am not just a detective. I’m one of the best detectives in the multiverse.”

“I thought you were some kind of elected official or something.”

He couldn’t really fault the young woman. They had just met and she had no way of knowing who she was talking to. Still, something stung about the way she had referred to him as an ‘elected official’. He had been to enough planes to know that usually meant something entirely different than it did back home in his beloved Magistrum City. “I am a college professor, as it happens.”

“You just said you were a detective.”

“I’m both. And I take pride in both roles.” He allowed a hint of irritation to creep into his voice and features.

She had clearly touched a nerve, and she knew she should apologize for it. And yet, her lips wouldn’t allow such nonsense to pass through them. Sadie might’ve been able to, but Noxie couldn’t afford to look weak. That said, if he was serious, then she couldn’t afford to spurn his help either. “Alright. What are you proposing? People don’t just volunteer for things without expecting something out of it.”

“Simple. I will help you with this little mystery of yours. In exchange, you will teach me all there is to know about this city. I will require a work space in a secure location.” There was an understated, satisfied smile on the wolf’s snout, as if he already knew what the answer was going to be.

Noxie began ever so slightly rubbing her teeth against the inside of her lip in agitation. Even though she knew deep in her heart that she was always going to give him a tour of the place, if for no other reason than to settle her debts to him, she didn’t like the way he saw straight through her. It was a bitter consolation that he could prove his usefulness.

“Fine. We have a spare desk in the garage you can use-”

He practically leapt out of his chair, feet landing with a soft plop. “Perfect! Then we had best get starte-”

“Oh, no. Not dressed like that.” She pointed to his white shirt, adorned on both sleeves with gold, runic armbands. It elicited a scoff from the detective-professor.

“What’s wrong with my attire? I’ve used this guise to blend in with populations across the multiverse.”

“That’s exactly the problem.” Grasping the lapels of her jacket, she jugged at it, drawing the wolf’s gaze to her own outfit. “You could probably blend into a crowd looking like that, but if you want to roll with Knock-Out Noxie, you need to stand out. You need flair.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Enigma shrugged his shoulders in defeat. “Very well. But I must decline any ‘piercings’ or tattoos. I respect their practice, but I do not want any of my own.” Without saying a word, Noxie pointed at the glowing runes etched underneath his left eye, which immediately put him on the defensive. “I’ll have you know that is the mark of a distinguished scholar where I come from! Only the best and brightest of the Theorem Magistrum are afforded the right to bear The Mark of Mastery.”

Chuckling, Noxie allowed herself a moment to drink in her first ‘win’ against her new, strange partner. “Whatever you say, Old Man. C’mon. I think I have something your size lying around here.”

---

The second part of my opening chapter. I am still in the process of writing the next part, but with luck it will be ready by this time next month. I look forward to sharing with it with you all.

If you wish to read "An Introduction to Machresse" in full, I have combined both parts in the full first chapter on my lore blog: https://the-enigma-files.com/an-int.....-to-machresse/

Thanks to  LittleBadWolf for lending the illustrative talents to this story.

Additional thanks to  Bardoholic,  RhythmBastard, and  CyberLightning, as well my friend Keli who no longer uses social media, for lending their time to proofreading and editing this piece.

Please favorite the artist's submission here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/64086392/

Art by  LittleBadWolf
Enigma, Noxie, and story belong to me.