Bear Claw had been minding his own business in Ne-no-kuni, doing what he always did—gliding lazily over Castle Town, letting the wind carry him wherever it pleased—when everything came to a screeching halt. One moment he was floating peacefully, and the next he was slammed against a brick wall by some blue-haired demon officer who seemed to appear out of thin air.

He hadn’t killed anyone. He hadn’t stolen anything. He hadn’t even looked at anyone funny. But apparently, according to this guy, the crime of the day was… having weird wings.

That was the entire explanation. Wings. Looking weird. Boom—instant arrest.

His cheek scraped the cold wall as the officer forced his arms back, silver cuffs clicking around his wrists, the striped sleeves of his shirt bunching awkwardly. Bear growled under his breath before raising his voice.

“Are we fucking for real right now?! Since when is that a valid reason for arrest?!”

The officer muttered a threat—something about shutting up or being publicly executed, feathers plucked one by one. Bear’s head snapped up, eyes wide.

“WHAT?!” he barked, his voice echoing across the alleyway.

His feathers bristled, his expression twisted into disbelief and outrage. Even for Castle Town, this was absurd.