Cats and Dogs
Hello various internet persons! This little bit at the top here is the story disclaimer; feel free to skip it if you so choose. This here story is a clean story, at least I think so. It is . This story is hereby copyright of Dosve, any violation of this copyright will result in a visit from the lawninja and ultimately: litigation. Reviews are welcome but not necessary. Please enjoy the show!
The air was cold. It was also dry, which explained the minimum of frost on the ground. No ice had formed on any sidewalks or roads; but the streets were still desserted simply because it was so damn cold. However, by some cruel twist of fate, the Superintendant of Schools had announced to all federaly financed schools, that school could not be called off due to sheer cold unless the student's lives would be at risk.
Only half the students riding bus forty-seven actually knew that however; simply believing their various principals were to blame.
Saul was one of the more knowledgeable ones. He was a cat, a crossbreed of a russian blue and shorthair; giving him the silvery fur color of the russian, with the exception of a white cap on his tail, and the stocky build of the shorthair. He had dressed warmly for the occasion, but not in all out winter gear like the almost all the other students had. Whereas they had dawned poofy parkas and fur-lined boots, he had simply put on a thick sweater under his windbreaker and some cargo pants. Saul sat in the back section of the bus, lounging in a seat he had to himself, and quietly laughing at the panting kids and teenagers who had forgotten the bus' heating system was top-notch. Saul was a highschooler, a junior, and that gave him the immunity to mock all the students onboard except the two seniors who also rode the bus, and the one other junior.
The bus turned onto a road Saul wasn't used to made him stop laughing and look out the window to the passing scenery. The neighborhood the bus had entered was a suburban community, with rows of houses that were virtually identical. Some of them were even still under construction.The bus didn't go far before stopping. Several heads, including Saul's, looked out into the aisle as the bus driver opened the door and a new passenger boarded.
The new guy, for there was no question of his gender, stepped up with a suprising level of grace for someone his size. He was a doberman, with cropped ears and no visible tail. His shoulders were broad-so much that each was as long as Saul's head was wide-and had the rather obvious look of a body-builder. Suprisingly, he didn't seem dressed for the cold weather, in lowtop sneakers with no socks, loose shorts and a t-shirt. The bus driver briefly instructed the new guy to head to the back, then shut the door and began driving off. As the doberman approached, trying to keep from falling onto the smaller kids as the bus bounced and swerved, the highschoolers instinctively closed their borders by pairing up. Most had already done so, however some had refused to share a seat and forced mostly the freshmen into the middle-school crowd. In a blur of movement only two seats were left with an openning. Saul's, and the one directly behind him. A finger reached over the top of Saul's seat and poked him in the head as the doberman approached. Saul turned to see a great green eye in an ursine skull peering at him through the gap between the back of his seat and the wall.
"Move your ass, and let the new guy sit with you," the eye said, closing with a yawn. That was Rob, a brown bear and the larger of the two seniors on the bus. His word was law with forty-sevenites, with the exception of Mak the driver, because he made it quite clear that he could, would, and "by all rights should", knit their internal organs into tea cozies. While river-dancing.
So Saul scooted over and made room for the doberman to sit down, which he did after glancing back at the sleeping Rob. The seat was barely big enough for the two of them, though neither Saul or the new guy commented.
"So, I'm Kent. And you are?" The doberman said, smiling in a friendly manner.
"Saul," the cat returned. "Senior or junior?"
"Senior. Same question."
"Junior." The conversation died a bit as other highschoolers began asking Kent questions. From their probings Saul learned that the doberman was a navy brat, who's father had recently taken terminal leave, and that the reason for his clothes was that he had yet to unpack all his possessions, and hadn't found his winter wardrobe yet. Saul cut off listening to stare out the window. The scenery was gradually shifitng from suburban to a cityscape, meaning their ride was almost over. A blinding pain speared its way up his spine, and rushing out his mouth in a piercing shriek. All activity stopped while the cat whirled around and snarled at the larger male. Kent had dropped his backpack onto the floor in between himself and Saul, unaware that was where the cat's tail had been. Saul kicked the pack off his limb, and brought it up to himself, growling and trying to push the fluffed fur down, while ignoring the dog's apologies.
"Let the cat be angry for now," Rob said as he sat up, as the bus had stopped outside the highschool to drop them off. "Time for some learnin'."
Kent didn't see Saul for most of the day, only glimpsing the silver cat in the lunch line. He went to his classes, made a good first impression on most of the teachers, except his fourth hour, which had a substitute who rather obviously was ex-army. But Kent couldn't help thinking about the cat he'd sat with on the bus. It wasn't one of those 'love at first sight' things, or pure lust. It was the sight of seeing the cat angry, suprised and in pain that got him. Seeing Saul, claws out, teeth bared, and eyes contracted to slits of feline rage...it set off something in Kent. A combative urge to fight, dominate, and be victorious. So it was a stroke of luck when he found he had a class with Saul, and one that allowed him to sate the combative urges he felt. Physical Education. A bit cliche, but thems the breaks. His locker was on a row seperate from Saul's, but he managed to sneak a peak at the cat by heading for the built-in bathroom. When Kent saw him, the cat was dropping his jeans, showing off slim legs built for running, and a perky ass hidden beneath dark green briefs.
Kent kept that image in his head, right alongside the image of Saul furious, and was at least half-mast for the remainder of the class period. When he was changing again, having a mild conversation with his locker neighbor, a peppy corgie, Kent heard a ruckus over by Saul's locker, and investigated. There he found, a large bull, whom he knew as Phil, holding Saul up by the back of his underwear. A group of other teenagers was gathering, chanting "Wedgie." Saul, Kent noticed wasn't fighting the bull's hold, leading him to believe this happened regularly. Phil bounced Saul a couple of times, and produced a pained groan from the feline. Kent suddenly felt a streak of boiling fury peirce his logical thinking and nail it to the wall of his psyche. Surging forward, Kent roughly turned the bull around, and delivered a swift, brutal punch to his face. Phil remained frozen for a second, then simply falling backward into the mob of teens, trapping a few under his bulk, while dropping Saul. Kent deftly helpped the stunned cat to his feet while the crowd looked from him to Phil, to Saul, and repeat. Quickly, and quietly, they dispersed. Saul glanced up at Kent, looking confused, and Kent suddenly became aware of what he'd just done.
"Uh...had to make up for stomping your tail?" The doberman ventured weakly. Saul didn't answer but narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Fine," the cat smoothly replied. "Now let me go, so I can get dressed." Kent realized he'd been holding on to the cat's shoulders, quickly let go, and returned to his own locker.
Everyone ignored the crys for help of the kids trapped under Phil.
The wait for the bus was unpleasant. Saul made it a point to stand away from Kent, by being dangerouly close to Rob. Rob, from the looks of it, hadn't had his post-lunch Pepsi, and would be in a vicious mood all through the trip. Unfortunately, Saul's attempts to keep Kent at arms reach were foiled by an outside source. A tall, darkfurred lion with dreadlocks down to his hips and a pierced lower lip marched up to the group, tapped Rob on the shoulder, then seized Saul around an arm and dragged him toward Kent. Saul knew the hare, William Kings who prefered 'King Willie', who was the other senior that rode his bus, and a major player in the partier scene. Willie always had an upbeat attitude, and spoke in a bad Jamaican accent, which he claimed was real but a rare derrivitive. Rob lumbered behind them, and pushed Saul into Kent when Willie released him. Kent looked like he was going to punch the lion for a second before Willie flicked him on the nose, which produced a yelp.
"Keep your teeth covered mon." Willie said cheerfully. "I speak, then Robbie speak, then you speak. Alright?" He waited for a second in case of any objections from the bear. When none came, he continued. "You make a big mess, mon. Hitting Phillie like that. Him big fish, in little pond mon. You lucky Robbie and I save you."
Kent opened his mouth to speak, but Saul elbowed him. It was Rob's turn to talk. "Me and Willie are bigger fish than Phil is," the bear snarled. "And we had to call in a bunch of favors to put him off going to the teachers about this. Don't make us have to do it again." As one, the two turned their backs to Kent and Saul, and marched back into the main group just in time for bus forty-seven to turn the corner and roll up.
On the bus, Rob dictated Kent and Saul to sit together again, by pointing at each of them, then the seat, and collapsing into his own. They didn't argue.
"So," Kent started after a fair bit of silence. "That was nice of them. Fixing that problem like that."
"They did it for me." Saul informed him. "Your a newbie, they'd have no problem letting you get a whipping. But I've had a history of discipline issues; I get involved in any more fights and I'll get expelled."
"Oh."
"Thanks by the way."
"Eh?"
"Your stunt brought me dangerously close to expulsion and now Willie and Rob are pissed at me, and Phil's going to be hateful the rest of the year; to both of us. You royally screwed up. But you tried to help. So, thanks." Saul never raised his voice above a monotone, but he knew Kent could sense the flicker of real gratitude in it."Also," Saul added in a world weary voice. "Please try to be more discreet the next time you stare at my ass. I'll be getting lip about it from freshmen for a week."
Saul grinned while Kent turned pink.