The Trance Complex - 1
_ A young black fox sprinted up the stairs, panting for breath but pressing forward, knowing his goal and refusing to give it up as he surged upwards, his paws slamming into each rickety metal step with a defining clang. As he approached the top of the stairwell, he caught himself pleading to every god he ever knew, a single desperate gasp escaping him as he finally reached the top, flinging open the door with another resounding clang. He paused for a moment as he took in the scene around him: a rooftop in the twilight, soft rain drifting down from the heavy, gray clouds that hovered over the world like a living ceiling. A silhouetted figure, standing on the edge of the roof, turned back in surprise as the last echo of the noise from the opened door died off, leaving nothing but a tense silence as the pair looked at each other. "Jake..." said the fox, the name rolling off his lips in a soft but carrying whisper full of emotion. As the sun continued to set, the wolf at the edge of the roof smiled softly, a single tear gleaming in the last rays of sunlight as he heard his name uttered by his dearest friend. The wolf, his golden fur streaming as the dwindling light shimmered off of it, opened his mouth to let out soft words: "I'm sorry." The fox and the wolf looked at each other for a moment, then the wolf turned away, and, with a cry of despair from the fox, the wolf let himself fall over the edge of the roof and down into the eternal darkness below. The fox stood for a moment in shock before letting out an inhuman moan of sorrow, running toward the edge to peer over it in hopes of seeing his bud, his best friend, but all he saw was a swallowing abyss. Then the sun set. And all was dark._
*BEEP*
"Mmm..."
*BEEP*
"MMM!"
*BEEP*
"Don' wanna..."
*Creaaaaak* "Trance..?"
Reluctantly opening his eyes, Trance the black fox let out a groan as the sudden light interrupted his sleepy stupor. As the scene slowly drifted into focus, he sighed softly and reached his furred arm grudgingly out from under the covers to press the button and silence the alarm. His shockingly purple eyes searched the room and came to rest on a figure in his doorway, leaning against the frame with a small smirk on his face.
"Trance, mom says its time to get up, and if you don't you wont get breakfast"
Letting out a grunt to express his displeasure, he closed his eyes for another moment, trying to recall a distant memory. Something about a rooftop... was the only thought that ran through his mind before he snapped his eyes open again to see the kitten that had moved from the doorway to his bedside extremely quietly, his face uncomfortably close to his own. The deep emerald eyes stared back into the fox's own as the kitten giggled softly, backing up again.
"I said you need to get up, silly!"
The fox half-heartedly swung his legs over to sit up on the bed, rubbing his eyes and looking back at the grey kitten, which was shaking his head in amusement, his silvery hair falling down over his eyes.
"You do want breakfast, right?"
With a final defeated sigh, Trance stood up, letting the covers slide off of his body as he grabbed his younger brother and started to push him toward the door, finally pushing him out of the room and shutting the door in his face.
"You know you aren't supposed to come in my room, Shea!" said Trance.
Another sigh escaping his mouth, Trance let himself yawn, stretching out the soreness in his sleepy muscles and padding over to the full-length mirror to examine his image. A tired looking fox with jet black fur stared back at him from the silvery surface, his fluffy, well-groomed tail flicking playfully, the white tip standing out as a contrast to the rest of the black fur. A small splash of white interrupted the perfect jet-black of his chest-fur, a tuft that was placed in the exact center of his chest. An intricately designed pattern wrapped around the right shoulder of the fox in the mirror, also a contrasting white. Trance reached up and brushed a paw through his hair, admiring the streaks of red highlighting the black strands of hair.
"Better get down to breakfast..." Trance muttered to himself
He turned away from his image, reaching to his closet to pull out a tight fitting yellow shirt with a slightly faded swirling design on it and a pair of shorts, both of which he threw on, flattening out his fur and mussing with his headfur for a moment before turning back to his image, giving himself a satisfied smile. With a slight chuckle to himself, the fox left his bedroom and descended the stairs, greeting his waiting family with an exaggerated yawn.
"G'morning all!" he said in an uninterested manner
"Good morning sweetie, why don't you have a seat and get some breakfast before it goes cold?"
That was his mom, always trying to have little family sit downs at the table. Trance pulled up a chair and glanced around at his family, who all seemed to have finished eating. His mother, a black fox like himself, was looking at him reproachfully, but also smiling a bit as she gazed down at her son. People always said that Trance looked like his mother, and it was definitely true. They both had the same defining white tip on their tails, and their eyes matched at a shocking purple. He then shifted his gaze momentarily to his father, a slightly large cat, whose resemblance to Shea was obvious to spot with just a glance. They both shared the same fur color and eye color, and they both had the obvious physicality of a cat, lean but agile. Some other furs wondered how this odd group of furs could be a family, as both Trance and Shea looked nothing alike. Both of them, while considering themselves fox and kitten, were actually born half fox, half cat, but they identify themselves as their look. Trance's father was currently scrolling through the day's newspaper, and Shea was gazing up at the ceiling, apparently lost in his own world.
Trance reached his arm out and took food from the well-prepared dishes that his mom cooked up, scarfing it down quickly before standing up again, nearly knocking over the table as his mom shot him a look of displeasure.
"Where do you think you're going, young man?" stated the female fox.
Trance rolled his eyes "Its Saturday! I'm going out with friends like always, mom."
His mom glared at him. "Trance, you promised today that you'd spend time with your brother! You'll be going off to college in less then a week and I think--"
His mother kept rambling on about the importance of spending time with family and how he wouldn't get to see enough of them after he left, but Trance stopped listening, letting his mind wander. College... he thought, considering the implications. Freedom from rigid schedules and tough rules... as well as making new friends and possibly joining the soccer team... I wonder if--
"Trance!"
The fox was jolted out of his daydreaming by his mother, who was looking at him disapprovingly.
"You're going to spend time with your brother today, and that's final!"
Trance groaned "But mom..."
"Don't you 'But mom...' me! I said its final and you're going to like it!"
With a final sigh, Trance glanced over at his brother, who was still sitting at the table and looking between the mother and son with mild interest.
"C'mon then... lets go do something" muttered Trance.
The younger kitten smirked up at his brother. "I'll go grab my shoes and we can go to the mall!"
"Fine..." sighed Trance, "But hurry up!"
Trance padded over to the front door as his younger brother bounded up the stairs. Letting out another sigh, Trance grabbed his keys and started tossing them impatiently from hand to hand; leaning against the door until his brother finally came back down the steps, now wearing the required footwear. Trance rolled his eyes at his brother's eagerness, turning to open the door and stroll out into the hot summer sun, letting Shea close the door behind him as he went to his car and got inside. Shea came over to the car, hopping in the passenger's seat and giggling softly while Trance started the car and rolled out of the driveway, starting down the street with an annoyed glance at his brother.
"Why did mom make me take you out? It's not like we don't spend enough time together anyway!"
Shea shrugged with a broad grin still on his face. "I'unno, but I'm glad she did, I've been dying to get this new game and--
Trance interrupted him "Whoa. If you think that we're going straight to the mall, then you're nuts. I'm going to pick up Nate first, I promised him we'd hang today."
Shea groaned. "Nate? Ugh... why can't we just go together for once?"
Stopping at a red light, Trance looked over at his brother again, considering "Well... Fine, just this once, I'll pity you and we can go to the mall without Nate. But just this once!"
With a small giggle, Shea beamed up at his older brother "Yay! Now as I was saying, I wanna get this new ga--"
"Hey! Shush up and let me concentrate on driving." Trance injected as the light turned green. "No more annoying talking until we get there, okay?"
The young kitten let his sentence trail off to nothingness, staring out the window to watch the greenery flash by as they approached the mall. Suddenly the trees and grass gave way to a massive complex of steel and concrete, lights and color: the mall. Shea let out a small "Squee!" of excitement as they pulled into the parking lot, driving down the aisles in search of an adequate parking spot.
"And here... we... are" muttered Trance as he guided the car into a spot.
If anyone in the mall was looking out the entrance as the brothers entered the building, they would have been surprised at the amount of energy that the younger gray cat was displaying as he flung open the door and bounced around excitedly. Moments later, an older black fox, more composed, stepped through the open door and flicked his hair back out of his face, his eyes gleaming as he glanced around at the mass of lights and swirling colors that assaulted the customers of the mall.
"This is gonna be so great!" exclaimed the young cat, looking around excitedly
Trance shrugged as he flicked his hair back again, his eyes roaming the nearby crowds of people "Meh... we'll see. Where to first, then?"
With a broad grin on his face, Shea grabbed his older brother's arm, pulling him along. "GameStop, of course!"
Trance rolled his eyes at his brother's antics, his eyes still searching the crowd of people that swirled around them as they trounced through the crowded mall Maybe he's here anyway... He suddenly felt an insistent tug on his arm as Shea guided him into GameStop. Pausing to look around him at the massive display of games covering the walls, Trance let himself have a small smile. GameStop was one of his favorite stores, but he wasn't going to embarrass himself by acting excited like his brother. Of course, Shea seemed to be doing a good job of embarrassing the pair of them by goggling at all the games like a little kit, letting out another exciting squeak of delight.
"Please... Just hurry up and pick a game kit, I wanna get out of here." Trance groaned, taking a seat on the window display ledge and settling down for what was sure to be a long and drawn out game selection process.
Over an hour later, a tired looking fox and a still excited and bouncy kitten emerged from the store, the smaller of the two swinging a bag happily as the older looked down at him with a slight smirk.
"Thanks for letting me get Bioshock 2, big bro" exclaimed Shea "Mum and dad wouldn't let me the other day..."
Trance gave the kitten a small pat on the back, smiling at him to hide his exhaustion. "No problem kit... just don't let the parents see you playing it, or it'll be my head that gets the punishment, alright?"
The gray-furred cat smiled up at his brother, and, giving him a hug around the waist, looked up at him to ask "Where next?" in an excited voice
Letting out a soft sigh of despair, Trance nonetheless composed himself and remained smiling at his younger brother, reminding himself that he'd promised mom to spend time with his sibling.
"Um..." He looked around for a suitable store, his eyes lighting up as he spotted what he was looking for. "Clothes shopping!" He exclaimed, his voice getting as excited as Shea's had earlier.
The store that had caught Trance's attention was obviously designed to appeal to the younger generation. Posters depicting young furs wearing the store's clothing at the beach, at parties, or at sporting events were hung along the storefront, and none of the furs lacked a broad smile. Trance strode into the store with Shea in tow, gaping at the large selection of different styles and colors of clothing items. After a moment's pause, he almost immediately straight-lined for a wall that was covered in shelves of his style of clothes: Tight fitting shirts and jeans, all accented with bright colors and swirling designs. Shea, on the other hand, meandered over to the section that boasted a selection of baggy and loose fitting shirts, plain bright colors without the designs and logos that appealed to Trance.
Trance let out a small sigh of happiness, gazing at the many choices he had laid out before him as he reached a paw out and felt the fabric of one of the shirts, admiring the intricate pattern placed onto the sky blue cloth. So soft... was the first thought that came into his mind, pulling the shirt down from where it hung absentmindedly to examine it closer.
Shea was busy browsing the store, looking for anything that might suit his taste. Accidentally, he wandered into the female section of the store, which sported another selection of tight shirts with bright colors and designs, as well as feminine-cut jeans. He let out a small "oops" of surprise, but suddenly a mischievous grin appeared on his face. I wonder...
Having picked out a small pile of clothes to try on, Trance reluctantly tore his gaze from the selection of clothes to find his brother, who apparently wasn't anywhere in sight. After walking around for a few moments, he turned the corner of a shelf and nearly ran into Shea, who immediately smiled up at his brother and placed a few more items into Trance's pile.
"Here, I thought you might like these so I got them for you to try on." Shea said, a small smirk on his face for some reason.
Trance shrugged and accepted the clothes, adjusting his grip on fabric in his hand, looking around expectantly before looking back at Shea. "Um... you have any idea where I can try these on?"
Shea spun Trance around by his shoulders, pointing toward a small sign that designated the dressing rooms. "Right over there, silly!"
Trance thanked his brother and padded into the dressing area, and, after a long minute of counting the items he had and taking the number from the attendant, he hung the sign on the door and closed it behind him, shutting himself in a small cubicle with a full length mirror hung on both walls. He allowed himself a moment of rest before diving into the pile of clothes, trying one after another of his picked-out items on, separating them by his likes and dislikes. Glancing down after trying on several different outfits, he saw that all he had left to try were the few items that Shea had so eagerly thrust upon him. With a slight shrug, Trance picked them up one after another, trying them on and examining his image in the mirror with each one. Not bad... He thought, placing the clothes his brother had picked into the "keep" pile before pulling on his own clothes and departing the dressing area with a significantly smaller pile in his arms.
Waiting right outside the dressing area was Shea, a grin on his face as he confronted his brother. "So?"
Trance allowed himself to smile at the grey cat "I'm getting these." He said, hefting the clothes "and I liked what you picked out, by the way"
Shea smiled broadly and giggled as they approached the checkout, poking his brother "Guess what?" he squeaked.
With a groan that implied he thought his brother was just trying to annoy him, Trance said "What? If its nothing I'll--
He never got to finish his threat because Shea was so bursting with excitement that he cut Trance off in the middle of his reply with a string of words all jumbled together "Igotyougoodtheclothesareforgiiiiirls!!" he exclaimed, nearly bouncing with energy
Trance, who was in the process of paying for the clothes, shook his head once in confusion. "What? Say again, but slow down!"
Shea calmed down slightly, helping Trance gather the bags as they departed the store, letting out another giggle. "The clothes I picked out for you!"
The black fox looked down at his brother, annoyed. "Yeah, I said I liked them. So?"
Grinning at his older sibling, Shea replied, "They're for giiirls!"
Trance gaped at the gray cat for a moment before growling loudly, attracting the gaze of a few passing furs. "What?! Why would you..?!"
Giggling nervously, Shea looked at his brother, observing the panicked and angry scowl on his face. He took a small step backwards, the smile he'd been wearing slowly sliding off of his features as he held up his paws defensively. "Whoa... calm down big bro..."
Reaching out to grasp the arm of his younger brother, the angry fox let out a loud snarl as he dragged Shea out of the mall toward the car, muttering incoherent words the entire way under his breath.
Shea stumbled along beside his brother, his arm sore from the vice-like grip the older fox had on it, his mouth open in shock and his eyes filled with confusion. I've never seen him this angry...
Trance swung the young cat around to the passenger side of the car angrily, yanking open the door and half-shoving him inside with a commanding "In!" Then, slamming the door just as angrily as the cat swiftly drew his body into the car to avoid being crushed by the closing door, Trance stormed around to the driver's side of the car, opening and closing the door with a loud bang.
With an angry glare at his brother, Trance growled at him yet again as Shea cowered against the door. Suddenly the fox's demeanor completely shifted as he seemed to deflate, letting out a sigh as he gazed at his brother.
"Look..." He started, but he let the word trail off, not sure where to start what he wanted to say or even how to say it. He loved his little brother but sometimes he just annoyed him so much...
"I know you mean well... but I can't go around women's clothing!" He said, exasperated
Shea, who had been looking at his brother with an expression full of fear, let out a relieved sigh and nervously glanced around. "Well... I just thought, because you're gay and all..."
Trance groaned and shook his head, sighing. "First of all, not all gays like to wear women's clothing, that's just a myth. And second... you know that I don't want anyone to think that I'm gay, I've only ever told you..." Because I trust and love you. He thought, but didn't add that to his sentence.
"I was just trying to--" Shea began
"Its fine. Whatever. And who knows? I may actually end up wearing those clothes one day at college or something. Just... lets go home, okay? And not a word to mom and dad."
The ride home was completely quiet.
After the normal hustle and bustle of returning to the house after a long day of errands, the brother's went on with their normal days: Playing video games, talking, Furbooking, doing chores when called upon, eating, etc.
That night, Trance settled down to bed.
And suddenly he was in a stairwell, running to the top, knowing what awaited him...