Fiery Forest Chapt. 2: Planned
I looked out of my bedroom window to see the bright forest ahead of me. The forest throbbed with pulsating life. Long shafts of golden sunlight drifted down, leaving the forest floor with blotches of light. Leaves reached out to the sky, absorbing the light that gave it life. As a gentle breeze blew across the landscape, it made the trees and plants sway with it.
I backed away from the window and stared at the German Shepherd in the mirror. I had on a pair of blue jeans and a nice casual shirt with the first two buttons left unbuttoned. I stared at the caramel fur with patches of black splayed across my body. I then looked into my hazel eyes--which is a strange trait in my family, hell in my species. This made me grin, and I could see a row of canine teeth.
I shook my head, smiling.
I dug my paws into my pockets, searching for my cell phone. I was about to search my room when my ears perked up at the sound of the front door opening. I smiled again.
Racing downstairs, I ambled into the kitchen to find a badger, Jane, rummaging through my fridge. I sat on the kitchen counter, watching Jane.
"Hey, Adrian, I'm starving. You got anything good to eat?" she asked. Her paws swept past a white foam box, and she pulled it out. Her stripped muzzle pulled into a grin as she saw it was a pizza. She looked at me, still grinning, and pulled out a plate. She put it in the microwave and waited for it to finish counting down.
She turned around and rested her hips on the other counter. She had on a pair of black jeans and a navy hued sweatshirt. She was also wearing the necklace I gave her for her birthday. Her eyes were emerald that glowed in sunlight.
I grinned at her, and then motioned for her to come to me. I turned her around, her back to me, and wrapped my arms around her. I was a good few inches taller than her, being able to rest my muzzle between her ears. We watched as the timer ticked away, the room filling with the scent of melting cheese and cooking sausages.
This made my stomach growl.
It felt good to hold my girlfriend. It gave me the sense of protecting her--from what I don't know.
My badger turned around and planted a quick kiss on my cheek. She looked into my eyes and smiled. Cupping her chin, I tilted her muzzle to mine, and kissed her muzzle. It was a gentle kiss but full of passion.
Jane pulled away from the kiss and rested her face against my chest. I pulled up a paw and rubber her ears. I smiled to myself. I'm glad I found such an amazing girl like her--of course I tell her that all the time. But it's true. She gets me in ways that other people don't. I mean, we do have our differences, but we've known each other long enough to get one another. It's a pretty serious relationship, and it's not that we don't tease each other, 'cause we do. It's just that we're committed to one another.
Soon the microwave dings, and within seconds, Jane is out of my arms and the plate already in her paw. She held up the plate piled with sausage pizza. "This is a lot for me. You want to help me, stud?" she asked.
Grinning like an idiot, I nodded.
"Grab us something to drink," Jane said as she made her way into the family room.
I walked over the fridge and pull out two ice cold coke. I handed one to Jane, and then lounged on the couch, sliding her body close to mine. The TV was on, what show we were watching I didn't know.
Jane rested her head against my chest, her arm propped on my stomach. She titled the can to her muzzle and took sips.
I reached over and plucked a pizza slice from her plate.
"Hey!" she protested.
I stared at her. "Hey, you offered to share the pizza with me," I reminded her.
She stuck her tongue out at me, and I chuckled.
Taking a bite into the pizza, my maw exploded with taste. The spice of the sausage burned my tongue. The cheese melted even more as I chewed. The crust, disgustingly, was drenched in grease. I took a sip of my Coke and the liquid sizzled in my maw. My stomach's growling subdued down to a whispered rumple as I finished my slices.
Jane's tail thumped behind her, beating against me. This made me chuckle and rub her badger's ears.
In a few minutes we head finished our pizza and cokes, taking our time slowly. We were in no rush to finish. Time drew on, ticking by. We had kept ourselves content by watching whatever was on TV. We watched a few crime shows, and even to children shows--which were kind of lame, but there really was nothing to watch. Jane snuggled closer to me, and I wrapped my tail around her waist.
Jane's cell phone went off, signaling that we had to leave. She clambered off the couch and went to the kitchen to wash her plate.
I went upstairs to look for my cell. When I found it--under my pillow, of course--I slipped it into my pocket. I then rummaged through my nightstand, looking for my wallet. When I found that, I slipped it into my pocket as well.
When we were ready, we headed outside and walked into town.
The streets were a bustle with furs. A few walked into restaurants, and others walked into cloths stores, and etc. The night was live with activity; it hummed with joy, conversations, and with busy furs.
Jane and I walked down the street, paw in paw. She and I were excited. Tonight was some friends of ours movie night. I didn't know which movie we were going to see, it wasn't our turn to pick. But that didn't really matter. When we reached the movie theater, we saw a young vixen, Melody. She wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a top that read I MAY BE A FOX, BUT YOU WILL NEVER OUTFOX ME. Her long head fur was pulled back into a ponytail.
Her brother--
My eyes boggled from my skull when I saw Jason, Melody's brother, had fur-dyed his fur blue. And I mean all his fur.
"Sup?" Jason asked, grinning a foxy grin when he saw my expression.
I was speechless.
Jane stared at the blue fox and shook her head, sighing.
Jason's grin widened.
Melody sighed as well. "I know, right? He had to beg Mom to death to let him dye his fur. Now look at him?! I have to be seen with this blue fuzzy ball!"
"Hey!" Jason protested. "At least I didn't dye myself pink!"
I saw Melody lift her muzzle to the sky, and mouth, Thank god!
I shook my head at the two and headed inside to the ticket both. There was a tall bat behind the stand, a grin on his muzzle.
"Sup you guys?" Altek said.
I rolled my eyes. I knew what he was grinning at.
"Yeah, four tickets for"--I asked what movie we were seeing--"the Fighter."
The ticket booth clicked and four eight tickets popped out. Altek handed them to me, with that grins still on his muzzle, and then turned around to serve another customer.
We headed inside, and got concessions. My nose twitched at the smell of popcorn and salt. We got two cokes (one for me and Jane, and the other for Melody and Jason) and popcorn, and some nachos.
The dark theater was crowded with furs looking for a good stop to sit when we entered. Jason had found a spot for all four of us that were close to the screen, but far way that it wouldn't hurt our eyes. I looked around the theater as soon as my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Near the entrance of the theater was a field mouse standing there. I assumed he was the security dude--or whatever you call them. Two seats down me was a kangaroo silently chatting with a female Dalmatian. Ahead of me, I saw a bear turning his cell onto vibrate. Other furs were going the same.
Most of the time through the previews, my friends and I just talked--well we were until the field mouse warned us to be quit. All four of us held onto our muzzle to hold back our mirth. When the movie actually started, we quieted down.
The movie opened with a ferret standing in a concrete building, paws raised into fist. You could see a bit of blood stain his muzzle, his tail stiff against his body. The other fur in movie, a white wolf, got up and charged at each other. Just as their fist were about to connect with each other's face, the whole screen whites out, and a heading at the tops says, A MONTH EARLY. The movie re-opens with that same ferret sitting in a class room, jotting some notes down on the white board.
Every now and then my eyes wandered the dimly light theater. I spotted a few furs texting, others chatting. I even say a couple or two making out.
I sighed and rolled my eyes. I draped my arm around Jane's shoulder and pulled here closer to me.
Jane snaked her arm behind my back and her paw rested on my hip, her muzzle resting on my shoulder. In the light I could see the badger smile.
I really didn't focus on the movie all that much. Now and then I would get snippets of the movie. The only time when I actually paid attention to the when the crowd oh'd or awed, or . . . owed. Other than that, I pretty much missed most of the movie. By the time I realized it, the movie had ended and the lights were fading in.
We got up and stretched. My joints popped and pulled.
We walked out and made our way to bathroom.
I looked around the theater bathroom as I washed my paws. The bathroom was completely white with the exceptions of the blue stalls.
When I walked out, I was surprised to see Altek standing with my friends, clad in his street cloths. Like everybody else, he had on a pair of jeans, but his shirt was black with white text on it. He also had a jacket on, and his wings were spread from his body--they weren't fully out, but they definitely were apart.
He looked at me and waved me over. "Hey," he said. The bat reached out and clasped my paw.
"How come you're out so early?" I asked.
Alket gave a faked hurt look. "What? I'm not able to be with my friends? Am I no longer your friends?" he asked.
I growled and punched his arm. "Oh, shut up. I mean, did you ask for half the night off?"
The bat nodded, grinning. And then his ears pulled back and he blushed a deep scarlet under his midnight fur as his stomach growls audible. "Yeah, I'm kinda hungry. You guys want to get something to eat?"
I wasn't feeling all that hungry, but nodded with my friends. We stopped at Wendy's and ordered dinner. I sat near the window while Jane and Altek sat next to me; Melody and Jason sat across from us, wolfing down their burgers and fries.
I took a fry and popped it into my muzzle. The fries were a bit over-salted, but they were bearable with a few swigs of my drink. I took bites of my cheese burger, chewing slowly. Unlike the "Fox Twins"--our nick name for them--I took my time actually tasting my burger. I was half way through mine by the time to two foxes finished there's.
I mentally shook my head.
"God, could you two have finished your burgers faster? I mean, you devoured those things. That's kind of stereotypical for foxes," I said, giving Altek a wink, and he burst into laughter. I felt Jane chuckle next to me.
The two gave me a deadly glare.
"Watch it, Carmen," Melody growled. "Or I'll bite your ass."
I locked my lips shut to keep from laughing. When my silent laughter died down, I said, "Okay . . ."
I took a few more sips of my drink and finished my burger while I thought about the two foxes. I'll admit it; I love to tease Jason and Melody. And on occasions I have kinda get mean with my teases--but it's not like the two don't do the same thing to me by calling me a pup, mutt or mongrel. It's just the kind of thing we do. But I know have been a few times where I've gotten a little bit mean.
I shook my head and stared out the window. The streets were a dim glow with cars racing to their destination. Changing lights illuminated the streets with greens, yellows, and reds. The street lights gave off a florescent orange hue.
"Adrian?" Jane asks.
"Hmm--what?" I asked.
I hadn't been paying attention to the conversation, so I hadn't known that what they asked. I was paying more attention to my surroundings. To furs head walked in and headed to the order stand. One was a male roo with spiky black head fur. The other was a tall, lean rabbit with chocolate fur. His head fur was spiked into a short Mohawk that almost reached half way to his ears. When I they passed by, I nodded.
My gaze lingered on the two furs for a few more moments for wandering again, surveying the activity in the fast food restaurant--which was very little. A few furs were here and there, eating and chatting--like my group. Others were reading or texting.
I looked at the order stand and watched what the employees were doing. They were shuffling around, serving the few customers. Others were pretty much minding their own business but serving and preparing food. I kept watching the players with little interest.
Soon I lost interest in that and focused back to my friends. My paw rose up to Jane's ears and rubbed the bass of them, her tail swished behind her. She pushed her head into my paw a little more and then pulled away, a smile splayed across her stripped muzzle. She seemed to be enjoying herself--which was good.
I looked over to Altek and grinned. His pointed ears swiveled toward me and he grinned back. He reached over and fist pounded my paw. He then went back to food and finished eating.
The rest of the night was pretty good; we talked about your passes after high school, what colleges we want to go to, and what the rest of our plans were for next weekend. Jane was--of course--going to hang with me. We had made plans to go over to Rainer Mall in Milwaukee. The Fox Twins were going over to their cousin's house in Wisconsin. They were gonna go on the waver runners and walk in the forest.
I'd admit it; I was actually kind of jealous of them. But . . . I'm glad they were going to have fun.
When we were ready to leave, we all got up, said our goodbyes, and headed home. The Fox Twins went there way, and Jane and I went ours, disappearing into the darkness that surrounded us. We were a good distance away when I felt a paw on my shoulder, and the scent of bat flooded into my nose. I turned out and saw Altek smiling at me. His expression was unreadable, but he looked pleasantly happy.
"Hey guys, mind if I walk home with you?" he asked. His neighborhoodwas connected to ours.
"No, we don't mind," said Jane. She squeezed my paw and started walking, leading me away.
I put my arm around Altek's shoulder, pulling him into an awkward side-hug. "So, what's been up with you, Batty?" I asked.
His ears cupped toward me. "I'm good. I'm just having some problems . . ." he said, but not elaborating anymore. His wings unfolded from his back, and then my brought them back, his ears flicking.
I stared at the road ahead of us, but kept an eye on Alket in my peripheral vision. I was worried. Something was up and he's not letting up what it is; this makes me worry even more. What was going on? Was it so big that he'd be worried about telling us about it? Could we not handle it, or did he feel that he shouldn't burden these problems on us? It hurt me a little that he didn't trust us to help him.
The bat's ears flickered, his wings unfolded, and he looked sad. I felt sorry for him, and wished I could help him--but again; I can't help him if he doesn't tell me what's the matter.
After we dropped off Jane at her house--I pecked her an quick kiss goodnight--and stayed with Altek and walked him home. The walk to his house was silent. The air around us was charged with anxiety. Thick, awkward silence loomed around us, heavily. This silence made me worry more for my friend.
Just as Alket was heading up the porch steps, I rested a paw on his shoulder, turning him around. "Hey, are you ok?" I asked.
Altek avoided my eyes, staring at his foot-paws. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said not very convincingly. He looked into my eyes for a few seconds, and then looked away. He looked troubled.
"Seriously, what's the matter?" I asked. "I know something's up. What is it?"
He snarled at me. "It's none of your damn business!" he yelled, and then his eyes widened at his outburst. "I-I-I'm sorry . . ." He turned away and ran a frustrated paw through his head fur.
I sighed, and reached out gave him a reassuring hug.
He resisted at first and then wrapped him arms around my shoulder and squeezed back. "Thanks," he said, and pulled back, his eyes rimmed with tears. He smiled and headed inside.
I stud outside, staring at the door for a few seconds. Why was he this from us? I really didn't know--and this made my worry more. I cared about him, yes, and I hated to see him like this.
I ran my paw through my head-fur, sighing. I guess I'd have to figure out what I was going to do with my friend another time, I thought.
I sighed again and headed home.