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Shades of green and diamond-shaped bars glistened across the dilated brown pupils of a small cheetah cub. A light breeze pushed through the holes in the security door to ruffle Timothy's fur as he clutched his chipmunk plush tightly against his chest.

_ 'Come.'_

_ Timothy's ears twitched. His mother's voice sounded soft and muffled as she grabbed hold of his paw. He could see her fingers pressing into his fur but he felt nothing, that was until his feet began to slide._

_ No no no no. Timothy threw his weight back and dug his non-retractable claws into the tiles but all that did was scratch tiny channels into the slate as he slid towards the door. His toes bumped into the threshold, sending him tumbling over the porch and face first into the grass. The sight of nothing but earth sent the butterflies in his stomach into a swirling frenzy._

_ The butterflies settled a little once Timothy had scrambled back to his feet, adjusted his diaper and grabbed hold of his mother's tail. The eucalypts rushed forth to greet them as she pulled him into the forest. Timothy stared wide-eyed at their blackened trunks as they passed by, wrinkling his tiny black nose at their damp charcoal scents._

_ Timothy struggled to keep his balance as he leapt over the stones and burnt branches while holding on to his mother's tail with all the strength his small paws could muster. Glancing behind him, Timothy saw that the forest had been quick to reclaim the house, leaving_ only his mother for protection. It didn't matter, just as long as he held onto that tail.

_ No sounds emanated from the creatures that lived amongst the trees nor from the leaves that Timothy could see dancing in the breeze. Their feet also made no noise despite crashing through the undergrowth. There was one sound though that Timothy could hear, the thumping of his own heart. He glanced skyward, shivering as the orange glow of twilight disappeared behind the quickly forming clouds pouring in from high above to lap against the tops of the eucalypts._

_ In the subdued light, the rocks and branches on the forest floor slipped quietly into the shadows. Timothy's feet slipped and twisted around them, forcing his body into strange contortions in order to keep its balance. His foot slid between two rocks who grabbed hold as Timothy tried to complete his step. He stumbled forward, automatically dropping his paws to avoid head-butting a large stone._

_ 'Noo!' he had released the tail._

_ He looked up at his mother, wiggling his butt as he crouched before launching his small frame skyward. He stretched out his paws, the world slowing to a halt around him as he wished with all his might that his arms would grow go-go gadget style._

_ 'Oomph!'_

_ Timothy landed hard, his chin bouncing off a rock. His eyes glazed over as he rolled onto his back. It took only a moment for his mind to clear and his body to return to its feet, but it was a moment too long._

_ 'Ma?'_

_ 'Mum!'_

_ 'MOT...her.'_

_ Timothy's voice floated away as the leaves jiggled with laughter. With the last of his protection gone, the shadows grew bolder under the darkening sky, leaving only a patch of light to highlight the cub. The forest was starting to grow restless. For the first time Timothy could hear the hiss of the leaves. That sound wasn't scary and it certainly wasn't the reason why the colour was quickly draining from his fur. It was the sound yet to come that terrified him. The low short grumbled, the one caused by stones crumbling under paws as they tore through the gaps in the trees. They would come: grabbing hold of his fur, ripping off his limbs, slicing his tail and stabbing out his eyes with their tongues. Then, the real pain would begin. And they were coming._

_ No! Cheetah cubs do not cry. Even if they were all alone in the middle of a forest, in the dark, being hunted by..._

_ Snap!_

_ Timothy spun to the right. It was nothing, just a branch creaking in the wind. They should have been here by now. They were late. Maybe, this time they wouldn't come. Maybe, they had gone to Happy Burgers instead, where the burgers are always better._

_ Timothy sighed with relief as his stomach butterflies fluttered away. He was safe. All he had to do was turn around, walk in a straight line (even he could do that) and he'd be back home where his mother would be waiting with open paws. Timothy spun to face the direction of home and took his first step towards safety._

_ Sh-Boom._

_ Timothy froze. His knees started trembling as he slowly turned his head. Relax Timothy relax. It was just... the shattering of a rock. Warm fluid soaked his diaper as his knees gave way. Timothy collapsed to the ground, closing his large round eyes and wrapping his arms around his chest. He lowered his head and waited, listening only to the sound of his beating heart. Then he felt the hot stench of their breath against his neck._

Timothy leapt from the bed. He threw his back against the bookcase, rattling the shelves, which was odd because Timothy didn't have a bookcase against this wall. And he had bunk beds, not the sofa bed currently before him. Timothy's wrinkled brow relaxed when he noticed Zack's fluffy tail hanging over the edge of his bed. He remembered, this was Zack's room and this was Timothy's very first sleepover.

Judging by the still sleeping raccoon, he hadn't screamed. Thank Cat for that. Oh Cat what if he'd... Timothy dropped his paw down to his undies, breathing a sigh of relief when his fingertips came back dry.

Timothy glanced at the door. He needed a drink; his tongue kept sticking to the roof of his mouth, but was he allowed to go down to the kitchen? His mother always hit the roof if she caught him in the kitchen at night. He could wake Zack and ask but then Zack'd want to know why he was up. He could do what he did at home; lap a drink from the bathroom tap. His mother yelled at him for that too but she slept down the other end of the house so he almost never got caught.

Timothy decided to go with the kitchen. Getting caught with a glass would be a lot less embarrassing than being sprung with your tongue up the bathroom tap. He walked across the floor on his heels to keep his claws from scuffing the carpet then turned the handle.

Squeak.

He glanced across at Zack, but the racoon was just lying there with his tongue dangling out the side of his muzzle. For a moment Timothy thought about grabbing his smartphone and taking a photo, but shook his head.

The moonlight shining down through the skylight lit the way as Timothy crept along the skirting board. He made it to the top of the stairs with only a couple of groans from the floor. His ears twitched, but only hearing the sounds of sleep, he made his way carefully down the steps.

The moonlight flooding in through the large glass lounge room and dining room doors provided more than enough light for a cheetah to see. Timothy made his way into the kitchen and stared at the cupboards. Hmm where do they keep the glasses? Taking a stab, he opened the cupboard near the sink. Nope. He tried the next cupboard, and the next, and the next.

'Finally,' whispered Timothy grabbing a glass and filling it with water.

He raised the glass to his lips and look out the lounge room door. The backyard looked so peaceful that Timothy was standing in the glow of the moon wearing only his underpants before he even realised that he had walked outside. Timothy shrugged, oh well if he had been at home he would have been wearing nothing at all. Not that he ever went outside at night.

He sat down on the bench and took a sip. The stars were less vivid down here in the suburbs and he could even here the cars making their way down the main road. Even with that noise, it was rather peaceful sitting here in the moonlight.

'Bad dream?'

Timothy jumped in his seat, spilling the remainder of the water onto his chest. He turned his head, raising his eyes to see Zack's Mother standing in the doorway.

'I really startled you didn't I?' she said moving swiftly around the bench's armrest to wrap her paw around his shoulder.

She felt Timothy's muscles stiffen under her touch.

'Don't get many hugs huh?'

Timothy shook his head.

'You don't want water,' she said, taking the now empty glass from his paw, 'you want hot chocolate.'

Timothy watched as she headed back inside and over to the stove. She poured milk into the saucepan then added chunks of real chocolate to the warming liquid. His mother had never made him a hot chocolate. He'd made plenty of his own though, but his were just nuked Milo, nothing as elaborate as popping in marshmallows like Zack's Mother was doing.

'It's quite hot so why don't we get to know each while you wait for it to cool.'

Timothy dropped his gaze to the grass, limbs trembling slightly as he waited for the interrogation to start.

'You're not worried about getting in trouble for being out here are you?'

Timothy shook his head. Criminals were not usually given mugs of hot chocolate, what they got was the wooden spoon and Zack's mother had used that to stir the chocolate.

'So, what was the nightmare about?'

Timothy's eyes shot up, 'So I did scream.'

'No honey, if you had screamed I would have burst through the door before you had even leapt from your bed.'

'Then how?'

'Did I discover you down here?'

Timothy nodded.

'Well I heard light footsteps in the corridor followed by the opening of many cupboards. With two pranking daughters, I have learnt to be a light sleeper,' she grinned.

Timothy took a sip from his mug. He grimaced, it was still hot but it tasted better than any drink he'd ever had before.

'Do you wanna talk about it?'

'Nah, it was only a dream.'

'Repeating dreams are usually trying to tell you something. At least that's what the professors in my psychology classes keep telling me. Maybe if you take me through it we can work out what your cute little brain is trying to tell you.'

Timothy rolled his eyes at the description of his brain, 'How did you know that it wasn't the first time I've had that dream?'

'Fresh nightmares don't usually send cubs outside to stare at the moon.'

Timothy looked up at Zack's Mother. She seemed genuinely interested, unlike his own mother who would just yell at him to stop his wailing if he screamed.

'Well... umm in the dream I'm still in diapers and it starts with me staring through the security door at the front of our house...'

Timothy's pace slowed the further he got into the dream. It sounded so stupid when he said it aloud. A cub scared of the bogeyman coming to rip him apart, but it always felt so real in the moments before he woke. Zack's mother placed her paws around Timothy and pulled him into a hug.

'Shh, it's alright, you're safe.'

'I know,' Timothy whispered.

'Finish your drink; it'll make you feel better.'

Timothy raised the mug to his lips and savoured the sensation of the sweet warm liquid flowing down his throat. When it was gone, he plucked the marshmallows from the bottom of the mug and popped them into his mouth. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the embrace. Her sweet perfumed scent wrapped around him as he snuggled against the fluff of her dressing gown.

'Come, I want to give you something to help you feel safe.'

Timothy held out for a couple of moments before reluctantly removing himself from her lap. Zack's Mother got to her feet and he followed close behind, reaching out for her tail. Timothy blushed. Catching himself, he pulled back his paw as they headed towards the phone.

A chill ran down Timothy's spine, oh Cat she was going to call his mother. He sighed with relief when she reached for a pen and scribbled down a couple of numbers onto a pad. She ripped off the page and handed it to Timothy.

'They're my and Al's mobile numbers. Call us any time, day or night, if you find yourself feeling scared or alone.'

Timothy stared down at the numbers written in neat blue ink knowing that he could never bring himself to call. He didn't want to bother Zack's parents every time he got scared.

'I want you to promise that you'll call.'

Timothy's cheeks glowed as he looked up sheepishly at Zack's Mother.

'Don't think for a second that you'd be bothering us, even if you ring a hundred times a day. We'll do whatever it takes to get it through your thick furry head that we're here for you.'

Timothy grinned, 'My bill would go through the roof if I did that, Mother would go nuts.'

'We can get you a phone under our plan if that's going to be a problem.'

Timothy's ears flew back, 'Oh no no, that's totally not necessary. I never call anyone so I have heaps of credit. What I meant was that I don't have enough to be calling a couple of hundred times a day.'

'You've got Zack, and Al and me to call now.'

Timothy gave her a small smile which ended in a yawn.

'Hot chocolate must be kicking in, better get back to bed before you fall asleep on your feet.'

'Night.'

'Night Timothy, sweet dreams.'

Timothy headed towards the staircase and came to a stop on the first step.

'I probably don't wanna know but... umm... what do you think my nightmares are about?'

Zack's mother tilted her head for a moment.

'I think the dreams will pass once you start calling us, which you're going to do aren't you?'

'I will.'

'Promise?'

'Promise,' replied Timothy as he headed softly up the steps.

Timothy could feel his nose wrinkling as his mind slowly decided that it was time to wake up. What is that awful smell, he thought opening his eyes to see Zack staring down at him.

'Eggh raccoon breath.'

'Sorry, don't brush my teeth until after breakfast,' Zack grinned.

'What did you do, sneak down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to raid the garbage bin?' said Timothy pushing Zack away as he sat up.

'Hey, that's speciesist.'

'Oh sorry, didn't mean anything by it,' said Timothy lowering his eyes.

'I was just joking with ya,' said Zack placing his paw on the cheetah's shoulder. 'Stop taking everything I say so seriously. Unless I'm being serious then you'd better take notice of every word I say if you know what's good for ya.'

Timothy grinned, 'So umm why were you standing over me while I slept?'

'Oh I was... going to squeeze your nose, you know to wake you up.'

'There are other methods to wake me up that don't involve suffocation you know,' said Timothy pulling on his shorts and T-Shirt.

'Yeah, but they're no fun.'

Timothy glared at Zack.

'Come on, breakfast,' said Zack grabbing Timothy's paw.

Timothy's stomach gurgled as Zack pulled him down the stairs and into the kitchen. 'Perfect timing. Our celebrity assistant on today's show is a cheetah cub who likes to lick his own tail,' said Zack's Father as he heated up a frypan on the stove.

Timothy rolled his eyes as he stepped around the bench.

'Celebrity slave, more like it,' said Sam.

'Shh sis or we'll be roped into helping,' hissed Penny.

'I don't mind,' replied Timothy as Zack's Father dropped an apron round the cub's neck.

'That's the spirit,' said Zack's Father.

'Pfft, let's see what happens to your spirit once Dad sets your apron on fire,' said Sam.

'That only happened once...'

'To every single one of our children,' finished Zack's mother.

'Well, he's not truly one of the family till he's received third degree burns,' said Zack squeezing onto the stool between his sisters.

'No one's gotten third degree burns,' growled Al as Zack's Mother picked up the ringing phone.

'Hello? Oh Hi Connor... nope he's still here. Just a sec I'll get him for you.'

Zack held out his paw as his mother approached but she reached over him to dangle the handset in front of Timothy.

'Connor, for you.'

'Saved by the bell,' mumbled Sam.

Timothy took the handset and slowly lifted it to his ear.

'Umm... hello... Timothy speaking.'