Past, Present, and Future
#5 of Transition Stories
Author's Note:
Again with the letting me know about odd happenings, how many times do I gotta say it?!
Previously:
Rune finds pups abandoned in the cold, bringing them home to raise as her own. The deterioration of the Earth forces a mass move to other inhabited planets, such as the Moon and Mars. The female wolf and the rest of her family, along with the pups, must go to Mars, and live out their lives on this alien world.
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2)Past, Present, and Future
"Helloooo?"
Someone was waving a hand in front of her face, she realized, as she sat at her desk deep in thought.
"Oh!" she cried. "Sorry, I guess I was day-dreaming a bit."
"Ah, don't worry about it! Probably fantasizing about getting home to eat!" her co-worker chuckled. It was Grace, thank-goodness. Rune was glad it wasn't a snobby higher-up, who would've definitely run her in for lolly-gagging on her job, not that she had anything to do at the moment.
"It's getting near closing time anyways, so you don't have to worry too much."
"Mmhm" she replied, her mind still partially on previous imaginings.
Grace was a very good friend of hers, who was quite helpful if she wanted to be and was understanding and sympathetic of her family. The barely middle-aged bobcat always told her she could never be so strong as to lose that much of her loved ones, even if they just moved away ("But it's different PLANETS!" she would mew).
"C'mon girl, let's high-tail it outta here before they change their minds!" she giggled somewhat.
"But Grace, you can barely lift that stub up, much less stick it out in the air!" Joshua kidded.
Joshua was another co-worker of theirs, a bronze eagle, who worked next to security, but also had a 'comfy' desk job. They would see each other at the gym regularly.
"Hoho, you shut that beak o' yours, or I'll shut it for you," she chided him mockingly.
"Oh, does that come with dinner?"
"Don't push it."
Josh and Grace weren't what you would call a 'couple', they just had a very open relationship and would kid about things, no matter if it had suggestive material in it or not. Both knew it was only play. None of them either fooled around with the other (though rumors say otherwise) no matter that they each did not have their own mate.
"Okay, okay you two, I'm starving, and I'd like to get home soon, so haul ass!"
"Yes ma'am!" the two said in unison, breaking out hysterically as they left the building. The three of them carpooled to work as they lived almost next door to one another, and would often visit each other in their spare time.
"You two are still coming over for dinner right? Nina and Tanji fixed a great dinner for us!" Nina, a female and Tanji, a male, were few of the household with exceptional cooking skills. Give them a bag of ordinary groceries and be amazed at what they can do!
"No, no, no, that was tonight?" Grace said, putting on her best pouty face.
Rune gave her an evil eye. "You very well know it was tonight, Grace, you are such a drama queen."
She giggled before replying, "I know, I know, I just can't help myself! I should have been an actor, haha! But yeah, I can't go, I've got homework issues with the kids."
"Really? Usually those little munchkins are pretty capable of doing their own school work unlike some of those kids I could mention that go down there." Josh questioned. He knew some of the parents couldn't resist giving their kids the answer to some major homework or go all out with a project if it meant getting a higher GPA.
"It's nothing like that, really, it's just Bailey's project has something wrong with it. He worked on it so hard for the past two weeks and now one of the mechanisms won't work. I know my way around gadgets, so I thought I'd see if I could lend a hand."
"What's he making?" Rune asked, curious.
"Oh, it's some self-caring plant apparatus, set on a timer and everything. He had a miniature scale model that pulled out a small awning for shade, and turned on sprinklers and all kinds of neat stuff. Sort of agricultural, but meant more for a small garden fix really. But now, the gear that moves the sprinkler head around shoots a stream straight up, which by the way, is not eyeball friendly, so we don't want any points taken off for blindness to the judge."
"Alright, you're not coming, we get it! Just wear some eye gear before you get near it, I don't want you making excuses to not check your emails Monday morning."
"Hey, at least none of them are chemistry majors." There was much guffawing over that before they dropped Grace off at her driveway, Josh cat-calling her as Rune waved goodbye. Bailey and the other kids at her house weren't her own, she was only a foster parent.
It was only a minute until they pulled up in Rune's driveway, some of the pups waving from the window at them.
"Looks like everyone's all set in there, we better hurry before it's all gone."
"That's the truth!" she grinned.
The two of them bounded lithely up the low stairs, before letting themselves in, the delicious smell of roast meat and veggies wafting in on them, causing them to salivate slightly.
"Smells wonderful guys!" the wolf applauded them.
There were two spots left at the table, which were soon filled as the group dug into the wonderful meal before them. The kitchen just wasn't big enough for them to have a large table to fit them all and a few guests, so they had to put it in the den, yet another reason they were unable to use it as a bedroom.
Nina and Tanji sure knew how to whip up a great meal! The sizzling roast, complete with a variety of fresh vegetables from their own garden, and a pot of fluffy mashed potatoes flanked with boats of gravy to top it off, did not last long and soon empty dishes remained on the comparatively lighter table as full bellies were rubbed and even a belt loosened (which belonged to Josh, as he always took full advantage of these great meals, even if he couldn't get nearly as much in as some of Rune's pack).
"Ah, it's a good thing I have a desk job, or I'd probably never go to the gym!" Josh commented.
"Oh yeah, and I guess our food keeps you from getting that definition you wanted too, huh?"
Nina teased him. It was true, from all the meals he freeloaded (even though nine times out of ten, he was invited over) that he did keep a sufficient amount of body fat on him, but he still was trim and had some definition on his slim body.
"Hey, it gives me more reason to come see you guys all the time! It's a very balanced schedule, burning calories at the gym with Rune, and reclaiming them at dinner with you guys. Missing even one meal would probably crash the entire thing and I would spontaneously combust, BAM!" he demonstrated with his arms, flinging them out like he just exploded.
Tanji rolled his eyes, asking Rune, "Are all your friends such drama queens?"
Chuckling, she replied after a moments thought, "You know, I think so."
"Hey," he cried.
"Shut it, you! You know it's true," she chided him.
Josh nodded, smirking at her. The table was quiet at the moment while the ten of them sat there digesting the large amount of food inhaled previously. The eagle couldn't get up for five whole minutes, and even after that he crashed on one of the beds in the back room a half hour before saying goodbye, honking his horn as he drove off.
"What are the others up to?" Rune queried to the two left at the table, wiping it off.
"Oh, Nina's washing dishes, Cujo had to go back to work at the bar, Lena said she was gonna shower, and the others are probably sleeping off all that food." said Tanji.
"Did Lena say if she was going out?"
"Yeah, she's meeting a friend of hers who might have some work for me and Nina. She has some crazy idea of making us caterers." he smirked.
"Not that you don't have any skills in that area." Rune stated.
"Got a point there, I think your on to something, heh."
Tanji having finished cleaning the table some time ago since their conversation started, threw the dish towel in a hamper tucked into a corner of their bathroom.
"When is Cujo getting home, d'ya know?"
"Ah, you know how his schedule is, usually on a Friday, he's stickin' around for the regulars and night crawlers who usually give him a big tip when they're there."
Rune smiled to herself, knowing the young pup brought home huge stacks of bills from his tips that day almost every time he came home. She knew he was saving up for random things, usually birthdays (which it didn't help that the eight of them had it on the same day), holidays and other special events. He was the type who enjoyed planning these kinds of things, and loved to decorate and get everyone involved.
Though he didn't use all his money for parties and such, he also would go out and have a little fun himself. He was used to the meals they ate everyday, and knowing how much Nina and Tanji would prepare, he would eat smaller portions than most, raiding the left overs if he was hungry later. Doing this would allow him to go out with friends and get a bite to eat if they felt like it.
Cujo liked to go out to strip clubs on the weekends (the only type of bar he would go to after work usually) and was indifferent to the type, as he went both ways. He wasn't the type to give himself out to any passing stranger, even if they were cute, but wouldn't pass up a good time if he thought it was worth the trouble.
This pack of wolves happened to have a lot of good qualities about them, besides the fact that they could get along with one another well. It was found out not too long after the shift that none of them, excluding the twins, were blood related. After they became used to using speech, and got to know their surroundings in their altered bodies this way, they related to Rune that they were not one whole litter, but several from varying packs that were cared for as if they were.
During that time, this pack that cared for them would come upon abandoned pups (which usually something happened to their birth parents to where they were unable to return to them) and, not uncaring themselves, would take them in. Five of the pups did belong to this group of wolves, but they were all from differing parents, while the other three were not.
Having their bloodline situated this way, there was no need to worry about incest between most of them, so they could have relationships with each other if they wished. Most of the pups who had mates were outside of their pack, and two were currently exploring their relationship further.
None of them cared if any were to become interested in other species or similar genders (some packs were like that, and would immediately shun them from the pack) so there was more options around for all of them.
There was also nothing wrong with having intimate feelings for Rune either (as they more considered each other good friends than family) being that she was not their real mother and did not act as such, really. Well, she worried and things like one might, but didn't force them to do stuff they didn't want to do or anything.
She more, helped them through a difficult situation until they got on their feet, like a friend might. They were not obligated to live there (and she never once thought of kicking any of them out, even if she was angry with them) or move out either, and a few of them were capable of such with the money they made.
But they liked it there, and wanted to stay with Rune to help her and each other out until everything was stable at least. Even then, they would probably not move too far and always come to visit, maybe even more than their friends!
Everyone was asleep by now, Cujo just having come home, his pockets loaded with the nights take. That would go in his tin, under the tile in the bathroom he rigged, having loosed it from the others and even placing hinges on it. Not because he didn't trust the others, but more in case someone tried to rob their house. He would put it in his banking account, but since it closes long after he gets off on Friday's especially, he made a hidey hole for it, also allowing him to keep some hard cash around if he had use for it. One's were his favorite to keep for the weekend.
After he put away all of his things and got ready for bed, he went straight to sleep, eager for the weekend to start, unknowing of how great a weekend it would end up to be.
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Next time:
The weekend starts for the pack, allowing them all to relax and have a good time with friends. Things don't go as planned and much surprises ensue. What could it be?
( shh! secret, secret :D )