Anthro novel - Chapter Seven, Betrayal.
"There. All finished." Lapaki announced as she neatly tucked the last of the dressing underneath the edge of her delicate workmanship. She had neatly bandaged his entire arm in two layers of dressing, including a special padding she had coincidently found in the very bottom of her bag, which she claimed would stop the blood from sticking to his fur or making the bandage difficult to remove.
"What do you think?" She said proudly. Manu gazed down at his right arm, flexing his digits and feeling the muscles beneath the bandage ripple as he unsheathed and retracted his claws several times. He admired her neat workmanship, and smiled back up at her, chuckling at how pleased she now looked with herself.
"Nice work, toots." He laughed. Lapaki gave a satisfied hmph, and returned to her bag, packing any extra dressing and padding back into it. Once again Manu eyed her silken tail as she turned from him, and longed to feel it beneath his paws... She sat back beside him, and nuzzled playfully into the side of his cheek.
"I'd best go. You know how easily Oska can find my scent. No matter how fast I can run, I can never hide from him. He will always find me. Such is the life of a rabbit." She sighed.
"Well, that's because you wear so much perfume..." Manu teased quietly, laughing at the reaction it drew from her. She pulled herself away from his shoulder, and faked a look of mock hurt as he rolled his eyes at how dramatic she could be. "Oh, I'm only messing!" He pulled her close to him roughly, and she playfully tried to wriggle out of his arms. It was no use; he was too strong. He held her there until she ceased her fidgeting, and suddenly she looked up at him, her deep brown eyes gazing into his. The smile had left her face, and a strange sombre look took its place. Was it lust? As he studied her, the smile too melted from his mouth, and slowly they began to move closer towards each other, his grip loosening and paws lowering to her waist...
Tap, tap tap. Manu froze, his eyes snapping open. He knew that knock. He would have recognised it if he had heard it on his deathbed after fifty years of silence. _Pakari...she's here? _
"Go..." he whispered hushed but firm in Lapaki's direction, his eyes remaining intently fixated on the door. She did not need telling twice, and scrambled towards the fire escape, snatching her bag as she jumped through the window, her hot white tail and long slender legs flashing before she disappeared completely. Manu took a moment to admire her swiftness, then turning his face towards the door, yelled out to it.
"It's open, Pak."
He saw the handle turn as it swung slowly forward, and Pakari peeked her snout through the small opening.
"How did you know it was me?" He shrugged.
"Instinct." A troubled look overcame her face as she stepped into the room, her paws folding over one another as she looked at him, full of shame. They looked at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to speak. It was Pakari who plucked up the courage first.
"I'm sorry for what happened, Manu..." she said sheepishly. He stared down in embarrassment, not wanting to consider he was about to do worse himself. And so fast...
"It's alright, Pak. I didn't think before I spoke. I was insensitive. I'm sorry." She smiled at his apology, though from the way her gaze continued to flitter around the room, he guessed a nagging worry continued to play on her mind. He frowned. "Is something wrong...?"
"N...no. Of course not." Though Pakari's eyes continued to dart from one corner to the next, and her chest heaved and rasped as she began to edge backwards towards the door. Concern flooded Manu's eyes as he stood and cautiously moved towards her.
"Pak? Come here, I'll calm you..."
"No." She said resolutely. "I came here to apologise. I've done that, and now...now I have to leave."
Manu watched on as she walked quickly to the door, twisted the handle and stumbled into the corridor. His brow furrowed in confusion...then eyes grew wide in dread as he realised. No...
Outside, Pakari walked between the sleek marble walls, not lending a thought to where she was going, allowing her feet and her nose to guide her towards the exit. She walked outside into the dim bland evening, turning a corner and eventually finding herself in a deserted alleyway. It was only here that she finally stopped holding back the thoughts that had pummelled at her mind as she walked, demanding to be heard as she padded down the narrow streets, and felt them hit her full force as the slumped against the wall in release, her lungs gasping for air as the sobbed loudly into the cold. She could not breathe...the moment she had stepped into the room, her nose had caught an odd scent. It smelt familiar, but she paid it no heed. However the longer she stood, the deeper it seeped into her nose, and as she sniffed at the thick pungent air, her brain flicked through the history of scents she had stored in her memory, finding only one plausible culprit. Pakari spluttered into the chilly evening air, finding it difficult to keep her breath as she clutched at her chest and moaned her sorrow to the alley. Her...of all people, why did it have to be her. The distress attacked her core with such force, that she found herself biting hard, her ears folding back in response to the tears which now flowed from her eyes in such numbers that she thought they would never cease.
Eventually, once her eyes had ran dry and she found she could cry no more, a cold numbness overcame Pakari's mind as she lifted her head from her arms, sighed and stood, unnaturally tranquil. She patted down her fur with her claws, making it appear much more groomed and neat, and let her feet composedly begin directing her away from the alley, back towards the calling of her small empty flat. There she would be alone with her thoughts...and at that moment, she knew that was where she belonged. Alone.