Living the Dream, Part Five
#5 of Living the Dream
This is part five of a challenge I gave myself quite some time ago - to see if I could reliably upload chunks of a story on a MWF schedule. It is a challenge that I failed, but I definitely liked the idea of it, and I rather enjoyed the direction the story was taking.
It concerns the dream we all share of one day transforming into an anthro, and a look at what might happen in that event. Also, I recall having a very difficult time settling on a formatting that looked good in FA's story viewer. Something about the chunks of dialog, along with the chunks of description, made it look a little awkward. Hopefully it looks better here.
And also, this is part five of a seven part series. Parts six and seven will be packaged together, and uploaded... sometime. Seeing as they're already a year late, there's no telling when they'll be out. I am going to try to work on them next, however. I'd like to finish up my existing project before starting any of my other projects (and I have quite a few stories floating in my head that I'm excited to get to). My primary issue will be picking up where I left off, so it'll be much more difficult to do it now than if I had just stayed on task a year ago. Then again, I think I've developed more as a writer since then, so hopefully it'll all tie up pretty nicely.
So, look forward to seeing the final part of the story in not-too-much-time!
Living the Dream, Part 5 By Finn Panther
''Go talk to her.'' ''What? No - what are you, twelve?'' ''Come on, I wanna see you do it.'' ''Ash, you told me-'' ''What, you afraid or something?'' ''That's not going to work.'' ''What kind of cat can't even go pick up a chick?'' ''Ash-'' ''Some kind of scaredy cat, that's what.'' ''Ash, I told you-'' ''You probably don't even remember how.'' ''Hey now, that's-'' ''He forgot how to be a cat, and he forgot how to pick up chicks. I can't believe-'' ''Dammit Ash, I'm serious. You know I've been-'' ''I'll play the game.'' ''What!? Is that still a thing? From-'' ''From How I Met Your Mother, yeah. It's still a thing. And I'll do it, don't think I won't.'' ''Please, come on, I just wanted to-'' ''Haaaaavve you met Joseph?''
Fuck.
Before Joseph could object (like Ash was listening to him anyway), the squirrely rabbit bounded away like a maniac, leaving him alone with a short housecat, who now seemed rather inclined to meet him. To be fair, Joseph had been eying her - call it going native, or call it biology; she was cute - but he was still new enough at this that he- oh, shoot, here she comes.
''Hi, I'm Tracy.''
Oh, look at her cute, delicate paw. Smooth, sandy fur, huh? Guess that's your type now. Really curly hair, too - but you've always liked that. Oh, shake her paw, shake her paw! Great, did that part right. Man she smells nice. Really pretty eyes too. Oh, talk! Talk, dammit! Say something! Man she's pretty. Did you just say that out loud!? DID YOU JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD!?!? Great, it's all ruined. Wait, no, she's giggling - giggling is good. And she's brushing the hair out of her face - her delicate, sandy face. Breathe, breathe. Good, remember to breathe - NO! Talk! Remember to talk, dammit! Come on man, you used to be so good at this!
''I used to be so good at this.''
NO! What was that!? There's no recovery, there's no recovery - oh God, what's your tail doing? I can't control my tail! And I'm blushing? My ears are blushing - oh God, this is pitiful. Just walk away, just walk away, just walk away-
''You're... Joseph, right?''
She knows your name! Just play it cool, play it cool...
''Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm Joseph. How did you...''
''Your friend just told me.'' The sandy cat pointed across the mall, where a remarkably annoying rabbit was watching them with a cheeky grin. Great, the bloody rodent had seen everything.
''Oh, yeah. Sorry, he can be kind of...''
''.. obnoxious?'' Tracy finished, with a playful lilt to her voice. Joseph raised his eyebrows. ''Well don't sound so surprised, silly. He's a rabbit - they're all obnoxious.''
That made Joseph chuckle more than he'd like to admit. He just recently became privy to species humor. It got him every time. Joseph glanced back at his friend, whose arms were folded expectantly, with a smug grin that was almost too large for his tiny, mousy little face. It looked like he was just watching and waiting for Joseph to crash and burn. Even those towering ears of his looked obnoxious, bobbing to and fro without a care.
''Hah, yeah. Obnoxious is a good word for it.'' Joseph regarded his friend warmly. Even though talking to a cute furre was challenging (not that females usually posed a challenge to Joseph - it's just that he was still getting used to this furre thing), Joseph enjoyed the experience. The more things he learned about this world - even little things, like species humor - the more he felt a part of it. He was really starting to enjoy being a furre - and this included having conversations with beautiful cats.
Unfortunately Joseph didn't realize this small train of thought was causing him to grin stupidly until Tracy pointed it out.
''What're you grinning at, stranger?''
It turned out to be a pretty loaded question. It's just that he felt swept up in the scope of things. Not too long ago he had refused to leave his house - and now, with the help of a friend, he was back out in the world. Being a furre was still incredibly strange, but it wasn't all that bad - and he was getting better at it every day. Not only was he able to pick out an attractive chick (which was progress enough), but he actually did something about it. Well, Ash did it for him - but still. He could feel himself starting to wear his leopard skin more proudly, and he couldn't help but grin.
Understandably, however, he dodged when she asked her question. There was a lot behind his grin, and explaining it would take a while. Not to mention how unbelievably strange it all was. He said it was a long story and marked it off as nothing.
But he didn't expect her response.
''So, why don't you tell me about it? Say, tomorrow? You can pick me up around five.''
Joseph's tail stopped dead in its tracks, as did his ears - they didn't so much as flinch. He blinked once but the entire rest of his body was frozen - likely because his heart had quit working altogether. But, sure enough - there it was. A piece of paper, a phone number - her hand, then his hand - and then she walked away.
Joseph blinked again, his heart still not responding. He turned to face Ash, moving very slowly as though turning too quickly might somehow ruin everything. Holding up the little piece of paper Joseph saw his own disbelief reflect on the bunny. Somehow he had actually gotten a girl's phone number. On the first try. On accident.
However, Joseph didn't allow himself a moment to celebrate. Not yet. Because getting a phone number was only a means to setting up a date. And going on a date - now THAT was going to be a new experience.