Maurice made no move to follow Nick. He stood there, hunched over as though he were trying to look smaller. The street lights that haloed around him cast no shadow over the fox.
"But it's for people. Listen, Ah-- Ah don't know what you are, but if somebody sees you, they're gonna stick you in a zoo or cut you up in a lab somewhere."
Shouting came from down the alley as two men passed by the mouth, waving their arms in a heated discussion. Maurice hunched his shoulders further and moved to stand alongside the trash cans. He reached out to shoo Nick in the same direction and then planted a hand against the wall in attempts to just look like some sick guy on the way home from a bar.
One of the men broke away from his argument to squint down the alley.
When the other man spoke, Maurice panicked. He started making groaning and retching noises and soon their would-be intruder recoiled in disgust and rejoined his debate buddy. The sound of their argument soon faded into the traffic.
Maurice heaved a sigh and then met Nick's expression.
"Don't look at me like that. You're the alien here. Where'd you come from?"
The moment the two whatever-they-were were gone, Nick let out a breath - then looked up at Maurice, raising his eyebrows.
"Where'd I come from? I was just-- walking, I'd been down that street a hundred times! I'd say a better question is where I am, if there are just... mammals like you wandering around all over the place!"
"The... no, I don't know what Wendy's is." He sighed and pressed a paw between his eyes. Well, at least some stuff here was normal - like they still had fishburgers, because that was definitely for sure what this guy meant.
"I can try, but I don't know how much it's going to help, it's not like there was a big door labelled this way to the city of-- of whatever you are." He dragged his paw down his face with an exaggerated sigh. "I'll just... try and backtrack, I guess."
Maurice allowed himself to let out a little indignant snort and adjust the collar of his PEOPLE JACKET. "I'm a human. Homo sapiens. Y'know, the most dominant species on the planet."
Now that he was done bragging about the powers of evolution, he stepped forward and started down the way he assumed Nick came from, keeping his eyes peeled for any portals or tiny fox-shaped doors.
Suddenly the cat from before sprang down from a rooftop and scurried along the top of a fence that spanned the gap between another alley further down the way. Maurice tipped his head back and let out an involuntary growl.
Despite everything he had seen in the past few minutes, Nick couldn't keep himself from giving Maurice a flat look. "Dominant. Right. That'd explain why I've never heard of you. From the know-it-all attitude, I'm guessing you at least know what a red fox is?"
He followed the 'human', albeit reluctantly. This whole thing was just... kind of uncomfortable, honestly. His attention jerked up to the cat, though, ears swiveling forward. "Uh... what'd she do?"
Wow. Great. Even in this bizarre place he got to hear that crap. Nick glanced over at Maurice with something between a smirk and a sneer.
“Boy, sure is good to hear you’re so educated on the subject. Feel free to keep telling me all about what I do. And, let me guess, she just attacked you completely unprovoked.”
"Well you probably don't...you have, like, little animal clothes. You're more like a human. And I just told you! She was going to eat me! Cats eat--well--whatever they can I guess." Not too unlike himself, Maurice reflected uncomfortably as he scratched the back of his neck. "It's normal but...this is one bat she's not going to eat."
"I'm not 'like a human'. You're the first human I've seen."
He gives Maurice another strange look. "See, I'm not sure you even realize how that sounds. That's what really gets me here."
Suddenly, Nick slows to a stop, looking around, and his ears swivel back and forth. "--Hang on, okay. I don't recognize this... must have gone too far."
Because the way back has to be somewhere around here, doesn't it?
"How can I be the first? I know this can't be your first time in the city...or do they have a J. C. Penny's in the woods--?"
Maurice stopped, throwing his arms out, doing his best not to step on Nick's tail.
"But...its a straight shot--this alleyway." Maurice tilted his head and squinted down at Nick again. What if...he was just a really tiny werewolf. A really confused tiny werewolf. Maybe the Nest should know about him...but what if they reacted to Nick the way they reacted to him? Which was to say: very poorly.
Somewhere an engine backfired which startled a screech of a yelp out of Maurice and he whirled around. Truck, gunshot, you never knew man.
"I wish my truck wasn't on the other side of town...I coulda taken you around until you found your...wherever you came from without anybody seein' you." Maurice looked up and a thought started to form behind his eyes. "Hey...hey let's get on the rooftops! Nobody ever looks up. Haha that's like the number one thing about humans."
He glanced at Nick's horrible little fox claws hesitantly. If they went through with it, this was probably gonna suck.
"What-- I live in a city, okay, there just isn't... anything like you there."
Nick threw his arms in the air, looking around. "I mean-- maybe we missed something! Somehow. In an empty alley--" Then he jumped at the sudden burst of sound, too, his ears pinning back.
He looked up at Maurice, raising his eyebrows. "...You're going to carry me. Onto the roof."
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wolfintheattic) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
theattic2014-11-09 07:23 pm
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"But it's for people. Listen, Ah-- Ah don't know what you are, but if somebody sees you, they're gonna stick you in a zoo or cut you up in a lab somewhere."
Maurice watched X-files, he knew how this worked.
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Nick, in what way is that not offensive.
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Shouting came from down the alley as two men passed by the mouth, waving their arms in a heated discussion. Maurice hunched his shoulders further and moved to stand alongside the trash cans. He reached out to shoo Nick in the same direction and then planted a hand against the wall in attempts to just look like some sick guy on the way home from a bar.
One of the men broke away from his argument to squint down the alley.
"Hang on, hang on, the hell?"
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It was only once he had moved that he let himself peer down the alley, past Maurice, and-- wait, are those more of whatever this guy is?
He held very still, glancing up at Maurice questioningly. YOU'VE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO HERE, BUDDY.
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Maurice heaved a sigh and then met Nick's expression.
"Don't look at me like that. You're the alien here. Where'd you come from?"
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"Where'd I come from? I was just-- walking, I'd been down that street a hundred times! I'd say a better question is where I am, if there are just... mammals like you wandering around all over the place!"
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"Uuuuh. Dogtrot, Texas. A few doors down from the Wendy's...you know. The burger place?"
GUESS WHO STILL EATS COWS, NICK? THIS GUY.
"Could you show me where you came from? I could help you get back maybe?"
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"I can try, but I don't know how much it's going to help, it's not like there was a big door labelled this way to the city of-- of whatever you are." He dragged his paw down his face with an exaggerated sigh. "I'll just... try and backtrack, I guess."
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Now that he was done bragging about the powers of evolution, he stepped forward and started down the way he assumed Nick came from, keeping his eyes peeled for any portals or tiny fox-shaped doors.
Suddenly the cat from before sprang down from a rooftop and scurried along the top of a fence that spanned the gap between another alley further down the way. Maurice tipped his head back and let out an involuntary growl.
"I'm gonna get her next time."
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He followed the 'human', albeit reluctantly. This whole thing was just... kind of uncomfortable, honestly. His attention jerked up to the cat, though, ears swiveling forward. "Uh... what'd she do?"
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The damp brick walls passed them by and Maurice eyed the shadows. Could one of those be the way...?
"She tried to eat me when I was bat-shaped."
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“Boy, sure is good to hear you’re so educated on the subject. Feel free to keep telling me all about what I do. And, let me guess, she just attacked you completely unprovoked.”
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He gives Maurice another strange look. "See, I'm not sure you even realize how that sounds. That's what really gets me here."
Suddenly, Nick slows to a stop, looking around, and his ears swivel back and forth. "--Hang on, okay. I don't recognize this... must have gone too far."
Because the way back has to be somewhere around here, doesn't it?
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Maurice stopped, throwing his arms out, doing his best not to step on Nick's tail.
"But...its a straight shot--this alleyway." Maurice tilted his head and squinted down at Nick again. What if...he was just a really tiny werewolf. A really confused tiny werewolf. Maybe the Nest should know about him...but what if they reacted to Nick the way they reacted to him? Which was to say: very poorly.
Somewhere an engine backfired which startled a screech of a yelp out of Maurice and he whirled around. Truck, gunshot, you never knew man.
"I wish my truck wasn't on the other side of town...I coulda taken you around until you found your...wherever you came from without anybody seein' you." Maurice looked up and a thought started to form behind his eyes. "Hey...hey let's get on the rooftops! Nobody ever looks up. Haha that's like the number one thing about humans."
He glanced at Nick's horrible little fox claws hesitantly. If they went through with it, this was probably gonna suck.
"Hop on my shoulders, dude. We're going up."
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Nick threw his arms in the air, looking around. "I mean-- maybe we missed something! Somehow. In an empty alley--" Then he jumped at the sudden burst of sound, too, his ears pinning back.
He looked up at Maurice, raising his eyebrows. "...You're going to carry me. Onto the roof."
This sounded like all kinds of a bad idea.