Today's the day.
The tall, muscular lion aggressively throws his arms wide, staring down the Alpha. My Alpha. Daring the big white wolf to make a move.
"You're in over your head," Al growls back, sweat dribbling down his face. "I don't want to embarrass you."
"Worry about embarrassing yourself, old man."
A hushed round of ooohs ripples through the small crowd. I can feel my legs tense, my hooves flex, and my brow twitch. Every part of me wants to intervene, to throw in and help, but I just have to trust that he's got this under control.
Across from me stands Betty, watching the scene with a placid look and a strangely cigarette-free frown. If she's calm, I'm calm. I catch a knowing look in the black wolf's eyes, like she's telling me what I'm already telling myself:
Just relax, Remmy. He can do this.
Trust your Alpha.
The two towering predators between us stare each other down for a long moment, till finally Al lowers his head and charges forward at the lion. Neil makes a good attempt at stopping him, swiping in with a massive paw, but Al's faster on his feet than he'd thought. The wolf shoulders past and goes for the layup.
It misses. Ball hits the backboard and bounces off the rim. Neil's there in a second, sweeps it up, and sinks a jump shot -- all net.
"That's game!" he beams, grinning like a little kid. I think he's actually bouncing on his heels, too.
With all the tension finally broken, the little alley court erupts into noise. Amid the boos and cheers of our little group, Al braces his paws on his knees and tries to catch his breath.
"Good moves out there," the Alpha pants, standing upright.
"Hey, you too, old man," Neil chuckles. He claps Al on the shoulder, nodding, and hands the ball over. "You got some real speed on you, but you could use a little stamina training. Y'oughta swing by the gym sometime, I could give you some pointers."
Al returns a pointed glare. "Think I'll keep to my job for that. If I'm gonna be straining myself for hours I might as well get paid for it."
Beside me, on the old stained crates we set up along the wall of the brick-lined alley, Anneke polishes off the last bite of her sub, burps, then takes a quick sip from her paper soda cup.
"Great game, chief! You really showed 'em how to lose with style," she giggles.
Al grins, walking past us and full-palming the stripy aardwolf's head like a basketball, giving her a playful shove. "Shaddup."
She rolls with it, tumbling back to lean against the wall, only pausing to interrupt her laughter with more soda.
Neil laughs too, watching all this play out, and strips his sweaty a-shirt off, revealing a chiseled figure underneath, damp with sweat and all but glistening. Everyone kind of goes quiet, and, not bothering to pretend he doesn't notice the attention, the ripped lion shoots a smile at us. Is there a photoshoot going on I'm not aware of?!
His dark brows raise. "You talk a big game, Annie. Why don't you and me go 1v1, if you're so confident?"
"Now he's done it," Ozzy whispers from my other side elbowing me and, between stifled giggles, makes a 'watch this' gesture at Anneke -- as if everyone on the block couldn't tell where she's about to take this.
"Hey, I already lost to Remmy earlier, I'm good," she purrs, lounging back and soaking up the impressive sight with a lick of her lips. "But if you wanna change courts, I bet I could take you one on one somewhere private."
"Hey, yo, I'm here! We playin' shirts versus skins?"
Everyone turns to see resident gym cat and local gossip Cliff hustle into the increasingly crowded court from the street. I watch as the tiger tosses free a tidy, business-ready polo to reveal a printed undershirt with near the exact same pattern of stripes as its owner, which he peels off just the same. He's instantly met with a huge, sweaty hug from Neil. Just... two big, built-as-fuck, sweaty cats, topless, pressed together. No big deal.
I lean to one side. "Hey Anna, can I have a sip of your soda?"
"Get your own," she scoffs, sticking her tongue out.
"So! Who's up for one more?" Neil claps his paws and rubs them together, looking us over. Anneke waves him off, as does Al, who's toweling his face and neck.
"Please," Betty rolls her eyes as they turn to her. "I'll watch Al do it, but I ain't about to make a damn fool of myself in front of everyone."
That leaves me and the music man.
"What do you think, Ozzy?" I turn to the shaggy hyena, nudging him. "I bet we could take 'em."
"What?!" He laughs back, incredulously. "No way, man. No chance."
"C'mon! Did I ever tell you I was--"
"The Stormclouds' best power forward in high school, yeah," he interrupts quickly, grinning from ear to ear and baring those sharp, crooked teeth. "Yeah, man. About a dozen times today. They're like, twice my size, dude! At least three times yours!"
"Let's go, Ozzy!" I jump to my hooves, dragging my reluctant neighbor with me, as both Cliff and Neil wave us over. "We got this!"
It turns out we did not, in fact, have this.
To be fair, Ozzy did make a single basket at one point, but the long and short of it is we got fuckin' routed.
Betty's sarcastic applause leads the group in pitying encouragement, but I thought we did pretty okay. Well. Okay, it wasn't the best showing, but we held our own. Okay, maybe we didn't, but it was close.
"Wasn't even close," Anneke hoots. "That was painful!"
"We gotta go," Neil says, almost apologizing. "It's been real, let's do it again sometime."
Al rises as the felines pass him, and he grabs the tiger's paw in his, shaking it earnestly and patting his shoulder. "Good seein' you again, Heath. Neil -- you better take good care of this boy."
"You got it," the lion smiles back, nodding respectfully to the great white wolf.
"Say hi to your mom for me," Betty jokes. Or, I think she's joking, anyway.
"Hey! Good hustle out there, tough fluff." Cliff tosses me the ball with a wink as he and Neil head for the street. "You bring that kind of energy outside the court, maybe we oughta have you over for a private game sometime."
I laugh, Neil cuffs him upside the back of his head, and with a round of waves to and from our group, the two musclecats duck out of the alley. The second they're out of sight, I huddle towards Ozzy.
"So, okay but, do you think he was being serious? Or like--"
"Desperate's not a good look, woolly bully," Ozzy chuckles, still half-winded. "You gotta try playin' it cool once in a while."
For a few minutes, everything just sorta calms down, coming off a collective adrenaline high. The heat of the court's begun to simmer in the early afternoon shade, and just as I find myself settling in, my eyes lingering on the plain, flat brown coat of paint on the alley's brick wall, Al grunts loudly and climbs to his feet.
He checks his watch, tossing his towel over his shoulder. "So what time's all that going down, today?"
Anneke glances at her phone in response. "We're meeting up in about an hour and a half, then going downtown from there."
"Why?" I ask. "You planning on coming?"
"Sorta like to, yeah," Al mutters.
I shake some of the sweat from my pompadour, wringing the wool and leaving me with a strange cowlicky coif. "Didn't know you even knew Pandora, Al."
"She's a pillar of the community," he nods. "Grew up right on this street, same as me. I remember the first time I met 'er -- we came to blows."
"No shit?" Anneke hops up, suddenly excited. Her striped, scruffy tail's even wagging below her sporty little tank top. That's how you know she's really interested.
Betty smirks knowingly, and puts her paws on her hips. "Go on, Al, tell 'em."
"Yeah, I mean--"
"Who won?" Anneke grins.
"I did," Al answers instantly.
Betty rolls her eyes, while me, Ozzy, and Anna all kinda 'ooohh' in realization.
Al waves us off with one paw. "Before you get too impressed, she was like, ten years old at the time."
"Think we all had a phase like that," Betty nods. "Just wanna go around pickin' fights like you got somethin' to prove."
I raise my brows. "Yourself included?"
"Yes," she answers plainly.
Oh, now this oughta be good. "Well? Go on then," I grin.
"No."
Ozzy cracks the fuck up and claps his paws together a few times, which gets a smile out of the big black wolf. She fumbles in her pockets for a second before coming up empty.
"Way it was," Al continues, "I only ran into her because she was always outside the liquor store, 'bout halfway between the Crowns and where V lived. Place got ripped up years ago."
"Oh, I nearly forgot." I finish stretching before retaking my seat, enjoying the shade. "Is your fiancée gonna be coming too? I imagine she's not really involved in all this, but since you're going..."
I trail off, just resting in the cool air of the alley for a second. And as I'm sitting here, waiting, I realize just how still and quiet it's gotten. Nobody's making a sound -- least of all the guy I just asked a question. Slowly, almost hesitantly, I lift my eyes.
Al is staring back at me with an expression I have never seen before.
"What was that?" he croaks, though I'm not sure I even saw his mouth move.
"...Your fiancée? Is Velvet coming? I just figured since you were coming she might...?" I trail off again, but glancing around, I see nobody's going to bite, so I finish the sentence this time. "...also tag along?"
Feels like everyone's staring at me. But as I look, I realize everyone's actually staring at Al.
...did I just fuck something up?
All of a sudden, the whole alley comes to life, and I feel half-deafened by the explosion of laughter and roaring sound all around me, coming from everyone (except Al), and not just from Ozzy (but also definitely from Ozzy).
"Yeah, Al!" Betty grins, slapping his shoulder as she steps up to him from behind. "Tell us, is your fiancée coming?"
"When's the wedding?" Anneke coos, hopping over to him excitedly. "Ooh, tell me I get to be a bridesmaid!"
"So happy for you two," Ozzy manages between choking guffaws, wiping a very real tear from his eye.
Al bristles, staring at the ground. "Shaddup. All'a ya."
"Where you goin' for the honeymoon?" Betty leans over his shoulder, making a smoochy face.
Anneke wastes no time in matching her, making sugary 'mwah mwah mwah' sounds and pantomiming holding an invisible partner.
"I said shaddup," he growls. He doesn't raise his head.
"Hey, for real, good for you, boss," Ozzy howls with laughter. "I'm surprised she didn't say anything!"
"Lookit you two lovebirds," Betty giggles in an uncharacteristically girlish tone. "That's so sweeeeet!"
"That's enough!"
Al stomps the ground, suddenly standing up, and with fear swelling in my chest, I get a good look at his face. Not dark and furious -- but bright red and chewing his lip.
"Uh oh, he's craaanky." Betty leans in and pinches his cheek, making a cooing baby noise. "I'll call V to get you down for your nap."
"I got better things to do than sit here and take this," Al growls, bats her paw away with a flustered grumble, and, gathering up his stuff in a hurry, he storms out of the alley.
Anneke puts her paws in her pockets, grinning. "Al, don't forget--"
"I'll be there!" he huffs back before disappearing around the corner.
Ozzy laughs all the harder at his hasty exit, and everyone else takes a minute to quiet their giggles. Me, I'm just sitting here like I woke up on another planet. Betty chuckles to herself, leaning against the blank wall, and shoots me a knowing glance.
"They ain't engaged," she tells me.
"No, yeah, I kinda pieced that together," I mutter back, still trying to process what I just witnessed. "But they... I mean they are like... together. Just not engaged? ...yet?"
Anneke nods a smiling affirmation and Betty sniffs the air, peering towards the sunny side of the street.
"They oughta be," the Beta smirks. "God knows he's been putting it off long enough."
"Just 'waitin' for the right moment'," Ozzy sing-songs weakly, wheezing. Dude looks completely out of breath.
"Velvet -- uh, she told me they were," I explain. "I just thought--"
"She told me that too," Anneke beams, shooting Betty a grin and getting another in return. "So of course I have to remind Al every once in a while."
"Well uh, anyway, speakin' of the right moment," I interrupt, feeling just as sheepish and awkward about this as Al looked. "Great hangin' out, but I gotta get ready before we head out to visit Dora."
Ozzy coughs, coming back to himself. "Oh, yeah, I forgot you guys were makin' plans. Hey, put my name on the card or somethin', yeah?"
"And while you're at it, could you see if you can find Charlie and Marty? I still didn't get confirmation and Charlie's been--" Anneke waves a dark paw in front of her face, making a 'silenced' kinda gesture. "Kinda -- ghk -- all morning."
I worriedly glance to Ozzy, but he shakes his head at me, so I turn back to Anneke. "I'm sure it's nothing. I'll go see if I can round 'em up. They'd probably be at the library, this time of day."
"'Preciate it," Anna nods, chucking her empty drink cup in the nearby trash can. "I'll see you at the meeting spot, then."
"Yeah, see you there," I nod, shouldering my gym bag. "Oh, and -- Anna?"
She glances up to me, and I nod to her with an easy smile.
"Today's the day."
She matches my look, and the sweetness in her eyes almost kills me on the spot.
"Yeah, it is," she answers.
The Pack Street Library's quiet today. Not terribly surprised, since... y'know, it's a library. But the front desk's empty and there's no sign of the librarian I'm here to find. C'mon, Marty. How many places could a little guy like you hide?
...A lot, I guess.
My hooves trace the worn-in wood on a nearby shelf and I start walking, down one row after another. A few hushed voices between the aisles, a tiny feline student packing info amid a jumble of books at a table -- the usual sights and sounds. There's worse places to have to wander around, I suppose. My first impression was a good one, even considering I had to deal with Marty's shitty attitude. The mellow lights, the quiet rows of lined shelves, the soft carpet underhoof, and the cool AC flowing in from overhead always give me a calm kinda feeling here. Brings back old memories of going to the library in my elementary school to pick out silly children's books -- and of course, a much more recent trip to read those same stories to the next generation.
Without even realizing it, I look up to find I've drifted into the little side conference room, standing among the circle of kid-sized seats and the low table covered with bright, colorful childrens' books. Empty now, except for the echoes of giddy laughter and excited pleas for the next page. Really wasn't that long ago I was in here hamming up The Wolf of His Word to a bunch of starry-eyed kids, but I've been thinking back on it over and over ever since. Keep thinking about how nice it was to be appreciated, to give something back. Kept telling myself I'd have to do it again soon. But haven't actually done it yet. My recent time playing possum in my apartment didn't help, sure, but maybe the truth is I've just been lax.
Maybe it's time to stop being afraid and just put myself back out there. Try to be a part of the community again.
I'm holding a flat-cover book about a bear scientist who learns to build robots when I realize I'm not alone in the room.
"Excuse me," I cough, setting the book down and turning. "I'm looking for the head librarian, do you know--"
The words die in my throat and my heart almost stops in my fucking chest.
Standing there, a few steps into the quiet, empty side room with me, is the short-horned goat that cornered me in the alley the other week. Backing up Don -- the bastard who wanted me to get stomped on. I guess I'm just glad she's not wielding a metal pipe this time.
I swallow the lump in my throat and take a step back. She should know better.
"Whatever Don told you, I didn't hurt anyone," I insist, bringing my hoof to my chest and gripping my emergency whistle. "So back off, or I swear to god I'll bring my whole Pack down on this library."
She raises her hooves, palms towards me, and arches her brow with a shrug.
"Hey now, relax," she mutters in a coarse, nasal voice. "I got the lecture just fine from when the Great White Wolf and Mama Black Ivory had their pow-wow. I ain't about to bruise your pretty little face."
I don't move my hoof. "Al said you were all supposed to stay well away from me."
"Well I can't help it if I bump into you at the library, now can I? This is a public venue -- neutral ground. Everyone's got a right to read." She stretches a little on her heels, then, with a one-sided smirk, shoves her fists into the pockets of her baggy jeans. "Besides, I never was the kinda girl to stay in my pen."
"If that's a joke, I'm not laughing," I frown. "So what -- you come here just to apologize?"
"If you're looking for an apology, I'll tell you right now you're not gonna get one."
I blink at her, exaggerated. "Excuse me?"
She sighs, leaning against the wall. Seemingly unable to find something to do with her hooves, she pulls them back out of her pockets, scratches her head, rubs her horns, then finally folds her arms awkwardly over her chest.
"Look, I get it. I'm trash, I accept that. But... think about it from my perspective. The way I see it, I did the right thing for the wrong reason." She squints her already narrow eyes and taps her chin. "Wait no, other way around. I did the wrong thing but for the right reason. Point is I was just backing up a Packmate."
"Oh, yeah. You just got swept up in the spirit of beating the shit out of a stranger," I scoff bitterly.
She glances up at the ceiling, shrugs again. "Blame Don. We all do. But if one of your Pack told you they were sure about who put a friend of theirs in the hospital, and they needed someone to watch their back -- would you stay at home?"
"I wouldn't break someone's face if I wasn't sure."
She grins, baring her broad, flat teeth. "Your face doesn't look broken to me, preyboy."
"Look, lady--"
She pulls back suddenly, tilting her head. "Did you just call me 'lady'?"
"What the fuck do you want?" I snap.
"Man, look, clearly we got off on the wrong foot. But as long as we're taking up the same spaces, we might as well play nice, huh?"
She pushes off the wall, and I don't flinch -- just stand my ground. With flat-footed steps she walks up to me.
"My name's Jeanine," she offers, extending hoofed digits. "But people call me the Jean Genie."
I glance up at her, and she glances down at her extended hoof.
"...no they don't," she corrects after a second or two. "Nobody calls me that. I don't know why I said that."
I stare at her with what I can just feel is a weird look on my face, and finally, sighing, offer my hoof. "Remmy Cormo."
"Yeah, I know."
We tap knuckles, then she draws back, swirling her hooves in the air and making a pcheww sound. What the fuck is she, five? Is she going to airplane run out of here after we're done talking?
"Right on," she nods coolly.
Already uncomfortable, I lean to one side, glancing past her at the door. "So are we done here? Because I gotta--"
"You're lookin' for Marty, is that right?"
"Yeah."
The she-goat nods, turning to the door, and gestures for me to follow.
Fine, fuck it. I guess I believe that she's not gonna try something, and that this isn't just some elaborate ambush, so whatever. I follow Jeanine and she leads me out of the conference room and back into the main area of the library. We walk down the muted aisles of Young Adult titles, past the reference section, and around an empty book cart near the nonfiction aisle. I keep enough distance from her -- again, not that I think she'd send fur flying, especially in public like this -- but you can't fault me for being wary.
Finally, she rounds to the back corner of the library, in a small section marked Academic and Dissertation. She leans confidently against the shelf and thumbs a gesture down to the floor. And there in the corner, by itself on the lowest shelf, is an enormous, face-down hardcover about economic policies in Tundratown. I stare at it, then at her. So yeah, not an ambush, but maybe she's just crazy.
"Rise 'n' shine," she grunts, nudging the book with her foot.
The book emits a weary grumble, and suddenly a black and brown tail flicks out from underneath. "Fuck off, Jeanine."
I laugh, incredulous. "Marty?"
Beat.
The book shifts in place, and suddenly a face pops out from between the parted pages. There's the stoat I'm looking for.
"Ah, great," he sighs up at me.
"Marty," I repeat, feeling a smile spread across my face. "Sleeping on the job?"
"What do you know," he mutters, slinking out from under the spine. "You'd take a breather now and then, too, if you had to put up with what I do."
I fold my arms. "Yeah? And just what kind of things do you have to put up with that are so bad you gotta nap on the job?"
"I'm lookin' at two of 'em right now!" he snarks, shooting me a sour, mocking expression. "I see you've met this nuisance."
Jeanine waves, wiggling her hooves with a grin.
Marty sighs, says something under his breath, and turns to look up at me. "Hey, look. Cormo. I'm sorry about-- I mean I should'a said something. I didn't know she was there when it happened until, like, yesterday. And that was well after Al and--"
"Yeah, no, I get it," I nod back, sighing myself. "Nothing's perfect. I'll be okay though, I think."
He stares at the goat, who doesn't seem to react, and then back to me. "Well, she so much as recommends you a bad book and you blow that whistle. I'll sort it myself if I have to."
I kinda snicker at the thought -- and she does too -- but Marty doesn't so much as smile.
"Right, well, I assume you're wakin' me up because--" the bristly little stoat dusts himself off, checking his watch. "Yep. Arright, Cormo, let's get goin'. Charlie's already at the spot, gettin' something ready, she said. Jeanine -- much as I hate to do it, you're in charge till I get back."
"Aye-aye!" She snaps off a fake salute before dipping off back into the depths of the library, and Marty just shakes his head at me.
"C'mon," he says, scratching under his arm as he trots quickly past me. "We don't wanna be late. We'll miss our ride."
Pandora's Box stretches before us, soaking up the midday sun like a basking cat.
The awning and gutters are newly cleaned. The facade wears a fresh coat of glossy paint. In stark contrast to the alley court's drab coverup, the oddly calming pastels are marked through with the thin line of a pulsing heartbeat. The shattered glass underhoof, hastily toppled shelves, and broken windows are no more, and somehow the awful memory of that terrible night -- the night Pandora was attacked, and the last I saw of the nicest tigress on Pack before she was wheeled off to the hospital -- lingers in my head so faint and distant, it might as well have been a bad dream.
Something about the shining storefront has shaken free the grip of that night. Like the 'Savage' scare itself, that lingering air of dread and sadness disintegrated into thin air.
But I guess that's a pretty dramatic way to talk about an adult bookstore.
If not for the sign out front noting otherwise, I'd assume it was open for business. Marty plods up beside me, surveying the whole scene with his hands on his hips.
"They did a hell of a job," he admits, clearly impressed.
My jaw's still on the floor somewhere as I gesture wildly with both hooves at the storefront. "When the fuck did all THIS happen?!"
From under the shade of the fluttering black awnings, a tall, chestnut-furred jackal steps into the sun towards me.
"Avo, did you do this?" I blurt, still too stunned to play it cool.
"Me and Charlie," she smirks, clacking a lollipop around between her sharp teeth. "Putting in a few hours here and there, over the course of the last week or two."
"Anneke and Wolter both pitched in as well," comes a quiet voice from nearby. "Though I suspect they had their own additional motives for seeing this establishment operational."
I don't know when Charlie got here, but after a few months on Pack Street, the sudden and unexpected presence of an oily-furred vixen in my personal space doesn't even phase me.
"I had no idea. You guys did an amazing job."
"Thank you," she smiles softly, but doesn't look away from the building's facade.
For a long few minutes, I stand there in the sun with the three of them, looking over the restored shopfront. You'd almost never know what went down here. I guess that's the point. More than that fateful night, I find myself thinking back to my first visit to the Box -- stumbling in from the heat, circling around the shelves for that toy (that I never did end up buying, now that I think about it) before getting ambushed by Avo and Betty. The hazing they gave me, which felt so much worse at the time, when I didn't realize they were just playing around.
...The way I fucking booked it out of the store with my tail between my legs the second I got the chance.
You know that saying about being able to look back on something one day and laugh? Well, with Pandora finally being able to get public visitors, I think that day's today.
"What's so funny, lambchop?" Avo leans over me, resting her elbow on the puffy wool of my shoulder and drawing the lollipop out of her mouth with an audible pop.
"Just reminiscing," I shrug.
She seems to accept that answer. She ruffles my pompadour for a second, then throws her free arm around my shoulders and squeezes me against her rather unexpectedly.
"A lot's happened lately," she muses. Her tone's quiet, but there's this hint of excitement in there, too. Guess we've all come a long way.
I pace toward the glass windows of the storefront, stepping past a pair of wildcats passing hand-in-hand, and she follows me. "I could've helped, you know."
Avo shrugs back at me, her expression unchanging. "You seemed like you were doing your own thing," she replies.
I sigh in response. "Well, hiding, mostly."
"We weren't going to say anything," Charlie coughs.
"I appreciate it."
Marty, who's been mostly quiet, paces up to the store to join our group. "Do you think she'll be a little, uh... y'know, awkward? Having all of us cram in around her hospital bed?"
Charlie smiles, just a little. Almost too slight to notice.
Avo shakes her head. "If I know anything about Pandora, I think she'd be happy just to have us there."
"Yeah, maybe," Marty sniffs, pressing his face up to the glass and peering around inside the darkened store. "But she's a little proud to have us all doting on her at once, don't you think?"
"She'll be fine," Avo huffs back.
Marty raises his brow, but relents with a sorta half-shrug gesture and turns toward the curb. "Ride's here."
I turn as well. "Ride's-- oh!"
Al's here. He rests his shaggy white arms on the roof of the plain, two-door sedan he's parked at the curb (in flagrant violation of the 'no parking from 8 AM to 8 PM' signs, mind you). Anneke, freshly changed into a loose black tee and jean shorts, hops out from the passenger side and waves to us.
"Hey," the aardwolf grins -- and I immediately realize I've mistaken one twin for the other. Again.
"Wolter," I wave back, nodding. "Where's Anneke?"
He laughs, plodding up to the rest of us while Al hangs back. "Didn't you just see her this morning? Jeez, Remmy, what're you guys, married?"
"I just mean I thought she'd want to see her," I shoot back, pretending not to notice Avo's snickering.
"Yeah, okay," Wolt chuckles, elbowing me. "She's got a thing so she said she's just gonna catch a ride down there later this evening. Make a later visit by herself. Don't sweat it."
"Ah. Well, uh... should we get going?"
"In a minute," Charlie murmurs back, tapping something out on her phone. She's playing it cool, but with how much she's been waiting for today -- not to mention the fact that big, puffy fox tail of hers is swishing all over the place -- makes it pretty hard to fake disinterest.
Another thought occurs, and I straighten up my headwool. "We all gonna fit in Al's car?"
"Oh, yeah," Avo assures. "No problem."
"You've been in it, you know how roomy it is," Wolt remarks, inspecting himself in the dim surface of the storefront glass. He licks one paw and starts slicking down the front of his shaggy mane, then finally shoots his reflection finger guns and a toothy smile. "Right on, I'm set. Let's go see the girl of the hour."
There's a sudden exhalation behind us, and we all spin at the sound of a scuffle.
Standing on the curb by Al's car, a tall and very well-built tigress in a stiff paper gown -- towering a good head or two taller than even the great white wolf himself -- has my alpha in a one-armed headlock. Al's scruffy white fur fluffs up around her grip, giving him an awkward, childish appearance as he appears stuck between a choke and a laugh. The tigress grins straight at us, baring her gleaming teeth in a big smile with just a hint of an overbite.
"Who are we going to see?" she asks pleasantly, without the slightest strain of exertion in her voice.
Other than Al's breathy, struggling grunts, and the soft steps of the occasional confused passerbys, the street's quiet. Nobody knows what to say -- least of all myself -- but a few seconds later I'm pretty sure I hear Avo's lollipop hit the ground. I'm almost surprised to find that it's my voice that breaks the silence.
"DORA!"
I glance around to see Avo's mouth hanging open, Wolt's eyes bugging out of his head, and even Marty's brows so high up they're about to pop right off his forehead. Everyone's looking as stunned as I feel.
Everyone except Charlie, who clasps her paws behind her back with a shaky smile.
"Mister Marshmallow? Is that you?" Dora playfully ruffles Al's tufty headfur and finally releases him, to which he responds with a grin and a short, huffing growl. "Are you here just to see me, too?"
"Oh my god," Avo chokes. Her eyes water and she brings her paw over her mouth. I've never heard her voice break like that.
"You're out?" Marty gawps. "You're-- we thought you were-- wasn't-- you're out? They let you out?!"
Pandora gives Al a slap on the back, then paces calmly over in our direction, straightening her gown.
"Can't keep a good cat down," she purrs.
Everything's swimming. The street swells and dips in front of me. Talk about dreams -- is this really happening? This vision of orange and black just walking back into our lives like nothing happened? I've spent so many nights lying in bed, wondering what I'd say to her when she got better -- and before that, if she got better -- but for some reason I can't find the words. I can't even make a sound.
Charlie takes a step forward, gesturing plainly to the rest of us, as well as the restored storefront. "Consider this your welcome home party."
I start to move, just like that. I nearly trip over my hooves running forward, to greet her with a hug.
Except all of a sudden, there's a fox there first.
Charlie wraps her arms tight around Pandora's waist, doing her best to embrace her. Pandora reaches down in turn and, resting her massive paw on Charlie's little frame, squeezes her tight.
"Welcome home," the vixen manages.
They stay like that for a moment, and I'm standing there awkwardly halfway to them, when Pandora glances up to the rest of us, rolling her eyes with a knowing grin.
"Well? If any of you want a hug, now's the time to get one," she winks.
Nobody moves, for a second, but then Avo strolls over to her -- faltering for just a half-step -- and places a paw gently on Pandora's broad bicep.
"I'm glad you're okay. We've spent a long taaaAAWP--"
Pandora swings her arm out, snatching Avo up into a sideways bear hug that practically winds her. Wolt's next, hustling over and throwing both his arms around the three girls. Everything else sorta fades away into a white haze, and as Al comes over to respectfully, awkwardly join in, all I can see is this moment.
I strain to look down at my side, where Marty stands watching. He notices me, and he makes this really fake expression I don't like at all.
"I don't do group hugs," he says, about a half-second before I pick his ass up by the back of his collar and bring him with me to the group. He gives me a dirty look, but even his stern front melts away and with a hesitant paw forward he's swept up in the moment and hugging anyone his little arms can reach. I'd give him shit for it, a grown-ass man just hugging a bunch of unrelated, equally grown-ass adults like this is some kindergarten happy hour, but not even Avo would rib him for it right now. Plus, I'm sorta doing the same myself. It's weird, it's awkward, and none of us really care in this moment. All of Pack's gonna be happy to know the cat came back.
"Glad to have you back." Al jostles the whole group from behind -- when the Alpha hugs (and I can't imagine it's often), everyone feels it. "Place wasn't the same without you stomping around."
"You're the one who stomps, Albus," Pandora chides. "I jog. At least pretend you've heard of it."
From my position on the outside, I turn my head to Wolt with what I can only imagine is a wild expression, silently mouthing the word 'Albus??' -- and he gives me a shit-eating grin so exaggerated I feel like he's going to pass out if he smiles any harder.
Marty strains from behind someone's leg, trying to get some words out. "So you're all set? All that uh-- whatever's out of your system?"
Dora chuckles from within the unrelenting group hug. It's weird we're still hugging, right? Like, we're getting looks from mammals walking by. I'm feeling really self-conscious. But at the same time, I could've stopped by now if I wanted.
"Well," she beams, "I'll still have the occasional check-in, but I feel as right as rain for the first time in a long time."
"What was it like?" Wolt murmurs. "I mean... is it just a blank? Do you remember being-- like, Anna was worried--"
"I'd rather not think about it," Pandora interrupts, and a moment later the unfamiliar edge to her voice vanishes as quickly as it came. "Let's just chalk it up to a nasty chapter in my life I'm more than happy to move on from, and leave it at that."
"Of course, right," he quickly blurts, nodding. "I-- yeah, I'm sorry. Glad it's behind you. Anna'll be-- oh, shit, I should call her--"
"Mlrdy tgnn khrr ff," Charlie's muffled voice comes from somewhere in the huddle.
Figures Charlie knew all along. For once, I wasn't the one left out of the loop. Hell, even Avo didn't see this coming.
Speaking of Avo, the jackal breaks the calm of the happy moment with a surprised yip. "Wolter, I SWEAR TO GOD if that's your PAW ON MY ASS--"
"All right, all right," Al grumbles, gently easing the group apart and leaving only Charlie with the tigress. "Let's give her some space, huh? She hasn't even had a chance to change yet, for God's sake."
Charlie disengages slowly, staring up at Pandora with a weary smile. Charlie's never exactly been peppy, but with the deep bags under her eyes and her slack posture, she looks ready for a long nap.
"Foxtrot," Pandora smiles back sweetly. "So nice to see you."
"Pandora," Charlie nods back, plainly.
The tigress places a thick orange paw on Charlie's shoulder. "You all did a lovely job on my store. Really, I'm deeply touched. It looks better than I left it. And you were right: I quite like the pattern."
"A homecoming gift," she offers, holding up a familiar parcel and presenting it to Pandora. "So as not to interfere with the celebrations, you may wish to open it later."
Pandora pockets the gift, and runs her thumb across the vixen's snout in an odd gesture. "I'll be sure to give it the attention it deserves."
Finally, the welcome aside, Pandora claps her paws, and Charlie produces a ring of keys and hustles to the lock. A moment later, the front door swings open, and both of them gesture to the storefront.
"Well then, friends," the tigress announces, flashing that big grin Pack Street's gone too long without. "Pandora's Box is open for business again, at last!"
Wolt gawps, as he and the others push to the door. "Are you kidding me?"
Avo and Wolt waste no time ducking inside. Hell, even Marty slips in through the door, when he thinks nobody's looking.
"Whoa, give yourself some time, first. You just got back -- haven't even changed. No one's gonna get on your back for needing to take some rest," Al says, shaking his head as he steps towards her, but she holds her paw up, stopping him.
"I've been resting for weeks. I'm ready to get back to my life."
Al hesitates, but finally relents with a sigh and takes a step back. "Hey, it's your store."
"It is," she nods back. "Please, won't you come in, too?"
"I ain't no deviant," Al scoffs.
"I'm sure you'll find something you like," she smiles, undeterred. "Maybe a little gift for V, to... spice things up?"
Al's face goes tomato-fuckin'-red and his brows scrunch up. "I can't believe I drove out here for this," he mutters.
That gets a laugh -- not just out of Dora, but from me, too. Al shoots me a look, but I just stare at him with this dumb smile on my face, and god damn if he doesn't end up smiling back.
"I'll be in touch, Pandora," he finally grumbles good-natured, and shoves his paws in his pockets. "You know where to find me."
She half-nods, half-bows to the huge white wolf as he climbs back into his car and starts the engine. "As always. Take care of yourself -- and take care of her."
Al reaches through the open window from the driver's seat, kinda slaps the side of the car, and pulls out down the street.
That leaves me and Dora out here with Charlie. Dora glances between us, and then shares a nod with Charlie, who turns on her heels. For a second, I see the shimmering baby blues of her eyes, leaning in as she passes me to sorta bump my head with hers. Her tail snakes and swishes behind her, and she heads into the Box.
"And then there were two," Pandora smiles down at me, clasping her paws together gently. "I must say I didn't expect to see you here, li'l lamb."
"I was there the night it happened," I blurt out without thinking. My face goes red, but Dora's smile doesn't falter. Only her brows knit together in a look of concern. And somehow that's the weirdest thing I've seen all day -- like she's feeling sorry for me.
"And you needed closure?"
"No, no -- god, no," I laugh, shaking my head. "I just wanted to, y'know, make sure you were okay."
"Isn't that thoughtful of you," she smiles gently, jostling my puffy shoulder with a comforting touch.
I swallow, tensing and untensing my hooves, and push on.
"I uh... I left you a voicemail," I mutter. "Did you... happen to listen to it?"
Her brows arch again, and her lips purse sympathetically. "Oh, I'm sorry, li'l lamb, I didn't. For, ah, security reasons I have my voicemail automatically purged if I don't check in."
"Ah," I nod. There's a tension inside me that relaxes. Maybe for the best.
"Was it... something you'd like to tell me now?"
I huff out my nose, embarrassed, and shake my head. "It-- ah, nah, it's nothing important, I was just... y'know, worried about you and... this kinda-- it was just a dumb, rambling message hoping you'd get well soon and... that you'd--" wow this is harder to get through than I thought when I started "--that you'd be okay. After everything. You-- you helped me a lot. The last time we talked, you uh, suggested I give a public speech a-about something."
For the first time I've seen her, Dora seems at a loss for words.
"Well, it turns out I did," I cough, bashfully. "It... changed a lot, for me."
"Oh, Mister Marshmallow," she looks genuinely surprised, a soft expression on her face and her paw on my arm. "That's so very sweet. I didn't realize we were that close."
"Maybe we're not," I shrug, smiling back. "But either way, I'm glad to know you."
She blinks, then that old overbite grin spreads out over her face again. Like the sunrise breaking over a dark night. Somewhere, the image of that thrashing, helpless tiger tail strapped to a stretcher shatters like glass.
"Well," she stretches a little and nods to her store. "Why don't we talk more inside? I'm sure they're waiting for us."
"Please," I nod, following her lead towards the door.
"And maybe I can get you that replacement toy you wanted."
"Aha ha HA, you REMEMBERED THAT, huh," I laugh very genuinely and not even a little awkwardly.
She winks down at me, holding the door open for us.
"Open for business."