Tah next installment. A positive force enters the picture.

This one starts with the following scenario:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/1783848

Story, in this chapter, by  kiru and moi. Enjoy.


“You know, uh…if you lay a hand on him, I’m gonna hafta rough you up.”

The reddish coon beneath my arm gave John a rather hard look, then said, "You can live," before finally letting him go. So of course I leaned off the guy, just waiting and watching as John got to his feet, giving me a look like I was somehow obligated to tear this new kid’s fur out. Mind, the new kid seemed to be assessing whether or not he could take me, which is always something that bugs me, but saying so won’t help, so...

“Could you excuse us, John? I want to talk to this guy." I smiled, wanting him to know things would be taken care of.

"Mmkay," was the response I got, before John looked us over one more time and bolted.

See, now, what was the best course of action here? Part of me did want to backhand this new guy, but why give others punishments you deserve yourself?

"Would you like to walk with me? I'm Ti, by the way."

Clearly I didn’t manage to be encouraging enough. "Ian. Look," he blurted. "I'm sorry, okay? I'll just go if you want."

"If I wanted you to just go, I wouldn't have asked you to walk with me. Please." I readjusted my specs. "I'm not going to drag you off somewhere to punch your nose in, I could do that right here, but I'd rather not."

I got a once over from his eyes for that one. "How do I know?" he asked.

So, I cracked my knuckles. "I could punch ya right now and prove it."

He held up his hands at that. "Look, I said I was sorry! Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it, but I'm sorry,okay?"

I sighed and let my arms fall to my side. I don’t look -that- intimidating, do I?. "Not the trusting type, I see. Come on, just walk with me, it's nice out."

Then he sighed. "'Kay. I surrender." And then he made this forced little duck walk which made it hard for me not to laugh.

"Seems I can't prove to you that I've got no intention to hurt you, ah well. Might as well get the nitty gritty out of the way. Tell me, if I had swatted you on the nose, would you have pinned my nose into the grass?"

"No way." Immediate answer.

"So why'd you do it to John?"

"I dunno." You don’t know, you say after a pause.

"Really? That's the honest truth?"

"I don't know why I picked on him. I shoulda just left him alone." He was staring at the trees, now. Ah well, I shouldn’t be trying to read him, anyway.

"Mn. So, I take it you're new, here."

"Yeah, my friend and I got here yesterday." Two of you, hope to meet the other on better terms.

"Oh? What brings you to our corner of the woods?"

"We've been travelling, and we stopped to get a bite yesterday over by the condo, an' we decided to into the woods an' we found...this place. An' after that we found the skate park." Oh man, he’s got no home.

"Ah, so you're probably feeling totally alienated right now. I'm sorry to hear that."

Ian stifled a giggle at that, couldn’t figure out why. "Yeah, that's where we all go," he said before looking upwards again, "That place is rad," he added, actually showing some confidence.

"Well, I can tell you that getting into fights is a sure-fire way to get yourself kicked out, and really, it'd suck if that happened." I meant that last part.

Ian shook his head vaguely, glancing sideways at me. "Ain't gonna happen."

Good, now that we had settled that matter, I could actually get to know this guy. "So, tell me, then, what do you want out of life?"

Ian stifled another laugh. "You are totally blowing my mind right now."

"Oh? Howso?"

"Are you serious, man? What do I want out of life?"

"Of course I'm serious. What you want out of life says a lot about you, ya know?" I put my paw on his shoulder, begging him to trust me. "It kinda says a lot about who you really are."

Ian didn't bother stifling a laugh that time. "Wow,man. I guess I gotta say...I've never really thought about it that much...” He paused and thought for a moment. I wonder what it would be like to have my own private planet, you know what I mean?" And then he gave me an unsure grin, which I happily returned.

“Wow, you've got big dreams. What would you do with your own planet, anyway?"

"I suppose...I guess it's the privacy I want, you know?"

"You'd want to be alone on your own planet? I'm sorry to hear that." Man, if you can’t think of anyone you’d want to share it with…ah well. As we walked, my nose caught a scent, and I realized something. "Are you hungry?"

"Starvin'."

I changed course. "Let's get you something, my sister can usually put together a good breakfast, and if you want, I can show you some good places to get a meal later."

Finally, a real smile this time. "Really?"

"Sure, if it means you'll actually trust me."

Another laugh. "Oh, *can* I?" And for my efforts, I got a playful punch in the side. But not a hard one, of course. "Sorry," he added, giggling.

So I returned the affection by rapping my knuckle on Ian's head. "You have a funny way of showing trust, but I'll take what I can get."

"Cool, man," said Ian, and suddenly his whole…feeling changed. Like he had accepted me. "So tell me about your sis. Is she cute?"

I nearly snorted at that one. "I don't think so myself, but you can see for yourself, seeing as we should be- VI! Hey, Vi! Come out here, wouldja?

Violet’s place was always worth seeing for one reason or another, especially now that she had installed that purple velveteen curtain. I love that word…velveteen. It’s fun to say. So out she came. "Hey, Ti. What's u..." Then she saw Ian. "Oh, uh like, uh, it this like your new friend or something?" Whoops, her brain short-circuited again. She can usually talk a bit more intelligent than this.

"That's my hope." I answered. "I was wondering if I could talk you into making Ian here some breakfast, if it's not too big a deal."

"Oh, yeah, sure," she said, before finally looking back at me. "Like, uh, what were you like thinkin' of?"

I was thinking you could enunciate, dear sister. You sound much prettier when you don’t talk at mach speed.
I just shook my head. "I'll let you decide among yourselves, I've got somewhere I need to be." I faced Ian. "I'll see you around soon, right?"

Ian finally looked at me, this obvious grin on his face. "Definitely, man."

"And," I whispered, putting a paw on Ian's shoulder. "Try not to let your hormones get too ahead of you, she's still my sister." Seriously, please.

"Man, I'll try." He giggled, so did Vi. Ah, well…

"Alright, alright. Have fun, and welcome to our great big family."