Characters intellectual property of Warner Brothers, blah blah blah…
Assimilation– Lunes Insomniazzz
F
"Hey there, handsome."
Furrball glanced nervously in the direction of his neighbor before hanging his head again. It'd been four months since graduation and he'd moved into an apartment, but he still wasn't used to anyone really talking to him. The young raccoon scooted closer to him, making the cat tense up.
"You gonna make it to the roof party, right?" She tapped the flyer on the elevator door as they ascended.
Furrball glanced at the paper. He'd read it a few times that week, but never connected "open party" with a personal invitation, yet this rather attractive raccoon was asking him to go. The feline shrugged for lack of a better action.
"C'mon, sexy! Everyone's dying to meet you."
Furrball flashed the raccoon a suspicious look when the elevator door opened. She laughed before continuing. "We're all so curious about you. I mean you never stop and chat with anyone and we're a pretty friendly bunch. It's not normal to have a recluse in our midst."
He gave her an awkward smile and nodded slightly as the elevator came to a stop.
"Great!" the raccoon embraced Furrball causing the feline to freeze up even more.
The incredibly narrow hallway didn't allow for much personal space. Furrball started to sweat. He was neighbors with the raccoon, but they'd never gotten off the elevator together before. She was still smiling at him as he opened his door, accidently opening it all the way. The blue cat grabbed his face, waiting for the inevitable reaction that came right on time.
"My god! You were robbed!" she ran into his apartment, looking around.
There was nothing in the living room, save a small box lying against the heater. Furrball made a calming motion with his hands as the raccoon reached for her cell phone. He pointed to the box, then himself. He held up a single finger and pointed to himself again, smiling weakly.
"Wait, are you serious?" The raccoon guessed his pantomime accurately and backed up a step.
Furrball closed his eyes, clasped his hands and bowed slightly.
"You're a monk?"
He looked out the window. The raccoon soon got the hint.
"A-alright. See you at the party, then."
Furrball shut the door, sighing.
I don't need anything.
He kicked the air and flopped down on the floor.
Why didn't you just say that?
FU
The evening wasn't exactly going as planned. Furrball found himself once again walking down an alley he'd frequented many times as a kitten on the way back to his flat from the subway. A blind guy was leaning against the wall. He dropped a $20 bill in his hat. As he made his way down the alley, the cat's keen ears detected fast footsteps and the rattling of change. He spun around to find a scruffy looking mutt emptying the contents of the blind guy's hat into his pocket. The blue feline was appalled. He'd spent the majority of his life on the streets and never stole money. Especially from a blind person. Feeling a sense of obligation, Furrball faced the thief and scowling, approached him.
"The hell you looking at, pussy?"
Furrball pointed an accusing finger at the mutt and sharply pointed back to the blind guy.
"You gonna make me, pussy?"
The mutt gestured at Furrball, who seized the opportunity to strike, hitting him the groin. The mutt doubled over and the cash fell from his jacket. Furrball bent down to pick it up. Suddenly, a shadow appeared above him. Furrball noticed it just in time to avoid being struck on the head but wasn't fast enough to dodge the boot to his back. He dropped to his knees, panting. Before he could recover, a pair of heavy paws clamped down over his shoulders from behind. Furrball tried his best to dodge and minimize the barrage of punches that subsequently followed. He shook himself free after receiving a few blows to the face.
Before he could escape, one of the canines tripped him up, causing Furrball to smash his face into the wall. He crumbled to the pavement, grabbing his bloody face. The dog pulled his tail up and knelt over him.
"How much ya got, pussy?" he grunted trying to fit his chubby paw into the cat's back pocket.
The unlucky one still had some fight left in him, however. Rolling over, he was directly underneath the dog. He immediately grabbed the canine's six-hour and squeezed the trigger, hitting him in the shoulder. The thief slumped over and Furrball pulled himself to his feet. The other assailant wore a look of shock, which quickly turned to rage when he registered what had happened. As he reached into his own pocket, the piece went off again, a bullet crashing into his kneecap.
"Should've killed 'em, boy." The blind bum commented as the bangers whimpered in a pool of blood. Furrball backed up a couple of steps, viewing the scene with disbelief. He ran off, the gun still clutched in his paws.
As he slowly dragged himself down the hallway to his apartment, Furrball tried his best to keep his blood from making a trail. Tried and mostly failed. Entering his apartment, the cat slammed the door, not bothering to lock it as he collapsed in the middle of his floor.
"Oh my god!"
The injured cat was awakened by the raccoon next door. The pistol was hidden in his shirt that he'd unconsciously folded into a makeshift pillow. Furrball turned over slowly, trying to hide his face in his palms. The raccoon would have none of that, pulling his hands down, inspecting his wounds intently.
"Who…never mind. Wait a second, okay?"
The raccoon left his pad for a moment and Furrball took the opportunity of solitude to slide the gun under the heater. Just after he did, the raccoon returned with a first aid kit.
"I can stop the bleeding, but you may have a concussion so I should probably call 911…"
Furrball touched the raccoon's paw as she grabbed her phone. He shook his head weakly.
"What, no insurance?"
The feline smirked, nodding slightly. Who'd insure him, anyway?
The raccoon smiled gently. Opening the kit, she produced an eye-dropper. Furrball flinched, causing her to giggle.
"It's not gonna hurt. Just need a hue sample of your fur." She plugged the sample into an airbrush and went to work on his face. The healing paints slowly did their magic, dressing the wounds, but did nothing to numb the pain. When she was finished she sat in front of her patient, admiring her work.
Furrball felt his face. It was back to normal, though the splitting headache he had made it difficult to appreciate this. He gave a small mew of gratitude regardless, bowing his head. It was the first time he'd ever had the opportunity, not to mention the need to do so.
-The End- *part 1*