Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Animorphs. All rights go to K.A Applegate and Scholastic.

Summary: Random stories about the Animorphs before, during and after the war.

The first chapter is about how Tobias got Dude (his pet cat) when he was around 9 years old.

Read and Review!

A/N: Hi guys. I want to say first that English is not my native language, but I'm trying to learn more. So if you think that something is not well written, misspelled, or just sounds weird let me know and I'll correct it.

Thanks and enjoy.

Ani-Random

Chapter 1: Dude meets Tobias

I was running. Running for my life. Running from the bullies who wanted nothing more than see me crawl in pain. To humiliate me.

My name is Tobias. And I was getting tired. But I was losing track of them.

I thought that my legs would give up on me any time soon, so I finally decided to take a look back and see if they were still after me, like hawks after their prey. I couldn't see them anymore. They probably decided I wasn't worth it. Or maybe worse, that they will get me on Monday.

I can't see why, they already gave me a black eye today. It just happened that I was able to sneak from them a few minutes ago, before they punched me anywhere else. So basically, what I did is leaving them wanting more.

Great. At least for today I was able to escape. I released a deep sigh I had been holding and I started to walk.

I was near the park located just a few blocks from home. I walked through the dark pedestrian tunnel, decorated with beer bottles and newspaper all over the floor. Ironic. This is the place where I come whenever I want to get away from my uncle. Or from the punks at school.

I was panting and sweating. I sat on the floor, behind a bottle of beer and an empty box. It surprises me how much this place looks like home and it still makes me feel safe.

Meaw.

I was catching my breath when I heard it. It took me by surprise. I was still in alert mood, in case those guys at school were still following me. Besides, I'd thought the box was empty, but a kitty came out of it suddenly. He was probably a few months old. He looked like he hadn't eaten in a while. He looked alone.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked him. Of course he wasn't going to answer me. I hoped he wouldn't, or else it would prove how crazy I was getting. People already think I'm weird; I really don't want to add insane to the adjectives of my personality.

The kitten suddenly jumped over my lap. "Dude! Cool. I bet you could jump 3 feet straight up without effort. Or maybe you will someday…when you get older… I wish I could take you home and see you grow up". I started petting him; he closed his eyes and purred.

Of course I couldn't take him home. My uncle wouldn't allow it. He barely takes me in. But maybe…just maybe he doesn't have to find out. To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure he remembers I'm staying with him right now.

So I grabbed the kitty in my arms and walked home. And all the way there I felt nervous. Like a huge knot on my stomach. What if my uncle finds about him and makes me get rid of…the cat. I shouldn't name him. I really shouldn't. Not yet, or I'll get more attached to him. In my nine years of experience in this world I knew that getting my hopes up was not a good thing. Not always anyway.

I don't know how I got safe to my room. When I arrived home I had to hold Dude's snout so he wouldn't make any noise. Okay, so I named him already, guilty as charged. I couldn't help it. Anyway, Dude was struggling with me and he scratched my arm several times. I was trying to avoid more scratches and didn't notice the bottle of beer in front of me.

CRASH! I had stepped on it. Brilliant.

My uncle was drunk and started yelling at me in a slur and raspy voice. Saying how much noise I was making and how annoying it was. Basically, he wanted me to leave him alone. Luckily, he didn't turn around to look at me, and while all the chaos happened, I ran to my room.

I arranged a little space beside my bed where Dude could sleep: a towel in a shoe box. A few hours later –when my uncle passed out in the living room and it was safe to go downstairs- I fed Dude with some milk and…well, just milk, it was the only thing we had in the house. At least that a cat could eat. He looked satisfied and fell asleep right away. I did the same.

I woke up the next day very early in the morning. The first thing I thought about was how Dude was feeling in his new home. Alas, I couldn't see him anywhere around. Uh-oh! I noticed the door to my room open and my heart started pounding like a racing car. A red one.

I ran down stairs and found Dude on my uncle's belly. I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe for a while either. My uncle was still asleep, but Dude was exploring the new territory. Walking over him. I was afraid he might attempt to scratch my uncle's face or…something worse.

I ran to grab him as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't notice the broken bottle from last night on the floor, until I stepped on it. And to my dismay I was barefoot. You can imagine what happened next, but I will tell you, not in detail though. It involves me cursing out loud and my uncle waking up.

I'd thought that his first reaction would've been to yell at me or to kick Dude away from him. To my surprise, he just stared at Dude. And Dude at him.

For a moment I forgot about the sharp pain on my foot and we all stared at each other. Me, Dude, my Uncle; my Uncle, me, Dude… It felt like the air of the room was heavy and my lungs were burning, but I couldn't say anything. At least nothing coherent.

"I…he's just…I was…" I was dawdling and my uncle glared at me, so I finally said "I'm sorry, I saw him alone in the park and I was just thinking that-"

"That you wanted to keep him?" he asked and I nodded slowly. He seemed to be thinking while Dude lay on his stomach. Okay, this is odd, maybe I'm still asleep.

After a moment he sighed and said, "I used to have a cat when I was a kid. I wanted a dog though, but my mom said that a cat suited more my personality and that it would help me be more responsible." He turned his eyes on me and after a minute he finally said "Maybe it will help you too, be more responsible."

I wasn't sure what to say. Was he really considering on letting me keep Dude? It seemed very unreal, but…

"So, can Dude stay?" I asked quietly, not sure if he was being serious or not.

"Yeah."

I was astonished. Happy, I think. I couldn't believe it; I really hoped this wasn't a dream. Maybe because my uncle wasn't drunk at the moment or maybe he felt sorry for the cat or for me, but he'd accepted Dude in the house and that was all that mattered. I was almost shouting when I said "Really?! I promise I'll take care of him and I-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now clean this mess and don't make so much damn noise. My headache is killing me". He waved a dismissing hand in my direction and I put myself to work, not wanting to make something that will change his mind.

So after cleaning the house and also the wound on my foot, Dude and I celebrated with…well, with just milk.

A/N: So, how was it? Hope you liked it. Review please!

Also, I accept ideas for future chapters, from any Animorph point of view.

I will try to update as soon as I can, but I'm a bit slow with this things.

See you.