Here it is, the second addition to my one-shot collection. Thank you for all the reviews and favorites!
Watching the movie, I had always wondered why Saal and Rocket seemed to have an almost unspoken bond, including the scene where Rocket's name happens to be the man's last words. This is my take on what could have been a possible backstory between the two.
Everyone's got dead people! That's no excuse to everybody else dead along the way.
The creature didn't have the set of terminology to describe this particular predicament at the moment, but he was sure it followed somewhere along the lines of 'this sucks.'
He didn't know how long he had been scampering along the shadowed alleyways of some rundown gang-based town, the three pursuers… or maybe it was four, he couldn't keep track at this point as more branched off into separate directions, obviously knowing the planet's mapping down far better than the bolting raccoon. His artificially enhanced heart was beating far too hard in his bare chest, and his lungs were throbbing with a sick, burning sensation as they felt as though they were ramming right up against his small ribcage, but he continued in his frantic running nonetheless, scampering on three legs whilst the fourth clutched the tattered wallet to his chest.
He hadn't even gotten the thing from the lanky alien's back pocket before a bony and callused hand had gripped his own, catching the kleptomaniac red-handed. Unfortunately for the toothy creature, the raccoon had possessed far quicker reflexes than he had first anticipated and had been left in a shrieking fit as he stared at the bloody bite marks marring his scraggly arm, the thieving creature already halfway down the next alleyway.
The panicking animal wasn't stupid however, he may not have been accustomed to people of the higher class who didn't resort to the torture of others for their amusement, but he knew pickpocketing someone in a rundown neighborhood wasn't his best idea, no that he had had many since his short weeks out of that d'ast lab, but he was smart enough to know he needed something more than garbage scraps and rain water to survive. Something he hadn't thought of when tearing his way through countless white coats.
He also knew that these means of survival did not come free, although the occasional passerby would sometimes take one look at his limp and malnourished form before tossing him a scrap or two from their own supply, but his aching stomach and weakening state of mind could really only take so much more. He hadn't escaped that blasted cage to die of starvation now. There was still so much more he knew there was to see, things he had to at least live to see. So, clutching his receding belly once more, he had made a decision. He would have to steal.
He just wished he had chosen a better target now that the lanky man was spitting curses he hardly understood, clutching his tattered leather prize for dear life.
His already weakened form was shuddering violently now as he continued to run, scanning the alleyway for any source of a hiding spot where he could lose the enraged aliens.
He took another sharp turn, almost shouting out in surprise when one of the men who had split off further back down the road had leapt in front of him, tripping over his own feet slightly before scampering past, barely dodging the lunge the slug-like creature had made at his ringed tail.
Only when he heard the smack of another thug running head-on into their partner did the raccoon let his guard down enough to let a chuckle of success escape amongst his labored breaths, glad to have the extra distance from his pursuers. However, it did not erase the fact that his energy was depleting alarmingly fast, even with his panic driven spurt of vigor. Something he knew would become an even larger issue the further he ran in his shaky condition.
So, taking one last look over his shoulder to find the only two pursuers that had yet to take off down another path had been caught up in their own argument, still sprawled upon the ground in a mass of tangled limbs and slime for that matter, the raccoon took this as his chance to dart into a temporary refuge to catch his breath, scrambling madly toward the blue dumpster conveniently around the next bend and struggling to fit his body under the low-standing bin.
And for a moment, everything was dark and calm and panicked all at the same time. His senses were running haywire, the smell of garbage making his stomach lurch, threatening to spill whatever little contents it held in the starving creature, and his twitching ears were only filled with the sound of his own strenuous breathing and furiously beating heart. And only as he let himself drop from a careful crouch to a limp fetal position under that dumpster did he realize just how much damage the running had done to him.
His legs felt as though they were alight with flames coursing through his bloodstream as his nerves flared and throbbed with pain. All energy he had felt while running wad left him completely as he closed his eyes, focusing on the simple task of filling his lungs with air.
In fact, he had gotten so caught up in the feeling of oxygen running through his system again, that he had almost completely forgotten why he had been running in the first place were it not for the limp thump of the little leather package falling from his shaking hand to the pavement.
Two beady eyes snapped open at the sound, staring blankly at tattered wallet in shock. He couldn't believe that after all of that, he had still managed to keep his prize. Whether or not it carried enough exchangeable goods to trade for the food he so desperately needed, or not, that much still remained a mystery. But seeing as though the thugs had put up enough of a fight to get it back, he assumed it held enough to sustain him for the time being.
Clawed hands fumbled slightly for the leather casing, hoping to get an estimate of what he had lifted from the thug, not that he really knew how currency worked at this point, when a sharp pain erupted in his lower spine.
A startled cry erupted from his mouth before he could react to the hand grasped tightly around his tail before it pulled hard, yanking him from his makeshift shelter and lifting him off of the ground entirely. Another shout of pain escaped his trembling body when his head was slammed against the lip of the trash bin as the lanky man pulled him fully from his hiding spot and to the scraggly creature's eye level.
The raccoon hissed and spat furiously, refusing to let go of his prize even as he swiped his free hand at the alien's face. The pain in his tail was becoming almost unbearable by the time the man had begun speaking to him, not that he would have understood much under that thick accent anyways. But he cringed nonetheless at the menacing smile it gave him, the man's pointed teeth seeming to glint with saliva in the dim light of the alley, practically spitting in the animal's face as he jostled the creature slightly in his grip, another flare of pain running up his spine as he hung upside down, clutching the wallet like a lifeline.
"Rat… get away that easy… thieving pest… kill you…"
Despite his limited understanding of the horribly pieced together phrases, it was enough to make the creature's gut seize with something other than hunger, but the sense of dread. As he watched the man pull out something made of metal that reflected the streetlight even brighter than the thing's teeth, he began to struggle further, shouting for mercy and screaming those same damned words he had found never made a difference in the end no matter where he was. "Please don't!"
The grin had only grown wider at that. Something that the raccoon was surprised was even possible as the alien's lips were already pulled into an uncomfortably long smile that stretched from one pointed ear to the other.
The gangly man had begun to speak again, although this time none of the words had made it through the creature's panicked mind as he watched the bony hand raised the knife to his already horribly scarred chest, prodding at one of the augmentations that had yet to heal.
"…freak… kill you… us all a favor…"
He was kicking and screaming now, begging to be let down as pain coursed through his entire being, the sharp end of the knife slicing small groove into his already reddened skin and allowing a small trickle of blood to run over his scarred chest and soaking into the grey fur. He cried out again when the metal sliced him again, cutting deeper this time, and horrifyingly close to one of his protruding cybernetics at that.
He didn't care that the wallet that he had fought so hard to keep had slipped from his grasp during the third stroke of the knife across his skin, or that he had become increasingly lightheaded during the fourth and fifth. The only thing he had cared about at this point was to escape.
His hands that had been clutched to himself as a makeshift shield from the prodding of the blade moved to clutch at the hand wrapped tightly around his tail, digging his claws as deep as he could bury them which, seeing as though the energy in him had been drained almost entirely as dizziness began to take over, wasn't very deep in the slightest, only making the vengeful beast holding him hostage chuckle lowly, a sound that sent shivers run up the raccoon's spine.
He felt the blade move to make the final cut at the creature's throat, putting the thing out of its misery, when the pain in his tail was removed entirely and he hit the hard pavement with a sickening thump, not wasting a second after hitting the ground to scramble for cover again, falling into another bloodied heap under the garbage dumpster.
Everything hurt.
His knees were drawn into his chest almost instantly, burying his head into his bloody chest and throwing his furred arms over his head, awaiting the last blow.
Nothing.
He didn't dare open his eyes, knowing only that the creature would be waiting for the animal before him to let down his guard just for a second before crushing his skull. So, straining to listen for anything other than the violent beating of his own artificial heart, the creature's ears perked up, scanning for the sound of retreating footsteps, hoping- praying that the alien had simply taken back his stolen possession and left the creature to die alone.
What he heard instead made him curl up further in his balled up position, aching tail wrapping tightly around its quivering body. He heard footsteps, but they were coming closer, at a horrifyingly fast pace that made his perked ears retreat right back to the pinned position against his head, eyes screwed shut tightly.
"No!" he let out another shout as he felt a hand reach under the container to rest against his side as though to pull at his arm this time. And to his surprise, the hand retreated, almost as though in shock to the outburst, not that he thought the existence of cybernetically altered animals to be far too common in this quadrant of any other.
He tried to force himself into a tighter ball when he heard shifting feet behind him, hoping that if he tried hard enough he might just disappear in on himself entirely.
"It's okay. You can come out now."
The raccoon tensed at the new voice, eyes snapping open in surprise and head swiveling towards the third being to have joined them in the alleyway.
…
Saal hadn't been too grateful for the mission the Nova core had given him. In fact, he rather despised the planet entirely. It had been devoid of what he would call civilized life entirely, instead giving way to dealers and traders of the black market, streets filled with only the strongest and nastiest creatures that had claimed their territory, forcing any and all other residents to retreat indoors or to another planet entirely, provided that they were able to afford it.
So it wasn't much of a surprise when he saw the gang in the street over begin to curse and shout loudly after some retreating form, spitting some incomprehensible phrases that Saal couldn't even begin to understand.
However, seeing as though there was really no other lead to keep the corpsman-in-training busy, he decided to follow, finding himself increasingly intrigued in the situation as he saw just what it was these men were all chasing after. Stumbling over in a fit of laughter at the sight of five men struggling to keep up with such a small rodent, a tattered wallet in hand, Saal began to question why exactly the Nova corps had seen the planet as a threat at all.
There was really no reason to continue the chasing of the 'raccoon hunt' as he had been so soon to dub them. So, taking another look at his watch, he decided to head back to the ship he had been provided. Maybe he could head back to Xandar early and request for a new venue, hopefully somewhere further in the direction of the Keystone quadrant, he had heard about the team that had taken down some illegal cybernetic unit, and wished over nothing else than to have been part of it, despite the loss they did have with one of the officers, having been shot down by one of the escaping criminals. Although there was no information on who it had been to have taken down the shooter himself, claiming most of the officers had suspected both men fired at once, killing each other in the process.
His thoughts were cut short when he heard the strangled cry of something that he could only pinpoint as animalistic. Had they caught the pickpocketing rodent? It really wasn't much of his concern that the poor man to have surprised the creature so much would end up with some infection, there was no way a creature on this planet didn't at least carry some form of rabies. Only the frustrated sound of the attacker being bitten never came.
Instead, the only thing he could hear was the continued garbled yelps of the animal, making Saal wonder what exactly the thugs would go through to get their possession back from the screaming creature.
"Please don't!"
The Corpsman's head snapped toward the voice, not even taking a moment to contemplate where the voice could have come from before taking off down the narrow alleyway between two brick buildings, only pausing in his frantic run to listen for the strangled shouts again, making sure he was traveling in the right direction.
The man slowed his run to a quieter pace when the strangled cries and menacing growls grew louder, hoping not to sound off any alarms and cause the victim any further pain then they were already being forced to endure. He only realized now, as he faltered to draw his gun, that he wanted nothing more than to have been provided some form of back up in this particular situation, not that the man would have been hard to take down, but in the fact that not only did he not have a proper authority force to send him to due to the fact that the backwater planet was not particularly under Nova jurisdiction, but he had no one to take the victim under their wing either, assuming whatever torture that was making them scream so fiercely was in any way life threatening.
So biting his tongue and cursing whoever had assigned him to this damned planet, Saal veered quickly around the next corner, knowing full well he only had a window of time to depict which of the loud incomprehensible voices to shoot at, assuming there were only two. He had forgotten to take into account that he had seen more than one thug chase after the thieving animal.
The amount of energy leaving the blaster, which had been at last minute switched to the 'stun' setting, was enough to make the grown man stumble back a bit, not having shot the thing in the field before. But the surprised garbled shout of pain that the slender figure let out as it fell to the ground, seizing with pulsating with electricity for a moment before falling into a limp stillness, told Saal he had met his mark. He was so proud of his aim in fact, that he had forgotten there was a third figure in the alleyway entirely. At least he had until he saw the retreating black and brown striped tail disappear underneath the blue dumpster, leaving a trail of blood behind as the thing dragged its belly on the rough pavement.
The corpsman frowned slightly, wondering if he had been following the right voices to that spot. He had definitely heard two humanistic voices. One being the fallen stick-figure at his right and the second begging for mercy, and quite loudly at that. So where had the other person retreated to?
In fact, he would have left the frightened creature under the dumpster to search for the runaway victim had he not noticed just how much blood was in the alleyway. He pulled his booted foot away in disgust when he noticed he dark puddle under him, leaving a red print on the pavement when he stepped it down again.
He wondered for a moment if it could have been the unconscious alien, having hit something on the way down, however the puddle was too far from its form, and the blue liquid that trickled from its most likely broken nose did not match the crimson at his feet.
The trail didn't end there however, in fact, the owner of the spilled blood seemed to have drawn a trail straight toward themselves as Saal noted the darkened patches of dark red that glimmered in the dim street light, as though whatever body it had belonged to had dragged itself away from the crime scene and hidden itself… under the dumpster.
The man was far more than confused at this point. Not only had he apparently imagined a second voice while pursuing the now comatose alien, but said alien had decided the overgrown ferret that had taken his most likely empty wallet, deserved to have been drained of its blood and put to death for its thievery. Granted, he didn't know much about the community, much less the people around these parts, but it seemed as though a thug such as this wouldn't have wasted more energy than necessary on some sticky-fingered animal.
Nevertheless, Saal decided to look further into the issue at hand, stepping cautiously over the puddle at his feet and nearing the trash bin. The corpsman let his mind wander to the question of what he had planned to do with the creature after removing it from its hiding place. He doubted there was any high-esteemed veterinary hospital… or any hospital for that matter, anywhere near his location, and taking in strays wasn't exactly one of Nova's top priorities. But at this point, as he was already down on his knees to peer under the darkened cover the creature had taken shelter in, he saw little drawbacks to at least making sure the animal hadn't already died of blood loss.
So, spotting the shuddering figure that had balled itself up under the large container, Saal reached in a hand cautiously, not wanting to carry the same teeth marks that the Tasered alien behind him held on his own forearm. However, it wasn't the threat of being bitten or snarled at that had made the man reel back, falling from his crouch position and onto his rear when the thing did react. No, what had sent his mind into overdrive was the way the wounded creature shouted out fearfully… or more that it had shouted out at all.
"No!"
The cry was strangled, yet undoubtedly human in its comprehension of the word.
Taking another moment to compose himself, Saal switched his balance so that he was kneeling again, this time simply holding his hand out near enough to the edge of the bin to gain the creature's attention without making physical contact with it again.
"It's okay. You can come out now." He said in a hushed tone, grimacing awkwardly at the situation. Had he truly gone insane with boredom on this planet to the point that he was taking to rodents? Although the response he received only confirmed his wandering thoughts on the tangent of talking animals.
"N-no, go 'way." It stammered back, turning to glare at the taller figure, wet eyes almost glowing in the dim lighting. Despite the fact that he couldn't quite make out the creature's shape in the darkness of its temporary shelter, Saal had no doubt in his mind that the thing was growing weaker by the second, its labored breathing echoing against the metal underside of the garbage container and a pained whimper escaping its mouth when it tried to scramble back further into its hideaway.
"Come on, I'm not gonna hurt you." Saal tried, still feeling unbearably uncomfortable as he tried to coax the thing out. He didn't want to have to make a grab for it again, but now that he had gotten this far, he found himself unable to simply leave it there to undoubtedly die from the blood loss it had suffered. "What do you say I help get you fixed up?"
He received no vocal response his time, but the movement of the creature's glowing eyes told him that it was shaking its head furiously, inching another step back and forcing Saal to lean down even further to keep the animal in view. He bit his bottom lip. He understood the stubborn creature's hesitation to the strange man in front of it, however, the cold night air and the wetness of what he could only pray was water on his hands and knees were beginning to make him impatient.
He was about to open his mouth in another fruitless attempt to talk to the creature when his gaze fell upon a small object sitting not too far from his right hand. Pursing his lips tightly together, Saal picked up the wallet in his hand, flipping it open and holding it tauntingly close to the edge of the trash bin, hoping to gain some sort of reaction. And to his surprise, the beady eyes flickered from the man towards the thing it had almost risked its life for, angling its head lower as though trying to see what the contents were.
Much like Saal had expected, the small case didn't have much value in itself, carrying only a few units tossed tightly into the crevices of leather. Not that it had really made a difference to the curious creature that watched the man's every move with great interest.
"Is this what you wanted?" He asked cautiously, turning the thing upside down and emptying it of its contents, he wasn't about to actually allow anything to happen to what small amount of money was being tossed to the asphalt, he was sure Nova would have something to say about a potential mugging to get a freaking ferret from under a trash bin, but if it made said creature edge ever so slowly forward, he couldn't say that it was worth a shot.
The animal's eyes were flickering between the blue clad man and the money that had been poured to the ground as the creature drew itself forward at an unnervingly slow pace. He didn't know quite what he was expecting when a clawed hand shot out from underneath the dumpster, snatching a token in its palm and pulling back into the darkness just as quickly, but the move had piqued his interest nonetheless.
Reaching forward with his own hand, Saal gathered the remaining units in his palm, tossing them playfully as the creature stared back wide-eyed. "Why would someone like you need to steal this for anyway?" He asked, both trying to keep the animal as close to the entrance of its hiding place as possible, as well as interest in the thing's reasoning for thievery.
The eyes fell from the clattering units in his hand and towards the ground, a look of what could almost have been placed as embarrassment glinting in its tired expression. "… hurts."
Saal's brow drew low in confusion. Of course the creature was hurt, honestly, that was the only reason he was still here, crouched uncomfortably on the cold ground, trying to coax the bleeding thing out from under a freaking garbage dumpster. Biting his lower lip, the man tried once again.
"Here." He lowered his hand again, this time so that it was practically touching the ground, his palm laid open flat and the remaining units sitting just within the creature's reach.
God he hoped this worked.
…
His nose twitched instinctively when the man lowered his hand to his level again, the small tokens that could give him the cure for this pain in his stomach glimmering tauntingly in his palm.
The man who stood before him was far friendlier than the one that had made him bleed, but that made little difference as he inched once again toward the edge of his shelter. His body still ached from hunger and exhaustion, and with every move, he could feel the cuts the other alien had made in his skin open wider as they dragged across the rough pavement beneath him.
He still held the one silver piece he had managed to snatch off of the ground close to his chest, rubbing the smooth metal between sensitive fingers as he looked out upon the remaining collection. It was just within his reach, all he had to do was take it. The man was offering it so he doubted he would have been caught in another chase scene like he had with the taller alien. But some sense of discomfort in his gut told him to keep both hands out of the open.
Unfortunately for him, the feel of hunger and greed had pushed the unease aside when the units only grew that much closer.
His paw shot out again, this time snatching a gold piece, placing it beside the silver one in his other hand. The man had flinched slightly, but didn't move to take the remaining tokens away from him. So, eyeing the shiny plates warily, he reached out again, making to add another to his small stash. Another gold piece was grasped weakly between fumbling fingers when a sudden warm pressure overcame the protruding palm.
It wasn't until the raccoon had tried pulling back frantically that he realized the larger hand full of units had all but closed around his wrist, holding the creature tightly in its grasp.
Trap.
"N-no! No!"
More pain erupted in his chest and soft belly when the hand pulled, dragging the hardly conscious creature out from under the dumpster, keeping a tight hold on him just as the other one had with his tail. He was frantic. Clawing and snarling and shouting as loud as he could muster. Which wasn't all too loud in all honestly as a coughing fit made it almost impossible for him to breathe.
The hold the man in blue had switched him into didn't help the matter in the slightest, one arm wrapping tightly on his bloodied chest while the other had gone from gripping the animal's wrist to trying to flip him onto his back as one would hold a newborn.
The coughing had ceased but air still refused to inflate his lungs. His throat burned with thirst and the pain erupting from the bleeding wounds littering his body had all but worsened. Large hands struggled to keep a grip on the now whimpering creature still, and as the burning and the pain grew, the darkness began to settle in, making the creature feel light headed all over again.
The last thing he remembered before giving into the feeling of numb darkness was a hand raking its large fingers through his fur as the man whispered something towards him that was lost in the muffled void of unconsciousness.
…
The creature had all but gone limp in his arms. And for a moment, Saal had feared that he had somehow killed the thing during his struggle to calm it down. However, the shaky yet stable rise and fall of the thing's chest told him it had only fallen into a fit of exhaustion.
And he didn't blame it either. Blood was covering its entire chest and was still seeping sluggishly through the thin slits that littered its surprisingly light weight body. He felt an uncomfortable feeling in his gut that made him nauseous when the officer felt the sticky liquid drip from the coarse fur and onto the hand that cradled the unconscious creature. But he ignored it still, turning on a heel and walking back the way he had come.
He wondered if maybe leaving the scraggly man he had Tasered was really the best of ideas, but the sickening feeling of the creature in his arms quivering weakly paired with the coppery smell of its blood told him otherwise. He left with a sneer, dropping the remaining units along with the tattered wallet beside the attacker before making off with the wounded animal in hand, making to head back to his ship.
The walk wasn't far, much to Saal's pleasure seeing as though the cold night sky was begun to darken further with heavy clouds, and the last thing the discouraged Nova officer needed right now was the rain.
As the doors closed behind him, Saal realized just how lucky he was to have been provided the shelter of his ship on a planet such as this. He knew he had once complained about the cramped size of the thing compared to the more prestigious officers, especially on a lone mission to some barely supervised planet, but compared to the dingy apartments with broken windows and flickering lights made him feel all the more grateful when he stepped aboard the brightly lit ship.
The airlock shut behind him and the man set to work instantly, moving to lie the creature down on his own pull out cot and groping for the first-aid kit above the dash. It didn't hold much, but he knew some disinfectant and cause would do the bleeding animal a lot more good than it would harm.
Upon turning towards the creature in question, the man felt his stomach drop again. The lights of the ship gave Saal a chance to finally see exactly what he had brought upon himself. The blood he had felt coating his hand in the alleyway had stained the creature's fur coat, some even dripping from a small would at the back of its head.
Unfortunately for him, the fur wasn't the only thing stained with blood. In fact, the creatures entire chest was dripping with the liquid, including the large hairless patch marred with scars and metal prongs.
Saal wanted to throw up. The metal pieces jutted sharply from the reddened scars, some still crusted over with old cabs and newly healing skin, meaning they hadn't been there for all that long.
The other thing the man was quick to take notice of was just how small the thing was as it tried to curl into a ball again, its mangled tail twitching as it moved. He had never seen an animal of this species before, but he was sure it wasn't supposed to have been that thin. Were the tangled fur not covering its sides, Saal was sure he would have been able to count the thing's ribs, not that he couldn't make out the outline of the bones already. Its stomach was sunken in sickeningly so, making the officer wonder how long it had been since the animal had eaten anything.
His hands were shaking as he wet the cloth with a mix of water and disinfectant. He knew wiping away the blood was the first step to getting the creature on the road to recovery, but the cybernetic prongs that jutted out of its chest made him all the more nervous. He stifled a surprised gasp when the animal reacted to the cold cloth coming to contact with its bare skin, arching its back slightly at the uncomfortable feeling before falling again into his unmoving state.
Saal continued with a slightly quickened pace, switching out the rag for a second one once the red had become too much for the first one to hold. He wasn't sure how much he trusted himself to administer any stitches to the knife wounds, so the man was incredibly grateful to find the thin surgical tape in the corner of the kit, using it to hold closed the wounds before wrapping them thoroughly in gauze.
Saal wasn't a doctor of course, but he couldn't say that he wasn't proud at his work when he looped the last piece of gauze tightly into place and stepped back to look over his efforts. The bleeding had stopped and the man had managed to get most of the dried blood out enough so that only a slightly pink tint was left to the grey and brown fur.
The only thing there was really left to do was to wait and see what happened. The creature was cute enough, the black mask around its eyes giving the appropriate illusion of a small bandit, he was sure someone on Xandar would easily take the thing in as a pet. However, the slightly important fact that the thing could actually talk was a continuing issue. Science divisions would want to take it in for themselves, and everyone would want to know where it had come from, based on the metallic implants in its chest and back, he was sure that it couldn't have been born with this level of sentience, unidentified species or not.
One thing he did know, however, was that he couldn't stay here. The dark neighborhood was no place for anyone to try and survive on their own in, animal or not. Although he couldn't say that the course he had set back to his own home world wasn't in any way for his own selfish reasons, he really didn't want to stay on the planet any longer than he had to either. So, pulling out a blanket that wasn't stained in blood, Saal left the creature curled up on the bed and took his place at the pilot's chair, leaning back in the creaky and uncomfortable contraption, watching the stars and the blackness of space outside the window before giving way to sleep himself.
He sat bolt upright with a startled gasp when he hear the shouting, looking around in a dazed state of confusion forgetting there had been a second occupant aboard his ship for a moment. Upon seeing the wide-eyed animal on his own cot, Saal stood up, holding his hands out in a calming gesture as it turned to look at him.
The thing's fur was on end, teeth bared and breathing at a horrifyingly fast pace. "Hey, hey. It's okay. You're safe." He tried reasoning, flinching slightly when the creature let out a frightened whimper, shrinking back further into the corner.
The sheets of the bed had been all but torn to shreds by the panicking animal, as well as some of the bandages on its own body, which had begun to stain red again at its own hands, or more accurately, claws. And it didn't seem it have been taking to the cramped space of the craft all too well either.
Saal took a step closer, hoping to get it to stop scraping those sharp nails against its own chest when it let out another whimper, this time turning its body to the side in a rather feral manner, ready to snap its teeth at the man's hand were it to come within range.
"You're hurt." The officer stated plainly, watching as the animal's gaze darted from side to side, as though looking for an escape. "You're on my ship now, I'm going to help you okay?"
"Trap."
Saal was slightly taken aback by the word, still trying to grow accustomed to the fact that his creature in front of him could speak. Although he couldn't be too sure how well yet, as he had only heard short spurts of words coming from the frightened animal before him. The other thing that he had only just picked up on, was how young it sounded, like frightened child trying to grasp onto this new concept of speech.
His thoughts were interrupted when the animal removed a hand from where it was tearing at its own skin to point in accusation at Saal, refusing to make eye contact. "Trap." It repeated.
Saal looked down in guilt. "Yes, I tricked you." The animal bared its teeth at the confession. "But I needed to get you out of there, you were dying."
"Red. Red. Cut red." It stammered, dropping its shaking hand back to the sheets and gathering the torn fabric in it.
Saal licked his lip nervously, dropping to his knees, trying to regain the animal's gaze. "Yes, you were bleeding, he hurt you." The animal shrunk back again, wrapping its tail around itself. "He's not going to get to you again okay? You're safe here."
The animal was staring blankly at something in front of it, only flinching slightly when Saal reached forward again, this time actually brushing its fur with his fingertips before resting it on the creature's side entirely. He continued to pet it in a calming silence when he heard the sound. A painful growling of the creature's sunken in belly.
"Are- are you hungry?" He asked, although it was already obvious judging by its malnourished appearance that food was something the animal had not seen in an uncomfortably long while. His suspicions were confirmed when the beady eyes moved from where their blank stare had been held, to the man's eyes. It gave him the smallest of nods before moving a clawed hand to its stomach when it growled loudly again.
"Hurts."
Saal was up in an instant, moving quickly to pull the cupboard of food open. Nova had provided the officers with plenty of food for their missions, none of which Saal had been more grateful to have until now as he grabbed quickly at the tasteless crackers and packets of nuts, hoping he could get some protein in the animal's stomach before it fell into another state of panic. It hadn't moved from its spot in the corner of the cot, but its once dulled and tired eyes came alight and the button nose was twitching with curiosity as the officer turned around, arms full of food.
The first thing to have been unwrapped were the crackers, already crumbling in his hands as the man tried to fish one from the package. Once the flakey thing was held between two fingers (although a good portion of it had fallen to the mattress) the animal was on its feet, throwing all caution to the wind and snatching the cracker greedily into its own hands, not waiting a split second before shoving it into its mouth.
Saal had barely begun to grab another from the sleeve before the hand shot out again, practically tearing the packaging from him and tearing into the thing itself. "Wow, wow!" Saal stammered, grabbing back the wrapper, which was now only about half full. "You're going to make yourself sick."
The animal looked up with an expression of defense, which was honestly the most adorable thing Saal had seen as its cheeks puffed out with the amount of food in its mouth. "More." It demanded, struggling to stand and reach for the bag again. "More please. Hurts."
There was the word again. Saal wondered for a moment if there was another injury he had forgotten to tend to. "What hurts?" He asked, groping for the gauze again.
"Hurts." The hand fell back to the animal's stomach, clutching it as though in pain. "Please."
Saal's eyes widened in realization, holding up the package again. "You're hungry?"
The furry head bobbed up and down in a frantic nod. "Hu-hungry." It copied, and before he knew it, the package was back in the ring tail's grasp, the rest of the cracker being wolfed down in a matter of seconds.
"Well one thing's for sure, you've got some sticky fingers of you my friend." He stated, holding out the tin of nuts, allowing that to be taken into the animal's clutches as well. He almost laughed when the creature tapped its fingertips together in confusion as though to prove its hands were perfectly clean. "What's a thing like you doing on the streets stealing empty wallets huh?" He asked, not really expecting an answer as the creature continued to gnaw on the unsalted nuts. But he received a halfhearted shrug, its eyes staring blankly towards the wall again.
"You don't have a home do you? Someone taking care of you?" He hadn't thought of it before having taken off of the planet's surface, but Saal was beginning to wonder if it had been his best move. Was someone looking for the half-starving creature? There was no way it had simply been created this way and lost so easily, the amount of money and science to have gone into the cybernetic augmentations would have possessed anyone to keep the animal on close watch.
The ringtail shook its head. "No one."
Saal furrowed his brow again, curiosity altering his thought process. "Where… where did you come from?"
The reaction was instantaneous, a shiver tracing itself up the creature's spine and leaving it shaking uncontrollably, beady eyes darting from one corner of the room to another. It was looking for an escape again.
Regretting his mistake, Saal tried to console the animal, reaching to steady the quivering figure. Another regrettable mistake he realized when three long claws raked themselves across his wrist. "Don't take me back! Can't make me!"
"I'm not. I won't. I'm just taking you to Xandar okay? That's where I come from. We're going to get you to see some doctors to get you healed and-"
"NO!" The animal reeled back. Its breathing had picked back up to an alarming pace and its hands flung up to pull anxiously at the fur atop its head. "Can't go back. Please. Can't go back…"
Cradling his stinging wrist to his chest, the Nova officer found himself staring back in horror as the creature continued to repeat the phrase as though caught in a panicked loop. Some broken record that couldn't seem to rid itself of its jumping needle.
"You won't go back." The loop quieted for a moment, although I was still being repeated quietly through the creature's mouth as its gaze flickered up to meet his own. "I promise."
…
The man had left him alone after that. And despite the guilt he felt for forcing him to sleep in the uncomfortable looking chair, the raccoon had yet to move from the corner of the bed he had placed himself in. The other thing to not have moved since the sudden panic attack, were the creature's eyes. He had not removed his gaze from the officer.
He had recognized him too. Or at least he had though he did at first. Having lived a life full of masked whitecoats, the raccoon was still hardly rehearsed in the talent of placing faces. But he definitely recognized the blue. The blue that had saved him from the cages and the pain. The blue that had been quickly lost in a sea of red. The blue hat had pushed him to kill…
As much as he trusted the blue to keep his promise and take him further from the cages and pain, to give him a second chance, a life without the red, he also feared what might happen in the future. Deception. Traps. He had already fallen for one of the man's tricks, and it had landed in this confines container. Simply a larger cage, the guard standing inside with him this time.
However. If the man in blue had wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have offered him food. The sustenance that had ridden his stomach of all the pain. And for once, the creature was feeling something other than fear. He felt confusion.
Confusion of what the man wanted from him. If there were good people in the world that wouldn't die on him. People he could put trust his in.
As it turns out, there weren't. Not for him at least.
The moment the ship had touched down on the planet with two suns, he had bolted, not even taking a second to look back at the blue man shouting after him. Of course, if anyone had kept up on the story of the infamous 'Rocket Raccoon', it was Denarian Saal. Rocket had given him a toothy grin the first time he had been taken in by the blue man, arrested for thievery and the second time for 'disturbing the peace' during some bounty hunt.
Eventually, the man had stopped smirking back, staring almost in annoyance whenever the bandit was arrested… again. Not even giving him a sideways glance when he and the other Guardians had been sent to the Kyln.
But he hadn't missed the way the man had chuckled to himself when 'taking orders from a hamster'. Or the way he had shouted Rocket's name through the dying comms when his ship had been blown to bits.
At that moment, all he could see was red. And it had blinded him with rage and deception and pain until the moment he crashed the 'borrowed' Ravanger ship into the Dark Aster. Until Ronan was dead. Until the sky was alight with explosions and fire.
Until the blue turned red.
The next chapter is partially written but won't be posted for a few days while I work out the details.
Please review!
