The car smoothly stopped outside of an old, condemned office building. He had finished most of his financial 'business' for the day, which was simply collecting money from...clients. However, even after he was done doing so, his job wasn't completely finished. He still had various things to do.
Stepping out of his car and locking it, he brushed his suit off. Hauling a suitcase with ease, he carried it to the back of the building. Minding the ice, he looked around, frowning. Spotting another mammal leaning near a dumpster, he approached him, standing up completely straight.
"You got the goods?" The other male questioned, raising an eyebrow behind his thick sunglasses. He seemed to be some sort of cat, but the bear didn't exactly care. Red rolled his eyes at the comedically over used line that he had heard thousands of times before, sighing under his breath. Opening the briefcase to reveal various bootleg DVDs to sell and guns, he gave the person an unamused glare, twitching his ears a bit.
"I believe you'll find our quality above standard." Red stated proudly, closing the briefcase when the male reached for a gun from it. Giving him a harsh stare, the buyer growled and shuffled around for the money, pulling out a large wad of cash from his pocket. Handing it to the bear, he greedily took it from him. Glancing it over to make sure it wasn't counterfeit, he snorted, slowly handing the briefcase over to him.
The cat eagerly took it, opening it and shifting through all of the items. Quickly taking the chance, Red pulled out a gun of his own, firing it at the cat's head. The feline immediately fell to the ground, dropping the case in turn. Red sighed sadly to himself, looking down at the gun he held in his hand.
"What even is my life?" He muttered, looking over the dead cat. He made sure there was absolutely no evidence that had been there, snorting. Picking the case back up, he turned around and quickly went back to his car, placing it aside in the passenger seat. Driving away from the scene, he didn't look back, but certainly was starting to feel guilt bubble deep in his stomach.
"Killed him?" Tito sighed softly in dissatisfaction, his ears drooping. Mangle looked thoroughly upset, their own ears flat.
"Red, you need to stop. We're already in hot water! If you shoot the wrong guy, we could all be dead by sunrise." The smaller bear said firmly, glaring at the older bear. Red shrugged, washing his hands in the kitchen sink.
"He was a loner, not a part of a group." He growled, looking over at Tito. "I wouldn't have killed him, but I got extra money out of it. We need it. He looked shady anyways, it probably would have either been me or him. He seemed to eager to hold a gun." Flicking his wet paws into the sink, he grabbed a towel and dried them off. Looking to both the fox and the other bear, he lowered his gaze, flattening his ears.
"I don't like doing it. But sometimes it has to be done. And sometimes...I feel as if father's just...hovering straight behind me, waiting to see if I disappoint him or do what he wants." His voice was suddenly low and quiet, almost as if he didn't want anybody to hear him. Tito heard, however. Sighing harshly, the goldish male clenched his fists, looking down.
"Red, he's dead. Anyways, who cares what the hell he thinks, now? He's done enough."
All of them went silent at that. Mangle shook Red's arm and pointed upstairs, their ears continuing to stay flat. Red looked in the direction he was being shown, blinking.
"We could put them in danger." Tito spoke for the white vulpine, crossing his arms. "They're young, they don't know what this is. They don't know what we are. They're still young, they don't need this following them for the rest of their lives like a herd of cockroaches. They don't deserve it."
Red nodded slowly in agreement, taking his gaze off of the staircase. Turning to the other two, he stood up straight, his ears perking up.
"Well, I'll make sure that they're not here for long. Tito, would you mind starting dinner for real this time? I still need to go get milk and a few other things."
Tito gave him an odd look, raising an eyebrow. Nodding slowly, he turned slowly to the fridge and began shifting through for items. "Um, sure."
The older bear turned and left at that, not wasting any time. Mangle blinked in confusion, twitching xer ears slightly. Tito noticed this and shrugged, throwing a few packaged steaks onto the kitchen counter.
"Eh, what am I supposed to know? He's really weird, I never know what he's going to do next."
A quiet night passed between Red, Tina, Mangle and Tito after Red returned from the store. Clyde remained sealed in his room the entire night, which worried the brown bear. He came out to bring dinner to his room, and took various trips to the bathroom, but remained closed away besides for that.
Midnight rolled around, and everybody had gone to sleep. Asides from Red.
Red stayed in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes used for the dinner that they had eaten. He found himself deep in thought, his mind mostly drifting to the well being of the children.
He had known Tina since she was a young chick; her father had been a part of Red's group. More specifically, they had worked side by side together. However, when the rooster married and had Tina, he decided that he no longer wanted to be a part of the harsh lifestyle. Upon hearing the news, Red saw to it personally that he and his new family were safe from harm's way.
However, this rabbit was a different story. He had no idea of his background, who his parents were, or who he was. Was he a trouble maker? Had he been kicked out due to stirring up things? Red felt as if he knew this boy. His eyes seemed familiar, but he couldn't put a finger on it.
Hearing a small thud, he looked up from the sink. Clyde was staring back at him in a small amount of surprise, rubbing his arm. It seemed as if he had half-fallen against the wall from weakness.
"Are you okay, boy?" Red questioned, turning the water off. Clyde nodded, rubbing his forehead.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just weak." He muttered, sneezing into his sleeve. Red grimaced in disgust, twitching his ears slightly.
Walking over to one of the counters, he pulled a paper bag off of it. Walking over to Clyde, he handed it to him, staring at him expectantly. "Here, I've gotten you a few things. I suppose they'll come in handy."
Clyde blinked in confusion, looking at the paper bag. Glancing up at Red for an explanation, the bear smiled lightly, tilting his head.
"Clothes. I picked them up while I was out shopping earlier; it looks-and smells like you need them. I hope they fit."
The bunny seemed a bit surprised. Looking at the bag again in shock, he smiled a little bit himself and closed his paws over it protectively, sighing quietly. "H-hey, thanks. I wasn't able to bring anything else with me besides from what I'm wearing."
Nodding, Red went back to the sink. Clyde perked up and attempted to lift his ears up, but to no avail. Tilting his head at the bear, he held the bag close, shifting a bit. "Um...S-seriously, thank you. Is there any way I can repay you, sir?"
"Well..." Red began, scrubbing off a plate. He looked at the bunny from over his shoulder, swiveling his ears to listen to him better. "I need help in my restaurant. That's all I really need, and it'll give you some sort of income."
"Are you sure?" Clyde asked, his eyes wide in amazement. Red nodded, not looking at him this time. Clyde smiled and laughed a little, nodding.
"Y-yeah, I'll take it! This is too good to be true." Freezing for a moment, he looked at the bear and raised an eyebrow, frowning. "Are you sure you're not gonna kill me?"
"I'm sure." Red replied, laughing slightly. Clyde smiled at him and looked down at the bag again, sighing. "Well, I'm gonna go back to my room."
The bear nodded in response, stopping the water. He turned to the bunny and smiled slightly, drying his hands off. "You can start working after you feel better. By then, the virus should have died down. I don't want anybody else getting sick."
Clyde nodded, starting towards the staircase. Stopping to look back at the bear, he coughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um...buona notte?"
Stopping what he was doing, Red looked over at the bunny with his full attention. Looking incredibly surprised, he nodded slowly after a small amount of time, seeming impressed. "Grazie. Buona notte."
The boy went up the stairs and retreated to his room, leaving Red to think even more. Leaning backwards against the counter, he lit a cigar, starting to head outside to smoke it.
He was even more curious about this boy than he had been previously.
While the weather raged on for a few more days, it started to die down after a bit. At the same time, people slowly began recovering from their sicknesses, including Clyde. His paw pads began to heal, and his nose returned to normal. He began coming out of his room more, and would even sit in the living room after dinner to watch TV with the others after meals. Red was glad he was feeling better, and he seemed to be getting along well with Tina.
As the week progressed, the virus was starting to show signs of down with other people, all while at the same time less cases of it were being reported. Various places that had been closed were reopening, and at the same time, Red was thinking about reopening his restaurant.
As the bunny recovered, Red took notice that Clyde had an attitude. A large one. He was incredibly sassy and sarcastic, and often got into arguments with Tito when they all began to warm up to each other. Red never interfered; he found it amusing.
Clyde reminded him a lot of himself when he was younger. But at the same time, he reminded him of someone else. He still couldn't figure out who.
Yawning quietly to himself, Red walked out of his bedroom. Making sure his suit was on correctly, he walked carefully down the stairs, looking around. It was much warmer than it had been previously, which meant that it was probably warming up outside. It was a small relief, the winter had been horrible on everybody.
As if on cue, a small clump of fur removed itself from Red's body as he scratched his arm. Inwardly wincing, he sighed and dropped it in a nearby trashcan. Walking to the dining room, he spotted Tina and Clyde eating breakfast. They both looked at him, quietly saying 'good morning' simultaneously.
"I'm already shedding." He muttered, pulling out another clump of fur from his arm. Tito laughed loudly from the kitchen, of which Red ignored.
"I'm just glad I finished molting back in the fall!" Tina said with a small smirk, finding the entire situation hilarious. Just as she spoke, Clyde pulled a small amount of fur off of his neck, groaning quietly.
"Ugh, at least I'll look normal." He muttered, staring at the celeste blue clump of fur residing in his paw. He put it into his pocket to throw away later, resting his face in his hands. Red let out a low growl to himself, scratching his neck.
"Well, there goes opening the restaurant back up." He muttered, looking at his paws after scratching his neck. Several stray hairs came off when he patted them together, wincing a bit in disgust. "Our fur will get all over the food. Again."
Tito snorted, coming out of the kitchen. He dropped a plate lazily into Red's spot, giving him an annoyed, pissed off glare. "Let's just cover ourselves in plastic bags, that'll work. You never listen to me when it comes to ideas."
"That's because your ideas suck." Red said flatly, making the two teenagers laugh. Red went to eating, his ears flattening in annoyance at the itchiness that the loose fur caused. He noticed that Tina had quickly finished eating, standing up and grabbing her school bag. Starting to walk off, she smiled back at the group, readjusting the luggage to her shoulders.
"Well, I'm off. I'll see if anybody knows of some medicine to relieve the shedding, I know there's some for molting!"
She left the house soon after speaking, leaving the males alone. Red slowly continued eating and picked up a paper, glancing through it. Tito mulled around the kitchen to avoid them, and Clyde stared at his empty plate. He finally looked up at Red, frowning.
"Uh, can I do anything to help today?"
"No, we're fine." Red spoke from behind the paper, making the rabbit groan softly. He rested his head in his paws, studying the bear.
Something seemed increasingly off about him; it was as if something had happened. Furrowing his brow, he stared at his face, studying him. His blue eyes seemed a bit clouded over, almost panicked. Clyde wondered if he was getting sick or something similar.
Before he could continue his thoughts, Tito threw a cloth at his face. The rabbit jumped in panic, removing it from his snout to look at the angry bear. Tito crossed his arms, tapping his foot.
"You wanna help? Fine. Wash the ding-dang dishes. Red eats like a pig."
With a snort, Tito left the kitchen and went upstairs. Clyde sighed lowly in annoyance and dropped the cloth to his side, looking into the kitchen. He walked in after a few moments and got started with the dishes, making sure to put gloves on first so he wouldn't get any loose fur anywhere. Red watched him curiously, tapping his claws on the table.
"So, boy." Red began, breaking the silence. The bunny jumped a bit, tightening his grip on a dish he was working on.
"Why don't you go home?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. Clyde shrugged, shaking his head.
"Got kicked out." The bunny finally admitted, glaring down at the dishes. "I really don't want to talk about it."
Red nodded in understanding, crossing his arms. He placed his paper down and stared at him. His fur already had blotches of darkness from shedding, and it made him think he knew the boy from somewhere else even more than before. Shrugging it off, he thought even further, his mind settling on a different subject.
"What about school, son? You seem to be Tina's age."
"I am." Clyde muttered flatly, sighing. "I was in her college, but I had to drop out because I couldn't exactly afford it. I was studying to either be a police officer or a lawyer...something useful, 'ya know?"
Red couldn't help but to tense up at that. He suddenly realized he was basically harboring an enemy to his 'people'. Nodding slowly, he sipped a bit of coffee that he had left over from his breakfast, trying to hide any anger or hostility in his eyes.
"Yes, very useful." He agreed in his usual, polite tone, placing his cup down. Standing up, he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pair of gloves for himself, before going to the other side of the sink and helping with the large amount of dishes. Clyde eyed him warily, still feeling a bit anxious.
"Would you like to go back to the college?" Red questioned, glancing at the bunny. Clyde stopped what he was doing and looked at him, looking incredibly confused.
"Of course, why?"
"I can always pay your way for now. Until you can afford it yourself. Just to get you out of the house." The bear responded, staring down at the dishes. In all reality, he just wanted the rabbit away from him for a certain amount of time during the day. He had a feeling the bunny was the type to snoop too much for his own good, and he didn't want him to find any evidence of his 'job'.
Clyde, however, had stopped what he was doing completely and was simply staring at him. Blinking several times, he cocked his head, frowning. "You've already done enough. Why are you helping me so much?"
Red shrugged lightly, looking at him from the corner of his eye as he did the dishes.
"I'm not quite sure, boy. I'm disturbing myself."
Author's Note:
Heya, guys! How 'ya doin'? Sorry for the extremely late update! I had actually semi-finished this chapter before I had even finished BoC2, but I kind of gave up on it. I was actually surprised to get PMs and notes from people asking me to continue it!
I'll try to work on it again, sorry for the delay! I know this chapter is all over the place, and probably doesn't make much sense. I'll try to tie loose ends together in the next chapter!
If it makes up for a late update, I'm working on a prequel to BoC3! It'll take place directly after BoC2. It'll only be a few chapters long if I decide to post it, but it's still something!
Big thanks to Chillaid for beta reading! I apologize if there's any typos, we both haven't slept. Bad idea.
I'd also like to thank kattylm, MCHaunter, TFAArtFreak, AddiLion, Anon WolfsyTheWolf, Is It Me or Not, Elysion Wish, Playfile X, MissDarkRaven, Anon Guest, Hero Lumanite, MinecraftMotavator1987, XxShady-ChibixX, Anon Emmy, and Anon emma for the reviews! You guys are awesome!
Funnily enough, I'm having the same writers' block I had on BoC2 back when I started this one! It's just a never-ending cycle of writers' block, isn't it?!