Disclaimer: I don't own Tennessee 'kid' Cooper but I do own Danielle the Raccoon and a few others. The Cooper ancestors belong to the Sly Cooper franchise, sucker punch games and Sanzaru games. Not me!
Journey of a dream.
Danielle the raccoon walked alongside Sheriff Ricardo Fox as her eyes scanned the area left and right for the wonderful buildings that heavily populated the land. The sand matched the orange skies that hung overhead, the shadows were kept at bay in the alley ways and sleekly moved by everyone's side as they straightened against each and every building that was walked passed and chatter was surprisingly quiet in a way.
She brushed her raven black hair over her shoulder as she keenly listened about her job opportunity here but she couldn't help but get the sneaky suspicion that she was being followed. She looked over her shoulder to search for who would be shadowing her but she found zero traces of nobody out there so shrugged and continued to follow Rico even if his words fell dead to her patient ears.
Little did Danielle realise as she walked away was that she was being followed as Tennessee peeked his head up from behind a sign for a gift shop.
Tennessee currently wore a black hood over his head that covered his head and mouth so his indentity could be hidden but he also wore a cloak that looked kind of like it was made by an Indian culture as the brown yet fuzzily soft material was draped with large feathers dangling from the back and had tassels hanging underneath. The rest of his clothing looked the same, though.
Danielle didn't arrive iimmediately so the young outlaw had to quit waiting and went to bed, disappointed that she didn't arrive yet, but he decided not to give up hope as all he needed to do was wait an afternoon later. He didn't wait by the entrance this time but he saw her by chance and he was now chasing after her and following his childhood friend from behind.
Even if Tennessee had a quick glance at her face, she looked prettier than ever as his eyelids pulled over half his uniquely coloured eyes as a lovestruck smile complimented this daydream face as he sighed dreamily. He placed a hand to ease his heart that pounded inside his thin built chest as he told it with a whisper "Be still, m'ah heart...Soon ah'll say 'hi' ta her and maybe y'all will be calm."
He looked over his shoulder to find that Danielle was disappearing around a corner with Rico still chatting away about boring uninteresting stuff although the dust furred raccoon could easily tell that she was barely listening. What was she thinking about, he thought, as he shakily put one foot in front of the other so he could break into a silent run as he raced across the ropes that hung diagonally from building to building.
Tennessee approached the duo from behind and perched upon the middle of a rope and keenly watched as both Rico and Danielle had disappeared into the Sherriff's office to talk about trivial matters as Tennessee sat on the ropes to wait for his childhood friend to emerge from those oak double saloon-like doors.
Now, the doors weren't anything special. There was a star hanging on the small hunched doors that symbolised where they led to as they shone against the golden sun hanging above in the bright sky and the wood the doors were coloured in an oily slick beige but to Tennessee, they were the most interesting things to look at right now as his tail swished keenly behind him as his shaded form was basically undetectable from the townsfolk.
Dusting off his shirt and dark leather vest, Tennessee kept watch on the doors for what seemed like an eternity until Danielle finally appeared and walked gracefully out into the open as she gazed at her surroundings with a sweet smile. Tennessee couldn't help but nearly faint as he got a real look at how much she had grown and seemingly matured.
Danielle's fur had darkened a considerable amount since the last time Tennessee saw her and her coffee brownish mask did too. She wore a pretty red bow hair clip in her hair right beside her fluffed up fringe that swept neatly against her mask. Not only that but Danielle also changed her attire and accessories as she wore a flouncy dress that looked kind of like what a working maiden would wear and her eyes glimmered like the genuine diamonds they were to Tennessee's eyes. Her raven hair was also tied up to a pony tail and had a pretty blue bow to tie it up. Her lips were still coloured in crimson lipstick, though.
The dust furred outlaw never felt so light in all his life as his heart fluttered inside his chest to give out warm fuzzy affection for the female raccoon. Tennessee's eyes closed as he felt his crush transform into love for her within the twitch of a nose. His eyes snapped open and his ears swivelled at the sound of something smashing in the distance.
Tennessee sniffed the air cautiously as he knew that shattering was originating from a glass window not so far off. The fur on the back of his neck bristled when he caught the scent and recognised it almost instantly as his eyes widened and he almost spat out the toothpick he chewed on firmly in his fanged teeth even if his mouth was covered by the material meant to mask his identity.
But it seemed that Danielle also heard the sounds of glass smashing as she looked around with terrified eyes with her ears pricked and alert as they whipped about in a radar-like motion as if to sense for danger.
It was so eerily silent that not even Danielle saw it coming as a bunch of guys practically barrelled themselves into the female raccoon and grabbed her up into their arms before running off, making Tennessee chase after them as he began to feel the blood rush around his body like a bottle full of beer being swished around. Tennessee's eyes narrowed at the thought of those crooks harming his friend as he grabbed his mini gun out from hiding within his boot as he ran along the rope with great ease and little effort.
It was then he heard Danielle's screams pierce the silent air and it made several bells of alarm ring inside Tennessee's mind as he now was very angry and he was now running at the speed of a train with its engine kicked into high gear and he could have sworn that smoke was blowing out of his ears as his unparalleled speed matched that of the train that would constantly circle the area like an eagle. Eventually, Tennessee found the group of thugs and watched them from a safe distance as he knew it would be stupid to reveal himself now.
They hid in an alley where the group seemed to be another gang searching through table scraps as they lived in a shaded campsite but even still, they seemed to have been thriving since there was a group of six all together and they were led by an adult Labrador whom dressed like a classic old western smuggler. It was a huge boar who carried a roped up Danielle over his strong shoulder even though she struggled as hard as she could to get away from them. Tennessee felt sorry for her.
After Danielle was dropped and tossed aside, the leader of this petty gang looked over the money they stole from the bank and they admired it for quite some time as the gold sparkled and gleamed in the slight sunlight that shone into the alleyway even if it was hidden deep inbetween two buildings. The female raccoon wore a defensive glare upon her face as her nose crinkled in utter disgust towards those dirty lowlifes.
"We-hell..." The Labrador leader chuckled menacingly as he looked over the gold his gang had stolen as he tweaked a toothpick that his fangs stuck to, his naturally golden coat ruined by dirt smearing the delicate long fur that grown to form his coat even with the black, shady clothing he more certainly adored to wear considering the outfit was in better pristine condition then the dog's matted fur was "It'd appear y'all were scorin' big today boys."
Tennessee could tell by the guy's slick yet low voice that he was most certainly a smuggler stereotype who idolised a smuggler and decided to dress like him. The male adult raccoon narrowed his eyes firmly as he saw the leader walk towards Danielle and rest a paw on her chin to force her defiant pools to meet his nasty green ones.
"Even a purdy lil' lady like this should be finely treated." Danielle growled stubbornly as she moved her chin away from his paw with a swift whip of her head but clearly the smuggler stereotype wasn't going to take no as an answer as he winked at her flirtatiously "With utmost...respect."
Danielle narrowed her eyes into slits as she yelled at the guy with very slight fear lacing against her strong yet sweet voice "LEAVE ME ALONE, CREEP!" She used both her legs to smack the guy who was clearly trying to hit on her. The leader of the gang stumbled backwards to try and get over the very clear sting to the cheek he had just received from the fearless female coon.
The Labrador glared daggers at his captur whom glared right back at him, clearly not regretting a single thing she had just done. The filthy dog with poor grooming felt rage bubble up inside him as he marched over to her and grabbed her by the front of the neck to make her gag. Danielle's eyes had lost half its confidence with this one swift movement but they remained to be full of defiance to be a damsel in distress but she suddenly noticed that the rest of the gang were surrounding her with evil smirks that gave away what dirty things they were thinking.
She glared at them chillingly as her hatred for those brutes whom kidnapped her with this fire of defiance shimmering inside her dazzling pools. Danielle knew from past experience and trained with her father for such cases but as she was thoroughly restrained she couldn't pull of anything.
She watched as the group of menacing dogs got ready to pound her into dust but found that they were trembling in fear as they took slow steps back from her with their multiple pairs of eyes wide with fear. Danielle laughed at their faces humorously at this "Hah! Are y'all 'fraid of lil' ol' me?"
"T-Th-The dust furred shadow..." The dogs gasped fearfully while they were all trembling like leaves with their guns shaky and unbalanced in their hands as they tried to aim at the guy who stood behind Danielle whom at first raised a confused pair of brows towards the guards and their leader. Who was this 'Dust-furred shadow'? Where was he to show himself? Danielle let the horrifying reality sink in as she very slowly turned the side of her head to look over her shoulder: the dust-furred shadow was right behind her!
The Dust-furred shadow narrowed his yellow and light brown orbs towards his enemies as he used the gold hook of his shooting iron to cut the ropes off Danielle's wrists so she could move at least as he scooped her up into his strong arms and carried her bridal style as he removed a rope from his back pocket, spun it into a lasso and threw the loop of rope at a nearby gargoyle sticking out from the nearby chapel so he could pull both him and Danielle up into the air.
As a disguised Tennessee yanked on the rope, he could feel Danielle thrashing about in his arms as if she couldn't recognise his hold. Tennessee knew his disguise concealed his face and therefore, his identity and he was too busy trying to save her to tell her who he is but as he grunted and struggled to hold her through her constant struggling; his grip on her began to loosen dangerously as she begun to slip out of his arms.
"Danielle-Oof! It's me!" Tennessee exclaimed through her panicky elbow ramming into his stomach as the female coon shouted inaudible demands so he could release her but she just continued to thrash about in her hero's arms until she managed to poke him in the eye and they tumbled on to the roof of the chapel where the couple fell on to.
The two raccoons were just recovering from where they landed on the roof when Danielle picked her hero up by the collar and pinned him against the wall of the spire of the roof. He was just arousing from being unconscious for a mere 30 seconds when she snagged him by the collar as he was fumbling with his hands to get himself standing on his own two feet as the back of his head hit the wall hard, causing him to yelp out.
Danielle crossly pressed her muzzle against the Dust-furred shadow's concealed one and demanded while pinning him to the spire with one hand and jabbing him in the chest accusingly with a finger with the other "Who are ya and why did y'all save me?!"
"D-Danielle, its me!" Tennessee tried again as he stared with admittedly fearful eyes into her cross ones "It's Tennessee!"
Danielle's eyes softened for a moment as a sly grin grew on her lips and a playful look bloomed inside her pretty eyes as she thought for another way for him to prove who he is "Alright then, if yer really m'ah friend than what was the nickname y'all gone b'ay?"
"...Yer really wantin' me ta go there, ain'tchu?" Tennessee asked while giving her a playful glare. Danielle shrugged equally playfully as she continued to have Tennessee pinned to the wall of the spire. Tennessee didn't need to be an idiot to know that Danielle would do basically anything to prove her point and if he didn't do this then she wouldn't believe him. Besides, Danielle had a cute evil streak in her that the outlaw couldn't deny he liked about her.
Sighing heavily, Tennessee pulled his hood off with put out eyes as he was humiliated beyond belief to be doing this as he thought he should both show his face and prove who he is at the same "Fine. Y'all gone and named me 'Tenny'." He breathed a frustrated exhale as Danielle sent her friend a smile.
She rubbed her head lovingly against Tennessee's cheek fur as she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms warmly around Tennessee's back, making his entire face turn a bright red and smoke blew from his ears again but this time it wasn't from anger; it was from pure infatuation.
The two young adult raccoons hugged as they both loved the atmosphere they were gifted with for this nice reunion. When Danielle broke up the hug, she murmured softly "Ah' missed ya like heck, Tenny."
Tennessee pulled away slightly and raised a humorous brow at her yet his gaze to her was compassionate as he gave her a warm smile "Aw, shucks. Ah' missed ya too, Dani." The pair shared this romantic moment in the sunlight with fires in their hearts as they soon departed to get back to what they were originally doing: go to the hotel, where Tennessee promised to explain everything to her.
As Tennessee carried her, many thoughts crossed his mind like an annoying fly that buzzed right by his brain that he couldn't get rid of. But the one thought that over powered them all was 'Shes so beautiful...'
A/N: Yay! Romantic Tennessee! You'll see more romance later on in the next chapter! If I may ask you guys, which character is the best I am doing so far? I would like to know if its alright. I hope you guys and gals like this one and the next chapter! Thanks.
-Chloemcg
