Life

I could hear the sound of waves crashing on the shore, pulling at my conciseness. I felt something heavy and soft sitting on my chest and finally realizing that I wasn't breathing. I cracked open a lid and saw a wet nose, whiskers, then cream colored fur. The world I was seeing looked like a bad painting, and I realized it was a dream.

"Ookasan, doko desu ka?" it spoke to me.

I moved my lips to speak but nothing came out. I tried again and again but all my efforts were futile. 'Kits, please come find me,' I mouthed to him hoping he could read my lips. The back of my head started to pulse and everything around me started to melt away. Panicking I reached out to for Kitskip, "Come find me!" I croaked. The dull beat started to become a painful throb, I had to wake up. I had to find some way to make it stop.

My eyes flung open and I sat up too quickly. The world was spinning but I pushed the dizziness away reaching to touch the back of my head. Luckily I wasn't bleeding. Looking around, I saw that I was in someone's office. It was pretty big with two large windows off on one wall, a dark oak desk sat in the center , and I was laying on a leather sofa. 'Damn,' I thought bitterly giving the room another look over. I was too far from the only exit in the entire room.

I was still wearing shoes, since I didn't carry much with me, that was one less thing I had to worry about finding. My feet touch the hardwood floor as I searched my pockets for my phone. I pulled it out and flipped it open. No service. 'You've gotta be fucking kidding,' I stood up and went towards the window. 'There has to be signal somewhere' I thought looking out the window. I was in some kind of high-ritz house, a good two stories high, and way to dangerous to jump out. I looked beyond the yard and out into the concrete jungle and breathed a sigh of relief.

I held the phone up and waited. My phone started lighting up, showing messages and missed calls. I ignored them all and called Alanni.

"Where the hell have you been!" He shouted.

"Hello to you too," I said sarcastically.

"This isn't a joke Avers," He continued. I cringed, he never called me by my last name so I was in deep trouble.

"Look, I don't know where I am, but it looks like I'm still in the city." I said keeping my voice down. "How's Kits?"

"He keeps crying, how do you put up with all this noise?"

I could hear scratching and whimpering coming from his end. "Look, I need you to follow him." My eyes roamed about the landscape. "His sense of smell is stronger than humans."

He sighed, "What if he doesn't find you?"

"Tsk tsk, oh ye of little faith. Just set him loose, I believe he will find me."

I heard the door click from behind me and I shut my phone shoving it into my pocket. Pretending to look out the window I heard four steps, slow and deliberate. All my hair was standing on ends as they came closer to me.

"You're finally up." A man's voice came out smooth and dark.

I looked over my left shoulder, "Calvin."

"No need to be so cold," He smiled stopping at his desk.

He changed from his suit he was wearing into something that was borderline casual, a pair of dark jeans with a lavander button-up, square glasses to match, and dress shoes. His lips curled into a smile.

"What do you want?" I asked not in the mood for games.

"Heh, always straight to the point." He smoothed the front of his shirt. "I want you and that pretty little fox you have."

I gave him a questioning look. "Why the fox?"

He adjusted his glasses, "Well, it appears that he belongs to someone I know very well. It's mother escaped while she was being tested."

"What do you mean tested?" I asked swallowing back the bile in my throat.

"C'mon", he scoffed, "You honestly don't think a fox would ever come out cream colored naturally do you? We genetically altered his mom's color and ran a few tests on her while she was pregnant." He walked towards me.

"From what the fellas have told me, it's healthy and living thanks to you."

I scoffed, "You can't genetically alter a parents color, it's too complicated. I'm not buying your story."

That one semester of genetics was actually starting to pay off in this case. It might even explain why Kitskip came out the color he is or even why I can see him in my conscience. I mentally kicked myself for not going to grad school to continue my studies of science, but there is only so much it can explain. He walked right up to me and shrugged.

"I don't need to know details when money is promised." He started. "Especially if I'm getting enough to retire young."

He stroked my neck with his nail and pushed himself against me. My skin was crawling in new ways I never thought was possible. He lowered his head to my neck and nibbled on it lightly, from the feel of things he was getting a little to excited for my taste. His touch felt like snail mucus across my skin and I pulled away from him.

"After trying to kidnap my mom, sending her to the hospital, and bringing me here what makes you think I'll ever consider dating you." I shoved myself away from him.

"Because I'm the only one who can handle you" his voice grew dark "and your past."

I grit my teeth taking another step back. The last thing I needed was a reminder of a past I tried to hard to forget. I knew I wasn't the most savory of people when I was younger. After I met him I thought things would get better, I thought that he would stop the downward spiral I was on, but he was no different from the other guys in my life. 'You left me.' I thought biting into my bottom lip.

"Fuck you!" I shouted, "I won't let you break me again."

I pushed him back causing him to stumble. I didn't care if I got knocked around a bit, one way or another I will take his ass down. He was never the type to look for a fight, the look on his face told me that he wasn't expecting me to be much of a challenge.

He rolled up his sleeves, "You'll be begging for me to stop once I get started with you."

"Not if you beg first."

-~-~-~-~-~-~ Kitskip's POV -~-~-~-~-~-~

I paced back and forth on the floor in the van. I didn't care for the faded smell of cheese, meat, or mating I just wanted my ookasan back. I wanted her back now. I stayed close to Alanni, whose scent is very distinct to his character. Subtle hints of mating and soap lingered on him when he first met us at, what humans called, a terminal. After knowing him for so long, I got use to the smell that was on him, though most humans never seemed to notice.

Otousan was able to calm me down slightly from his seat that was behind Alanni's. He placed me in his lap and I nuzzled into his shirt and licked his cheek. Ryo-san was in a seat next to us leaning over Romio's shoulder. He had his leg propped up on the dashboard and folded his arms. When I heard her voice over the speaker that Alanni, like most humans I've seen, held to his ear I jumped from otousan's lap and stood on my hind legs whining.

"Okasan! Okasan!" I screamed.

Alanni pushed my paws off his lap as he talked to her. I ran up to otousan and pawed at his legs. His head was in his hands with his mane covering them. He didn't bother to groom today, and I wouldn't blame him. His mate was missing and he blamed himself for not staying with her when he had the chance. I nosed his fingers, comforting him as much as I could.

"She said to let him loose." Alanni said closing his phone.

Romio scoffed, "She knows something we don't maybe?" He stared at me making me feel uncomfortable. I puffed my tail and growled.

"I think she might, he's always so close to her. Maybe he can find her scent." Ryo-chan spoke up.

I wiggled from otousan's lap and ran towards the door scratching at it wildly. If she was sure that I would find her, then I wanted to get out there as quickly as I could. I searched the door and saw something that looked like a handle, I reached for it. I felt the cold piece under my paws and used my weight to pull it down, but I fell to the floor.

"He's not some kind of hound dog, we can't just expect him to sniff out a trail." Romio looked at Ryo-chan.

This time, I jumped for the metal piece again, ignoring the humans as they sat there and debated on what to do next. Humans were always doing that, second guessing instead of relying on their instincts. I struggled to hold on to the cold piece as it gave in to my weight. There was a metal pop and I pushed the door open with all my strength and ran as fast as I could.

I heard them screaming after me, but I ignored them and sniffed the air. I crossed a field and found a large broken looking den. I stared at the huge building, the glass walls were in pieces and the metal pieces had rusted over. Ookasan had spend a lot of time in this building and I could smell blood.

I whimpered and got closer sniffing the air, the scent was hours old. She was long gone by now. I found the spot in the grass where she was laying and closed my eyes.

"Ookasan, doko desuka?" I buried my muzzle in the grass, and rolled around hoping to cover myself in her scent.

"Did you hear the ruckus last night?" I over heard a voice.

"I know, I thought I was going to birth early from the stress." Another voice spoke.

I stopped and looked up to see two feral queens walking by. I jumped up and walked over.

"Excuse me, queens." I called out in a non threatening tone.

They both looked my way and hissed, "Stranger, you will do well to keep your distance!" The older one shouted.

"Please, I mean no harm. I'm looking for my ookasan." I rolled over on my back. "Please I need help."

"Ookasan?" the younger one tilted her head at me.

"My mother, ookasan means mother." I started to pant slightly.

The two cats looked at each other and the pregnant one spoke. "You reek of human." She hissed "Especially of the one that was here last night."

"I know, my mother is human. Please help me find her." I whimpered.

The pregnant sister stayed firm and looked at the other female who nodded back. "My sister and I have heard the human was taken west, the city is no place for a kit so ask for Regina Black." They both began to walk away.

I sat up, "Where can I find Regina Black?" I asked. The sister of the pregnant queen trotted over and marked me. I whimpered and pawed at the ground.

"Do not roll in dirt or groom until after you have found her." The cat joined her sister and they walked away into the grass.

I looked up at the sky and mapped out which way to go. Since the sun wasn't overhead yet, it was still morning and I found my direction to go. I chewed on grass to resist the urge to clean myself off, though I knew it would take many baths to get rid of her smell. I ran as fast as I could to pick up something as the area became less green and more grey.

I sniffed the air hoping that I would find okasan's scent. I started to panic when I realized that my chances of finding her were getting slimmer by the minute, and judging by the sun's position I was really running out of time. Turning down an alley I hid behind a dumpster to catch my breath.

"Well well, what do we have here?"

I jumped, my hackles raised and looked to the darker part of the alley.

"Oh, a baby I see." A massive black cat stalked towards me.

I bared my teeth. "Stay back! I don't have time for this!"

She flattened her ears and gave a deep grumble, "It would be foolish for a baby to fight."

I hissed, "I don't have time, I have to fight! I have to find my mother!"

"No matter the cost little one?" She asked.

"No matter what!"

She sighed and laid on her side, "Well kit, you're crazy. Regina Black's the name."

My ears twitched and my body felt like it was on fire. "Could you take me to where she is?"

"Yes I can, but we'll need more information." She yawned, flashing her sharp teeth.

"Why do we need that?" I paced back and forth.

"You can't find her scent, otherwise we wouldn't be talking right now." Her tail flicked restlessly, "The birds will have the answers we need."

"What do they have to do with finding her?"

"You brat!" She hissed. "If you want to find anything around here you ask the birds. Sadly, they can see things and go places we can't."

My ears fell and I had no choice but to wait. With a place being so huge it would have taken me days to find my mother, and that was time I knew I didn't have to waste. It still didn't make waiting for a bird to drop any easier so I began pacing.

I continued to pace til I was too tired to move, Regina Black didn't seem bothered at all. That's what most younger ones would expect from their elders, patience and wisdom. Though most humans would find them lazy, they were just waiting for the right moment to act. I finally laid down and focused all my attention on remembering ookasan's scent to make sure I would be able to lock on to it.

"Kit, get into the shadow." Regina Black's voice came out in a dangerous low hush.

Without asking I did as I was told and hid in the darkness. Two mangy looking pigeons landed in the alley and started talking fast. Soon two more joined in and they all chattered with speed.

"Oh so it's true!" One said bobbing its head.

The conversation was a bunch of crazy babble about a car that left the best scraps by the buildings. I looked over to see if Regina Black could tell me what's going on, she was already on the move and pounced on one of the pigeons while the rest flew off to save their own feathers.

"I need information about that place with all the food." She said calmly.

I walked up quickly behind her, she looked back at me then at the bird.

"Talk now or become my meal," she dug her claws into it's flesh.

"Okokok, I'll talk!" It panted, "Last night there was some funny business at the old house, they ended up dragging a human off to the north block of Wells, It's a short place with a huge yard, you can't miss it."

She sat back with her claws still digging in and thought for a second, "I know where that place is."

"Follow me." She released the pigeon and started slinking out the alley.

I followed impatiently as we ran out onto the streets, dodging cars and crowds of people. The daytime heat was slowly giving way to the cooler air just before sunset. The longer it took to get to our destination the more I began to doubt her knowledge of the city. We worked our way through the back of another alley and stopped. I sniffed deeply and shuddered, I'm seriously going to need a bath when all this is done.

The building had to be at least four floors high with tall smooth windows. Compared to other landmarks, this place stood a lot shorter than others. I would have missed this place all together had it not been for the faint smell of ookasan and rotting food. The only thing that seemed to be accurate was the large yard that was protected by an iron fence, something I could easily squeeze in and out of. We stayed next to a giant dumpster and stare at the back end of the house.

"Small my hide, this place is huge." She looked up at the building, "Can you smell your human?"

Being surrounds on all sides by garbage, I wasn't sure that I could but I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. It was more than just that faint whiff of her, it was a bone deep warmth I felt that told me she was somewhere in that place.

"She's here." I answered opening my eyes.

"Then you're on your own from this point on." She crouched low. "The deal is done, if you ever need anything from me let me know."

I thanked her properly and started for the yard finding my way to the door. After I saved ookasan I told myself that I would spend more time in grass after a long walk. I looked up at the doorknob and hissed. I'm not yet tall enough to reached the knob, but I stood on my hind legs and stretched. My senses were sharpened to the point I could hear all around me, and I heard frantic scraping of feet. I reached more for the the knob feeling a painful stretch in my body. The last thing I remember thinking was how I wished I could reach.

I'm sorry about the late updates! I'll try to be more timely for the next chapters. Enjoy!