Chapter 10: Subtle as a Sledgehammer

The wolf continued giving a hearty chuckle, despite moments ago being in a physical struggle with the hybrid before him. Aeris, though still confused and somewhat defensive, watched with interest as a familiarity had just been established between the strange wolf and their friend Alex.

After his unknown amusement had died down, the wolf attempted to stand, from his position however it was a feeble attempt that caused him to merely fall down again.

"Mind lending a hand?" he asked expectantly. Without a word, Alex held his hand out to him. Just as he began hoisting himself up, Aeris jumped back a step in surprise as Alex brought his knee up and nailed the wolf in the stomach, causing him to fall back on the ground and clutch the sore spot.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Alex shouted angrily. Again the wolf gave a light chuckle, ending in a pained groan.

"I don't feel I deserved that," he said, recovering himself and standing on his own.

"Oh? First time I see you in more then a year and you up and attack me? What are you even doing in New York?" The wolf gave a humored grin as he rubbed his stomach.

"You know me, I'll go anywhere big if it's worth it's weight in drink and women. And honestly, have you even looked at yourself lately? That fur of yours has the uncanniest resemblance." Alex pulled a lock of his hair down and looked up on it, still seeing tints of the changed color in it.

"Even you shouldn't be that inept," Alex said, rubbing his eyes in annoyance.

"Who is this?" Aeris said, her curiosity finally making her speak up. Both of them looked at her in surprise, like they had forgotten she was there.

"Oh," Alex said, not realizing that introductions were in order. "Aeris, this is Jake, he's an old friend of mine."

"Pleased to meet you," Jake said, politely grabbing Aeris' hand and giving it a light kiss.

"Uh... likewise..." she said, slightly weirded out by the action.

"Good god," Alex murmured, rolling his eyes. "Jake, this is Aeris and... Leo..." Having just realized that the second cat was missing, they looked back toward the alley were the gray feline was slowly trying to pick himself up.

"Oh Leo," Aeris said, moving over to him to help.

"Heh, sorry about that," Jake apologized, smirking slightly.

After making sure Leo was okay, Aeris looked at the black wolf more closely. He was simply dressed. Wearing a pair of blue jeans, a black jacket, and a light gray undershirt. Black was his fur color, staying the same even for his hair, though Aeris did notice one thing that was also on his face. A dark gray line was on each side of his face. Starting at his eyes, they connected to the corners, moved down the sides of his muzzle and ended at the corners of his mouth.

Movement caught her eyes as well, her gaze moved toward the wolf's backside were she saw the strangest sight. Jake's tail wasn't what was expected of a wolf, it was much longer and was feline in looks, shaped like her own. It was black like the rest of him except for a series of gray spots dotting it and two rings wrapped around near the tip.

"You're a hybrid aren't you?" Aeris asked, it was an obvious assumption especially having known Alex.

"What? I am?" Jake said in surprise, putting on very blunt sarcasm. "Heh, very perceptive of you. Yes I am, and before you ask, my parents were wolf and cheetah. Don't ask which though as I don't know myself." He playfully flicked his tail toward her before turning to Alex. "Alex, I've gotta ask, what are you doing back in New York or America even?"

"Mostly for a vacation," he said, eying both cats.

"Hell of a drive for a vacation," Jake replied.

"We flew." At that, a hand was brought over Jake's mouth as he attempted to stop the what was coming out. But it was a poor attempt and the flood of laughter broke free.

"Oh my god, haha, you actually got on a plane." He paused for a second as he gasped for air, spending it all on his laughter. "Oh man... phew," he said, finally stopping. "That must have been a sight. Though it does surprise me, how did you even end up like that?" Alex crossed his arms and glared down at the ground.

"I was forced," Alex muttered. Jake's eyes moved toward the two felines, spending more time looking at Aeris before he stepped closer to his friend. As if to whisper to him, he came close to his ear. Unneeded however as it was obvious that the two cats could still hear him.

"Are you... uh...," Jake started but didn't finish. Rather then continue talking, he raised his arm up and flicked his wrist. The action resembled as if he had a whip in hand and just cracked it, even making the sound with his mouth to add to the effect. Alex looked at his friend with a chagrined expression.

"No," he said flatly, looking Jake in the eyes. There was a second were the wolf hybrid appeared to be lost in thought, then his eyes widened slightly as he groaned.

"Dear lord Alex," Jake said, sounding both shocked and disappointed, "don't tell me she has the eighteen year leash on you. You of all people," he began pacing back and forth on a small path in front of them, out of touch with everything else as he rambled on, "I mean, I remember always warning you, hoping that you wouldn't slip up. Though I thought I didn't need to worry, you weren't exactly like me in that department but I still didn't want you ruining your life so easily."

"Jake," Alex said, looking completely vexed, but his friend didn't seem to notice and kept going.

"Now that leash will be the very reigns used to ride your ass into submission. Something meant for your forties, or at the very least your late thirties. Now as young as you are, it will leave marks. And when it's all over you'll just be a husk, nothing left of my little buddy, everything sapped from you... Then again... I've always wanted to be an uncle..."

"Jake," Alex shouted, finally catching the hybrid's attention. "It's not. Like. That," he said sternly, forcing the point across as deeply as he could. "We are just three friends out in New York, that's all."

"Ohhh," Jake said as he caught on. Then a devious grin crossed his face as he walked toward Aeris. "So uh... Aeris, might I ask you what your opinion on oak is?"

"As in the wood?" she asked, confused by the sudden topic.

"Yes the wood," Jake answered, moving closer to her.

"It's... a fine material I guess." Though it wasn't much of an answer, to her, it wasn't much of a question.

"That's good to hear. As it just so happens, my bed is equipped with a solid oak headboard back at my place. And I was wondering if you'd like to get more... acquainted with it."

He held her hand as he said it, gazing deeply into her eyes. It didn't take a genius to know what he was implying, and it wasn't lost by Aeris who guessed straight away. Though rather then use her words to answer him, she placed her own hand on top of his and gave a smile. And before the hybrid knew it, the pink cat twisted his arm back and upward, bringing it to the breaking point.

"Ow ow ow, okay okay," Jake stuttered out, feeling shots of pain jolt through his limb. "Merchandise is for window shopping only, I understand completely." There was a slight crack of the joints as Aeris twisted his arm a little farther, making Jake wince in pain. Then with a yank, he was forced onto the ground.

"To be honest, I was expecting her to do worse," Alex said, leaning over his friend with a smirk on his face. "Good to see you haven't changed much. I thought you were more into the bigger species of women though." Jake gave another chuckle at the statement, smiling as he stood up.

"Yeah, but that's like saying a food critic should only eat at a Mexican joint because he likes salsa."

"Good point," Alex muttered, rolling his eyes again. Jake then showed a smile toward the two cats and held out his hand.

"Well, it's good to see Alex has made friends in my absence. And any friends of his are friends of mine." Leo, after a moment of hesitation, accepted the hand and shook it.

"Just don't throw me again," the gray cat said. Bringing a laugh to the hybrid.

"Yeah, I'll try to be more observant to who I pick fights with for now on."

"Well," Aeris said, grabbing both Leo and Alex and pushing them down the sidewalk, "not that it hasn't been fun, but I'm starving and we were just on our way to eat pizza."

"Oh Alex," Jake responded in mild surprise, "you weren't taking them to the May's shop down this way were you?" Alex gave a shrug to the question, not seeing anything wrong with it. "No no no no, no friends of mine are eating at some second rate pizza shop. There's like a hundred just like it and they are all terrible. You can come to my place, it isn't very far and we can catch up on lost time."

"Well..." Alex started, looking uncertain, "that would be fine, if it's alright with these two." Aeris gave an uncaring shrug as she clutched her stomach.

"Just as long as we can get something to eat, not sure how long I'll last," Aeris said, looking slightly annoyed by the constant delays.

"Excellent," Jake said, sounding excited.

"You live in Brooklyn," Alex said, it was less of a question and more of a unwanted statement. They had just stopped at what was obviously Jake's home.

A normal enough looking house that was situated close to the border of Queens.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?" Jake asked, giving a questioning look. Alex merely shrugged.

"Just doesn't seem like you, so I'm curious as to what... or who has your attention."

"The sights, the sounds, and a few other things..." Jake grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the front door. "Though I must admit, there's a great coffee shop just a block down with a lovely mare working there, been trying to catch her attention for a while now."

"Huh," Alex said, sounding surprised, "you usually don't put a lot into your courting."

"Yeah, I'm positive she's never been broken though, making my efforts that much more difficult... But as you know, that purity makes it all the more fun."

"Yup that's the Jake I know," Alex muttered, shaking his head. They entered the house and were immediately confronted with a mess. The living room looked like a gale had gone through, papers and clothes strewn about in every conceivable place, resembling a lot like a college dorm.

The two cats were shocked however at what else they saw, guns of all shapes and sizes were also cluttering the house. Pistols and rifles on the counters, tables, and laying against the walls. A few blank bottles with strange colored liquids were also everywhere, adding to the mess and the pile of questions that seemed required at this point.

"Sorry for the mess," Jake said, sounding like an armory sitting in one's home was normal, "I don't usually entertain guests who are interested in how clean these rooms are."

"Ugh, I remember this," Alex moaned, "our house back home would have always been a mess like this without me cleaning it."

"Do neither of you see the guns everywhere?" Aerisshouted, completely dumbstruck at how nonchalant they were.

"It's kind of cool," Leo said, moving toward a pistol and looking at it, he was about to pick it up before Aeris slapped his hand away.

"Don't worry," Jake said with a laugh, "I never keep ammunition in those. The rifles however... you should probably be careful with. Just make yourselves at home, don't do anything I wouldn't.

"That's giving them a lot of freedom," Alex remarked, gaining an annoyed look from his friend.

"Ha ha, you're so funny," he said sarcastically. He looked over to Aeris and Leo who were still looking about the rooms, seeing the mess that continued all across the house. "Try not to touch my gun collection or any bottle that isn't labeled. I got a little hammered about a week ago and thought it would be funny to sabotage myself, not sure what guns are booby trapped or which bottles will kill me for drinking them." Leo was already examining one of the glass bottles and quickly retracted his hand from it. "Watch TV or something for a few, me and Alex need a moment to catch up on old times."

Both hybrids then went up a set of stairs and disappeared, leaving Leo and Aeris alone. They looked around for a moment, Leo eventually gave up avoiding the out of place weapons and sat on the couch, having to move a pile of clothes to find room. Aeris on the other hand wasn't content with just waiting, as quietly as she could, she moved toward the stairs.

"You really shouldn't," Leo whispered, catching on to what Aeris was planning, but she ignored him. Going up the stairs, Aeris could hear voices behind one of the doors. Luckily, it wasn't fully shut, allowing her to peer into it and see what was going on.

To her surprise, the room was actually clean. From the look of it, it was Jake's bedroom. A dresser sat at one side, with other stands that had a lamps on them. The bed was at the far end, covered in red sheets and a large headboard at the front that Aeris could only guess was oak. But from were she was looking, the headboard looked odd, after allowing her eyes to adjust to the distance however, she could see that it had a series of deep claw marks dug into it, causing an involuntary shudder throughout her body.

Alex was inside, leaning against the wall in an aloof manner, while Jake was busy at the dresser, messing with different glasses.

"...well you did give me the lion's share of it," Jake said, his interest being on the what he was doing.

"I didn't think you'd keep to your old habits," Alex replied. "Your collection back home had enough firepower in it to kill half a city. There is a limit you know, and your just borderline crazy at the moment." For a moment, Jake stopped what he was doing. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath and exhaled, almost like he was savoring something.

"Oh how I've missed that witty cynicism of yours Alex."

"Sadly, cynical and right goes together in this world," Alex muttered. "Just as optimistic goes with foolish." Jake gave a light chuckle as he turned with two small glasses in hand, both filled with ice and a brownish liquid.

"Scotch?" he offered, extending a glass. Alex merely stared at his friend, raising an eyebrow as if to question the seriousness of the offer.

"You know I don't drink," he finally replied.

"And that's why you're no fun," Jake said, downing the first glass with one gulp and taking a smaller sip from the second.

"Like it really helps you," Alex retorted, almost laughing at it. "I could smell the whiskey on your breath when you attacked me, I'm sure my fur wasn't the only provocation."

"We all have our ways to cope. And I'll admit, I did hit the bottle a bit too much today. Oddly enough, a blow to the face is the perfect sobering mechanism." He took one last sip from the second glass and set them both down. "I suppose I should have payed more attention. It did surprise me that you didn't try stabbing me or talking my ear off, should've been a red flag."

"Given the fact you attacked me in the first place, it's safe for me to assume that you haven't heard anything from him?"

"No," Jake said, shaking his head, "he seemed to disappear about the same time we did. Pity, his company was enjoyable."

"Speak for yourself," Alex said angrily, practically hissing it out. There was an awkward silence between the two of them, Jake looked toward his friend while Alex seemed angered by something.

"So," Jake said, breaking the silence, "how have you been holding up?"

"Not much has changed," Alex answered. The way he said it got to Aeris, sounding so sad, so depressed.

"You haven't fared well then?"

"And you expected it?" Alex sounded angry now. Jake's own expression changed to a sympathetic one.

"It's been over a year Alex, I would have thought you could put the past were it should stay. To let go." Alex just crossed his arms and looked away, giving a heavy sigh.

"You say that like it's an easy feat. To just let go... forget. It's why I decided to stay in Canada, a new place to try and piece myself together. But it hasn't helped much." Slowly, he slid down the wall until he was sitting, he rested his head on his knees while he stared at the floor. "I still feel it... that burning, searing feeling in the pit of my stomach... boiling with as much intensity as it did back home. Even the nightmares are still there, every night like before. Sometimes they're as simple as they usually are. But then... those other nights... they get so horrible..." He looked up at his friend. "Can we really expect things to just change when it's not even really over?"

"We both agreed that we wouldn't torture ourselves with that nonsense anymore. That's why we stopped in Canada in the first place."

"Maybe..." Alex muttered, standing up and looking at himself in the mirror.

"You know..." Jake said, sounding tactful in what he was saying, "it would probably help... if you visited them, at least once." Still looking at himself, Alex's hand reached up and felt the collar around his neck, running a finger across its length. "I remember you saying how you never did before we met, and I know we never found time afterward..."

"No," he said, sounding emotionless, "I don't want them to see me like this. Not after all that has happened." A weak smirk crossed the side of Jake's mouth.

"Alex Kage, doesn't believe in an afterlife, yet afraid of being judged by headstones."

"It's different," Alex snapped, startling Jake with the outburst. "Back then, they just saw a fifteen year old boy, happily living with his family... I don't want to corrupt that. All they would see now is some kind of monster."

"Alex, don't say that," Jake tried saying, but Alex shook his head.

"You know it's true." Knowing what he said, Jake let out a much needed sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I don't want any bad blood between us. I've missed you man."

"Yeah... me too Jake," Alex replied showing a smile.

"All right then," Jake said with a renewed joy. "Let's go check on your friends, they're probably wondering where we are."

Knowing she should go, Aeris moved away from the door and crept back down the steps. Getting into the living room, Leo was still watching TV, she quickly took a seat next to him.

"Okay guys," Jake said, jumping down the steps. "Who's hungry?"

"Finally," Leo shouted, leaping from his seat. But the action caused the cat to stumbled, he bumped into the table in front of him that had a rifle poised on top. Immediately, the gun fired, aiming right for Alex and Jake. Both hybrids jumped out of the way as the bullet tore a small hole in the wall.

"Haha," Jake said laughing, "I knew that one was rigged!"

The kitchen was as much a mess as the rest of the house, it took them a while just to make enough room for them to eat. But dinner didn't take very long, though it was obvious as to why by the time the two cats were given their meal.

It was simply a bowl of noodles with a little water added. Pieces of a tasteless chicken were chopped up in it as well, though the food was strange as the noodles had a beef flavoring. Despite how it looked though, it was filling. From what they could understand, it was something both Alex and Jake were used to when they lived together.

"Okay, so we are on the plane," Jake said at the table, regaling his guests with a story from their past, Alex just sat there with a hand over his face. "It's high up in the air, can't even make out what's on the ground. We are both getting ourselves ready, I already have my chute on, and the instructor was getting Alex's ready for him. The door was open and you could hardly hear a thing with the deafening sounds around us. That is when I get the most brilliant of ideas. With Alex not paying attention, I get behind him and BAM, kicked him right out of the plane." He started laughing hysterically, with Aeris and Leo both staring at him wide-eyed. "H-he let out the most hilarious of s-screams haha. Of course, I immediately jump out after him. With his flailing around in the air, it was easy for me to catch up to him and grab hold. After that I used my parachute and we floated down safely. Heh, oh god, you should have seen the look on his face, priceless."

"Yeah... priceless," Alex muttered. A horrified expression was locked onto Aeris face, while Leo on the other hand joined in on the laughing.

"And of course poor Alex has been traumatized ever since," Jake finished, still laughing.

"Yes yes, all very funny," Alex said, even giving a small clap. "Why not tell them of our time in Missouri, that one dairy farm we spent the night at." Hearing Alex's words caused Jake's eyes to widen.

"Uh... they wouldn't be interested in that," he said, a slight shake in his voice.

"Oh not at all," Alex retorted with a smirk, he turned to the cats with his smirk expanding. "You see, after we left our home town, we headed west first. Along the way we ended up being forced to stop and spend the night at an old dairy farm. It was run by this rather surly bull but he was kind enough to let us sleep in his barn." He started to give a light chuckle as he continued. "After I'm fast asleep, I wake up to a loud sound of wood shattering. Right afterward, I hear what sounded like a cross between a yelping dog and a screaming little girl, only to see Jake running out of the farmer's house with his jacket and pants thrown over his shoulders and the farmer charging right behind him."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jake said, looking mortified, but he was ignored.

"I didn't know what was going on... well... until she came into view. A half naked heifer girl was trailing behind both of them, of course it didn't take long for me to figure it out. After a panic induced episode we made it to our car and drove off right before the farmer got to us. I was sore about it at first, but when I realized were the scream came from, I just couldn't stop laughing."

"It was obviously from her," Jake said, only to have Alex laugh at him.

"You were hoarse for half an hour, like it came from anyone else." Jake now looked embarrassed as he ate the last of his food. "Never really gave him too hard of a time about it though, couldn't really be angry. Caught a glimpse of the girl's... traits when we met and can't say I didn't expect for it to happen. And it was interesting to see some of that cheetah speed get used, outran the bull rather well."

"Father kind of ruined it though," Jake mumbled.

"Well... you did kind of... you know... with his daughter."

"Doesn't mean he couldn't act more civil, the guy almost impaled me on his horns." The four of them all shared a laugh and dinner was quickly finished.

"Look at the time," Aeris said, noticing how late it was. Leo's mouth practically unhinged with the large yawn he gave off. "I think it's time we get back to the hotel."

"All right then," Jake said, quickly grabbing the dishes and putting them away. "It was good meeting the two of you. Since you still have time in New York, I'll make sure to stop by and visit."

Saying their last goodbyes, the three made for the hotel.

"So," Aeris said, eying Alex as they moved across the sidewalk, "have you known him long?"

"Yeah, for a few years," he answered. Though he was expecting a few questions when they were alone, such a simple one as that wasn't one of them.

"What did you guys 'catch up' on? Seems like you were up there for awhile."

"We uh... just talked about what happened since we last saw each other. He's one to boast about his feats." Aeris knew he wasn't telling her the truth, while she didn't expect him to, she couldn't help but feel there was more going on then he let on.

"I think he's awesome," Leo said, pointing his fingers like guns and shooting imaginary targets. "Why didn't you tell us about him before?"

"What? That I have a gun touting moron for a friend? Certainly makes for an excellent conversation starter. I didn't even expect to meet him here. While I knew he was in America, I didn't think he'd be this far east."

"Seems like a nice enough guy," Aeris said, "if a little too direct and unsubtle."

It didn't take long for them to get to their room and collapse into their beds, or in Alex's case, the floor.

A/N: So chapter 10... introduced a lovable little bastard. So yeah, we see that the crazy guy from chapter nine is actually an old friend. Though the specifics are still a bit unknown, we'll get into that later. And it seems like there's more then one secret between them both. And to clarify, Jake isn't going to become a major character in the story, not like he will be here from this chapter and every other one afterwards or anything. No need to worry if you're someone who can get antsy around many oc's.

Even got back to large chapters, next one should be just as lengthy if I'm picturing it right.

I also hope everyone has had a great time during the holidays. Can't really say much for myself, Christmas wonderment left me years ago. But it was my nephew's very first Christmas, so that was something special.

Anyway, crossing fingers that everyone enjoyed the chapter (especially after last one was kind of pisspoor) next one should be just as fine as this.