Funny thing, this one came out quick cuz it came to me quick too. I was very eager to get to this point.

So, as always, hope you enjoy this more personal look, at the lives of two characters.

Chapter IX – What's Next?

There was a lot of deliberation over where to go next. Security was a major concern, as staying with any of the mammals that were publicly related to the human would be an easy way of finding him. They would be the target of marauding media and he would soon be flooded with any kind of opportunistic news mammal. So, for now, they needed to find a place where he wouldn't be expected to be found, and the 'spots and stripes' apartment building was the place.

Turns out that making a lot of friends pays off handsomely, kind off…

It was a run-down apartment building targeted to low income cats, which explained the mismatched paint job to resemble patterns found on multiple felids, though it completely failed at that.

The owner, an old but jolly ocelot, had a little of a past with Nick and a small boom on rentals thanks to the smooth talk of the mammal. So, a little room on a discount for an old friend was a way of thanks from the spotted grandpa.

Allen stepped into his room. He left the bags of food and water next to the closed door, courtesy of the bunny, which, looking back, as much of a stranger as he was to all of them, they all chipped in to help him. Even the mayor gave him her contact card, though he didn't know what use that would be in the future. But this was it. From the little he had; he'll do what he can to have a semi-stable start on this city.

He inhaled- and immediately coughed all the air back out. The place was dusty, but that was a minor issue. He looked to his right, and there was a bed against the walls in the corner. It wasn't made, so the last tenant could have either recently left and was a little of a careless mammal, or they just didn't bother to take care of these things. But it was ok, he didn't expect the best; he longed for just the bare minimum, and he got a bit more than that. A desk! He cheered. Though he had nothing to work on, it would certainly be of great help in any future endeavor. But nowhere to cook, keep food, or anything more aside from those pieces of furniture and a door on the corner. "Good thing is all shelf food," he reassured himself, but he still needed a place to warm it. Let's go step by step, he thought, and the first step was the bathroom.

Never lived in an apartment before, but I believe that door there could be the bathroom, or do they have public bathrooms? This lack of knowledge wasn't a matter of class or background, but one of family. Old man, you surely made me lose a lot of time. He walked to it, but before reaching for the knob, some questions popped up. Do they have toilets? Never used a litter box before… questions rapidly piled up. What if the last guy didn't change the sand? Or what if I have to get my own? He frowned and shook those thoughts off. His bladder was getting louder than that.

He grasped the worn doorknob and turned it, almost falling off its treads, and new thoughts sprung up as he turned the lights up. a toilet… hmm, those that make me a specist? Daniel would probably say a Cladist or whatever other term, he would have a field day in this place… Ugh, he isn't here and I'm still thinking about him. He closed the door behind him as his toughs melted away for a minute.

"Oh, mother…" the tiger sighed as he laid on the worn down bed. "What will you think- You'll panic, oh you'll panic. mom…" Snippets of the many mourns of Rufus came out in inaudible whispers as he considered calling her. It was the best thing to do. It was pragmatic. But Rufus Altail was a very emotional cat. "Mother… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him…" But in a swift move of guilt, he dialed for her. His mother never demanded for her kitten to be successful, or famous, or any of those 'nudists' as she called the latest pop stars. The dialing tone came in. She only wanted him to be happy, safe, and well fed, but with such a mother, Rufus believed he had to do more. The tone continued going in and out. It was what his mother deserved, the best tiger of all Zootopia.

"Hey," called out a weathered and sweet voice, "Beany," For a carnivore, little Rufus had a special tooth for beans, earning the simple and loving nickname in his family, "you don't call me at these hours, is something wrong?"

"Mom, today was… harsh."

"Give a moment, I need to sit first." He waited with pursed lips. "Tell me, what is troubling you?"

"I-I hit another mammal today."

"Hehehe," chuckled the old mammal, "well, you were never one for fighting, but I'm sure you knocked him out!" She gave an uppercut to the air of the old but well-kept Living Room.

"Mom? th-that's not good! I knocked out the guy!" He didn't expect that reaction from her, but that was more his fault, as the graying lady was always behind whichever mess her beany got into. She knew he would never do wrong.

"Then what worries you? The guy ran at you, and you jumped into action."

"Wait. Mom, you knew what happened this morning!"

"Of course I know. I even got a call from the Jaguar gentleman we used to see at the market. He was LOSING it. He thought you've gone savage, and well, you watch the same news channel. The poor cat had lived enough through those things to jump at any snarl now. Though, I don't even know how he got my number." Carmen Altail, a caring mother, but very talkative, might be the reason her jaw is a little more defined than the rest.

"Mom."

"Yes? Oh!" She lifted from her chair in realization, "Oh beany. You didn't get the job?" She slowly sat back in the old wood and velvet chair. "Rufus is ok, I know you'll get it next time! Mom is behind you, cheering for you!"

"Thanks Mom." The felid covered the microphone to give a deep sigh. "I actually got rescheduled for wednesday, but that's not the issue. Well, it kind of is," he frowned, not time for technicalities. "I mean. Mom, aren't you… disappointed?" Rufus could never catch on to his mother's adulations.

"Disappointed of what? Beany. Rufus. You did nothing bad today. You didn't tell the guy to jump at you. Or directed anything that happened to that crazy mammal. Beany. Things are ok, you are a strong and brave tiger. A bad day can't stop my little Rufus." Inaudible for the loving lady. Her son silently wept at her words. They might be obvious for many, but Rufus always needed that little push to understand, some little glasses to see the signals, and to let the worries melt and wash away.

"Thank you, mom. Goodnight."

The human stretched, popping and cracking all the day out. Now relieved, he was exhausted, and that bed looked increasingly tempting. Taking only his boots and socks off, he left himself drop unto the bed… "aghk!" In a muffled yell, he jumped up and arched down on the floor. Either someone booby trapped the bed, or it was a bed of nails in disguise. He silently moaned as the pain wore off and until he got up again. What in this dammed place was that! He took the covers off and found a mattress that could have easily come from the dumpster. He examined it and soon spotted the culprit, a family of old and pointy springs. "Wonderful," he sighed. He considered removing the mattress, but there was no frame. The mattress was alone, the covers its only companion. The floor was his next option, but that was sure to clog his throat with dust, but the desk was ample, not enough for him to lay flat, but he could use the covers to rest against the wall.

Where everyone can get stabbed by a mattress, he mocked. The bunny was right. Banners and slogans… In his dissolution, there was still a bit of hope. She seemed truthful and excited as she told him about making the world a better place, but it all felt the same as far as what he's seen in this city. That also brought something back to mind as he carried the covers to the desk. They said that they would come in the morning for questions, but what can I tell them? Nothing about my body for sure, answering that was half of this hellish day. He let out a loud groan as he slumped against the wall. "They are gonna ask how I got here!" he dragged his hand across his face. Just sleep, you've had enough.

He slowly slid to the side until his face rested on the wall as he drifted into Morpheus's arms. But from the other side, a loud enough voice got through the thin walls. "… Knew what happened this morning!"

He jolted straight on the desk. What was that? He kept hearing bits of a conversation, muffled through the walls. He wasn't the kind to eavesdrop, so he abstained and soon forgot about it as other thoughts creeped in. He was sure the old man, even Daniel, would assume he was like that. They always do! He tried to push against those thoughts. Just stop thinking about them already! he scolded himself. He had enough.

All this day. Waking up lost and confused, getting the scare of his life, getting clawed in the face, waking up in a hospital and running off with an extinguisher, fighting bears and any kind of mammal who approached him, well, he just flung the extinguisher around. But it just didn't matter.

He got picked up by this world's police, got questioned and then was told about some weird protocol thing that landed him on the chair in front of an inquisitive buffalo, to be proved and taken blood from. His wounds had magically healed and then he had to speak to an entire city about him, even though he had achieved nothing. Just how scared he was, how much hope he tried to hold unto, but it felt like it faded away as he leaned on these walls. So many were kind, but how many won't be? How many will slur his name or just beat him up?

That last one might be a stretch, but what is he supposed to think? He knows nothing about this place, and they now even know how much blood he carries inside him. What is going on, what was gonna happen, why is it happening! Every single question made him feel angry, frustrated. He wanted to cry, to scream, to throw that mattress through the window and yell at the night. It all bubbled inside him. Until he snapped. "AGH!" he screamed as hard as he could, but he had to gulp it down, to keep it inside and cover his face with the bedcovers, because again. What would happen? But it wasn't enough.

He punched the wall, making the neighboring tenant retract on his bed over the sudden thud, a piece of the plastering falling off.

"Excuse me, are you ok?" called the voice behind the wall.

End of Chapter IX

I wanted to explore something specific here, might not been too good at it, might have been bad. But i wanted to explore the sheer weight of such sudden and violent change on one's live. And also wanted to solidify a bit more the personality and motivations of our tiger Pal.

So i hope i did good, and have a good day/night!