Okay, starting to get back into the feel of this story. Taken me a while but i'm happy with what i have so far. things are starting to get fun here :)
I eased back on the throttle for my bike, letting it's engine slow the bike to near stopping before squeezing the clutch in, letting the bike stop on it's own.
I wonder if she'll even talk to me… that thought drifted through my mind as I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before looking in the large bay window for the mechanic's shop Mira worked at. With the day as bright as it was, I had the sun visor down on my helmet, flicking the button that controlled it so I could actually see into the store.
Mira was easily seen inside, sitting on the store's counter, a broad smile on her face as her feet idly waved off the edge of the counter. Her tail was happily flicking up and down behind her, her attention entirely focused on the man behind the counter. She threw her head back a little as she laughed at something, nearly falling off the counter as she let it fall back down, clutching her sides.
Seeing her happy couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto my face, about to kill the engine on my bike to finish parking when I saw her lean forward, sharing a kiss with her canine boss that lasted for several moments. During those long seconds, I felt my heart sink clear out of my body, a hollow feeling replacing it that I hadn't felt in what seemed like a lifetime. I clenched my teeth as I watched them separate, a broad smile still on her face.
Slowly, the hollow feeling I felt when I saw them kissing began to fill with an entirely different emotion. Anger. It was though the emptiness had tapped a well of lava, filling every fiber of my being in seconds. I shut the engine off, kicking the kickstand down as I prepared to storm into the shop. But before I could unstrap the chinstrap for my helmet, I stopped myself.
She's happy right now. If I stormed in there, there is absolutely no way I won't hurt her… The anger slipped away as fast as it had come, several tears leaking down my face as I looked at her one more time, her mouth moving a she spoke to the canine. I closed my eyes so I would stop watching her, not even making an attempt to control the flow of tears down my face as I flicked the power switch back on and started the bike. As soon as it was running, I flicked the sun visor back down and gunned the engines, probably far louder and harder than I had intended. As I did so, I released the clutch, the bike jerking beneath me as I rocketed away from the storefront.
I tried to focus on nothing but the roadway ahead of me, whipping by cars well over the speed limits for the tight city streets. As soon as I could, I found the on ramp for one of the main highways around the city and merged onto it, shifting up several gears to push the bike up to much greater speeds. Thankfully, Corneria City's highway system was both simple and functional in it's design, with five straight highways leading to and from the cities core. One more highway edged out the pentagram that made up the central district of the city, with a junction at each of the other highways leading out onto the arms of the island. The Loop, as it was known, was a never ending flow of traffic, with no street lights or stops, making it a very efficient way to get around the island.
The wind blazed by, tearing at my jacket and pants, whipping through the open venting on my helmet as I instinctively weaved through the traffic. The motion of the bike reminded me much of the motion to a fighter banking in atmosphere, riding a bike like this being the closest I could get to flying anymore. But even that thrill didn't even scratch the hollow pain slowly filling every inch and fiber of my being. Several times throughout the ride, I found myself debating just letting the bike slam into the guard rail of the raised highway, an act that would have surely flung me to my demise, if not simply crushing me against the wall. Each time that kind of thought came up in my mind, I forced myself to shake it away, trying to think of the number of people I cared about no longer living, as well as those who were. Even with that, it kept drifting into my mind, like the flow of the tide.
I need to talk to someone. With that thought, I glanced at the small navigational map embedded into the bike's tiny dashboard, along with the digitized speedometer and tachometer for the bike's engine. Fox's house was in the residential area of the city, a vast suburban sprawl located on one of the star shaped islands five arms. It was currently a good quarter of the loop away from me, but I shrugged and let myself focus on the road.
With a destination now in mind, I was able to push most of my thoughts and feelings clear, focusing solely on controlling the bike as it ripped down the highway, slipping onto the residential highway as soon as I reached the interchange. At the high speed I was traveling, it barely took twenty minutes to reach the exit I needed, having already memorized how to reach Fox's home. From there, it was another fifteen minutes of main streets and neighborhoods before I was rounding the corner of Fox's home, about halfway between next corner and myself. At the next corner, was a blue and orange mass of fur, easily recognized as a pair of anthromorphic foxes.
I took a deep breath before I eased the bike after them, deciding to follow them until they stopped, and giving me time to figure out how to speak to them after not saying a word for five whole months.
Fox leaned on his cane for a moment, his brow furrowed as another wave of an intense pins and needles feeling made his right leg nearly slip out from under him. He took several deep breaths as he waited for it to go away, awkwardly standing on the front porch of his home. Once the feeling had passed, he took a deep breath, trying to bring a smile to his face before he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Hey Fox! You are home early today!"
He heard Krystal shout from the kitchen, immediately turning toward her slightly as he made his way into toward the small dining area, situated behind their living room. Once there, he immediately sat down in one of the chairs.
"Yeah, a little. I don't have any students yet, I'm just back briefing what my classes will be on. I'm not taking normal students so they want to know what I'm going to be teaching them." As it was, the academy had wanted Fox to be teaching advanced flight classes to the highest scoring members of the academy. Fox instead, had proposed a different tact. He felt that if he taught the worst at the academy, he could improve the overall skill of pilots as a whole, rather than separating the elite from the common pilots any more than they already were. Among the reasons he proposed that idea, was his work with both Slippy and Mira. Slippy had barely passed the flight exams for the academy, but under Fox's guidance, had become an ace pilot, only seen as bad in comparison to his fellow team mates. Mira hadn't even been able to pass the entrance exams for the academy, but had turned out to be an equal pilot to some of the best pilots in the system.
"Sounds pretty fair. Have they accepted your idea yet?"
"I think they have. Director was talking about potential candidates for it, so fingers crossed, right?"
"Of course. I still can not believe it's been months since they asked you to teach there, and you have not even taught a single class!"
"It's just going to take some time Krys."
"I know."
"Any luck on the job front for you?"
Krystal let out a small sigh, Fox watching her as she finished cleaning the counter. "No. nothing that sounds of any interest to me. I really do not want to be a waitress or some other menial job."
"Yeah. I can't blame you there." He could see her whiskers dropping as she stood there for a moment, the expression disappearing as fast as it was there. She smiled to him, but it seemed weak. "Why don't we go for a walk Krys? It's beautiful out right now, so why don't we enjoy it?"
Krystal visibly debated Fox's little proposal, her snout dropping toward the floor as she leaned on the counter in front of her. "Fox… we shouldn't you still are not moving around to well. You just spent five minutes on the porch just trying to not fall over."
"I'll be fine Krystal. Let's just enjoy the day, okay?" he gave her the warmest smile he could muster. When she looked up, she returned his smile, her tail weakly wagging.
"Okay. Let's go Fox." Her soft voice melted his insides for a moment, his tail trying to move, but it was pinned into place on the chair.
Fox quickly stood, grabbing his cane from where it was leaning. With in mere moments, they were out in the warm humid air that was normal on the artificial island that was Corneria's capital. Almost instinctively, Fox's and Krystal's hands slipped together, their tails intertwining as they quietly walked the streets. It didn't take them long to reach a small park in their neighborhood. There was not a whole lot of people out and about, just what looked to be a family playing with their kids.
Fox felt his leg starting to give out on him, leaning on his cane as he slowed down.
"Come on, let's sit down for a minute." Krystal spoke very softly, gently nudging him toward a bench.
"I'm fine, we can keep walking." He tried to sound confident and shove the pins and needles sensation from his mind.
"Foooox, I can feel your leg you goofball. You don't have to act tough for me." She was rolling her eyes as she walked, more forcefully directing him toward the bench. Once they arrived, she helped him sit down, as his leg started to lose all sensation. She immediately sat beside him, snuggling up to him and letting her head rest on his shoulder.
"Thanks Krystal."
"Of course. It's beautiful out today."
"Definitely is." Fox closed his eyes, letting his head rest on the top of Krystal's head, one arm wrapped around her.
"Fox, Krystal." Another voice joined them, startling him. One that he instantaneously recognized.
"Will!" he and Krystal both spoke simultaneously, Krystal leaping off the bench to pull the human into a hug, which he didn't return. Fox wanted to stand and greet him, but his leg wouldn't respond to any of his commands. Will's eyes looked bloodshot and puffy, even from where Fox was sitting.
Has he been crying again?
"It's great to see you! It's been months since we heard from you!" Fox smiled toward him, feeling that smile weaken as Will's face remained expressionless.
"Sorry about that. Couldn't find the words to talk to you with." He was very quiet, not really looking at Fox as Krystal let go of him.
"You could have just said hi. Told us how you were doing." Krystal spoke in stark contrast to Will's blankness, very brightly and cheerily in fact.
"I guess. I passed the police academy. Got assigned to district one, here in the city. Been back about a week." His voice still sounded bland and emotionless, but Fox noticed small changes in his stance and tone, almost unnoticeable ones. If he could place his tongue on it, he sounded utterly defeated.
"Well, that's good to hear." Fox tried to retain his smile, but could feel himself faltering as Will remained silent.
"So, have you spoken to Mira since you got back?" Fox's eyes darted over to Krystal as she spoke, watching her almost innocent expression. It was immediately apparent as a façade, as she sub consciously bit her lip.
Will closed his eyes for a moment, all of his muscles tensing for the barest trace of a moment. "No. I haven't."
He saw her already Fox. He's thinking about it right now. Fox tried to not glance at Krys as she shared her thought into his mind.
"Well, to warn you, she's…. well, she is trying to move forward. Just like you."
"How so?"
"Well, she… she still has her job. And has a boyfriend, but we don't know much. She doesn't talk to us." Fox felt that, as much as it might hurt him to hear, the truth was far better to say now than trying to lie to Will.
"Well, that's great. She deserves to be happy. Heaven knows she's been through enough already." His voice had gone softer, Fox able to discern traces of sadness in it, but also, relief. "Anyway, I was just dropping by to let you guys know I was back in town. Still have the same number, same place, if you need to find me. If I don't answer, I'm probably at work. I start tomorrow. Bye you two." He turned on the spot as he finished, hands tucked into the pockets of his riding jacket.
"I hope he's going to be okay. He's….. almost back to his old self, with out the humor. It's really scary to see if I'm honest." Krystal spoke very softly as they watched the human leave, headed for his small sport bike at the edge of the park, likely having rode it there.
"Me too Krystal."
"Here, this is so you when watching a horror movie!" Blake gestured to his phone as he flipped it around for her, already playing a clip from some movie or another.
Mira just quietly watched from where she was sitting on the counter of Blakes auto-works, her tail flicking back and forth as the scene slowly played out. In it, was a doll, that, given the blue hued lighting and bad coloring job on the doll, made the doll have a creepy vibe to it. Add to it the crescendo of grainy instruments, and it was a typical scene of horror movies, designed to build that anxious edge. Once the grinning doll was facing the camera though, a loud and clear voice suddenly proclaimed 'Hi! Welcome to Dingo's Café!' in a bright and cheery voice.
Mira burst out laughing at the sudden cheery voice, nearly falling off the counter as she did so. "Yeah, that definitely sounds like something I would do! What can I say though, horror movies just aren't scary to me anymore."
"I know! And it ruins my favorite genre! Especially when you start cheering for the bad guys!" Blake rolled his eyes, a grin on his face as he darkened his phone.
"Hey, it's not my fault that I want to join them in killing those same annoying college idiots they use for damn near every movie! Besides, I know you love it!" she leaned forward as she responded, cocking her head every so slightly as she smiled coyly at him.
In response, he leaned down to her, gently and calmly kissing the very end of her muzzle for several small moments. It was just about the biggest show of affection the pair ever shared, but Mira was more than okay with that. He was always gentle and kind with her, and had never asked more of her.
"I regret to admit that I do. Makes watching them a whole different experience."
Before more could be said, Mira heard an old school combustion engine roar to life, one of her ears canting toward the entrance to the shop. The high pitched whine of the engine was oddly familiar, loud enough and powerful enough to be felt as much as heard. Her head snapped toward the bay window dominating the front of the store, seeing a matte black sport bike just as it was peeling away. The rider had no long muzzle, nor a tail, the jacket and helmet along with the bike all setting off memories for her.
Will?! She launched off the counter with that thought, rushing out the door as her heart hammered away in her chest. The bike let out another roar from down the street as it careened around a corner, Mira only gaining an equally small glance of it and it's rider. But for her, there was no mistaking who it was.
Her body was quaking slightly as her brain caught up with her body, knowing exactly why Will had been there, and exactly why he had peeled off like that. There was no way he missed Blake and herself kissing. She could only imagine what was running through his mind right now, the thought alone making tears start to well up in her eyes.
"Mira! You okay!?"
She barely reacted at all to Blake's voice, her mind still focused on the brief glimpses she had seen. "Y-yeah. I'm fine. Just thought I saw someone I know. Sorry, let's get back inside, I'm just being stupid." She tried to smile to him, gesturing back inside.
"Damn near gave me a heart attack, running out like that." He muttered to himself, shaking his head as he lead the way inside. Mira followed shortly behind him, stopping just before the door to give the street one last glance, her ears searching for any sound of the familiar bike, but finding none.