There he sat, alone in his bedroom as the storm raged beyond the window. His eyes looked out beyond the glass barrier, the rain flooding down it and distorting the outside world. Nothing was going right for him... Somehow, they had found out at school he had cut, which led to a beating from his dad for being 'weak', a beating which nearly blinded him in his left eye. Yet... something was different lately about his dad. He seemed, distant, almost scared. Had the police nearly found him out? Would explain why, after that beating, his been TRYING to act like a dad again. Climbing off his bed, he walked over to his body length mirror and looked at himself in it. He was nowhere near as skinny as he used to be, seeing as how Celica's parents always had so much food, and his dad had, lately, stopped practically starving him.

Now, he was actually healthy, physcially atleast, but his mentality was damaged, seemingly beyond ever being rebuilt completely. In his new usual attire he now sported tracksuits that were a good fit, light grey and warm, and either a matching grey top or a blue-grey one, but rarely, he sometimes chose to keep himself free of a top, it was irritating on his fur, yet it wasn't a bad sight for admiring females or males. Thanks to the change in food and diet, and doing some basic exercise, he now had a lightly toned lithe frame, faintly visible and defined muscles. Infact, he had actually had a girl come up to him and talk to him, offering a compliment about his physique. She had been going to his school, and they had began to form a bond... Then he found out she moved school because she was getting bullied and harassed by other girls.

As of right now, he was without a top, wanting to see how the claw marks on his chest - to see how well they were healing. Not well enough... His dad was out right now - but he couldn't tell whether to be thankful or not. He didn't understand the mentality of his father; abuse him and treat like an actual son. But what he did know was that he liked the caring side of his dad. That caring side actually gave him another reason to live, despite the abusive side - when his dad was, well, a proper dad to him, it was the best feeling. The claw marks were not from him, but from Caelum's own paw. He growled, emotions he had been bottling up for weeks, months even, were starting to surface - anger and hatred being the primary ones. He clenched his right paw, looking at the fist that formed before facing the mirror. In a sudden burst of strength and fury, he swung his paw directly into his mirror, shattering everything that reflected his body above his waist, or in other words, the top half of the mirror. Cracks ran down the reflective surface of the remaining glass, the shards litering the floor all around him. His right paw, bleeding profusely was now pressed against his chest, staining his fur with blood. He didn't feel the pain, the anger numbed it, but he still felt the blood as it flowed from the cut viens. Looking at the wound instinctively he noticed a shard of glass buried deep into his paw, one that he'd never get out himself.

Tenderly, he grabbed the bandages he kept hidden in his room and encased his bleeding paw in them, careful steps to avoid the shards. "I didn't like that mirror anyway" He mumbled half-heartedly, lowering his body and, with extreme care, began to clean away the mess. He wasn't concerned in the slightest about his dad's reaction, he already knew how it'd play out. His dad would come home either drunk or high, see the mirror, not understand and leave, then the next day - or any other day after - he wouldn't even notice the mirror. One thing to say about his dad though, he was definitely loyal to his mate. Even so long after she passed away, he hasn't even looked at another female in an affectionate way. A knock at the door drew his attention, ears perked up in surprise. It didn't come from Celica, he knew for certain, it sounded stronger, higher up, like an adult dog. With silent movements - after hastily putting on a top and hiding his injured paw better, he crept downstairs and took a glance through the window at those outside, and the sight made his heart stop. Two German Shepherds in police uniform, one male and one female, stood awaiting him to answer. With nervousness causing him to shake violently he approached and, with a shaking paw, gripped the door, unlocked it, and opened it.

"Wheres your mommy little one? The female questioned after recovering from her surprise.

"She's at work" He lied through his teeth, but he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. She wasn't even alive...

"What's your name?" She knelt down on his level, unnerveing him.

"C-Caelum" His nervousness skyrocketed with each word. What did the police want? What were they going to do?

"Caelum, thats a beautiful name for a handsome young male like yourself" Compliments seemed to help ease his anxiousness, something she picked up on.

"Tha-thanks" he laughed awkwardly, bringing a smile to her face, before he unwillingly complimented her. "You're pretty, like my mommy" His cheeks flustered red, and he turned on the spot nervously as she giggled softly, but all too suddenly her face became sad, the mood becoming serious. Now his heart began to race.

"Caelum... We're here to tell you... That well... You're dad's collapsed.. His been taken into hospitle." Her voice was so soft, so caring, it helped take some of the weight of her words off of him. Collapsed? Hospitle? Dad? What?

His body began to shake, his tail falling limp as he processed this. What did that mean? What was he going to do? He couldn't survive alone for longer than a day... Wait... Could Celica and his family help? He was in walking distance from them. After the police were gone, he'd pack some stuff and walk over to them. Hopefully they could help... Noticing he had gone quiet, and was still shaking visibly, the female German Shepherd gently wrapped her arms around him, humming a soft tune into his ear to ease his fear - much like a mother would do to her baby when he or she was scared.

It seemed to work, for against her chest he rested his head - and listened to her heart beat, soothing, calming - not understanding how awkward it was for her. Gently pulling his head from her chest, and relieving herself of the awkwardness, she handed to him a piece of paper she removed from her breast pocket. Written upon it was a number, her phone number to be precise, and he looked at it, then her confused. She gestured to her colleague and made a motion for him to leave them be, which he did reluctantly, then she turned to face him with a serious but compassionate glare.

"I'm Courtney, your moms best friend, Caelum... I was with her and your dad at the birth..." Now he was terrified. His lie had been caught out, she knew his mom was gone... But did she know about the abuse? About how his dad was? Hopefully not. She reached out, gently taking hold of his arms. "This is the first time I've seen you since you turned three. I came to your birthday's, then work got the better of me. Lost touch with your dad for a good long while, only recently got back in touch with him." She sighed and paused. So thats why his dad was trying to change? Because of her? "If you ever need me, if theres anything I can do for you, just give me a call. I'll be round as quick as I can."

He was violently shaking, terrified of what was going to happen... Something Courtney hated. Guiding her paws soothingly down the sides of his trembling body, she grasped his small paws in her own and held them tightly. "I know that your scared Caelum, but you dont need to do. The hospital will take the very best care for your dad, and I can take you back to my place while his in."

"B-b-but h-h-how will I get to school?" He fretted, worried that he might not be able to see Celica for a long time.

Still holding his paws, she shushed his fretting form. "Don't worry about school, I'll explain to Chief Bogo 'Buffbutt'" The nickname did bring a smile to the sky grey males face, something she mirrored. "You're worried about your friend Celica aren't you? You're dad told me all about how good friends you were with the rabbit, how he was your first friend. Dont worry, I actually dont live too far from him myself, so if u ever wanna go see him, just let me know. Now... You wanna come home with me now?" He hesitantly nodded in agreement. "Go get some clothes to last today and tomorrow, we can come back for the rest, you're dad gave me the key when I saw him at the hospitle."

As Caelum left to gather some possessions, Courtney phoned Bogo to explain her new situation. "Hey Buffbutt"

"I said don't call me that..." Courtney cut him off before he could make a rebuttal comment. She didn't see what people had against the chief for being stubborn and so serious all the time, once you got to know him, he was actually a rather cool guy.

"Yeah, anyway, I'm calling because I need to just tell you that I'm gonna be late on my shifts for a while, and any chance I can take the rest of the day off? I'm looking after my best-friends son, his dads in hospitle and his mom... You know what happened to her... Anyway, I could probably fill you in better tomorrow, gonna take Caelum and help him get settled in at my place."

"Ok, sure, I'll keep that in mind, puffy-tail."

"My tail is not puffy!" He hung up after making his rebuttal, much to her annoyance. Her tail wasn't puffy, right? Now that she looked at it... Maybe, maybe he had a point? Thankfully Caelum just finished gathering the stuff he'd need for the first few days, and was ready to go with her. Taking his paw, somehow still unaware of his injury, - to his relief - she gently pulled him closer to her, sealing the door and locking it behind them both. "We gotta drop Adam off at the station, but Bogo said I can take the rest of the day off" Caelum nodded, looking at the police car with mized emotions that voiced similar thoughts.

"Time for a change"