Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 19 - In one's own mind.
Raptor's POV, The next day.
Another day has passed and again I was stuck at a loss for words and filled with nothing but bad thoughts because my daughter simply hasn't answered anyone for the last three nights. Not myself, her mother, her aunt, any of her uncles, or even Teddy from what I've been told. In fact, that bear was the last person she spoke to and apparently she was crying. For one reason or another I do not know, but the fact that she hung up on her best friend had me more worried. It had us all worried.
"Raptor?" Looking up from my phone, I stared at Yoga who waited on Char to finish up his business with a few of his own men. His friend came to me with an open offer saying to me in an uplifting tone.
"My offer is still on the table for you man. Char and I talked and if you want me to go look into her he's willing to let me. Has she contacted anyone yet today?"
Shaking my head I replied.
"No. I've called her three times since I woke up and that was only an hour ago."
"And you're here this early?" Yoga questioned as I nodded and replied.
"Zandro wanted to talk to me. I'm just waiting on him."
The young man before me quickly understood and went back to voicing his offer.
"I know you might not want to think about it Commander, but what if she's in trouble over there? No one wants to see it as a possibility and it's not a secret you can't just drop everything to go see for yourself. I'm more than willing to take your place."
Shaking my head I informed him kindly back.
"Thank you Yoga, really. Thank you. But your place is with that decrepit wolf."
Giving me a quick laugh Yoga questioned with a smile as I sensed Zandro nearby.
"Decrepit? He moves around pretty good to me."
Standing up I replied.
"I'm referring to his mind. He's exhausted."
Now understanding what I meant Yoga admitted.
"You know what? Now that you mention it he has been a little slow these days. Normally he can throw me back an insult every time I try to make him smile with a cheap joke."
With Zandro appearing beyond a corner further away from Char's office, I offered Yoga my hand and gladly he shook it as I stated to him happily.
"It was good seeing you again, but please continue doing what you do best by keeping my best friend safe. I'll see you both around another time."
"Good luck with Sam." He wished me as I already broke off towards Zandro who waited for me now by the stairs. Once I reached his side, he asked me on the beginning trek downward.
"How are you? Any word from Sam?"
"No nothing. She hasn't gotten in touch with anyone since Teddy last spoke with her. I'm getting worried."
"You're her father and you fought for that. You have every right to be worried, but I'd hate to drag you away from your feelings to talk about our private affairs."
Shaking my head I urged him with a sense of duty.
"Don't feel any sort of way about bringing me out of my shell. I need the distraction honestly and I'd prefer it if you gave me something else to worry about other than my kid. So what's going on?"
By this time we were at the front door to the capital and on our way outside into the hot sun. Zandro kept close and his eyes on the trail ahead as I wandered my own towards the training yards.
"I'll let Vetra explain it to you. She's waiting for us by the gate."
I sensed that a moment later to be true. The wolf could be seen talking to a few of the M.E.A.F soldiers who manned the main gate. As we neared the men all tensed up which got the wolf herself to settle back into a normal pose once she saw my eyes. The men themselves slowly backed off to give us space and once together Zandro ordered her calmly.
"Go on."
I crossed my arms because Vetra didn't look too happy to relay the message. With a hush voice she said to me.
"Maggie's father passed away earlier this morning."
"What?" I questioned in shock as both her and Zandro nodded towards my reaction.
Putting both my hands on my face, I exhaled deeply into them to show my friends the weight that just got put on my shoulders. How could this happen so soon? She…..? Letting my hands fall, I asked them both in straight concern.
"Where is she?"
"At the hospital still. She didn't want to leave his side, but….?" Vetra's voice cut off giving Zandro time to say to me.
"She's gonna have to leave him at some point Raptor."
Nodding my head I asked Zandro.
"Do you mind?"
Nodding, he admitted to me shortly after being asked.
"That's why I said this was a private affair. Please go to her. She needs you."
Vetra and Zandro watched as I turned back to go for my car.
Vetra's POV.
Raptor ran for his car leaving me and my boss together in solitude. With our feelings both a bit low from the tragedy, I listened well enough when Zandro asked me.
"Are you ready to discuss that contract?"
Fixing my hair, I replied while looking back to the echidna.
"Yeah. I'm open."
Raptor's POV, Twenty minutes later.
She wouldn't expect anyone to care. I'm sure she expected no one to come, but that wouldn't be the case. On approach towards the morgue, I peered through a set of small windows to find a very depressed and clearly lost young wolf sitting over her father's cold body. Her white fur that was covering most of her body stood out to me the most as I slipped in behind her with little notice. Once in prime position, I readied myself and took the first step closer to her. My eyes crossed her dad's and from there I spoke out of my heart with the hope of not scaring her.
"Mag?"
The wolf spun her head back near instantly as she heard my voice. With two wet yet wide eyes she questioned.
"Commander Voltz? What are…..how did….?" She sounded broken in half and I knew that from personal experience. I wanted to make her smile even if just a little with this unplanned conversation. So with a smile I begged her.
"Don't worry about it. I heard from Vetra. I'm…..I'm so sorry Maggie, I am. You're father? He was a good man. He didn't deserve this."
Her gears shifted back to her previous sadness and with it she said back to me with little power in her own voice.
"I just….I didn't think it would ever really happen."
By this time I was at her side and very gently I put my hand on her back to softly spin her back towards her father. Her eyes readjusted as I took my hand away to state.
"You can never be prepared for when you lose a parent. You just can't. So don't feel any regrets right now for not being ready. It's not your fault this turned out the way it did."
She nodded to herself as the room went silent. Halfway through it I decided to joke a little with her in hopes of getting that smile I wanted.
"You know what is your fault though? Not calling me by my name. I'm retired. Char is the Commander. He has been for a while now. So please…..Raptor. Let's say it together now Mags. Ready….?"
She began to chuckle as I went on.
"On the count of three."
"I'm not a little kid. Don't talk…?"
"One!" I raised my tone just above hers which was more than enough to get her to fully commit by shouting with a smile.
"Stop it!"
"Two!"
Now she got up and right in my face, wrapping her hands on my neck and ordering with more laughter.
"Shut up! Your so…?"
"Three!" I even began to laugh now as she squeezed. However, even as she again ordered me to shut my mouth, I finished my joke with a still very childish sounding voice.
"Raaaaaaaptoooooooooorrrrrrrrr!"
The wolf broke off of choking me and to my surprise she pulled me into a heavy hug. Her arms wrapped all the way around me as her head gently placed itself between where my head and neck met. I heard her softly sob a moment later.
"You're a fucking asshole!"
I took that as good as any compliment and hugged her back now. My smile slowly drifted away as she began to cry harder and harder. Hard enough to want me to try and sit her back down. Her lower half went down, but I was forced to go with it as her upper half wouldn't let me go. With the most pitiful voice to her she asked me.
"Why? Why did this happen to us?"
Unable to let go, I replied.
"Cancer doesn't care about why it does what it does to good people. It just does baby. It's not your fault. It wasn't even his. Your father loved you and the moment he found out he only had so long to live; he was with you every moment of every day because you were the only thing he cared about. And I bet if you could ask him now he would say he has no regrets spending it that way. You hear me?" I asked her as she nodded her head rapidly under my care.
Neither I or her would break the embrace and I knew I'd have to tell her this sooner or later and now seemed like as good a time as any. So with my voice at a whisper I said to her.
"We need to get you home. You have to say your goodbyes."
Again the girl nodded her head, but this time she let me go and looked back to her father. I kept myself down for a moment to ask her.
"Do you want me to wait outside?"
Shaking her head she replied.
"No…..you should stay. He would want that. I…..I would too."
The look in her eyes reminded me of my own daughter's. She was so sweet and much like Samantha I knew she could handle this. She was strong. She had to be because she was now alone in this world. However I wasn't prepared to hear her last words. After seeing so many of my friends die you would think I could handle it, but no…...it was different because unlike her I never got this chance with my dad. I just shot him like a coward.
Very slowly Maggie stood up on her own two feet. I took a step to the side and got behind her as she moved over to where her dad's face was. I held her side as she put a hand up on his arm. Gripping him tightly, a few tears dripped from off her chin. With my respects being shown to her old man, I shut my eyes and lowered my head as she called out to him.
"Dad? I…..I know I've been here for the last few hours holding your hand, but your hero just walked through the door to come see me in this…..in this fucked up state."
That got me to smile a little and reopen my eyes. Maggie was doing her part to turn herself around and that made me so happy to see, but there was still more to come from her broken heart as she partially looked my way to say.
"I know what he means to you and we both know what he means to me so…..I just want you to know that I'm safe and nothing bad is gonna happen now that you're somewhere better. I hope you're with mom. I'm sure she missed you."
Taking my chance to hop in I informed her father with a heavy heart.
"I'm gonna do my best to look after her for you. She's not going to be alone through this. I promise."
Maggie reached over to grab my hand. I just kept smiling as she squeezed it and went on to tell her dad.
"I'm gonna keep on track. I'm not gonna let you down or lose my way now that you're gone. I'm gonna keep moving and I'm….I'm gonna always love and miss you."
Reaching out with her right hand, she crossed her dad's face and shut his eyes while begging to the gods above.
"Please lord, take care of my father now that he's up there with you. Keep him safe and tell him and my mother that I love them both and one day I'll be graced enough to see them again."
Sensing that she was done, I pulled her gently back into another hug where we again connected. Her tears were slow and calm and just soft enough for me to believe now was the time to urge her with a soft voice.
"Let's leave him alone now. You said everything I'm sure he wanted to hear. Come on."
Maggie nodded and with a little effort she allowed me to start guiding her away from her dad's body. When we reached the door she walked out ahead of me and stopped a few feet out to mumble.
"Thank you Commander…...I mean…..Raptor. Thank you for coming. I don't think I could have done that alone."
"I promised him that I would be there for you when this happened."
"And it probably means the world to him I'm sure, but….?" Maggie's voice trailed off into her thoughts leaving me to question.
"What are you gonna do now?"
"I….I…..I don't know." She replied with lowered ears.
She was stuck in her own mind and now I was in mine as well. Enough so that I began to think this over. I didn't really have a whole lot of choices and neither did she. If left alone I wondered how things would turn out for her. She had no other family left and I knew she didn't want to go back home. Maybe just to pick up her things, but staying in that apartment would kill her inside. Thankfully she had friends and she had the military. She could fall in with the M.E.A.F and live on thanks to the housing laws we have set in place for military personnel, but…?"
Looking back at the wolf I decided to jump ahead by asking her a question that I was sure would blow her away. In fact the moment she heard where my words were going she widened her eyes in complete and utter shock. I could only smile as I waited for her response.
Zeta's POV, An hour later.
"Take care Zeta!" The mailman shouted at me from the street as he finished delivering our mail.
"You too!" I shouted back as I walked out to check what he had dropped off at the mailbox.
In confusion, I spotted a small box sitting under the mailbox itself. Looked large enough to hold a pair of shoes, but what confused me was that I don't recall ordering anything. Maybe Raptor? I wondered as I picked it up to read the label.
"What the heck?" I mumbled as I saw there was no name from the sender. Not even a location or tracking number. It was just marked with our address.
Still stumped, I collected it and the rest of the mail and began to walk back to the house. By the time I reached the front door I heard a car pulling in behind me and little to my surprise was it Raptor. I just smiled as I saw him get out, but quickly grew concerned when I saw someone open the passenger side. However that concern went away when I saw it was Maggie.
"Morning!" Raptor called out to me as I quickly put all the mail inside the house. Once I came back out I saw Maggie had a bag with her and it looked like she had been crying. I saw the dampness under her eyes as I replied to Raptor.
"Good morning to you too. Maggie? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"
Raptor came right to me as Maggie herself lowered her gaze. I felt my heart shift when he whispered to me.
"John passed away earlier this morning. I just got her from the hospital."
Widening my eyes in shock I looked back at Maggie, to not even question it. I just went over to the poor girl to embrace her in a tight hug. She began to cry in my arms as Raptor just smiled slightly from where he was standing.
With Maggie in my arms I informed her bluntly.
"I'm so sorry baby. I didn't know. We're here for you. Both of us."
"That's why I told her she could come stay with us." Raptor's words hit my ears and almost instantly I looked back at him in confusion and a hint of anger. Maggie couldn't notice it because she was still buried in my arms. Raptor just shot me a worried smile back as I refocused on the problem at hand. I did my best to sound convincing.
"That's a good idea for now hun. She can stay in Sam's room. Are you okay with that Maggie?"
Pulling away from my arms she nodded her head and wiped her eyes, saying back with a sense of happiness entering her voice as I gathered myself and the mail in my one arm.
"It's more than okay. It's beyond generous of you guys. I…..I just can't imagine staying in the apartment right now. Not when everything is so…...so….?"
Shaking my head I begged her.
"It's okay hun, we understand. Don't push yourself. Here. Let me show you to your room. Raptor?"
Looking back at the hedgehog, I listened and took Maggie's hand as he quickly informed us both.
"I'll get started on dinner."
Oh I knew he was scared. He never cooks. Not since we moved in together. Keeping Maggie in my grip, I for now ignored him and helped her into the house where she mumbled to me quietly.
"Are you sure your daughter is gonna be okay with me staying with her?"
Taking our first step upstairs. I replied to her concerns.
"Samantha left us not that long ago."
Widening her eyes as I could hear Raptor shutting the front door behind us, I kept on going up as she asked next rightly so.
"Is she okay? Where did she go?"
"To the states. She's…...she wanted to pursue her schooling."
"Oh." Maggie muttered back as we reached the top.
I didn't want to say anything to her about Sam running away. I just wanted to help make her happy. I knew very well what it felt like to lose a dad. I'm sure that's what drove Raptor to do this for her, but I'd still give him a piece of my mind about not talking to me about it first.
Sam's POV.
"So what led you to this Sam? Are your parents military? Following in their footsteps?" The recruiter asked me as I was determined to go through with this.
"They're the furthest thing from it actually. This is purely a choice I want to make and something I want to do."
"What do you hope to gain from joining G.U.N then? Are you focused on school? Because your best bet would be to join the reserves. You get…..?"
Turning up my voice, I spoke through his assumptions and informed him directly.
"No. I want active duty and I want to be infantry. No schooling, no reserves, and nothing to do outside of that. I just want to learn how to fight and defend my country and what I believe in."
The recruiter instantly shut down his pitch once he heard that leave my mouth. Tapping a pen he had in his right hand, I watched and waited for him to respond. Once he did he asked me.
"Are you sure that's what you want? I'm not trying to push you away or discourage you, but the infantry field is very grueling towards females of your species. It's not easy by any means."
"I don't care. I want to join the best and I want to train with the best. I aim to break the stereotype. No matter what. How soon can I start?"
Looking at a computer he had on the desk, the recruiter began to look for my answer. Giving me a gentle stare after a few seconds he replied.
"If you are sure this is what you want then I could have you placed in about a week. Assuming you meet the requirements and you're clean. Meaning we will need to get a sample of your blood and a urine sample to check and make sure. How does that sound?"
"It sounds perfect to me. What's the next step?"
Reaching over to a folder he had alongside his computer, the recruiter replied.
"What's next is I'll need you to sign a few things. Once that's out of the way I can have someone here take you to where we perform the evaluation."
"Okay." I muttered back as he handed over the documents and his pen.
With my signature soon covering the pages, I began to settle down. This was going to happen and I was gonna make sure not to disappoint. In fact I planned on proving a point and hopefully along the way they'll see I wasn't fucking around or trying to make jokes. I was gonna destroy any obstacle they put in front of me and with any luck it would pay off. It had to, otherwise I'd have to figure something out.
Raptor's POV, An hour later.
"It's just for a few days." I informed Zeta who came back downstairs after a while to confront me. She gave me this somewhat annoyed glare but inside she knew she couldn't be mad at me. I was doing a good thing by helping Maggie.
"I understand that, but don't you ever think something like this should be discussed between us? I'm part of this relationship."
"I know you are and I'm sorry, but…?"
Chuckling and taking a step back into the living room, Zeta replied.
"You're always sorry and after years of hearing it Raptor, I'm starting to think you really aren't. You just say that to shut me up. Admit it, please." She begged now which got me to again laugh.
"That's not what I'm doing. I'm actually sorry. Hehe."
"Fuck off please." She kindly replied as I watched her approach the mail which she had set by the front door. My eyes gently shifted to a box she picked up and wanting to switch the subject I asked her.
"What'd you order?"
"Nothing. This doesn't belong to you?" She asked me back after starting to open the tape with her right set of claws.
Keeping my body at the entrance to the kitchen I replied.
"Not that I'm aware of. Who is it from?"
With her eyes coming back to mine she replied.
"It doesn't say. There's no label. It just has our address."
"What's in it?" I then wondered as she cracked through the seal to open it up. I watched with a smile as her eyes suddenly widened and her mouth dropped with a loss of words. Dropping my guard I asked her with some concern.
"What? What is it?"
With one hand she reached in to pull out Mocha's vest. I felt my body stop as we locked eyes. In a moment after I walked over to take the vest from her hand asking her in utter confusion.
"What the hell is this? This is….?"
"Mocha's?" Zeta raised her voice in fear as I looked at the box to see a note folded up inside.
"What's it say?" I asked the wolf alongside me who reached in to take the paper. As she opened it we both connected our shoulders and read the handwriting of the only person I knew who wrote this nice. My daughter.
"I'm sorry. She was my little sister and I couldn't keep her safe. I shouldn't have taken her with me. She would have understood. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
By the time I finished reading the note, Zeta and I had locked eyes again. This time there were a few tears in hers as I was utterly lost and near heartbreak thinking that my dog was dead somehow. Leaving the note in her hands, she called out to me as I went back into the kitchen to get my phone.
"Raptor?"
"I need to talk to her." I stated as I fumbled towards her number. By the time I hit call Zeta was on the couch silently crying to herself with Mocha's vest on her lap and the note still in front of her face. Not even a single dial in towards the call I was directed to her voicemail. Zeta noticed my reaction as I instantly put my phone down to grunt in anger. All my focus was on my next move. What could I do? She wasn't going to answer and I had a good feeling why. If Mocha….if she died…..?
Getting up from the couch, Zeta came over to me with open arms as she saw my emotions breaking through. I barely could handle Molly passing away. I began to erupt into tears. Half of which came from anger and the unknowns. The shit that I had no answers to because Samantha wouldn't answer the phone. Shaking my head in rage, I threw my phone down and buried myself into Zeta's arms as she whispered so as not to disturb Maggie who was upstairs under her own slew of depression.
"Don't Raptor. Please just…..don't. We're gonna reach her."
"How?" I cried into her chest as she took a moment to come up with an answer.
"We'll call Peek and have him go see her again. I'll do whatever I have too. I'll convince him. I'll beg him. Whatever needs to happen Raptor I'll handle it. We'll figure this out. Just please calm down."
Pulling off her I questioned.
"You want me to calm down? My dog. Our fucking baby. She's dead and our own daughter refuses to pick the fuck up to tell me what happened? Instead it's easier to send us that alongside a fucking note? Fuck you. That dog was part of this family and I'd expect you to see that."
"I do." She informed me as I quickly fired back.
"I'm sick of fucking waiting and I'm sick of relaying on Peek to solve my fucking problems. I'm gonna ask Marcus."
"To do what? Go interrogate her? She has no clue who that man is Raptor. Use your head for a second."
"I am and I need to know what the fuck is going on with my daughter and I need to know now. Not in a few days. Now Zeta."
My words made my girlfriend lower her head. In time she bent down to pick up my phone. She then handed it to me and gently I took it from her to begin calling Marcus. Within seconds he answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey. I need you right now. Can you swing by the house?"
After a few moments he replied.
"No. Give me about an hour because I'm in the middle of something at the moment that I can't ignore."
"Fine. Just hurry. It's important." I informed him still with some anger in my voice as I hung up. Zeta had her eyes on me as I ordered her as calmly as I could.
"Get her vest downstairs please. I need a minute."
Reaching out to grab my hand she begged me back.
"Okay, but please keep it down. Maggie needs to rest. We can't let her see us like this."
"She's gonna know something sooner or later Zeta. I can't just smile my way through something like this. "
"Just don't force it upon her. Remember she's here now because of you, so try to act as decent as you can. She doesn't need any more stress. Not after losing Johnathan."
"Are you not upset?" I asked her as she gave me an insulted glare back to reply.
"I'm fucking heartbroken. Don't get confused just because I'm the one keeping calm during this. You want me to fucking cry like a little girl right here and right now to prove it to you?"
Lowering my eyes slightly I replied.
"No."
Nodding and releasing my hand now, Zeta went on to say.
"Then don't assume. Just….just don't."
With that she walked back to the living room to pick up the box and Mocha's vest and the note. I watched in silence as she made her way to the basement. Once she was out of my sight I went back to grieving. I wanted to punch something, but listening to the wolf I curbed my anger and took a seat back at the kitchen table to contemplate the situation.
Sam's POV.
It was getting late and all I could think about was calming down after my assault at the recruiter's station. I had a little over a week to get myself together then I'd be sent away to boot camp somewhere in Texas. Fuck if I knew the place, but I'd do my research. I had my intentions set and now it was just a matter of getting prepared. For the third time since my arrival I found myself back at the bookstore, only this time I was looking to check out a few things. A G.U.N history book, a few military based survival guides that would hopefully teach me a few things, and a few books covering the military's laws and regulations. It was going to be quite the read, but I had every intention of learning everything it had to offer. I was going to drive myself forward and in time I'd come back here and finish what Cora started when he killed Mocha and tried to kill me.
Deep in my own mind at one of the few tables in the store, I felt my ears flicker when I suddenly heard someone coming up behind me. I however didn't look back to see who because in my mind it didn't matter one bit. However I felt my brain pause when I heard a familiar voice call me.
"Sam?"
I recalled the voice and kept my head down because I didn't really know what to say or how to act towards him. After a few seconds I heard his feet come around my front side and without having to say a word, I listened as he said my name again.
"Samantha? Hey."
This time I looked up and when I did I saw his eyes widen.
This guy was Jari. The same rabbit who I met every single time I came here. He was dressed down. Very down. Just a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants. The hood was the size of his head and seeing my condition I kept on a depressed face as he asked me shock.
"Holy shit. What happened to you? Your eye? Are you…..are you okay?"
Unable to keep myself angry enough to remain silent, I replied.
"Yeah…...I'm fine."
"Can I…...can I sit down with you for a minute?"
"Yeah." I replied as he quickly sat down across from me to ask.
"What happened? Did you get into a fight?"
I didn't know how to reply to his question. He sensed that and quickly asked me.
"Where's Mocha?"
That got my whole mood to shift and with my ears going down and my face clearly upset, Jari widened his eyes and asked in absolute fear of what he had to be thinking had happened during our time apart.
"Is she….? Did she….?" Even he didn't know how to say it. I knew however what he was trying to get out so I just nodded my head once I heard his first struggle. The rabbit was shocked to say the least and I think his reaction towards it caused my emotions to come back out again. Tears began to flow out from my eyes as I soon had to try to keep myself as quiet as possible so as not to disturb the whole shop.
"When?" He managed to wonder out loud.
"A few days ago." I replied as I attempted to wipe my eyes with my hoodie sleeve. During the process the rabbit went silent with a lowered gaze towards the books I had in front of me. He didn't bring them up, but instead asked me as nicely as he could.
"Can you see out of it? And your mouth…..what happened? Was it an accident?"
Shaking my head once, I replied to him while looking back at his smaller body.
"No. It wasn't an accident. And yeah…..hehe…..I can see out of it still." I chuckled as he smiled now towards my laughter.
"Does it hurt? It looks….well it looks nasty." He informed me which made me feel a little self conscious. Covering my eye with my one hand, I replied to him.
"Not really, but damn. Does it look that bad?"
Widening his own eyes, he replied with a quick shake of his whole body.
"Oh no of course not! That's not how I meant for that to sound! I just mean it looks painful! You look great! Oh wait! That's a little forward and I…...I….well I don't mean for it to sound like that either!"
Now I was just looking over this rabbit with an entertained chuckle and a smile on my face. He was clearly distraught and caught up in his own words. Still though he was clearly interested in me which made me happy enough to smile despite my previous focus on the books before me. Regardless, Jari tried to recover by telling me as calmly as he could.
"I'm sorry, I'm not good with my words when I'm like this. What I meant to say was that I think you look…..?"
"I gotcha." I told him back halfway through his explanation. Jari seemed relieved to say the least as I went on to say to him.
"You don't have to lie to me about how I look. I know it doesn't really mesh well with the whole depressed thing I got going on. Probably makes me look like a scumbag and I'm already trying my best to accept that."
"You don't look like that." Jari tried to tell me with a softer and sadder tone of voice as I went on to shake my head and reply.
"I kinda do. Even the scar here on my mouth doesn't help hide that fact."
"It's not a fact." The rabbit went on to say as I sighed and decided to ask him.
"Oh really? What do you think then? Be honest. I won't laugh or anything. Just tell me what you think."
The rabbit widened his eyes at the sudden request. Before he just jumped over his own two feet to tell me I looked good, but now I was asking him to say it again and to be more honest. I think he wanted this opportunity because he now took his time to put his words together properly. Once he had them together he said to me in a softer tone.
"Well…..I think you honestly look….well you look beautiful."
For a moment after he said that I opened my mouth slightly in a stunned manner and gave off a slight chuckle and nodded my head as he went on to say.
"When I first met you that day you ran me over by the entrance, I was quite taken by how well kept and trimmed you look. A lot of the females I've seen and met in my time among your species haven't been the cleanest looking ladies, but I think that could just be because of where we are located. I grew up in Texas and southern girls are very well mannered and quite stunning. I think city life convinces people it's okay to cut corners. It's fast paced and well….I think people don't judge others as harshly. You know?"
With a smile across my face, I replied truthfully.
"No. Hahaha. I don't really, to be honest with you. But…..but thank you."
Jari was thankfully just as happy as I was now that he said what he wanted to. After a moment of deciding to fix my hair so no one could see my other eye, the rabbit asked me in concern.
"Are you doing that because of me? I didn't mean to make you feel self conscious."
"You didn't. I already kinda wanted to do this. If anything you just made me a little happier. It's…..it's been really hard since…..?"
Jari took note of my condition and where I was about to go and cut me off to ask.
"Do you want to…...do you want to maybe….go somewhere? We can go get some food…..or…..maybe we can go on a walk or something. I don't know. You look like you need a distraction."
For the first time in my life I had a rabbit asking me to hang out and my first reaction was to laugh again. However I had to tell him just as a joke.
"You know typically my kind eats yours."
Going red in the face, Jari questioned.
"Wait….really? You eat rabbits?"
Giving him another small chuckle I replied.
"Never a live one. You could be the first though."
The rabbit quickly broke out into his own fit of laughter now.
"Hahaha you're just messing with me right? You don't look like the type who would….?"
"Eat you?" I wondered out loud as I shut my book and went on to say to him as his ears perked up at my sudden movement.
"Yeah I'm just joking and I guess I could use a good breath of fresh air."
"Wait really? You actually want to go out with me?" He questioned as I now stood up to reply with another smile.
"It's not a date or anything and you offered. You were serious right?" I asked him which instantly got him to jump to his feet shouting out in happiness.
"Of course I was serious! I just….I just didn't really expect you to go along with it. I'm not….? Your….? Ahhhhh…..?"
I understood where he was going and what he was going to say. So without missing my chance, I asked him while moving a step by him and towards the nearby front counter.
"You coming?"
Overwhelmed by my question, Jari bounced around and began to follow after me replying.
"Oh yeah! No, I'm coming!"
I still somehow managed to smile as this little guy rushed to my side as I approached the counter to check out the books I had taken. As I did he got on his tippy toes to look at them and ask.
"Are you into the military? These are some beefy reads."
Nodding my head and putting them back under my arm, I replied while looking down at him.
"I'm leaving to join the army next monday. I just wanted to be up to date on everything before then."
Widening his eyes at my response as we reached the door, Jari questioned in shock.
"You're joining G.U.N? That's amazing. Are you scared?"
"Yeah. A little." I replied as I got the door for him.
"I can't imagine doing that. I've never been adept enough to consider it."
"What do you do? I then asked him, sensing he was clearly different from me in more than a few ways.
This rabbit and I had to look funny walking together. He however seemed not to care. He looked genuinely happy as we walked on. For a few moments he came up with the words, but described it to me as this.
"I'm going to college here in the city. Trying to get my masters in biology."
Looking at the small rabbit, I then asked.
"You're into science?"
"Oh boy heavily. I love science. I've been really good at it ever since I was a kit. My parents will tell you. You?"
Nodding slightly I replied.
"I'm pretty good myself."
"How old are you by the way? I'm sorry if that's forward. I just want to know. You don't seem that much older than me." Jari stated as I calmly replied while pulling out my phone to check the time.
"I'm eighteen."
"Ha! I knew it. We're the same age." Jari shouted out while being excited.
I don't know if it's an animal thing or what, but this rabbit was full of energy. A lot. I feel like he was beyond my own level and to be honest I still really wasn't in the mood to deal with it, but it's gonna be hard to throw him away right now after getting this involved. At the least he was trying to be somewhat nice to me. I doubt that's because he felt like he had to. If anything he might just be like every other guy. Which was a weird thought on it's own considering he was the size of a small child to me. I can't imagine it.
After a few moments of silence coming from my end, Jari wondered while looking back over my body slightly.
"So where do your parents live? Do you have any family around the city?"
Shaking my head I replied.
"No. No one. I lost my parents a few years ago. I've been living on my own since."
"No way. Seriously? What happened?"
"Car accident." I mumbled as I decided to lie through my teeth to protect myself. There was no real reason to drop any bombs on him and as of right now I didn't really know where our relationship would be going.
As our distance grew we neared a small park. There were so many people out in this city it made my home look small and this park looked like a dog park. I stopped just outside the main gate to look at the majority of families with their said pets. Jari had no idea I had stopped and kept walking until he went to ask me another question. Once he started speaking he stopped in his tracks to look back at me as I was clearly at a loss for what to say or do. Every thought was on Mocha.
With my time just halting, I didn't notice that Jari came back to me. Pressed up to my side he looked into the park to just get a rough idea of what was happening. With my body not moving and my words cut off, he looked back up and over at me to mutter.
"Sam?"
I was so lost I didn't respond. It was only when he reached up to grab onto part of my hoodie nearest my elbow to begin pulling that I reacted. Looking down into his eyes I listened as he urged me sadly.
"We should keep going. Come on."
"Okay." I mumbled as he kept his hand on my hoodie till I got moving. After a few steps he let go and I proceeded to reach up to wipe my eyes. I knew they were wet and Jari was keen on realizing that. Once we were making distance away from the park did he proceed to ask me with some concern for how I would react.
"I don't know how weird this is gonna sound, but I don't really do a whole lot around the city in terms of going out and having a good time. I'm actually a pretty single minded individual and I spend a lot of my time at home with my family studying. Now that's not to say I'm confident in anything else, but if you would feel comfortable with me asking, would you be okay coming over? You could meet my mom and dad and my two siblings. We're really nice people I swear and my mom would love to have someone over for dinner."
He was right. This was kind of weird for him to ask. I know we met a handful of times before this, but we technically just met and he wants to take me home? Giving the rabbit an even sadder look I replied with some uncertainty.
"I don't know about that."
Quickly defending himself he added.
"I know this is our first time actually doing anything together, but you look like you need a distraction from what's bothering you. We're rabbits but that doesn't mean we can't get along with someone like you."
"We don't even eat the same." I informed him bluntly.
"My mom can accommodate." Jari begged to differ as he knew I was clearly still against this idea. Even more so I shook my head and stopped to say to him.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just not comfortable with that. I know you're trying to be nice about it, but I'm just not sure about anything yet. All I want to do is go home and study these books before I ship out."
This little guy looked heartbroken. Were all rabbits this way? I guess I never really hung out with many to know. Keeping my distance now I said to him as nicely as I could.
"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but I need to handle myself in my own way. It's not a matter of disrespect towards you. I just don't really wanna be bothered with any more people for a while. I'm sorry."
Reaching down into his pocket, Jari pulled out his phone and asked me sweetly despite being let down a second ago.
"Can I at least have your number? I'd….I'd still like to keep in touch. So long as you're okay with it of course. I'm sorry I pushed."
"You're fine." I chuckled as I stopped to look at his phone which he offered me. For a second I wondered what to do.
mT Shadow.