I hope to read the next update
I love the fanfic, Coatl.
Thanks, everyone.
And now, part the fifth (The Conclusion):
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“So... you and your family just moved here?”
Max's tentative question was met with stony silence by the purple cat sitting on the floor across from him. He shifted uncomfortably, spent a few moments scrutinizing his claws, then leaned back with a sigh.
“What did you say your name was?”
The other cat looked up and narrowed his eyes.
His? Max thought.
I think
it's “his”. “I didn't,” the purple cat spat.
“Ah. I see.” Max sat there for a few moments looking at the other cat. Finally, he leaned forward with a raised eyebrow. “Will you?”
The purple cat groaned, slapping a paw to his forehead.
Yep. “His”. Male. Almost sure of it. I think.
“Grape. My name's Grape.”
Max let a grin slide across his face. “See?” he asked in a vaguely condescending tone. “Was that so hard?” The comment earned him another withering glare from Grape. His grin vanished in an instant. “Right. Sorry.”
Silence fell for almost a minute. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of awkward fidgeting, Max decided to try a new tactic. “What do you think of Babylon Gardens?” Grape shrugged with disinterest, turning to look out the window.
Well, Max thought.
This whole conversation, and I use that term lightly, is just one long awkward moment, isn't it? Jeff and Officer Bill had said that the cat was having a tough time moving in, and that he was supposed to help him out somehow, but what could he do? He was hopeless when it came to dealing with the emotionally distressed. Well, unless bugging someone until you could almost see the smoke coming out of their ears could be considered “dealing with” them, in which case he was an old pro.
If I could get him talking, this would be a heck of a lot easier. Max let his eyes wander around the room, looking for anything that could advance the conversation beyond glares and stammering queries.
Then, sitting on a shelf to his left, Max found what he was looking for. He got up and crossed over to the shelf, plucking a mid-sized paperback book off of it. He tucked it under his arm and walked over to Grape, who was now looking at him with more curiosity than contempt.
Good start. Time to capitalize on this. “Tell me, Grape. Do you read?”
The purple cat shrugged. “Some. I can, if that's what you mean. What book is that?”
Max held out the book for Grape to see. Emblazoned on the cover is gold block letters was the title “Hunters of the Pridelands.” Below the words, there stood a spear-bearing lion in tribal gear. The sun was beginning to set behind him, and the last red rays seemed to catch the tall grasses aflame.
Grape raised an eyebrow. “Could I take a look at that?” Max shrugged and handed over the book.
“It's actually the first one in a new series,” Max said, rocking back and forth on his paws and looking entirely too pleased with himself. “Just came out a couple of weeks ago.”
“Hmm.” Grape looked at the back cover, then absently flipped through the first few pages. “Is it any good?”
“Any good!?” Max sputtered. “I've already read it twice, and the only reason I'm not gushing about to you is I don't want to spoil it. I have not yet met the cat who read this book and didn't like it.”
Grape looked up at Max, then back down at the book. “Huh. Can I borrow it?”
Max shrugged. “Sure.”
Aaaand consider the ice broken. I am so smart. Max paused for a moment, then rolled his eyes.
Great. Now I'm starting to sound like Bino.
“Well, Max, I think I'd better head home now. Thanks for everything.” Grape got up and started for the door.
Ah, crud. What did I do? “Wait!” he said. “Don't you want to see the rest of the neighborhood?”
Grape paused at the door, then looked back with a faint smile. “Maybe some other time, alright?”
Max shrugged. “If you insist. Just make sure you bring the book back when you're done with it.”
“Of course. See you around, Max.” And with that, Grape walked out the door and down the hall.
Well, Max thought with the barest hint of a smile crossing his face.
That went rather better than I thought it would. He glanced around the now-empty room.
Well, I'm bored. I wonder where Bino is...?
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As Grape walked down the sidewalk back to her new home, the sun's position in the sky was rapidly coming to mirror the cover of the book she held tucked under her arm. The red orb set the sky aflame just above the treetops, turning nearby clouds into blazing orange and yellow bursts.
It was hard for her to imagine that just half an hour ago she had looked at this place as if it were a brand new prison that she was being thrown into against her will. Now... well, she still wasn't happy about having to leave behind her old friends, but she was at least willing to look at the advantages the move held. A bigger house, better neighborhood...
“I could get used to this...”
It wasn't long before she finished the short walk back home. The first thing she noticed was Peanut, sitting with a book on the steps in front of the door. Grape looked at him with her head tilted to one side.
“I thought you were getting the grand tour from that one dog,” Grape said. “Where'd he go?”
It was a moment before peanut looked up from his book, seeming surprised by Grape's sudden appearance. “Oh, hi Grape,” he said absently. “You mean Fox? Yeah, we walked around for a little while. Then he introduced to a dog named Bino. Then they started arguing about something, Fox said something about calling Fido...” He shrugged. “After that, things got weird. I just sort of took that as my opportunity to go.”
“Uh... huh.” Grape took a seat next to Peanut. “Well. Besides that, how did it go?”
At this, Peanut seemed to visibly perk up. “Great! Fox showed me the dog park, where he lives, the library, which is where I got this book, then we talked for a while, and I think that he's coming over tomorrow for a while, and-”
Grape clapped a paw on Peanut's shoulder. “Breath, pup, breath.”
Peanut took a minute to catch his breath, then looked back up at Grape. “What about you? Dad said you went over some other cat's house.”
Grape nodded. “Yeah, Max. He lent me this book.” She held up the paper back so that Peanut could see it.
“Oh. Is he nice?”
Grape shrugged. “I guess. He seemed a little weird, but...”
“I mean, it's just that you seem less... angry.”
Grape shrugged again. “You could say that.”
The pair sat in silence for a while, watching as the red light of the sun began to finally sink behind the trees and extinguish itself. The fiery reds in the sky began to make their subtle shift to deep purples and blues. Long shadows stretched themselves still further down the empty street.
“You know,” Grape said. “I think I might like it here.”
Before Peanut could respond, a familiar voice called out from inside. “Peanut! Grape! Dinner time!”
Peanut's eyes took on a mischievous glint when he turned them back to the cat sitting at his side. “Race you.”
Grape shook her head almost imperceptibly, but she was unable to keep Peanut's grin from infecting her as well. “All right, ya mangy mutt. You're on.”
With a cacophony of shouts and laughter, the two dashed through the open door and down the hall.
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(Note: The first section is told from Max's point of view. Which is why Grape is referred to as "he". Also, I seem to enjoy describing sunsets entirely too much. That's not exactly important, I just wanted to get it out there.
)
Well, it's happened again, you've wasted another perfectly good hour
listening to Car Talk reading my fanfiction. As the beginning of the post said, this is indeed the last entry (aka
The Conclusion. Underline required.) I had actually planned on wrapping things up long before this. My original plan was to sort of say "and the rest is history" after Peanut and Grape got adopted. But at some point I guess I said "why not?" and kept going.
Anyway, this isn't it for this thread. I've still got a couple of short, stand-alone things that I plan on writing and posting here. So, stay tuned.