World's Underbelly

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

The streets of Boston were damp this spring evening. Shinzuu walked down the street solemnly as he normally does, smoking a cigarette from the new package he just bought before the store closed. The rain was light, but large drops could be heard in alleyways. His face was arched down at the floor like usual, having no interest in others around him. However, it seemed that this was not going to be another quiet roam home. The wolf could hear whispers near him, and the mist generated by the whispering voices could be seen in his periphery. Shinzuu clenched his fists a couple times before relaxing them in his pocket, looking around to see if there were any other people, absorbing his surroundings into his mind.

[Hunter568]

Hunter rode down the street on his aged scarlet bike, cursing under his breath as every puddle he rode through lept up to meet him, soaking the pant legs of his worn jeans. He had finally finished up his shift at Donte's Gym, having swept the entire place and wiped down every piece of equipment. As soon as he was done locking up for the night, the rain had begun. It wasn't too heavy, but Hunter was irritated by it all the same.

Ahead of him, he noticed a bulky wolf-tiger taking a drag off his cigarette. Hunter felt another flash of irritation at the other fur's slow walking pace. It was a little unreasonable to be angry at someone for walking, but he was in a bad mood. He sped up and moved over to pass by the man on the sidewalk. "On your left," he called impatiently.

[Mikala]

Kitty wiped down tables at the run down Electric Nights bar and nightclub, getting ready to close up. It’s been a slow night and she just wants to go home. As the rain had started, so had the ill mood she’s been working on all day come out. She checked her apron pocket and observed the small pile of cash she’d made in tips that night. Absolutely tragic. Lots of big tables, lots of cheap jerks. She let her eyes wander as she lamented her poor fortune, and saw someone on the sidewalk in front of the bar about to get hit by a bike. She leaned in on the table to watch, half hoping someone else’s night gets ruined too.

[Rayleonarde]

Valentine drew the tattered and worn canvas parka she wore tighter around her shoulders, staring into the night’s sky, the light rain washing some of the grime from her face. But with rain comes illness, or the cardboard box would either leak or collapse. From the alleyway across from Electric Nights, she could see the night-waitress preparing to close. Perhaps, the raccoon thought, she could sleep under the awning or window easel. Or it’d be a good day and there’d be semi-warm food in the trash. As her mind wandered on good thoughts, so too did the vagrant wander onto the sidewalk, planning to duck into Electric Night’s alleyway and rifling through the dumpster when the waitress wasn’t looking.

[Hunter568]

Just as Hunter sped up his cycling to pass the guy ahead of him on the sidewalk, a figure stepped out of a nearby alleyway and right into his path. Caught off guard by the other fur's sudden appearance, he braked suddenly and swerved to try to avoid hitting her. Unfortunately, the wet street and the sudden turn were not a good combination. The bike skidded and fishtailed violently, throwing him onto the ground as he narrowly avoided a crash.

Hunter groaned with pain as he smashed onto the curb, his head landing in a dirty puddle. He sat up, trying to recover from his daze and shaking the water from his fur. "Hey, watch where the hell you're going, lady!" he shouted angrily.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu heard the bike speeding up behind him and shifted to his right, but didn't expect it to swerve and slide. He barely caught a glimpse of the driver skidding past him when he instinctively jumped. But he didn't realize how big the bike was and its tires caught his feet as he was coming back down onto the ground, and sent him sliding backwards on the wet ground, knocking into the girl the driver was trying to avoid. Luckily, he had at least gotten his hands out of his pockets to cushion his impact onto the ground so his tailbone didn't hurt as much. At that moment, several hooded figures rushed in from the alleyways. There were 8 of them visible right off the bat. "Grab the girl! We can offer her up to the boss!" Two of the figures went to grab Valentine, one grabbed her feet and the other grabbed her arms. At the same time, three other guys came over to hold Shinzuu down as they lifted her from under his head, and one started frisking his pockets. Another three tried to do the same thing to Hunter.

Shinzuu growled as he lifted his right hand and punched the first guy square in the crotch, causing him to reel back in pain. He then grabbed the pants of the guy lifting Valentine's legs and pulled hard, causing the guy's knees to buckled and gave him the same courtesy, causing him to drop Valentine's legs. From there, the wolf grabbed the frisker's head and slammed it against the third person trying to hold him down. Shinzuu slowly stood up and glared at the one struggling to hold up Valentine by himself, who promptly yelled out, "Hey guys! A little help here!" From the alleyway behind Hunter, three more thugs popped out, two holding lead pipes and one holding a switchblade.

[Mikala]

“Oh great, vagrants on the street, I love Americans.” Muttered Kitty. “Hey Angelo, I’m gonna clock out!” The bartender’s only response is a grunt and she is off! She punched her time card and grabbed a bottle of cheap liquor before running out the back door. She pulled the tarp off of her motorcycle, parked in the way back of the alleyway, and revved it up. She rode out of the alleyway, running over the newcomers emerging from the alley and slamming the bottle of liquor over the head of the grunt holding Valentine, soaking them both in alcohol. “Motorcycle beats furs anytime!” She hooted as her momentum carried her into the street.

[Hunter568]

Hunter jumped to his feet in alarm as the group of furs emerged from the alleyway. "What the hell is going on!?" he yelled out, backing off a little.

As three of the strange furs approached him, he held his fists up at the ready and danced back and forth on his feet. Whoever these punks were, he wasn't just gonna lie down for them. As the first guy drew near, hands outstretched to grab Hunter, he drew back and delivered a deadly blow right into the other guy's face. The hooded figure collapsed to the ground, instantly out cold as blood streamed from his nose.

The other two, seeing what happened to their pal, approached Hunter more cautiously. "Yeah, just try something! I'm begging you," he taunted. However, just as the two were closing in on him, all three of them were distracted by the roar of a motorcycle. They stared in amazement as several others were mowed down by somebody.

Taking advamtage of the momentary distraction, Hunter clocked the other two attackers before they could realize what had happened. He gave a grunt of satisfaction as they collapsed.

He looked around uncertainly, not sure what to do next.

[Inb4Cloaker]

“Eso no es...normal.”

Zahil was sitting in his little, comfortable Audi that he had purchased a few days prior. With one paw holding his head up, he leaned forward and curiously observed a scene unfolding in the alley nearby. He could call the police. It’d be pretty funny, all things accounted for. Or, he could save the time and leave.

Yeah, that would probably be best. Especially considering what he just picked up at a recent drop. Typically, he’d have someone else make the pick up, but he couldn’t risk something ridiculous happening again. The floral shirt wearing Tabaxi would rather not watch every deal end with lead flying, cleaner costs, and a call back to his boss about why his men are all psychotic. Deciding it was time to head home and enjoy a late night margarita, he sighed contently and shook his head at the chaos outside. Turning the key, his car started up steadily and he flicked on his headlights. With two paws on the wheel, he leaned behind him to watch where he was going just in time to hear a loud slosh on his front window.

Frozen in place, he barely turned his head and gazed at the water and dirt mixture that was cast upon his windshield. Looking out the passenger window, he saw the motorcycle whiz by.

“Oh.” Was his only response as he completely turned around and flicked on the wipers, allowing them to clear his view.

Simultaneously, he lowered the passenger side window and nudged his way over, peering out at the motorcyclist who had just smashed someone with a bottle and got his car dirty.

“Gracias idiota.” He called out in an exasperated tone before rolling the window back up and starting to pull out of the parking lot.

[Rayleonarde]

Valentine’s vision went blurry as the bottle of alcohol broke against her assailant’s head. The noxious amber liquid splashed across her face, stinging her eyes. Now-blinded, Valentine panicked and whipped her head backwards, catching the thug holding her square on the nose. She fought out of his grasp and staggered a little ways away from the thug, trying to rub the alcohol from her eyes.

[Hunter568]

Hunter saw the feline who'd run over several thugs with her motorcycle struggling to get away from one. Quickly deciding she must be an ally in this brawl, whatever it was about, he dashed forward and delivered a solid punch to the guy's ribcage. He heard the crunching of bone as the hit connected, and felt his own unwrapped knuckles throb with pain, the surface of the skin splitting. He might have overdone that one.

The thug crumpled over at the waist, yowling with pain and clutching his side. Judging by the noise, Hunter figured he must have fractured the guy's ribcage. He stepped away, nursing his bleeding knuckles. "Hey, do you know who these guys are, or what's going on?" he asked the she-cat incredulously.

[Mikala]

“Thanks for the rescue, handsome. I have no idea who these people are, probably cheap muggers.” She winked at Hunter while flipping off the jerk in the Audi. Kitty looked at Valentine. “You alright hun?” She dismounts her motorcycle to offer the newly soaked and stinging fur a rag to wipe her eyes with.

[Hunter568]

Hunter cleared his throat, a slightly flustered expression on his face. "Ehm, you're welcome, miss. Just kinda punched whatever was in front of me," he said.

He looked around the sidewalk, his mind racing with confusion. Why had all these thugs just been hiding together, waiting for anyone to pass by? It seemed like an overly large group to just be common muggers. And he seemed to remember one of them mentioning something about "presenting" the female raccoon they had grabbed to their boss. What exactly was going on here?

He walked over to his fallen bicycle, stepping over the unconscious or injured bodies of their attackers (or stepping on them, when he noticed a conscious one). He lifted it back onto its wheels gingerly, inspecting for damage. Miraculously, nobody had landed on it or crushed it during the chaos.

Mounting up onto the bike again, he surveyed the damage around him one more time. "I gotta get home. It's been...weird. Maybe you should call the police and report this," he said uncertainly to the she-cat.

[Aldrea945]

Whiskers lounged at the bus stop, scrolling through recent postings on the job list.  Lot of assassinations this week.  She hadn't particularly liked the last set.  Something about nearly getting gutted did that to a fox just looking for her paycheck, but it wasn't like they walked away to try it again.   It was pretty funny watching the news the next day, too.

The sounds of a scuffle in the nearby alleyway made her ears twitch, even though she didn't look up just yet.  'The last time I peaked around the corner I came away with burned fur.  Let them come out,' she thought.  Her curiosity peaked, though, with the roar of a motorcycle.  Whiskers looked up as the group appeared out on the street.  The scuffle, though, wasn't what kept her ears on them.

She smirked and tucked her phone away with a quiet chuckle.  Well if that isn't one of the bounties she'd considered.  Poor ringtail.  Maybe she'd just... happen to take her in later.

Whiskers trotted over, schooling her expression into wide eyed worry and nervousness.  "Hey, are you alright?  Do you need me to call someone?" she called, putting just a little shakiness in her voice.

[Rayleonarde]

Valentine groped wildly for the rag, and quickly set to wiping her face after finding it. She finally got her eyes clear after a merciful few wipes.
"Y-Yeah. I'm...I'm fine. Just a little shaken." She blinked hard a few times before handing the rag back.
"No...No cops. Okay? I-I'm fine. Really. I can manage." Valentine glanced around, taking stock of who was around. When she spotted the waitress, her heart sunk.
So much for a free meal...
Valentine straightened herself up, trying to look as well-put together as possible. "Thank you all. I would've been killed, or worse, without you." A fearful sorrow began creeping into her voice, as she turned and walked back towards the alleyway she came from.
Get home. Go to bed. James has some drink left.
When the raccoon girl rounded the corner, still visible from the street, what little hope she had left fell away completely.
The fridge box, her home for the past three months, now laid before her as little more than a pile of charred and torn refuse. The mattress she had found was gone, along with the crank radio she managed to...borrow...from the department store.
Valentine dropped to her knees, torn gloves to her face in despair and disbelief.