Fur-al High

[Goblin Cat 😸]

Marlowe sighed, after shifting between closing her eyes and staring at the ceiling for about two hours. She sat up from the comfortable bed and stared at the TV, despite it being off. She swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up, kicking her legs as if to make sure they worked. She snatched up one of her hats and put it on her head, not much caring what she looked like and got her essentials, which at this point was just her wallet. Marlowe pushed the door open, and went across the hallway and knocked on her dad's door. "Dad.. I'm going to go out."

Before she could walk off, there was shuffling, and the door opened. "I'll go with you. I need to get some things, anyway.. Like our phones." He smirked a bit. "I was looking that up before you knocked, and if you want we can go now." She nodded. Mordecai grabbed his coat and stepped out, locking it behind him. While he did, she did the same.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno leaned his head back to see who opened the door, to his surprise it was Veronica. "Oh...Vee-...Veronica..." He said, sitting up. He turned on his bed to look at her. "...What're you doin' here?" he asked. His voice too seemed a little emotionless. He realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and got up to go get one. He got one on the table and threw it on, without buttoning it. He almost looked normal, you couldn't tell he had been crying the previous night. His face also went back to normal. "You can stay if you like...I know you're probably still feeling down..." he said while looking at the table. Then he suddenly put on a bright grin, turning to Veronica. "We can talk about it if you want to." he said, smiling. Not a toothy smile, but a someone forced grin. It would be hard to tell it was fake. Reno tried his best to hide how he was really feeling, he didn't want anyone to worry.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu consumed himself with his new game and his mind began to wander. His mind slipped back to the days right after his father's passing. The game seemed to be a war version of his life. The interrogator was torturing the main character, forcing him to recall the events of his past and the struggles that he went through to get where he was. It's like his everyday, he's constantly haunted by his past, the struggles, both physical and mental, that he went through to get from his old, obese and nerdy self to today's more upbeat and fit nerdy self. It was only the course of a few years that he went from four feet seven inches tall with a triple XL adult size to a six feet eleven inches at a size medium. The constant memory of his father was torture enough.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

When Reno asked what she was doing there, she looked at the floor which made it seem like she was trying to remember (but she wasn't). "I heard the news." She said, believing that that was better than saying 'I heard that Schad died'. She then stepped through the door and slowly closed it after Reno said she could stay. It was easy for her to see that his smile was fake no matter how hard he tried to make it seem like it wasn't. "Nice attempt, but I'm a cheerleader...I know fake smiles when I see them." She smiled slightly, which was real, but it didn't remain on her face very long. "There's nothing to talk about. My parents are dead." Even her voice sounded emotionless as she spoke like she didn't care in the slightest. She really did of course, but she had numbed up.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

The phones were fancy. Her father had picked up an Android for himself, and when she had to pick, she grabbed a Rogue. She liked that it had the touch screen and the slide out keyboard. They started a contract under Verizon, figuring they dropped off the map in the US under their false name. "Now at least we can call Mr. Rice and each other when we need it. You can go out on your own now since we have our phones." They stepped outside of the store, "I'm going back to Mr. Rice's place. Do you want to go, or do you want to stay out some?" Mordecai asked.

"I think I'll explore some." Marlowe replied. Her father nodded and hugged her, slipping a switchblade into her hoodie pocket.

"You may need that. Just call me when you're ready to come home and I'll pick you up." He smiled.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno's smile faded and he looked back at the table. He tried his best to push out the thought of Schadenfreude's death, it made him sad to think about it again. "Everyone I've ever cared about is dead..." he mumbled. He put his paws on the table and grunted, with a seeming growing anger. "If you want to live...You should leave...You'll die if we continue to be friends!" He turned his head away slightly, enough to hide his eyes. Reno was pretty upset, his voice seemed a bit angry, which was something easy to pick up because he was never normally an angry person. He himself wasn't even sure why he was angry. "I care about you and Shinzuu...That's why I don't think we should be friends anymore. I don't want to see you get hurt."

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

As Shinzuu continued on, his mind then dove even further back, back to his earlier childhood, days spent with his mother, who spoiled him and gave him everything that he ever wanted and, coincidentally, fed him everything he wanted as well. Tears began to run down his fur as all the happy time he had with his mother flooded his mind, the happiness, how much she always carried him, even up to age 4. She was much taller than his father, and she was burly, the result of being Ms. Japanese Bodybuilder for 3 years straight before getting married. She was a very gentle woman, and her orange fur was the softest material he ever felt in his life. Being in her arms made him melt in a flurry of happiness and bliss. Shinzuu finally dropped the controller and just broke down crying right there and then.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica's numbness finally broke at seeing someone else expressing a true emotion, but not to the point where she would start crying about her parents. It was just to the point where she would care about how other people were feeling. "You really need to stop being so dramatic." She said softly as she slowly walked over to Reno. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "All that has happened has nothing to do with people being involved with you. That's just a coincidence. Schad is better off now than she was in life." She looked at a wall for a moment. "Just because I'm friends with you, doesn't mean it will kill me. It won't be a friendship to bring me to my end. There are...bigger things, that will kill me..." She started to let out a choking sound but cleared her throat to cover it up and shook her head slightly, letting her hand slide off of Reno's shoulder.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

The bull terrier was walking down the street, not really going anywhere in particular. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets, playing with the switchblade her father gave her, without opening it. She looked around, trying to read the signs, but stopped when she came to a building that had games on the inside. She figured it was an arcade, and opened the door, taking in everything. Flipping through her wallet, she found some money, and found the nearest fighting game there was. It was Tekken. She chose her favorite character, Yoshimitsu, and started the game in arcade mode.

[Srgntcuddles]

"I'm serious...This isn't a joke! Everyone dies around me. It's all my fault too! If it wasn't my birthday...My parents would be alive! If I...If I was there for Nero...He wouldn't have gotten shot! I wasn't there to keep him out of trouble! And...Schad...She...If I never...Met her...She would be alive too! I could still be with her..." Reno slammed a fist into the table in anger. He was trying to hide how terrible he felt after remembering all that. He wanted to just cry again but instead he punched the table. He turned farther away from Veronica and took a few steps, wiping his eyes and sniffling a bit.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Reno's pessimism really got Veronica irritated. "I didn't take it as a joke!" She snapped at him. "You and your damn negativity! This isn't about you! This has nothing to do with you!" She meant that in the way that the people dying had nothing to do with him, not that he had no right to be upset about the deaths, because he completely had the right. She moved away from Reno and to the midway point between him and the door, not to leave, just to move around because she couldn't stand still. "People die everyday, Reno. Everyday. If some of those people are involved with you somehow, it doesn't matter. It all has to do with timing. If you had it bad with the mafia, then maybe it would be about you, but you don't so it's not." The last part was meant as an example, not a joke. "Everyone dies eventually. You just have to...accept..." The wall blocking her emotions broke down at her own words along with realization of what she just said actually applied to her and the fact that her parents had died flooded back to the front of her mind. Without another word, she walked to the door, opened it, and left. The door slammed shut behind her but she didn't close it that hard on purpose, it was just the emotions controlling her body. She hurriedly walked down the hallway on her way to leave the hotel.

[Srgntcuddles]

Reno was shocked that Veronica said what she said. At least how angry she got. It made him feel terrible, making him more sick to his stomach than he was already. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled as she left. She probably didn't hear it, but he didn't exactly think it mattered. He turned in time to see her leave and slam the door. Which made him feel worse. He didn't feel like should go after her, he was kinda glad. "Maybe now she'll leave me alone...I'm sorry, Veronica...But it's for the best. I'm sure Shinzuu already doesn't care, or he'd have been here." He sighed and began to pace back and forth. "I wonder when the funeral is...? I'll go to that...And then..." He fell back onto his bed and just lied there.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Shinzuu finally calmed down after almost an hour. His fur was soaked and he felt all musty and nasty. "Oh well, I guess since I haven't yet..." Shinzuu sighed and went over to the bathroom, undressing and filling the tub, testing the water from the little shower head on the floor with his feet. After being fully undressed, he sat on the little stool and soaked himself a little before grabbing the soap.

[Vee Katame: His Wolfy]

Veronica didn't pay attention to where she was going when she left the hotel, she just walked. She tried to hold back her emotions which just gave her a headache so she finally let the tears fall. She was pretty much walking with her eyes shut and she heard horns blare a couple of times but she never paid any attention to them. When she finally stopped and opened her eyes, she found herself at her house. Sniffling, she went through the gate and up to the door. She went to test the door handle to see if it was locked but her legs gave out and she crumpled on the step in front of the door. She didn't bother to try to get up and just curled up with one side against the door, closing her eyes and continuing to cry.

[Goblin Cat 😸]

After she finished with Tekken, she moved around to other games until she got bored. She exited the arcade, and walked down the street some more until she came across a park and rested. She decided that this would probably be the best place to call her dad from since it was probably easy to look up and hard to miss. She punched in his number and sat on a bench. When he answered, she asked him if he could come pick her up at the park. "Sure, as soon as I figure out where it is. I'll be there soon enough."Mordecai answered, "We can get a bite to eat as well, I know you have to be hungry."

She ended the call and yawned, sitting in the park in her pajama pants with her hand tucked into her pockets. It was pretty, the grass was green, and there were a few trees with a winding path. Her stomach growled. Her father was right, she was a little hungry. She also assumed that he would fill her in on Schad's death. At that thought, she sighed.