The Wild Side

Chapter 2: Hiya, name's Jack

I found myself in a room, painted red and black with random posters splattered everywhere along the walls. There was a gaming PC and a single TV and desk, complete with various game consoles, I knew what some of them were, but I couldn't remember their names off the top of my head. The PC sat on the desk right in front of the bed, and the game consoles were a few feet away from the desk, sitting on what looked to be some sort of mini-shelf or coffee table. The bed sheets and pillows were blood red, the single twin sized bed was quite comfortable, my hoodie, shirt, pants, and sneakers were laying in a neat pile at the foot of it. I heard voices coming from downstairs...

"Do you think I should go check on him?" asked one of the voices.

"If you want to," answered the other. 

Later, a red fox with black splotches on his fur, blood red eyes, wearing a red hoodie, black pants and black socks walked toward me. He was skinny, yet built, like me. He looked about five feet ten in height. I was five-foot six, four inches shorter than him. His red hair, covered with wisps of black at the very tips, came down to about his neck and covered part of his eyes, he pushed some of it out of the way, displaying his beautiful red eyes, who's pure beauty I had taken for granted when I first glanced at them...

Being raised not to trust strangers, I growled cautiously, "Who are you?"

He smiled, dismissing my growl, "Hiya, name's Jack."

I growled lower, "Why am I here?"

He kept his friendly smile, "I found you passed out in our yard last night, I decided to bring you here." I was surprised at first that this...Jack...would bring a stranger, let alone a wolf into his own home, but then I remembered that he was a fox, and Foxes are usually known for their kind and compassionate nature, despite their cunning which is often portrayed in fairy tales and fables.

 "Where am I?" I asked.

"Downtown Los Angeles, California," was his reply. He cautiously walked a little closer, and I for some reason snapped at him. To my surprise, he didn't even flinch. He was about twenty-four, three years older than I, "What's your name?"

"...Shadow..." was my monotone reply.

"That's a cool name," he complemented, "you have really beautiful fur."

"Thanks..." I said, the edge in my voice was more audible than I would've liked. I had always liked my black fur with lightning bolts streaking it, it made me feel cool, and I'm glad someone else did, too. He sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at me with an inquisitive stare.

"Where are you from?" he asked, his voice filled with inquisition.

"A village in a forest nearby," was my monotone reply. As you can probably tell, my social skills aren't the greatest when faced with someone I don't know that well.

"That's cool..." he said, his voice trailing off somewhat awkwardly, "what was it like?" I smiled slightly; I could go on for hours about my homeland. I could tell so many fun stories of past experiences, but my lips could only form a simple sentence.

"It was fun..." my voice had slightly increased in pitch, seeing the genuine care in his crimson red eyes. Jack pushed some stray hair out of his eyes, and I found myself lost in their gentle gaze once more.

"Did you have any friends?" he questioned.

"Some..." I answered, "they're probably all dead, anyway. The village was burned down yesterday."

Jack rubbed my thigh sympathetically, "I'm sorry to hear that."

I shrugged, "It happens." 

He walked over to his desk and sat in his gaming chair; I watched him play with growing interest, eventually sitting up in bed to watch him, even though I didn't know what game he was playing, it looked like fun. His character walked around aimlessly in what seemed to be a futuristic city full of animated billboards and other characters that I assumed were NPCs, or non-player characters. Seeing my subtle interest, he paused the game and turned around in his chair, smiling his signature smile.