Adventures in Afurica

Chapter Two

Tiko stretched his jaw into a yawn, settling his head back atop his paws and trying to catch at least a few more minutes of sleep before the car would finally roll to a stop. The light disappeared, and Tiko sat up quickly, poking his nose through one of the holes in his carrier. "What's happening?" he asked anxiously, heart pounding loudly. "Did we arrive?"

From her own carrier, Demi meowed, "They're just finding a spot to leave the car - don't be stupid." Her words, though carrying a mildly harsh connotation, had a slightly lighter tone.  

The car stopped.

Riley just shrugged. "I can see out the back window," they meowed, voice muffled by the plastic of their cage. "I think... yep, the trunk's gonna open."

Tiko wasn't calmed by any of this. "I'm hungry," he muttered, tail fidgeting as Riley's prediction came true. Ben leaned into the back of the car and picked up Riley's carrier first, handing it to Marc. The man then took Demi's carrier, leaving Tiko alone in the back.

"Don't forget about me," he meowed, but his owner had already turned and was walking too far away for Tiko to glimpse him out of the tiny holes in the plastic. 

Laura's scent filled the air as she picked up Tiko's carrier, though, and he slumped against the plastic, heart still beating too quickly. "Thanks," he meowed gratefully, a slight purr escaping his mouth. Laura laughed softly and stuck a finger through a hole in the cage. He rubbed his cheek up against it,  his pulse quickly calming with her soothing presence. 

Tiko was more grateful, though, when she stopped moving, climbing inside of a small vehicle and sitting the cage on her lap. This car wasn't familiar - there were other people milling around inside, keeping to the seats, at least as far as Tiko could see. He recognized Riley and Demi's scents next to him, but as the car started, vrooming forward, he didn't try to meow over the sound.

Laura swung his cage around so that she was facing him, and she quietly opened the front of it. She told him something he couldn't understand, reaching a hand in and petting the top of his head. Tiko purred, not even considering trying to leave the little cage. He was much more comfortable with the touch of his owner and a wall of plastic between him and the strangers nearby. 

The ride was rather short, and when the car finally rolled to a stop, Laura quickly shut his cage and stood up, one hand still supporting the bottom of the carrier. She joined Ben and the others as they left the car.

It was then that Tiko started to miss the other unfamiliar environment. The certainly unforgettable roar of the airport filled his ears; his nose was flooded with a hundred inseparable scents. He meowed - loudly - but Laura didn't seem to hear him. The humans entered through large glass doors and went to stand in line.

It was quieter inside. He tried to keep calm, barely able to keep a hold on the plastic of his carrier as he peered out the holes in the back. He caught Demi's gaze. "I hate this part," he meowed, hoping she would hear him or at least understand his distress.

She nodded sympathetically. "Me too," she meowed, voice hardly loud enough for Tiko to hear. "Riley's somehow managing to sleep through all of this." She gestured toward the other cat's carrier, where Tiko could just glimpse the top of his best friend's head.

Mildly jealous, Tiko flattened himself to the floor of the carrier, digging his claws into the blanket that Ben had tossed in there. It kept slipping out from under him whenever Laura moved, but it was better than feeling his bones dig into the cold plastic of the floor.

A little while later, Tiko felt Laura set his cage on top of some table. She was talking to another human - one with a white uniform and blue cap and an unforgiving, stoic stare. Tiko shivered slightly, remembering what would come next.

Laura opened the carrier and scooped Tiko up in her arms, stroking his sides as the uniformed woman took his carrier away and put it on a black table. It started moving and soon disappeared into the large tunnel that was in front of it. 

Laura smiled warmly at him as she walked toward the big glass device. Once she entered, she set him down. Curious, Tiko sniffed at the walls. Hundreds of humans must've been through the strange device - he could even smell the faint scent of a dog. Tiko was still wondering if the canine was still nearby when Laura picked him up, walking out the other side of the little room.

Tiko was reunited quickly with the insides of his carrier, Laura pausing to flatten his blanket first, and he, again, tried to sleep. The airport, though, was loud, and even a short nap evaded him as the humans continued walking.

He sat up, glancing out of the holes and trying to slip and crash against the metal bars of his carrier. He could see Sophia holding Demi's cage, but she was too far away for Tiko's meow to reach her. Riley was probably behind him, out of sight, and she'd be sleeping, so there was no hope of complaining to her.

Instead, Tiko just slumped back to the floor and hoped he'd be able to sleep soon.

by rio :)