Beyond The Tether: Birds Of A Feather

Chapter One: UNFINISHED :3

       When Jesse woke up the next morning, Molly was still curled up at his side, a soft purr rumbling from her chest. The fox sighed, realizing as he looked out the mouth of his den that dawn had only just passed—he was in for another day full of yawns and stretches. He would have loved to go back to sleep, but he felt wide awake, and wasn't going to be able to fall back to sleep any time soon. He considered standing up, but then remembered the warm bundle cuddled up against him, and decided sharing her warmth sounded much better than getting slammed by the morning chill. Of course, that peace was shattered by the sounds of claws on tarmac outside the den, and Jesse wasn't about to get himself and Molly murdered or abducted, so he went to go see what it was. He stood up as slowly and carefully as he could, not wanting to disturb the snoozing brown-gray tabby, and tiptoed out of his den, awkwardly avoiding several cans stacked up on a crate that he almost bumped into. Just as he was throwing a look over his shoulder to make sure that they'd stayed in place, Jesse heard breathing to his left, and his head snapped around to see the source, only to see the same odd mutt from before—annoyingly casual smile and all. Jesse yelped in fright, fur fluffing out and wings stretching above his head into a more defensive position by reflex as his stormy blue eyes widened.

       "Oh, dear, did I scare you?" The English setter before him chuckled, rising stiffly to his paws—it looked like he'd been there a while. . . Jesse knew he should've moved last night! The fox huffed out a growl, indignation spreading throughout him as he glared. "What are you doing here?" Jesse muttered lowly, frowning at both the dog and himself. Before he could answer, a brown ball of fur shot out from the den, bowling the setter over in a flurry of paws. "Wha—?!" Was all the setter managed out before Molly arched her back from on top of him, having tackled him, and hissed, tail puffing out and teeth bared. The angry stance didn't last very long, seeing as the cat got excited and turned to look at Jesse eagerly. "I got him, Jesse! I got him! Did you see me? I was so fast!" She chirped, seeming to have forgotten about her poor victim, who look to be a mixture of confused, frightened, and somewhat amused by the tabby's sudden flip in demeanor. Jesse chuckled to himself, "Yes, I saw you, Mol. Good job—I didn't even hear you coming." He remarked, drawing a little closer to where she had the English setter pinned to the ground—and by pinned, Jesse meant the setter was only still there by choice—but Jesse still felt a bit proud of Molly for catching them both off-guard. Usually, she couldn't stay quiet enough to take five steps.

       His smile faded as he looked down to the setter, who had an eyebrow cocked curiously at Jesse and Molly. "As I was saying, what are you doing here?" The fondness in his tone from talking to Molly dissipated immediately, leaving his words harsh and cold. The setter rolled his eyes playfully, making no move to get up. "Duh, waitin' for you two to get up." He stated, smiling again. Jesse's brows furrowed at the vague answer. "Why, exactly?" The winged fox prompted him dryly, taking a brief glance to check on Molly, who was sitting on top of the strange mutt with her ears pricked and eyebrows raised in interest. This was not what Jesse wanted to wake up to. "I wanted my team to meet you," the setter stated simply, as if the idea wasn't absurd and also mildly terrifying. Jesse squinted at him, and from the corner of his eye he saw Molly tilting her head. "Why on Earth would you want them to meet us? You and I spoke for about ten minutes, and you haven't even met Molly—" "Who says I've not been watchin'?" The setter interrupted, tilting his head, his tone getting far too cocky for Jesse's liking. What does he mean by that? How long has he been stalking us? "What?" Jesse murmured, very concerned for their safety. "Well, I wanted to make sure y'all didn't get abducted, 'nd all." Right, Jesse thought, like that's an excuse for following me home. "A-Abducted? What do you mean?" Molly suddenly stammered, glancing at Jesse for a moment before training her eyes on the mutt. "The abductions have been happenin' rather close to where y'all live, remember? You were listenin' in, if I'm rememberin' correctly." Molly nodded in understanding. "Oh, right, yeah." She mumbled, halfway to herself. Jesse opened his mouth and took a step forward to say something, but an over-excited dog barreling into the alleyway stopped him in his tracks—quite literally.

       "OHMYGOSHMILO—" The little dog screamed, paws scrabbling on the ground as she tried to stop herself, ultimately careening into Jesse with a yelp from both of them. She wasted no time in introducing herself, even from on top of him. "HI JESSE! MY NAME IS BENZIE!" How did she know his name? Had she been stalking him too— "Oh, goodness, Benzie—" Apparently, Molly had leapt off the English setter in fright, seeing as the mutt had stood up and was now standing beside Benzie—thankfully not on Jesse, as she was. "I apologize for her, she's uh—she's a little hyper," the setter smiled fondly. He nudged Benzie's small form gently, and the pomeagle hopped off Jesse without protest, her teal hues sparkling with warmth as she grinned at the setter. "Oh—! Milo, didja hear the news about Lena?" When the setter—Milo, apparently—tilted his head in confusion, the pomeagle continued on, literally radiating excitement. Jesse stood back up as silently as he could, trying not to be noticed. "She's in town and I think she's looking for us!" The setter's expression brightened immediately, his two different colored eyes lighting up. "Really? Oh, that's wonderful!" Milo said softly, smile growing wider and wider. "Mmhmm! Do you think Jesse and Molly will help us track 'er down?" Benzie asked suddenly, round eyes full of hope as she turned to look at Jesse and then at Molly, who was slinking towards the fox cautiously, tail fluffed up and fur bristling. Did he think Jesse and Molly would what now?

       Jesse's head was spinning at this point, and as he felt Molly leaning into his side, he questioned why Milo and Benzie spoke of him and Molly like they were old friends—he'd just met Milo and had no idea who on Earth Benzie was. . . what was even going on at this point?

       "Woah, woah—" Jesse declared himself the voice of reason. "I don't even know y'all—and I just found out you've been stalking Molly and I for goodness knows how long. And you expect me to trust that you won't kill me or kidnap me? Uh-uh. I don't work like that." He stalked towards the two, trying to seem threatening—but Benzie was the only one who looked even remotely threatened.

       "Now, you're gonna tell me. . . what are you doing in my town? I know everybody here, by scent, by name, by voice. . . and I don't recognize either of you. Neither of you look like you belong in a place like this." Jesse spat harshly, glaring at them as he spoke. "So I'm gonna get a straight answer outta both of you, and I'm gonna get it now, and if you have anything to do with the disappearances, I'll run you out of town myself." He looked both of them in the eye, tired of the playful tone Milo had previously been throwing around. The English setter apparently didn't get the hint, seeing as he was still giving him that lopsided smile of his. "I think I see why you like him, boss. He'll do well!" Benzie leaned in towards the setter and murmured, smiling a little. Jesse ignored her comment.

       "You first. Why are you here?" He asked Benzie first, seeing as he was more likely to get an answer from the little pomeagle. "To inform Milo that Lena was in town, sir!" She responded in a clearly fake important tone, sitting up straight and feigning an angry scowl so she'd match Jesse. Annoyance bubbled beneath Jesse's skin at the mockery, but he payed it no more mind. "And you—why are you here?" He turned his head to Milo, glaring at him dangerously, daring him to fool around some more. Milo remained unbothered, "To bring you and your friend on a ghost hunt, dear. You two seem like you'd be a good fit for the team, and you'd also get away from the city if you stayed with us." Milo couldn't possibly have come to the city specifically for that reason. "Yeah, that's about as straight of an answer as I was expecting from you. . . " Jesse huffed. "Fine. Where are we headed?" Molly turned to him in surprise, jerking her head violently as her mouth fell open a bit, her amber eyes widened. Milo's smile grew, "West end of town, not to far from here."

       And so, they were off.

       Jfk