A Paw Behind You

The Outside World (Part 2)

"What's going on here---Woah there!" a glass object shattered against the door, nearly splitting Aiden's peering head in a bloody half. (I was just gonna... stick behind him, shielded from the chaos...)

"I...Fine," I could hear a softer, although serious voice, "I shall make my leave, but I hope regrets don't come once that leg renders it so."

"Try me, arse."

I backed off in similar motions with the unnerved fox, as the single, short door flung further open from a bigger pull on the other side. Exiting, revealed a brown wolf with blue-colored patches, walking with soft steps, and relaxed arm movements thrown front and back.

"Hey!" Aiden waved with a close-eyed smile.

"Oh, Aiden, you're here!" A blue-patched paw waved back lazily, his footsteps slowed to a full-stop.

Of course, being the usual shadow behind, I was ignored. Or maybe, it could just be the unusual first impressions we had in between before, talk about awkward...

"What's going on in there?"

"See for yourself, but I think it's best you don't stay there for too long," winking, he went back to his light mood with both paws behind his head humming, both of us nervously (well, for me of course) entered through the left-opened door.

And almost instantaneously, glass shattered against us as we attempted to enter.

"Ah!" Expected from the suddenness, a piece of glass managed to strike squarely onto the fox's brown back paw, making him retract from the handles.

"Goodness, are you okay!?" I carefully flipped it around, showing a not-so-thin piece of a glass shard punctured straight through the paw, "That... that looks very painful. Goodness..."

"Ah, it's just a scratch, we should check on..." 

I nudged the door open slowly, this time without any potentially life-threatening hazards being thrown over (thankfully). Placing my first steps, it had already crunched down glass shards to tinier pieces below.

The short, rectangular room looked like a diner's kitchen with the black-white-tiles and bright, plaster-like counters that glowed by a few (luckily) still working pendant lights hanging, and a few smaller windows letting in at least some natural light.

Leaning with two paws straightly placed onto the middle islands though, was a recognizable dingo, shrouded in a very unfamiliar vibe I could get off.

"N-Nick... are you okay?" I left the fox behind (despite my protests against that), and advanced my steps towards the dingo, only to narrowly avoid yet another object shattering against the floor near me, "What in the world!?"

"Get out," was what I could hear adamantly, and monotonously spoken, by the darkly-expressed canine, "Get out... get out... get out..."

Aiden approached with utter concern, while I was stunned from just how... blackened the atmosphere had switched. It felt like... the fox was entering the dragon's den, except this was no brave adventure, but a foolish one.

"What's going on?"

"Get out... get out... get out..."

"You know you can talk to me. Is it about..."

"I SAID GET OUT, OR ARE YOU DEAF!?" I backed off in reflexive response with paws clenched defensively involuntarily. I was admittedly afraid, afraid of what he might do next...

It reminded me, of something, something that remained in the darker corners of my memory...

"Sky," I heard a warm voice through the coldness, shaking my head off, "I'll deal with this. You should probably go somewhere else..."