It was almost nine o' clock, time for Taffy to leave for work. His right paw brushed through his hair as he tiredly stared into his own violet eyes in the mirror. Groaning, the young pink husky went about brushing his teeth and stepping into the shower, jumping a bit as he hadn't even let the water warm up. Listening to the shower-head sputter, he cursed quietly under his breath. The apartment was a real piece of crap, but it was all he could afford at the time. Between rent and making sure he had a shred of anything to eat, he barely made his bills outside of that. His paws soaped and scrubbed himself idly before he rinsed, not even able to enjoy the warmth of the half-working water. He stepped out of the shower; his once pink fluffy fur now wet, making him look like a drowned rat. Reaching one paw over, he grabbed a towel off of the rack. He dried off, continuing doing so with the blow-dryer, then grabbed his brush and smoothed himself down. It took him a while to complete his cleaning and beautification ritual, which would inevitably make him late.
Finally ready, he looked at the clock, groaned again and muttered, “Damn it. I am so getting fired.”Grabbing his keys off the table, he hurried out the door. It had warmed up considerably over the last week, so walking to work was not the pain it had been earlier in the winter. The walk wasn't so bad, only a couple blocks, but cars were rushing by so he pulled his hood up and stared at the ground. The familiar red glow of the sign illuminated the sidewalk before him, marking the entrance to the joint. Walking in, he waved to the bouncer but didn't look up. His foot-paws padded across the carpet until he ran smack into a large chest covered by a cheap suit. Sighing he looked up, his badger of a boss standing there and peering down at him, a cigar wedged between his teeth, bits of it falling onto the poor boy as he spoke, “You are late again... one more time and I will fire you, ya worthless little whore. Now get to work." Taffy scowled a bit, but muttered, “Yes sir,” as he shuffled towards the dressing room.
It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the job. It wasn't that he had any problems with the style of dress, or the attention. It was the fact that he was barely making money to survive, and was even doing jobs on the side just to buy a meal now and again. Peeling off his hoodie and the remainder of his clothing, he stood for a few seconds looking at himself in the mirror. His pink hair was sloppily styled, but looked ever so cute, slightly lighter than his fur. His paws ran over his own body, lost in thoughts of better days before the pounding bass of the speakers in the main room brought him back to reality. He sighed and pulled a few articles of skimpy clothing out of the small selection he kept for himself and pulled them on, adjusting his sheath in the tight thong and spraying himself with the sweet-smelling perfume that was running dry. He waited a few moments for his cue before slinking out on stage. His small pink paws gripped the pole, and he swung around it halfway, striking a pose while the patrons whistled. He smiled softly to himself. In a few seconds, the music started and he danced on the pole, watching as a few dollar bills showed up on the stage.
It wasn't much, but it meant he could buy bread at the market on the way home, assuming his boss didn't take the majority of it. He had resorted to hiding his tips so the the badger couldn't take it. The song came to an end as he pushed himself up on the stage, grinding his softly held sheath against the floor a little, letting out a soft moan for his customers. It was then that he caught the image of his favorite fellow co-workers backside. He shivered a bit, keeping up his appearance as a customer placed a five dollar bill in his maw. The object of his affection had a name, it was Jayce. The slender reptilian flitted through the crowd, dodging tables and other servers, as he delivered various beverages. His contrast was what caught Taffy's eye. Of course, he was also stupidly gorgeous. He shivered again and pushed the thoughts away. Jayce had spoken to him once in all the time he had worked there. Picking up the rest of his tips, he went back to the changing room and exchanged the outfit for another. His thoughts returned, remembering the day that his boss had come down on him for stealing a bag of pretzels from the bar. As the badgers' paw was on its way to strike him, a clawed white and partially scaled hand caught it. Long hair covered Jayce's eyes as he spoke, “You hit that boy, and I will fuckin' end you." The badgers' astonished face was clear in his memory, as the sergal whispered, “You'll be alright honey,” in his ear, and walked away.
That was the only interaction they had ever had, and he clung to it a bit. He had a feeling Jayce was the reason he still had a job here, but couldn't prove it. He often fantasized about what it would be like to be with Jayce, but sadly, Jayce had a boyfriend. A big black bear of whom Taffy was very afraid. His mind continued to wander until the small light beside the door came on and broke his concentration. He sighed and meandered back onto the stage, again gripping the cold pole. He tossed his head back, swinging around it a full rotation. A few more dollars littered the floor. This time, he wore a pair of black lace panties and nothing more. He made it easy for his customers; then again, income was his goal. He swayed his hips to the music before making use of the pole again. Trying to lose himself, he laid down on the stage on his back. Opening his eyes, he saw a face he had never seen in the club before, much more clean cut than the regulars. His paw extended, a rolled bill held in it. Taffy rolled over and opened up his jaws again, poking his tongue out. Money tasted dirty, but it was a great gimmick. The white digits placed the bill on his tongue as he drew it back, clamping his small teeth around it. Then the song was over. He collected his earnings and walked off, the bill clenched in his teeth.
Tossing the few bills he had gathered from the stage onto the table, Taffy then took the bill from between his teeth and uncurled it. His eyes widened and turned it over in his paws. It was crisp. It was new. It was a hundred dollar bill. Slapping it on the pathetic stack, he grabbed his hoodie and shorts. He tugged them on, not bothering to zip up, and one paw grabbed the cash as he flew through the door and pushed past the throng of people. Taffy panted, out of breath. He reached the area near the stage, but the customer was gone. He blinked, then made his way back towards the door, ready to head home. Waving at the bouncer again, he stepped outside and neatened the small stack of money, placing the c-note in back and looking at it as he walked. Stopping in front of an alley, he sighed. The boy whispered quietly, “Thanks... wish I could know you.”.
Suddenly, a figure moved from the shadows underneath a fire escape in the alley. The figure was tall, wrapped in a black coat, with silver hair fluttering behind him in the breeze. Taffy snapped his head to the side and looked. The figure moved towards him slowly, a voice emitting from it, “It's nice to meet you too.” The voice was deep, but calm and unthreatening. Taffy backed up, but the figure had moved so much distance in such a short time. A paw gripped his wrist securely, pulling him towards the building and pushing his back up against it with a soft thud. The figure released his wrist and pressed against his small chest. Its digits were white, the rest of it black. A fedora hid its face, until its head tilted up. Silver eyes staried down at him. It was the face from in the club, the paw that fed him the one hundred dollar bill. Taffy gasped a bit, his small pink paws wrapping around the muscular arm gently. “S..sir?” he gasped softly, unsure of whether he should scream and try to run, or just wait and see what happened.
Taffy looked up again, his purple eyes catching an unlit cigarette pressed between the wolf's black lips, a white stripe traveling down each side of his muzzle and wrapping around the silver eyes. Hesitating only a moment, he quickly got lost in them. Most would find the color boring, but he stared. The gray pools were the color of rolling mist and slightly glazed. They were a perfect storm. He flinched back into reality once more and reached into the pocket of his hoodie, producing a lighter. He held it to the end of the cigarette. The wolf didn't move, only inhaled and blew the smoke out to the side away from the boy's face. But then he spoke, the deep voice flooding through the boy, “What is your name, small one?” Still entranced by the wolf's eyes, Taffy stammered, , “M..my name? Er... well, people c...call me Taffy,” he said. He found it easy to speak any other time, save for now. It was almost as if it were the hardest thing he had ever done. He was blushing a deep red and knew it. His mind wandered to other places as the wolf's paw held him against the building.
The wolf took another drag from the cigarette. Taffy looked around and thought he knew what the wolf wanted, his tiny paw reached into his hoodie pocket and tugged the one hundred dollar bill from the folded stack and held it out, “D..do you want your money back Sir?”, he asked, voice still quivering quite a bit. But the wolf shook his head, his voice coming again, “No. That is yours. My name is Anakarr Slayde.” His paw fell away from Taffy's chest and he straightened out the slightly rumpled fabric where it had been. The wolf grunted a bit and let the nearly burned out cigarette fall to the ground, one foot-paw stamping to put it out. “Make sure you show up for work tomorrow,” the deep voice murmured as his body turned and walked down the alley, quickly disappearing into the shadows. Taffy reached one paw out. “W... wait!” he exclaimed. But the wolf was gone. He looked at the ground, confused, and stuck the paw clasping the money back into the pocket of his hoodie. Walking home, his mind wondered what the hell just happened.
It didn't take long for him to reach the even less reputable part of town where his shoddy apartment was. Jamming the key into the door he tried to get it to turn as he always did but the key broke in the lock. Purple eyes widened as his small pink fist slammed into the door. “God damn it!” he yelled and turned around. He began the walk back to the joint, hoping he could slip in and hide himself past closing time. He could sleep in the dressing room and leave in the morning before the club opened. He passed alley after alley in the dark, not even the street lights were working. As he strode under the last lit pole, the bulb burned out. He stopped to look up at it in disgust. Suddenly, he heard voices from the alley. He peered through the darkness. He could see figures but he couldn't make out anything else. The voices stopped and the figures moved closer. “Hey, what you lookin' at boy?” he heard a voice say. He froze up completely. The figures got closer and closer. Seeing one of their faces, he shuddered. The face was scarred, hair braided back, red tribal markings on the edges of the ears along with a few piercings. Taffy turned to run , but he was struck in the head. Disoriented, he fell to the ground, coughing and whimpering.
“Where you goin' so quick huh?” barked a mean-looking panda in a gruff voice, his chubby paws pulling Taffy up by the hoodie and holding him. The gangster-looking wolf drew his footpaw back and landed it in the small boy's ribs, making him scream. They dragged him into the alley, continuing to beat him. The money fell out of his hoodie pocket. The black wolf picked it up and thumbed through it. “Where'd you get this much money faggot motha-fucka?” he growled and kicked the boy again. Suddenly, there was a click in the darkness. Everyone was still. It was followed by a second click as they all turned around. Illuminated in the darkness, the long barrels of two neumatic pistols shone in the darkness. “Oh shit, time to roll out mothafuckas!” the black wolf yelped out, but before he could escape, one of the pistols flashed with a loud bang, catching him in the shoulder. He groaned loudly as he staggered off.
The panda and jackal quickly let go of Taffy, dropping him to the ground as they fled. The tall gun-toting figure stepped up, sliding the guns into holsters as it knelt down next to the beaten and bloodied canine. The figure's arms extended with white gloved digits to pick up the unconscious Taffy, holding him against it's bare chest. Walking out of the alley, he saw a cab stopped at the entrance of the club. The wolf bent down to he drivers side window and stared in. The shocked cabby got out to open the door and the wolf crawled into the cab with Taffy in his arms. The driver stammered, “W...where to mister?” The white-lined muzzle grit its teeth and grunted, “Hospital, you fool!” He nodded and pulled away from the curb, taking side streets to make good time to the emergency care facility.
The cab slowed to a stop in front of the white building. The wolf stepped out and carried the boy in, stepping up to the desk. The receptionist looked up. “Sir, if you need to be seen you'll have to fill out the necessary paperwo...” but the wolf cut her off. “Get off your ass, and get this boy into a room now, he was just beaten in an alley.” His paws turned Taffy's head towards her, pink fur stained with blood, some still wet as he bled. The receptionist gasped and moved from behind the desk, leading the wolf to a room. The strong paws laid the boy in the bed before he sat in the chair. The receptionist left, a nurse came in and started, “Sir, you will have to wait out..” “I'm not going anywhere.” He pulled his jacket aside, revealing the badge clipped to his belt. The nurse relented and moved to the bed, wiping off some the blood and hooking up an IV to keep the swelling down.
Hours passed. Doctors along with nurses came. They stitched the boy up, washing the rest of the blood from his fur, and clipped his worn hoodie off to be replaced by a hospital gown. After all the minor stitching was done, they left the boy to rest. It was the end of the next day before Taffy finally woke. Violet eyes blinked and he groaned, sore. Looking around the room, he stopped at the dark figure in the long coat resting in the chair. Its hat was tipped down over his eyes to keep the light out. Tilting his head, he saw the white fingers on black paws and gasped. “Is that... the wolf from the alley the other night?” he asked himself, whispering very quietly as not to wake him. Crawling out of the bed ever so quietly, he padded across the room and knelt down next to the figure with a quiet groan. The large paw half-covered the badge; Taffy leaned in an effort to see. Was he a cop? His eyes caught sight of the long-barreled pistol, his small pink paw reaching up, finger-pads running over the smooth metal. He looked up at the figure, making sure he wasn't awake. But the wolf didn't stir. The only moment was the rise and fall of his chest as he seemingly napped. He smelled like Old Spice and leather. Taffy shivered. The wolf had an outlaw-ish look to him.
His paw moved away from the gun as he stood with another slight groan. His head snapped down but the wolf still didn't move. Taffy's small pink paw moved towards the hat, running its finger-pads along the black brim. Still, the wolf dozed on. Deciding to test this, Taffy reached his paw down and lifted the wolf's paw away from the badge and pistol, then gripped the pistol and slowly slid it from the holster. Not a flinch. The pistol was heavy; he had trouble keeping it poised with one paw, needing two to keep it steady. He turned around and aimed down the iron sights at the doorknob. He decided it would be better not to play with it and turned back around to put it back, but the wolf was... gone. Taffy blinked a few times in disbelief, the pistol still gripped in his tiny paws.
A paw reached down from over his shoulder and gripped the slide of the pistol. Taffy blushed immediately, embarrassed and still wondering how the wolf had done that. Releasing the gun, Taffy turned around slowly and looked up, the silver eyes looking down at him as the paw holstered the pistol and shook one white digit at him. “Very dangerous. After the night you had... not what you need.” Taffy stared at his foot-paws and half-whimpered, “I... I am sorry sir.” The wolf dropped to one knee to meet his level better and shook his head, “You know, you gave me quite a scare. I thought you might not survive that." Taffy rubbed his sore cheek, the stitches were itchy, but tried not to mess with it much. “Th... they took the money you gave me, I can't get into my apartment, I am sure... I am...sure I've been fired,” Taffy choked out as he began to cry.
The wolf's paws reached out and took the boy by the shoulders, pulling him close, shushing him gently. His soft pink cheek pressed against Anakarr's bare stomach. “Don't worry about the money,” he whispered, trying to calm the young husky. The pink bruised muzzle nuzzled his chest, as his white paws slowly combed through Taffy's hair, whispering, “Shh... things will be alright little one."
