FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Part 18: ...and Stark Realities

(Alexei)

Alexei glanced over towards the pavement on the other side of the road, a sickening sense of dread starting in his stomach once he found the call's source. "No... not this scum again."

The gang that had given him and Nathan such a hard time outside the local convenience store the week before had returned. Their slow walk in the opposite direction down the street suggested they'd once again been hanging around their regular haunt. This time though, they didn't appear to have been drinking. Small mercies.

"By the gods," Nathan groaned under his breath, "Do they spend their lives outside that damn store?"

"Aww, have you had nice trip out together?" the arctic fox called out in his sneering, sarcastic voice, reverting to Polcian so that Nathan too could be subjected to his mocking. He skulked slowly behind the taller tiger and bear, a cocky, vulpine grin fixed upon his pointed white muzzle. "He looks pathetic, riding in your pocket."

Alexei grumbled, keeping his eyes forward and his thoughts to himself. 'How I would love to wipe that expression from his face.'

"The puny dog does not wish to talk today?" the tiger yelled in his familiar coarse grumble, a grubby, crimson red tracksuit helping him stand out against his darker-clothed friends. "What, do you now have no voice also, wolf?" They stopped directly opposite the pair, waiting for a rusted pickup truck to roll on by before they could make their move across the street.

Alexei maintained his brisk walk, clenching his fists and resisting the growing urge to stand and confront them. Not only were there three of them, but he genuinely feared for Nathan's safety should they get close, let alone his own. He succeeded in staying silent, turning the corner at the end of the brick house row to move onto his street.

"Alex, you okay?" Nathan murmured, clinging to the fabric of Alexei's shirt as he bobbed about.

"I am fine, but I think it would be best to get away from them." He flicked his big, lupine ears back, just about able to pick up on the group's conversation as he continued at pace.

"Come on, let us go after them," the tiger rumbled in his mother tongue; a statement to which Alexei had to resist breaking out into sprint there and then.

'If I run, they will start too. I do not know if I am faster.'

"Go after them?" the brown bear answered with his deep, raspy voice.

"Yes," the short fox squeaked. "Did you not hear Yuri's words?"

"I heard them, Marat. I would not reply if I did not--"

"Do you think the others would let them get away?" Yuri snapped, silencing the rest of his gang.

'Others?' Alexei thought to himself, quickening his steps even further.

"Alex? What are they saying?" Nathan muttered anxiously, no doubt sensing the change of speed. He didn't answer back though, keeping his focus squarely behind him.

"Do you not remember what that fucking Polcian said, Bogdan? You wish for them to get away with it?" Yuri snarled, just before the wolf moved out of range of their words.

"Nate, we must get inside."

"What?"

"They are angry," Alexei stated, looking to his home at the end of the terrace they were almost halfway along.

"I kinda got that."

"No. I mean, I think--"

The rapid clatter of pawsteps shocked him silent. He whipped his head around, eyes widening at the frightening sight of all three gang-members sprinting across the main road and closing fast.

"Hey!" the tiger snarled. "Do you think you can insult us as you did last week and think we will forget!?"

"Oh fuck!" Nathan yelped, pawing at Alexei's chest. "Run!"

He didn't argue back. Instinctively, he threw his right arm across his chest and clamped his paw around Nathan. In turn, the little husky wrapped his arms around Alexei's index finger, clinging on for dear life.

"Gods above." He returned to face forward, bursting into sprint. At full speed, it took Alexei just a few seconds to blast by the storefronts sitting between him and his home. Fortunately, he remembered just before reaching it that he'd left his keys to the shop back in the apartment. Unfortunately, that meant having to run that little bit further around to the side-door.

"Are you okay?" he asked frantically, continuing on past the locked entrance.

"I'm okay." Nathan clasped the wolf's paw tighter. "Just keep running!"

Alexei couldn't resist a glance behind, gasping in shock soon after. Yuri, the tiger and Marat, the fox had closed in dramatically, positioned just three shopfronts away now. The bear, Bogdan meanwhile had been left in their dust, still two stores further back.

"Fucking Polcian lover!" Marat cried, jabbing out an accusing claw.

Alexei returned his focus ahead just in time to see that he'd reached the side alley. Quickly, he threw out his left arm, grabbing the plastic drainpipe attached to the wall at the end of the terrace row. "Hold on, Nate!"

The fleeing wolf used it to slingshot himself around the corner, causing its rusted fasteners to creak and groan from the force. They held strong though, allowing him to maintain his speed into the dingy alleyway and towards home.

The pounding of sprinting feet closing in filled Alexei's ears as he forced his free paw into his trouser pocket. He grabbed his keys and pulled them out with a clatter, almost dropping them in his panicked rush. In another half-dozen strides, Alexei had reached the building's side-door. His paws shook terribly, making the task of finding the lock with the tip of the key comparable to threading a thick piece of string through a tiny needle. He looked to his left, heart sinking as Yuri and Marat turned the corner.

"Alex, hurry!" He peered down to his shirt pocket, finding a picture of terror upon Nathan's face.

'Listen,' a voice in Alexei's head commanded. 'Unlock the door, now!' He directed the entirety of his focus and will into his paw with a deep breath, forcing the slamming, fast-approaching footfalls out of his mind. With as much calm as he could muster, he slipped the key into the lock and turned it, earning a clunk as the deadbolt finally gave way.

"Stop, you fucking traitor!" Alexei quickly glanced along the alley. Angry, seething eyes glared back from the tiger now fractionally beyond touching distance. If looks could kill, the wolf would have surely died on the spot.

"Alex!" Nathan screamed. "Watch out--"

With a drop of his shoulder, Alexei thrusted the door open, pulling himself inside and slamming it closed behind him in one swift movement. He spun on his heels, throwing his weight against the doorway as the deadbolt reset. A sigh of relief filled the small, otherwise silent hallway. They were safe at last.

A loud crack against the wooden door a second later caused Alexei to flinch. "You bastard!" came the cry from outside, the tiger's voice practically a roar.

"Good gods," Nathan muttered, now hugging tightly against the wolf's chest. "I'm glad you got us away from those psychos."

"I am glad I got us away too," he rumbled, stroking down his husky's back.

"Coward!" the fox chimed in, prompting Alexei to look to the door with a growl.

"What are they saying, Alex?"

"It does not matter."

"They have... gone inside?" the bear queried, his deep voice broken by heavy panting from his run.

"Why do you think we stand here?" Yuri snorted, bashing at the door again. "Yes, the wolf and his pet are here."

"Pet? I think perhaps they are gay for one another," Marat jeered, his tone suggesting his words to be geared towards insulting rather than making a genuine observation. "A big, gay cowardly wolf and his tiny bitch husky."

Alexei began to snarl at the chorus of laughter that followed, paw gripping at the doorknob so tightly that his arm began to tremble. "Fuck you!"

"Coward is still here!" the tiger boomed. "You ran like scared little girl, and now you can only talk back from other side of door?" He slammed at the wooden doorway again with his last.

"Coward?" Alexei growled. "Tell your friends to leave, and I will come out alone. Then I will show you what a 'big, gay cowardly wolf' can do to a son of a whore like you!"

That drew yet another, even louder pounding upon the door. "You speak of my mother! Who the fuck are you--"

"No, who the fuck are you!?" he roared back, snarling viciously. "You think you can chase, offend me? Threaten this husky because he is small!?"

"Alex, what the hell are you saying to them!?"

Alexei didn't answer. Instead, he stood staring at the door, hackles rising to stand as a red mist descended. He honestly felt capable of charging outside, grabbing the tiger by the throat and pinning him against the opposite wall of the alley. His mind's eye watched on as his white-furred paw squeezed at Yuri's jugular, keeping it clamped fast until he grovelled for mercy.

Thankfully, common sense overrode these primal urges. As much as he wished to turn them into action, Alexei knew full well he stood little to no chance of fighting off three opponents at once. He released the doorknob and stepped back. "I want you to get away from my shop, or I will call the police. What will they think of you threatening the owner of a local business?"

"Police?" Marat yipped. "A coward's move."

"You are a big man when with friends. I wonder if it is so when you are alone," Alexei growled, his vengeful urges still lingering beneath his calm facade. "Leave. Now."

"Come, let us leave them," Yuri scoffed after a moment's pause. "Allow them to hide away like the bitches they are."

"Hope to see you soon, coward," Marat added, his words drawn out and thick with sarcasm. Either he'd ignored the wolf's questioning of his bravery, or simply remained oblivious to it.

"A traitor to this country," Bogdan muttered, not to be outdone by his more vocal friends.

Alexei waited for a good twenty seconds, ear pressed to the door to listen out for any further trace of the gang. Once satisfied they'd left, he turned away and approached the entrance to his workshop.

"By the gods, Alex," Nathan squeaked, visibly shaken by the pursuit and standoff. "Does this sort of thing happen a lot around here!?"

"I would say not," Alexei muttered lowly, stopping to grasp the door's handle with one paw while trying to reassure his husky by hugging him with the other. "There have been small gangs, these wasters as example, in this area for a number of years. They cause some trouble and I have had little incidents before... but not as aggressive as this. I think that--" He stopped himself quickly, knowing his next words would have been to state that the insults Nathan had thrown the group's way had caused this.

"You think what?"

'What would be the point to blame him?' he proposed to himself. 'It would only cause trouble.'

"Alex?"

"I think..." Alexei pulled down the handle, opening the door to pad into his shop. "I was not going to, but I will call the police. Report to them what has happened."

"You reckon they'll come back?"

"I think not, but I would prefer to do this." He smiled as wide as his mood would allow. "Do not worry. They are just a group of punks who like to cause trouble. I believe they are... What is expression? All bark, no bite?"

"If that was just their bark, I'm really hoping you're right about that."

"Hey, Alex, Nate," Erik called, walking out from the back office shortly after the pair had entered the workshop. "Are you okay? I mean... you look a bit shaken up."

"Did you not hear the yelling?" Alexei replied, gesturing back to the side-door with his arms.

"No?"

"We had run in with a gang out in the street when we stepped off the bus. The same one from last week."

Erik's posture sagged. "Oh... I'm sorry to hear this. What... did they do? Say to you?"

Alexei brought his colleague up to speed, detailing what had happened and the threats that had been made. He carried on right up until when they managed to get inside, at which point he'd noticed the snow leopard sorrowfully staring into space. "Erik?"

"Huh?" Erik shook his head, jerking himself out of his stupor. "Oh, sorry... I'm... I feel so bad for you both."

"Do not," Alexei answered, pacing over to his workbench in the centre of the room. "It is not as if it is your fault." He gently lifted Nathan from out his pocket, setting him down atop the wooden work surface.

"Thanks, Alex," the husky mumbled, clearly still thinking about the encounter as he took a seat upon the plastic handle of a discarded hammer.

With a sympathetic smile, Alexei rubbed one of Nathan's brown ears between a thumb and index finger. "So, you called?" He turned back to his colleague. "You had a problem?"

Erik sighed gently through his nose, strolling over towards the workstation parallel to Alexei's like a scolded child. "Yes... there is damage to what I have been working on." He bent down on his side of the bench, hefting up the wooden frame of a dining chair.

"Damage?" the wolf replied, hurrying around to Erik's station. Once there, he didn't need directing to the huge gash missing from the decorative curved design on one of the chair's legs. "How did this happen!?" "It... I slipped." "Slipped? It looks more than a slip. The design is ruined." "I'm sorry." Erik grimaced dejectedly, stepping back from the bench and throwing a paw over his eyes.

Alexei rubbed the underside of his muzzle, taking a breath to collect both himself and his thoughts. It'd had been a surprisingly strenuous day, considering how relaxed overlooking the Polcian district with Nathan had been just an hour ago. "No... listen. It is okay, Erik. Do not panic."

"Really?"

He grabbed the chair and moved it closer, clasping his colleague's shoulder in the process. "This pattern cannot be saved, but we can craft a new leg. It will take time... but I can help. We can get it done this afternoon. "Thanks, Alex," the leopard replied with a restrained smile. "Really... I'm so sorry." "I know. Mistakes, they happen." Erik hung his head at that, to which the wolf gripped the paw on his shoulder tighter. This, however, only had the effect of turning his apprentice's expression even more sour.

"I wish to call the police before we do anything else however." Alexei looked over to Nathan as he sat quietly atop the workstation opposite. "Give me a moment." "Police?" Erik gasped, glaring back curiously. "Yes," he replied, switching to Velikan to try and save Nathan any further worry. "I want to call them about the gang... in case they come back." "You think they will? Maybe calling the police... would just make them mad if they are paid a visit?" Alexei went silent, scratching at his ear thoughtfully. "I think that I would feel better to call them. I do not wish for..." he gestured over to Nathan with a subtle flick of his eyes. "I do not wish to risk him being hurt by doing nothing." "I suppose you are right." Erik sighed with a resigned nod as the wolf began to walk off towards the back of the shop. "This could be best."

In the solitude of his small office, Alexei took a seat at his desk and dialled up the local police on his mobile phone. It rang twice, before a female operator answered, "South Kremensk Police, how can we assist?" in a blunt, almost emotionless fashion.

He cleared his throat and calmly reeled off his report, explaining that he'd been chased back home by a local gang who had threatened both him and his Polcian guest with violence. By the time he'd finished and replayed it all in his mind, Alexei felt certain that the police would follow it up, or at least send out a patrol in order to take a formal statement.

"Are you now safe in your home, Mr. Korolev?" the operator replied, her words that of someone going through the motions rather than one of genuine concern.

"I am. They have left."

"Is there damage to the property? Have you been physically attacked?"

"No... no damage, and I got inside before they could try to attack."

"This is good." A short moment's pause followed, the clatter of typing audible over the line. "We have logged your call. Please contact us again if they return and we shall assist." "Wait, this is it?" Alexei stood up quickly from his desk with a shocked shake of his head. "You are not going to send somebody?" "Regretfully, all patrols in your area are busy. Please be certain that gang activity in the South Kremensk area is of high concern to us." "But not of high enough concern to do something about it?" He could sense the pressure of his rage building, only partially managing to keep it from bursting forth. "Would you prefer if me and my hus-- my friend had been attacked before I called?" "Mr. Korolev," the operator replied evenly, sounding unmoved by Alexei's temper-fuelled words. "We take all crimes against citizens seriously. Please contact us again should they return to your property and a unit shall assist." "Fine," he snapped, shaking his head again in disbelief. "I should thank you, but I will not." With an aggressive jab at his phone's display, Alexei ended the call and tossed his phone aside. The device landed atop his desk with a thump, skittering about before settling among a heap of business documents.

He left his office a minute or so later, wearing a scowl that he just couldn't shift.

"How did it go?" the husky asked, though Alexei's expression surely meant it was out of courtesy rather than curiosity.

"They are busy. We are to call if they return." He padded over to the workbench, running a finger down Nathan's back as his little ears splayed out. "Do not worry, Nate. I do not believe this will happen. The police think this too, if this is their reaction."

Alexei looked up to Erik, still at his own workspace in time to see him shoot a sad smile his way. He returned the gesture, hoping that Nathan found more comfort in his words than he had.

They all remained in the shop for the next couple of hours, with Alexei assisting Erik until they had successfully crafted a replacement chair leg. He had offered to take Nathan upstairs, where he would be more comfortable and have something to do. The husky declined however, insisting he'd prefer to watch the two Velikans undertake their work. Whether that was true, or rather Nathan felt safer in his presence, Alexei was happy enough to oblige.

With their work completed, Erik reaffirmed his regret for causing so much trouble, to which the wolf insisted he needed to stop apologising and head off home.

After his apprentice had left and the doors had been locked tight, Alexei finally headed upstairs with Nathan to settle down and attempt to recover from such a trying day.

He prepared them both a quick meal of herby minced pork, caramelised onions and macaroni. "Navy style, according to my grandmother," he explained, setting it down on the table and allowing his guest to dish some out for himself before doing the same. "Simple meal for when at sea."

"It's good," Nathan replied, squeezing half a piece of macaroni into his muzzle and savouring its flavour.

Alexei rumbled contentedly, scooping up a heap of tender pork with his spoon and consuming it quickly. After their pleasant trip to the Polcian district had been so badly tempered by the events that followed, he felt at least a little relieved that they seemed to be starting to put it behind them.

The quiet calm persisted, broken only when Alexei noticed that Nathan had stopped eating and begun glaring off into the distance. "Are you okay, Nate?"

"Huh?"

"You are not... worrying?"

"Oh, no... not really, I guess." The husky adjusted himself in his seat atop the table. "I was just thinking."

"I noticed this," Alexei replied with the hint of a smirk. "What is on your thoughts?"

"Just that... all these disagreements... what happened this afternoon."

His muzzle dipped in response. Perhaps he'd been too hopeful to think that getting past today would be so easy? "It was not nice... it was terrible, but we should not let them ruin things for us."

"No, you're right," Nathan replied, though with little conviction in his words. "I was thinking though..." Alexei perked his ears, setting his spoon down to offer his full attention. "I was thinking I'd like to know why we're hated so much."

"You are not hated--"

Nathan cut off his host's protestations. "If not hated, then I want to know why some people still have issues with us."

Alexei sighed, pushing his half-finished plate of macaroni and pork aside. He placed his elbows on the table, resting his head atop folded paws. "It is people who cannot get past history, or are unhappy with their lives and wish to find someone to blame." "I guess... well, so it seems. It'd be nice to get a better understanding though." Nathan held his paws up in front of him. "I'm not asking you to explain, but there must be a way to find out more. It was Alexei's turn to drift off, wondering to himself whether revisiting the dark days of the past would end up reopening old scars. 'What if it comes between us... ruins our relationship?' He gently wagged his head and cast those thoughts out. "Why not look up through computer?" "That's helpful, but it's hard to get an accurate viewpoint through Polcian-language sites. There's so much misinformation and bias about... those days." "I do not think this just a Polcian problem." Alexei extended an arm towards the little husky, delicately petting at his curled tail as it poked out through the gap in his chair. "Both will tell the story to favour them."

"I guess." Nathan reached behind, patting the wolf's big white paw with his own. "Honestly though, after today, after so many incidents, I think that it'd be nice to try and get an accurate Velikan point of view on things. For twenty-something years, I've had the Polcian story driven into me... maybe it's time I got another version while I'm here."

For the next couple of minutes, they sat there quietly stroking away at each other. It'd be Alexei who eventually ended the silence with a suggestion to hopefully appease his guest's wishes. "There is museum. The one we saw in the cultural area of the city."

Nathan turned in his seat, gazing up with inquisitive eyes. "You mean the old palace? The place with that big statue?"

"I do. It is here that I am thinking you can learn what you wish to." Alexei's ears folded back and he whimpered gently. "Are you sure you wish to do this? I worry this vacation will become one of sadness." "I'm sure," Nathan stood up from his chair and walked over to the table's edge where the big wolf remained seated, "and I won't let it become sad."

"We will do this then." Alexei wrapped his paws around the husky before lifting and hugging him to his chest. "If it will help you."

"It'd be nice to try and get an understanding of how your grandfather sees things, too," Nathan stated, voice muffled against his host's shirt. A pang of regret struck Alexei hard, sending his mind back to the heated argument he'd had with his elder over his treatment of Nathan. "I should try and call him again." "Maybe that would help... Perhaps though, going to his home and trying to talk to him face to face would help more?" His eyes widened. "I am surprised you have suggested this. I thought you would not wish to see him." "I wouldn't go as far as to say that. I really do feel bad for what I said to him, even if he wasn't all that nice to me. Plus, I wouldn't like to think I've come between you two." Those words prompted Alexei to squeeze Nathan closer, drawing a happy grumble from his little muzzle before he continued on. "I want to see if we can make amends, and seeing things from his side might help that. I don't think I'll ever be able to understand his grief from fighting in the war... but I can at least try." Alexei's heart warmed and his eyes threatened to tear up just like atop the hillside that afternoon. "You would do this? You would do this to make my grandfather happy?"

"No. I'd do it to make you happy. To help you get you and your grandfather talking again."

He couldn't hold back any longer. Alexei moved his paws away from his chest and lowered his head, planting a long, tender kiss upon the husky's snout.

Nathan grabbed at the wolf's white-streaked, grey muzzle, beckoning it closer before returning the gentle, loving embrace.

"You are a good person," Alexei stated breathlessly when their kiss finally broke.

"You're pretty great too, hon. We'll make things right. We'll get you your grandfather back." "This sounds like a good plan, I am thinking," he replied, voice cracking with emotion. "Thank you." Alexei dipped his muzzle, unable to resist starting his warm show of affection all over again.