all for one -chapter 1
*This is the first chapter of All For One. This is really one of the slow chapters, but it will pick it up. Theres some use of language (F-words and such) but no yiff or anything related. This is the absolute beginning.
The Mundane Beginning
A Friday morning in September of last year
G. H. Woodman High School
Sall gripped the straps of his backpack as though his life depended on it. The tips of his fingers grazed the palm of his paw. Before him the school hall was sprawling with all walks of life. Everyday was a new threat, or at least, was more threatening than the last. Being a freshman, awkward, 5'6", and a red fox, the world was a dangerous place for Sall. He crossed the threshold along with a deep breath. He passed a few groups of people unnoticed. Sall could've sworn he was in the clear. Well, coulda, woulda, schoulda.
"Hey!" The voice was low and out of nowhere.
Sall froze.
"Yea you damn freak I'm talkin to you!"
Sall let out a sigh and began to think. 'Well' he thought, 'I could get the shit kicked out of me right now, or I could slip into a classroom or into one of these groups, but there's just no telling what I'll find there. My best bet is to-' He couldn't finish his train of though. A hand fell down on Sall's shoulder hard. The fox's heart sank. His aggressor whipped him around and grabbed Sall's collar.
The lion glared dumbly into the fox's eyes. "Didn't you fucking hear me?" He began to left Sall off the ground.
"What the hell do you want?!" Sall yelled with a shaky voice. Before he could give a response, a wave of rage hit the lion like a train. He cocked his arm like a gun and wrenched it into Sall's solar plexus.
Sall gasped like a fish out of water. The lion dropped him and Sall hit the ground like a bag of bricks. Curled up into a ball, he lay up against the lockers. For what seemed an eternity, the fox was still. "Sall?"
The fox didn't move. "Sall are you ok?"
Using what little strength he had left, Sall looked up. "C'mon Sall you're scaring me now." It was Kriss. The Fennec wasn't two inches taller than Sall. Maybe it was just the ears, they were impressively large. His eyes were full of curiosity. He held out his hand. "Well you gonna get up or am I just gonna have to do all the work around here?"
Sall laughed a bit; it hurt like hell. He grasped his friend's hand and pulled himself up. "Thanks man." "Don't mention it," Kriss said, "Think about it this way, only seven more hours till the weekend."
Sall envied his friend's optimism. "You have to picture this from my perspective, between me and the weekend there's seven hours."
"It's called the silver lining, foxy," Kriss said. He had been calling Sall foxy since before kindergarden, "didn't anybody tell you it's everywhere?"
"You've met my foster family," Sall said humorlessly.
"Well that's why I'm here!"
"I thought it was so if we ever robbed a bank you could hear the safe lock tumble."
"Oh ha ha, another ear joke." Kriss said "that's like the fifth one this week."
"Sorry man I think they're growing or something." Sall stooped over and picked his backpack of the floor. "C'mon let's not be late to English." So they walked to their first class and from there the day progressed as any day would have. It was only at lunch that something mildly interesting went down.
Kriss and Sall were peacefully eating lunch. "Hey Sall," Kriss began, "It's Richard." He motioned to an ominous corner of the room. The ceiling light had gone out and there were no nearby windows and Sall was pretty sure it was where nightmares came from. A wolf was taking small bites out of a sandwich. No one was remotely close. He was covered in dark fur. As he always did, Richard wore an old black pea coat.
Sall stared petrified. He looked at the wolf, but with no real purpose. Between a bite of his lunch, Richard looked up. His yellow eyes locked with Sall's. Neither moved. Sall was certain that within moments, he would explode.
Kriss had kept on walking until he realized that Sall was no longer at his side. He grabbed Sall's limp hand. "Sall, you're standing between me and a meal. Stop." Kriss walked to a table, effectively dragging Sall with him. Sall collapsed into a chair.
"He glared at me." Sall said blankly, "I think I died inside."
Kriss laughed. "Why are you so scared of Richard?"
"Why aren't you?"
"We've been friends for sometime."
"How?"
"Some people in this world don't enjoy the company of others," Kriss began, "I like to show them that others can be good. And with Richard, all it took was a simple how are you?" Kriss looked across the room at the lonely wolf. "He warmed up really fast."
"You're like forty-zillion times more likeable than me," Sall retaliated, "If I pulled shit like that I would probably end up with my head in a wall."
"Hey," Kriss said. He dumped his paper bag on the table. A sandwich and an apple rolled onto the table, "You'll never know if you don't try. And hey, you find some hidden treasure in the wall."
Sall flashed his middle finger at his friend. "Fine. I'll say hello." He stood up from the table. "Don't you come near my funeral." Sall decided it would be best to approach Richard from the side, so it would seem more accidental. The wolf was seemingly unaware of Sall's approach. He could hear his own heartbeat in his own chest.
"Hey man isn't that your brother?"
"He isn't my brother."
Sall kept on walking, though the voice was very familiar. "Peter! Where the fuck do you think you're going?"
Sall froze. He heard footsteps behind him. His foster brother and his entourage (including the lion from the morning) stared him down. "Didn't you hear me Peter?" His foster brother Henry demanded, "Where the fuck were you going."
No matter how hard he tried, no words came to Sall.
"Dude there's no point here," one of Henry's friends said "I think you fucking broke him."
"I'm gonna break him some more," Henry said bringing up his fist.
Sall knew what was coming as he stared at Henry's hand.
"Hey!"
The voice was alien to Sall. He couldn't remember ever hearing the voice in his lifetime. Sall cautiously turned his head. Richard was standing stalk still no less than five feet away. "What's going on here?"
Henry turned around. "What's it to you?"
"What gives you the right to punch him?" Richard demanded.
"He's my goddamned brother."
Richard cracked a sly grin. "Didn't you just say he wasn't your brother?"
Henry lowered his fist. "Why don't you go back to your fucking corner?!"
"That doesn't answer my question."
Now, Henry turned away from Sall. "Christ you're such a creep!"
Richard stared at Henry with his golden burning eyes. They glowed like old doubloons. "Walk away."
"Fuck whatever," Henry began to walk away, "C'mon guys this isn't fucking worth it."
Sall stood in awe. Richard was a good six inches taller than him. "Are you ok Sall?" Richard asked.
"Yea."
Richard was already half way back to his corner. "Later."
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