A Ride into Town
The Fletcher02. A Ride into TownBy Assilsasta ?????·????????????????????)===>July 27, 2013<===(?????????????????????????· ?????·????????????????????)===>Early Morning<===(?????????????????????????· Arelia rolled over in her king sized canopy bed as she looked at the large grandfather clock against the wall. She could barely make out the hand in the darkness as she heard the ka-chunk of the minute ticking by. She had been laying there for three hours since she had decided to try to sleep again. She rolled out of the bed to her footpaws and started to walk over to her 'Fashion Center', as she called it. As she sat at the sewing table she looked at the small digital clock. "Three days," she said to herself, "seventy two hours, and no more than a fifteen minute nap." She pause for a moment as she picked up her latest project then added, "and now, I'm talking to myself." Arelia had not slept well for almost fifteen months, not since the night her father had attacked them in the blind rage. Her mother had taken her to sleep studies, counseling, and tried different medications, but nothing seemed to work. She just had to wait for the sleep to come, and the aftermath of when it finally did. When sleep would come it was always fitful and filled with half remembered nightmares. And the worst part of the sleep is that it would sometimes last for days. Petra and her mother jokingly called them her comas, but even though she laughed with them at it, the joke itself scared her. She had moved up into the room above the
garage only a few months before their father came home again. She did it so that Petra could sleep even if she was awake working on her projects. In the past year she had made every piece of clothing that she owned, and was often asked by friends to make them things. Where others would take weeks to create a piece of apparel from scratch she would spend countless hours working on them while others slept. Her late night activities and the sound of the sewing machine often kept Petra awake. She had tried to limit her nocturnal activities to drawing and cutting but only found that she would stack up twenty or thirty projects without the time or ability to finish them during the normal waking hours. Her mother gave her free reign over the huge space. She had painted all the walls black and hung thick curtains that blocked out the light. They had scoured antique shops, flea markets, and yard sales looking for the perfect Victorian style furnishings to complete her emo goth hideaway. There was a sitting area, a bed space blocked off by a wooden divider with a medieval knight scene painted on it. Her small workshop was scattered across one wall and corner where her two dress forms stood with cloth draped over them and pinned into place. The attic space was her own haven from both the waking and sleeping worlds. She leaned back in her chair as she looked down at the small stack of fabric pieces then back to the antique machine. The beautiful White sewing machine was remarkable condition for its nearly one hundred year age. It stood on solid cast iron legs with pretty oak leaf details carved into the wood. Cabinet had two drawers on each side, a narrow center drawer and the tabletop that flipped out to expose the sewing machine. A manually operated pedal was used to work the antique without the harsh sounds of the newer high speed electric that sat on the nearby table. The old machine was much slower than the newer ones, but there was something she liked about working with it over the speed of what her mother had gotten her. She started on her task of maintaining the relic with fresh machine oil and a soft cloth. Arelia took painstaking care of the thing, the first present her father has gotten her since his return, the only thing he had gotten her. He would asker her daily what she wanted and she
would always answer him with nothing. The old machine was the most perfect thing she could think of, and he brought it home to her without even knowing of the new room or her new Victorian gothic style. The young mink jumped as a tap came at the door a moment before it opened. "You still up Arei?" her father asked as he walked in slowly. "Yea," She said as she turned and watched him sit across the room in the restored Victorian era couch, "Why are you up?" "I was checking on the horses," Brent said softly, "Making sure Smokey was ready for today." Arelia looked as the digital clock then back to him as she asked, "At two in the morning?" She tilted her head with a bit of a smirk on her muzzle, "Then up here to the only other person in the house who doesn't sleep?" Many late nights and early mornings were spent with the two sitting in silence as she worked and he watched, both kept awake by insomnia or frightful dreams. They spent more time together in the dark silence of her room, the only sign of life, the ka-chunk of the clock ticking away the minutes and the whine of the oiled and greased metal of the sewing machine as it worked thread into fabric. She would often turn of find him asleep once again stretched out on her old couch. Several minutes passed as she worked one piece of cloth into the send, slowly forming a garment as she rocked the small iron pedal to operate the machine. She was uncertain of how much time had passed as she dropped the finished garment to the floor and began to work on the next. She jump with a start again as her father spoke behind her. "Hey, crunchy?" he started to ask, "You know what we're
doing today?" She turned in her chair as she asked, "Do you have to call me that? I'm eleven years old." "Ah, no changing the subject, squishy. What are we doing today?" he asked again. Arelia sighed as she responded, "I'm not squishy either, and we're dropping mom off at the airport so she can go to that convention." She was somewhat confused by the question as she watched him place his paws behind his head and smile. "What is the one thing I can't do?" "You can't drive because..." the young mink's eyes went wide as she said it again, "You can't drive." She started to piece his smile together as she thought through the facts, "You can't drop mom off at the airport, how are we going to get there?" "Well, we're going to have to leave in about an hour," he said as he stood up, I need you to help get Pet ready. Wear some clean work clothes, okay?" "Mom didn't... She wouldn't..." Arelia started to but couldn't finish her thoughts. He only smiled at her as he pulled her door closed behind him. She sat in her chair and stared at the sewing machine for a moment. They were going to ride into town, like he had promised Pet on Monday. Maybe one of the boys from school would see her, that one that didn't believe her when she said they had horses. Maybe dad would let her ride Tex in. She started to get giddy at the thought of showing off to the other kids. ?????·????????????????????)===>The Ride<===(?????????????????????????· Petra jumped around in the back of the buckboard wagon as her father set to the task of hooking up the Clydesdale, Smokey. The large single horse needed more work than the others to be fastened to the cart. Brent smiled as the bouncing of the wagon made hooking the horse to the cart even more difficult. He looked up at the hyper cub and calmly said, "Could you please sit still for just a moment while I finish hooking up Smokey?" With a small huff Petra sat in the cart and looked to the house as she waited for the rest of the family. Once she lifted her head she immediately saw her mother dropping the one suitcase into the bed of the buckboard with the small mink. With a smile Melissa asked, "And how is your morning going Pet?" "I'm having fun mommy," the little mink said dejectedly as she looked at her paws and twiddled her thumbs. Melissa smiled at her youngest daughter. "We're going for that horse ride, all the way to the airport. You'll be able to watch mommy's plane take off." She smiled as she saw Petra perk up. She looked over at Brent as she added, "And if I know your dad, he's not going to bring you right back here either." As she finished the mink was bouncing in place with anticipation of their day. "What are we going to do after we drop mom off?" Arelia asked as she walked up behind them. Jokingly their father said, "I was thinking of cruising the town
and picking up cute boys." "DAAAD!!" the two young girls moaned in unison, a deep blush showing through Arelia's white fur. Arelia tilted her head with her paws on her hips, "That's not funny." Chuckling a little at her daughter's obvious reasons for the protest, Melissa put a paw on her shoulder and said, "It's okay Arei, he probably just going to take you out to eat and to a park or something. And maybe you'll run into some friends from school." "They probably all went places for the summer. Some of them were talking about a cruise to Hawaii. But, they could have just been bragging." Arelia said in a somewhat nonchalant way as she tried to pass of her desire to see kids her own age again after almost two months. "Besides, I'll see them all in three weeks anyway, when school starts back up." Melissa climbed into the seat of the buckboard and sat as she watched Brent finish fastening the cart the harness. Arelia got up into the back with her sister as she asked for what felt like the hundredth time, "Where are you going again?" "I'm going to a conference on the psychological effect of wartime PTSD has on families." Melissa's voice lowered as she spoke, "They asked that I be a guest speaker because of the articles that I published on your father and our family over the past three years. I will only be gone three days. Then I am coming right back." "Mom," Arelia started to ask, "Are you scared to leave us with dad?" As the buggy pulled away from the house she turned to look at their two daughters and said, "Not any more. Your dad is doing a lot better than her was back then. They have him on better medication, the group and one-on-one counseling has been having a good effect on him." She paused just long enough for Brent to interrupt her. "Arei," he said without turning, "What do you do if anything happens... like before?" "I get Pet in her room and lock it," She replied, "Then if its just a seizure I call nine one one and do what I can to..." She paused as she looked at her sister, "...keep you okay. If..." her voice lowered to an almost whisper as she continued, "...if it is a flashback... and... and talking to you doesn't... doesn't help... I... I get in the room with Pet and... do... do whatever I have to... to... to keep you out." "That's right," he said monotone and emotionless at his daughters struggle to repeat the what she was told to do without going into details on the plan for her younger sister sake. "You two are more important to me any anything else we have or will have. And I never want to hurt you again." Several minutes passed in silence after the dose of reality injected by the upcoming absence of their mother as the horse trotted down the road toward Marblecliff. The sun was just peaking over the eastern horizon as the horse walked at a slow meandering pace. Brent turned to look at the girls with a smile on his face. "We're almost to town, you ready for the show?" Perta and Arelia looked up at him as the younger asked, "What show?" "Smokey was a show horse before we got him from the auction," Brent said as he turned back around, "And he's a bit of a show off if you get him in a crowd." They girls get the buckboard speed up as the great horse picked up a prancing trot. The four beat walk was replace by the sound of a classic clip clop of the two beat trot. Petra and Areila sat up and looked to the horse. It held its head high and looked nearly too regal to be hooked up to the faded green, wooden country wagon. It was the first time they had seen the horse out of the yard since it had arrived. The cars passing seemed to have no effect on the beast as he pranced down the street. "So girls, want to go through the drive through at Mickey Dee's for breakfast biscuits before we head across town to the airport?" The young minks squealed in unison has their father suggested the treat. They had not come into town for more than grocery shopping with their mother since the beginning of summer, and the thought of fast food for breakfast was exciting. Little Petra bounced in place as she saw her father steer the horse and cart into the parking lot. She looked around happily as she saw all the other people looking and pointing at the horse. Petra stood up and leaned between her parents as she asked, "Are you really going through the drive through, Can you do that, will we get in trouble? Why is everyone pointing, haven't they seen a horse before? Can I have a chicken biscuit?" "Okay Pet, calm down and take a breath," Brent said as the horse slowed to a stop in the parking lot. "Your mom is going to go get the biscuits; She'll get a lot of them. And a lot of people don't see horses every day, especially ones as big as Smokey. But you need to calm down and sit down so that you don't get hurt if Smokey gets spooked and starts to run, okay?" "Can I go with her?" Petra asked as she started to climb out of the buckboard. "Yes you can, Pet," Melissa said with a smile at her overly energetic daughter before looking up
at Arelia and asking, "Are you going?" "No," The older mink cub said, "I'll just wait with dad." A she climbed into the bench next to Brent. As they waited quietly a bobcat in his mid twenties in a police uniform walked up the buckboard. "Hello, you must be the Fletchers. It was nice of you to call and give us a heads up on bringing the horse, but I don't think they knew how big he was." "Hello officer Goodmen," Arelia said with a smile, "How are you today?" Brent looked over at his daughter with an eyebrow cocked, "And how do you know this gentleman?" "Officer Goodmen came to our class at the end of the year to talk about summer safety." The bobcat smiled up at the young mink, "It's nice to be remembered." He looked back to the older mink, "It's kind of funny, but you were part of our morning shift briefing. The Chief said to remind you that even though there is no ordinance against the horse or cart on the street that it might be better to keep him off the main roads as much as you can." We'll do our best officer," Brent said with a smile, as he spoke Petra and Melissa returned with a bag and two drink carriers, one with hot drinks and one with orange juice. As his wife approached
the cart she said, "Good Morning Officer. Is there an issue?" "No ma'am," the bobcat replied, "Just admiring the engine on your car here. It has to be the greenest form of conveyance in the city." He tipped his hat to the family as he added, "You have a nice day." The turned to walk away and shoo the gathering crowd with him. "Lets move along, We don't want anyone to get hurt." With both girls settled in the back with their biscuit breakfasts and hot cocoa, Brent urged the horse into motion so they could continue their trip to the airport. As the horse and family seem to meander through the two, avoiding most major roads, Perta bounced on her haunches while she watched the passersby take notice of their family and cart. She reveled in the attention. Arelia on the other hand had spent most of the time looking and scanning the crowds and people as if looking for someone. Arelia's mind was so obsessed at the thought of the cute timber wolf she had seen. He was a year older than her and a full grade above her in school, already attending Manticore Middle, and she would be going there when school started back up. After everything that had happened to her family over the past year she had lost a lot of her friends, and been shunned as an outcast for her sudden change in styles. The new school was going to be her new start, with all new friends and he was going to be one of them, that she was sure of. Her thoughts had drifted so far she was shocked back to reality when the buckboard stopped for the sound of an airplane taking off. She looked around as her mother got out of the wagon and reached in for her bags, "Could you hand me that dear?" "Yes, ma'am." was all she could manage to say as she reached for the suitcase. "Are you okay, Arei?" Melissa asked concerned at her daughter's sudden distant attitude. She managed a weak smile as she said, "I'm fine mom, just thinking about when school starts." "First year in middle school, you have a lot to look forward to. New friends, new interests..." She paused as she looked Areila in the eyes, "...boys." "Hey now," Brent started from the front of the wagon, "No talking about boys and my little girl." He leaned back and looked at her as he said, "Boys are nothing but trouble, trust me, I used to be one." Arelia sat still for a moment confused by the smile on his muzzle coupled with the cool emotionless look in his eyes. A moment later the silence was broken by the youngest Fletcher as she squealed, "Eeeewwww!! Boys are gross and have cooties." With a hearty laugh Brent sat back up in on the bench and said, "That's right boys are gross and have cooties, best just stay clear of them until we get you vaccinated." The three girls giggled at their seemingly jovial remark. "Okay girls, Come here and give mommy a hug," Melissa said with her arms wide open as she leaned over the side of the wagon. As he held the two tightly she said, "Now you two be good and keep you father out of trouble. I'll be back in three days." As Melissa moved to stand up she felt the young mink cling tightly to
her shirt. "I don't want you to go, Mommy," the small girl said, the sound of sobs in her voice. She glanced at her husband as she watched him try to decipher the emotions with his rewired brain. So much damage was done to his frontal lobe he had lost almost all control over them. He had spent the past year relearning how to deal with the complex feelings. The look in his eyes told her how hard he was working to present the correct expressions for the situation. She smiled at him to encourage him to put on a more positive front, even if he was incapable of mirroring the expression in his almost ice cold stare. Taking a bit of the cue from his wife, Brent smiled as said, "It's only for three days, Pet, and I bet she brings you both back a really nice surprise." As he spoke Melissa gave him her standard 'you're pushing it' look. When her eyes met the cold emotionless look in his, she felt a shiver run down her spine. She knew he cared and loved them, but she could never tell how he felt when she looked into his eyes. She was aware that the disconnection between his emotions and expressions was what Petra had a hard time dealing with. She was a very emotional young girl and she thrived on that emotional connection, and she had a hard time connecting to her father again after everything he's been through. "Besides, we're going to get some ice cream and go to the park once your mom takes off." Brent continued to try and get the cub's mind off her mother leaving, "and we can't do any of that until she goes." Petra flopped down on her back as she whines, "Buuutt Ddddaaaadddyyyy, I don't want her to go. Can I go with you, mommy?" Arelia
flopped down on the bed of the buckboard with her sister and said, "But if you go with mom, who's going to help me make you a new dress for school, and help dad with the horses?" Petra sighed dejectedly and rolled her eyes as she said, "You guy are helpless without me." "Oh. Man!" Melissa said, "I was about to take you too. you sure you want to leave these two all alone?" She smiled as she saw the young girl roll her eyes again. "Okay," Petra said, "I'll stay and keep you two out of trouble." "That's my girl," Melissa said to the little one with a smile, "You keep things on the straight and narrow here and I'll be back in just a few days." with a final hug and kiss for the cubs and a Quick love peck for Brent, she ran off into the Maple Ridge International Airport hoping she was not too late to make her flight. ?????·????????????????????)===>Park Play Time<===(?????????????????????????· After they watched the planes take off for a while, Arelia answering Petra's million questions about plane, they made their way through town on the horse drawn cart. Petra bounced with energy as the ice cream cone in her paw slowly melted faster than she was eating it. She reveling in the attention that they were getting from everyone they passed. All the smiles, waves and squeaky child sounds filled her with joy. Soon Brent had pulled the buckboard into a grass field of a community park. The place was mostly open fields and walking
paths. There were several volleyball and tennis courts and one full basketball court with no nets on the baskets. Several cubs and teens were moving and playing in the fields and playground. As Smokey whinnied the park fell silent and looked in the direction of the new center of attention. A few returned to what they were doing before while others continued to watch from a distance. Brent steered Smokey under a tree and coaxed him to a stop. "Okay girls, you two can go play. I'm going to unhook Smoke so he can graze a bit while we are here." With the offer of freedom to run, Petra sprang from the wagon and ran full tilt to the playground, while Arelia sat and pulled out her sketch book and started in of drawing her next fashion challenge. "What are you up to sweetie?" Brent asked his elder daughter. "I... I'm just getting too old for the playground dad. Besides none of my friends are here," She said calmly as she tried to placate him. After unhooking the horse and letting him roam to the end of the long lead that he tied to the tree, he climbed up in the back of the buckboard with the cub. He pointed to a cheetah girl that sat on a bench with a notebook and a guitar, "She's about your age and she's at the park." Arelia sighted as she said, "She's in middle school already, I think a year or two ahead of me. She might even be going to high school after this, I forget." She tried to explain without really saying why she didn't want to go talk to the other girl. She remembered seeing her with the timber wolf boy a few times but didn't know what their relationship was. "And she's writing music, she's always doing that I think." "So what's her name?" She sighed as she sat her book down realizing her futile efforts, "Her name is Justine or something. I don't really know, I just see here around is all. And she's in middle school so it's not like we are in the same classes or anything." Brent Smiled as he looked at his daughter, "You're starting middle school in a few weeks, maybe you could go make a new friend to have before you start." She picked up her sketchbook and flipped it open to an empty page. "She already has friends, and not one wants to hang out with the freaky, weirdo, insomniac anyway, trust me." She pulled her knees up to support the paper book as she started to sketch away. She looked up at him for a moment before she started to speak again, "Dad, why are we in private schools?" "What do you mean?" he asked as he sat up to watch the large horse. "Well," she paused for a moment, "When you went off... to the hospital, mom put us in the Mythic School system. And... I don't really fit in there. No one likes me." "I'm sure it's because they don't know you. You're a great kid and..." He was interrupted as she started to talk again. "That's what everyone says," Arelia started, "But let's face it dad, I'm different. Not just different, but really different. I haven't slept in almost a week, and when I finally do, it will be for a few days." She let her arms fall limply to her sides. "On one wants to be friends with someone like me, they just want to pick on me." She looked over at the cheetah girl and continued, "They want to be friends with someone like her, good
looking, talented. I'm just the freak. Can... Can we just not talk about it?" "Okay," He said, "But I'm here if you need me." "I know," She whispered as he hopped out of the buckboard to keep a better watch an the massive horse. "And maybe things will be different in middle school." She continued to glance up at the slightly older girl across the way as she scribbled out a somewhat modified version of her outfit before pulling the page out of the book and wadding it up. "The colors are all wrong." ?????·????????????????????)===>A New Friend<===(?????????????????????????· Petra ran for the playground, hitting the swing set at full speed, sending her and the seat high into the air. With her paws on one chain she pulled herself around to sit in the swing as intended, her fluffy tail caught under her as gravity forces the change of directions. While the swing came down she leaned to the side to pull her tail free, and began to pump her legs to increase her momentum while she flew through the air. During her flight she surveyed the park and playground looking for what she wanted to do next. Her eyes passed over slides, sandpits and jungle gyms to come to rest on a merry-go-round that slowly turned, occupied by a tabby girl. Without much thought of the consequences she let go of the swing, letting the momentum sling her through the air in the direction she wanted to go. Within a moment of her paws touching the soft sand she sprinted to the cub powered ride. Petra grabbed hold of the metal handholds, allowing her speed to be almost instantly transferred to the spinning platform as she pulled herself on. The sudden increase in speed nearly tossed the tabby girl out, rewarding the small mink with an "eep" from the far side of the ride. "You want to go faster?" Petra asked as she jumped off and started to run as fast as she could without waiting for an answer.
Once the ride was to the top speed she could achieve she hopped back on and looked at the now trapped ride partner as the tabby clung to the handhold as if for dear life. She started to work her way across the platform a she said, "My name's Pet, what's yours?" The catgirl looked at the patchy black and white mink as she said, "Ta... Tabitha." "Come one Tabitha, sit in the center," Petra nearly ordered, "you get all dizzy like spinning around but you don't fall over, because you're already sitting down." She smiled as Tabitha joined her in the middle of the ride, "I'm six, how old are you? I get to star first grade this year. Do you go to school? I Like going to school but I have to take hyper pills because they say I have too much fun trapped in me and it help keep all that fun from getting out all at once, that's what my daddy said. But he let me not take them for the summers if I helped with the horses. Do you like horses?" Petra talked more at the girl than to her as she moved from one unanswered question to the next, "You don't talk much do you? You look new here. I don't remember seeing you before, are you? I have a sister. She's over in the buckboard trying to be cool. Do you have any sisters? Sisters are cool, Arei makes me dresses." Finally running out of breath as the merry-go-round began to slow, the mink flopped over flat on her back and looked up into the spinning sky. Tabitha said in a soft almost whisper of shyness, "I... um... I have two step brothers." She sat and tried to think through the barrage of questions and comments that the mink shot at her in quick succession. Before the tabby could get another word out Petra sat up with as, "EEEWWWWW!!! boys are gross. They're all dirty and stinky and they have cooties. But i guess you can't get the cooties from your brothers... Can you?" "I... um... I don't think they have
cooties," Tabitha said as she felt the mink grab her paw and start to pull her from the kiddy ride. "Want to see my horse," Petra asked as she dragged the shy cat behind her, "His name is Smokey. He's a Clyde's tail, that means he really big, bigger than the other horses." Petra stopped by her father and said, "This is Tabitha my new best friend, She wanted to see Smokey." Tabitha gave a weak smile and wave as she was almost instantly pulled away from the older mink. "Don't get too close, Pet, I don't want you to get hurt by accident," Brent said as she watched his girl pull the other along helplessly. ?????·????????????????????)===>Watching the Crowd<===(?????????????????????????· Brent sat on the ground leaned against a tree as she watched the horse and world go by around him. His younger daughter was enthralled with her new friend, who seemed to be just shy enough to not run from the furry ball of energy, but still too shy to interrupt the endless flow of words and random thoughts that Petra let flow now that she had someone to listen. His older girl had finally ventured out to a park bench after the cheetah girl had left, and continued her endless quest for the perfect idea for her next project. He on the other hand spent the time watching the people as they moved through their lives. He examined their expressions and faces as they talked and argued. He still had trouble expressing his emotions visually after learning to deal with them all over again. There was the simple fact of studying people, but he truly enjoyed just watching the world go by. His attention was caught by the sight of a rather tall giraffe that was talking to a
much smaller mouse. The giraffe was dressed as a common street punk with colorful hair and metal shoved through her body and ears. It wasn't much of a surprise when the mouse bolted from the confrontation. The mouse looked like and would not have been much older than Petra, but the giraffe was well into high school age and looked somewhat intimidating. Brent held himself in place, not sure what was going on between the two, as the giraffe collected the things left behind by the mouse and returned in the direction that she came. He really hoped he had not just let a quick mugging happen in front of him. He had been told not to interfere in such things by both his counselor and the support group he worked with to deal with learning to interpret his emotions again. Every time he stirred to action on something he thought might be wrong, we would instantly be reminded of the evening he left, and what he had done to his own children. Several moments passed as the thought through what he had seen between the mouse cub and the teen, before his youngest daughter came up and said, "I think we're ready to go, Daddy." "Really," He asked as he looked up at her, "Why is that?" Arelia walked up and said, "Almost everyone is gone now and it's starting to get dark." "Okay you got a point there," He said as he stood up and walked over to the horse. "You two go ahead and make sure you have everything you brought with you while I hook Smokey back up to the cart. ?????·????????????????????)===>Continued in<===(?????????????????????????·?????·????????????????????)===>Dark Riders of Marblecliff <===(?????????????????????????·