{"sf1_id":758780,"sf2_id":"rn66Dwpn","title":"Amber Silverblood: Chapter Twenty Three","author":"ThisAdamGuy","words":1527,"posted_at":"2014-09-20T14:06:00.000Z","tags":["Action","Adventure","Demon","Fantasy","Mage","Magic","Transformation","Urban","Warlock","Werewolf","Young adult","wizard"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/758780-amber-silverblood-chapter-twenty-three","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rn66Dwpn","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/8c/40/8c40c2d8-884c-451e-b663-c308277e458a","description":"#23 of Amber Silverblood\n\nWhile the rest of the Swag Pag shops, Amber tries to find some way to cheer Kimberly up. Wouldn't you know it, even a trip to the pet store can't go right with these two...","content":"Chapter Twenty Three\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"What do you want to do?\" I asked when the pack had dispersed.\n\nKimberly didn't respond.\n\n\"Do you want to...\" I wracked my brain, trying to think of what she might enjoy. \"Go to the toy store?\"\n\nShe shook her head, still staring at the floor.\n\n\"Look at dresses?\" I suggested.\u0026nbsp; She shook her head.\u0026nbsp; \"Bookstore?\"\u0026nbsp; She shook her head.\n\nWith a sigh, I took her hand again and began to walk aimlessly through the mall.\u0026nbsp; I was determined to find something here that she would enjoy.\u0026nbsp; It would take her mind off everything that was happening, even if it was only for a few minutes.\u0026nbsp; I watched her just as much as I looked at the stores, waiting for something to catch her eye- or her ear, rather, since she refused to look at anything but her shoes.\n\nIt wasn't for another thirty minutes that something finally seemed to catch her attention.\u0026nbsp; We smelled it before we saw it, and we heard it before we smelled it.\u0026nbsp; The pet store sat at the far end of the mall, the scents of dozens of different animals almost overwhelming my sensitive nose.\u0026nbsp; At first, I wanted to keep walking, but when Kimberly heard the sounds of barking puppies and singing birds, her eyes lit up just a little bit.\n\n\"You wanna go in there?\" I asked.\u0026nbsp; She bobbed her head up and down eagerly, so I turned to go inside.\n\nI'll admit, the pet store did quite a bit to cheer me up too.\u0026nbsp; There was another couple at the other end of the store, trying in vain to coax a stubborn old cat into coming to the cage door so they could pet it.\u0026nbsp; Kimberly immediately pulled me toward the fish tanks, where she stood mesmerized by their colorful, calming inhabitants.\n\n\"Did you have a fish?\" I asked.\n\nShe nodded.\u0026nbsp; \"He was a goldfish,\" she answered, speaking for the first time since we'd left the house.\u0026nbsp; \"His name was George.\"\n\n\"George?\" I asked, snorting with laughter.\n\n\"It was a good name!\" she insisted, pouting.\n\n\"Yeah, you're right,\" I agreed before she got upset.\u0026nbsp; \"It was a good name.\"\n\nFor a minute, I was worried that remembering George the Goldfish would make her start crying again, but she seemed comforted watching the fish swim around.\u0026nbsp; After a few minutes, I let her hand fall free of my own, and went to look at something else.\u0026nbsp; She would be fine without me for a couple of minutes.\n\nThe other people had already left, giving up on trying to lure the cat closer to the door, so I went to take a look at it, too.\n\n\"Hey, there,\" I spoke softly into the cage.\u0026nbsp; The cat immediately looked up at me in interest.\u0026nbsp; \"How's the pretty kitty today?\"\n\nI poked my fingers through the bars, and the cat stood up to come closer. \u0026nbsp;It pressed its side against the cage door, and I moved my hand to scratch it behind its ears.\n\n\"Such a pretty kitty,\" I said absentmindedly to it when it began to purr.\u0026nbsp; \"Prettiest kitty in the whole wide world.\"\n\nWhile I was petting the cat, I heard the shop owner come up behind me.\u0026nbsp; \"Would you look at that?\" she said.\u0026nbsp; \"Prissy doesn't usually let people touch her.\"\n\n\"Animals like me,\" I replied, not taking my eyes off Prissy.\u0026nbsp; She bent over to rub her head against my fingers, and I pulled them away when she opened her mouth to gnaw on them.\n\nMost people think animals are scared of werewolves, but they're wrong.\u0026nbsp; They're only afraid of us if we're planning on eating them.\u0026nbsp; I've never really understood how, but it's like they can sense our intentions.\u0026nbsp; If we're on the hunt, they'll run away before we can get anywhere near them.\u0026nbsp; If we come peacefully, though, they're more than happy to have us around.\u0026nbsp; Pets like Prissy aren't the only ones that are attracted to us.\u0026nbsp; I've been able to pet squirrels, deer, and raccoons when they wandered into my backyard.\u0026nbsp; To be fair, though, I've eaten a fair number of all of those, too.\n\n\"We've been trying to find her a home for three years, now,\" the shopkeeper said, coming forward to pet Prissy as well.\u0026nbsp; The cat let her, but didn't lean into her touch the way she had for me.\u0026nbsp; \"She's too old, though.\u0026nbsp; Nobody wants a pet that probably won't last another two years.\"\n\n\"That's so sad,\" I say, more because it's what she expects than because I mean it.\u0026nbsp; I know what she's trying to do.\u0026nbsp; She's trying to make me feel so sorry for poor little Prissy that I'll slam the money down on the counter right now and take her home with me.\u0026nbsp; I'm not going to do it, though.\u0026nbsp; I've got enough on my plate already without having to take care of a cat too.\u0026nbsp; The Swag Pag would probably end up eating it, anyway.\u0026nbsp; There's also the fact that I have no money...\n\nSensing that she wasn't about to make the sale, the shop owner sighed and went back to the cash register.\u0026nbsp; \"I would take her home myself, but I've already got five dogs and six cats to take care of.\"\n\n\"Sorry, Prissy,\" I said, going back to the fish tanks.\u0026nbsp; Prissy stuck a fat paw between the bars, pawing at the air, hoping I would come back.\n\nKimberly wasn't where I left her.\u0026nbsp; I force down the panic that immediately rises up in me, and inhale through my nose.\u0026nbsp; Just like I'd thought, her scent is still nearby.\u0026nbsp; It's a little hard to discern through all the other animal smells, but I still manage to find her a few feet away, looking at the puppy kennels.\n\n\"That's a cute one,\" I say, kneeling down next to the cage she was looking into.\u0026nbsp; There was a husky puppy inside, bouncing up and down in excitement.\u0026nbsp; When it saw me, it put its snout right against the cage and tried to lick me through the bars.\u0026nbsp; When it figure out it couldn't reach me, it scampered backwards, tail wagging frantically, and barked.\n\n\"Do you want me to ask the lady if you can hold...?\" I turned back to Kimberly, and the question died in my mouth.\u0026nbsp; Tears were running down her face, and she was obviously trying not to start bawling.\u0026nbsp; \"Kimberly, what's wrong?\"\n\n\"I don't wanna...\" she said, having trouble forming the words, \"look like... that.\"\n\nThe puppy, smelling the salt in her tears, came to the cage door again, hoping to lick them off.\u0026nbsp; Kimberly recoiled with a shout, her back striking the wall behind her.\n\n\"No!\" she shouted over and over again.\n\nI looked from her to the puppy again, and suddenly understood what had scared her.\u0026nbsp; To her childish eyes, the little husky looked like a wolf, which reminded her of what would happen in less than a month.\n\n\"Kimberly, Kimberly,\" I said quickly, but softly, crawling after her to give her a hug, \"it's okay, it's all right.\u0026nbsp; Don't be scared.\"\n\n\"I don't wanna be a wolf!\" she howled, and I resisted the urge to put my hand over her mouth.\u0026nbsp; The shop owner was giving us weird looks from behind the counter.\n\n\"I'm sorry,\" I said over Kimberly's cries.\u0026nbsp; \"Her puppy just got ran over.\"\n\nSlowly, the woman nodded.\u0026nbsp; It was a lame excuse, and I knew it.\u0026nbsp; Why would a little girl's dog dying make her scared of turning into a wolf?\u0026nbsp; Thankfully, she didn't ask any more questions, and I gently picked Kimberly up and carried her out of the store.\u0026nbsp; She sobbed into my shoulder the whole way.\n\n\"Ssh,\" I said once I was seated on one of the mall's benches.\u0026nbsp; I stroked her hair, her face still buried in my shirt.\u0026nbsp; \"It's going to be okay.\u0026nbsp; Don't cry.\"\n\n\"Turn me back!\" she begged me without looking up.\u0026nbsp; \"Turn me back!\"\n\n\"I- I can't, sweetheart,\" I said, tears prickling my eyes now too.\u0026nbsp; \"I'm sorry.\"\n\nI was beginning to become very aware of all the stares Kimberly was attracting, and a horrible thought occurred to me.\u0026nbsp; What if someone recognized her?\u0026nbsp; Everybody thought she was dead, but it hadn't been nearly so long that they would have forgotten what she looked like.\u0026nbsp; What would I do if somebody told the police- or her parents?\n\n\"We need to be quiet, okay?\" I whispered to her, suddenly afraid to even say her name.\u0026nbsp; \"Please?\"\n\nIt took a few more minutes, but eventually Kimberly managed to get herself under control.\u0026nbsp; She still didn't raise her head up, but at least she had stopped crying.\u0026nbsp; And moving.\u0026nbsp; After a moment, I realized she hadn't cried herself out, she had fallen asleep.\n\n_Poor thing,_ I thought, blinking back my tears as I put my free hand on the back of her head.\u0026nbsp; _She doesn't deserve this.\u0026nbsp; She doesn't deserve_ any _of this_.\n\nI was about to stand up and go... I don't know where, when a voice behind me startled me out of my thoughts.\n\n\"Amber?\"\n\nNEXT TIME: Somebody recognized Amber!\u0026nbsp; Who is it?\u0026nbsp; WHO IS IT?!?!\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Amber Silverblood","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/756304-amber-silverblood-chapter-twenty-two.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/761261-amber-silverblood-chapter-twenty-four.json"}}