Dawn of a New Day: Moving Day
#1 of Dawn of a New Day
It was midday by the time Arcadia finished moving into his college dorm room. A few odd and ends remained out of place, but the majority of his stuff was packed away into his closet and desk. The other half of his room remained empty; it belonged to his roommate who was yet to arrive. The young wolf laid on his bed sorting through the few pictures he had actually brought along. He paused briefly to look at one of his favorites. A comfortable sconce with all his human friends stuffed onto a couch with him laying on the floor. He chuckled as he glanced at himself curled up on the floor; if anyone glanced at the picture they might have mistaken him for a large gray husky.
"Those were the days," Arcadia thought out loud, as he ran fingers through the silver fur on his head, "Wow, this is pathetic. We have only been apart for two weeks, maybe, and I already miss them. But they were pack after all." He flipped through and found another picture that brought back so many memories. It was of him and his now ex-girlfriend at the beach over summer break. Arcadia laughed at the sickening cuteness of the picture. Their heads pushed together so they would fit in the picture; part of her outstretched arm some how captured along the side. Her red fur contrasted against the gray and black of his. They were at the time, apparently in love, as Arcadia's sapphire blue eyes were locked with the dark brown of his fox lover.
The ring of his cell phone caused Arcadia to yip in surprise as his memories shattered like glass. "Calling me already, mother?" With a sigh he flipped open the phone and placed it close to his ear. "Hello mom. Home already?"
His mother's voice was slightly grief stricken as she spoke, "Yes. And how are things up there? Did you meet any friends yet? You know how I worry about you meeting people; you really do need to get out more."
"Everything is fine, mom. I just finished unpacking everything. And no I didn't meet anyone yet. I haven't even stepped out of my dorm yet. And before you ask, no, my room mate hasn't moved in yet. And I don't know anything about him. It has only been three hours since you left." Arcadia kept his tone light and even, regardless of how annoyed he was.
"Well, you are still my baby, and I am still your mother. So I'm allowed to call you every three hours if I want to."
Arcadia found a picture of him standing next to his adopted mother. She was a thin human with deep walnut hair and eyes. From an early age he had known he was adopted, but that was very obvious even to him. "Yes, I know mom. And I do appreciate the concern even if it doesn't seem like it. But your little pup has gone to college now. I know it is going to be hard on you, but promise not to get empty den syndrome. I don't want to have a brother or sister eighteen years younger than me."
The two talked for another fifteen minutes before Arcadia had reassured her enough that everything was going to be ok. She reluctantly hung up after professing her motherly love and telling him that he needs to call or come home often. He sighed and closed the phone after promising not to loose contact with her. Arcadia rolled over and looked at the clock, "Noon seems like a good time to take a nap. I mean I am a college student now; so I will just buy into this part of the stereotype." Arcadia smirked and while sitting up pulled off his shirt casting it to the floor.
Looking down to examine his furry torso, Arcadia was satisfied by what he saw. A well built but not overly muscled chest with a flat stomach that had only a slightest bit of fat when he was sitting. A line of black fur extended down from his navel cutting through the white until it disappeared beneath his shorts. A smirk crossed Arcadia's face as he leaned back and ran his hand through the tuft of darker hair. He continued to run his hands farther down his body. The light touch he was able to feel sent shivers down his spine. Arcadia looked to the door and then to the clock, "It's locked and most people are going to be at lunch. So my roommate shouldn't move in for a while yet." Arcadia smirked and slid his shorts and boxers down to his ankles. The pink tip was already slipping from his sheath; Arcadia continued by rubbing the base of it . A soft moan escaping his lips as he heard a key slip into the door.
Arcadia suppressed a yip of surprise and rolled under the covers; his motion ceasing as the door swung open. A teenage human walked into the room carrying a backpack and box. Arcadia stretched to feign his waking; the roommate apologizing for waking him as he set down the box. Arcadia made the offer to help move him in once he got into pants.
Soon the parents of his roommate walked in; scoffing at the shirtless fur on the other side of the room. They placed down what they were carrying and quickly left the room. Arcadia twitched his ears in an attempt to hear the conversation down the hallway, and was rewarded when a female voice cut above the clatter of the hallway. "I don't want that dirty, flea-ridden fur living with our son."
Arcadia let out a soft growl causing his roommate to turn around quickly. "Do you have a problem rooming with a fur? Because your mother has a problem with it; I was able to hear her down the hall. Tell me now and we can go to the housing department and get your room changed. Prejudice is something I will not tolerate."
His voice was very matter of fact as he spoke, "To be completely honest I have never seen anyone like you. But I will need a reason better than the fact that your... um hairier than me to hate you. My name is Justin by the way. "
Arcadia had the grace to look embarrassed by his rudeness. "I'm sorry about my behavior, but her comment just rubbed me the wrong way. My name is Arcadia." He reached out from under the covers and extended a furred hand. Justin grasped the hand shaking it without hesitation.. Arcadia noted the action and decided to give Justin more of an opportunity to prove himself than most.
Justin smiled and left closing the door behind him. Arcadia rolled out of bed and quickly pulled his pants back on. He had his back to the door as he pulled a shirt over his head. Arcadia heard a barely audible sound of disgust even to his advanced senses. He turned to see Justin's mother standing there with another box in her hand. Arcadia ignored her disapproval as he spoke. "I talked to Justin and I'll be down in a moment to help with the boxes."
Her voice held an undertone of venom despite her words, "Oh, that would be lovely dear. But you really don't have to."
Arcadia smiled as he grabbed the room key. "Oh, I must insist. My mother always made sure I helped out who ever I could." She left the room and made sure to keep a few feet in front of him as he followed.
When Arcadia reached the car he stacked two heavy boxes and carried them with ease. Justin followed close behind a single box under arm; his mother's voice coming from behind them. "Well at least his kind is good for something. The damned things are freakishly strong.."
Justin stopped dead in his tracks, as Arcadia continued on un-phased. "Mother, I can't believe you. He didn't have to come out of our room to help me. But he did; he went out of his way for me. And I didn't expect him to. I didn't ask him to."
Arcadia stopped just inside the second set of doors, sidestepping so he was out of view. But remained where he could still hear the conversation.. "I can't believe you are defending that thing. Their kind is unnatural and you saw how strong he is."
Justin laughed nervously at his mother, "So you are afraid of him because he is different and stronger. That is so close minded of you. You didn't even try to get to know him."
"I don't fear him because of that. You know that they are not human; they are outside the reach of God. You hear stories of their violent, perverse nature everyday." Her voice adamant and full of self-righteousness.
Justin sighed and agreed with his mother. Arcadia's ears fell flat against his head as he walked away. Gently sitting the boxes he was carrying on the floor while avoiding Justin's eyes when he eventually walked in. Arcadia simply sighed walking out of the room. "Well I offered my help, and I'm not going to go back on it now." Arcadia thought as he walked down the stairs.
The unloading process went quickly and Arcadia laid down on his bed when the final box had been brought up. Justin began to unpack in silence when he walked in about five minutes later. He finished unpacking a box before turning to face Arcadia. "Hey, are you awake?" He paused waiting for a response and when he didn't get one he took a step toward the sleeping Arcadia. Slowly he reached out his hand to run it through the anthrowolf's fur.
Arcadia's voice came out in a growl without opening his eyes "Touch me and lose a finger or two," making sure to flash sharp canines as he spoke. Justin nearly stumbled backward over a box as he took a step away.
His voice held an edge of fear' that was also evident in his scent. "Who the hell shit in your cereal? I'm sorry about my moth..."
"It's not your mother that has me pissed. Its that you agreed with her and I heard you. So don't lie." Arcadia spat as he sat up with unearthly grace. A silent growl formed on his lips as he swung his legs of the bed.
"You don't know her. Hey! Don't leave this room." Justin's voice held an edge of anger that caused Arcadia to freeze in place. He turned to face Justin with a look that threatened violence, but waited for an explanation. "That was the only way to shut her up, and get her off of my back. I'm not the kind of person to talk about other people behind their backs."
Arcadia sighed and allowed the tension to melt from his shoulders; his tail waving lightly behind his back. Another sigh was issued as he sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry about growling at you. It's just that I've had too many people do that to me. But I want to know, why were you reaching for me?"
Justin looked embarrassed and shifted on his bed. "I was curious about your...fur? If that is the proper term. I have just never seen anyone like you, but you know that."
Arcadia smiled to himself as he spoke, "You did mention that and yeah that is what we tend to call it. If you are still curious, then I guess you can run your fingers through it. Consider it a peace offering to make up for my rudeness today."
Justin slipped off the bed and took the steps toward Arcadia. His hand came out slowly, but pulled away when Arcadia spoke. "Don't worry. I promise I won't bite." Justin nodded reaching out again to stroke the silvery fur between Arcadia's lupine ears.
"It's so soft. And please don't take this the wrong way, but it feels just like a well groomed dog's," Justin remarked as he pulled away. As he shook his head to return the hairs into place Arcadia laughed.
"Yeah, that tends to be most people's reaction." Arcadia said laying back down on the bed. He quickly fell asleep to the sound of Justin unpacking and woke when his name was called. Opening his eyes, Arcadia was greeted with the sight of Justin looking down at him.
"I was going to go get something to eat, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" Justin asked his tone light; Arcadia's initial rudeness forgotten. Arcadia gladly accepted the offer and grabbed his wallet from the floor. The lunch lines were short and the two soon found themselves at one of the tables. Arcadia looked around the cafeteria and found that half of the student population seemed to be anthropomorphic. This observation comforted Arcadia slightly as his hometown contained only three other families.
The two ate their lunch, and conversed back and forth about the culture shock they were experiencing. As the two got up to drop off their tray, Arcadia couldn't help but feel as though they were being watched. Arcadia quickly scanned the room and noticed a tiger staring in his general direction, but he dismissed the thought as the tigers eyes seemed to be distant and unfocused. Arcadia shrugged and set his tray down where the dish room crew could reach it. The two walked back to their room and spent the rest of the day in light conversation. After turning on a movie on one of the network channels, both Justin and Arcadia soon found themselves asleep.