{"sf1_id":852444,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Adventures of Peter Gray chapter 11: Ah...Easter","author":"Domus Vocis","words":2420,"posted_at":"2015-04-25T21:32:00.000Z","tags":["Action","Adolescent","Adventure","Anatomically Correct","Angst","Anime","Anthro","Anthropomorphic","Canine","Cervine","Character Development","Church","City","Clean","Comedy","Compassion","Cub (clean)","Discipline","Drama","Emotion","Fear","Feline","First Person","Forest","Friendship","Generation Gap","Gray","Hate","Illustrated","Mammal","Mild Drama","Mild Violence","Multiple","Multiple Species","New York","New York City","No-Yiff","Non-anthro","OC","Plot Development","Puberty","Public","Raccoon/Fox","Realistic","Series","Short","Short Story","SoFurry","Speciesism","Story Progression","Story Series","Tail","Teenagers","Trouble","Various Species","Violence (not In Yiff)","Wet","adorable","boy","laugh","paw","peter","suspense","teen","teenager"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/852444-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-11-ah-easter","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/852444","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=852444\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Chapter 11\nAh, Easter...\nGod\ndecided to be me best friend and placed Easter Day the day after April Fools.\nObviously, He cared for me happiness and making me tail wag. But now, I doubted\nthat with me fur that was covered in hardening honey yesterday.\nAfter\nsleeping in a barrel outta an alleyway near Union Square (which smelled like\ndead rats and grimy pickles, ugh), no one who knew me muzzle looked at me\nwithout a grin of some kind. One wolf couple that lived as tenants in a\ntenement by Pearl Street acted like they could still smell the dang honey on me\nfur. In truth, I did smell sweet now, but the embarrassment of how made me\nwanna give Gavin a blinker.\nI can see that smug grin on his smug muzzle already..., I thought bitterly to meself. I sighed with a curled\ntail as I strolled down an empty and cobblestone alley toward the Lawton\nresidence. Oh well, it's Easter Day. I\nmight as well make the best of it for meself.\nI\nmade it to a small park alongside a bustling street, one with several trees\nmade into a weird square shape with growing leaves and laughing cubs. Some of\nthem were with humans, but some mothers and fathers told their wolf cubs to not\nplay with the 'pinkies'. I scowled at their backs, but smiled like an innocent\nlittle boy when one mother turned to me with a flicking tail.\nEver\nsince the last boat arrived with more humans from Europe (some rumor seeing\nsome from Africa too; some sort of civil war is going on there), I seen more\nwolves and felines looking at them like street rats. \nKinda\nlike how many people outside of Five Points viewed me.\nI\nwas in a narrow street now, and it was quiet, almost as quiet as any street on\nNew York was on Sunday, especially on a holy event such as Easter Day. There\nwere still other fursons like raccoons and mice and foxes and a couple of\nhumans. Either they didn't care for Sunday Mass, were too busy with their jobs,\nor preferred the idea of celebrating by Easter egg hunts in Central Park.\nThough\nI kept telling meself it was a bad idea, I went to Lance and James'\nneighborhood and strolled down the empty cobblestone road with nothing but the\nnice clothes Laura gave me, and me papa's pocket watch. Luckily, since Lance's\nfamily was more religious than a priest, I didn't hafta face Lance's annoying\ntwin brothers from yesterday. No, instead, James gave me the best greeting a\nfriend coulda given me.\n\"Hey\nPeter! You have any sweet dreams since yesterday?\" he smirked his annoying lips\nat me from the stairs. Though he didn't have a tail, I knew he was scared of me\nreaction.\nI\nsmirked back with a wagging tail as I bowed. \"Nice to see ya too, Jamie,\" I\nsaid. \"Though I wonder why yer dressed like a schoolboy on Sunday?\" Like that,\nthe human boy frowned as he walked down the stairs and brushed his hair back.\n\"So ya heard about what Gavin...did to me, huh?\"\nJames\nbeamed a smile at me nd laughed with a shaking head. \"Are you kidding, Peter?\"\nhe said highly. \"Everyone knows about\nit around here, and it's hilarious!\" The human boy clutched his bare hands at\nhis leotard stomach and didn't stop laughing. \"I have...I haven't laughed this\nmuch since that time Lance told me about that time ya saw Mrs. Turner naked in\nthe tub!\" Again, he didn't stop laughing, and I thought his skin was beginning\nto turn red. \n\"And\nthey said I don't let things go...\" I mumbled. Ever since last November when Mrs.\nTurner was bathing and I innocently went upstairs when going in the tub, there\nhas been this divide between me and the religious raccoon. \nAnd\nI hated being reminded of it.\nStill,\nJames managed to calm down and told me he and the family were dressed for\nSunday Service at 9:00, and Mr. Lawton promised Annabelle and him that if they\nbehaved, he and Laura would take them out to have a treat and visit Central\nPark.\n\"Problem\nis, Annabelle always got easily bored with Sunday Service back in Buffalo,\"\nJames sat on the stone ledge of the staircase and looked at me. \nI\nraised me eyebrows and flicked me tail. \"Ya don't say?\" I was intrigued with a\ngrin. \"So she's one of those kits, or kids, who can't stand church?\" An older\nshe-wolf looked at us funny, but I kept meself innocent as she was probably\nheading to the church right now. \"Mind if I tag along then? Maybe I can get\nmeself a treat?\"\n\"Only\nif you can help me keep Annabelle from being too giddy, and I'll throw in a nice\napple pie baked by my mother,\" James proposed like an auctioneer by a port.\n\"And I'll do it if ya don't go upstairs and look at me mama in the tub.\"\n\"Are\nya kidding?\" I asked him dumbfounded. \"Mrs. Lawton's old enough to be me-\"\n\"Watch\nit, wolf-boy...\" I jumped at Laura's voice coming from the stairway.\nIn\nthe sunlight of Sunday morning, Laura and her husband were dressed in their\nbest attire, wearing clothes similar to mine and simple shirts and dresses just\nlike James was. And while Annabelle was giggling while holding Mr. Lawton's\nhand, him and Laura were looking at me like a cub whose paw was caught in the\ncookie jar.\n\"-sister no older than twenty who I knows\nis out there!\" I laughed nervously with folded ears. \"Still, it was mighty kind\nof ya to gimme these yesterday, Laura. Thanks.\"\nShe\nsmiled that motherly smile again, and walked down. \"That's what I thought as\nwell, Peter,\" Mr. Lawton chuckled before turning to Annabelle. \"So, you ready\nfor church honey?\" She shook her head, and clutched at his leg like a boat\nmast. \n\"Peter\nwas wondering if he could come along, dad,\" James cut in. Stepping down in\nfront of the human, the boy smiled. \"Please? He's dressed decently, and smells\ngood from yesterday.\"\nI\ncaught Laura struggling to keep her laughter in, and Mr. Lawton eyed me,\ncausing me tail to curl slightly outta nervousness. \"Alright son, but,\" he\npointed a finger at me, \"please behave yourself.\"\nI\nhappily obliged and we merrily waltzed through the awakening city. Mr. Lawton\nwas awkward talking to me at first, but I believed I opened up to him when we\ntalked about the weather, the city, and everything else.\n\"So\nhow's work at the factory, Mr. Lawton? Working hard as always,\" I pointed at\nthe bulging arms of his and he chuckled. \n\"Yeah,\nmy arms are sore every night I come home, but the money's worth it to put food\non the table,\" he coughed, scratching his matted hair back. \"Oh, here we are.\"\nI had a feeling he was nervous with me and him being different species.\nThe\nLittle Church Around the Corner, or as I liked calling it, the Corner Church.\nIt wasn't that St. John's upstate, but me eyes were glued to its exterior as\nwell as the inside. Even the service was good, despite me being one of few\nwolves in the church of humans. The one on the podium preaching the Gospel and\nJesus' second coming was a human male as well, but one with darker skin and a\nbrighter personality than any other Father or Sister I knew from me orphanage. \nHonestly\nthough, me fur tingled at the idea of being in a church mainly with humans. The\nmoment I stepped inside, the eyes of a dozen humans, poor and moderate, looked\nat me like a crow among doves. I was in their sanctuary, a place they called\ntheir own, but the few open to fursons welcomed me with an imaginary wag of\ntheir tail.\nMeanwhile,\nAnnabelle sit next to me and randomly went from sleeping, to giggling, to\ncrying and back and forth like an opera singer. I did me best to keep her calm,\nand reluctantly let her stroke me tail and play with it like a feather duster\nin the pew we sat in. Again, God decided to be me friend and not let the\nLawtons gimme fancy looks.\nAfter\na few hours, James stretched his limp arms out and groaned like a lion.\n\"Finally, that was so long!\" he sighed loudly. Thank God we were far from the\nattendees and down the street. \"How the heck did you keep yourself together,\nPeter? I was about to snap after an hour...\"\nI\nflicked me tail away from Annabelle's clutch and smirked at him. \"I spent the\nfirst several years of me life in a religious orphanage, me human friend. I\nlearned how to zone out and also listen at age seven,\" I explained proudly. I\nturned to a chuckling Mr. Lawton holding Lura's hands in his. \"So how was it\nfor you two?\"\n\"It\nwas just wonderful, Peter,\" Laura patted me headfur. \"I'm sorry about throwing out\nyour news cap, again.\" \nI\nshrugged and continued walking. Outta the clothes that Laura threw into her\nstove, the human woman also threw me cap in because it was full of dirt and\nhoney. I remember finding it in an alley the moment i stepped in New York with\nEdward and Hansel, and have kept it with me over the years. Still, I forgave\nher for it, and thought luckily that it wasn't me papa's pocket watch she threw\nin.\nAfter\na bit of walking and flicking me tail at the ground, the Mr. and Mrs. kept\ntheir promise and brought us to Central Park, where the leaves shone pink and\ngreen and the glass glittered like an emerald in a fancy museum. \n\"So\nwhat do you wanna do for fun, boys?\" Mr. Lawton laughed at Annabelle's giggling\nto go play, and she ran off to Sheep meadow nearby. We followed, and I couldn't\nhelp but laugh at her toddler body swinging with each step.\nA\ngroup of kits and cubs ran and chased each other out in the field, along with\nsome around the young human toddler's age. Surprisingly, she was easily\nwelcomed, and I saw down at a nearby bench with James and his parents while we\nwatched from afar. I eyed a couple of canine mothers telling their cubs to come\nover to them, and it nearly ruined the moment when I saw the distain in their\neyes glance at the humans beside me. Still, I didn't care, and neither did Laura\nor Mr. Lawton.\nThe\nair was so warm out, the breeze and leaves so lively, and the glow of the Park\nfelt almost like another world. And suddenly, I was taken aback when me eyes\nspotted someone across the Sheep Meadow.\nI\nlowly growled. Gavin, you 'yote... \nAnnabelle\nand James were out playing in the field while Laura and her husband were\ntalking quietly to each other nearby. Without a grand finale, I got up and\nwalked around the tree line toward the 'yote and his howling friends. As they\nwere walking, I noticed pigeons fluttering at the ground nearby, and a raccoon\nvendor selling birdseeds. Bingo.\n\"So\nya got Peter covered in honey?!\" Carl\ngawked like a bird and howled like a hyena, struggling to keep up with him and\nanother 'yote named Ben. \"Have ya seen the poor wolf, ya know to give him an\napology?\" As I hid behind a tree, struggling to keep me tail from wagging, I\nglanced at Gavin's face, and the more howled chuckling. \"Gotcha.\"\n\"Nah,\nI haven't seen the street rat since yesterday. Must be scared of me like a\nmutt,\" the 'yote's ears folded as he laughed. \"I still can't get that look on\nhis muzzle outta my head yet!\" Just they wait.\nSurprisingly,\nI dodged their sights like a Civil War soldier and flanked to the vendor\nwithout the 'yotes spotting me hide. I gave him a dime, got a cup of bird\nseeds, and wagged me tail devilishly at them passing the pigeons, now pecking\nthe ground for worms. After taking a few steps, I gripped me paw around the\ncup, and threw it on Gavin and his goons!\n\"What\nthe 'ell?!\"\nA\ncloud of feathers appeared around them, swirling like a drain and pecking and\nchirping, followed by the sounds of yelling, gasping, and me running and\nhowling loud as a lunatic released from the loony bin, tail wagging and grin\ntoo widened. \nI\ncasually made it back to the Lawtons, with Mr. Lawton playfully chasing and\nwrestling with Annabelle on the green grass while James played kick-the-can\nwith two fursons on a path nearby. I couldn't smell them, but i believed one to\nbe either a fox or a raccoon (dang honey from yesterday. I'm glad that that\n'yote got his just desserts.) But it was Laura who look bewildered at me, like\nI grew another ear or tail like in an Oriental legend. \n\"Peter what did you do? Go chase some poor\nbirds?\" she pointed to me ears, and the twitching in them allowed a pigeon\nfeather to land on me nose. \nI\nheard shuffling behind me, and I turned to see- \"Peter, I'll kill ya for this!\"\n\nLaughing,\nI turned to the feathered 'yote and his goons, shouting, \"That's revenge for\nhoneying me yesterday, ya wolf-wannabe!\" I turned quickly to Mr. Lawton and\nLaura, smiling innocently at them. \"Sorry, but I ain't that much of a saint.\"\nI saw\na slight smirk on Mr. Lawton's lips, a frown from Laura, a wry chuckle from\nJames, and a giggle from Annabelle, and laughter on me muzzle as I charged down\nthe street. I dodged some gentlewolves, jumped across a small creek by the\nbridge, and unfortunately missed the best part. \n\"You\nmutt!\" Gavin flew down into the water and barked like a 'yote. \"Mutt!\"\nYep,\nI wasn't a saint.\nI\nput me paws close to me muzzle and shouted, \"Happy Easter, ya dog! Hope ya had\na nice trip, see ya next fall, and-\"\nI tripped\nand fell on me bottom, yelping as I hit the stone ground. After a moment of\ncollecting meself, I felt me fur turn white as I saw three very familiar wet 'yotes charging at me like bulls in a china\nstore. \n\"Uh\noh.\"\n I\nran for it, but laughter still spewed outta me throughout\nthe chase.","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/846676-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-10-april-fool-s-day.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/861739-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-12-hansel-and-edward.json"}