{"sf1_id":897294,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Adventures of Peter Gray Chapter 20: Helping Blink","author":"Domus Vocis","words":4266,"posted_at":"2015-08-12T02:45:00.000Z","tags":["1899 New York City","Anthro","Brooklyn Bridge","Comedy","Five Points","Fox","Gay Relationship","Human","Kid Blink","Manhattan","Mouse","Newsies","Plot Development","Raccoon","Street urchin","Strike","Wolf","speech","young"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/897294-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-20-helping-blink","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/897294","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=897294\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Chapter\n20\nHelping\nBlink\n          Edward's\ncooking never disappointed me appetite in the past. This fox was a wizard with\ncooking, even by me low standards. If I ever became a rich gentlewolf with a\nmansion, a dozen pretty vixens by me side, and a backyard bigger than Five\nPoints, I'd hire the fox as me personal chef. He'd bake me the best foods, cook\nthe best grubs, and stir the best soups as he always does with that noggin' of\nhis. \n          As me and\nHansel sat at the lone table in their apartment, Edward wagged his bright tail\nbehind him while pouring the soup he concocted. \"Mmm, this is spectacular\nEdward,\" I spoke after swallowing a spoonful, and felt its taste run through me\nstomach. \"What's in it?\"\n          As I took\nanother spoonful, the fox whispered something German in Hansel's ears, and the\nmouse grinned, explaining, \"It's got chicken, potatoes, and...\" he stopped,\nwidening his eyes and struggling to not laugh, \"...and olives, Peter.\"\n          I froze, and\ndropped the spoon into the bowl while looking at the fox and mouse nonchalantly.\n\"So tell me about the past two days Hansel?\" I asked, doing me best to rid the\ntaste of the olives on me tongue. \n          Laughing\nshortly, Hansel ate his soup next to a sitting Edward while looking at me. In\nbetween taking a sip and looking to Edward solemnly, the mouse explained that\nsince the raid on Irving Hall, the newsies haven't been the same. 'cause of the\ncoppers, and the strikebreakers harassing them, there've been smaller and\nlesser strikes than before. Rumor even had it that the leaders considered\nquitting altogether. \n          That got me\nattention quickly, causing me fur to tense together and the bitter taste on me\ntongue to come back. \"What?!\" I gasped in disbelief. \"B-But i-if they do\nthat...they-they'd be in deeper mud than b-before!\"  \n          Hansel\nsighed, and I looked next to him to see Edward's foxish ears folded alongside\nhis companion's. \"That's life though, Peter. Those cubs have good intentions\nbut...\" Hansel slowed speaking and took a last spoonful of the olive soup. \"It's\ngotten hectic at our job, and our boss says any striking with the newsies will\nget you fired.\" The mouse took hold of Edward's paw to his right and squeezed\nit tightly, and the fox squeezed it back. \"It's even risky to have you here\nseeing how a...couple of people know you're for the newsie strike, and Mr.\nHabicht, our landlord, knows our boss.\" He paused. \"I brought you up here cause\nthe dog is out getting groceries and...we wanted to warn you since-\" \n          I held me pw\nup, looking at Hansel in disbelief, and turned back to Edward's eyes. They\nweren't joking. \"I understand, I won't talk to ya two until all this is over,\"\nI sighed sadly. I stood up and folded me ears as I walked over to the door.\n\"Hansel? Eddie? If ya wanted a job, wouldn't ya want it to be fair?\"\n          A shuffling\nbehind me indicated they were listening, but a force inside me made me open the\ndoor and close it while running down the stairs. The whole while, I couldn't\nwrap me noggin' 'round the fact me fatherly figures weren't gonna risk their\nnecks for a better cause. I couldn't blame them, since they had something while\nI had nothing though. \n          Although I\nwanted to be very angry at them, growl at the mere memory of their words to me,\nI couldn't make meself hate Hansel or Edward. The mouse and fox spend\nLord-knows-what little they had to get me outta jail, and this was how I repaid\nthem?!\n          Just as I\nturned a nearby street corner, something hit me muzzle, and I fell back on me\ntail with a soft crack. \"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!\" I muttered while rubbing\nme rump and nose in pain. \"Me nickers...\"\n          \"'ey! Boy!\"\na loud shout came from the broad-shouldered shouted down at me. \"Watch it ya\nBrit!\"\n          I lowly\ngrowled and stood to me footpaws while limping away. \"I ain't talking Brit, ya\nBrit!\" I shouted to him behind me sore tail. \"Could this day get any worse?\" I\ncut meself short when I got to Joseph Kinnick's Bakery, hoping to get meself\nsome grub. \n          There, I\nfound me beloved friends grinning ear to fluffy ear, waiting for me return.\nJames struggled to keep a chuckle whilst setting down his drink at a nearby\ntable. And sitting at the table next to James was Kid Blink, looking at me both\namused and guilty. I hadn't seen them so worked up and loony since Gavin the 'yote\nhoneyed me back in April. \n          \"Thank you\nfer letting me hold the baby, Mrs. Kinnick!\" and to add to me misery, there was\nthe 'yote himself, turning down the stairs and immediately smiled at me like I\nwere made of gold, running down the stairs and looking at me wide-eyed. \"Peter\nyer back, ya crazy wolf. How was jail?\" \n          I folded me\nears and lowly yipped. \"Shaddup Gavin,\" I said sitting down.\n          As I turned\nto the free bagels (hopefully weren't on me tab), an old wolf of forty walked\noutta the kitchen with a tray full of...bread or fancy bagels...and placed them in\nthe oven behind the counter. His grayer fur shone from the oven's light, as\nwell did his eyes when he turned to us. \n          \"Well if it\nain't the jailbird of the evening!\" he laughed with the others with wagging\ntails. \"I heard about yer arrest, and couldn't believe it, Peter.\" \n          I frowned.\n\"And ya didn't help me outta jail and pay me bail because...?\"\n          The old wolf\nshrugged. \"I'd have to put it on yer tab, Peter,\" he said. \n          I lowly\ngrowled and took a bagel. Ha ha ha, I\nthought, staring at the crumbs on me piece. And\nif yer putting this on me bloody tab as well, I'll give ya the true meaning of\njailbird.\nKid Blink chuckled with him\nand smiled. \"I think he's had enough, Joseph,\" the hybrid spoke up. He stood up\nand walked forward, giving me a meaningful hug before sitting down with Gavin\nand James at the wooden table. \"I'm glad yer alright, but how did youse git\noutta jail Peter?\" \n          \"Yeah how\ndid ya do it Peter?\" Joseph called out from behind his counter. \n          \"You sell\nyour pocket watch?\" James asked concerned. He gasped, and playfully turned to\nGavin with wide eyes. \"Or... did he-?\"\n          \"Escape?\"\nGavin looked at me curiously and wagged his 'yote tail with a wry smile. For\nbeing me newest friend close to James and Lance, the 'yote still acted like a\njackass of a donkey sometimes. \"Did ya escape from prison?\" \n          I folded me\nears and frowned sourly. \"Of course I didn't ya darn cubs,\" I said while taking\na bite of me bagel. As I started to explain it, this lump in me chest reminded\nme how cowardly me saviors were for not standing up with me in the strike.\n\"H-Hansel and Eddie helped me out.\" \n          Gavin raised\nan eyebrow while taking a drink of water. \"The mouse and fox yer friends with?\nThey paid yer bail?\" he asked. \n          \"No they\npaid me wardrobe, of course they paid me bail ya 'yote,\" I chuckled outta\nnowhere. \"They got me outta jail, and all 'cause they...love me.\" I blushed at\nthe last part, and grew annoyed by me friends' laughter. \"Shaddup ya cubs.\" I\nturned to Blink curiously and took a last bite of the bagel in me paw. \"So\nhow's the strike going Kid? I heard yer thinking about quitting.\"\n          It was then that\nthe room went silent, almost to the point of the only noise coming from\nflicking tails and outside ambience; even Joseph stopped with his job and\nlooked at Kid Blink with incredulous shock. This was causing the hybrid to fold\nhis ears and look at James, Gavin, then me in shame.\n          \"Well...it\nain't half true Peter,\" he said embarrassed and clearly disappointed. \"Ever\nsince de incident at Irving Hall, Dave and Boots 'ave considered giving up\nunless we's can gets enough of New York te join us.\" Kid lowly growled and took\na sip, muttering, \"The cowards dey are. We's gotten ourselves dis far, why back\nout now?\"\n          A grin\nformed across me muzzle. \"There's the speaker I know and love.\" I pointed one\nof me fingers at the hybrid and did a mocking laugh. \"And meanwhile, I ain't\nthe one that's shy about going on stage and pulling the strings Kid Blink,\" I\nsaid in equal disappointment. Blink looked at me in surprise along with\neveryone else. \"I think yer a good voice for everyone, so why not be the voice\nBlink?\"\n          \"Yeah, why\nnot Blink?\" James asked. Me human friend set his cup down and looked at the\nfox/raccoon hybrid with an understanding face. \"You're smart, well-known from\nManhattan to Brooklyn, and are the best newsie all round.\"\n          \"Yeah stop\nbeing such a coward Blink,\" Gavin said meaningfully (this was very odd). \"I\nmean, I haven't been much of a supporter fer the newsies, but I can be there to\nhelp ya out.\" \n          I folded me\nears and looked at Gavin like he were a loon; maybe he was. \"Who are ya and\nwhere did the real Gavin go?\" I asked the 'yote bluntly. This caused everyone\nto laugh, and in the midst of it all, a thought crossed me noggin' and it lit\nup like a fancy Edison light bulb. \n          \"I got\nmeself an idea,\" I said, tapping the table with a smile of brilliance. \"We'll\nspread the word all 'round the city, and I'll help Blink with his stage fright.\"\nI looked at Blink and ignored the smell of fresh bread in the air. \"Blink, when\nis the next rally?\" \n          \"Uh...\" Blink\npaused, collecting his thoughts. \"I think de next one's tomorrow, but why\nshould I's git help frem ya Peter? And de rest of ya'all?\"\n          I ignored\nthe hybrid and turned me eyes to James, Gavin, and Joseph behind the counter of\nthe bakery. I asked Gavin and James if they can get their parents to rally the\nother workers at the steel mill they worked at. While Henry would obviously say\nyes, and do his best, Gavin said he'd have to convince his 'yote father a bit\nto rally the other workers. With luck, since Francis Flint was well-known\nthroughout the mill, he'd rally even the boss of the filthy place. \n          I then asked\nJospeh behind the counter if he and the other bakers of New York could be at\nthe next rally, but the old wolf didn't listen to me and went back to cooking\nhis precious bread.\n          \"I'll let ya\ndouble me tab?\" I asked with a grin. \n          That caught\nJoseph's attention, and he said, \"I'll ask George and Mrs. Jarvis if they'd be\nwilling to help the newsies then.\" This was gonna put a large dent in me tab\nwith Joseph, but it would be worth it.\n          \"Blink,\nwhen's the next newsie rally?\" I asked, finally turning to the impatient\nhybrid. \n          \"Uh...two days\nfrom now, on the Brooklyn Bridge again at noon, Peter,\" he said in sudden\nsurprise. \"Why are ya asking me dis?\"\n          I smiled an\ninnocent smile and said, \"I'll help ya be the best speaker since Abraham Lincoln\nat the Gettysburg Address.\" And I meant every word of it.\n          The next few\ndays were a real blur. Everyone got busy doing their part of telling everyone\nthey could meet to protest at the next rally. Gavin told his father, James told\nhis father, and Joseph advertised it to all his customers and rivals in Five\nPoints. The old wolf looked so happy I swear he'd bust a gut.\n          Meanwhile,\nwhenever Blink had the time, I'd find the hybrid and help him with his shyness.\nBlink told me how while he had no problem with talking in front of a few people\nor even ten, the idea of being in front of dozens of other fursons made his\nskin crawl like a hunter skinning deer. \n          A day from\nthe rally, we were strolling along the bust afternoon a few blocks from the\nBrooklyn Bridge, reminiscing in the day and talking about the rally without a\nworry in the world. Still, I was the only worried one; Blink was still as shy\nas a showgirl and he'd be talking in front of hundreds of people without\nknowing what to do about his stage fright. \n          It's hopeless! I thought bitterly while\nkicking a nearby can across the street. Blink was busy talking about the steel\nmill workers finally agreeing to rally with us, but we still didn't know how to\nmake Blink be confident. Unless... \n          As we turned\na corner, I asked him, \"Why not look at just me in the crowd? I'll be in the\ncenter of the crowd, ya look for me, and looked at solely me while making a\nspeech onstage?\" Blink stopped on the sidewalk and looked at me like I were the\ninventor of a flying machine. \n          \"Dat's...a\nbrilliant idea Peter!\" Blink wagged his hybrid tail ferociously. While\nadjusting his newsie cap, Blink confidently looked forward. \"While de rally's\nhappening, do yer best te git me attention, and ill do de rest.\"\n          We shook\npaws, and agreed that was the plan.\n          At last,\nwhen the rally came the next day, I traveled to the Brooklyn Bridge. I had to\ngo past Irving Hall, say hello to  few\npretty vixens in dresses nearby, and get meself a breakfast after finding a\nnickel in a barrel the night before, but I made it as steel workers were seen\nstopping traffic.\n          \"Strike!\nStrike! Strike!\"\n          They looked\nreally angry, and it was perfect. Automobiles and wagons stopped at the foot of\nthe Brooklyn Bridge while other workers, some from the docks, the cotton gins,\nthe bakeries, and other businesses join the steel workers in strike. Fursons\nand humans alike carried signs of equal rights. \nBy ten past noon, I swear that\nI saw Francis Flint himself shake paws and hands with Henry Lawton, James'\nfather, near the edge of the crowd like they were friends for life. And next to\nthem were their own sons, and among them protester as young as cubs all the way\nas old as ancient, wagging their tails and shouting with all their might. \nThis\nis unbelievable! I thought gleefully. \nTo me surprise, the crowd was\nmoving onto the bridge, up it like an army of angry workers. Next thing I knew,\nI was on the footwalk watching the crowd occupy the entire metal bridge without\nworry or remorse, just pride and life amid the scenery of the Hudson, colorful Brooklyn,\nand smoggy Manhattan as far as me eyes could see. \nA while later, the newsies\nappeared in the crowd, much to me glee as I lean against the rails. There had\nto be at least a couple dozen of them, as compared to the near hundred from the\nlast rallies. I saw Boots McAleenan, Dave Simmons, and more that swept the bridge's\nroad, their furry muzzles and pink faces struck with awe at how many stood in\nsupport of them.\nI waved me arm once I spotted\nBlink's hybrid tail. \"Blinkie!\" I called out. The hybrid turned to me\ndirection, tapped his friend's shoulders, and ran to gimme a smile so wide I\nthought it'd hurt him. When the newsie leaders looked at me with disbelief, I\ngrinned and said, \"Yer welcome.\"\n          A while\nlater, after the crowd started to calm down, the newsie leaders started making\ntheir speeches. Dave stood on an empty, parked automobile on the Brooklyn\nBridge (I hope the gentlewolf who owned that didn't mind), and shouted about\nHearst and Pulitzers needing to know, along with the world, of their struggles.\n\n          As soon as\nhe was done, I tugged at Blink's shirt and said, \"Time for yer debut Blink.\" I\nsaw Blink's tail twitch and curl, and knew he was being stubborn.\n          \"I c-can't\nPeter. Maybe de odders will's douse better d-den me,\" the hybrd whispered to me\nnervously, like he thought the crowd would hear us under the cheering and\nchanting. \n          Dave went\ndown the automobile and gazed at the other newsie leaders with curiosity in his\neyes. \"Who's next?\" the asked, his white teeth still standing out against his\ndarker skin. \"Boots? Ya willing to make anudder speech?\" The raccoon shook his\nhead as a reply, and Dave kept asking for other volunteers.\n          \"'ey Davie!\"\nI shouted. \n          Blink lowly\ngrowled under his breath, \"No!\" \n          \"Kid Blink\nwould like to make a speech!\" I announced happily. \"He's got himself good ideas\nin his noggin' of his, Dave. Don't ya Blinkie?\" \n          All eyes\namong the leaders fell on Blink and I by the footwalk railing, and while the\ncrowd were oblivious to what I said, Dave and Boots stared at Blink. \"Kid, ya\nwanna go up dere and try to talk sense into dem?\n          Blink turned\nto me and frowned. \"Reminds me to haunt ya when I die onstage up dere ya wolf,\"\nhe said between his teeth. \n          I grinned.\n\"Will do Blinkie,\" I said.\n          Blink looked\nto Dave and Boots with a nod. \"I'll head up dere and...try,\" he simply stated\nwhile climbing up the automobile. \n          I grinned at\nthe sight and perked me ears upon remembering. \"I'll be back a moment boys,\" I\nquickly said before running off into the crowd. \"Excuse me, pardon me. Nice\nshirt there. Oof!\" \n          I\naccidentally stepped on an old wolf's footpaw, causing him to shout, \"Watch it,\nPeter!\"\n          \"Sorry!\" I shouted,\nmomentarily turning to the wolf and smiled at him. \"And thanks for coming\nJoseph!\" I wondered if his wife was guarding the bakery or not, and if I could\nsneak in later for a loaf of bread or two. \nI ran deeper into the striker\ncrowd until I was right in the middle, where it was the least crowded and me\neyes could see Blink a stone's throw away.\n          The hybrid\nlooked like a wreck, his eyes roaming through the vast amounts of fursons and\nhumans. Even from a small distance, I saw his tail curling anxiously, like he\nwere a thief caught by the coppers. When the crowd started to silence itself\nfor him, his maw opened up several times, with barely a word coming outta his throat.\nI had to let him see me!\n          With\ndesperation clouding me, I scanned around me for a way to get Blink's\nattention, otherwise he'd be the Clown of New York. Taking in me surroundings,\nI saw a honking automobile to me right in the middle of the crowd. Grinning to\nmeself, I ran for it and jumped onto the silvery, shiny roof.\n          \"Get off my\nroof, ya brat!\" a gentlewolf shouted from in the driver's seat. \"I'll call the\npolice on ya lad! I will! I swear to God I will!\" I doubt he was, but I felt\nkina sorry for scratching it up with me footpaw's claws. \n          I looked\nback to Blink, our eyes now at the same height, and he spotted me with a\nforming smile. I got his attention! Now he\njust needs to get theirs! I thought, looking down at the crowd on the\nbridge. \n          Clearing his\nthroat with clear nervousness, Blink nodded at me slowly shouted, \"Friens...if\nyouse can hear me, ya know's why's we're here! We's here 'cause... here 'cause\nPulitzer and Hearst thinks...thinks dey owns us like...cattle!\" I took note to have\nthe hybrid work on his pauses. \nThe crowd whistled and hollers\nin (mostly) approval. There had to be about over a thousand cheering, maybe\nmore. \"Everyone, whether furson or human, counted more den de coins and cash in\nudder's pockets. Just de udder past days, de breakers and coppers hired by\nPulitzer arrested me friens fer talking. T-Talking! Talking about rights!\nTalking about our place in de world! And 'cause dey thinks dey own us, dat we'll\nback down! Will's we?!\" he shouted, his tail now open and wagging. \n\"Strike! Strike! Strike!\nStrike! Strike!\" they chanted like mockingbirds.\n\"De fat cats and fat\ngentlewolves dat ignore's us are no better den de fursons who run de World and Journal. Now is de time to seize de day today! Frem Harlem, to Five\nPoints, to Brooklyn, to de Upper Side, de Lower Side, and de world, we's gotta\nseize de day!\" \nMore shouts and more cheers\nmade me deaf. Blink looked me in the eye, and smiled broadly before turning to\nthe crowd. \"F-Friens and feller workers, dis...is de time dat tries de heart of\nmen! Dis is de time where's we's got to stick together like glue! We\nknow wot we wants and we'll git it even if we's blind!\"\n          Me eyes and\nears felt the cheers and jeers from everywhere, and the disbelief grew even\nmore as the strikebreakers didn't break this strike at all. It went on through\nthe day, and didn't stop the rally, like it were a gentlewolf presenting his\nmansion to the poor. \n          As the rally\nwent uninterrupted, I froze in place when two familiar muzzles caught me\nattention in the middle of the crowd. I peered me sights closer, and me eyes\nwidened when I saw they were a fox and mouse, wearing street sweeper clothes. \n          Hansel?! Edward?! I thought with a wagging\ntail. They both carried signs that read 'Strike!'. I knew they'd come!\nI quickly stepped offa the automobile\nsoon as Blink's speeches were done, and ran for me friends. When they saw me,\ntheir muzzles lit up like mine, and I couldn't stop meself from hugging them. \n          When I asked\nabout their jobs, Hansel told me bluntly, \"We quit.\" \n          He and Eddie\nwent on to explain that they prepared for another job, and knew a fellow German\nimmigrant who worked in a blacksmith's shop. \n\"The work will be harder, but\nthe boss over there will pay us half a dollar more,\" Hansel said happily,\nmomentarily holding paws with the red fox standing by his mousy side.\n\"Plus...you were right. If we want a job...\" The mouse smiled at me and glanced\nto Edward, \"...we'd want it to be fair.\"\nI told meself not to cry,\n'cause I was around other men. \"T-Thank ya two,\" I said. We hugged there, and\nwatched the rest of the rally. I was so grateful for them coming. Like Blink\nsaid earlier, \"Everyone, whether furson or human, counted more den de coins and\ncash in udder's pockets.\"\n          The rally\nthe next day went spectacular, with Blink following me gaze and feeling more\nconfident. I saw Mrs. Turner giving out treats with her friends to the others\nstriking. We locked eyes for a moment, and I swear in the name of the Lord that\nI saw her smile at me like I were Lancie. In a twist of irony, I saw Lancie\nwith her near the end of the rally. \n          Days passed,\nand no one knew the news for a while. Everyone in New York knew every whisper\nand shout involving the newsie strike, like a chain letter on a grand scale.\nSome cared badly about not knowing what was going on in the world, while more\nflocked in the newsie strike. Even newsies in New Jersy were riling up a bit.\nOne reporter from a newspaper\nI couldn't remember came up to Blink while we were talking amidst the rally,\nand asked about the strike. Blink told the reporter with confidence, \"Me men is\nnobul!\"\n          At last,\nprogress was made. The newsies who worked for The New York Journal were getting their money from unsold papers\nback, and prices would be lowered a dime, but Pulitzer's New York World didn't back down until three days later. \nAfter a rally on August 4th,\nme, Blink, Dave, Boots, and James were laughing about something unimportant\nwhen a black carriage stopped in front of us on the street. Its driver was a\nblack wolf with fancy attire, but what caught me and the guys' attention were\nits two passengers. One of them was an older, graying gentlewolf with a black tuxedo\nand a brass walking stick by his lap, while the other was a younger tiger in a\ntan vest and black trousers. He was bigger than the ancient gentlewolf, almost\nto the point of his tail and legs folding up to his chin in the carriage's\nspace.\n\"Which one of you are the\nnewsboys called...\" the tiger read off a piece of paper, his voice beckoning in\nme deafened ear drums. \"...'Kid Blink'... 'Boots McAllen'...and 'Dave Simmons'?\"\n\"That's 'McAleenan',\" Boots\nmuttered under his breath. \nThe five of us held our breath,\nexcept for Blink, who stepped forward. \"I...I ams Blink,\" he turned to Boots and\nDave. \"De human's Dave, and de raccoon's Boots. Who are ya?\" \nThe gentlewolf shifted himself\nforward to the carriage's window. His face creased a bit, maybe out of pride or\nembarrassment. \"Between you three boys, I am Joseph Pulitzer, and...I'd like\nto...negotiate on the strike.\" ","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/893064-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-19-how-i-got-meself-in-jail.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/906213-the-adventures-of-peter-gray-chapter-21-school.json"}