Natural Affinity

Weird Raccoon

    C sat behind his desk with a mug of warm coffee in his hand. The coyote sighed contentedly as he laid back, taking a moment to relax before starting the day. The protests over Fred were starting to get to him, so he desperately needed time to collect his thoughts and not lose himself to stress. That is the biggest challenge of being a leader: you have to devote yourself to what you're doing and keep things in order. C had those traits in him, at least to an extent, and was capable of handling such responsibilities.

His thoughts were broken by a beeping sound from his watch. Flipping up the mic, he listened in as a feminine voice sounded through.

"Sir, I have an ex-agent Rez here to see you? He says it's an emergency."

"Send him in.", he replied, knowing that Jack would only come to him if something major happened. The bear seemed to be able to keep Fred from stressing, so that was out. As far as he knew, the protesters still had no idea where Fred lived, so that was also out. Other than those possibilities, there wasn't much to go on. He decided to just sit back and wait for the arrival.

What he didn't expect was for the door to blow open and a black bear sprinting towards him with a shorter one in tow. Both of them seemed to be extremely distressed, as their ears were completely flat and the older one was clutching a piece of paper in his paw.

"Fred's gone.", Jack blurted out before the coyote could even question their entrance.

"What?!"

"I woke up and went to check on him, but he wasn't there!", the bear said worriedly, "He left this letter, he thinks he's the reason all of this is happening."

    C swiftly examined the letter, stopping near the end as he got the gist of it. He knew something was going to happen, but this is beyond his expectations! Fred couldn't just go out into the world alone, he could get hurt or even worse. He guessed that the boy must've left some time at night while the two bears were asleep. That had to be the case, as he would've been stopped the moment either of them caught him as he was planning this.

"Get Lex and Hector.", the coyote said sternly, "I'll organize a search party and spread the word."

"What about the protesters?", Tom asked.

"I'll think of something for that. If one of them found him, there's no telling what they'll do."

~~*~~

Fred POV

   I woke up groggy, and excruciatingly slow. It felt like my body was restarting itself. It took me a while to open my eyes, the light seeping through made me dizzy. When I could see, I instantly knew I was somewhere else. I would've expected a hospital, but I don't know if this is better or worse.

   I was in a bed, most of my body covered by a small blanket. The sheets were a radiant gold with white streaks. To the left was a dresser, complete with a mirror and lamp. The other side didn't hold much, a closed door at the front but nothing else. In the middle of the front was a flat screen TV on a stand, currently off. I noticed that my injured foot was propped up on a pillow.

   I groaned as my head pounded. What happened to me? All I remember is that fox chasing me and someone fighting him. After that, a voice told me to relax and I just dozed off. Are they nice? Well, if my propped up leg means anything, then they probably are. Everything's all fuzzy other than what I know. I couldn't help but focus on that voice I heard before falling asleep. It was hypnotic..like I was being consumed in warmth. Something about it just made me want to trust it as if I knew it all my life.

   I shifted to a sitting position, getting more nervous with each passing second. I was going to back out, but then that fox came. I was lucky enough to have whoever fight him rescue me, but I'm not too keen on being in this room. I am thankful to whoever saved me, but now I'm in an unknown location that's possibly far away from everyone I trust. How long was I out for? More importantly, what time is it? If it's morning, Jack would've surely found the note by now.

   A sound broke my thoughts- and rather abruptly, might I add. Looking over to the door, I saw..a blue raccoon? Right, he was the one that saved me. It's starting to come back now, just a little fuzzy. I noticed that he wasn't wearing much, just a gray shirt and some shorts. Well, that answers a few of my questions. We just stared at each other for what felt like forever.

"You alright?", he asked in a similar voice to the one he had last night. It sounded less..intense, I guess. I'm not sure what the difference was, but there was definitely something. I could only nod stiffly, my nerves starting to take over. C's firm demeanor would be pretty convenient right now, but I'm unfortunately me.

"It's okay.", he said gently as he stepped into the room, "You're safe here."

   I honestly didn't want to believe him, but I was pretty much at his mercy right now. My leg's hurt and I'm bedridden- not to mention the size difference. Just by looking at him I could tell he was at least a few inches taller than me. That being said, I pretty much had no say in that respect. I shifted again uncomfortably and ended up moving my injured leg across the pillow, causing me to wince in pain. Yup, really starting to regret that runaway plan...

   Luckily that pain only lasted a few seconds before I felt something touch my head. I knew it was the raccoon, as nobody else was in the room as far as I could tell. I looked over to see that he was closer now, worry clear in his neon green eyes. I had to think for a minute. In all rationality, he could've just taken me to a hospital and out of his life. I could tell he knew this, but he took me to his home.

   Maybe he wanted to keep me for some strange reason? No, he didn't seem that way when he found me. Perhaps because he knew I didn't have a good reputation with some? Nah, even though it's true, he could've just went to the OSI. So what in the world is his reason? Why would he take me to his place when there were better options?

"You were running away."

I froze. I didn't even realize I was still staring at him the entire time. More important was what he said...

"W-what?", I stuttered out.

"I saw your bag.", he explained, "Combine that with you being all alone and you'd get a clear picture."

I honestly feel like I should take my chances with the fox right now.