One Shot | September Writing Prompts

EIGHT & NINE | Piqued & Grief

Another few months passed in the so called "Tiny Shelter." Every few weeks, new arrivals were welcomed into the fold of the makeshift family those at the Shelter formed together. The basement walls were finally cleared out, opening up dozens of rooms for other borrowers. There was talk of turning the entire basement into a city like structure with the right materials, but there was the issue of the basement being useful storage space as well as it being the emergency severe weather shelter. Needless to say, there was buzzing inside of the walls as the borrowers' lives unfolded.

Outside of the shelter, however, was another matter. With anything, laws and opinions took time to form. Arguments dragged on for weeks. Paperwork was a constant hinderance. Even if everything went perfectly, there was still the potential of arriving too late. Things had gone faster recently, but never seeming to be fast enough.

Logan had found himself spending more and more time immersed in legal texts. There were inconsistencies and loopholes which he was able to expose, something his human counterparts were eternally grateful for as were some of his borrower friends, Virgil and Patton being his largest supporters. Patton, ever the optimist, encouraged him to keep reading while Virgil, though supportive, always felt it necessary to advise caution when speaking humans. In reality, Logan had only ever spoken to Ali, and usually it was when she came in from her shift and he felt an urgency to inform her of his discoveries. It felt childish to Logan, not going and speaking to Thomas or the other members of his team like Joan or Talyn. Still, Logan could not summon the courage to speak with them without spending ample time to gauge their reactions. He knew Ali much better than the others and it still took significant gumption to stand up and speak without stuttering. At least, that's what Logan told himself in the beginning.

In reality, those few months reading legal texts and conversing with Ali revealed to Logan that she had indeed become a friend. He found himself coming around before Ali left for work, if she needed to work, and speaking with her about books and various current events. He had become more comfortable speaking with her over this expanse of time than with some of his fellow borrowers in the walls – and he found he was enjoying himself. She was equally intellectual and as she was caring, cautious and yet unintimidated in asking bigger questions, logical and creative. Only a slim portion of the current borrower population in the Shelter could read and write, leaving him intellectually unstimulated. Yet, with a human, he could hold an in-depth conversation about astrology, biology, or forensic mysteries. Ali never ceased to amaze him; unfortunately, the same could be said of her roommate, Hickory.

Hickory, Logan discovered, was a borrower he became quite annoyed with through minimal interaction – but only when she was with Ali. On her own, Hickory was a bit of a nuisance, but she was willing to go the extra mile behind the scenes, whether it be for another borrower or for Ali. When with Ali, however, Hickory's personality intensified. She was a little louder than most borrowers, but she would blatantly shout and scold Ali for seemingly nothing in particular. Hickory was bold when it came to clearing out spaces and new rooms, but with Ali she was reckless. Logan had lost track of how many times, when he was conversing with Ali, that Hickory would take a running leap off of the ceiling fan without a safety line or throw thumbtacks at Ali just to get a reaction. Hickory was never afraid of letting someone what she thought about them and, sometimes, she was polite about it; but, she would ruthlessly tease or chastise Ali. Hickory also had no aversion to physical touch, especially when it came to Ali. Hickory often demanded to ride of Ali's shoulder, her hoodie, or be carried between rooms to interact with other humans. Logan shuddered each time he thought of being at the mercy of a human's touch, even if that human were Ali.

They had their moments of quiet and thoughtful interactions, Ali and Hickory did. Logan only caught a glimpse of them from time to time, usually when Hickory was apologizing for something she said or did. Without fail, Ali always forgave her and offered a hand so they could go about their day. Logan watched the way Roman and Remus interacted with Thomas and the other Shelter members on a few rare occasions. Not even Roman and Remus, who had quite the rapport with Thomas, interacted quite the same way.