Silver Linings

[Jannistory19]

Warning: This Rp will explore Mature themes. Younger audiences are going to be encouraged to keep away from reading this Rp; if you read anyway, be warned - we can't be responsible for what may happen to you if you read. You have been warned.

Silver Bay - a city filled with noisy cars, and even noisier people. Crime runs deep, and it doesn't really rest. Not in Silver Bay. How anybody thinks to live in the likes of such a city is beyond the thoughts of many. But somehow, some way, many find their way in the big city. Somehow.


A young male was walking around the streets with a low head as he passed the multitude of people in the early evening. Silver Bay was always shady in the evening: there were many people that just spelled 'trouble', and if he was honest, he would make out a couple of those letters. He shoved past a few people as the crowd he was currently in temporarily thickened. The evening rush. Just when the good citizens of Silver Bay were on their way home, whether it be by foot, car, bus, or train. But for some reason, it seemed like there was a bigger amount of people walking than normal. The young man huffed - he didn't like to be shoved so much, but he also didn't like to cause scenes unless necessary.

The man looked up at the sky to see streaks of purple tainting the orange sky. He sighed, wishing that he could see the sunset properly, but the damn buildings of course had to block the entire way. His thoughts were jarred when he accidentally bumped into a man on his phone.

"Watch where you're going asshole!" the man shouted

The young man snorted. Maybe he could shift into a dog and bite his leg? Just to have some fun with him? Naw, he had to get somewhere. He wouldn't be worth it. With a shake of his head, the man sighed and continued on. Honestly, he would be where he needed to be a bit quicker if he did move as a dog, but he didn't want to go in the alleyway to shift. And if he was really gonna be serious, he didn't even want to go - but his boss wanted him to journey through the damn city in the damn evening, when he could've gone to the bar or took a walk. Shit, maybe home, if he wanted.

Whatever. The faster he'd move, the faster he'd have the rest of the night off.

...

"Fuck it. I want to be done with this errand," the man grumbled.

And with that, the man slid into an alleyway. He made sure that the narrow and dark space was devoid of any other animal or human besides him. When he figured the coast to be clear, the man closed his eyes and shifted into one of his forms - a big and black Pitbull. He snorted as the smells of the alleyway assuted him, and rubbed a paw over the eye of the big white splotch over it. Damn, whatever was in here was burning his nose and eyes. He backed away before returning to the streets. With him looking like a stray, many people moved out of hs way once they saw him - a perk of being the kind of dog he was.

 

[katV]

On the other side of the town there was a quaint neighborhood, the kind with pristine houses, white-picket fences and shiny new cars lined on the driveways. Perfectly tended gardens and people who looked straight out of a movie - probably a romantic comedy, if one had to choose a genre to describe it.

It was the first Amé saw of Silver Bay when his family moved there some years ago. Right before his eighteenth birthday two years back, to be exact. Not exactly an accurate first impression, but his life often was rather removed from reality to begin with. With a renowned judge and the founder of a fashion chain known and adored world-wide as parents, there was a lot in his life that most would never dare dream of, let alone experience. And, sure, the university of arts that he attended in Silver Bay was hardly Harvard or Princeton or Columbia, but it was… “sophisticated” enough for his parents. And Amé enjoyed attending the classes more than he could imagine himself ever enjoying in the bigger universities.

Between living in the best part of the city possible and being sheltered by his parents, he had never stepped a foot in the worse neighborhoods.

Not until tonight, anyway.

There was supposed to be a party he’d been invited to on the outskirts of the city and Amé had figured he’d found a shortcut in the alleyways. He wasn’t sure when he’d lost his way, exactly, but suddenly he didn’t know where he was anymore and it was becoming uncomfortably clear he didn’t fit in with the people passing him by.

No, he stood out like a sore thumb. He had already removed the golden jewelry that previously adorned his neck and wrists, stored them safely in his purse, but between the wine-red designer dress he wore and the black, heeled sandals from Gucci on his feet, it didn’t really make a difference.

The drunken voices coming from the alleyway ahead of him should have been his cue to turn around and try to find his way back, but Amé was much too preoccupied trying to figure out where he was to notice them before the group of three men noticed him. The sound of menacing laughter reached his ears and Amé looked up to see the three men approaching him, smirks on their lips and slurred words on their tongues.

“You look lost, little thing”, one of them snickered, stepping much too close for comfort. With a frightened gasp, Amé took a step back, only to find another one of them by his side, boxing him in against the wall of the nearby building.

“Please, I’d like to pass… I’m in a bit of a hurry”, he said softly, fright clear in his voice. Slender fingers tucked a strand of blonde hair behind his ear and he tried to push through, only to find himself pushed back against the wall.

His heart stopped for a little moment. This couldn’t be good.

 

[Jannistory19]

With the streets steadily getting thinner as the evening grew darker, the Pitbull found traveling much better than just a while before. He snorted as the scents of the city casually flowed into his nostrils. He snorted every other breath, as he didn't really need his sense of smell to figure out where he was going.

'Ugh. It's getting a bit chilly out here. Damn Autumn coming soon. I'm gonna have to figure out where to sleep this time around. Fucking roof's gonna come down sooner or later,' the dog thought with a soft whine. But he shook his head and focused on his task at hand. Retrieving the Boss' damn brother. Fucker was always one to go off to one of those clubs and drink whenever he and his brother had an argument about his behavior. He had to hurry up and get the damn drunk back to his older brother before he caused a scene. His paws moved just a bit quicker with haste.

But then, as he was padding down this one street, the dog happened to catch a feminine scent. He slowed down to a stop and sniff the air, his tail slowly wagging with interest. Oh? What was this? Some woman walking down this way? Perhaps she was going to one of these clubs? Whatever this scent was, it interested him. He sniffed the air again, trailing the scent to apparently across the street. This street? He turned his head to see someone in a red dress, surrounded by three men. Alcohol was in the air as well; so these assholes were drunk and preying on an innocent woman. He didn't fancy that one bit.

The large dog looked both ways before running across the street. When he made it, the canine peeked around a car to see the scene up close. So it was someone being surrounded by three scumbags. His tail wagged slightly upon glancing at the figure in the dress, but he couldn't do anything about her until those three were gone. So the dog slowly came up from around the car, growling with bared teeth to gain the men's attention. The three men froze when they saw such a large Pitbull approach them.

"Oh shit! Bitch got a dog?!" one man slurred.

"I d-don't know, you wanna ask?" another stuttered.

The dog barked as his hackles rose up. It was easy to intimidate people with this breed, and it was fun sometimes. The dog then charged the three men, jaws agape as saliva dripped to the ground. The three men screamed and ran further into the alleyways, tumbling and falling and cursing as they made their leave. The dog barked at them a little longer, letting the echoes scare the idiots until he was sure they were far away. Amused and pleased with himself, the Pit sat down and wagged his tail back and forth, panting quietly as he stared down the alleyway.

 

[katV]

Amé watched the three men before him with wide eyes, his breathing shallow as he tried to think of a way to get out of this whole… situation. He wasn’t really worried they might try to rape him - considering Amé doubted they were interested in men - but they would definitely beat him up when they realized he wasn’t a woman. In the social circles he associated himself with, he did occasionally get scorned for his choices of clothing, but he wasn’t ignorant. Being mocked was not the only thing men like this would do when they realized he was a guy in a dress and heels.

He should’ve taken those kickboxing classes his friends went to in high school - maybe he could actually defend himself then.

Even shifting into his other form would do nothing, considering a margay cat wasn’t the scariest beast on the planet. Though perhaps it would surprise them enough to give him a chance to escape?

His panicked thoughts were interrupted by loud barking, right next to them. Amé inhaled sharply in surprise, green eyes locking onto a pitbull growling and snapping his jaws at them. For a moment he was terrified; the dog seemed almost feral. That was, at least, until he realized it was only barking at the three men who were now tumbling down the alley as fast as they could. Even so Amé saw it best to quickly shift, while all the commotion was keeping everyone’s attention away from him. Being a margay cat had people often making fun of him - his friends thought he was just like a baby leopard - but even so he liked his other form. It wasn’t particularly helpful in a fight, but being small and swift would allow him to escape quickly if the need arose.

There was no telling if this was a person, or a regular stray dog. He didn’t have a way of discerning a shifted person from a regular animal, but Amé guessed it was someone coming to rescue, someone who had noticed him being in trouble.

As the dog sat and wagged its tail, Amé sat back as well and a tiny meow left him. He tilted his head at the surprising rescuer who had come to his aid, curious but wary all the same. He was prepared to dart away at any second, should the pitbull be aggressive towards him now that his initial targets were gone, but he didn’t want to escape without first seeing if there was something he could do or at least say to thank his untraditional knight in shining armor for now.

 

[Jannistory19]

The Pitbull sat there a little longer with a wagging tail, scratching his head before he heard some sort of sound. Hm? He turned his head and looked up, still expecting a full-blown woman, and instead saw nothing. He jumped back in shock, wondering what happened to the woman, when he suddenly saw a sleek feline in her place. Did she shift in fear? The Pitbull suddenly grew curious. What kind of cat was she? Abyssynian? No, this wasn't a domestic form. Ocelot? No, those were a bit bigger. Or maybe it is an Ocelot, but is a bit smaller than usual? It looks pretty damn close to one. This form was very pretty, like a small leopard. He took a nervous step towards the cat, unsure of what to do in this situation. Should he shift into a human? Wouldn't she be even more afraid?

In his curiosity he took a cautious sniff. She smelled nice. He wagged his tail a bit harder. The larger canine began to lick his lips a little, a habit he subconsciously adopted when he was interested in something. At least when he was a dog. Perhaps he could ask her out? Nothing strange hopefully, but it could help him talk to people. It's been a long time since he's even talked to any normal people. People that weren't like him. Of course, if and when she changed back into her human form.

But then, the dog noticed something. He sniffed the woman's scent that drifted away from her, and picked up a masculine scent. It wasn't any of those men that he drove off - those men didn't really stay very long. This was constant, but it didn't smell to masculine. Either way, it was mingled with the perfume. The dog looked down at the wildcat, a whine escaping the dog's mouth before he could stop it. Damn it. This woman had a boyfriend.

Of course she did. The dog backed away a few inches, unwilling to get too close to her. Of course, he tries to do something, and he doesn't even get anything out of it. Well, chasing the men away was fun enough, he supposed. With a slightly drooped tail, the dog snorted as he began to walk away, growling softly at the cat as he walked away. Whatever. He'd never wanted to talk to her anyway. She's probably some rich bitch going to meet up with her boyfriend somewhere, who probably had nothing better to do than to be jealous of everybody else. She wouldn't want anything to do with him. Not to mention how he didn't like talking to people anyway. They never did anything but look down on him if and when he ever spoke.

Besides, he had to go finish his errand. He wasted too much time doing this shit.