The Night of the Big Booms [TokoNewYear]

-START-

Jinny and John made their way to the kennels with warm food, a radio, blanket and a thermos of hot coffee in tow. The clinic had done well in its first few years of operation, and had grown from a humble little cabin to a more spacious main building and large and sturdy kennels to house tokotas. John slid they large doors open and they entered to find the property owner setting up a hammock with her own tawny floof tokota, Redford and a bunch of others keeping her company.

“You sure you’re gonna be okay by yourself Wen?” Jinny was concerned. John was Wendy’s childhood friend and was likewise concerned but knew there was hardly a point in trying to talk the vet out of her crazy ideas.

“Totally! It’ll be fine.” Wendy was confident in her research and Redford and their ability to manage. With hammock set and some cozy tunes blaring on the radio, Wendy put Redford’s New Years hat and with that their party began.

Jinny and John sighed but left Wendy with a smile and said they would check in later. This year, the good doctor decided to offer a new holiday service: Boarding for the Firework-Impaired Floofs. Redford, like many tamed tokotas was mostly alright around fireworks. As long as a human was nearby he was calm and would sleep. Some tokota however had the tendency to flip out and reap havoc and sometimes cause injury to themselves and others in the fear frenzy. So Wendy decided to try and comfort these tokota with a relaxed environment.

Together with herself and Redford, there were three other tokota and one toki. Wendy had noticed that tokis for some reason did not commonly fear fireworks as often as normal built tokota did. And the only toki present was Token, a troublemaker who simply liked hanging out with Redford. He was mostly here to be kept out of trouble.

“Alright gang, let's get this humble party started.”

====

Meanwhile, not far outside of the city, the Desna pack picked up on the smell of prey being smoked and grilled and prepared for feasting. They did not of course understand the complexities of the culinary, but they did understand food. The smells were most curious to them.

A gruff from Fenrir told everyone to stay away from the city. Getting comfortable in the grass and watching from afar, the pack obeyed for the most part. They would be moving on in the morning.

One of the pack members was a greenish-tawny piebald female dire, with a soft blown out barbery mane. Lichen was one of Fenrir’s pups, grown and strong but still a tad younger compared to her siblings. She was playing with her sister before the other dire bore her teeth in warning. Eventually growing bored, the mossy piebald dire dropped to her side in the grass and fell asleep. The other pack members gradually joined her, settling in for the night. She woke to the sound of people, laughing and talking below.

Most of the other pack members slept. More strange smells filled the air, the unmistakable scent of deer meat along with smoke. Lichen was intrigued. The dire tokota got up and followed her nose, wandering away and entering the city despite her sire’s order. Curiosity always got the better of her.

The streets of the city were decorated with stringed lights and tokota decorations. There were colorful, handwoven clothes covering tables and being used as sitting mats. Some people were lining up to go into buildings, and she even noticed some on the rooftops of some of the buildings. Curious.

The moss-green and white shebeast navigated the empty backroads and allies, her nose leading her to an apartment building. There was a fenced in courtyard where smoke was coming from. That was what she had been smelling.

===

“John…” Jinny put her hand on John’s arm as she signaled him towards the ally. It was dark but the shape of a large tokota could be made out.

John was concerned not knowing the nature of the loose tokota. It looked wild, no indication of a handler or maybe someone lost a tokota?

===

And then they started. The sky filled with lights of colors, like the Aurora lights but in spirals and sunflower-like bursts. They exploded in big pops and the humans cheered while some tokota howled.

Lichen could not really process the reactions of others as the loud BOOM sent her in a panic. Ears flattened against her skull, head and tail lowered she launched into a panicked run out into the open streets. She knocked over garbage cans and tables. People yelled and chaos ensued. The booms continued and the sky continued to light up with color. The scared female made circles, seeking shelter. The noise seemed louder, echoing everywhere, confusing her more.

“Hey hey hey….its okay…its alright big fella…woah….easy…” John was trying to calm the panicked beast. The big barbary female had burst through their fence and knocked over their dinner table. Jinny and Ash stood on the side holding a few trays of food they were able to save.

The dire looked at the man momentarily, but another explosion set her in motion and she took flight up the road.

===

She crashed through a fence and saw a large structure with a door cracked open. Lichen nosed her way through the door and managed to eventually push through and get inside. It seemed like a safer place to hide than the open woods. The booms were still audible but fainter now.

The mossy piebald dove at the sound of a louder boom, forcing her way into an empty stall and curling up, shivering with fear.

Wendy was on the ground peeking at the dire from around Redford, who was sitting up now. The intruder had startled the woman and caused her to fall out of her hammock. It was a dire tokota.

“Poor dear. She’s absolutely terrified.” Wendy said softly. Slowly and carefully Wendy motioned over to the stall and peeked in. Redford did much the same, his excessively fluffy face peeking over the stall door.

“Hey, it's okay sweetie. I know it's scary. You just try and relax. You’re safe here.” The dire raised her head to look at the human. The booms outside continued and her shaking was more apparent. Wendy’s heart ached at the sight.

Redfored whined softly. Of his own volition the yeti entered the stall and laid himself down with the dire female. He remains still and calm and avoided eye contact. The dire was too terrified to protest, and in fact seemed a little comforted. Lichen put her massive head down, while Redford kept his head up as if keeping watch. Wendy entered to stall now, slowly. She leaned over Redford and began to gently stroke the mossy-piebald’s fluffy barbary mane.

“Wonder where you came from…” Wendy didn’t notice the tag that marked her as part of the Desna pack.

===

Soon morning came. The dire female awoke to find herself among a pack that wasn’t her own. Around her slept a tawny toki and a large yeti-maned male.Three other tokotas slept nearby, and a human seemed to be snoring from a sack that hung nearby.

Slowly she remembered the terrifying night. Redford likewise awoke next to her with big yawn. He sat up slowly and shook out his mane. Noticing the female was awake he licked her face. The dire protested at first, her snout wrinkling into a sort of snarl, but soon she closed her eyes and let him finish cleaning her face.

Lichen understood now that the small pack had also been terrified of the noises, so the woman had brought them here to keep them safe.

Wendy felt something wet and cold on her face. Slowly she awoke and saw a blur of white and mossy green. When she put her glasses on, she became startled and panicked. The hammock flipped and to the hay lined floor she fell with a thud.

“Ow.” She muttered. The dire was startled too and moved a few paces away. She was saying thanks and also curious about the human in the sack.

Just then the big door slid open. John just managed to move aside as the dire charged out and took off to the wilderness.

“Hey Wen! You okay?”

“Yup! We had a visitor that stayed the night. It was pretty cool.”

“A wild one apparently.”

“No kidding?” Wendy was giving Redford his dose of morning kisses and attention. He was such a sweet and brave boy. Wendy hoped she might see the mossy-piebald dire again someday, perhaps next year again.

-END-