"What Were You Thinking!?"
This was most definitely not a great idea.
Relient tagged behind his sister Jasper and her alleged ‘boyfriend’, his posture clearly showing that he was nervous. The narrow alley street opened up into a sort of a crossroads, completely hidden from the outside streets by the tall surrounding city buildings. Even with the shade though, the ground underneath him was emanating heat and burned his paw pads. The second Relient set a paw inside, his gut dropped.
All around them were faces; some familiar, some not, and some who were a strange kind of in between. They all were the same in the fact that they looked capable of snapping your neck in seconds if they decided they didn’t like you. Relient recognized the prominent symbol of the Golden Dragon burned onto a stocky black viscet’s arm, others behind him with the same marking, either embossed in clothing, tattooed on, or worn around their necks.
The famous gang indeed dominated over the others in the clearing, their presence clearly well-respected and well-feared. Dean, however, seemed to be completely oblivious to this and waltzed out like he owned the whole of Riverhead. The other groups sitting off to the side and around them cast their eyes on the three newcomers with obvious disapproval, but none of them made a move as Dean walked up to the metal pump in the center. Jasper followed close behind, but Relient lingered back; he was far too uncomfortable with this situation to draw any more attention to himself.
Dean reached the pump, his unexpected confident stride spooking the closer viscets into moving back farther. He ignored the looks he was getting and pulled the rusted lever up, staring intently as drops of water dripped from the pipe. A patch of the harsh summer sunlight made his sunset-colored mane shine as he shifted, his eyes glancing quickly to the Dragons’ leader.
“Dean,” the large viscet purred in a singsongy voice, dragging out his name as an unsettling grin found its way on his face. “Funny to see you here- I would have thought our last encounter would have taught you a lesson. Relient’s eyes immediately jumped to the slash on Dean’s nose that still was in process of healing. The comment was obviously made to unnerve Dean, but instead, he returned the smile.
“You think too little of me.” Water started trickling out in a little stream, splashing against the grate below and drawing Dean’s attention. Breaking eye contact with the other viscet, Dean leaned down and opened his jaws, allowing the water to fall into his mouth. A few seconds passed and he put his head under, shivering with pleasure as the cooling liquid soaked into his burning fur. Jasper went in after him, the sight of the water ridding her of all fear of the others around her. Dean returned his gaze back to the Dragon’s, who had grown stiff, his jaw clenched tightly.
“Your stupidity is gonna get you killed one day kid,” he growled, but Dean brushed off the threat.
“Well, I’m not dead yet so so far it’s gone not too bad, wouldn’t you think?” The viscet’s indignant attitude was starting to tick the Dragon off, and Relient did not like the malevolent look in his eyes.
“Dean-“ Relient called, wishing then that he were closer so he could converse a bit more privately. He still refused to join the two in the middle though. “Let’s go.”
“Your friend is smart,” the Dragon noted, picking at his teeth with a claw. “If I were you I would take his advice and scat before I rip you apart.” Relient saw the fire light in Dean’s eyes and he cringed inwardly, knowing what was coming next. The threat was a challenge to him, one that he wouldn’t back down from, especially with such a large crowd to witness.
“Try me.”
“What did you say mutt?” The Dragon rose to his feet, his arms out and claws extended. A dangerous light glimmered in his eye, but Dean pushed it farther.
“Try me,” he repeated, his posture casual and relaxed. He inspected a claw absently, gesturing for Jasper to step back. She did. “I’ve taken you on before and I’ll do it again. Everyone here knows that you’ve gotten lazy. Prove them wrong?” He beckoned with a single finger, and instantly the Dragon jumped for him, aiming to slash at his throat. Dean quickly dodged, ducking under and rolling sideways as his opponent tumbled to the ground.
They engaged each other, though it seemed as if the Dragon couldn’t land a hit. Dean was like lightning, zipping back and forth, over and under as fast as Relient could blink. The Dragon was growing impatient and he swung his tail at Dean, swiping his feet out from under him as he ducked in anticipation of a higher-aimed attack. Immediately the large viscet was on top of him, claws digging into his neck. For a second, Relient thought he saw fear flash across Dean’s eyes; it looked like his opponent really was going to strike the final blow.
The Dragon’s eyes darted around at the other viscets, and for a few heart-pounding moments, everyone was still. He growled and yanked his claws out of Dean’s fur, retreating a few steps back. Dean smirked victoriously.
“If I ever see you again you won’t be so lucky.” He returned to his crew, leaving Dean in the middle. The other viscets started chattering as he got up, retrieved Jasper, and left, whisking past Relient.
“Wait—“ Relient started, turning tail and following after them. “What in sanity’s name was that?!”
Dean shrugged, letting Jasper latch onto him. “Your chance to get water. You should have taken it.”
“That was reckless- you almost got killed!”
“But I didn’t, so here we are.”
“I couldn’t care less about you, but you brought Jasper, knowing that something like this would happen? How stupid are you?” Relient barked, glaring at them with narrowed eyes. They returned the look. Dean straightened his back, rolling his shoulders and huffed in Relient’s direction.
“Maybe you should worry about yourself,” the taller, lean viscet snipped, his nostrils flaring. Jasper looked as if she was ready to rip someone’s throat out. Relient felt a low growl rise up into his throat and he dug his claws into the ground to keep himself from tackling the prissy boy right then and there.
“I’m not the one being selfish here. Corner is not a place to hang around, and especially not during the drought. Every big name was there and I won’t let you endanger her by bringing her along with you in all your stupid suicidal stunts!” Dean’s neck fur bristled. Relient had obviously struck a nerve with him, and he would be lying if he said it wasn’t satisfying.
“So you expect us to die of thirst while they hover over there like vultures?”
“I don’t get what the big deal is!” Jasper had entered the fight. “I can take care of myself Rel, I’m not helpless and I have Dean to protect me.” She lifted her nose and puffed out her chest, huffing decidedly. Relient couldn’t roll his eyes hard enough. She was acting like a viscling; horribly naive and overwhelmingly stubborn. Why couldn’t she just see that this street urchin wasn’t the prince of her dreams? Dean snickered.
“Oh, too bad. Looks like big brother is having some separation issues. Jealous that I care for her more than anyone ever has about you?” Relient froze, his eyes locked on the two others as Dean laughed, nudging Jasper into doing the same. At Relient’s lack of response, Dean turned back to him, a smirk playing on his face. “Can’t handle the truth punk?” There was a moment of silence before Relient suddenly leaped forward, tackling the orange viscet to the ground. Before Dean could react, Relient swiped his claws across Dean’s cheek, earning a yelp from Jasper as she jumped back. Dean growled, his teeth clacking together as he closed his jaw around Relient’s ear, earning a pained screech from the smaller viscet.
The fight quickly escalated into a brawl, both males tumbling and tussling on the dusty ground as they clawed and bit at each other. It didn’t last long; Relient was overpowered quickly, pinned under Dean who’s breath washed over his face as he panted. Even though he talked big, Dean had the combat skills to match.
“Get out,” Dean hissed, spittle flying from his mouth as Relient struggled under him. He released Relient, who scrambled away from him. “NOW!” Dean roared, taking a menacing step towards him. Relient’s ears flattened and he backed away. He knew he couldn’t beat Dean in a fight, and he wasn’t about to try again. So he turned and left, disappearing down another alley, leaving his sister and Dean behind him.
His eyes narrowed as he heard the two leave as well, most likely heading back to the warehouse. Frustration and anger festered up inside of him, and he let out a low growl without even realizing it. Dean might be strong, but he was a brute; always taking the hardest way out to prove to whoever was watching that he was the best. He was reckless, stupid, and dangerous. Dangerous to everyone around him and dangerous to Jasper.
As he turned another corner and came out into the street, he found himself running a paw through his mane to smooth it out. He kept walking, wandering without meaning really, but keeping away from places he had a chance of being recognized. The police were all he needed to make things worse.
He didn’t know what to do, and more importantly, he didn’t know where to start. Compared to Dean, he was a viscling; hardly posing a threat to a street-raised boy. Jasper had latched onto his confidence and suave almost instantly when they had first met him, and she had been impossible ever since. Relient understood her need for safety and assurance, but no matter what he did he couldn’t even start to convince her that Dean was exactly the opposite.
He constantly launched himself into disagreements and frays much bigger than him, and consequently dragged Jasper along with him. It wasn’t just frustrating, it was frightening. Relient had sworn to keep his sister safe after they had left home, and he had failed the first time he was met with confrontation. Why couldn’t he just do better?
The more he thought about it the angrier he got, so he begrudgingly pushed the thought of Jasper and Dean away, forcefully stuffing it back into his mind as he turned his attention to the neon sign that hung over a building to his left. With a sigh, he started towards it. He ducked under the overhanging roof, glad to be out from under the sun’s violent heat. With some luck, some of his friends would be here. They were regulars like him and were often found in the basement playing cards and betting over things they found on the road or in the trash.
The music blasting from the speakers made the floor beneath Relient vibrate, making his ears perk up as he entered. Maneuvering around the tables and past several couples, he headed for the stairs, giving a green-furred viscet an acknowledging nod. He stepped down the stairs, sliding his paw against the railing as he descended. He wondered how many days it would take for Dean to return to his senses this time.