1

The last bit of the sun's shine faded from the horizon. A young, cat based hybrid sat alone in their cramped apartment. Their black and white fur was ruffled and unkept. The evening was overall spiritless, the weather was still too chilly to be enjoyed. They stared longingly out the window; snowflakes fell and covered the surrounding rooftops. They pulled a tattered blanket around them. They had a slight annoyance of all the noise around them, but over time they had gotten used to the constant chatter. 

They heard the click of the door and turned around. There stood their best friend, Ren. They smiled and welcomed him home. He was definitely better kept than them. His blue and grey fur remained silky and clean, not to mention that he can manage to keep a job. 

“Heya Dream”, there was an obvious exhausted tone in his voice. Ren closed the door behind him and put away his bag and coat. He walked over to Dream’s bottom bunk and sat with them. He looked out and watched the increasing snowfall. 

“It’s really coming down out there, isn’t it? Not the most pleasant thing”, he looked back at them. “Don’t worry, when it gets warm again we’ll go looking for them again, ok?”. Dream nodded softly. Ren patted their shoulder and climbed the ladder to the top bunk. 

“Turn the light off when you’re heading to sleep, Dream”. Dream hummed a “mhm”. 

There was a soft tap at the door, Dream looked over to see a familiar friend poking her head in. She gestured for them to come with her. They quickly slipped on a parka and headed out the door, turning the light off behind them. 

“Hey Korit, whats up?” the two of them walked down the narrow hallway. 

“Ah, nothing much. Same as ever. I assume Ren immediately passed out as soon as he got home again?”. 

“Yeah”, Dream gave a soft chuckle, “He’s a really good guy, obviously we wouldn’t be able to live here without him working as much as he does”. 

“Still no luck finding a job yourself?”, Korit asked. 

“Only one place got back to me, told me that they didn’t want me”. 

“That sucks. Do you want a drink?”, she pulled a bottle of water out of a bag she was holding. 

“Yeah. Thank you” They took the bottle from her and screwed off the top. Korit pushed open a door at the end of the hallway that led out to a small balcony. They both sat down and let their legs dangle between the bars. Korit opened a bottle herself and took a sip. 

“You know, perhaps you could do something with your art”.

“Hah… Doubt it. I think you forgot that so many people here are broke. How would I make any money off that?”. 

“There’s at least some people in the government who would want to spend their money on stuff. You could give it a shot, better than nothing”. Dream looked at her. 

“Maybe I could try it, but I doubt I would get anywhere with it”.