“Whoa!" I froze in my
tracks.

So did Lance. “Do ya' see
that?" he asked.

Beside the carriage stood
two creatures I thought I'd never see. Both had the skin color of a pig, yet
walked on two straight legs. Their muzzles were squished flat, and they had
small, stubby ears covered by wool hats. They wore coats and gloves, probably
made out of wool from feral sheep. One looked older and the other was me and
Lance's age. They both carried bulky luggage cases while a large puma in a
thick coat helped them.

“That's the last of it,"
the elder creature handed coins to the puma. “Thank you for your help, sir.
Have a wonderful day!"

The big feline eagerly
took the money and went away with his carriage, yet the onlookers to me and
Lance's left stood curious and cautious at the sight.

“Gosh…" Lance gasped.
“Are those…?"

“Humans?" I nodded, still
staring. I'd heard of them, but had never seen two this close. “What else could
they be?"

Humans were a very
strange species, having no fur or tail as a distinct feature to the bodies, nor
any claws or large fangs to hunt. Their short, angular noses didn't smell as
good compared to wolves or bloodhounds. I remember once reading in a newspaper
that humans were scattered across the planet and often thrived in bands like
packs, keeping together. Others preferred the cities over countryside, but
humans were kept far below the Furren in the food chain everywhere. Always
under the Furren, especially the carnivores.

It wasn't until decades
ago that they were freed from the chains of slavery in America, thanks to a
powerful wolf in the White House. Some, mainly canines, still look down on them
as dirtier than sooty snow, but I chose not to. As long as they had a stove and
coal, any human was a friend of mine.

Lance and I inched closer
until the young one saw us approaching. Turning to us, my blue canid eyes
noticed the human's younger brown eyes looking back. We stared at each other
for seconds, then a smile brightened his face.

“Hello uh…Mr. Wolf…" he
greeted, pausing. I tried to hide my snicker. Then he called out, “Dad, are
they…our neighbors?"

The older human glanced
at us, and paused from carrying his luggage. He looked surprised to see us, his
eyes the same as the young human's. Milky-brown.

“Not sure, sonny," he
grunted, then gave that same cautious glance the boy had given us. “Wolf,
raccoon, are you with them over there? Over here to see if we're trouble?"

I could tell he was
talking about the crowd of adults gathering on the other end of the street.

They
think a freak show rolled into Manhattan. While Lance was
hypnotized by seeing a human up close, I decided to be more of a social cub.

“Nah, I'm not with that
lot," I formed my muzzle into a smile. “My friend here, though, lives next door
to ya'."

The raccoon still stood
speechless like an idiot. “Hey Lancie, wake up!" I snapped my fingers and he
dazed out of his dreams.

“Oh—Oh, hello, sir." He
walked next to me, keeping his eyes on the humans. “Do…do you need any…help?"

The young boy grunted as
he carried a box to the top step, then set it down next to the older human.

“I was about to ask the
same thing for your friend," the father asked, concerned. “You look like you're
a frozen statue, lad."

He must've been referring
to me.

“As obvious as my tail,
huh?" I chuckled, curling said tail around my left leg for lingering warmth.
“It's freezing out and I'm turning into the Hudson River."

The son raised an
eyebrow. “Don't wolves have thick fur?" he asked, poorly hiding his amusement.

“Hey, having fur doesn't
make me a fireplace." I said. “And mine
is thick."

The father lifted another
piece of luggage and grinned. “Would you like to come inside?" he asked. “I'm
sure my wife has already started up the stove to warm us up. You could get sick
staying out in this cold."

My eyes lit up and a
smile formed across my muzzle. “Oh God bless ya', sir! Thank you to the ends of
the Earth, sir!"

With a wagging tail, I
happily strolled over to the man, and extended a paw to shake his…what was the
word…hand? “I'm Peter, sir. Peter Gray. The raccoon that's staring at you two
is Lance Turner."

“I wasn't staring!" Lance
quipped, embarrassed with downturned ears. “It's just… Well, I've never seen a
human this close before."

The elder human laughed.
“It's okay; I can say the same about you two. I'm Henry Lawton," he said, and
shook my paw.

It felt weird shaking the
hand of a human, but his felt firm in my grip. “The younger version of myself
is my son, James. James, say hello to Peter and Lance."

“Hello, Peter. Hello,
Lance." James' face lit up as he climbed the stone stairs to the door. “Uh,
little help, please?"

Lance quickly moved up
the stairs and opened the door for James, I, and Mr. Lawton. Then we went up a
flight of stairs to the third floor. Minutes later, Mr. Lawton gave Lance the
key and he opened the door for Mr. Lawton while they brought the last of their
luggage inside. 

~*~*~*~*~

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