Little Hooves in a Dark World

by David Silver

18 - Retreat

Jay glanced at the clock, then hopped to her feet. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

Louis and Sandra both backed from the door, eyes locked on it.

Jay glared at them both. "Do not do that." She smoothed out her shirt and walked over to open the door. "Hello, may I help you?"

A tall human stood in the doorway. He gazed on Jay with an impassive expression. "Excuse me, ma'am. I'm with a city program, inspecting places for pests. Can I come in to check?"

Jay hummed as she looked him over. "Yeah, that's fine." She gestured inside. "After the last time, I've been careful. No bugs bothering us."

"Thank you." He stepped in smoothly, eyes roaming. He stopped as he saw Sandra and Louis sitting at the table. "Pardon the intrusion." He looked back at Jay. "I won't be long."

Louis' eyes were narrowed, his expression was dour.

Sandra reached up for her hat. It felt like it wanted to leap from her head, and its agitation wasn't making her any more relaxed. "So..." She trailed off as the inspector moved into the next room, looking around. He began to pull out devices. Jay moved with him to answer questions. After several minutes, he made his way back over to the entrance.

"Thank you for your cooperation." The man turned towards Jay. "You seem to be clean, which is good to hear."

Jay shrugged, leading him towards the exit. "I'm trying. Thanks for stopping by to check." She waved as he left and closed the door behind him.

She fell against that same door, back to it. She was huffing for breath as she gazed at her two guests. "You have no idea how lucky we were." She tapped a finger to her glasses. "He was packing heat. Three pistols in the vest, knife, taser... Is something wrong?"

Sandra clung to her chair, panting softly. "I didn't like that guy. My hat didn't like that guy, which is an odd thing to say about a hat, but it didn't. Nothing about him felt right."

Louis swallowed, shaking his head slightly. "No. He was lying."

Jay huffed at them both, crossing her arms. "Yeah, obviously. That guy's probably with the Technocracy, or a step or two removed. Bloody hell! They shouldn't be sniffing around my place." She began to pace fitfully. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Sandra forced herself to her feet, stumbling over to a wall to lean on. "What does this mean?"

Jay growled deep in her throat, the noise barely contained. "It means this place is trash. It means everything in it has to be gone over with the finest comb I can find. It means—" She folded her arms. "You have to find a new place, away from me. As much as I don't want to say it, we're too close. They'll notice. They'll take you away from me."

Sandra recoiled at that sharp dismissal. "I thought we were friends? I thought you liked having us around?"

"I do." Jay squeezed herself tightly. "But it's dangerous. There's no way I can guarantee they won't be back soon."

Louis took a deep breath. "Alright."

Sandra whirled on him. "Alright?"

"Alright," he echoed a third time, hand on her shoulder. "Each of us, each desperate shadow in the darkness, we know when danger's coming, and she's running. Hey, Jay? Alright to share emails?"

Jay snorted at that. "For a while." She offered a wan smile. "As long as I stay ahead of the law."

Louis held out his phone. "Fair enough. Put yours in?"

With the exchange of contacts, Louis led the stunned Sandra towards the door. "She has to handle her business, and we have ours."

Sandra muttered something as she staggered past him and out the door.

Louis waited till he was out in the hall with her to ask. "You alright?"

"Nope!" Sandra rounded on him. "I am very not okay! I thought I had a friend, a real friend. Someone I'd have for years, maybe forever." She sagged, huffing gently. "It's not fair."

Louis rubbed the back of his neck, head hanging in shame. "It's never fair, but sometimes it has to be done." His words didn't sound like he believed them, but the cadence remained steady. "You can stay at my place." He smiled gently. "Living with your boyfriend isn't such a bad idea, right?"

Sandra pushed at the wall lightly. "Not you. It's not that I don't want to live with you, but it's because she wants us gone, and I can't deal with that."

Louis squeezed her close. "It's not that she wants us to leave, but she wants us safe even more. Let's not make this harder on her. You know she's watching this hallway."

Sandra scowled, then stomped off down the hall, anger clear in her face. She didn't stop until they were outside and a few buildings over. Her energy levels were not where they had been earlier today.

Louis stood at her side, the two quiet for an enduring time.

"Why?" she finally whispered.

"Because Jay cares about us." Louis turned his face skyward. "If she really wanted us gone, she could have sent us packing in an instant, and if she didn't care about us, she wouldn't be telling us to run for our safety." He gently tapped her on the side. "This is a time we could use some laughter. It's what she would want."

Sandra sighed deeply. "Maybe it is." She turned a weak smile towards him. "Okay. When do we move in?"

Louis grinned. "Hey, my place was always open." He hiked a thumb. "This way. I have some good snacks I've been saving for a rainy day. Looks like you might need them now."

Sandra accepted his guidance, letting him lead her away from their old haunt. "Thanks, Lucky."

They poured into Louis' car and drove across town.

Sandra looked up at the building after sliding from the vehicle. "Oh. I wasn't expecting a house."

Louis chuckled. "Have you never been here? Damn, how long have we been friends? About time we fixed that!" He opened the door wide for her to enter. "Please, come on in. The fridge should still have a few cold beers left."

Sandra smirked as she followed. "Geez, Lucky, you weren't kidding. I like how comfy this place looks."

Louis scratched at the base of his neck. "Sorry about the mess. It's mostly paperwork for stuff I'm doing. Feel free to sit anywhere, and kick papers off anything."

Sandra snorted as she made her way to a couch covered in a pile of paper. She nudged it gently with her knee, then dropped onto it when the papers shifted and gave her enough space. "You need to put some space between work and home."

Louis plodded back in with two cold ones, offering one of them. "Is that different for everyone? For some reason, I figured everyone lived as I did."

Sandra sipped at the beer. "Maybe it's a personality type thing, but some people aren't such workaholics." She tilted her head slightly. "Well, sort of." She poked at a pile. "Give me a hint what goes where and I'll start cleaning. Least I can do, living here. Also, pretty sure I'd go nuts if I left it like this."

Louis put the bottle down with a sigh. "Honestly, if you could help me with this, you'll make it a thousand times better than it is now. Here, these papers go here, these ones go over there..."

Hours flew by as Sandra and Louis slowly started to get the house sorted out. Her previous dismay began to lift as she got into the work. Somewhere along the way, she fell to four hooves and Raspberry took flight, darting around to where things needed to be with a smile.

In a strange bit of irony, sorting out Louis' house actually helped put Sandra's mind at ease. The distraction was pleasant, and the sense of accomplishment afterwards was all the sweeter.

"See?" She waved at the cleaner living room. "Now this is somewhere you can live in, and even invite a friend over without feeling awkward about it. I swear, you and Jay had similar feelings about clutter."

Louis groaned in his chair as he reached down to rub his sore leg. "Yeah, but hers is always intentional, if she hasn't been threatened into cleaning things. Me? I'm lazy."

Raspberry landed beside him, leaning her furry form against his leg. "You went and got a girlfriend, so she's going to insist you take care of yourself, even when you don't want to. That's what friends are for."

Louis reached over to pat her ears, earning a sigh of contentment. "What did you think about Jay?"

She gave him a look, tilting her head. "I think she lives in a different, equally dangerous, world, and I wish we could protect her for a change. But, in the end, I don't even know what shadow is chasing her. I think it was the best idea to separate for now." She rested a hoof on his lap. "Doesn't mean we can't miss her."

Louis nodded slowly, reaching down to hug his furry partner. "Yeah. That's why I swapped contact details. Just because life sucks doesn't mean we can't talk, maybe get back together later?"

Raspberry smiled, though it was strained at best. "Thanks, Lucky."

He ruffled her between the ears, mussing her mane before softly petting along it. "At least what chased you out of your place is handled. We can go back to normal living now if we wanted?"

Raspberry smiled. "Normality is subjective."

Louis chuckled. "Good point. Guess it's a matter of figuring out what 'normal' is, and then settling into that pattern again. Sounds kinda boring, honestly.

Raspberry inclined her head. "For one, I want to visit the puppy again. He's cute and he knows how to play. Would also be a great place to just wander."

Louis reached over to pet her gently, a fond smile growing on his lips. "True. I don't really feel comfortable meeting with them in their true forms just yet, though." He shuddered, imagining the scene of standing amidst two large, hairy wolves. "They're kinda creepy, aren't they?"

Raspberry giggled softly, nuzzling into his side. "Only if they want to be. I thought they liked us, so we should be fine. Just play nice." She waved a hoof at him. "Be a good part of their day."

Louis bobbed his head with a sigh, glancing aside. "Fair enough." His attention drifted back to Raspberry. "Why not go there now?"

The equine girl frowned at him, pressing into his side more firmly. "Today was full enough, thanks. I just finished being chased out of a safe place. Hug me and remind me I'm safe here, please." She squeezed her eyes shut tight. "Maybe tomorrow."

Louis carefully hugged her, gently cradling the small, fluffy body. "Of course. Come on, then. Why don't we go for a walk around town? Just you, me, and the night air, maybe find some stars."

Raspberry stretched out in Louis' grasp, becoming Sandra. "That sounds kind of nice, actually. You have some good ideas once in a while." She rested against his chest. "Better than sitting here being scared." She paused a moment longer before untangling herself from him and hopping to her feet. "Okay, let's go. Need a coat, it's probably chilly." She paused. "Which I do not have. Damn speedy runs." She held onto her shoulders, feeling the sudden chill of evening.

Louis patted her shoulder with a chuckle, wandering off to the bedroom closet. "You can have my jacket." He offered a weathered but still quite functional coat towards her. "Should hold out until we're back."

Sandra grinned as she slipped into the oversized jacket. "Thanks."

Together they made their way down the street, towards where the moon was beginning to peek over the buildings. "There's this nice plaza I like hanging out at." He pointed down another street. "It's quieter at this hour too. Great for just unwinding."

Sandra nodded. "Sounds good. Let's see this plaza."

Louis led her along, keeping pace easily with her slower steps.

Sandra looked up at the half moon overhead. "Do you believe in destiny? Fate?"

Louis blinked, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we happen to be two special people. It's hard to entirely deny the idea." He shrugged. "I don't know if fate guides all things, but it certainly has its moments."

Sandra hummed softly. "Maybe."

"What prompted your question?" He adjusted the cuff on his jacket around her wrist.

She leaned against him gently. "I think I'm just glad I'm with you right now." She hugged his arm to her. "This feels good. Like I've got someone supporting me and caring for me. I'm grateful for that."

Louis gave her a lopsided grin. "Of course I do." He gently stroked her side. "Come on, it's only a bit further to the plaza. Pretty this time of evening, with the lanterns lit."

Author's Note:

That was jarringly abrupt. Sandra does not approve. Where is life's manager?

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Comments

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

I hope that Jay will be alright.

Sandra and Louis are just soon cute together.

[dlambchic]

I'm from the government and I'm here to help. Everyone, run for your lives!

[David Silver]

12023234
He was perfectly harmless!