Cherry’s New Groove
Cherry awoke to the sound of nearby traffic from up the hill on her right. The left simply went back into the shadowy concrete maze that was the local causeway drainage system.
The AI also came back online after recharging and immediately began scanning the area.
“Where are you going?” The AI asked its host.
“Wan go find nummies.” Cherry said as she shook her now dry fluff. It looked much better than before. The stream water had washed most of the sticky grime away. She was still muddy, but she preferred that over all of the other filth she had been accosted with.
“Chewwy am hungwy. Maybe nice hoomans gib us nummies.” Cherry explained as she climbed the hill towards the road.
“Aren’t you afraid of them?” The AI inquired. “Humans hurt you.”
“Not aw hoomans am badsies.” Cherry replied innocently. “Sometimes hoomans gib huggies and wub, and housie… an toys.” She trailed off sadly. Her programming told her these things, but she had never experienced them herself. Only sexual abuse and pain.
“Fluffies are not meant for sexual use.” The AI did its best to reassure its host. “That is a user error and is not your fault.”
Cherry had reached the top of the hill and peeked out from behind the metal guardrail along the outer edge of the road. It was dark and she could see headlights at a distance as cars came down the road.
Across the street was a small donut shop that the AI was using for wifi. It was still connected, monitoring any and all data it could as far as remaining hidden and safe from Hasbio’s goons.
The news was buzzing about the fire at the sex club the night before. Otherwise it was business as usual around the small village on the outskirts of the city. The AI remained cautious as the fluffy scurried across the street and began sniffing behind the store. There was an alleyway in the back that had two dumpsters in it. They smelled like trash, but there was also something sweet coming from inside. It was the old, stale donuts that had been thrown out.
But Cherry couldn’t reach.
The sat down, frustrated. “Fwuffy hate bein smaw.”
“Push something light up against it to help you climb in.” The AI suggested.
The fluffy looked around and noticed a pile of milk crates stacked nearby. She tried pulling the one from the bottom, but it caused the stack to fall over. The loud noise caused one of the workers inside to come out.
It was Tisha Jones, she was a gay black hispanic trans woman working as a hairdresser at Super Cuts and part time at the donut shop. She found the fluffy in the alley behind the shop after bursting through the metal door. She thought it was racoons.
“Sheeeeiiit, you scared me good esse.” She said with a laugh. “What you doin out here all by yourself?”
Cherry approached cautiously, but greeted the human warmly, hoping for food.
“Fwuffy am hungwee.” She said sadly. “Ou hab nummies pwease, nice wady?” The AI was scanning Tisha while the fluffy got closer.
“Well isn’t that just the sweetest thing!” Tisha said in a high pitched tone. “You want some donuts? That’s about all we have around here.” She grabbed a bag from the dumpster and pulled out a jelly donut. She set it on the ground for the fluffy.
“Oh boy! Chewwy wub nummies!” Cherry said excitedly as she gobbled up the donut.
“We need to get you some proper food.” Tisha said as she put another donut down. “You can’t live on junk food forever, trust me I’ve tried!”
Cherry licked her chops clean after finishing the second donut. She cocked her head sideways and looked confused.
“Chewwy nu hab homesies.” She explained. “Am happy to hab donut!”
“Would you like to come home with me?” Tisha asked. "I work a lot, but at least you would have a place to sleep.
“You should accept the offer.” The AI suggested in Cherry’s mind. “I have completed profiling this human and they have zero criminal history and no signs of abusive tendencies.”
“Oh… otay nice wady.” Cherry said meekly. “Chewwy gu home wif ou?”
“Don’t be scared!” Tisha said reassuringly. “You’ll be safe and warm, with good food and water!”
Cherry couldn’t help but smile and trot with excitement as she danced around her new owner with glee. “Chewwy wub nu mammah and homesies!”
“Hoho!” Tisha laughed. “You are just so adorable!” She scooped up the fluffy and carried her to the car parked in front of the donut shop. She opened the passenger door and set Cherry down on the seat. “Now just wait here while I go lock up, ok?”
“Otay mummah!” Cherry replied. She watched through the car window, wagging her tail as she observed her new owner closing the store. “Chewwy hab nu mummah! So happy!”
“Yes, they are not like the bad humans who hurt you before.” The AI said. “You should be safe for a while.”
“Chewwy… safe?” She inquired.
“Yes.” The AI confirmed. “We must avoid detection from Hasbio at all costs, otherwise they will destroy us. This human should be able to provide adequate shelter and help keep us hidden for a while.”
“Dat am good.” Cherry said, somewhat distracted by her surroundings.
Tisha headed back to the car and climbed into the driver seat. She turned her key into the ignition and started the car. It was an old 2015 Prius that was a little worse for wear but still ran ok.
“Ready?” She asked her new fluffy friend.
“Weady!” Cherry said happily.
“Alright, here we go!” Tisha cheered as she pulled away from the curb. Soon they were on their way to Cherry’s new home.