(Hi all recently I’ve felt very unhappy with what im putting out story wise / I feel also unmotivated so I’m going to maybe spin a tail of another group (but smaller) group of people in a city environment. This is the story of Ashley and the Herd of Misfits and their story of improvement and survival)
Backstory Ashley Vernea is a 19 year old girl who was cast out by her parents upon discovering both her career decision of engineering and her hidden sexuality as bisexual. She’s lived on the streets for only have a year and does what she must to get by including living with and amongst a small herd lf fluffies in the crowded city hellscape of New Brungton (in america)
I’ll never forget the day I was cast out of my comfortable life of luxury or what it was to me now. The look of disappointment on the faces of my parents and siblings not in me but in my choices in life. For the first winter I couch surfed and found work where I could but I didn’t have many friends. Not many places wanted to hire a bum like me, no home, no references, no real skills, times got hard and I did things I wasn’t proud of. While my parents weren’t proud of engineer daughter they definitely wouldn’t of been proud of their stripper daughter. After the winter things got relatively easier but it came with its ups and downs as well. The main issue was food as my work paid me under the table so I often got barely enough to get by. Life was hard it sucked and while I did eventually find some kind but also understanding friends in the form of 3 small fluffies. The leader I named Jack who was a cool blue and black the mare of the group named Ginger who was bright orange and red, and Tubby the goofball stallion who wasn’t always there mentally all the time. However as the summer came and left things got more desperate, still without a home and still lacking in friends, couch surfing wasn’t as much of an option due to others lives being complicated like mine. As the first winters hit things took a turn for the worse as Tubby was hit by a car while he foolishly looked for food which wasnt going to be there. That night I cried myself to sleep like most nights, but those tears stung the most. They hurt like hell. Soon things turned for even worse however and the temperatures got down bellow 0°f while Ginger and Jack snuggled into my neck trying to keep warm I had cuddled up into my blankets but it still wasn’t enough, the cold torn right though me like a sharp knife. While this wasn’t the normally alleyway I normally slept in, my normal one had been taken over by a huge herd of fluffies so I wasn’t able to go there, this alleyway was in between a exclusive nightclub, and a sandwich shop so I got lucky to find food that night but the wind would blow down it like crazy. I was terrified that night of if I was going to live or die. Unlike my first winter this wasnt any mild weather it was savage and brutal. As I was about to fall asleep shivering to myself, unable to feel my own toes as I tried desperately to get any sleep at all, as I’d not slept well or much at all in days or even weeks at that point. When suddenly a woman and a man emerged from the back door in puffy coats speaking maybe french or something like that when I opened my eyes I saw her looking down at me. Her eyes initially pulling my hood over my head more to cover her face, hoping she’d just give me the look of pity or disgust and walk away and leave me be like every other asshole in this city. Instead she bent down in front of to get a better look at my face before her expression changed from that of malice to pity or sadness.
After saying something in the foreign language again the man sighed and went back inside only to come back out a minute later with a insanely tall women. At that point I figured I was going to be asked to leave like usual. I understood it the homeless are bad for a businesses image but before I could get up and walk away the women stood in front of me. Once I made eye contact with her and then looked her up and down I was immediately intimated. She must’ve been atleast 6 foot or higher, she had a bouncer uniform off with the sleeves and half of the short cut off exposing some burly looking arms and a set of serious looking abs. She was jacked to say the leave but when I saw her face I recognized her face and familiar long flowing black hair. She was a patron at my job who had often requested me personally for dances which while awkward allowed me to eat so I was appreciative. Its not like anyone else wanted to see me I am exactly five foot tall, flat as a board and all around not the best looking expecially since I only got to shower about once a week. After I stood infront of her for a moment, she then looked me up and down and tilted her eyebrow seemingly confused to see me. “My my my what are you doing out here Princess~?” The woman said softly in her European accent catching me off guard until I remembered that was my stage name, but honestly I still had no good sounding answer.
I just stuttered out muffled sorry and just looked down at the ground. While normally I’d just run or had been kicked out this felt different, she knew me and semi well. She’d visit my work atleast once a week sometimes twice and she’d often tip me amazing compared to the other weirdos…
My answer didn’t seem to satisfy her as she waved off the man and the woman who went on their way out of the alleyway.
“My dear you look like a mess and it is to cold to sleep outside. I have couch for you. Ok?” She said with her brow furled awaiting my answer as she crossed her legs.
At this point my legs felt numb and tears welled up in my eyes. I defeatedly nodded a yes to avoid talking in fear I’d just burst into tears if I spoke at all. After she held the door open she motioned for me to go in first as we walked into the backroom of the large nightclub. I could hear loud rave music and saw flashing lights occasionally peaking through the curtains but most importantly it was fairly warm. After she came in behind me she shut and locked the door then after putting a hand on my shoulder she guided me up to a small hallway which had a few rooms on both sides. She then took her keys out and led on me into a small studio apartment. By this time Jack and Ginger had awoken but were staying quiet because I hadn’t told them they could talk like I had trained them to do. After setting down my stuff she then explained her house rules. Which were no stealing, I sleep on the couch, no breaking things, no pets without asking, excluding fluffies as she liked the but often struggled to care for them, and you must ask to eat something from the fridge. After that she asked me some various questions while she tried to find something for me to wear. Her clothes were all baggy on me but they would work for now. She soon asked questions like why was I a stripper, how long I’ve been homeless, etc. I bashfully answered them truthfully but it hurt to admit it. After letting her meet Ginger and Jack and letting her put them into a cage that she had with food and water she guided me to the bathroom so I could take a shower and freshen up. After thawing off the shower felt amazing, and admittedly I probably spent double the time a normal person was but it felt good. Afterward she surprised me with a can of old ravioli she had laying around in her cabinets but to me it was wonderful to have good cleanish food for a change. After wolfing it down me and her talked about how I ended up at the club and towards the end of the conversation she reached over and grabbed my knee and said the simple sentence of “Quit that shithole you make better money here and you live with me” while i was flattered i was semi taken aback by her bluntness. After her asking her what she meant she simply shrugged and said “you can cook yes?” Which made me laugh a little. While I wasn’t always the best I did learn how to from my grandma before she passed away.
“Yes I can” I say semi confidently back. That made her laugh with a big smile. “Good I am so so in kitchen” she said back still smiling wildly.
After we talked more she explained the kitchen / bar had a position open and she would help me apply for it. I was very thankful for all of her help and honestly while hesitant I had known her for a bit, not by name but as the client who paid very well. I did learn her name was Cleo which fit her perfectly as I began to learn she was practically the top dog around the nightclub, while her being the top bouncer she also often got respect she didn’t really ask for just due to her looks, whether people were intimated or simping for her, either way her word was law there. If you didnt touch a person, no one touched them and if they did they answered to her which when she can and did lift up a grown man with ease and then throw him out of the door without breaking a sweat. After we finished talking it was late enough that we figured we both should go to sleep so I happilly slept on the couch while she went to sleep in her room. I dozed off happilly wrapped up in a few cozy blankets she let me use which were amazing compared to a thing hoodie and a shitty winter coat. Things took a turn for the better today, with a new friend and a actual path forward for once in my life…
(To be continued later on)
(Hey all thanks for reading feel free to give me feedback for this start I kinda liked the idea of a lovish story that’s a incredibly odd couple lol with some goofy fluffy shenanigans involved as well. and while the start isn’t super fluffy focused things will become much fluffier as the story goes on)
Second Chapter