Scorpion… or rather Sun Tzu, stood at the end of the alleyway as he watched construction workers tear down the building that had been his home for almost a year. The old man had died in his sleep about a month ago, and the city had finally decided to demolish the building. Sun Tzu couldn’t go back to his old trash cave; the garbage men cleaned that up ages ago.
As he stood watching, he realized he was back right where he started; nowhere to go and nothing to eat. It felt like he had lost everything a second time. He recalled back to the old man’s final moments.
On his ratty mattress, the old man struggled to breathe as he was coughing. Most of the other bums had fled after the city posted a builder permit on the side of the building, saying it was under new ownership and it was going to be demolished to make room for a department store. A few bums stayed around since they had nowhere else to go. And the old man stayed, mainly because he couldn’t move anyway.
Sun Tzu sat beside the old man, watching over him as he slept. Two other younger guys sat nearby to help him when he asked, like when he wanted to be closer to the fire or if he needed to relieve himself.
One time Sun Tzu asked why he was coughing. “Why kawfie so much?”
The old man opened his mouth to respond. “Pn… Pne…” He then went into a coughing fit. One of the other guys spoke for him.
“Pneumonia.”
Sun Tzu looked up at him. “Wah am numon-e-a?”
The guy scratched his head in thought. “Stuff in his lungs.”
Sun Tzu didn’t understand. “How we gea stuffies outta mista’s wungs?”
The guy looked at him. “He needs medicine. Medicine that we can’t afford.”
Sun looked back at the old man as his coughing subsided. “Wah can we du den?”
The other guy shrugged. “Make him comfortable.”
From that point, all Sun could do was watch as the old man died in front of him. On his last night, the old man looked over at Sun Tzu.
“Sun…”
Sun looked up. “Yes mista?”
The old man cradled Sun’s face with his hand. “It’s time for me to go, Sun.” Tears started to flow from his eyes.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay a little longer… and finish teaching you.” Sun started to cry as he realized this was it.
“But you’ve learned a lot. I think you can learn the rest by yourself now.”
A tear flowed from his eye as caressed Sun Tzu’s face in his hand. “Pwease mista… dun gu…”
“I’m proud of you… my sun…”
The old man withdrew his hand and rested it on his chest before closing his eyes.
The two guys get ready to leave. “Come on, let’s give them some privacy.”
Sun Tzu watched them leave before walking over to the old man. His chest rose up and down slowly in tune with his breathing, but it was gradually getting slower. Sun stood on his hind legs and starts pressing against the old man’s arm with his forehooves.
“Mista… pwease wakies…” The man gently shook from side to side, but nothing.
“Pwease mista… Dun weave Sun Zuu awone…” Nothing. “I dun wan tu be awone again… pwease dun gu! Mista?”
His breathing increasing got slower and Sun kept pushing against him.
“Mista? Mista?!”
Just as he was about to give up, he hears the old man exhale… “M… mista?” but he doesn’t breathe in again… and his hand fell off his chest. “D…daddeh? Daddeh! DADDEH! NUUHUHUUHUUUUUU! PWEASE DUN WEAVE! HUHUUU NU AGAIN! UUUUHUHUHUHUUUUUUUU!!”
It was like losing his first daddeh all over again. The pain was still fresh in his heart, even after a month without him. Ever since the old man went forever sleepies, Sun Tzu had to go back to his old routine of searching garbage piles for food. He was alone again too, since even the few homeless guys who had stuck around eventually left before the demolition crews came.
All Sun Tzu had left was his copy of Art of War. He had read most of it on his own after the old man died and was hoping to finish it, but he had to grab it and flee before the building came down.
After what felt like hours of watching, Sun decided he’d seen enough and hefted the book on his back. As he turned, he contemplated what to do next. Being alone again, meant he was vulnerable if someone caught him. His short legs wouldn’t let him run very fast and his bright yellow fluff made it hard for him to hide. So, he stuck to the shadows as best as he could to avoid being spotted. He was well aware of how some humans treated feral fluffies… and he preferred not to go forever sleepies like the old man. So, he kept out of sight as the book taught him.
For the next few days, he built a new routine for himself; travel by night, search for food in the early morning, sleep during the day, and read in the evening before moving on. Most of the alleys he visited were devoid of any reasonably edible salvage, as either the garbage had no food in it whatsoever or was spoiled to the point it would only make him sick.
On the fourth night since the apartment building was demolished, he just crossed the street and found another alleyway. His little soft padded hooves soundlessly tapped the ground with each step. As he got closer, he found several heaping bags of garbage.
“Finawwy!” Sun Tzu hadn’t eaten for almost a day and was starving. As he approached the pile though, he heard some sounds.
“Dummeh!”
It sounded like another fluffy. Further down the alleyway, a dark green fluffy with a grey mane stood surrounded by a bunch of other fluffies, a herd.
“Wah gu’win on hewe?” Sun Tzu keeps to the shadows as he creeps closer to the fluffy herd. As he got closer, he could hear more of what the fluffies were talking about.
“Ou am dummeh ugwy fwuffy! Hewd nu wanchu!” apparently the herd was taunting the dark green fluffy that stood alone, with his back facing toward the street. Sun Tzu crept as close as he could until he was only a few feet away.
“Ugwy dummeh! Gu way! Smawtie an hewd nu wanchu nu mao!”
“It onwy wittle hewtie. Can stiww pwotect hewd fwom munstas and hewties.”
Sun Tzu couldn’t get a good look at the green fluffy’s face. Looking around, he sees a pile of garbage going up like an incline, providing the perfect vantage point.
“Eye bettew get tu highew gwound.” Sun then quietly steps on top of the garbage, but slowly so he can still hear what the fluffies are saying over the slight crumpling of the garbage bags under his own weight.
“Toughie pwotect hewd fwom hewties an foweba sweepies an dis is da tanks eye get?!”
“Toughie nu sabe bestest babbeh fwom kittie munstah!” One mare said.
“Kittie munstah wah tuu big foa any toughie to gib hewties! Dewe am nuting ewse eye couwd du!”
“Yu wewe tu powtect hewd an yu nu eben du dat wight!”
As the argument between the green toughie and the herd continued, Sun quietly climbed the garbage pile until he had a perfect view of the discussion below. As he settled in, he finally saw the toughie’s face; his right eye was grey and had a scar over it. No wonder the other fluffies thought he was ugly. The wound looked fresh as though the subject of the argument was what resulted in the injury.
“Yu nu am pawt of hewd nu moa! Gu way! Ow get wowsest hewties, ugwy dummeh!” The smartie stepped forward. The scarred fluffy stepped back, and other toughies slowly crept up to him.
“Yu am gun wegwet dis.” The scarred former toughie said.
“Hahahahaha! Yu nu get to teww smartie wah to du! Toughies…!” The smartie turned to the other toughies. “…Gib im hewties!”
“Yay! Gun gib ugwy nu toughie wowsest hewties!”
“ou nu!” During the course of the argument, Sun had taken the former toughie’s side. Realizing he could be a valuable companion, Sun decides to save him, but he had to act fast.
Sun notices a large garbage bag beside him, thinking quickly, he starts pushing on the bag, aiming for the smartie and the other toughies below. At first, it doesn’t move, but then it starts to roll.
“Yu am be bestest enfie toysie when we done wit yu!”
As the scarred fluffy stepped back, he notices the bag on top of the pile to his left starting to fall. Then the bag falls right off, plummeting almost four feet to the ground… right on top of the toughies. He manages to jump out of the way as the bag squashes the three toughies beneath it.
“SCREEEEEEE!!” The three toughies screamed as they were crushed to death underneath the garbage bag.
As the scarred fluffy gathered his wits, he sees out of his one eye a yellow fluffy climb down the trash pile and comes up to him.
“Awe yu otay?”
The scarred fluffy takes a moment before he answers.
“Toughie am fine… ow… Fwuffy am fine. Am toughie nu moa.”
Sun noticed the scarred fluffy sounded a little sad but maintained an angry face as though he was still trying to defend himself.
“Wah dat yu hewd?”
The scarred fluffy nodded. “Nu any moa. Hab nu namesie, nu speciaw fwiend. An am ugwy nao.”
A single tear fell from the fluffy’s face. Sun Tzu couldn’t bear the thought of leaving this poor abandoned fluffy to fend for himself now that his herd had effectively banished him. So he decided to recruit the now disowned toughie for his own herd and improve both their chances of survival.
“Wan be fwiends?”
The green scarred fluffy looked up at him. “Am nu good foa toughie. Wan can eye possibwy du?”
“Ou can be seein’-eye fwuffy. Am caww yu scawface!”
The green fluffy looked up to see Sun smiling. The fluffy thought for a moment. Maybe this fluffy would make a better smartie than the last one. Plus, he had nothing better to do and nowhere else to go with his herd having cast him out.
“Awight. Am be scawface. Aw’ll be yu seein’-eye fwuffy.”
Sun almost jumped for joy now that he wouldn’t be traveling alone. He now had a friend who would help him survive out in the streets.
“We betta get movin. Da bwight tingie wiww be up an we nee to hidesies.” Sun starts walking down the street toward the next alleyway with Scarface in tow. At that moment, Scarface had a feeling that although his life was about to get tougher, he also felt that ultimately, things would be better as long as he stuck by Sun Tzu’s side.
“Am wight behin’ yu, smawtie.”
Loving how these all connect together