The Roommates

"Haha, not funny yet," Olive grimaced. "But I'll be taking pepper spray, so they better look out if they run into me!"

*

The film was a good couple of hours long and Taz' eyes hurt by the time that it was finished, the bright lights of the cinema too intense after the comforting darkness. Ben insisted on walking her back to the flat to ensure that nothing happened to her, he said, as there had been a fair few muggings reported in the area. Taz didn't have the heart to complain if it meant that they could spend more time together for, regardless of the cliché, Ben had been a perfect gentleman the whole night and was very charming, warm and considerate towards her. She had not laughed so much in weeks and was more and more glad that Olive had given her the push that she had needed to go on a date with him.

"You know," Ben said as they reached Taz' block of flats. "I was thinking of tonight more like a date than a casual meet-up...if that doesn't weird you out, that is..."

Shadows fell across the couple standing close to the building so that neither could determine the other's expression. Hugging her arms about her body, Taz tugged her new coat, which Olive had picked out for her the day before, closer, feeling the wind nip at her fur.

"I'd like to think of it as a date too," she replied after a short pause, smiling sweetly. "Although it was a very sly date."

"Yeah," Ben chuckled, stepping close to the zedonk and wrapping his arms very gently around her. "But it was fun. I want to see you again. I really missed you when I left the surgery."

"I missed you too, Ben," Taz murmured against his neck, turning her muzzle up in a sudden burst of courage and touching her lips softly to his.

The hare did not move at first but soon tightened his arms around Taz, murring very softly into the kiss and resting one paw in the small of her back. It was several, long moments until they broke the kiss, both furs very warm and flushed in the muzzle but not from embarrassment by far. Ben nuzzled her cheek softly and squeezed her tightly to him, unwilling to let her go and, when he did release her from the circle of his arms, it was only with a distinct air of reluctance.

"Right, so...call you tomorrow?" He said, appearing a little flustered, though he could not hide his happy grin.

"Yeah, I'll be waiting," Taz smiled, waving him off and watching him walk away down the street, turning several times to flash yet another grin at her.

When he was out of sight, Taz looked up at her flat window, noting with some surprise that the light was out; she had thought that Olive would have returned home by this time, but she might have decided to stay out later than she had originally anticipated after all the stress of the move. She hoped that Olive would not be too noisy when she returned home. Something buzzed against Taz' hip and the zedonk dug deep into her pocket, fishing out her phone, the screen of which flashed to show that there was a new voicemail message.

Who would be calling me at this time? Taz thought and pressed the button to play the message, holding the phone up to her ear. The phone beeped and the first few seconds of the message crackled with static until Olive's voice came through.

"Heeeeeey...Taz? Taz, are you there?" The voicemail played. "Look, me an', an' the girls are going to The...The...The Mane Place for drinks! Itsa pub! Ah'll be back laaaaate, oookay? Oookay? Oh, an' he's here, that di...di... Oh, that guy! Him! 'E's gettin' in tha way again...trouble... Gotta run, Taz! Bye, Taz!"

How much has that llama had to drink? Taz wondered, shaking her head in despair. Oh boy, I hope that she won't encourage me to drink like that, though she'll have a hard time of it if she does have the balls to try.

Going as if to ascend the stairs to her flat - the elevator had not yet been repaired - Taz paused, replaying the message from Olive in her mind. What had she meant when she said that 'he' was there? Was it a friend? Or was it...someone more sinister who had caused no end of problems? The ex? Unease swelled in Taz' stomach and images of all the horrible things that could happen to Olive flashed through her mind, making the zedonk swallow nervously.

The Mane Place was a pub only a few blocks away and Taz found her legs moving before she had made any solid decision to go looking for Olive. Lengthening her stride into a steady jog, Taz breathed heavily, fighting not to tire too quickly; she really was not very fit. A street lamp flickered and buzzed overhead as she passed the second block, the zedonk's legs beginning to ache. What if there was something terribly wrong? Would she get there in time? Leaning forward, Taz gritted her teeth and strove to increase her pace, ignoring the pain grazing her lungs.

There might be nothing wrong at all, she futilely tried to reassure herself as she pounded through the streets, the glowing neon lights of the pub coming into focus from a distance. I'll soon find out...

Panting, Taz raked her gaze over the scattered furs in the street, some a little worse for wear after a late evening of drinking. There was no sign of Olive anywhere, not even when Taz chanced a dash into the pub, where the clientele was quickly dwindling as furs drew their night out to a close, weaving and laughing in the open, cool air. Despondently, Taz paused in the entrance of the pub, the sign glowing dimly above her head, some scuffle to her right causing her to turn her muzzle curiously though without great expectations.

There! There she was! A surge of relief flowed through Taz and pressed into a walk once more, lungs heaving painfully from her previous physical exertion. The llama stood at the entrance to an alleyway, one paw resting on the grimy, stone wall as if to steady herself, legs slightly splayed as she swayed forward with her other paw clamped firmly over her muzzle. Taz started towards her and then came to a halt in shock as Olive was yanked by some unknown into the darkness of the alley, her startled cry cut off into a gurgling choke.

Taz didn't have time to think her actions through before she swung into action, leaping into the alley and blinking rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the low light, the stink of piled rubbish and human waste almost unbearable. Olive struggled in the paws of a bulky, muscled wolf, pinned to the wall by a brutal, crushing grip upon her throat; the llama's eyes rolled back in her head and she looked sightlessly towards Taz, the light in her eyes fading as if into unconsciousness. The black wolf did not notice Taz as he was too intent on sinking his clenched fist into her unprotected stomach, daringly revealed by the midriff showing top that she wore, slamming into her soft belly again and again.

"You deserved it," he slurred, slumping forwards and knocking his forehead against her shoulder as he lost his balance. His fingers fumbled at the hem of her shirt, tugging blindly as if to pull it down or in such a way that it would reveal even more of her body. "You should have known better...better than to mess with me."

"Get away from her!" Taz screamed, suddenly finding her voice.

Disorientated, the wolf lethargically stumbled about to face Taz, blinking dully as Olive slumped down against the wall, bringing her arms up slowly to cover her muzzle - the last meagre protection she appeared able to give herself. Snarling, he curled his upper lip back threateningly and narrowed his eyes: leave now!

But Taz had no intention of leaving while he stood dominatingly over Olive - her friend. The wolf gave a lopsided smirk, deeming that he had scared off the zedonk, and swung his attention back to Olive, who stared fearfully up at him from under the shelter of her arms. Braying as loudly as her lungs would stand, Taz charged in recklessly, slamming her shoulder into the wolf's ribcage and sending him careering to the side, though the zedonk almost toppled after him into the rubbish. Cursing fluently as he struggled to right himself, the wolf growled and muttered, lurching to his feet before Taz had the chance to get Olive more than halfway to her hooves.

The alcohol, which the wolf must have consumed, proved to be his undoing, however; Taz bravely rose to meet him in the middle of the alley, pulling her paw back as if to throw a punch. He cocked his head and grinned smugly, reaching to close her much smaller fist in his dark paw. Quick as a flash, Taz pivoted, curled her leg back and snapped it out - directly into the wolf's crotch with a sickening thud. His eyes grew as wide as saucers and he sank to the ground with a pitiful whine, curling up into a foetal position, legs drawn up against his chest and paws thrust between his legs to soothe away the ripping pain.

"Quickly!" Taz shouted to Olive, who was thankfully standing upright, if unsteadily.

Olive nodded sluggishly and stumbled towards Taz who grabbed her arm, dragging the llama bodily out of the filthy alleyway. The wolf groaned behind them but Taz did not dare look back, the two furs drawing some strange, questioning glances as they dashed down the street, Olive retching dryly. There was no noise of pursuit, but their pounding hooves could have disguised that easily, so Taz was unwilling to take any chances, pulling Olive at a cutthroat pace past other furs, only vaguely aware that she was heading back to the flat - towards home and safety like the prey animal that Taz truly was. Several streets away, Taz finally slowed to a halt, breathing hard through her flared nostrils; Olive leaned heavily on the zedonk's shoulder, looking around as if she did not know where they were.

"Who the hell was that?" Taz gasped, bending forwards and putting her paws flat against her thighs. "What the hell was with that? What happened, Olive? Olive!"

Olive blinked and shook her head uncomprehendingly, tilting to the side and regaining her balance with difficulty, fighting tooth and nail to even stay remotely upright. She sighed deeply, knowing that the llama was in no state to talk right then; she was barely conscious.

"I have to get you home," Taz murmured gently, taking Olive's paw gently. "Come on, come here, we're not far away."

Slinging the llama's arm over her shoulders, where she clung like a child, barely able to stand steady on her own two hooves, Olive heaved a sigh and guided her at a snail's pace through the dark streets. Being very careful to keep to the main roads and close to the street lamps, the zedonk kept looking back over her shoulder nervously, ears twitching in every direction, alert for the slightest sound. If that wolf found them again... She was not sure that she would be able to outsmart him again, intoxicated as he was, as he was so much larger and stronger than her. She would have been lying if she said that she was not afraid and that fear showed in her every tense, rigid step.

It was a great relief to Taz when she stepped inside the apartment once more, locking the door with a solid click behind her. She did not pause to turn on the lights, knowing the layout of the flat and not wanting to take too long about getting the llama into her own bed: it had been a long, tiring night. Stumbling over the bedroom threshold, the zedonk manoeuvred Olive on to the bed and contemplated, albeit briefly, helping her to change into some more comfortable night clothes, but decided against it. There had been enough awkward situations for one day, so she settled for filling a tall glass of water for Olive, leaving it on her bedside table and covering her slim form with the duvet.

"Mmm? Taz?" Olive mumbled, rolling over and blinking blearily as if she did not know where she was.

"Yeah?" Taz said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing Olive's shoulder gently. "It's okay, you're safe and you're home...back at the flat."

"Oh..." Olive closed her eyes again. "That's good..."

Stroking the llama's back as she settled down on to her stomach, muzzle pressed into the large pillow, Taz finally had time to think about what had actually happened that night. Had that wolf been...the original male troubling Olive, for want of a better term? What if he came around again? Should she ask?

"That was your ex, wasn't it, Olive?" Taz said quietly.

"Yeah..." Olive slurred. "I told him to fuck off outside the pub... He didn't... He didn't like it... He hit me before... Tha-that's why I dumped him."

"He hit you?" Taz repeated in shock. "What the hell kind of sick jerk does that?"

"Him... He won't go, Taz," Olive mumbled, turning her head back and for in distress. "He keeps coming back and...and...messes things up, he just won't let me go... I wish he was dead! He'll come here, Taz, he will!"

"Shush, it's okay, he won't come here," Taz said gently, leaning down to give Olive a tight hug. "We'll call the police tomorrow to report him and he won't be able to do anything again, we'll get it sorted. Don't worry about it now and get some rest, okay?"

Saying no more, Olive let her head fall back in exhaustion, unable to do anything but listen and do as Taz said. Hovering over her worriedly, Taz waited until Olive's breathing had calmed and her eyes wandered sightlessly beneath her eyelids, the llama deep in sleep, even if dreaming. Taz rose quietly, stretching her cramped muscles out with a wince as she realised just how long she had been sitting there - she really needed to get some sleep too if she was going to work in the morning.

She slipped out of the room, pacing into her room with unusual silence, her hooves barely making any noise for a change. Deciding that she would have a quick shower in the morning instead, before work, Taz glanced out of the window, stilling suddenly as she noticed a motionless, dark shape standing on the street outside. She might have taken it for a tree or some other inanimate object if it had not moved after a few seconds, a vaguely canine muzzle drawing her attention.

He, for she assumed instantly that it was a male from the height and stature, looked up at the rows of windows that made up their block of flats. The canine's eyes scanned the rows, pausing over lit windows, and finally landed on the very window where Taz was frozen, eyes wide with a white rim of anxiety. Taz ducked below the windowsill, peeking over the edge and thanking any listening gods that she had not turned on the light in her room, so it was unlikely that he had seen her. Was it the wolf?

She did not have the chance to find out, for the figure stalked away, head held high and walking with a sense of purpose that suggested that he knew exactly where he was going. Though a distinct edge of unease ran through Taz' motions, she was glad to see the strange fur leave - whoever he was - and she stepped back from the window, ears drooping with dislike for the whole situation.

Whatever it was or whatever he wanted... It doesn't need to be thought about until morning - we'll sort it in the daylight hours, she thought determinedly, quietly moving about her room in order to prepare for bed. It's not worth the brain cells at this hour.

On the bed, her phone suddenly buzzed to life, the screen lighting up and reading that there was an unread text message. Curious, Taz picked up the phone and opened the new text, a wide smile spreading across her muzzle as she realised who it was from: Ben. Her boyfriend. She wouldn't get tired of saying that anytime soon. Blushing in the dark, Taz replied to the message and lay down in bed, drawing the thick covers up snugly under her chin and turning over on to her side, knees drawn up against her stomach. Because, even if things were difficult and her new roommate might be having some problems with a potential stalker, she knew that things were not so bad. Out of all the trouble, she had gained a new friend and a boyfriend in the course of a few, wonderful days.

As she snuggled into the pillows and checked her phone once more for messages, she closed her eyes and hoped that her good luck and good friend would stay a while.