The Misadventures of Kade and Celine

While Kade was glad to be back in his human form, the nausea that came after the full moon was brutal. He knew that Celine encouraged him to shift and make things easier for himself, but he wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to do so. Maybe it was because he went from being hated as a human to being triple hated as a mutt.

He was sitting across from one of his regular customers as the imp listed out the party drugs he wanted. Simple and mild stuff for the most part, so Kade just wrote everything out and tried his best not to puke. He then took a slip of paper out of his pocket, which served as the ticket to pick up the order from Gibbet at the pawn shop. What Kade did may have been illegal, but at least he knew he wasn't doing too much harm anymore. Not like when he was importing hard and nasty substances for Christophe. Everyone seemed to be thriving without him.

The second the imp got up, Tillie sat down in his place. Kade sighed, taking the toothpick he was often seen chewing on out of his mouth. The she-wolf had a toothy grin on her face, and Kade knew exactly what she wanted.

"Look," he said, "If it happened, you'll be the first to know. But clearly nothing has happened, so please leave me alone."

"That's not why I'm here," she said, rolling her eyes. "What is it with you and the toothpicks anyways?"

"It helps me focus," he said. "The buzz from the honey-mead feels nice. Also I supply them and it's none of your business. Now tell me what you want."

She slapped down a flyer on the table, like she had just presented him with some kind of lost ancient treasure map. It was an advertisement for the traveling carnival that she must have taken off a wall somewhere.

"This would be perfect," Tillie told him. "She loves the carnival."

"It's only in town tomorrow," Kade noted.

"So?" Tillie said. "It's not like you have other plans."

"What the hell does that supposed to mean?"

"Kade, listen," Tillie said. "We may be a little different, but you're my brother in canine-ness now. And Celine is my best friend. And if this proposal doesn't happen, I'm going to explode and spoil it in some way."

"So now I'm your brother?"

"Shut up," she scowled. "Just take her to the carnival."

Kade took the flyer, then shrugged and tucked it into his pocket. He wasn't sure. He knew how much Celine loved the carnival, but there was so much potential for things to go wrong again. Not to mention he still felt foggy from the shifting. Maybe Tillie was right, though. He'd never admit it to her, but maybe.

He and Celine were able to stay home the next day, not having been scheduled to perform. Kade suspected Tillie had a motive behind that. He still hadn't brought up the idea of the carnival, but was about to say something when the shrill ring of the phone startled him. His hearing was sharper, and the ring always hit him the wrong way. When he picked it up, he already knew it was going to be Mrs. Redfoot. The elderly woman called them at least once a week, since Kade purchased a telephone for her before he moved out of that building. He did it in case she needed something urgent, but it seemed she had a different definition of "urgent" than Kade did. Celine leaned in the doorway and cracked a smile as Kade struggled to talk to Mrs. Redfoot.

"Hello Mrs. Red- Erm, yes, I can hear- Yes I can hear you- You don't have to yell- Uh- Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes."

He hung up the phone with a deep sigh.

"What is it this time?" Celine asked.

"The lightbulb is out, she can't reach it," he said. "I'll be an hour at the most."

"Alright," Celine said. "It's alright, there's no rush."

"Well, there's a small rush," Kade said, finally gathering the courage to bring up his plans. "I was going to surprise you, but..."

He took the flyer out of his pocket and handed it to Celine, watching as she unfolded it and lit up. Whatever exhaustion Kade was feeling was wiped clean when he saw the excited look on her face.

"It's one night only," he said. "I thought you wouldn't want to miss it."

"But you're still so tired," she said.

"Don't worry about me," he said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "Just put on something pretty and put on that new hat you've been waiting for an excuse to wear. We'll go as soon as I'm done with Mrs. Redfoot's lights."

She nodded and gave him another quick kiss before hurrying off to get dressed. Kade didn't realize he had been holding his breath until after she left. It didn't take long to get to Mrs. Redfoot's apartment, and the fresh air helped him clear his head. It only took about five minutes to change the bulb for her, so he decided to take his time and walk back home. Celine probably needed a bit more time to get ready, anyways.

He wasn't paying much attention and accidentally bumped into another man, nearly knocking him into the street. He caught the man before he fell, helping him balance to his feet again.

"Sorry about that," Kade said, surprised when the man also stammered an apology at the same time.

Kade wasn't used to that. Usually he was the one constantly apologizing to "higher beings" for his existence in the world. The man and Kade stared at each other for a couple minutes, startled. This stranger had the same yellow eyes and sharp teeth as Kade. He realized rather suddenly that this was another Mutt. He didn't know there were others in the area.

Kade wasn't sure why, but his first instinct was to get away. He excused himself and resumed walking, but the stranger jogged to catch up to him. The man was a bit smaller than Kade was, with bright red hair and freckles scattered over his face. He was wearing a cheap suit and the briefcase and nametag he held suggested he was some kind of door-to-door salesman. He looked like an awkward person in general.

"W-wait," the man said. "I've never seen you before."

"It's a big city," Kade said. "You're not going to know everyone."

"I know," the man said. "It's just... you're like me. We're a fairly small community. Uh, my name is Bobby. Uh, or Bob. Bob Hale."

"I know, I noticed," Kade said, looking at the nametag.

Bobby turned about as red as his hair.

"Ah, right," he said. "They make us wear them. I sell vacuum cleaners."

"Sounds exciting."

Kade was still walking, and Bobby struggled to keep up with his long strides. He sighed, knowing Bobby wasn't going to leave him alone.

"Kade Rosier," he finally said, holding his hand out and giving Bobby a firm shake.

Bobby seemed awestruck by Kade, and he wondered if Mutts were really that rare. Something about it rubbed Kade the wrong way. Maybe it was the feeling that they were hated so much, there was an obligation for them to stick together. Kade wasn't the sort of person to hide in a crowd.

"We should talk," Bobby said. "I mean, we should-"

"Look, Bobby," Kade said. "It's nice to meet you, but I really have to go."

"Oh, sorry," he said, a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry I bothered you."

Kade felt a pang of guilt when he saw the meek man shrink back. He didn't have to be so rude, but Kade was so used to dealing with the toughest sorts of people that he wasn't exactly sure how to be a friendly and approachable person to a stranger.

"You didn't," Kade assured him. "I'm sorry, I just have somewhere important to be tonight. Maybe we can chat some other time."

"Right," Bobby said, perking up a bit. "Uh, I'll look you up."

"Have a good night."

Kade knew he wouldn't be easy to find, as someone in his profession. He opted against telling Bobby that. He wasn't about to flash his career as an illegal bootlegger to every random vacuum salesman on the street. Maybe he didn't have to get away so eagerly, but he had other things on his mind at the moment. Celine was waiting for him, and he had to make this a perfect night.