The Dirty Paws

Chapter 1: The Rain

The rain poured like never before. Mai's tail was bouncing around as he ran through the rain. He ran like his life depended on it. Through the darkness, his bright yellow eyes shone like no other. They were filled with determination. In the distance behind him, a person screamed "Stop running you disgusting furry!". But Mai kept running, even faster. He couldn't afford to stop. He knew how it would end, since this wasn't the first time something like this had happened to him. If he stopped he would get beaten up, like the day he made that mistake. Thankfully, Mai knew the forest like the back of his paws. No one in this world could beat him to it. The map of the forest was engraved in his mind. He knew every hiding spot, best climbing trees, hidden places and the spots to avoid. He knew this forest in his heart. Mai glanced around and saw one of his landmarks, the big old tree. Behind it was a large bush, where it was easy to disappear from sight. He used all his last saved energy to speed up and quickly jump to the bushes. A few moments later, a group of teens came running to the tree yelling curse words around and looking for the disappeared Mai. "Where the fuck did that furry go?" one of the teens screamed. "Ugh, it's too dark. Let's head back. He's probably lost here anyways, haha!" said another one as she started walking away, while others followed her laughing and mumbling something. Mai was still holding his breath while staring at the group from the bushes like a hunting coyote, as they disappeared into the mist. After a few minutes, he got up and sniffed the air. "Alcohol.." he mumbled. This was another day when his strong animal instincts had saved him. After a few stretches, he began to walk in the opposite direction of the teens who had chased him. He was soaking wet, and needed to get somewhere warm before it was too late. Luckily, he knew a big cave nearby, where he often hid from harassing teens like the people from before. As he walked, the rain kept pouring, like nature was grieving for him. "Thank you.. Without your rain I would have been caught." Mai whispered and smiled. He was comforted by the fact that he wasn't alone in this journey. Nature was with him.