Whitebay: New Start
#1 of Whitebay
A young puma anthro'morph struggles to find his place in the Tanzekan megalopolis of Frontier City. Overcome with feelings of loneliness, gazing down at the city below his high-rise apartment brings him a sense of dread. Something weighs heavily on the feline's mind.
...
Hello! This is my first submission to SoFurry. Yay! I hope it pleases at least someone. I tend on making a series of stories with this character. He has been fun to work with so far.
The story takes place on a planet called Tanzek. Tanzek is a densely-populated planet in the Zepaltus System and was the system's first planet colonized by humans. With humans came anthro'morphs, genetically-engineered anthropomorphic animals, which is what Alek is. This is my first story based in Zepaltus! It's so exciting. ^^ Hopefully writing it out will get me a feel for the worlds.
See you next time!
Alek Whitebay reclined back in his rickety bed, heaving a sigh along the way until he hit its pillow. He peered up at the ceiling, polluted by neon light pouring in from the streets below, the puma's tail swaying and twitching from side to side. "How can one be so lonely in a city of millions?" Another sigh. He rolled over onto his side, gazing blankly at the wall across from where he lay. Boxes of old junk littered the floor, piling high against the whitewashed walls. Alek knew there was nowhere to put all this stuff. He felt cramped. "I guess it's true what they say about apartments in Frontier City," he thought as his eyes gradually lidded themselves.
The apartment bathed in a new, more natural light. Alek opened his eyes, blinking the sleep away. A new day, a new start. Wasn't that what this is all about? A yawn crept out of the feline's mouth as he rose from his bed, stretching with a growl. He crawled out of bed and prepared for the day. Hopefully, finding work in Frontier City wasn't too difficult.
Out in the streets, Alek looked up at the city. He preferred it during the daytime. It was lonely, but a lot more bearable. The puma took to the pavement towards Contact Square. He bustled past humans, anthro'morphs, zalkan, all sorts of creatures with a noticeably quickened pace. His eyes never lifted themselves from the sidewalk laid out in front of him, with the exception of the occasional, speedy glance at a street sign. A million thoughts ran through his mind all at once. His heart raced, sweat dripping from his pawpads, pupils dilated. He couldn't handle much more. The noise of the city drove deep into his skull. Alek stopped short, clenching his fists and slamming his eyes shut. His breath, bated. "I can do it... I can do it... I can do it..." A mantra ran itself through the feline's mind.
"I can't do it."
Back in the apartment, Alek cooked himself a quick frozen meal. He sat at his desk to browse StellariumNet. Half-lidded eyes gazed deeply into the screen as the puma picked at his food. Connecting. He simply pushed his food to the side. He wasn't so hungry anymore.
The sun set over Frontier City, and the faint glow of the outside world poured into the dark room. Alek grimaced. He hated it. Browsing StellariumNet turned up little fun for the anthro'morph. He looked down at the desk, over to his uneaten dinner. His ears splayed. Alek couldn't fight off his grimace, and just put his face in his paws. They said it would be good for him to move to Frontier City. They said many things. None of them proved to be true so far. He shook his head in his paws. With a start, Alek stood and paced near the windows, looking down over the streets. It was too noisy. Too bright. Too... everything. Too lonely, especially.
A knock at the door.
Alek gasped slightly, frowning. He rubbed the back of his head and crept up to the door, peering through the small looking hole. It appeared to be a human out there. Male. Light brown hair. Glasses. Another knock. Alek stepped away from the door, and hurried towards the bathroom as quietly as he could. He sat on the toilet, ears splayed, and brow furrowed. Yet another knock. The feline sheathed and unsheathed his claws several times, digging into his knees. It was no good, he couldn't do it.
After some minutes, Alek ventured out into the other room and looked down at the bottom of the door. There appeared to be no shadow coming from the hallway. Slightly relieved, Alek sat in his bed with his face in his paws. He glared down at the floor. What has become of him? He closed his eyes. Tears formed, welling up inconveniently. He wiped them away. What the hell happened? He dug his claws into his face. "Goddamnit!" he roared, swiping his paws across his nightstand as he stood, swaggering. "Damn it all!" He ran his paw across his head and paced some more. The puma walked up to the windows and put his head against one. Thunder rolled in. Alek sighed and went back to his bed, crawling into it for the night.
So much for a new start.