Chapter 2

Story by VulpineNerdRiley on SoFurry

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#3 of The Smell of Freedom

Cody's pretty much Riley's second mother. Riley meets her first room mate; Clarice. AKA: Vegan Cat.


"Riley, what did I tell you?" Cody was standing in the doorway of Riley's dorm. Along the plush, navy carpet, a vast array of chords lay tangled and strained. Riley's personal laptop, and her old Playstation, were all plugged into an extension chord that lead all the way to her bed. Riley, not bothering to look back at the door, turned her ears back to listen,

"They said to make myself at home, so I did."

At her answer, Cody pinched the bridge of his muzzle and let an irritated sigh drift from his mouth, "You do realize that you'll be getting a room mate, right?" There was a moment of silence as Riley stared at the TV; the only sounds that could be heard were the synthesized melodies from her game. The moments she remained silent quickly became sluggish minutes as she tapped away at the worn, black buttons of her controller. The screen faded to a poorly-rendered scene.

Cody strode over to the TV, and blocked the vixen's view, arms folded.

"Hey!" Riley barked in protest as she attempted to look around him, "I was watching that!" She pulled her lips up in a mock snarl.

"You've seen Aerith's death scene sixteen times, Riley," Cody replied sternly while rolling his bright eyes, "Listen to me. You need to get that mess taken care of before your roomie get's here."

Blip. Blip. Blip. Bling! Riley had saved the game without having to see the screen; she had memorized the exact ammount of button presses to reach the save option. The vixen rose to her feet and went to work on cleaning up the walkway,

"So uh... You got any idea on who my room mate's gonna be?"

"Nah," Cody replied with a shrug while he helped her, "If I knew, you'd hear me fussin' about it," The canine duo had rearranged several things in the room; the console, the chords, the desk, and the beds. Afternoon had arrived before they realized it.

"Wanna grab a bite to eat?" Cody suggested as he stretched, "I hear the cafeteria's got some good burgers."

"Yeah sure."

The cafeteria was bursting at the seams with new faces, and new scents; racoons, possums, mice, ferrets, wolves, and lions just to name a few. Riley had lifted her sensitive nose to the air, and drank in as many smells as she could. The greasy stink of burgers wafted among all of the unfamiliar aromas, and caused the hungry duo to drool all over themselves. Cody, tail wagging at the smell of beef and single bachelors, patted Riley's slender shoulder,

"Riley, go find a place for us to sit. I'll get our food." Before she could even get a word out, the husky had rushed off to the lunch line. She had noticed that his line of sight wasn't on the burgers; his sky peepers were gawking at the tail of a burly tiger in a navy pull-over and khakis.

Not even a year after his break-up, and he's already a horn dog again... The vixen decided to perch at a somewhat-empty table; there were small groups of students around her. Some of them were like her; introverted and their muzzles glued to their choice of entertainment. She hadn't even gotten the chance to pull her 3DS from her mint jacket pocket when a tall, slender, black cat had taken a seat next to her. A bright red purse was slung over her shoulder, and a rolling bag was trailing behind her. Her dress was an absolutely tacky shade of mauve, and had white zigzag stripes. Her plate, much to Riley's astonishment, had a salad on it,

"You're eating that?"

The feline's canary yellow eyes shifted to Riley, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Riley tilted her head to the side, "Gee I dunno. Maybe it's because you're supposed to be carnivorous?"

The cat disguised a hiss with a light chuckle, "I'm a vegan, dear. I don't eat meat."

This was news to Riley. A carnivore who hates meat!? What's next? A bird that doesn't eat bugs? "Why?" Her question was innocent enough. After all, she always loved a good burger, and chicken fried steaks, whenever she got a chance to eat one.

"Meat is murder, dear," The midnight-furred feline dug into her obnoxiously-large purse and pulled out a pamphlet. On it, the words 'Why You Should Go Vegan' were written in bright orange font.

"Oh er...No thanks," Riley stammered as the stranger slid it her way, "I like my diet."

"Nonsense, dear! You should know where your sustenance comes from." The feline insisted. Amid the akward conversation, a round racoon took a seat across from them. His beady eyes took in the scene,

"Clarice," He began, his voice was thick with a Brooklyn accent, "What're you doin' with this poor fox here?" His small ears flicked back at the sight of the pamphlet, "Put that away. If she wants to eat meat, let her. Ya can't force that bullshit on other people."

Clarice growled and tucked the paper back into her purse, "Charles, you're an enabler."

"What are ya, the diet police?" The raccoon rolled his eyes as the feline angrily departed from the table.

"Thanks," Riley said after a while, looking down at the table.

Forget about it," Charles replied as he waved his hand dismissively, "Clarice can be a bit of a bitch sometimes. Ya know?" He ears perked as Cody emerged from the line, "Is that your friend?"

Riley nodded, "Yeah."

Cody took a seat next to Riley and handed her a plate of food, "Eat up, hon!" The tiger he had ogled earlier sat with Charles. Upon closer inspection, Riley saw a rainbow band on his thick wrist. The stripped feline leaned over and gave the coon a peck on the lips; he was Charles' boyfriend.

///

Cody and Riley had left the cafeteria after finishing their meal. Their bellies were full, their spirits were high, and warm beds were waiting for them. The two hugged and went to their respective rooms. Riley's paws dragged along the navy carpeted halls of the women's dorms. Her eyelids were heavy with drowsiness as she swiped her card key through the scanner. After the door unlatched, she opened it and entered her dorm. She paused and smelled the air,

Why does it smell like cat in here? As if to answer her question, a black cat emerged from the bathroom. Her canary eyes were went wide when she saw Riley at the door,

"You!?"