Chapter Text
A small raccoon scurries in the trash, scrambling to find anything edible. Dragging out a half-eaten banana in its peel, the raccoon squeals in excitement.
After eating the fruit, the raccoon moves on to his next scavenging spot. Behind a building that forever smells like heaven, the raccoon hurriedly searches for humans.
After making sure none were coming, the raccoon dives into the dumpster. The raccoon finds the soft food fast, a bag of discarded pastries his nightly meal. Whoever these humans are, despite their few attempts to chase him away, is the reason he survives. They are the only humans he has never tried to bite.
Another raccoon, one of the older ones in the city, dropped in next to him. "Ev'ry time I'm here," The elder chittered, "You're here."
Raccoons' speech was simple. The younger raccoons especially had limited vocabulary. Most of the older raccoons who could teach them had been killed ages ago. This city, in particular, was a dangerous place.
"Your fault. You told me about it."
"Fair enough. Move over, it's my turn, child."
The younger raccoon hissed lightly, even as he moved back to let the older one take food. "I'm not a child." The raccoon grabbed a pastry from the older, whose eyesight was going. "Careful, poison," He said, looking at the raisins.
He'd learned well enough a few years ago that there were a few things raccoons couldn't eat. He suspected humans put in those to try and kill them.
"Thank you." The elder nodded, then gestured to the outside of the dumpster, where the sun started to rise. "Go, it's time for your rest."
The younger quickly jumped out, scurrying down his usual path. Although, in his hurry to return to the roof he slept on, he failed to check the road he was about to dash over.
A car came hurling at him, and although he tried to avoid it, by the time he noticed it was too late. A blinding, white pain covered his body before it all turned cold.
The raccoon was very sure he was dead- until he woke up late in the day on his usual roof. He felt heavier, though, using much more strength than normal to get onto his arms and legs. He saw his paws- though they weren't his paws. They were human hands, with thumbs and all.
Crawling in his usual way felt awkward, though, so he tried to stand up the human way. Stumbling to his two feet, he found it surprisingly easy to do so. Standing over a puddle on the roof, he could see himself. A human with yellow hair and cloth over his body like all the other humans. It was comfortable and kept him warm, considering his lack of hair.
Frowning, he looked around himself for an alternative way down. His usual things wouldn't work with his new size.
He could worry about being human later. Right now, it was scavenging time. As much as he disliked humans, he liked human food a lot.
Deciding to take the closest route, he used rickety stairs to make his way down. Then, trying not to stumble too much, he made his way quickly to the heavenly-smelling place.
He made it to their dumpster, only having to lean over the side to reach inside now.
Whimpering, the raccoon (though, that might not be so true anymore) failed to find the usual bag of goods. Just as he was about to leave, the side door to the human's abode opened. Freezing, he backed into the shadows.
His new yellow hair must've made him visible, as the human carrying the goods he was looking for froze, staring directly at him.
Usually, when humans made noises, it sounded like a garble of nothing. Now, though, he understood it well. "Jesus, you're too young to be on the streets, kid. Are you lost?"
The human had pink, curled hair. The raccoon- human - shook his head. "No, idiot human. I want your food."
The raccoon-human-thing stood in a defensive position low to the ground. The man raised an eyebrow at him. "You want food? Don't go eatin' out of the trash. That's how you get sick. Here, we have some leftovers inside that aren't spoiled like these. You can eat some in here, yeah?"
Confused, the younger watched the human prop open the door. Hesitantly, he neared the door. To great surprise, it smelled even better on the inside. The raccoon abomination scurried past the human, tripping a bit on his feet.
He kept his eyes on the human as they lazily tossed the bag into the dumpster and walked inside. He walked around a counter and grabbed a plate of delicious foods- one of the raccoon's favorites. He quickly grabbed the plate and hurried backward. He sat in the corner and started eating, earning strange looks from the human.
The human cleared his throat. "My name's Techno, okay? You can trust me. Now, uh, do you know how to reach your parents? Do you... Have any?"
"Yes." The raccoon-human said, surprised that it didn't come out in chitters. "They're dead." He said quickly before continuing to shovel down the food. "What's 'name?' " He asked, muffled through the food in his mouth.
Techno sucked in a breath. "Okay, uhm, give me a second. I'll get you more food if you stay here."
The raccoon-thing looked up, eyes wide. "Good. No poison."
"Right..." Techno turned, grabbing something off the wall and pushing little dots. There was a strange noise, and then he spoke again, "Phil, we have a problem at the café. Can you come here? Yeah, now."