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As Casual as Can Be
So, what do you do when you’re a gang of former space pirates who evaded the government coming after your heads and just so happened to get lucky via one of the biggest names in the Lylat System vouching for your pardon?
Try to adjust to the daily lives of regular citizens as best you can. In the case of Wolf O’Donnell, Leon Powalski, and Panther Caroso, the resolution to that varied depending on the person in question.
Panther found it easiest to adjust as he was generally a social butterfly and could charm his way through a conversation, let alone how he was generally perceived as the least intimidating of the trio.
Leon, by contrast, was a social outcast who always seemed to unnerve people whenever he walked in the streets. Granted, the chameleon’s demeanor gave off a rather suspicious air, like he could whip out a dagger at anyone who looked at him funny.
As for Wolf, the notion was split. Either people reviled him as the scourge of the skies and secretly wished he had gotten worse than he deserved, maybe some had a secret fascination about his background and general appearance, others simply feared for what he might do if provoked. Likewise, Wolf didn’t really care much about his public perception as much as he cared about himself and his crew. All that mattered was trying to find some form of stability in a lifestyle that was mostly alien to him and the others.
As such, one probably wouldn’t expect the likes of Star Wolf to appear in a market as if they were any other person amongst the hundreds shopping there. They were stopped in the meat section of the shop, looking over the various types on display.
“...It’s your turn to cook tonight”, remarked Panther, “What were you thinking, beef on a skillet?”
“I thought you weren’t the type to eat anything other than a five-star meal”, murmured Leon.
“I may be high class, but even I won’t pass up the opportunity for regular beef”, replied Panther, “Besides, Wolf isn’t the worst cook I’ve had.”
“Real smooth there, Caroso”, remarked Wolf, “In any case, a restaurant might seat you, but they’d soon throw me and Leon just for walkin’ in.”
“What’s the worst we could do? Draw unnecessary attention to ourselves simply trying to eat?”, snorted Leon.
“You know that’s exactly what they’re thinking”, replied Wolf.
“Hey, you mooks gonna keep loitering or are ya’ gonna pick up anythin’?”, sneered the butcher on the opposite side of the counter.
“I believe we’re in the process of choosing, keep your hat on”, muttered Wolf. The bulldog just sniffed as he turned away and brought his cleaver down on a piece of meat on the table nearby. At that moment, a deer and her fawn were passing by the section when her son looked up at the three men. The mother noticed and quickly shuffled past the trio before they could exchange any words. Wolf rolled his eyes at this.
“It’s like these people think I’m gonna pull a blaster out on the spot”, He muttered, looking over to eavesdrop on the mother lecturing her son about not looking at “strange men.”
“Best carry on before the store police charge us for taking too long to collect food”, sneered Leon as he picked up a pack of beef and put it in their basket. The trio continued down the shop, most of the time avoiding any eye contact with the general public. Panther did exchange a few weeks with a couple of curious folks, which did earn a few modest blushes his way.
As soon as they had wrapped up whatever they needed, they self-checked out, for one, it was quicker, and it was less awkward having to speak to a cashier needing to process everything for an uncomfortable amount of time. The walk back to the apartment was uneventful, apart from the occasional glances they received on the street.
Wolf looked over at an advertisement above the subway, showing off the latest trend in fashion. Panther might have taken an interest for a brief glance, Leon simply ignored it, and Wolf just looked back ahead after spotting it.
Soon enough, they arrived at a crosswalk to get to the other side of the road. As the light turned in their favor, an old Scottish Terrier was making her way across to the other side. She spared a single glance at the trio approaching her, before wincing as if she expected an attack. Though it never came as the trio simply ignored her, carrying on their way.
“...As if I’d be cruel enough to assault an old woman”, snorted Leon.
“To be fair, you’re definitely the most unsettling out of us”, remarked Panther.
“Says the feline who can’t keep it in his pants”, Leon jabbed back.
“Au contraire, people are at least more likely to approach me”, Panther grinned cheekily.
“You’re the fruitest man I’ve ever seen”, remarked Wolf.
“Coming from the one who steals the hearts of many men”, Panther purred back.
“...Well, you can’t really blame me there”, Wolf replied with a smirk. Leon merely rolled his eyes in response.
Soon enough, the three had settled down in the apartment as Wolf readied the beef on the skillet. The lupine was meticulous as he fiddled with the spatula, making sure both sides of the meat were equally covered, then repeated the same motion three times over.
Leon and Panther were sitting on the couch as the television was playing, currently set on the news channel, as the reporter was interviewing General Pepper about the recent developments.
“So, General, what’s the current status on Star Fox, are they still serving under you?”
“Well, their contract hasn’t been renewed at the present time…in light of recent circumstances, but all the same, I won’t hesitate to commission them should I see the need for it.”
“What are your thoughts on their captain, Fox McCloud, advocating for Star Wolf’s bounties being lifted?”
“Trust me, if it were solely up to my jurisdiction, I wouldn’t trust those three with a ten-foot pole, let alone given their track records…alas, that McCloud has a silver tongue on his side…must have been passed down from his senior. Either way, while I can’t override the decision to pardon these men, I’m still keeping a close eye on them. You never know what former convicts are capable of.”
“Put a sock in it, you old piss stain…”, muttered Leon. He blinked as the channel was changed to a basketball match.
“I’d rather not hear that blubbermouth talk”, snorted Wolf, “I already got enough of his ugly stare at the trial…as much as I hate to say it, we got lucky with McCloud vouching for us.”
“Suppose there’s benefits to having Star Fox on your side”, murmured Panther.
“Hrmmmmmm…speaking of which…”, Wolf looked off to the side, appearing to be lost in thought…at that moment, there was a ring at the door. Wolf headed off to answer it before looking through the peephole, “…I’ll be damned.”
Wolf opened the door to reveal Fox on the other side, a bottle in the vulpine’s hand.
“You’re not gonna sling that over my head, are ya?”, sniffed Wolf.
“Oh, come on, as if I’d be that cruel to you”, replied Fox, “Thought I’d give you a little gift out of the goodness of my heart.”
“Alright, pup, ya’ don’t have to milk it”, Wolf rolled his eyes before allowing Fox to enter, “Was wondering where you’d wandered off to.”
“Well, thought I’d go out to town and surprise you, you guys hadn’t gotten into trouble again, have you?”, remarked Fox with a smirk.
“Not on your life, pup”, replied Wolf, “I see you got my brand…there’s a good boy.”
“Ye of little faith in us”, mused Panther from across the room, “The great Fox McCloud decided to grace us with his presence.”
“And hello to you too, Panther…Leon”, said Fox. The Chameleon merely lifted his hand up before putting it back down, “SSSS…well, I see someone’s been cooking.”
“Hamburger, been prepping it for a while now”, replied Wolf, “You interested?”
“Sure, I haven’t eaten in a while, and I do live here as well”, said Fox, “Granted, unless you’ve laced it with some weird substance.”
“Oh, no, we would never think of doing something so scandalous”, smirked Leon, “Well, I might…especially if that pigeon of yours was here.”
“Suppose it’s lucky for you, Falco’s playing poker with Slippy and Peppy tonight…”, murmured Fox.
Soon enough, the dinner was arranged, and Fox had to admit, for his reservations about Wolf’s cooking, the lupine knew his way around beef. If anything, Fox thought it was on par with some of the best burger joints on the market, though he decided not to fuel Wolf’s ego.
A little later in the evening, the group had settled down to watch the television once more, with Fox now joining them. The vulpine looked over at Wolf sitting to his left, taking a sip of the bottle from earlier.
“Well…you seem to be in better spirits”, said Fox.
“Yeah, well…just glad the day’s done, and I don’t have to see people lookin’ at me weird”, replied Wolf, “Granted, it’s much easier to tune it out now, given our little…talk.”
“You know me, I’m not the type to rub salt in old wounds…”, Fox murmured as he inched his paw over to Wolf’s, “Plus…you know I’m gonna stick up for you.”
“True…ya’ know, I was telling the boys earlier, we were lucky to have you vouching for us”, said Wolf, “And seems Pepper’s still a little bitter over the whole thing.”
“I may respect him as a commanding officer, but the man isn’t right about everything”, replied Fox, “Between us, Bill was telling me that I made the right choice…bless him, really.”
“Well, good to know the military ain’t completely full of stuck-up assholes”, remarked Wolf. He noticed the gap between him and Fox…he moved over so that he could be closer to the vulpine.
“Hmmhmm, not afraid to show off in front of these two?”, grinned Fox.
“I’m their captain, so they wouldn’t dare act rashly to you unless I said so”, smirked Wolf, “With that said…I missed this muzzle right here…”
Wolf placed a paw under Fox’s chin before sealing the gap between them. Fox’s tail swished in turn from the gesture.
“Ah, love, truly a beautiful sight to the soul”, mused Panther from the far left.
“I have no soul”, Leon replied flatly.
“And yet, I know you’d never leave us”, purred the feline. The chameleon just looked away before muttering.
“...Yeah, I wouldn’t.”