Submission (#5730) Approved

The solar flare raged on. Tobias had taken Fidget out before to go have a close up look at the aurora borealis, nature’s light show. It was one of the oddest things they had ever seen nature do. That was saying something, because of all of the weirdos that lived around Tobias and his home.

He wasn’t sure what it all meant. First the aurora, now the flare. He’d be lying to himself if he said the world’s recent wildness didn’t worry him. Fidget was probably enjoying the warmer sun, at least. Then again Tobias often wondered if Fidget was intelligent enough to experience anxiety. The little marine terralien may as well be a cat in a terralien’s body most days.

So here Tobias was, lying face up on the wooden floor of his home. His TV was off because it wasn’t working. He’d been trying it since the flare started. Not to mention the fact that all of his friends were busy or strange creatures that appeared solely when it suited them. To pass the time until he got an even better idea to pass the time, he was tossing a ball at the wall and catching it with a hind paw as it bounced back towards him. He didn’t even know he would be good at catch at all, much less with his less flexible feet.

Sheets of paper were scattered around the room. Tobias had spent hours drawing since the flare began. Technology had fizzled out completely, at least where he lived. Paper was his only artistic option now. At first he was excited, taking it as the perfect excuse to hone his skills. There were plenty of areas to improve in and the time away from the world gave him the perfect excuse to start trying.
Or so he thought, before he threw hours and hours into it. He did actually manage to do what he set out to do- Improve. Drawing little creatures and some of the monsters that liked to show up outside his house at the most unholy of hours. Of course, one single task can only offer so much entertainment for so long. There does come a point of doing the same thing over and over before it starts to feel like your brain is melting out of your skull.

Bored, bored, bored. Nature wasn’t very polite for this one, Tobias thought. Then something tapped on his window. It scared the daylights out of him. The ball came back at him, hitting him right in the chest as soon as he sat up to see what it was. He laid on the floor again, knocked over by the unexpected force. For a minute or two he lay there, trying to catch his breath. Catching your breath after a ball hits you anywhere wasn’t the easiest thing ever. As he did, the tapping at his window slowly more frequent and aggressive. Eventually it rose into a loud bang.

When Tobias was finally ready, he sat up again to look. Velvette sat outside his window, tapping with the end of one of her claws. She didn’t stop even when he saw her. Oh god.

“Velvette!” He shouted trying to get her to stop. “Hey!” She did, waving excitedly. He had to debate with himself whether or not he goes out there to see her. She was weird for sure, and honestly kind of a headache for Tobias. But at the same time…

Quietly, he sighed and got up, dusting himself off. Sure. For all he knew, a day out with Velvette would end up being exactly what he needed in all of this mess.