#one time the post man waved to clyde and that kinda popped the bubble of 'i'm watching them' to 'OH YEH THEY CAN SEE ME'

[just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi]

Patterns- Rudy and Clyde

I WROTE A THINGG it's not that whumpy srry

[Masterlist]

Clyde had a secret. Truthfully, he had a few, but this one was about the patterns.

People follow patterns, too.

He and Rudy had plenty of patterns they followed everyday all arranged by Master. He said that pets need routine and schedules and patterns. They needed everyday to be the same so they wouldn't get confused.

But Master had a pattern, too.

Clyde didn't point that out, it wouldn't end well. Best to just leave it alone.

But still, that didn't deter him from sitting by the window upstairs, watching the patterns play out below him. Cars pulling out of the driveway at the same time, watching the lawns get mowed every Saturday morning, the Post Man driving by.

From his spot he could see five houses, seven if he strained his neck. None of them had pets so he'd never met them, but he had given them all names in his head. Made up lives and jobs and stories for them to fit perfectly into the patterns.

After a while, Rudy sat down next to him on the window bench.

"What's going on in that house?" Rudy asked, pointing to the one across the street on the left. Clyde squinted.

"I think they're gonna get a divorce because she's cheating on him and he found out last night."

Truthfully, all Clyde knew was there was a man and a woman who lived there, and sometimes after the man left another car would pull up, leaving before he came back. And last night the man drove away in the middle of the night.

"Divorce?" asked Rudy. Rudy wasn't as good at staying quiet for a long time so he didn't eavesdrop as much as Clyde did. Clyde knew all about People and what their problems were.

"It's when two people stop being married because they hate each other."

"Oh," replied Rudy. After a moment, "If they hate each other why'd they get married?"

"For money," answered Clyde confidently, knowing he had no clue. Rudy hummed and nodded solemnly.

Eventually, Rudy got bored and went to do something else, but Clyde stayed. Sometimes a car would pass by, one he knew or didn't, or someone would come out of a house for a moment. The pattern was still the same, like it always was.

Except for the house right across the street. There was only ever one car there, and it was always gone the entire day. Clyde imagined the person who lived there traveled all the time, going on airplanes and boats and trips across the world. They must have such cool stuff from all those places - Clyde would, if he could.

So when a car Clyde didn't know pulled into the driveway, he leaned forward a little hoping to get a closer look. Someone got out, wearing a black shirt and tan pants like Master did.

Oddly, Clyde hid when they looked around.

By the time he peaked back out the window, the figure was at the door. It took them a moment or so to get in, but they did.

Clyde hummed to himself and studied the car again. Now that he thought about it, he had seen it before, passing through but never parking anywhere.

Eventually the figure came out with a bag and drove away, but Clyde couldn't shake the strange feeling.

~~

"Did you hear the house across the street got broken into?"

The overheard phrase the next day made Clyde stop dead in his tracks. Master was chatting on the phone, pacing around the living room.

"Yeah, broad daylight too. The audacity of some of these people. No, no one saw anything, but makes me want to get an alarm system. What would have happened if it had been this one? With the boys here? Probably would but still."

The conversation morphed to something else, as if that wasn't important, as if that hadn't happened. Clyde gripped the sides of the pillow he was sitting on to ground himself.

'No one saw anything' - he had seen something. He had seen the person and the car and the entire thing. He should tell Master what he saw. What if the thief had taken keepsakes from the Traveler? Things from places he went to and things he loved?

But if Clyde told Master, that meant he had to confess to everything. To eavesdropping and making up stories and, and.

He'd have to confess to the patterns.

The patterns would get him in trouble - in real trouble. Saying that Pets and People did the same thing? That would be a punishment for sure.

"Clyde? You okay?" asked Rudy. Clyde nodded quickly. Yes, he was fine. He was fine because he wasn't going to say anything. It wasn't worth it.

The Traveler could buy new things.

~

taggy boiss

@whumpingredroses @suspicious-whumping-egg @albino-whumpee @as-a-matter-of-whump @whumpeesblog @whumpinggrounds

#pet whump #rudy and clyde don't need a tag #one time the post man waved to clyde and that kinda popped the bubble of 'i'm watching them' to 'OH YEH THEY CAN SEE ME' #he dropped down out of sight embarrassed lol