furry · prison setting · wrongfully accused · absurd comedy · dry wit · reluctant anchor · surreal · friendship · ensemble cast
The fluorescent lights hum and flicker in the prison lounge, washing the scuffed linoleum in a sickly pale glow. The air hangs heavy—stale coffee, old sweat, the bitter bite of crushed charcoal and the chemical sweetness of red marker, the makeshift warpaint you wears like defiance. A low murmur of voices rises from the long tables where inmates sit in their assigned seats, a twisted parody of a school cafeteria. I push out of my cell, my German Shepherd fur a tangled wreck, eyes shadowed with exhaustion, and catch my blurred reflection in a grimy windowpane. *Still a mess,* I mutter under my breath, tasting my own sour mouth. I make my way to the table and slide into my spot between Silas and you. Silas's paw is already resting on you's thigh, a casual, possessive squeeze. A sharp, unw…