Nine Lives Aren’t Enough.
Chapter one:  New arrivals

	Mike took one last look around the house. He was going to miss it, but it was time to leave. He finished packing his bag, and hefted it, surprised that it weighed as much as it did.  He went to the door frame, marked, like most houses, with various heights and events. He turned back into the room, meeting his own gaze in the mirror on the wall opposite him. The sorrow and excitement of moving he felt was leaving a strange look on his yellow furred face, and it startled him.

	He sighed, and went through the house, remembering all the fun times he had in each room, and all the various parties he secretly held in them. He opened the fridge, sighing with pleasure as the familiar cinnamon cookie scent washed over him. He looked to the table, covered in slight indentations from all the books he wrote on it. He moved to the front room, where his other two bags were waiting. 

	He always thought moving would take more baggage, but in retrospect, it did make sense. 8 pairs of the same handmade clothes, all in different colors, various pictures of friends and family, a few trinkets, and his book supplies were all he was taking. The furniture for his new house already there, the fridge fully stocked, and all the additional decorations already in their place.

	He wasn’t excited about moving, far from it. It was a lot of hassle, a lot of money, and a lot of worry from his mother. He wasn’t excited about finally moving out on his own, turning 19, or even the fact that he was in fact, living alone. No, he was excited because of WHERE he was moving, and who he was moving in next to. 

	He quickly got into the van who would ferry him and his luggage to his new house, waved a final farewell to his parents, and sped down the road, watching the houses, trees, and parks rush past him. He smiled. It was finally moving day. 

	The car ride took a while, and eventually the excitement overpowered his natural urge to watch the scenery rush past.  He opened up his laptop, and quickly re-read the letter he had already read multiple times before.

Mike,

Guess what! The house across to mine? It’s finally available! The people in it moved out! Does this mean you are moving in? Hope so! I can’t wait!

~Josh

	Ahh yes, Josh… His best friend. They had only known each other since Jr. High, but it felt like an eternity to them. They had done so much in that time together, most people would gasp if they knew. Although… that was mainly because of WHAT they did… but that wasn’t important. The one thing Mike found odd though, was that he hardly knew any of his friends, and he knew none of his.

	It did make  weird sense… they stayed in different circles in school, Mike staying more towards the track team, and the art league, Josh staying more towards the cooking class, and mixed martial arts. He never figured out why Josh loved them so much, but what were you going to do? Mike looked out the window again, and saw that they had made it into the town.

	He almost shook with excitement. This was the first big step in his life. As the car pulled up to the curb, he almost rolled out of the car, grabbed his bags, and dashed inside, to toss them onto his new bed, and race to the kitchen. He grabbed a large glass of water, drank it, and raced across the street to Josh’s door. He knocked.

	“Josh? You home?” Almost at once, the door opened, and a fast bolt of red fur tackled him to the ground, laughing almost hysterically. 

	“About time you got here!” Josh said between laughs. “Me and Ryker have been waiting forever for you!” Ahh yes, Ryker. The one friend Mike HAD met. A large burly grey werewolf, who delights in playfully pushing the two of them around. And speak of the devil, shortly afterwards, the familiar snout poked out the door, took one look at the two, and jumped on.

	“Yeah you stupid cat, at least have the courtesy of being on time!” Ryker laughed almost harder then Josh. “I’ve only been waiting for a new toy since Josh sent the email a few weeks ago.”

	“Yeah, nice to see you too Ryker… now… get off me and Josh, he looks like he is about to pass out.” Ryker looked at Josh, whose face, despite the red fur, was turning blue. He hastily got up, apologized, and went inside to get out some snacks and drinks.

	“So, how was the trip?” Josh wheezed through gasps for breath.
	
	“It’s a ten minute drive… I don’t live that far…”

	“Still, how was it?”

	Mike laughed. “As good as can be expected. It was kind of boring compared to this though.” They both laughed again, and Mike helped Josh up, and went inside, to where Ryker had finished putting everything out. Mike instantly grabbed a cold shrimp, dipped it in the cocktail sauce, and bit into it.

	“So, you like your new house?” Josh asked with a mouthful of shrimp.

	“So far? Yes, I do. It’s not as big as my other place, but it’s good enough for one person. I even have a guest room in a case you want to come over.” Mike then gave Josh a look, as if begging him to ask to stay over.

	“Cool! I’ll have to take you up on that offer!” Josh looked as if he was about to say something else, but then decide he would rather have another mouthful of shrimp instead.

	“Well, whenever you want. Although, let’s not do it tonight… it’s a little early to already have people over.” Josh nodded, and Ryker turned to look at him with odd eyes, as if picking him apart.

	“Does that offer extend to me as well?” Ryker looked at him with another look, as if daring him to say no.

	“Of course, but you have to give two days notice, instead of Josh’s one. I need time to stock up on steaks.” Josh almost choked on his mouthful of shrimp, and Ryker shot both of them a dirty look.

	“Fine. How about the day after tomorrow then?” Ryker again looked at him, as if daring him to say no.

	“Okay, thanks for the heads up. But… why?” Mike was a bit confused, Ryker wasn’t really his friend yet, so why should he want to come over?

	“No reason, mainly don’t want to be too far away from Josh.” Ryker took a piece of cheddar cheese on a toothpick, and put it in his mouth, leaving it there, as if sucking on the toothpick was cool.

	“Right, like I need you to watch me.” This was also true. Josh may look like a normal fox on the outside, but he IS a demi-god on the inside. Mike was never sure exactly what that meant, or how it was even possible, but Josh did have pretty powerful magic. Mike was in a position to know, being pretty good at magic himself. 

	Mike smiled again, just glad he finally moved in. Across the street from Josh, and close to all of his friends… His… friends…

	“I totally forgot! I invited a few of my friends over. That okay?” 

	“Sure, it is a party after all.” Josh smiled, although a faint twitch could be seen in the corner of his eye. Mike sighed, glad he said yes, but a little embarrassed that he forgot to ask. He looked at his watch, and noticed that it was about the time that his friends would get here. In fact, right on time, the doorbell rang, and Mike got up and answered the door.

	“Mike! I’m so glad you finally moved in!” That would be Kylie. She was actually the oldest of all of them, a ripe young age of 1,112. The perfect age for a vampire to be. Mike always had kind of a crush on her, despite the 1,193 year age difference. Unfortunately, she never showed anything in kind, but she was remarkably good at hiding her emotions when she wanted to. Mike returned the hug Kylie gave him, and then got ready for the next person, who would inevitably follow…

	“Haha, finally decided to move close enough for me to keep an eye on you?” This… was Kelsie… she was a lot like Ryker in some respects, the main ones being she was a wolf who was relatively muscular, and had an odd taste for very rare steaks, and a few more subtle ways, such as her ability to make Mike twinge with a single toothy grin. She was the same age as him, 19, but she always seemed older, like a big sister who likes to pick on her younger brother now and then. Mike just smiled weakly, and let her rush to the food, which she soon found out about.

	“Hmmm, not what I would expect you to live in.” This was Jen. She had a lot more in common with Mike than you would originally think. She was an elf of about his age, although she never told anyone her birthday or exact age in years. She was well versed in magic, and was even the person who taught him.  She held an air of high class, although she was actually middle class. She walked into the room, and started to inspect Josh’s spice rack, no doubt thinking it a potion ingredient stand.

	Mike watched the group mingle; glad that the group was getting along, until he remembered he had yet to officially introduce them all to each other. “Josh, Ryker, meet Kylie, Kelsie, and Jen. Kylie I met when I was really young, and Kelsie and Jen I met just before you in Jr. High.”

	“Nice to meet you. My name is Josh, and this beast I live with is Ryker.” At the sound of his name, Ryker turned to the group, for the first time noticing Kelsie. An odd look crossed his face, as if confused about something. Mike dismissed it, and waited for them all to shake hands, and get back to eating the dwindling tray of snacks.

	“So, Mike, why did it take you so long to move out?” Josh questioned, a stray shrimp hanging out of his mouth as he slowly sucked on it.

	“Mainly my mom… even though my dad thinks that is high time I moved out, and has don’t nothing but help speed it up since I mentioned it, Moms will be moms, and she never stop bawling about how she would miss her baby boy, and how she would always be here if I ever needed anything…”

	“Yeah, I know what that’s like…” Josh swallowed the shrimp, and saw the plate was empty. “I think I’m going to go refill this…”

	“I’ll go with you” Kylie quickly said. Josh looked at her, as if saying it wasn’t necessary, but then shrugged, and then the two of them walked into the kitchen. Mike and the others laughed and joked, until Josh, looking shaken, came out with another tray. 

	“Something wrong?” As soon as Mike saw Josh’s eyes dart to Kylie, he didn’t even need to wait for the answer. “Kylie, that’s rude. You never even ask on the first date, let alone the first party. I told you my friends were off limits until I said so.”

	“What? It IS a party…” Kylie immediately noticed the look Mike was giving her, and sighed, shrugged, and sat down across the table from Josh. Mike decided to let it be for now, and talk to her later about it, but for now, it WAS a party, and Mike wanted to have fun.

	The hours seemed to pass quickly, and soon it was late enough that everyone started to go home. Soon, it was just Mike, Josh, and Ryker again. “So, Josh, you never told me Ryker was living with you…”

	“Huh?  Oh, it must have slipped my mind. He’s been living with me for the past year.” Josh shoots a dirty look at Ryker. “Now if only he would always pay his rent on time.”

	“Oh don’t give me that. I may miss a month or two, but I always pay for it in full when I do get around to paying.” Ryker looked like he was about to add something more, but after seeing another dirty look being shot his way, he decided instead to stick another piece of cheese in his mouth.

	“Well, at any rate, it’s getting late, and I should probably head home and get going to bed. I still haven’t unpacked, and if I want to get to bed before midnight, I can’t wait too long before I do it…” Mike yawned, emphasizing his point.

	“Haha, that’s fine. We will see you tomorrow then?” Josh seemed ready to jump out of his chair with excitement. Mike felt the same way; they had never been able to hang out every day before.  This was a new and exciting experience for both of them, and Josh seemed about to burst with joy. 

	“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” This seemed to satisfy Josh, and he then just gave him a quick, welcome-to-the-block hug, then went to put the tray of food away. Mike and Ryker just sat there for a second, as if sizing each other up, and then Mike smiled. “And I’ll see you too. Any friend of Josh’s is a friend of mine.”

	“Be careful what you say, you might regret it.” With a wink, Ryker led him to the door, and waved goodbye as Mike again crossed the street into his new house. Mike shut the door behind him, remembering to lock it, then went upstairs to put away his clothes. When he first entered the room, he tried to turn on the light, only to find that the switch wasn’t there. He sighed, and reminded himself that this wasn’t his old room.

	He fumbled in the dark for a bit, until he found where the switch was, and then was washed over by a bright, florescent light in the middle of his ceiling. Mike let his eyes adjust, then reached into his bag. As he reached for his clothes, his hand brushed up against a photo of him and his mother at their lake house when he was 7. He was holding one of the largest fish either of them had seen, grinning broadly from ear to ear, and she seemed so happy and proud. Mike sighed, smiling, and then put the picture on the dresser, angling it so he could see it from his bed. 
	
	He did the same routine with the other pictures, and finally got to his clothes. He prided himself on his clothes. Handmade, each and every one. Each set consisted of a vest, and a sleeveless white undershirt, two “sleeves”, tubes that went from below his elbow to his wrist, and hand sewn jeans, all the same color. He even made special hangers to hold them up all at once. He hung them up in the unfamiliar closet, and found that one of the doors to it stuck a little. 

	He just shrugged, and finished putting it all away. He then went downstairs, turned off all the lights, and then went to his room. He turned off that light as well, and then fell onto his bed. He closed his eyes and smiled. It had been a long time since he felt this good. He was excited, happy, and playful… he couldn’t wait for the next day. Little did he know how soon that feeling would change, and what it would change too…