Road to Hollywood: Prologue

This story belongs to Tundrathesnowpup

## Info

Road To Hollywood is an alternate universe for the original story script of *Bolt* that focuses more on the viewpoint of Mittens and Thunder.

## Story

“It’s okay, little one.. You can trust me, I won’t hurt ‘cha.” A young, thin tuxedo cat purred softly as she stared into the animal carrier that was placed in the middle of the living room.

Slowly, a small shepherd pup popped her head up and crawled out of the crate, her semi-flopped ears perking curiously at the soothing voice of the older animal. When she got close enough, she took a few careful sniffs with her tail thumping in a mix of excitement and anxiousness. Before speaking, the pup stared up at the cat with curiosity and awe, the motherly look in the feline’s eyes making her feel safer in the new surroundings she found herself in.

“H-hello..!” The young pup yipped softly, moving her body from a crouch into a full stand. Her new surroundings were still throwing her off, the knowledge that her siblings were no longer with her made her feel a bit nervous, but with the feline in front of her giving her a calming glance, she couldn’t help but calm down.

“Mittens, this is Thunder.” Both the cat and the pup looked up at the human female that spoke up, easing herself down on the couch to keep a better eye on them, hands folded across her stomach. “She’s gonna be your new companion- so please play nice.”

“Mittens, huh?” Thunder smiled, then perked her ears again. “And I guess my name is Thunder.” She giggled, her golden eyes shimmering with delight at the sound of her own name. The shepherd didn’t have a name at farm, she was usually just referred to as “sis” by her littermates and “little one” from her mother.

“Well, Thunder, there’s no need to be scared of me. I won’t bite.” The feline, now dubbed as Mittens, purred with a genuine grin on her muzzle. She noticed the slight shiver that had gone through the pup. The tuxedo recalled the first time she came to a new home….She’d been rehomed twice since then, but this one felt permanent. Knowing the young canine was probably anxious, she started giving reassuring licks to her forehead.

Surprisingly, the puppy reacted happily to the grooming that ensued. She curled up next to her paws, eagerly waiting another. With a laugh, Mittens laid herself down and started to groom the youngster, purring more as the thumping of Thunder’s tail against the carpet got faster. The pup’s eyes were closed in content, and Mittens felt very relaxed as she groomed the bundle of fur that was cuddling closer to her chest. It felt good to have someone to look after, instead of being home alone while the humans were at out and about doing whatever they did. Mittens did enjoy her solitude, but she had to admit that it did get fairly lonely.

“Mhh~” Thunder sighed happily as she drifted off into sleep, the young puppy curling herself into a ball, close into Mittens’ chest. If this is what her life was gonna be from now on, then she knew she was going to love it here.

But the happiness was very short lived. Only a few months had passed since Thunder was adopted, but things were already starting to change. The humans were much more distracted than they normally were..They’d been gone for a little while- and now there seemed to be another creature in the house too; smelly, loud, always crying… And pretty soon things were disappearing into boxes. Photo frames vanishing from the walls leaving only huge blank spaces that made the duo feel somewhat cold and empty, the female human that was usually walking around the house wasn’t around like she used to be, not cuddling them as much as she had….. It just didn’t feel homey anymore.

Soon, all the furniture started to be moved out of the small apartment, and Mittens was becoming more and more worried.

“This isn’t good, squirt, this is never a good sign..”

“Why?” Thunder tilted her head as Mittens paced back and forth in front of her, tail lashing to and fro with a panicked expression glued on her face. “Maybe we’re going somewhere bigger? More room for us to play!”

A scoff arose from the feline’s throat. Oh to be a naive child again… But perhaps she was right? Maybe she was making too big of a deal out of this, it could be possible that they were just moving into a larger home. And for the pup’s sake, she would keep a brave face. One look at Thunder’s confused expression made Mittens sigh and force a smile. Her pacing slowed down until she was standing still in front of the German Shepherd, a defeated sigh once again escaping her muzzle.

*Alright, Alright…. Calm down, calm down...Be strong for the kid.* Mittens thought to herself, her ear twitching slightly.

Thunder crawled over to Mittens and placed her head against her paws, a small whimper coming from her. “Are you okay..?”

“Yeah, munchkin…” Mittens smiled, placing a paw against Thunder’s back and started to pet the soft fur slowly, finding it rather soothing. “I’m okay.”

As soon as Mittens opened her mouth, she felt a pair of hands wrapping around her stomach. She let out a meow of distress, but it was ignored as she and Thunder were placed into a cardboard box with air-holes and carried out to the car.

Mittens felt her anxieties rising as the car made it’s way down the road, bumping and grinding against the uneven asphalt. She couldn’t see the window from the holes in the box, but she could tell this couldn’t be good.

The car stopped about half-an hour into the drive, parking along the sidewalk. Thunder had fallen asleep, but Mittens couldn’t relax as they travelled along the road. She whimpered as she felt the sensation of being lifted into the air, the two shifting ever so slightly as it seemed to rock gently back and forth. Mittens heard heavy footsteps, what sounded like an echo… The box was placed down somewhere, but Mittens was too scared to look out. After what seemed like an eternity, she took a few deep breaths and used all her strength to pop the weakly taped flaps of the box open.

Her heart sunk like a rock… They were in an alley behind a trash can. The car was gone, along with the man and woman who she thought were going to be her forever home...

She didn’t want to believe it… But it was happening again... She had been abandoned. But abandoning a cute little puppy too? Despicable… Absolutely disgusting. She felt her fur rising angrily, and then flattening as she heard Thunder whimpering and shifting beside her. She couldn’t bare to let this pup know she was going to be abandoned, not yet…..She’d figure out on her own someday..Just not today.