Badger nodded, his eyes lighting up at the idea of having somewhere to sleep, somewhere truly proper. He hadn't ever slept anywhere nice in quite some time, often finding an alley like this, empty and dead-ended, curling up in a corner or behind a dumpster. The idea of somewhere warm, probably warm, tempted him well. "Okay, sure, sounds good!" The large tom did not question the offer, nervous that it would be taken back.

( i am so sorry this took so long )

Badger quickly trotted after him, his head swinging back and forth as he left the alley, his mouth opening to scent the air. The fur on the back of his neck began to rise as a rancid, crowfood like scent entered his nose and mouth. As if in slow motion, his head turned to face the left side of the street. For a moment, he thought he was crazy, that he was just imagining the scent. He began to turn away, letting out a slow breath to calm himself.

"Do you sme-" Before he could even get the words out, he heard a loud crashing sound. He immediately spun back around, his fur bushing up. Just down the street, was a large dog, one of the largest he had ever seen, scrambling out of an alley. It's eyes were crazy as it stopped, staring at the two cats, paused, before it let out a growl and began to run at them.

Badger hesitated, frozen in place. His eyes were wide, the dog looked... terrible, wide and empty, as if it wasn't even aware of what it was seeing. It was snarling, mouth dripping, pouring, as it ran at them. He couldn't help but think something was wrong with it.

The tom was snapped out of it as Crypto swiped at the dog and began to run, calling for him to run as well. He didn't have tk be told twice, turning quickly and high tailing it away.

The dog snapped at his tail, missing by a hair. As Badger scrambled up the same vines to the platform Crypto was on, the dog let out a low howl, snarling at them.

Badger couldn't help but note the crazy look in its eyes now, as it scrabbled at the wall, though it didn't seem to understand to jump, at least not yet. The platform they were on was small, and there was no easy way to escape either. "What do we do," He breathed, pale eyes wide with fear. Surely this wasn't how it ended?

Would they... have to fight? The dog... was terrifying but maybe with two.... if they could avoid being bitten or scratched. Badger wasn't the smartest out there most likely, but he could at least gather that this dog was sick and he didn't want to risk either of them getting sick as well, not during winter.

"Should we fight?" He asked, breathlessly. "Don't get bitten, this dog.... theres something wrong with it. That look in its eyes." He shuddered.

He was shaking, scared out of his mind. "I.. I'm not sure," He meowed. "We can't run without having to fight him." Badger let out a shriek as the dog jumped up and snapped at him. His body pressed as close to the building as he could, eyes wide with terror. The dog was a dripping drooling mess and he had no doubt that in the next minute it would figure out a way to get them on this ledge. Oh he really didn't want to die like this. "I don't want to die," He whispered. "Are you any good at fighting? What if... What if I run and distract it and..." What would he do next? He didn't know.

Badger nodded. His eyes narrowed in on the dog, who had jumped back down. It was prowling underneath them, clearly trying to decide when to jump again. "When... When it jumps up again," He mumbled. "If we attack when it jumps we could throw it off balance.. And maybe we'll have a chance." Finally, after what felt like forever, the dog bunched his hind legs and began to jump.

"Now!" Badger screeched, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before opening them and jumping down onto the dog. He had no idea if Crypto was really going to do the same, but he had to trust that he would.

He landed on the dogs head, sort of. As the dog began to try snd shake the two off, he clawed at its face, trying to target its eyes, with his back legs. It howled with pain, but frankly Badger wasn't sure if it was from him or from Crypto.

Badger let out a gasp as he watched Crypto get slammed against a wall and fall off, fighting the urge to jump off and run to him. To his relief, the tom almost immediately got back up and began the attack again. Just as he was beginning to think himself proud for holding on so long, his lack of concentration sent him flying at the next shake, though he was much more fortunate and landed on his paws.

He watched Crypto attack for a few heartbeats before his eyes widened. "I was going for his eyes because theyre a weak spot, but if we can get its eyes it won't be able to see us!! We could get away!"