Fox

 

The run back home was definitely a bit more tiring than before, meaning it was actually a little bit tiring instead of not at all, which I’m blaming on all the magic we used. It’s still hard to believe that…we’re using magic? Just, naturally? It would have seemed impossible just days ago, but here we are: an anthropomorphic fox and cat using wind-sound and fire-light magic. Once we arrive home, I immediately take a seat at the table.

“Ugh… This is all so frustrating!” I complain.

Cat takes a seat as well with a concerned look on her face. “What’s on your mind, Fox?”

“It’s…it’s nothing, really… Just feeling that this is so right, so fun, so…joyful, yet having this nagging feeling that it’s just a lie. That it’s wrong and I should feel bad for feeling this good.” I shake my head and stand up. “I should really just get some sleep while the thrill is fresh.” 

Cat nods at me and smiles, standing as well and walking over to me to rub my back with her paw.

“It’s been non-stop tonight, you deserve some rest. Have a good night, ‘kay? You know where to find me if you need me.” 

I smile up at her weakly and nod, watching her walk to her room before sighing and making my way to my own. I’m really tired. I forgot to put my belt in the dining room, so I just hang it on the chair with the rest of my night gear before slipping on a shirt that’s really baggy in this form. It’s…kinda nice? Chest area is a bit tighter, same with my hips, but I don’t feel bulky at all in this. I shake my head again and sigh. I… I shouldn’t be enjoying this until I’m sure of myself, right? I just don’t know. Instead of dwelling on it, I throw myself into bed and curl up in my sheets, pulling my tail in to hug as I doze off. At least this fox form is good for something...

 

Not a nightmare to bother me, just a dream of walking in the woods as I sleep. Although, it’s odd having an actual fox’s body instead of the weird fox-human hybrid. Well, whether I’m on two paws or four, I enjoy the walk through the forest that seems…somehow familiar yet not at the same time. Light shines through the canopy in rays that shimmer like waves, almost leading me along an unseen path before I stumble upon an absolutely gigantic tree. Its roots twist and roam through the ground, moss and vines coating the little forest realm in life, as well as some oddly placed stone structures at the base of the tree. I slowly and steadily walk towards them, only to hear…is that meowing? And squeaking…

 

My eyes gently open just as I was about to reach the stone structures, revealing to me not any hidden secrets but my tail in my face with myself curled around it. Dammit, this thing is too comfortable. But there it is again, a noise like meowing and squeaking. I throw myself out of bed which, surprisingly enough, my tail helps with by propelling me forward. Despite its softness, it seems to have quite a bit of strength to it. Regardless, I walk out of my room, rubbing my eyes as I try to parse out these noises, though it should be fairly obvious considering how cat-like they are. I twist the handle to Cat’s door, slowly pushing it open and peeking through the sliver of space. 

“Hey, is everything alright, Cat--?”

Well, at the very least she’s wearing clothes of some kind, that in itself is surprising, but what catches me more off guard is…

“...You’re a catgirl…”

She turns to me and tilts her head, looking like she’d only just gotten her shirt on. “You okay, Fox? You can come in, y’know!”

I gulp and do just that, eyes still focused on the cat ears that now adorn her head, while Cat’s seem focused on my head--oh no. My hands shoot up to my head and I touch where my ears were. Nothing but hair there now, so I slide my fingers up further and…ears. Long, pointy, fluffy fox ears. Just as I’m exploring myself, Cat seems to do the same, though her sparkling gaze of joy must contrast the immediate look of dread creeping over my face.

“Oh my GOD!! I’m… I’m a catgirl!” Cat begins to look all over herself, tail swishing to and fro while her ears twitch. 

Ah, that must have been why--

“Wait, have you started…meowing…?” She looks back at me, her body twisted like a twizzler to look at me directly. Well, she is turning into a cat, it only makes sense she’s that flexible.

“Huh? What do ya mean?” She blinks at me before un-contorting herself and throwing her butt back onto her bed. 

I hold the side of my head with one hand and hold my elbow with the other, leading into a sigh. “I heard some mewling or meowing or something when I woke up, which I’m guessing is a result of the ears.” 

Cat taps her chin as she leans back. “I hadn’t noticed it myself, but maybe when I was stretching after waking up? It just comes naturally I suppose?” As if to demonstrate, she tosses herself back onto her feet and raises her arms in the air while spreading her feet on the floor, beginning to stretch. “Mmmmmmya~... Oh my god I do make cat noises now…”

I hate how adorable I found that. “A-anyways, our new ears present us with a problem.” 

Cat sighs and nods, knowing exactly what’s coming, and hating how much it gets in the way of enjoying her body.

 

“Oh! Actually…” I cock my head at the girl as she pulls open each of her drawers one by one, searching for something… “Nya ha-- Oh DAMMIT I didn’t mean to nya…” She shakes her head and pulls out what she’d found: a poofy little newsboy cap. “Anyways, tah-dah! I only have this one, but I can go out and find you a new one if you’d like!”

I’m both amazed at her resourcefulness and dumbfounded by her hoard. “Just how much clothing have you stolen…?”

“Don’t worry about it! Anyways…” The girl sets the cap on her head, ears folding forward to help them fit under it. Once she slips her tail into her pants, the disguise is complete.

“Awesome, you look like a completely normal girl.” She seems to blush a bit at that statement, and I smile back. “Now go on, I’m stuck in here until you bring me back something to cover up with. And make sure it fits these things…” 

My ear twitches in response. These ears really are big… Cat giggles at me and nods as we both step out of her room and into the dining area. 

“Are you going to be alright, by the way? Going out there alone I mean. Not to patronize, just… I know I prefer going out there with you as opposed to by myself.”

Cat nods and smiles, giving a little twist to her cap. “I’ll be fine, promise!” 

I smile back and reach into the cupboard, tossing Cat an apple to snack on along the way. “Take care out there, then. I’ll see you once you’re ready to… Ugh…accessorize me.” 

I watch her laugh before taking a bite out of her apple and walking out the door. As for myself…well, there’s not much to do here alone. Really should have kept some of those books we nabbed a few days ago…

 

Cat

 

It’s not like I haven’t gone out of the house without Fox before, but it still feels odd with how strongly we’re joined at the hip. Still, it shouldn’t be any problem! I’m not out to anybody except Fox (and I guess Yombroila? Does that count?), but… Okay yeah, I am pretty scared about that, in this town in particular. Hell, any town really. When you’ve been out of the loop like Fox and I have as a result of, y’know, homelessness, you never get the chance to find any inclusive spaces. Not that Fox would have known she needed one before now. So…for now, I’ll just keep my chin up and be happy with who I am. I’ve even started playing with my style a bit, moving from full black clothes to a sweater as close as I can get to pink without being harassed by playground bully level nuisances. At the very least, no one around here would know my deadname, so that’s a bullet dodged! I’m pretty good at dodging bullets, all things considered…

This trip isn’t about me though, it’s about accessorizing Fox! We haven’t really bought any clothes from around here, everything I’ve stolen has been from the big city stores. So the first step is to find the mark! Town square is probably my best bet since everything surrounding it is pretty specialized, like the food market to the east closer to where Fox and I live.

Not gonna lie, walking around town is…pretty uncomfortable. Fox seemed surprisingly relaxed last time we went out, until, y’know, she wasn’t. But up until then, she’d been in stark contrast to how I felt then and now, even if I try to put on a smile and keep it on. The feelings behind the smile are genuine, don’t get me wrong! I’m so incredibly thrilled to be out and thinking of myself as such, but even just a change of clothes can be enough to bring out the judgemental nature of folks, making that smile falter a bit.

Ugh. Maybe I’m not as okay going out alone as I thought, mainly because it leaves me alone with my thoughts way too often. I shake my head and trudge forward, hoping to find something soon before I start thinking again--

“Yooooo, Cat!” 

Oh thank god. They’re no clothing store, but they’re just what I need right now. Turning around, I see my friend speeding towards me on their skates.

“Zee! Oh, right, today’s your day off, ain’t it!” I put one hand on my hip and smile at them, wondering if my smile looks as cat-like as it feels. Wouldn’t be surprising considering I’m making cat noises now... “How’s that been going for you?”

They offer me a thumbs up and a grin. “Been great so far! To be honest, it’s kinda hard to get out of the flow of running around town, so I’ve just been going around saying hi to everybody ‘til I figured it was a good time to come see you and Fox. Speaking of, where is that pal of ours?”

“Oh she…ets! On the sheets. On their bed. They’ve been feeling a bit under the weather, not sick or anything, but, you know how it is I’m sure.”

They raise an eyebrow at me as they smirk. “Aw, is that so? Dang! Do you think she’d still be up to hang out later today?”

“Oh, of course! She always love seeing--”

 

She.

“...Uhh, wait… She?” I start to sweat, arms hiding my hands behind my back as they interlock and twitch, making me wish my hair were as long as it is while transformed to keep my hands occupied by something, anything!

“Yyyeeaaahhh, she? As in Fox? Somethin’ wrong?” They put their hands on their hips and tilt their head at me.

“Ah, I just mean, you’ve used ‘they’ for them as long as you’ve known each other, so… just… Where’d that come from?” I try to play it cool. I try to play it cool so hard.

I’m not playing it very cool, as evident by Zee’s wide grin.

“C’mon, she’s got the essence of trans all over her, don’t tell me you don’t see it either? You’ve known each other your whole lives! Plus I have experience with these kinds of things…”

I can only blink at them. “Huh???”

They sigh, still smiling as they turn me around and nudge me forwards, beginning to walk with me. “You’re a pretty savvy girl, so I’m guessing those corners of the internet just never--”

“Excuse me, Zee, you can’t just out me to yourself like that!”

They raise their hands up as if dropping a weapon. “Sorry! Sorry, I saw you two walking around town yesterday, and the energy coming off of you was palpable. You seemed so happy! I figured you’d want me to start addressing you as such too.”

An exhausted sigh falls from my mouth like a brick. I don’t think I’ve had a conversation as tiring as this in my life… “I mean, yeah, but… Y’know, coming out is really important to me, even if I trust you, and with you having me figured out already, I want control over this kind of thing.”

They scratch their head just under their hat and give me an apologetic smile. “Aw, dang. You’re right. Sorry, I get a bit ahead of myself and like to nudge things along, respectfully of course, but clearly you’ve got yourself all figured out, huh?”

“Yeah, I figured myself out like almost a decade ago after Fox and I started raiding--err, realizing our job took us to places that let us indulge in those kinda things, y’know, clothing stores and the like.”

 

Zee nods with their eyes closed, in deep contemplation before looking back up at me and stopping me in place. “Alright, alright! Then let’s do this again! Uhh, hold on, stay right there.”

They spin on their skates and zip away, nearly out of sight and leaving me in deep confusion as they started zooming back towards me. “Caaaaaaaaaaat! Yo!”

Ah. So this is what we’re doing. I suppose if they could tell beforehand, then it basically would have been the same results.

 

“Good afternoon, Zee, what’s up?” I offer them a wave and they wave back ten times as enthusiastically.

“Oh, not much, y’know, skating around town to see all the cute girls.” They wink at me without a hint of subtlety, forcing me to hold in the most pained groan of my life behind an awkward smile.

“A-aha, well, that’s…kinda related to something I wanted to talk to you about?” I can feel my tail trying to swing around nervously within my pants, and I can only hope it’s not noticeable from the outside. “See, uhh… I…” 

I look around and see nary a soul nearby. Thank god, I’m not about to ostracize myself any further, as dearly as I wish to be out like that. Looking back to Zee, I feel a pressure build up in my chest. Jeez, despite our awkward encounter, this somehow still feels like I’m coming out to them first? 

“...I’m trans. I’m a girl and I would like you to refer to me with she/her.”

Zee’s smile only gets wider. Wow, it really looks like they’re getting into it too. Maybe this was a good idea on their part? “Oh. My GOD. Cat! Oh my god, we’re-- I’m so-- Aahhh!!!” The thembo throws themselves at me, avoiding hitting me with their skates, thank goodness. “I’m so happy for you! Y’know, I had a feeling, but somehow, hearing it from you like this makes it even more real!” 

They slowly slide off me as I chuckle at them, patting their head, or rather, their helmet.
“I kinda get what you mean, weird as it is.” I laugh at the both of us, and they join in the fun. “My god, I can’t believe that actually worked. How’d you do that?”

Zee just sticks their tongue out at me playfully, my tail wagging even more as if my cat brain wants me to swat at it. “Trade secrets! Start making some omelets yourself, and maybe I could let you in on ‘em~”

Huh. I tap my finger to my chin for a moment. “Y’know… That doesn’t sound half bad? I’d love to be able to get people more in touch with themselves, especially with how… Amazing it felt for me personally! Makes me wonder if there are others like me in this village…”

A snort escapes Zee. “I have a feeling about a few, though I haven’t seen some of them at all today which is odd considering how out and about they usually are. You’re not gonna like one of my guesses though.”

Well, that just makes me tilt my head. “Huh?”

But they just wave it off. “Don’t worry about it. Oh, after all that, I forgot to ask what you’re doing out here!”

I perk up suddenly. “Crap! I forgot why I’m out here for a bit there! That charisma of yours, I swear, Zee.” They chuckle at me while flashing a peace sign. “I went out to grab some clothes actually.” Oh, crap, excuse time. “Y’know, getting more in touch with myself? Maybe just try some things on.” 

That wasn’t too hard, actually!

“Oh! Well you’re on the wrong side of town square, just head straight for the opposite end until you find Taylor Tailors. It’s the store with the cute bear mascot on the front!” 

They throw their hand in the direction of the fountain in the middle of town, and I can already see what they’re talking about.

“Oh, thank god, I still don’t know this place very well, you’re a lifesaver!” I give them two thumbs up and they return the gesture with one of their prize winning smiles.

“Not a problem! Anyways, I figure now’s a good time to get on my way to your place, see if I can’t get Fox off the sheets, hehe. Thanks for the chat, Cat! See you in a bit!”

And with that. They’re off.

Crap.