Fox
It’s been a long day of wandering about, and nothing caps that off like Cat coming home. Even if it happens every night, even if I keep an eye on her throughout the day, no matter the circumstance, being able to greet her upon her return makes my heart soar. There’s always this ever so slight bitterness to it, knowing we can’t be together as we once were, however long ago that was. Even so, life feels so fulfilling being able to live like this, with the one I love most in the world.
“Alright, alright, get those paws off of me!”
Cat picks me up from under my forelegs, lifting my paws off her shoulders so I stop pushing her back before putting me back down. I can’t help but run around a bit more, excited by the simple prospect of more time with my partner, oh, and the noises this form makes just feel so right when I’m feeling full of happy energy!
You’re embarrassing yourself.
I’m enjoying myself, thank you very much. Don’t tell me you don’t love this too! Being able to run like this, smile like this, it finally feels like we can enjoy life to some extent! Plus...look at the smile on Cat’s face. Try and tell me it’s not all worth it for that.
…
Come on, we’re stuck like this together, learn to enjoy it!
I’m certain I feel a whole lot more trapped in here than you do when you’re the one constantly in control of everything.
Yeah, well...we’re working on that, aren’t we? I promise, I’ll help you find a way to the front. Promise.
…
Something the matter?
It’s nothing.
...Well, alright. Just...talk to me, okay?
“Oh, check this out!”
My ears shoot up along with my gaze, big bushy tail wagging up a storm as I stare at Cat expectantly and hop from side to side.
“Y’know that place that gives sandwiches for on-the-go?”
Nod nod nod nod.
“Weeeell…”
My partner reaches into her bag and pulls out something long and cylindrical, wrapped in paper that’s oh so familiar to me, making my mouth drool at the sight.
Disgusting.
Tasty…
“Guess what? They do wraps now! Figured I’d get you your usual, but, y’know, in wrap form.”
Cat unwraps half of the paper before tossing it onto the table, and my stomach lurches towards it before the rest of me can. The beast must be fed…!
You seem more like a puppy dog than you do a beast of any kind.
You say that, but you’re the wolf here, puppy dog.
…
I can practically hear the mixture of grumbling and tail wagging from inside my head, even more so as I begin digging in. Mmm...chicken caesar wrap… My mind is too far up in wrap heaven to notice Cat walking over and taking a seat in front of where I lay on the table, my front paws holding what’s left of dinner like it’s a chew toy. A paw then rests itself atop my head, and I lean into it, even as I continue to eat.
“Been a good day for you, huh?”
I look up from my now finished meal, smiling at Cat as I chew what remains of it in.
“I’m really happy for you, y’know. We’ve come a long way since sitting sadly in our shack. You always seem so...content. Happy even.”
She’s right! Being a fox feels so right! Not that being a fox-person didn’t, it’s almost like they’re different kinds of feelings of correctness. Like the difference between two different favourite flavours of soda. Fox flavoured and Foxier flavoured. Man, I haven’t had soda in so long…
…
Do you want to try soda?
...No.
I’ll see if I can’t snag us some soda some time.
...Thank you.
Eventually Cat gets up and starts making herself some supper, leaving me to muddle about the house. The clickity clack of my claws gently echoes through our little house until her meal is made, and thus placed atop the TV table between the couch and, well, the TV. She takes a seat and I hop on up next to her, curling up by her side while the modest screen flickers about each time Cat fiddles with the remote. I can’t exactly make out what the words are flashing on the screen every so often, and the words being spoken make even less sense to me, but I’m usually able to glean some sort of understanding through visuals alone. It’s an odd feature of this form, that I can’t understand all of what I used to, all except for what Cat says. I’m not even so sure that I’m understanding what exactly she’s saying so much as I’m able to understand what she wants to express whenever she has something to say. Besides my partner, though, some words make it through easily enough, things like “No”, “Good girl”, “Put that back or so help me”, but everything else is just rumbles in a can of fox soup.
I don’t think that metaphor elicits the kind of imagery you’re going for.
Fox soup. In a can. What’s wrong with that?
Not exactly the way most people would want to be considered a snack.
Well, until we figure out how to get my old body back, that’s the kind of edible we’re sticking with. Taking the scarf off doesn’t do anything, and it’s comfy so I’m keeping it on. I’ve tried willing myself back, putting myself in mortal danger, basically experiencing any kind of immense burst of emotion possible for a fox to achieve, but nothing. I am happy in this form, don’t get me wrong, even once we do find a way back, I wouldn’t mind slipping back into this shape every once in a while. I’d just like to kiss my girlfriend like a normal girl again, you know? And to understand what Sue-Zee is saying. Yeah, there are a lot of things I miss about being not-entirely-fox, but the best I can do right now is make the most of it.
In time, Cat finishes her meal and flicks off the TV, sliding her little table away and taking her plate and whatnot back to the kitchen. That usually means it’s time for sleep soon. It took us some time to return to a more standard sleep schedule, afterall, 4 hours twice a day had kind of become our lifestyle for a while there, but this is nice. Not that I don’t get the urge to sneak and steal as we used to...we’d just been doing that for so long. Things aren’t entirely as we wish they were, but they’re pretty damn close. I’d like to enjoy this comfort while we still can. I wish I could tell anybody about where Yombroila went, the longer time goes on knowing she’s bound by the Inkton Witch, the more I feel something very big is going to happen.
But that’s for when that big thing actually happens.
Just don’t forget. It’s going to happen. We need to be ready for it.
I know, I know… When have I ever done things with a plan in mind more than seconds in advance, though? Whatever comes our way, I’m sure we’ll be able to handle, just like we always have.
Speaking of ‘like we always have,’ I hop off the couch with a yawn, Cat watching me and yawning in return before we both make our way to our bedroom, my partner turning off the lights and letting the house sink into the blue of the night once again. I don’t have much to change out of myself, simply slipping off my scarf and leaving it on the floor, but Cat has been staying clothed these cold winter nights, slipping out of her casual wear and into some baby blue pajamas with white polka dots. Once we’re all set up, Cat flicks on the lamp on her nightstand and pulls out her book, laying back as I hop into bed with her, resting by her side and smiling as I feel her hand atop my head while she reads. Apparently it’s some book about a girl who gets turned into an inanimate plushie that ends up helping this magical person, but if she’s looking for answers about me, I’d say we’re pretty past the point of turning into a plushie being the problem. I think she just likes reading about cute girls learning that they’re cute girls. Can’t blame her, if I could read, I’d probably be doing the same.
At some point, however, Cat seems to lose focus, sighing and closing her book, though she doesn’t seem keen on falling asleep anytime soon.
“I kinda wish I was the one who got turned fully into an animal.” she says, putting her reading material back on the nightstand before hauling me up into her lap. My eyes open as I’m tugged from my comfy spot, now glued to my partner’s sad face. Oh, kitty…
“I dunno. It feels like...if you were the one who was still like this--” Cat waves her hands up and down her body, “--you’d probably have figured out what to do by now. Or at the very least, have actually done something.”
Curse this wordless body… I squeak as sympathetically as possible, sliding my head up her torso and nuzzling against her. Her smile tells me my efforts are not completely in vain.
“...Ehe, sorry, Fox. There’s probably a lot you’d want to tell me right now. ‘I’d be just as lost as you’, or, ‘you’re doing great, kitty’.”
My brows furrow as if to accuse Cat of a crime. My voice does not sound that silly.
“You’re right, sorry, you’ve got a rich, deep, sexy voice that my high pitched cartoon voice cannot replicate.”
Huff. I squeal and squirm a bit, kneading against her in protest.
“Hey, I’ll own my voice! It’s cute. I just like hearing yours more…”
From the forlorn look on her face, it’s obvious she realized how sad that last part sounds in this current context. Dammit. Stop being sad! I push myself up further and rub my cheek against her’s, the girl giggling and pushing me back.
“I don’t think you need to keep my face warm anymore when it’s covered in this much fur!”
Oh my god. I shudder as traces of memories long forgotten surface. God, I was so embarrassing. My cringing must have gone beyond being internal, because as I pull back, Cat snorts seeing my face.
“Hey hey, c’mon. We’re just a fox and a cat, fruitlessly sharing warmth in the winter…”
Please, stop her, I can’t take much more of this shame.
Ugghhhh. Sorry, pal, we’re a bit helpless here…
Despite the antics, however, I end up mirroring Cat as her playful smile melts into a somber frown. Kitty…
“...I’m sorry. I wish it was easier to not worry about things. I feel awful, because you seem so happy like this, yet I feel…”
My partner pauses, her voice trailing off as she puts together the pieces of her thoughts, her gaze gliding towards the window slowly, then drifting back to me. The feeling of tender warmth, of a shaky, trepidatious warmth envelops me, Cat’s arms gently slung around my back and pulling me in. Try as I might to hug her back, this body is just not built to move in such ways. Doesn’t stop me from trying, though, even as she continues her thought.
“...I feel lonely, I think. Despite the fact that you’re here, that Sue-Zee is closer than ever before, that I know so many new people now, and we all regard each other so fondly...I can’t shake this gloominess. I want to feel you like you were again. It’s...terrifying taking each step of the day without you. I just…”
As her voice falters once more, I begin to slink out of her arms, giving her a smile on the way out to reassure her before hopping off the bed towards my scarf. I’ve had this thing for some time now, but I think Cat needs it more than I do now.
On the silky white scarf is what would appear to be a brooch of some kind, but upon further inspection, is actually a necklace, its little golden chains wrapped in such a way that it keeps it snugly tied to the accessory. I can’t help but smile at it, at the golden star embedded with a large stone that I can only describe as swirling onyx and moonstone, at the way it stands out in the light or dark, at the energy it exudes.
It always reminds me of Yombroila.
And now, I’m hoping it can remind Cat of me.
Finagling my way around the scarf, I eventually somehow manage to get it off, holding it in my teeth by the chain before hopping back up to Cat and offering her a grin once more. Surprise takes her at first, the girl cupping her hands together palms upward as I move the star into her paws before letting go.
“...B-but this is from your scarf...I-I couldn’t possibly take this from you, could I?”
I furiously shake my head from side to side, pouting while nudging Cat’s hands closer to her chest with my nose. I didn’t let you keep one necklace and I’ve regretted it since, so...please. Let me give you this one.
“...You’re such a sap.”
Are you just gonna take that?
Yeah. Yeah, I am.
Even if she’ll be needing to take it off a moment later, my partner hangs the necklace from her neck, pulling her hair up from under it as the golden star rests atop her chest, and for a moment, it almost looks like the moonstone in its gem gleams a bit brighter. Shining even brighter than that, though, is the smile above it.
“God, I feel so dumb, that a necklace like this could make me so happy. But…”
Cat reaches around me once again, and this time, her warmth feels still, calm even, perhaps assured of itself.
“Thank you, Fox. No matter what or when, you always seem to pull me out of the dark.”
Ironic.
Shush. My tail’s already going, wagging up a storm as little happy squeaks force themselves out of my muzzle. Eventually, those squeaks begin to sound a bit...squeakier. Like a squeaky toy! I can feel the softness washing over my body as it has so many other nights, my plush form returning in this foxier shape as Cat holds me close, squeezing me tight.
“I love you, hun. C’mon, let’s get some sleep. I’ve got a feeling things might start to look up tomorrow. I’m still nervous. And scared. Horrified even. But I’ve got to believe it’ll get better.”
It’s hard not to believe her when she says that with such renewed confidence. So she slips off her necklace and flicks off the light as she places her new accessory on her nightstand, the girl sliding down under the covers, still holding me tight in her arms, and in this form, nothing feels more right than to be squeezed so lovingly.
“G’night, Fox.”
Good night, Cat.
...Night.
