I was so warm and comfortable. That was the first thing I noticed as I slowly rose back to consciousness. The second was that someone was scratching behind my ear in the most amazing way. They were doing little circles with their fingernails, then halting and scratching normally for a little, then back to circles again. It felt mesmerising.

I stirred a little in the safety and warmth of wherever I was, stretching slightly to allow blood to flow into deadened limbs. Whoever had been scratching my ears felt my stirring and halted. I let out a little whimper, not even caring how fox like it sounded, I just wanted the scratches to come back.

With my wimper, the blessed scratching came back and I let out a little trilling moan of approval. Yes, hand of scritches, I demand more!

“You really are just a little fox girl aren't you?” I heard Laithe murmur in a voice husky with sleep.

“Mmmm,” I mumbled, cuddling closer to the source of the warmth beside me.

“And a very cuddly one at that… I’ve got to say, waking up here with you all-mfft,” she murmured again, stopping when I reached up and covered her mouth.

“Scratches, not talking,” I grumbled.

“Yes Vulptrix,” she chuckled.

Panic. Alarm bells. A blaring claxon. I gave startled squeak and launched back out of the warm place, which was in fact a cuddle with Laithe.

“How?!” I asked in a high pitched squeak.

“I put it together, there was too many similarities, and I was in and out of consciousness during the way here,” she said with a shrug, before she winced in pain and clutched her head, “Fuck! What is this pain from? It's been happening since I took on bastard Gretton, or whatever it is he calls himself.”

“No! It’s me! I’m sorry! Wait here!” told her urgently, leaping up off the couch and rushing to the cardboard box in the corner that housed my Vulptrix gear.

Digging frantically while she groaned, I found the necklace and rushed back.

I lifted her chin so she was staring at me, hoping she could actually see through her pain, and slipped the necklace around my neck. The clasp snapped in place with now practiced ease and I watched her eyes widen and the fog disappear from her eyes.

“It’s the necklace,” I said gently, kneeling on the carpet before her, “It protects my identity.”

She glanced back and forth from the necklace to my eyes, and slowly she said, “so you really are Vulptrix?”

I nodded, my breath catching as I waited for her reaction. There wasn’t much I could do to stop her from taking me in to the cops at this point. She knew that everything I summoned was an illusion, and if I somehow managed to escape her chains and teleport away, I’d be out on the street again.

“Alright. I mean I knew before, but now that your necklace isn't fucking with my head I can process it,” she said neutrally.

I took the necklace off sheepishly and shoved it under the couch for now.

“You steal things… why do you steal instead of help people? You could be out there doing so much good!” she said passionately, her mouth thinning in the beginnings of anger.

I shrank from her gaze and looked down at the worn carpet I was kneeling on.

Quietly I said, “Because I don’t really have a choice. Or I didn’t? I don't know anymore. I steal stuff because… because it takes my mind off things.”

Her gaze softened when she saw I wasn’t going to argue, and she asked, “Kelly?”

I shrugged and stood up, sitting back down on the couch opposite Laithe.

“More than that I guess. I was mugged right before the Emergence, I lost everything that could identify me. Then I turned into this… a fox girl in nothing but a hoodie and some undies,” I said softly.

“I remember,” she nodded, “You came into the store looking like a little kid in her brother's hoodie.”

“Yeah well, I got taken in by the cops, and only the police woman who initially took me in believed me. She died that night fighting some crazy dude,” I said glumly, “After that I was taken by child services, or at least I think it was them. The bitch who took me put me in a cell and then tried to stab me with a knife!”

Laithe grimaced, “What the fuck… why would she do that? Especially if she thought you were a kid!”

“She started screaming shit about me being a demon and it was her duty to end me or something, I can't remember the wording. She was some kind of religious extremist I think,” I sighed, bringing my tail up to cuddle for emotional support.

No sooner had I brought my tail up than Laithe shuffled forward to lay a hand on my shoulder. Her eyes were so soft and caring as she urged me to continue with her other hand. I wanted to be back in her arms. It was safe there.

Getting emotional, both because of my trauma and because of the feelings welling up in my heart, my voice began to falter as I continued, “U-uh well… after that I broke into some nazi’s place and stole their stash of money… then used it to buy clothes from you…”

She sighed, but didn’t mention that I had given her stolen money.

“When I had to run away, Kelly and her friends helped me get out of the mall, and Kelly took me in and helped me get some stability and happiness back in my life. She was… she was so sweet and… and caring… I just… like I know she was young and a bit insecure about her friends. I wanted to help her like she was helping me, you know? Be a friend for the amazing person who had charged into my life and made it brighter,” I said, choking on my emotion as I sobbed the words out, tears beginning to flow.

I saw Laithe’s face crumple into a look of empathy and concern, and in a moment I was swiftly pulled by her strong arms into her lap, my head pressed to her breast.

“Hey, you’re good now Kalia, it’s okay. It’s okay,” she soothed, her voice aching with emotion.

“I just wanted to… to show everyone! I wanted to make Bastion and all the other stuck up heroes look like idiots, while leaving like no damage and no casualties. I wanted to show all those asshole villains that I was better than them, without… without the stupid body count to show for it! ...most of all, I just wanted to live…” I cried into her chest.

I felt her heartbeat beneath my ear, and the air in her lungs rush out as she sighed deeply, “That’s a lot of heavy shit little vixen. I can kind of understand why you did things the way you did. I don’t really agree, but hey I didn’t live that shit so who am I to judge right?”

“Mmmm,” I mumbled, working my arms around her.

We stayed like that for a while, and she began to scratch behind my ear again, eliciting a low satisfied moan from me.

“I’m not going to take you in to the cops alright? I don’t think… I don’t think I could even do that if I wanted to, and I really don’t want to,” she said softly into one of my big fluffy ears.

I lifted my head up to look at her, tilting it to the side and sending my ears to flopping with it.

“Why?” I asked, oh so softly.

“Why do you think?” she asked breathlessly, her face lowering closer to mine. My stomach erupted in butterflies, I swear they must have been coming out of my ears.

“Um, because you think I’ve been dealt a bad hand?” I squeaked.

“No,” she whispered, “Because of this,” and closed the last inch of distance between our lips.

Her lips were as soft as I had imagined, their perfect shape molding to my own in a way that sent my heart into acrobatics. A sound that was both sigh and moan escaped from my throat into our delicate kiss, and I felt her lips curve in a smile. As fast as she had initiated it, she pulled back with a satisfied little smirk on her face, and I found myself leaning forward slightly, a note of protest rising from my throat.

“So it wasn’t just my imagination huh?” she asked huskily.

Words eluded me, and I whimpered, begging for more of her feathery lips.

“Wow, I didn’t know the trick to defeating Vulptrix was kissing her!” she exclaimed in mock wonder.

I growled and moved forward, my intention to bring us together again. She stopped my hungry advance with a hand, and gently but firmly pushed me down onto my back. I looked up at her with amorous eyes, my heart surging as the feelings I’d been struggling with these past weeks were given a glimpse of what they desired.

Leaning over the top of me, I got a great view as she maneuvered her still super suit clad body over mine, one knee anchored between my legs, the other reaching down to the carpet for balance. Sick of waiting for her to tease me, I lifted my arms to drape them around her neck and pull her down, but she was already moving.

This time when our lips met it was with a passionate hunger, oh how I had wanted this. She wasted no time allowing her tongue out of its cage to play amongst our kiss, and I made a small fox like sound as it cheekily played across my lips. When it delved further, carefully prying my mouth open to dart inside, I felt my body go limp and fluffy as the sensations of the kiss overwhelmed me.

I brought my own tongue to bear on hers through my fog of happiness, and they slid over and across each other in a delicate and sensual dance that sent tingles of pleasure shooting up and down my body. This was a toe curler.

Finally however, some indeterminate time later, we had to come up for air, and as I gazed panting into her violet eyes, I felt a connection between us. Nothing metaphysical, but instead an emotional one, she understood me, empathised with me even. It made me feel like I was finally safe. Safe from the world and the evil shit it constantly did to me, safe from my parents and their mountainous expectations, and safe from my own thoughts that whispered insidiously when I was alone.

“Laithe?” I breathed, “What is this?

“This is us making out, little vixen,” she said, also breathing hard.

“Laithe, please,” I begged, “I want to be yours.”

“Definitely Kalia, definitely,” she said gently, pressing a slight kiss to the tip of my nose, “and I think I might just be yours too.”

Her words lit my mind up in a plethora of fireworking emotion, and I threw my arms around her, finally getting to dictate what was happening when I pulled her down on top of me.

I heard her giggle, and shuffle around so she was lying against my side. I realised my tail was caught under me and I wriggled a bit to let it free, wrapping it around onto my chest.

“Can I touch it?” Laithe asked eagerly, “I’ve been wanting to touch it ever since I met you!”

“Oh my gosh, same with everyone else too!” I laughed, “Yeah go ahead.”

“Sweet!” she grinned, and lifted a hand to it.

She gently stroked it along the direction the hair grew in, and I felt it bush up a bit in response.

“It’s so soft!” she gasped, sounding as girlish as I’d ever heard her.

“I know right? Why do you think I hug it all the time? It feels great to smoosh my face into it,” I grinned.

“Oh can I try?” she asked, looking up at me with wide excited eyes.

Oh that look was precious, and I felt her grip on my heart solidify with every moment I looked into those eyes. Unable to speak at that moment, I nodded.

She took my tail and gently pressed it to her face, humming softly in happiness as she felt the soft fur on her impossibly smooth skin.

“Oh my fucking god this is incredible,” Laithe mumbled into my fur, and I felt her warm breath diffuse pleasantly into my fur, “What happens if I scratch it?”

“Wait what?” I asked, but she was already giving it a go.

She worked her fingers nimbly into the fur and began to scratch up and down delicately. Ohhhhh, that was interesting. I needed to fight back. How could I fight back? Her back!

From neck to the base of her spine the suit was open, and I could see her smooth pale skin extending like a pearl road towards her butt. I reached a hand over her and began lightly tracing her spine with the tips of my fingers, eliciting a surprised gasp from her.

“H-hey! Nuh uh! That’s…” she said sitting up and out of reach with a shiver and a smile, “Whoa! I’ve never had someone touch me since the emergence, and that was… wow! I can still feel my wings, even if they’re not manifested, and that just felt like you were caressing every single feather at once. Fuck me that was wild!”

I giggled and made grabby hands motions.

“Nuh huh, I’m not prepared for that yet you little minx!” she laughed, then thought for a moment, “Actually do you have a change of clothes for me? Wriggling around on this couch is getting uncomfortable in this suit.”

I looked at the closed door to my room and turned to her, “What time is it?”

She pulled her phone from a pouch on her upper arm and checked it, “Like… almost five in the morning.”

“Yeah my roommate, Caser, is in there. I don’t want to wake them up, they were really tired.. That’s where the few clothes I own are stored, sorry,” I said regretfully.

“Damn,” she sighed, and looked across the room.

I saw her eyes flick down and a silly little smile appeared on her face. She got up off the couch and wandered over to the discarded Vulptrix hoodie, the same one I had the day I met her.

She turned to me with a suggestive grin, “Don’t peek!”

My brain took a moment to catch up, and by that point she was already peeling the suit off. I whirled away in embarrassment, my cheeks a flaming blush as I examined the image of her naked back that was burned into my mind. It was a very pleasant image.

“Okay, it’s safe!” she teased.

I turned back to see… oh my. She was standing there, her suit on the ground, in nothing but my hoodie and I hoped some underwear. Or did I really hope that?

As it did with me, the hoodie made her look absolutely adorable. It was much too big for her as well. Shit I had bought it because it was much too big for my old male body too. Below the hoodie her perfect silky pale legs extended to the floor, and I would be utterly dishonest if I said I wasn’t mesmerised.

“You’re beautiful,” I breathed.

“Yeah I know, it’s become a bit of a problem,” she said with a grimace.

“A problem for my heart maybe,” I replied with a caring smile.

“Dang, that was mushy,” she blushed.

I laughed, “Uh huh…”

We gazed into each other’s eyes from across the room, getting very lost, when my mind interrupted with a question, “Hey what happens if you turn into like, angel mode, when you’re wearing something that doesn’t allow the wings out?”

She considered my question for a moment and then shrugged, “They don’t come out if I do. I didn’t know I had wings the first day, I just thought I glowed purple.”

“Ohh show me!” I clapped.

She laughed at my enthusiasm and allowed herself to enter wingless Nightbinder mode. It was so cool. Her eyes glowed that fluorescent shade of violet I was used to, and the dyed tips of her hair glowed purple, and I noticed for the first time that small wisps of dark purple energy floated off from them. As I stared, the signature flowing mascara appeared, as though she was crying black smoke.

“Damn that is so cool Laithe,” I grinned.

“I know right? It’s like the Emergence sensed I was a goth chick and dialed it up to eleven. How much more goth can you get than a dark purple fallen angel?” she giggled, shifting to a dramatic brooding pose.

It was too much, I fished around in the couch and found my phone, using the quick camera feature on the lock screen to take a picture of her standing there in nothing but my Vulptrix hoodie.

“Oh no,” she gasped with a laugh and lunged for the phone.

She neglected to use super speed, and I teleported to the opposite side of the room behind her, gaining the time I needed to tweet the picture using my Vulptrix account. To seal the deal I locked the phone.

“You little shit!” she cried, “Please tell me you didn’t do what I think you just did?”

“Check your twitter,” I giggled.

She didn’t check her twitter. She bound me to the wall with her chains of dark energy and marched over, a teasing fire in her eyes.

“Oh I am so going to get you back,” she chuckled evilly.

“How?” I breathed in anticipation.

Close to me now, she leaned down and touched a feather light kiss to my lips and whispered, “Like this.”

Then she began to undress me. Apparently she could control what the chains applied to, because she slipped my pants off as though the chains holding my legs to the wall weren’t even there. Next she whipped my cardigan off, then my tank top, leaving me in nothing but a bra and boyshorts. I found feel my whole body flushing with pinpricks of anticipation, just where was this going?

She stepped back with a satisfied nod, then walked over and reached under the couch for my necklace. Returning, she slipped it around my neck and expertly snapped it home.

“Oh, I fucked up,” I gasped with a grin.

She took that moment to take a picture with her phone, and turned it with a slow, sly smile to allow me to see.

There on the screen was me, as Vulptrix, almost naked and chained to the wall by the ability that only she possessed. Not only that, but my expression was one of anticipatory delight, my lips parted mid gasp, the corners of my lips turned up in a smile that... wanted.

“That is the most erotic picture of myself I have ever seen, post or pre Emergence,” I said in awe. That was me? I know it’s a strange time to have these sorts of feelings, but seeing just how delightfully feminine I looked right now sent waves of happiness surging through my brain.

Laithe tilted her head to the side in confusion, “You’re not going to protest?”

“Laithe that was the most… I don’t even know, look at me! I’m, I’m a girl!” I said with a huge grin.

Her eyes widened and she laughed a breathy laugh, “Oh… There’s even more to you than I thought! Alright, off the wall with you, we’re talking.”

She moved forward and released the chains, catching me as I stumbled. She handed me my cardigan and I put it on while she led me back to the couch.

“You like being a girl? You mentioned you used to be a dude if I remember correctly?” she asked as she sat down again, opening her arms for me to cuddle in.

I climbed on top of her, pulling the blankets up to cover us, then snuggled comfortably into her arms.

“Yeah, realised it a while back I guess,” I said.

“Believe it or not I’m the same. Before the Emergence I was transitioning, and I mean I don’t look too much different now, I was lucky with pretty much everything about my transition. It was still a shock to have my dream come true for me though. I’ve been kind of riding the gender euphoria train ever since,” she explained.

“I haven’t really had time to explore just... Being me. It’s been depressing and hectic most of the time,” I said sadly.

“I can tell. It seems like things have been hard for you,” she said, giving me a gentle squeeze.

I hummed in agreement and nuzzled closer, “How have we gone from rivals to lovers in a single night?”

“Girl, we’ve been flirting non stop since we met!” she laughed.

“I know… It’s just crazy,” I mumbled.

“I’d have asked you out weeks ago if it wasn’t for the whole, opposite sides of the battle thing,” she confessed.

“I’d have said yes weeks ago,” I laughed tiredly.

She laughed along with me, and settled a bit more comfortably into the couch. What felt like only moments later, I felt myself drifting towards sleep again.

“Kalia?” I heard Laithe ask sleepily.

“Mhm?”

“I’m going to take you to get more clothes and help you figure out what kind of girl you are,” she said stroking my hair.

“Thank you,” I whispered.