What are you doing in my house, I demanded with a low growl. Despite my thoughts dwelling on her throughout the day, the events of the night had put me far from the mood to entertain guests. She cocked her head to the side, perhaps expecting a warmer welcome than I was prepared to give her.

I no understand? Forrest home now. Come home. You ready now. She rose to her paws and closed the distance between us, dodging around some of the stray trash I had left on the floor. Reaching out, she tapped her black nose against my whiskers while I stood frozen in place, obstinately. I pulled back my lip to show a fang.

No. You turned me into a fox. You don't get to tell me where my home is. You are in my home. I live here, and I did not invite you in. Now get out before I force you to leave. I was seething with anger, and I was fighting the urge to cast a wish at her. She recoiled back from the snarl I directed at her, and then she plastered her ears back in remorse. Surveying me with sorrowful golden eyes as I trotted around her and went to the fridge, she looked like she was about to say something, but didn't respond in the end. With a furious shake, I jostled the freezing backpack off my shoulders, and let it clunk to the floor.

What do? She whined softly from behind me.

I'm putting the food away. I snapped, before bracing a fold at the bottom of the bag against the floor with my paws while tugging on the zipper with my teeth.

Food? In there? She stepped forward, quizzically tilting her head.

I had managed to get a space in the zipper open where I could shove my muzzle through. Some cardboard box of a TV dinner was the first to meet my jaws. I pulled my head out of the bag with the box in my mouth, and stared back at her, rolling my eyes. I didn't have to drop it to say, Yes, there's food in the bag. It took me all day to get it. I did, however, need to drop the box to start tugging on the previously chewed refrigerator handle. Once the box landed on the floor, she rushed up and began sniffing it curiously, before turning to me with disappointment, This not food.

My neck was craned sideways while trying to tug at the hermetically sealed door, but I could see the look in her eyes, and they said she thought I was completely crazy. Ceasing my fruitless tugging at the door, I released my jaws, and said, It absolutely is food. You just toss it into the microwave for a few minutes and you get a hot meal.

She looked back at me like I was speaking nonsense. The Fox word for microwave probably didn't register with her at all. Ok, ok, I also have some chicken in here, I said before diving my head back into the bag. Her naïve nature was infuriating, but it gave me an excuse to show off what I had managed to accomplish today.

She perked up excitedly at the mention of chicken, swishing her fluffy tail on the floor. Chicken? Chicken in there? She poked her nose towards the bag and lifted a paw from the floor, sniffing anxiously.

Yeah, yeah, it's in here, I swished my tail back at her. Each frozen item was a cold shock to my nose as I tried to shove them out of the way. Finding the chicken breast at the bottom, I nipped the edge of the plastic bag, and lifted, pulling several other boxes of frozen meals out with it. The bag popped free of the backpack, and then clattered to the floor like a bag of large rocks. The Vixen looked down at the bag, and then back up at me, then back down to the bag again, utter horror at the insanity I was showing flashed across her brow.

This not chicken, she said, hesitantly.

Locking my jaw back on the door handle, I gave it another firm tug, and the door finally swung open, causing the Vixen to jump back to clear the way. Frustrated by her constant questions and doubting, I replied,It absolutely is chicken. I don't know why I'm having to explain or justify anything to you. I told you to leave. Not waiting for her reply, I dove back into the bag, and drew out another box to put in the refrigerator.

The food I brought wasn't going to keep very long, being that they were frozen meals, and I was too short to reach the freezer, so the top shelf would have to do for now. Standing up on my hind paws, I stretched my neck out and dropped the box on the highest glass shelf. Dropping back to all fours, I swung around to grab another box from the floor, but came face-to-face with the golden eyes of the Vixen. She was holding the bag of chicken in her mouth by the corner, and was trying to pass it to me to help me unload the pack. Without saying anything, I gently nipped the other corner of the bag of chicken, and she gingerly released it from her mouth so I could put it into the fridge. Once the heavy bag was situated on the shelf, I turned around again to find her holding the next box of a TV dinner. My tail flicked in appreciation, though, I didn't intend to communicate anything to her for her help. She was still in my house after being asked to leave.

Together, we finished unloading the backpack, and I closed the door to the fridge. Maybe later, I could try to pull up a chair and move some things into the freezer, but access would be hard when I needed the food. I wasn't even sure I could operate the microwave, but I expected I could poke it with my snout until it turned on.

I'm going to take a shower, I said as I turned to the hallway towards the bathroom. I had been waiting for the moment to bathe since the apartment, because I didn't want to lick myself like an animal. The Vixen showing up at my house had been an unexpected distraction, and I'm glad she didn't seem to indicate she could smell my shame. If she was going to stay here at all, she was going to have to stop questioning everything I did. I wasn't ready to face what I had done to that woman, let alone explain the odor on my nethers to the Vixen. Standing up against the bathroom sink, I poked on the light switch with my nose, and stepped the few paces to the tub. Turning on the water lever with a nudge, I twisted the handle with my jaws until the water was set to hot. The diverter was still off from my accident earlier in the week, so I delicately took it between my teeth and pulled up on it. Once lifted, gushing of the faucet turned to a loud hiss of the showerhead, and I sat back to wait for the water to get warm.

Peeking around the corner of the doorway, the Vixen poked her head into the bathroom and cocked it to the side, expressing her intense curiosity. I wondered how she would react to being sprayed with the showerhead. What do you want now? I chided.

What do? Loud. Noisy, she replied.

The running water was very loud and noisy to my fox ears, but I hadn't given it a second thought, since I was so used to it already. Huffing a sigh, I'm bathing, I replied. It's been a long day, the city was dirty, and I don't like walking around on my bare paws without cleaning them. Not to mention the stickiness on my crotch, I added to myself. She twisted her cocked head in the other direction, seeming to find the concept of bathing completely novel. Steam was starting to fill the room, so before I let her come up with a new question to pester me with, I turned around and started to crawl over the tub wall, one paw at a time, into the shower. Taking the curtain in my fangs, I lifted it high and pulled it closed so it would minimize the splashing. Warm water sprayed all over me and drenched my orange back fur and neck. Looking down at the runoff between my black soaking paws, I could see dingy gray water flowing towards the drain. Allowing the warm spray focus on my head, I tucked my ears back and pointed my muzzle down while I took some time to think. The warm shower was always a good place to unwind and contemplate. Slowly, I let my slitted eyes fall shut as I relaxed while the warm water poured over my body.

The image of the screaming half-woman was burned into my eyelids every time I closed them, so I couldn't keep them shut for long. Eventually, I settled on watching rivulets of water stream across my muzzle and drip off my matted whiskers. How could I have been so careless? Having sex with the Vixen had turned me into a fox, so how did I not see the same thing for the poor woman? I tried to think where the turning point was and how I missed it. It was like, the moment I fell asleep on the bus, I

didn't really have control of anything that happened. I let myself be discovered, I let the woman pick me up and cradle me, I let her lead me back to her apartment, and I let her-- I let her turn herself into a fox. My heart grew heavy in my chest, thinking about the damage I had caused. And what made it even worse, looking back at the night, I could see myself doing it again. It was too easy.

I was getting tired of sitting in one place in the shower. My thoughts weren't much comfort this evening. Careful to not blast myself in the face with the water, I rolled onto my back in the tub, paws and claws scrabbling on the porcelain, and allowed to stream of water to blast directly onto my white furry belly and sheath. I needed to make sure that part of me was clean while there was another fox in the house. As if summoned by my thoughts, the Vixen poked her nose around the shower curtain, and peered into the tub while I lay on my back. Out soon? She panted at me, while cocking her head at my curious position in the tub.

Yeah, give me a minute, I replied, and she withdrew her head and left the bathroom. Rolling back over, I stood up and prodded the lever with my nose to shut the water off. With the shower curtain still closed, I planted my paws in a wide stance, and began to shake as hard as I could. Water flew everywhere, but it stayed within the confines of the tub. Giving my tail an extra shake to fluff it out, I nipped the shower curtain and pulled it back before crawling over the tub wall again, one damp black paw at a time. Trotting over to the towel rack, I started to bite the corner of the towel to pull it down to dry with, but I

thought better of it. There was no good way to use it with my paws. Instead, I concentrated hard, and said to myself, I want to be dry.

*WISH*

A blue flash filled the room, and all the dampness from the water in my fur began to mist out. For a moment, I looked like I was smoldering. Less than a minute later, I was as dry and fluffy as I had been before I had jumped into the shower, but still feeling a lot cleaner. I was about to leave the room when something strange caught my attention. The magic had turned blue! Throughout the day, I had been seeing purple every time I had done magic, but just now, the magic was a bright, white-blue. Pausing to ponder the change, I tried to think what I had done differently, or what had changed this time. Maybe its blue because I turned the woman into a fox, I wondered, as the telltale signs of the void began to churn briefly in my belly.

Stepping into the hall, I saw the Vixen waiting in the kitchen, nosing some wrapper on the floor that was left out of the trashcan. I hadn't seen her do magic since she turned me. Could her magic be blue now, too? Clacking across the hard floor to her, she raised her head as I approached. _You done now. We leave. _

She was persistent. Instead of acknowledging her request, I asked, Vixen, why did you turn me into a fox? I had expected her to reply with a guilty response, or give some magical explanation why she needed to mate with humans to make purple magic blue. Instead she wagged her tail happily, and yipped.

Hard to say. Come. Show you.

She stepped forward, and nibbled at my cheek before turning around to head for the door. I didn't move a paw. Upon realizing I wasn't following, she slowed, and then turned around to look at me. Disappointment was reflected in her face. You come?

No. I'm staying here. I have work tomorrow. I got my old job back today, no thanks to you, and I'm not going to lose it again because you want me to traipse all around the woods in the middle of the night.

She seemed to consider my words carefully, as if she was trying to figure out what I meant. Suddenly, her slitted eyes went wide, and she rushed up and began sniffing me all over in a panic while I sat there. Her nose dipped close to my crotch while she circled me, and I gently placed my paw on her fuzzy head, and pushed her back to a more respectful distance. She brought her head back up and locked her eyes on mine with a suspicious expression. Why you bath?

I was dirty from being out all day, I replied, with a casual flick of my tail.

I could see her black nose twitching as she sniffed the air between us. Her expression hadn't changed.

Somehow, she knew what I had done.

You not wet, she stated plainly.

How much did she know? There was no way to be evasive about my fur being bone dry after soaking in the shower for as long as I was. Still, I wasn't going to let her win without a fight.

I didn't want to be wet, I replied, trying to keep control of the conversation.

Somehow, as combative or evasive as that should have been in English, in Fox, that was the right thing to say. Her expression melted from controlled anger to deep concern. Stepping forward, she licked the side of my muzzle, and said, Don't use Flame. Flame dangerous. Too soon for you. I show you safe way.

I flicked my tail to acknowledge. If the magic was dangerous, I hadn't seen it. It had kept me safe all day, and even gotten me what I wanted from the city. Perhaps, she was referring to the fate of the poor woman from the bus, but I didn't wish anyone to be a fox, or for her to make sexual advances on me. It was all her impropriety, not mine. Still, I admitted, if it happens again, I'll have to try to put a stop to it before someone else ends up turning into an animal.

Satisfied she had convinced me, she said, I stay here, and then she trotted off to my bedroom.

With her out of the kitchen, my attention turned back to my stomach. I had not eaten since the sandwich earlier this morning, and I was famished. Returning to my wrestling match with the refrigerator door, I scarred the handle only a little bit more before it yielded, and I was able to get a box of TV dinner out to eat.

Once again, I had greatly overestimated my abilities as a fox. No sooner than I had closed the door, that I realized how many steps I would have to go through, just to heat up the meal. I considered skipping it all, and just cooking it with magic, but with the Vixen just one room over, it seemed like a foolish idea to deliberately go against what she had just asked of me. Opting to take the hard way, I gnawed open the cardboard, used my claws to puncture the film on the plastic tray, picked the tray up in my mouth, jumped up to the counter, missed, tried again and barely landed, pawed at the microwave door release button, tossed the tray into the chamber, and used my nose to poke the Add Minute button a few times, all in the space of ten minutes. Microwave dinners were supposed to be a lot simpler and faster than this.

I sat on the counter next to the microwave while it quietly hummed. All this work should have been easy, but being only a foot and a half tall while on all fours, and having no thumbs made even the simplest of jobs an exhausting nightmare. I dreaded to think what work would be like tomorrow. My job had been data entry, and I couldn't see using my paws on a keyboard with any accuracy to be useful. Yet, I got hired again today, and while they could see I was a fox, they also didn't seem to care enough to ask about typing with my paws. Maybe the magic helped convince them, and it would help me work once back in my cubicle. Thoughtfully, I flexed and rubbed my pads on the countertop, feeling their rough, squishy response on the surface. I tried to picture the keys of a keyboard under them, and I knew it was going to take a lot of effort, just like the microwave, to pull this off.

With a shrill set of beeps, the microwave announced the food was done. Again, I began the process of trying to shove the door release button with my pads, which took many more unsuccessful attempts before it yielded. With the door open, I had the option of shoving my head into the microwave and grabbing the hot tray with my mouth, or waiting for it to cool. Impatient and hungry, I chose a compromise and pawed at the tray until it fell on the floor. The plastic film kept the contents safely in the tray, but a few droplets of gravy spurted out from the claw punctures, so I took a moment to lick those up before attempting to remove the film.

The smell of the warm food was driving me crazy, and it was delicious enough to summon the Vixen back to the kitchen. Parading down the hallway, she popped back into the kitchen and asked with a

curious, What do?

The food was hot, so I dropped it on the floor, I replied.

Concern flooded her face, and she ran over to sniff me again. Flame dangerous, she announced after circling me, Why hot?

I didn't use the Flame, I used the microwave, I said, pointing with my muzzle at the glowing box on the counter above us. Food like this is supposed to be hot.

Sitting down, she looked at the plastic wrapped tray on the floor in front of me, and gave it a sniff. Food inside? She questioned.

Yes, but I have to get the film off before I can eat it, and it's very hot. Can you use your Flame to remove it sooner? I asked, hoping she would show me the safe way she had in mind.

She looked down at the tray on the floor, and cocked her head from side to side, considering it deeply. After a few moments, she looked up at me and said, No. Dangerous.

That wasn't the helpful answer I was looking for. It was a microwave TV dinner, it wasn't going to jump up and bite anyone, and by no stretch of the imagination, could turn someone into a fox, if that's even what she was concerned about. I was about to eat it, after all. It wasn't going to stick around to harm anyone.

I suppose, I could wait for it to cool and just use my claws, I said, defeated.

The Vixen yipped happily and brushed her tail on the floor with an excited wag. Yes. Dangerous, she repeated. Satisfied I wasn't causing any trouble, she stood back up and trotted back down the hallway to my bedroom. If I wasn't so famished, I would have followed her to find out what she was doing in there.

I took another sniff at the tray, feeling the extreme heat radiating from it enter my damp nostrils. At least, I knew, it wasn't going to have any frozen bits in it when I ate it. Maybe next time, I could use a little more care in setting the time on the microwave, so I wouldn't overcook it this much, but that may be easier said than done. The microwave needed some care and skill to use that I didn't have with anymore with my paws, and I may have to begin to eschew human technology for more fox friendly magic. Of course, I would have to hear what the Vixen would have to say about using The Flame. If there was a serious danger, putting up with the microwave may be my only option. After all, a microwave is pretty magical to a normal fox. I should be so lucky that I could use one at all.

Taking another whiff of my meal, I was satisfied that the tray was cool enough, so I laid down on the floor and tried to grip the tray between my paws while I pulled at the film with my fangs. I had to shred the film over each pocket of food, but I was able to lap up some Salisbury steak and mashed potatoes until each pocket was clean. The pockets with the brownie and corn smelled delicious, but I didn't think I should eat chocolate, and the corn seemed a little too herbivorish to me. Smacking the gravy off my lips, I considered cooking up another box, but I thought better of it. It would have been nice to show off my cooking skills to the Vixen, just to see her reaction, but I didn't know if that would impress her at all. By all means, she should know what a microwave does.

But when I thought about it, she didn't act like she knew at all. Surely, if she turned me into a fox, someone else turned her into one as well. Perhaps one of the other six foxes I saw. Did she forget what it was like to be a human? A cold chill came over me from the thought, and I could feel the fur on the back of my neck start to rise. Was this to be my fate? A normal fox with a very limited vocabulary that goes around turning humans into foxes? Hurriedly, I scampered into my darkened bedroom to find some immediate answers.

When I entered my bedroom, the Vixen had her back turned towards me, and she looked like she was pawing around with something by my bedside table. Before I could see what she was doing, her ears perked up high, and she leaped up onto my soft bed, and yapped for me to join her. Steadying myself, I leaped through the air and landed on the comforter at the foot of my bed.

Instantly, I noticed how much of her smell was in my blankets. I could tell she had spent most of the day in my bed. Hopefully, she didn't make too much of a mess, I wasn't too happy with the amount of shedding I had done on my bed, and I didn't like the thought of sleeping in her loose fur leavings.

Finding my footing on the squishy mattress, I moved up to the Vixen while she considered me with wide pupiled eyes, glistening green in the dark from the faint light in the kitchen. Steeling myself for an answer I wasn't prepared to hear, I stammered a bit while I motioned a question to her, Vixen, how long have you been a fox?

She twisted her head to the side, trying to consider the question before replying. _ I fox_, she said simply.

I started to get a little agitated, given the circumstances, Yes, I know you're a fox, but for how long_? When were you turned?_

Her brow furrowed in confusion, she didn't understand what I was asking. She then repeated, I fox, adding an extra tail flick to punctuate her message with finality. Frustrated my approach wasn't working, I tried to formulate a new way to ask the question, but she decided to add, _You fox now too. We go to forest. Make Den. Be happy. _

I barked angerly, I don't want to be a fox, and now I'm stuck as one because of you! The last thing I want is to go live in the woods and forget everything about ever being human.

She stepped forward, and licked my muzzle apologetically. No. Not forget. Just be fox.

My near-panic subsided, and I felt a weight being lifted off me. If I understood her correctly, this was the answer I was hoping for. What about you? Did you forget, I asked.

Cocking her head again, she considered my meaning, and then said, No. Not forget I fox.

A fox that can use the flame? I added as a question. As far as I knew, normal foxes couldn't use magic.

Yes, she yipped, and her eyes squinted as she gave a fanged smile before licking my nose again.

I began to ponder this for a moment, So, if you were born a fox, and can use this Flame, how come can I?

I gift you. I gift you Flame. I gift you fox life, she said simply.

I could have done without the fox life part, I thought to myself. Still, finding that magic exists was pretty incredible, let alone being able to use it with little more than a thought. Though, the cost of my humanity was a little high to learn that secret. Worst of all, I was never allowed to make a choice in the matter. Maybe that's just how it had to work, just like with the woman on the bus. Becoming a fox couldn't have been on her mind tonight. Would she too, learn she has magical powers, or was she a normal fox now?

Is this gift something I could pass on to someone else, I asked, Flame and all?

The Vixen's ears drooped down with disappointment. Something about my question disturbed her greatly. Yes,_she whimpered softly, no longer making eye contact. _Dangerous. No do yourself. Must bring to forest. Foxes help you. _ She turned, tail drooping, and hopped off the bed. I watched her pad softly to the bedroom doorway, then she turned back towards me, silhouetted in the orange glow from the kitchen light down the hall, _Bring mate here. We help you, she motioned, and then trotted down the hallway, out of sight.

Her sudden change in demeanor was puzzling, and I didn't know what to think. There had to be some sort of misunderstanding. All I wanted to know was if the woman I turned, had magic like I did. I didn't say anything about having turned anyone into a fox today, yet, she thinks I have a mate I want to turn into one. Then it dawned on me, the Vixen called me her mate when I got home, but I had ignored it.

Wait! I barked out after her, and jumping off the bed and dashing down the hall. Wait! I barked again as I caught up to her trying to scratch open the door to go outside. She turned to me with a sullen expression, and stared wordlessly back. I don't have a mate, I yipped at her.

She seemed to ponder this for a moment, and then suddenly, she lunged at me overjoyed, paws held wide to tackle me playfully. Bowling into me with her tail flailing around with joy, she began licking my face and muzzle, over and over. Ok, ok, ok, enough, I squeaked. I didn't say I wanted you to be my mate. I hadn't considered the possibility of finding a mate as a fox, and the brief mental image of what that meant flashed distastefully in my mind, but the Vixen seemed really sweet. There wasn't any chance of finding a date from the human world anymore. They would end up as a fox by the end of the night for sure.

Regaining some composure, the Vixen returned to a sitting on her haunches, and asked What do?

I'm going to bed, I said. I have a job to go to tomorrow morning.

You sleep now? She asked, incredulously. Night for foxes.

_I've been awake all day, Vixen. While you were sleeping in my bed, I was out making sure I don't lose my house. _

Just like everything I told her today, she began to cock her head to the side, trying to understand my meaning. _ You not lose house. You in house._

Look, it's complicated. Humans take away houses if my promises aren't kept.

She cocked her head the other way, thinking. Come live in den. Easy. Not need-- promise, repeating the word I used as if it were new to her.

My fur fluffed up, exasperated, I didn't go through everything I did today to go live in a hole in the woods. I turned around and started trotting through the kitchen towards my bedroom. You're free to go out and hunt, or whatever you do at night. I'm out.

I heard her whimper, Not hole, but I continued towards my room. I was too tired to keep explaining and arguing everything. Once in my quarters, I prepared to hop up on the bed again, but I gave a quick glance at the bedside clock to check the time, so I could figure out how much sleep I would get before my alarm went off. Instead of the soft glow of numbers on my bedside table, there was inky blackness. Hastily, I climbed up on the wall behind me and nudged the light switch.

On the floor, in front of the table was the radio alarm clock, unplugged and looking like it was smashed with a hammer, or at least, many really bad falls. Furiously, I howled, Vixen! I heard her paws pattering down the hallway behind me. Rounding on her as she entered the room, I gekkered at her, What have you done?! Without the alarm clock, there would be no way for me to know when to catch my bus.

Her ears plastered back in abject remorse, she replied, Loud box. Try help.

I wanted to keep screaming at her. The clock was my last tie to my human life, and unless I stayed awake all night on the first day of my new job, I likely was going to miss my bus and lose my job before I could start it. Fox magic or no, Rebekah wasn't the kind of boss to let a new hire walk over her by being late, or not calling in. All I could do now was stare silently at the shards of plastic and exposed circuitry that was my alarm clock. I won't know when to wake up now, I growled softly, despondent.

I felt the Vixen lean against me affectionately, and she gave a quick lap at my cheek fur. I awake at night. Wake you at morning. Ok?

Turning toward her, I said, This is really important. Don't mess this up for me.

I not, she replied, and she turned around and left the room, tail tucked between her legs.

Switching off the light and hopping up onto the bed, I curled up and tried to relax. I had no choice but to trust her. There was so much to worry about: my paws working on a keyboard, keeping my house, keeping myself fed, and now I had to worry about improper magic use, and waking up on time. I opened my fanged maw in a wide yawn, and then rolled onto my side on the soft mattress. The Vixen's smell was heavy in the area of sheet my snout rested on, so I shifted around until I didn't have her smell bothering my nostrils. When I was a human, I would have considered it hot to have a girl sleeping in my bed, but now it was just an annoyance.

Gradually, I let my eyes close while I lay on the bed. For a brief moment, I could see on the back of my eyelids, the fox woman staring horrified at her lumpy, padded paw-hands, but the image faded from my mind. Taking a deep breath, I drew in some of the Vixen's scent, and the pictures in my mind's eye turned to her. I pictured her outside, right now, dancing and prancing around my backyard in the dark, doing whatever fox things she would be doing. As I thought about her, and drifted closer and closer to slumber, the images became more abstract and less defined, until I drifted fully into unconsciousness.

---

*SQUEEK*

I snapped awake, lifting my head and perking my ears up at the sudden noise outside. I couldn't have been sleeping long, maybe an hour or two, and it had not been very deep. Through the fog of slumber, the sound was that of a small rodent being caught, which somehow invigorated me enough to feel fully reenergized and even a bit excited, at least for the moment. I twisted my ears back and forth, trying to listen for any other sharp noises through the walls to the exterior of the house, but all I could hear were crickets and other night-life that would be present on any night. Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to hop down from my bed, and head for the outside, just to check on the sound. Scampering through the kitchen, I reached the exterior door, just as the Vixen was pushing it open to enter.

Why awake? she questioned. Not day now.

I heard a noise outside, and I wanted to check on it, I said. She was licking her lips while I replied.

Done hunting. You sleep now,_she replied as she gave me a push with her nose. _ I wake you. I promise.

She was right. The adrenaline boost was wearing off, and I was starting to feel tired again. Turning around, I trotted back to the bedroom, and hopped up on the bed to find my warmed sleeping spot. Finding the area of the sheets that were warm on my pads, I walked in a few circles in the spot before laying back down comfortably in a fluffy ball with my tail over my face.

From down the hall, I heard a scuffing of claws on the floor, before they casually scraped and clicked their way into my bedroom. The bed shook and rustled lightly, as the Vixen landed on the foot end of the mattress and began to climb towards me. Nuzzling my ear, she softly whimpered, I stay here. Lying her warm body against mine, she licked the back of my scruff a few times affectionately, before resting her head on my side.

Don't fall asleep too, I murmured from under my tail.

Not tired, she exhaled with a brief snort.

Gently, but much easier this time, I let sleep overcome me while I listened to her breathing softly against my body.