FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Their money is so colourful up here." Love Heart stared at the blue, purple and green dollar bills in his wallet that he'd just converted from his American currency as he stepped out of the airport terminal. It was a clear day and cooler than it had been back in the States and Love Heart shivered slightly as the wind blew through his fur. He scanned the terminal entrance until he found what he was looking for, taxis.

"Downtown please," Love Heart said as he got into the backseat of the taxi. "I just hope I can find someone that knows who I'm looking for."

And now we must leave Love Heart here and turn back the clock fifteen years. For those that Love Heart are about to meet have their own stories, their own pasts and their own lives. Now we will meet them and see what made them who they are...

Chapter 15: Rewind

Middle-aged Marian Kitun was attending her garden early in the spring, tilling the soil and spreading compost from the previous year. As she sat down to eat her lunch she heard a pitiful whine beneath her back deck. Curiosity piqued, she got up and looked under the deck and saw a baby fox kit. It whined again when it saw her.

Marian crawled in and reached for the fox, which recoiled as best it could. "Poor thing, don't worry I won't hurt you." She carefully picked the kit up and lifted it out from under the deck. "Are you hungry? Just a minute, I'll find something for you."

Inside, Marian bundled up a small blanket that she set the fox kit down on before she pulled out a dusty baby bottle. She stared at it for a moment as a memory flashed in her mind from when she had bought it, and why it was never used, before she pulled out a jug of milk. A moment later the full bottle was in a pot of boiling water on the stove. The fox kit whined right up until Marian put the bottle in its mouth. She squeezed to get the warm milk onto its tongue which it lapped up greedily. Marian smiled as she continued to feed the kit.

The fox kit was asleep when Marian's husband, Alfred, arrived at home. The middle-aged couple lived outside the city of Regina so Alfred always came home late in the evening. Alfred took one look at his wife feeding the fox kit and groaned.

"Marian," he whispered, "Where did you find that animal?"

"Under the deck," Marian whispered back. She set the satisfied kit back on the blanket where it fell asleep. "It was abandoned so I decided to take it in." She motioned for Alfred to follow her to the living room where they could talk and let the fox sleep.

"And you didn't call the animal shelter? We can't keep a baby fox here, aside from them not being pets have you smelled him?" Alfred's face screwed up as he smells the kit's stench again.

"I've been up to my elbows in compost all week, I'm surprised I can smell anything," Marian retorted. When she saw her husband's face unchanged she sighed, "I'll call the shelter tomorrow, but can we just keep him for the night and..."

"Pretend it's our child?" Alfred sighed and gave his wife a hug, "Alright, just for tonight but first thing in the morning I'm taking it to the shelter. It needs someone who knows how to look after it."

Marian nodded, "OK."

Later that night Marian and Alfred were startled awake by what sounded like a baby crying. Marian was the first out of bed and ran into the kitchen. She flipped on the lights, then stared and called out, "Alfred! Come here!" Alfred was in the kitchen a moment later after he put his glasses on. He stared at the table, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes then checked again.

The fox kit had changed, now it was bright fiery red with a white chest and belly, a white tip at the end of his tail and looked more like a living stuffed animal with humanlike green eyes, opposable thumbs and a cry that sounded very human. Marian immediately moved to pick it up and rocked it gently like a baby even as it flailed it arms to try and get loose. Now that it, or rather he, was in her arms they could see valentine shaped pads on the fox kit's footpaws and at the tip of his nose.

"Shh shh shh shh shh shh, it's OK baby," she whispered. Eventually the kit calmed down and Marian looked up to her husband. "I don't think we can take him to the animal shelter."

Alfred nodded, "I'll make an appointment with Doctor Philips in the morning."

OoOoO

"Twice in the same day," Doctor Philips muttered as he checked the fox kit in his office. The fox was proving to be a handful. Not strong enough to crawl but crying and trying to bite at him whenever he got close. Thankfully his teeth were too short to cause any real harm.

When he was finished his exam he turned to Marian and Alfred, "He's healthy for a human baby but I can't say for sure about the whole fox thing. Can I assume you're taking him back home?"

"Yes, we are," Alfred replied.

Doctor Philips sighed, he had expected this, "Just be careful with him and let me know if he shows any unusual symptoms."

After the Kituns had left, Doctor Philips punched out for lunch. "I should start drinking..."

"So what should we call him?" Marian held the fox kit in her arms, he had calmed down once they left the doctor's office.

"Hmm..." Alfred focused on getting them onto the main street before he answered, "Well how about Alex?"

"Why Alex?" Marian looked up from the kit, who was dozing off in her arms.

"It's a good, simple name and the best I can think of right now," Alfred replied.

Marian laughed, "Alright then, Alex Kitun it is."

OoOoO

"Merry Christmas Alex," Marian lifted the fox out of his crib. He fussed too much to wear anything except his diaper.

"Cwismas?" Alex gave Marian a curious look.

"I'll show you." She smiled and carried the fox kit into the living room.

For the first time in years, Alfred and Marian had bought and decorated a Christmas tree. It was covered in lights, ornament balls, and garland with a light up star on top and a small pile of presents under the tree. Alex spotted the brightly colored boxes and stared at them with his wide green eyes.

"Christmas is a time to spend with family, share your love and presents," Marian set Alex down on the floor.

"Pwesents?" Alex crawled over to the brightly colored boxes.

"Yep, that's them. Merry Christmas," Alfred entered the room and gave Marian a kiss. "Want to open them?"

Alex smiled, "Yay!" he grabbed the closest box and tore into the wrapping paper. Before too long Alex had stopped caring about the contents of the box and just started tearing up and playing with the brightly colored paper.

Marian laughed, "Oh dear, let me help you with that." She pulled the box closer to herself and opened the top. She pulled out a little t-shirt with a heart sewn into the front, "Here, I made this for you."

Alex gave one look to the shirt and scowled while he folded his arms, "No! Itch!"

"Now Alex, she put a lot of work into that. Please put it on for her," Alfred crouched down to look the fox in the eyes.

Alex growled, "No! Itch!"

"Don't growl at us, Alex," Alfred said. He carefully lifted the kit up and Alex struggled to be let go. He thrashed his arms and legs around until Marian managed to get the shirt over his head and pull it down over his head, his arms somehow found the sleeves on their own.

Alex growled again, "Itch!" he swung his little fist out and accidentally bopped Alfred on the nose.

Alfred gave the fox a stern look, "No hitting Alex, and don't growl."

Alex sulked as Alfred set him down, then immediately started scratching his chest through the shirt as he repeated what was quickly becoming his favorite word, "Itch! Itch! Itch!"

"Was that too much?" Marian asked as she watched the kit fussing with his new shirt.

Alfred shook his head "He has to get used to wearing clothes sometime, might as well start young."

Alex was starting to cry when Marian picked him up, "Don't fuss, Alex, here." She smiled and tickled the fox's feet. Alex's cries quickly disintegrated into a fit of giggles before Marian set him on the couch, "Now behave and maybe we'll have pancake later." Alex pouted again but stopped trying to take off his new shirt.

OoOoO

"Are you ready for your first day of kindergarten?" The sun was high overhead as Marian stood at the end of the dirt path that led up to their house.

Now five-year-old Alex Kitun stood wearing a blue t-shirt, red shorts and black and white sneakers. He scowled as he heard the school bus pull up, "No."

"Go on and try to make some friends," Marian nudged him forwards onto the bus.

"Friends?" Alex looked up the imposing mountain of stairs before him.

"Kids your age, go on." Marian urged him forwards.

Alex gulped and stepped up into the bus. The driver looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, "Another one? Well take a seat we have twelve more stops to make." Alex took the first seat behind the drive and yelped when he felt the bus pull away. He'd never been in a vehicle without a car seat or even a seat belt. Thankfully the road wasn't bumpy and Alex was able to stay in his seat as the school bus rolled into the city limits.

Alex sat in silence until the bus came to a stop. The fox looked up as a young white boy with brown hair in blue overalls and a yellow shirt climbed onto the bus. He stopped and stared at Alex until the driver grunted. "Sit down." And the boy clambered on the seat next to Alex.

"Hi. I'm Brandon. Why are you fuzzy?" the boy asked.

Alex scowled, "I'm a fox."

Brandon stared, "Wow! Wanna be friends?"

Alex recoiled slightly until he saw that he wasn't trying to be mean and nodded, "OK."

Brandon smiled and gave Alex a hug, "Yay! Fuzzy!"

"Ack!" Alex pushed him off but Brandon kept smiling. Alex couldn't help but smile back.

The rest of the bus ride went smoothly, the rest of the afternoon kindergarteners just glanced at Alex before the were told to sit down.

The school was an old two-story red brick building built into a man made hill, it looked older than most of the other buildings that surrounded it. When they got off the bus they were ushered straight to the kindergarten classroom. The kindergarten teacher stared at Alex when he sat down for a moment before she rolled her eyes and introduced herself.

"Good afternoon, children, my name is Mrs. Engleheart and I will be your teacher for the year. Now I know you all look different but please don't treat anyone badly for that." She glanced at Alex briefly, "Now take a moment to get to know each other."

"Why are you furry?" a girl sitting next to Alex asked.

"My gramma said it's 'cause I'm a fox," Alex replied.

"What's a fox?" another boy asked.

Alex growled, "I'm a fox!"

"No growling Alex," Mrs. Engelheart cautioned, "And don't just ask Alex questions, ask everyone."

Introductions lasted another ten minutes before they were told they could go and play with the various toys in the room. Brandon followed Alex to a fake kitchen playset. "Don't eat the plastic food!" Mrs. Engleheart called.

Alex looked at the bowl of rubber salad and stuck out his tongue, "Looks yucky."

Brandon pulled Alex's arm, "Wanna play with the sticky blocks?"

"Sticky blocks?" Alex let Brandon pull him over to an area fenced off by big shelves.

Brandon pulled out handful of small cubes each with holes on five sides and a peg on the last side, "sticky blocks! Like from preschool!" he said again as he stuck the peg of one into the hole on another.

Alex brightened up, "Ooh!" he grinned then grabbed more of the blocks and started to stuck them together. Before long Brandon had build something that looked like a robot while Alex was making some sort of house, at least it sort-of looked like one.

OoOoO

"Bye!" Alex waved to Brandon as he got off the bus, which left the fox alone except for the bus driver. Alex was still smiling as he got off the bus and ran up the dirt road to his house. "Gramma, Grampa, I'm home!" he kicked off his shoes.

"Welcome home, Alex," Marian turned to see the fox come into the home, "Grandpa isn't home yet. How was kindergarten? Did you make any friends?"

"Uh-huh," Alex nodded, "his name's Brandon, he's the first boy who got on the bus."

"That's good. Now run along, I'm making supper," She ushered Alex into the living room.

"OK," Alex skipped towards the living room. He pushed the "POWER" button on the TV remote and parked in tail in front of the TV while he waited for supper.

OoOoO

Kindergarten was more fun than Alex had expected it to be. He rode the school bus every day at noon and met with Brandon at the first stop before being dropped off at school and spending three hours playing and learning how to read and write. Brandon and Alex had become fast friends and through the fall, winter and spring they spent most of their days at school together.

When summer came around, Alex was eager to visit Brandon in town. Brandon's mother was shocked to see that Alex was actually a fox but upon seeing the two together she didn't object.

Brandon pulled Alex into his living room, "Here, wanna play with me?" he pointed to a large grey brick-like device with purple switches on the top that was plugged into the TV.

"Whazzat?" Alex asked.

"Super Nintendo, here." Brandon sat down in front of the machine and grabbed one of the plastic paddles that was plugged into the box. Alex just stared for a moment then sat down next to Brandon and took the second controller. Brandon plugged a video game cartridge labeled "Super Mario Kart" into the top of the console and hit the power switch.

"So where did you find him?" Brandon's mother sat with Marian, a cup of coffee in her hand.

Marian took a drink before she replied, "Under my deck five years ago. I think he was abandoned by his mother down there."

"Was he always... a fox or a stuffed animal?" Brandon's mother glanced over her shoulder towards the living room.

Marian sighed, "He was a normal fox kit when I found him and the next day he'd changed into what he is now and we adopted him."

"I see," Brandon's mother stared into her mug for a moment. "Did he get his shots."

Marian did her best to keep a pleasant face on but she felt her wrinkled eye twitch, "He's had all the same vaccinations that I assume your son has had."

"OK." Brandon's mom chuckled nervously, "When he said his friend was a fox I thought he was exaggerating or that he was imaginary. I guess it's good that he's real."

"Hey! No Fair!" Alex's voice shouted from the living room.

"Nuh-uh, shells are fair!" Brandon retorted.

"Oh yeah, I'll show you!" There was a pop followed by a clunk and a few moments later the sounds of fighting came from the living room. Brandon's mom's eye widened and she got up and quickly marched to the living room with Marian right behind her.

Brandon's mom let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Alex and Brandon were just playing Street Fighter 2.

"Hah! Gotcha!" Alex shouted as he knocked Brandon's character out.

Marian glared at the other woman as she turned around, "What did you think was happening?"

She stammered, "Well, I thought..."

"That my grandson was attacking your son, or biting him?" Marian folded her arms, "Alex is a little boy just like your son, yes he has a short temper but he deserves to be seen as a person, OK?"

Brandon's mother nodded, a bit cowed by the older woman's forceful personality.

OoOoO

"Why do I hafta get up so early?" Alex grumbled as he ate his breakfast cereal.

"Because, first grade starts at 9 and goes till 3:30," Alfred filled up his travel mug with coffee, "Hurry up, the bus'll be here right away."

"OK, Grandpa." Alex drank the rest of his milk then got up and headed for the door.

"Don't forget this," Alfred passed Alex's backpack and lunchbox to him, which Alex took before he got out the door.

The bus was there a minute later and Alex climbed onboard, taking his usual spot right at the front of the bus which was just as empty as it had been for all of last year. This year the bus made more stops and picked up more students each time. Alex growled at anyone who stopped to stare at him until Brandon got on at the fifth stop, where he plonked himself down next to Alex.

"Excited?" Brandon asked.

"No!" Alex folded his arms and stared at the barrier between them and the steps, "They said it's gonna be all work now," Alex growled slightly.

Brandon sighed, "Yeah. But we'll meet some new friends right?"

Alex just continued to stare daggers at the barrier.

When they got to the school they were all directed to the auditorium. Alex and Brandon took a seat next to each other on the floor as the principal gave his introduction speech to everyone. Neither of them were really listening until they heard the principal say they needed to listen for their names.

"...Alex Kitun, Brandon Larson..." Alex stood up when his name was called and heard several mutterings. He growled as he walked past some of the students but went up to stand with the first grade teacher and stared at the ground, only vaguely listening to the other names being called. "...and Germaine Siedleman."

Alex looked up and started. Germaine was a blue raccoon, a blue raccoon in a pink t-shirt and black skirt. She seemed to shrink as she felt the eyes on her but her own gaze was fixed on Alex as she walked up to join their class group. Alex saw that Germaine's nose tip was also heart shaped like his own as she joined the line up of students.

"Follow me, class," their new teacher motioned for them to follow him out of the auditorium. Because they were walking in alphabetical order Alex was walking alongside Brandon but he stole a look over his shoulder at the blue raccoon.

"There's someone else like you?" Brandon whispered.

"I guess," Alex whispered back.

"Where's she from?" Brandon looked back at her.

"Morning kindergarten, like me," an African-American boy ahead of Brandon answered. He had very shot curly hair and brown eyes.

"Ooooh!" Brandon turned back forwards.

The teacher opened a door with a large black 4 at the top, "Alright, everyone find a seat."

Alex and Brandon took seats next to each other in the middle row of desks, the African-American boy took the seat right in front of Brandon. Alex watched as Germaine walked over to him, smiled, then took the seat on his right side.

"Hello," Germaine whispered.

"Hi," Alex whispered back.

"I-I'm Germaine."

"I'm Alex."

"Alright class, welcome to first grade." The teacher's voice silenced any further conversation, "Just so we're clear, this isn't kindergarten anymore. You're here to learn not just play. Remember where you're sitting now because that will be where you sit for the rest of the year. Now please take your school supplies out of your backpacks and put them inside your desks. If you want to then get to know your neighbours but we do have things to do today."

Alex practically stuffed his notebooks, pencil case and duo-tangs into his desk then turned to Germaine. The blue raccoon was careful when she put her supplies away but she turned to look at Alex. "Where do you live?"

"Outside the city with my grandparents. Where to do live?" Alex asked.

"With my foster-mom and some other kids..." Germaine looked up and noticed that quite a few members of the class had turned to look at them, "Most kids don't talk to me though."

"What's a foster-mom?" Alex scrunched up his face as he tried to figure out what the word meant.

"She's not my real mom, she just looks after me until I'm older. Where are your mom and dad?" Germaine had stowed her supplied and turned in her seat so she faced Alex.

"Grandma says she doesn't know, but thinks my mom left me with them when I was a baby. What about you?"

Germaine hung her head, "I dunno, my foster-mom doesn't talk to me much..."

"Alright everyone, let's get started. You can talk at recess." Germaine and Alex turned to face their teacher as their lessons started.

When the recess bell rang Alex was already sick of schoolwork: staring at paper, writing things down, having the information crammed into his head. He stuffed his book back into his desk and all but bolted for the door. Once he was outside Alex stopped to search for Germaine and spotted her as she exited the school and only stepped to the side to lean up against the wall. For the first time Alex noticed that she was wearing glasses, which she hadn't been wearing back in the gym. Germaine had a book in her hand and had her nose in it in mere moments.

"Just like before," the African-American boy walked over with Brandon.

"What do you mean, Caleb?" Brandon looked back at Germaine.

"She never plays, she just reads books," Caleb pointed at the raccoon.

"What's she reading?" Alex couldn't make out the cover. "I'm gonna see."

Germaine looked up as Alex approached her and ducked back behind the cover. She looked back up to see Alex standing in front of her, "Hi..."

"Hi. What'cha reading?" Alex asked.

"Redwall, it's about animal people like us," she stuck a bookmark on her page and lifted up the book to show Alex the cover, which depicted a large rat riding on a hay cart being pulled by a terrified horse with a large red castle in the background.

Alex looked at the cover for a moment then up at Germaine, "Wanna be friends?"

Germaine blinked, "Really?"

"Yah!" Alex took her hand, "com'on!" he almost pulled her over to Brandon and Caleb.

Germaine clutched her book against her chest with her free right hand, "H-hi."

"Hi, I'm Brandon. So you're like Alex?" Brandon leaned into look close, which made Germaine avert her gaze from him.

"Of course she's like me, we're friends. Wanna go on the swings?" Alex pointed to the vacant swing set.

Germaine smiled, "Yes, please."

"Cool, let's go!" Caleb took off like a shot towards the swings. Alex, Germaine and Brandon weren't far behind.

OoOoO

While he hated the lessons, Alex found that friends made school much more bearable. Brandon, Caleb and especially Germaine stayed in his class and as his friends as they moved up in grades and every weekend and summer they would get together, except Caleb was never around on Sunday mornings.

At the end of third grade it was announced that their school was being shut down and three smaller elementary schools were being merged into one huge school for all the districts they belonged to. It was somewhat nerve-wracking for all the students involved but their principal promised that they would try to keep classrooms together.

Summer came and went again and at the start of fourth grade Alex found himself on the bus heading back into school. As usual he was the first one on but now there were six stops before Brandon got on.

"Ready for this?" Alex asked as Brandon took his seat next to him.

"Dunno," Brandon shrugged, "I'm gonna miss the old school where we all met."

Alex sighed, "Yeah, but I guess we'll meet some new kids now."

"Think they're be any more animals there?" Brandon turned his head to face Alex.

Alex scratched his chin, "Hmm, maybe. You think there's more of us?"

"Yeah, I mean there's gotta be more animal people out there instead of just you two right?" Brandon put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

Alex smiled, "Right!"

Alex and Brandon's bus was the first to arrive at the new school and they were the first off the bus. Both boys stared at the new building in awe, it was three stories tall and much larger than their old school. The outside was colorfully painted white, yellow and blue and covered in metal siding with many more windows showing the interior, a paved sidewalk that led up to the front doors.

"It's so big!" Alex said.

"It's so colorful!" Brandon said.

Both boys only stopped staring when they heard the next bus pull up behind theirs. Alex was eager to see if Germaine was on it and stood to wait for her. She wasn't but Caleb bounded off and darted over to both of them, "Alex! Brandon! Whoa look at this place, it's huge!"

"Yeah really, is Germaine on there?" Alex looked over Caleb's head as more students disembarked.

"Nah, she never was," Caleb shook his head.

"Why? Gotta crush on her?" Brandon teased.

Alex looked away, "I just wanna see her."

"Heh yeah he does," Caleb laughed.

Alex growled and blushed but turned to watch the other busses coming in.

"AHH!" Alex recognized the scream as Germaine's that came from where the fourth school bus was out of sight. He ran over and saw that Germaine was lying on the grass next to the bus, a larger boy standing over her.

"Yeesh, what kind of freak are you?" the boy snorted, "Wearing a costume like that, take that stupid tail off." He grabbed Germaine's tail and pulled.

"YAAAA! STOP PLEASE!" Germaine tried to crawl away but the boy kept pulling.

"Just! Come! Off!" The boy emphasized each word with a pull on her tail.

Alex felt his blood boil "LEAVE HER ALONE!" He charged at the older boy and tackled him onto the grass. The boy was stunned for a moment but as soon as Alex started to punch him he retaliated.

"The freaks are multiplying! Get off!" He grabbed Alex's ears and tugged them as the tried to pull the fox off him. Alex cried out in pain and bit one of the boy's arms which made him cry out in pain and punch Alex across the nose. The force dislodged Alex long enough for the boy to kick him off and grab his tail. Alex cried out in pain and kicked backwards, catching the boy in his groin, the pain made the boy let go and fall down and Alex forced himself to his feet. His nose was bleeding and he had grass stains on his pants.

Alex ran over to where Germaine still lay on the ground and helped her to stand, she had tear stains on her face and grass stains streaked her white skirt. "Are you OK?"

Germaine sniffed, "No, but thank you."

"I'll get you!" The boy's slightly higher pitched voice alerted Alex to him stand up and getting ready to charge again.

"Alright break it up!" One of the teachers had seen the commotion and came over; he grabbed both boys by their collars, "You two are coming with me, everyone else go to the auditorium now!" Everyone rushed to obey and Germaine joined Brandon and Caleb.

"Are you OK?" Brandon asked.

"I'll be fine," Germaine glanced at where Alex was being dragged off with the boy who had attacked her. She couldn't help but smile.

OoOoO

"Alex Kitun, Daniel Masterson, this is the first day ever at this new school, class hasn't even started and I have a fight on my hands." The school's principal stood in front of the two boys who were sitting with their heads down from facing him. "Because I have to go and greet everyone including you two I will give you one chance to let this go so we don't disrupt this day. Next time I will not be this nice, are we clear?"

"Yes," both boys replied.

"Good, now let's get to the auditorium," the principal pointed out of his office and both boys got up and walked out with the principal right on their heels.

Alex wasn't able to sit next to his friends as everyone just packed into the auditorium, but he wasn't next to Daniel either. Thankfully Alex was still with his friends with the class assignment and with Daniel being shunted into another fourth grade class he could at least look forwards to class time, at least as much as he ever looked forwards to it.

The classroom was a huge upgrade too compared to the old school, cleaner desks with larger cubbies to store workbooks and even huge lockers at the back of the class for everyone to store things. When they were asked to share their lockers, Germaine immediately asked to share Alex's locker.

One week later Alex was on the playground during afternoon recess with his friends, playing on the much larger main play structure. Alex was on top of some parallel bars when he spotted Daniel walking over.

Alex growled, "Just stay away," he muttered.

"Huh? Is that the boy who you got in a fight with?" Brandon asked as Daniel reached the play structure.

"Yeah," Alex dropped hopped down from the bars and winced slightly as he hit the ground.

"That's right, stay down there where you belong, freak!" Daniel taunted Alex.

"Get bent!" Alex shouted back.

"Alex, please don't start anything." Germaine stood up from a bench where she had been reading a rather thick book.

"Yeesh what are you doing with that, wierdo?" Daniel marched over to Germaine and stared at the book in her hands.

Germaine looked away, "I just like to read some days."

"Leave her alone," Caleb dropped down from a ladder he was halfway up.

Daniel ignored him, "What's this?" Daniel suddenly grabbed the book from her, "weighs a ton. 'DUNE' what kinda weird book is that?"

"Give it back! It's a library book!" Germaine made a grab for the book only for the larger and stronger boy to shove her. Brandon tried to catch her but missed and she hit the ground, her glasses had been knocked off. Brandon managed to retrieve them and handed them back to Germaine. Tears dampened the raccoon's face as she put them back on, only to find her vision lopsided, one of the lenses was missing.

"Yow!" Brandon yanked his hand back as he was poked by a shard of the broken lens.

Alex was seething. His hands were bunched into fists, his teeth were bared and his eyes burned as he growled with each breath. "Leave. Us. Alone!"

"Fine, take the dumb book back!" Daniel hurled the book at Alex and it struck him in the chest.

Alex snarled and lunged at Daniel, who seemed to be expecting this and aimed a kick at Alex's groin, only to miss when Alex jumped up and knocked him onto the stony gravel.

Caleb tried to get in and stop the fight but one of Alex's fists drew back and smacked him in the face as he punched him in the face. Brandon ran to help Caleb up as Alex and Daniel fought savagely, both biting, kicking and even scratching each other when the could.

"You OK?" Brandon asked,

Caleb had a hand over his eye, "I'll be fine, what about those two?"

Any debate was stopped when two playground supervisors showed up to literally pull the boys apart. Alex and Daniel struggled for a while but were hauled away as a third supervisor came over to make sure that the other three were alright. Brandon, Caleb and Germaine were taken to the infirmary to get bandaged up while Alex and Daniel were hauled to the principal's office again.

Alex sat and stared at the floor with a sullen face as tears streaked down his face and fell to the floor. Both he and Daniel were covered in cuts, bruises had each lost at least one tooth, but at least they were just milk teeth and their adult teeth would replace them soon. The principal had dressed them down thoroughly but Alex hadn't listened until he told them he was calling both of their parents to come and pick them up and take them home, effectively leaving the punishment in their hands. Daniel seemed completely unfazed and he just sat, arms folded and stared at the principal's desk.

Daniel's mother was a tall woman wearing a business suit and she arrived first.

"Ahh, Mrs Masterson. Do you want to hear what your son did today?" the Principal asked.

"Do you have a written report for me. I only have 20 minutes to get him home and then back to the office." Mrs Masterson's voice and face seemed a million miles away as she spoke.

"No, but he was in a fight and-" the principal didn't have time to finish as Daniel's mother dragged him out of the room, which just left Alex alone with the principal.

The principal sighed, "Well, I can only hope she knows what she's doing. Now as for you, Alex, what do you think your grandparents will say?"

"I dunno," Alex still stared at the ground.

"I see." The principal sat back in his seat and waited.

Thankfully, Marian arrived shortly after that and asked Alex to wait outside while she spoke to the Principal. Alex just stood outside he office. When Marian finished talking to the principal she walked out and took Alex's hand to guide him out to the car. She didn't say anything until they were in the car and on their way home.

"Why did you get into a fight, Alex?"

"Daniel hurt Germaine, and he threw a book at me." Alex's voice was soft as he replied and stared at the car floor.

Marian nodded, "I see. Alex you shouldn't get into fights like that. Now when we get home you are to go straight to your room and only come out when Grandpa and I decide what your punishment should be, OK?"

"Yes, grandma."

Alex lay on his bed for well over an hour, not sure what to do. He didn't have any homework yet so at least there wasn't that but still... What was going to happen? He didn't have to wait long as he heard his grandpa call him.

"Alex, come into the kitchen now please."

Alex slid off his bed and walked down to the kitchen with his tail drooped so low it dragged on the ground. He had never been so nervous when he faced his grandparents before but he stood with his arms behind his back and his feet shuffling.

Alfred sighed as he watched Alex stand in front of him. "I don't think I need to say that we are very disappointed in you, Alex."

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered.

Alfred nodded, "I know you are and that's why we've decided that you're going to spend time with us and learn some things to hopefully take your mind off things."

Marian smiled, "Don't worry, we won't keep you from your friends. But you will spend time with me on the weekends learning how to cook."

"And your grandpa will show you how to build things, OK?" Alfred put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex gave a weak smile, "OK, thanks."

OoOoO

Alex was surprised to find that he enjoyed the cooking lessons with his grandma and even moreso he enjoyed learning how to built and fix things with his grandpa. While Daniel remained a constant thorn in his and all his friends' sides throughout elementary school, Alex managed to avoid any more fights with him, but Daniel continued to harass them and took every opportunity to insult Alex and Germaine for their odd appearance. It seemed that Daniel couldn't get enough of getting into trouble, never enough to warrant more than a day's suspension but regardless he quickly had become the alpha-jerk of the school by the end of the fourth grade.

Life at school and at home remained largely the same over the next four years, except for the work getting harder each year. Thankfully Germaine was there to help Alex, Brandon and Caleb with their homework as things got tougher and they were all grateful for it, though Alex needed the most help and Brandon and Caleb constantly teased him about how much alone time he was spending with her, which never failed to infuriate Alex with how little of a rebuttal he could offer.

OoOoO

Over the summer after seventh grade, Alex hit a growth spurt. It wasn't obvious at first but one morning he found that all of his clothes were tight. Once Marian saw this she immediately set aside her day to take Alex clothes shopping.

Alex soon found himself in the clothing store wearing a too-tight red t-shirt and shorts that were riding up uncomfortably while his grandma and the store clerk took his measurements. Finally, they stopped and started to pull clothes off the shelves for him to try on. As was expected, Alex spent the next half-hour trying on clothes waiting until Marian was satisfied with the fit. Thankfully Alex was allowed to wear his new cargo shorts and blue t-shirt right away, Marian just tore off the tags so they could pay.

Alex scanned the store while he waited for his grandma paid and spotted something blue nearby. He grinned when he saw it was Germaine and waved to her. Germaine saw him and waved back but turned back to search through the clothing. She as with an older girl and two older boys plus an older woman. He assumed they were her foster family.

"Is that your friend, Germaine?" Marian asked as she came over and handed Alex one of the bags full of clothes.

"Yeah," Alex kept looking in Germaine's direction as he replied.

"Well why don't you go and say hello?" Marian pushed him towards her and Alex obliged, practically running over to Germaine.

"Hi," Alex smiled as he approached.

"Oh, hi, Alex," Germaine was hunched over with her arms folded over her chest. She noticed she had to look up slightly to look Alex in the eyes, "did you get taller?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah, none of my clothes fit anymore. What about you?"

Germaine fidgeted nervously, "Well... I kinda had a growth spurt, of sorts..."

Alex blinked and narrowed one eye in confusion, "Huh?"

Germaine gulped and straightened up, smoothing out the front of her pink blouse as she did so. There were two noticeable lumps on her chest. Alex stared for a moment, then both of them blushed and looked away from each other.

"I guess this is what they meant by our bodies changing in health class," Germaine turned back to look at Alex, "Anything happen to you."

Alex put his hands behind his head as the heat left his face, "I just got taller."

"Yeah, I can see that," Germaine was still blushing as she looked up at Alex. "Alex, would you like to go on a date with me?"

Alex started, "What?!"

"Do you want to go on a date with me? To a movie or out for supper," Germaine was shaking but she did her best to smile.

"Uh, sure..." Alex fidgeted.

"Alex! We have to go!" Marian called from the store entrance.

"Gotta go, call me later, bye!" Alex darted over to Marian and left Germaine smiling as she turned back to clothes shopping.

"What did you talk about with your friend?" Marian asked as she started the car.

Alex buckled in and sat back in the seat. "Germaine asked me out on a date."

"Really?" Marian smiled, "Sounds like my grandson is growing up."

"Grandma!" Alex blushed as he faced out the window.

"What do you know about going on a date?" Marian asked.

"I just spend time with her right?" Alex asked.

"Well yes, but there's more than that. You have to be kind to her, treat her like she's everything in the world, sweep her off her feet and show her you care," Marian sighed but kept her eyes on the road. "But don't invite Brandon of Caleb, if she asked you on a date that means she wants to spend time with only you."

Alex's date with Germaine was just a movie the next afternoon. As they left the theater and talked about their favorite moments Germaine leaned up against his shoulder.

"Thanks for coming with me," Germaine said as they sat down on a bench outside the lobby and waited for their parents to pick them up.

Alex blushed but smiled, "Any time."

Germaine giggled. The new feelings brought on by adolescence had started to take hold and she turned and gave Alex a kiss on the cheek. Alex could swear he felt steam come out his ears as she did and he turned to her. She smiled as him and looked up into his face.

"I like you, Alex."

"I like you too, Germaine," Alex's face was hot. Germaine smiled again and leaned in. Alex barely had time to process as she kissed him on the lips.

Germaine pulled back a moment later, her face beet red, "Sorry, I just..."

Alex touched his lips then smiled, "No, it's fine. I liked it." He saw his grandpa pull up and stood up, "Want a ride home?"

Germaine shook her head, "No, my foster-mom should be here soon. Bye."

"Bye," Alex waved then got into the car.

"So, Alex, how as your first date?" Alfred asked.

Alex watched as Germaine stood up and got in a car that pulled up behind him, then smiled, "It was nice."

OoOoO

Alex and Germaine being a couple spread rather fast once they were back in school. Some of the students teased the for it, even Caleb and Brandon, but they relented when he shouted them down. It wasn't just them either, puberty was striking everyone in the eighth grade, and as expected sex-ed was scheduled for health class that year. Pretty much no-one was happy about it but it was mandatory and at least everyone was suffering through it. Daniel seemed to take endless glee in tormenting Alex and Germaine over how they were early bloomers, and how they were probably going to go through different changes than the rest of them. Once again it nearly drove Alex over the deep end but he endured.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Daniel didn't brag about his thick chest hair.

Towards the end of the school year the eighth graders were all told that they were going to visit the local high school for a tour. A whole afternoon would be spent there to see the campus and learn about what high school would entail. Not exactly a fun field trip but still something better than classes.

On the day of the tour all the eighth grade students piled into a school bus and they were off to the high school. On the bus they were told that a couple other elementary schools would be meeting them there and that they would be in the same grade the following year.

The busses all pulled into the parking lot of the high school and everyone disembarked. Alex, Germaine, Brandon and Caleb stayed in a group together, with Brandon looking over at the other school busses. One Hispanic girl with blonde hair spotted them and her eyes went wide.

"EEE, Oh my god!" Caleb winced as the girl's words as she suddenly broke from her school's group and almost dove on Alex and Germaine.

"Whoa!" Alex was on his back foot in an instant.

"What?" Germaine nearly fell over but was caught by Brandon.

"I thought it was a joke but you're real!" the girl immediately grabbed Alex's ears and started to rub them, "Soooo fuzzy!"

"Let go of my ears!" Alex squirmed away from the girl.

"And your tail is real too!" She made a grab for Alex's tail but he snatched it up before she could grab it. Undeterred she darted over to Germaine and grabbed her tail then proceeded to rub it up against her cheek, "So soft..." she cooed.

"Please stop," Germaine blushed red and Alex, despite his hesitance, grabbed the girl and pulled her off.

"What is your problem?" Brandon asked.

"I just wanted to see if what I heard was real, but you're real animal people," She grinned, "My name's Samantha and you are?"

Alex glared at her, "Angry."

"Embarrassed," Germaine didn't trust this girl to turn her back on her again.

"Samantha! Get back here!" a teacher from the other school marched over and grabbed Samantha's arm.

"I'll see you later!" Samantha called.

"What was that about?" Caleb asked, scratching his head.

"No idea. You two OK?" Brandon turned to Alex and Germaine.

"I'll be fine, if she stays away," Alex growled.

"I'm OK, just a little rattled," Germaine gave a nervous smile. Thankfully the tour started up right away afterwards.

The high school was much older than their current elementary school but also a lot bigger. The teachers ran down what to expect, how every class was an hour and in a different classroom, there was no recess but they would get five minutes between each class and an hour lunch break, how there would be full sports teams and clubs they could join if they wished and how the school year was broken into two semesters with five different classes each. Alex groaned when they said that every teacher would assign their own homework and wouldn't care about the other teachers' assigned work as each of them expected their homework to be done in the timeframe given.

At the end of their trip they all filed out to their busses, except Samantha who bounded over to them again. Germaine cringed and Alex moved between her and Samantha as she approached.

Alex growled, "What do you want?"

"Just to say sorry, and to introduce myself. I'm Samantha Dorr, and you are?" she extended a hand towards Alex.

Alex eyed her suspiciously but took her hand, "Alex Kitun."

"So fuzzy," Samantha gripped his hand a bit too tightly.

Germaine stepped aside and gave a short bow, "I'm Germaine Siedleman."

"Brandon Larson," Brandon stepped forwards and offered his hand, which Samantha shook, albeit less enthusiastically than she had with Alex.

"Caleb, I'd rather not give my last name," Caleb didn't offer a hand as he introduced himself.

"Well I guess I'll see you all next year, bye!" Samantha ran back to join her school before her teacher got mad again.

"Great... we have to put up with her in high school," Alex growled then sighed.

"Just stay close and we'll protect you if you need it," Caleb offered.

Germaine smiled, "Thanks."

OoOoO

There wasn't really a graduation ceremony for elementary school, but every eighth grader received a diploma and congratulations from their principal. Alex secretly hoped that Daniel would flunk out but it wasn't to be.

The first day of summer, Alex's grandparents told Alex to stick around after lunch. Alex was nervous but he stayed seated at the table after lunch anyway.

Alfred coughed slightly, he was bald now and covered in wrinkles but he still had the strong demeanor that Alex had come to know. "Alex, we're moving."

"What?!" Alex practically jumped at the news.

Marian reached over and put a hand on the fox's shoulder. She had gone grey and was just as wrinkled as her husband, but she needed to walk with a cane when she wasn't next to a wall or counter. "Just listen for a moment, Alex."

Alfred nodded to his wife then continued, "We're getting on in years and you're starting high school next year. There won't be a school bus that picks you up every day so you'll have to walk, take the city bus, or have use drive you." He coughed a couple times, "Now we can drive you in bad weather but it's going to get harder for us to drive you every day, so we're moving somewhere closer to where you're going to school. Close enough to walk."

"Also here," Marian picked up a map off the counter and spread it on the table, "We found a home on the same street your friend Caleb lives, it's close enough to Brandon's house for you to meet up on the way to school and close to where your girlfriend Germaine lives."

Alex blushed but his tail wagged when he heard that. "So when are we moving?"

"All month. It's going to take a while to move everything over there and get everything set up," Alfred coughed, "But we'll be living here until August, OK."

"OK."

OoOoO

While they could have moved all at once, Alfred and Marian had a hard time letting go of their old house and there were issues with buying the house plus selling their old one. It took two weeks of negotiations to get a good price on each and thankfully it didn't require them to pay too much to own their new house. The third week of July was when the day to move came, but by the time everything was ready to move it was too late for Alex, Alfred and Marian to move to the new house, so they decided to spend the night in their old house one last time. Alfred and Marian convinced the movers to come back for their bed in the morning and Alex slept in an old sleeping bag in the living room.

Alex was awakened not by an alarm or the sun, but by heat and the smoke alarm. Alex coughed as he woke up only to find that the house was on fire! "Grandma, Grandpa!" Alex coughed as he shouted but was forced to stay low because of the smoke.

Alex barely remembered what happened next. There was smoke, sirens, and before took long a fireman had managed to force the door open and Alex was carried to safety. He sat with a wet blanket over his shoulders and an oxygen mask shoved over his muzzle, it was uncomfortable with his nose pressed up against the plastic but he didn't complain. He tried to get up when he saw the ambulance pull up but he was to tired and even with the mask he wasn't in a good enough state to do anything except listen.

"What started the fire?"

"I think it was some idiot kids that set off some fireworks nearby. We found the remains of a firework in the garden, not to mention it's been a dry summer so far. The police are searching for them now."

"What about the fox?"

"He's legally registered as their son and he's a legal citizen. We should get him to the hospital."

Alex passed out shortly after that.

OoOoO

Alex was numb. His grandparents had died of smoke inhalation. He barely registered what happened as he was shuttled around to the police and his grandparents' funeral before he ended up in front of some legal people who were pouring over several documents.

"He has to go to a foster home, he's only 14."

The other shook his head, "Marian and Alfred put through legal paperwork so he doesn't have to. He's been emancipated, or at least the equivalent here in Canada." He pulled out some other paperwork, "According to their will, 'We leave all our worldly possessions and any money in our savings account and from insurance to our adopted son, or grandson if he prefers, Alex Kitun to use as he sees fit for as long as he shall live.' Don't try to screw the kid over, he's had it hard enough already."

"So where do we send him?"

"His new house. Most of their stuff was moved in the day of the fire so at least he won't be missing anything important. Alex, are you listening."

"Yeah..." Alex mumbled, "can I go?"

"Very well. We'll get you a lift to your new house. Will you be alright?"

Alex didn't reply.

OoOoO

Alex just lay on his bed for the rest of the day. In this new house he couldn't even smell his grandparents anymore. He didn't even bother to turn on the lights as the sun went down and he slowly drifted off.

The next day Alex just wandered around his new house and tried to get his bearings. There was no second floor to the house but the basement and main floor were a lot bigger than they had been.

Alex was idly flipping through channels on the TV, not really caring what he saw, when he heard knocking at the front door. He shut off the TV and reluctantly answered the door, only to find Caleb standing there.

"Oh, hi Caleb. How did you know I was here?" he couldn't even look his friend in the face.

"Your grandparents told my parents you were moving here. Can I come in?" he looked past Alex to see the dark and empty house behind him.

"Sure," Alex stepped back from the door to let his friend in and returned to the couch.

Caleb sat down next to him, "How're ya holding up?"

"Badly," Alex just stared ahead.

Caleb put a hand around his shoulder, "I know they're watching over you."

Alex clenched his hands into fists, "I don't want them watching over me, I want them here with me."

Caleb winced, "I know. Want to come to the park with me?"

Alex sighed and carefully removed Caleb's hand from his shoulder. "Not today. Please just leave me alone."

Caleb gave Alex a concerned look then stood up off his couch. "OK. I'll see you later." He left without another word. Alex drew his knees up to his chest and cried.

OoOoO

Alex ended up spending the whole night on the couch, not even bothering to get up and go to his bed. The next day the only thing he really cared about doing was having a shower, so at least he wouldn't stink. Once he was clean he didn't even bother getting dressed and just sat around in his bare fur until he dried. It was only then that Alex realized how hungry he was, not having eaten at all since the fire. He checked the fridge and decided to try making some stir fry with chicken and the vegetables that were available: green peppers, broccoli and carrots.

Half an hour later Alex was putting the finishing touches on his stir fry when he heard a knock on the front door. He turned the stove off and answered, not caring that he still wasn't dressed.

Caleb, Brandon and Germaine were on his front step and all three immediately averted their gaze from the fox; Germaine even blushed.

"You know, dude, you still shouldn't answer the door in your birthday suit," Brandon held up a hand to block his peripheral vision.

Alex snorted, "Give me a break, you can't see any 'anatomy' through my fur. Come in, I just made lunch." Alex motioned for them to enter then marched back to the kitchen to check the rice he had boiled in a clear-lidded pot next to the wok.

Their slight revulsion was quelled when they smelled Alex's food. He pulled out four bowls from the cupboard, four spoons from a drawer and some soy sauce from the fridge, "Dig in," He offered as he spooned some rice into his bowl, poured some soy sauce over it then layered his stir fry over top of it. Each of his friends loaded up their bowls in turn and joined him on the couch.

Brandon took a drink and smiled, "Mmmm, it's good. Did your grandma teach you how to make this?" Caleb tapped Brandon's shoulder and glared at him which made Brandon gulp, and swallow his mouthful.

Alex shook his head, "No, but I found an Asian cook book that showed me how to make stuff like this. I just made this from scratch."

"It's very good, she'd be proud of you," Germaine said, finally letting herself at him.

Alex smiled, "Thanks."

They ate and conversed about their summers for a few more minutes. Alex stayed mostly silent and took three full servings of stir fry and rice until he was satisfied. Half an hour later they heard a knock at the door. Alex had his mouth full and he glared at the door, swallowed then went to answer.

"Whoa! Alex!" Brandon was up and had grabbed Alex's shoulder, "Maybe get dressed before you greetopppppppppppppppppplollllllllllllllllll someone you don't know."

Alex groaned, "Fine!" he turned and stomped away to his bedroom.

"It's not that big a deal, Brandon," Germaine said, "Our fur really does hide everything."

"It still feels weird, even if I can't see his junk." There was another knock at the door and Brandon went to answer it.

Samantha was standing on the front step. "Hi!" she grinned at him, "Are Alex and Germaine here."

Brandon glared at her, "That's none of your business and if they are I don't think they'd want to see you."

Samantha looked over Brandon's shoulder and saw Germaine, who had averted her gaze from the front door. Samantha waved and grinned, "Hi Germaine!" Germaine didn't respond.

Alex re-entered the room with a blue t-shirt halfway on, "Who's that- oh..." he glared once he had his head through the shirt's neck. "What are you doing here?"

"I live three blocks away and I saw you three come into this house. I had to eat lunch but I decided I should drop by and say hi," Samantha answered.

Brandon spread his arms and legs to completely block the door, "Well you said hi, so can you go now?"

"Yeesh, what crawled up your butts?" Samantha rolled her eyes.

Alex growled, "My grandparents died."

Almost instantly, Samantha's cheery demeanor vanished. "Oh...I didn't know..."

"Yeah well you know now, so fuck off!" Alex shouted. Everyone else winced when he swore and Brandon stepped back to close the door.

"Wait! I'm sorry. Can I help?!" Samantha asked before the door shut in her face. She pounded on the door and rang the doorbell several times before the door flew open and she found Germaine in her face.

The blue raccoon's face had lost its nearly constant soft demeanor and her eyes narrowed as she glared at Samantha, "Alex doesn't need someone trying to feel him up right now, he needs his friends." Germaine hissed at Samantha which made her take a step back.

"I'd like to be your friend, if I can." Samantha's voice was sincere.

"Should we let her in?" Caleb asked.

Alex growled then sighed, "Just for now or she'll never go away." He looked up at the front door, "Just keep your hands to yourself, OK?"

"I promise," Samantha put a hand over her heart. Germaine still glared at her and backed away, not trusting her enough to turn her back as she walked back to the couch.

Samantha found she didn't have a place to sit so she just stood near the coat closet by the door. "What happened?"

"Some jackasses were setting off fireworks near my house and one set it on fire." Alex took in a shuddering breath as anger and sorrow began to fight within him, "They died from smoke inhalation."

"So...you live here alone now?" Samantha looked around the living room and spotted the doorways to the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

"Yeah. Grandma and Grandpa took me to do some legal stuff just in case this happened, and I have the insurance money and inheritance to keep me going through school." Alex too a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Want some stir fry?"

Samantha sniffed then shook her head, "No thanks, I already ate. Smells good though. So what are you going to do?"

Alex sighed, "I don't know. I have a month until school starts and then I have no idea."

Caleb finally scooted over to let Samantha sit down on the L-shaped couch. "OK I have to ask: why do you have a thing for these two?"

Samantha grinned as she took her seat, "I just love animal people, I have ever since I saw the cartoon Robin Hood movie so seeing a real one is just so!" she almost squealed as she said this. "I have to ask: how do you manage your tails?"

"Grandma just sewed holes into the back of my pants, I never got the hang of it though," Alex sighed.

"I usually wear skirts, but my foster-mom's maid showed me how to sew it into pants." Germaine turned to Alex, "I can help you with that when you need new clothes."

Alex smiled, "Thanks."

"I see." Samantha tried to lean to get a look at Alex's tail, but wasn't able too. "So now what?"

"Now, you can all leave. I'd like to be alone for a bit," Alex was about to stand when Brandon grabbed his arm.

"No way, dude, we're not letting you lock yourself up in this place all summer. Let's go out, get some air, do something fun today."

Alex sighed, "I don't feel like having fun."

"Let's go the park at least, I mean it's better than staying cooped up in here right?" Samantha looked at the other four.

"Not a bad idea, let's go," Caleb stood up.

"OK," Germaine stood up and took Alex's hand.

Alex finally relented, "Alright." They headed out after Alex retrieved his keys and locked the door. As they left.

Samantha was more-or-less forced to walk alongside Caleb and Brandon with Alex and Germaine bringing up the rear.

"I missed you," Germaine said. "I wanted to come over after I heard what happened but...I wasn't sure you wanted to see me."

Alex averted his eyes from her and frowned, his hands in his pockets, "I don't know if I wanted to see anyone, but I'm happy you showed up. Thanks, Germaine."

Germaine giggled and gave him a kiss, "You're welcome. How would you like it if I moved in with you?"

Alex somehow turned even redder at the suggestion, "You want to live with me?" he asked. "I mean...I'd like it if I wasn't living alone in that house all day and...I'd love to see you...every..." he trailed off and tugged at his collar.

Germaine smiled and took one of his hands in his own, "I'd like to live with someone who likes me, instead of six foster-siblings I barely know, especially with you."

"When did you become such a flirt, Germaine?" Brandon shouted.

Germaine blushed right down to the tip of her tail, "You weren't supposed to hear that!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have flirted when we were this close then," Caleb laughed which made Brandon and Samantha crack up too.

Now thoroughly embarrassed, Germaine let go of Alex's hand and slowed her pace and almost fell behind him until Alex took her hand again. He was still embarrassed but he gently tugged her arm, "Wanna race them to the park?"

Germaine smile and nodded, "OK." A moment later they took off with a flash, their tails flying out like colorful streamers as they ran past the other three.

"Hey! Wait up!" Brandon shouted and he, Caleb and Samantha took off after them.

By the time they reached the playground the three humans were out of breath but Alex and Germaine seemed none the worse for wear, save for some heavier breathing.

"Was that fun?" Alex asked Germaine. Both of their embarrassments had evaporated in the run to the park.

Germaine nodded then took a deep breath to try and calm her heart, "Yeah, thank you."

"OK...now...that...you...did...that...can...we...take...a...break!" Caleb panted out.

"Yeah, go ahead," Alex looked over at the small swing set and sighed, "I wish we were still short enough to use those."

Alex and Germaine were a bit shorter than their friends but they stood at 150cm and 145cm in height respectively. Brandon was the tallest and stood a half a head taller than Alex with Caleb and Samantha in between their sizes.

"We should go to Candy Cane Park some time. They still have equipment big enough for us to have fun on." Germaine said.

"We've got all summer, why not?" Alex smiled.

"Yeesh, figures your candy colored asses would wanna go there."

Alex felt his tail go rigid as he heard that voice, "Does every kid I know live near me now?" he growled. He turned to see Daniel approaching. The boy was scratching at his chest through his shirt and smugly grinning at them.

"Get outta my sight, Daniel!" Alex growled, "I'm in no mood today!"

"No mood for what, ugg," Daniel scratched at his chest again. "Yeesh, so you brought the furry with you too. What are you trying to do, make a furry cult?"

Alex was about to advance on him when Germaine put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head before she turned to Daniel, "Please, just leave us alone. We're dealing with enough right now."

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Psshh! Like what? Dead parents!"

Alex almost tore away from Germaine as he snarled at Daniel, "YES you idiot my grandparents are dead!"

Daniel blinked, "Wow really? Did you do something?"

"No, fuckwit! Did you set off the fireworks there!? Did you kill them!?" Alex was about to charge when Brandon darted forwards and helped Germaine to hold him back.

"Easy! Don't say stuff like that, Alex!" Brandon cautioned.

"Yeesh, take a chill pill freak! I don't do shit with fireworks so how do I know you didn't do that to them?" Daniel asked.

"GRAAAH! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT BEFORE I TEAR YOU- MPHM!" Alex found his mouth covered by Germaine's hand.

"Just leave now, or we might let him go," Germaine glared at Daniel and Samantha and Caleb walked up to give support.

Daniel glared then rolled his eyes and turned away, scratching at his chest, "Fine, whatever. Smell ya later!" he flipped them off as he walked away.

OoOoO

Daniel wandered around town for a while and didn't return home until the sun was almost set. He looked up at the house from the front step, a house that was twice the size of the other houses nearby, and stepped inside.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he shouted. No answer, as usual.

Daniel sighed and trudged over to the kitchen, still scratching at his chest, "Damn chest hair, I need to shave," he muttered. He dug some leftovers out of the fridge and stuck them in the microwave. While he waited for his food to heat up he pulled off his shirt. His chest was covered in a thicker layer of black hair than boys three years older than him had.

Daniel sighed as he watched his dinner rotating. His parents were always working, always. When they weren't doing their regular hours they had negotiations or meetings or business trips they had to attend to keep their businesses secure and his parents were home less and less now that he was old enough to be home alone any time. Daniel had heard that his feelings on the matter were known as "cognitive dissonance": he wanted them to stop working so much and spend time with him but he knew that their hard work was the reason he always had money to spend on whatever he wanted, a big house and comfortable furniture wherever he wanted. The conflict drove him to do stupid things to force their attention on to him and lashing out at Alex and Germaine was just the easiest thing for him to do.

Daniel devoured his supper then trudged up to bed, still scratching at his chest hair. He plopped into bed without even bothering to change out of his cargo shorts and did his best to try and sleep. His window was open to let the cool air in and his ceiling fan was on but still he was sweating.

Then a bright light shone through the window and he heard a voice. "Daniel Masterson. You have tormented and bullied those two for far too long. I had hoped that when you heard about the deaths of Marian and Alfred you would cease your torture of them but I see that you haven't."

"What the hell?" Daniel blinked as the light somehow shone down on him. He didn't see it but the hair on his chest turned white.

"But I think your defiance could prove beneficial and you seek a better life for yourself. It will be a long time before you find your place but you need to feel the change now."

"What the- ooooh!" Daniel groaned as his whole body started to tingle. His chest hair spread outwards, his entire front covered in white hair, or rather fur, and grey fur spreading up his arms, neck and down his legs, his feet becoming larger blunt paws as the fur covered them. Daniel cried out in pain as a short stubby tail covered in grey fur grew out of his spine and his head rearranged itself: his nose pushing out and merging with his upper lip, his ears rounding off and moving up the sides of his head and black fur spread up the sides of his head except for a single white stripe that ran from his now white muzzle and across the middle of his head. As a final touch the tip of his nose turned into a dark grey valentine heart.

Daniel panted as his new fur made him start sweating profusely. He reached over to the remote control on his bedside table and turned on the air conditioner in his window. The loud rumbling made it too hard to sleep so Daniel stumbled over to the bathroom next to his bedroom and turned on the water tap. He splashed water on his face and shuddered as the water caught in his fur. He groped for the light and the looked into the mirror, only to see the face of a humanlike badger staring back at him.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Daniel was out into the night and running before he knew it.

OoOoO

A week later, Alex, Germaine, Caleb, Brandon and their new friend Samantha were at Candy Cane Park. It was the largest park in the city, right next to the science center and IMAX theater. Because it was summer time there were a bunch of families there and most of them stopped to stare at Alex and Germaine, but they were too used to it to really care anymore.

"I haven't been here since I was a kid," Alex sighed wistfully.

"You still are a kid," Samantha grinned and stroked his ear.

Alex growled, "Not legally."

"Oh come on, let's have fun!" Brandon whooped and took off.

Most of the playground equipment was actually big enough for the five teenagers to have fun on, granted the big goose shaped slide was too small for them but they could climb up on top of it to get a good view of the park, at least until people shouted at them to get down. Regardless their day fun right up until Alex heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"HEY FOX! LOOK WHAT YOU FREAKS DID TO ME!"

The shout caused everyone nearby to freeze in place and turn to face a very angry humanoid badger dressed only in cargo shorts that bore down on Alex, his hands clenched into fists.

Alex turned, "Daniel? No who are you?"

"I am Daniel, you, you, RRRAAAAUUGGH!" the badger pounced on Alex who had no time to react as he was knocked off his feet. Alex recovered quickly enough to retaliate but the badger's strength was greater than his and he tried to get his jaws around Alex's neck. He would have succeeded if several adults, Brandon, Caleb and Samantha rushed to pull him off. The badger lashed out at them and shook them off then turned and bolted away.

Half an hour later, the police and animal control had arrived after hearing about the badger attack. Alex was being treated by a nursing station attendant, who was on hand just in case any children got hurt (which was more often than most would like to admit). Alex winced as cuts from the badger's claws were treated with disinfectant; bandages weren't an option because of his fur.

The police came over to question Alex. "So a badger attacked you for no reason. Was he like you two," he looked over at Germaine for a moment.

Alex nodded, "Yeah, but I've never seen him before."

"I see," the officer wrote down what he said then looked to see a couple of officers questioning the parents and even listening to the kids, "Well as long as we get the same story from everyone else you should be fine. Did you see where he ran off to?"

Alex pointed north, "That way, I think, I was on the ground when he ran off. Am I under arrest, officer?"

The officer shook his head, "No, you're not. I'll contact you later tonight to let you know what the situation is but unless we get a lot of conflicting reports you shouldn't have to worry. Now then, Germaine, can you tell me what happened?"

Alex sighed as he listened to the officer question each of his friends. When Germaine was finished answering she sat down next to him. "Do you think it was Daniel?"

"It sounded like him, but I've never see that badger before. I have no idea," Alex leaned back to stare at the sky.

"I guess we'll find out in school." Germaine leaned up against Alex. Alex winced because of his injuries but still put an arm around her.

"Were you serious when you asked to move in with me?"

Germaine blushed, "Maybe...yes."

"Really?" Alex turned to look at her, eyes wide in surprise.

Germaine giggled, "Really. I like you, Alex, and you said you didn't want to be alone. My foster mom knows we're together though she keeps telling me to...use protection..." she blushed fiercely.

Alex blushed as well, "I see, I'm not ready for that kinda thing yet."

Germaine shook her head, "Me either, but I think it would be nice to just lie next to each other without clothes and snuggle up together..." she couldn't stop blushing.

"Maybe you could sleep over for most of the summer," Alex looked away from her.

"I'd like that," Germaine smiled.

"We could all do that if you want." Samantha plopped herself down next to the two.

Alex glared at her, "Yeah...no, naked humans would still feel weird."

"Just something to think about," Samantha winked then got up to rejoin their friends.

"Even if we're friends, she still disturbs me a bit," Germaine said.

"Definitely," Alex nodded.

OoOoO

Daniel the badger had been on the street for a week since his transformation and now he ran all the way home. He was fortunate that he still had his house keys in the pocket of his pants and he fumbled it into the lock of the front door and slammed it behind him. She leaned back against the front door and listened for the sound of sirens. He tensed as one came close then relaxed as it faded into the distance. His stomach growled and he went to the kitchen to search for food. As usual no one was home so at least he could stay here for a while. He grabbed some cold pizza from the fridge and all but inhaled it, at least his tastes hadn't changed.

OoOoO

Germaine spent an increasing number of nights at Alex's house throughout the summer and by the time winter rolled around she had essentially moved in with him. By Christmas they were even sleeping in the same bed but they never took it farther than that. Between their growing relationship and the new intensity of high school work, Alex was at least distracted from the tragedy of his grandparents' death and even started to recover.

Daniel wasn't seen until school started a month later. Everyone was shocked by his change, though many who knew him considered it karma for how he had treated Alex and Germaine throughout elementary school.

Despite protests, Samantha finally convinced them to have a five-person sleepover, and have a game a strip poker. Needless to say it was an eventful night but thankfully nothing regrettable happened, save for tons of embarrassment.

Daniel mostly avoided everyone at school and just focused on his schoolwork. Despite the change he managed to get to the top of his classes. His parents barely registered his change but even when they noticed they still accepted him, as much as they could be bothered to at least.

It wasn't until June of their 10th grade year, almost two years after Daniels change, that Alex and Daniel finally started talking to each other.

It was the park downtown where both had decided to take the bus home after school and needed to transfer. It was Friday and neither was in a hurry to get home, Daniel didn't care enough and Germaine was staying after school to help with something for the end of the year celebrations.

Alex was sitting on a bench when a small rock struck him in the face. "OW! What the hell!?" he turned to see Daniel the Badger with a baseball bat in one hand and with seething look on his face. "What's tour deal now?" Alex got up and searched around for some kind of weapon.

"These last two years have been torture! I'm a freak and I can't handle it anymore! No one will give me the time of day and it's all your fault!" Daniel pointed the baseball bat at Alex.

Alex growled, "No one talks to you because you treat everyone like shit! None of this is my fault!"

"I don't give a shit! I'm beating this out of you now!" Daniel gripped the baseball bat in both hands and charged at Alex. Alex dodged aside and found a branch on the ground. He blocked, another swing the kicked out at Daniel's legs which knocked him down. Alex jumped up and ran, doing his best to put some distance between them but Daniel was up on his feet a moment later and he charged at him. Alex rounded on him and held up his branch, ready to defend himself or even attack if he need. Daniel closed in and swung at Alex's head and Alex swung sideways, aiming for Daniel's side.

There was a sudden flash of green and in an instant someone had jumped in between them. It was a bear, a lime green bear like them with fierce reddish brown eyes dressed in a green t-shirt cut low to expose a red and pink multi-hearted tattoo on his chest, blue jeans, running shoes and a brown cargo vest. In each of his hands he had a sword, not a toy but a real steel sword each of which had blocked the makeshift weapons Alex and Daniel had swung at each other with the blades embedded deep into the wood.

He spoke slowly and deliberately, "Don't start a fight."

Alex and Daniel were stunned, but they both answered in the same instant, "Who the hell are you!?"