*BZZ* *BZZ* *BZZ*

The alarm was going off again. It was another crummy night of sleep, complete with tossing and turning, and a ceaseless, nagging feeling that I should be nocturnal now. I had been a fox for a week already, and things were not getting easier. There was to be an acclimation period, for sure, but there should have been some positive change by now. First off, I was stuck in a hard place with the alarm. My ears were too sensitive to the loud noises it would make every morning, and my paws were too clumsy to turn off the alarm feature. With more effort than I could put forward while waking up groggy, I could eventually scratch and claw around the button to get the snooze feature to kick in, but it would start buzzing again in ten minutes intervals for the next hour. I could have unplugged it from the wall, but then I would lose the only clock in the house I owned besides my phone, which I lost in the woods. If I was to try to remain human, I needed to be able to know the time and keep a morning routine.

*BZZ* *BZZ* *BZZ*

I stood up on the bed and stretched my neck out towards the ceiling, and then forward while letting my stubby pads splay out. With a huff, I started clawing at the alarm on the bedside table, ears flattened and fluffy tail curling up behind me. It was all I could do to silence the cacophony of the annoying device. It took a good 15 swipes to finally nick the snooze button hard enough with my claw that registered on its system. See you again in 10 minutes, I said to it. The alarm clock didn't look too happy to have a fox attending to its calls. There were claw marks all over the plastic casing, and it was looking like a button or two was already threatening to pop off from the damaged plastic.

I looked around my bedroom. There clearly was a wild animal living in my house. Every door, cabinet, and container were chewed or clawed open, usually with its contents strewn about the floor. My human smell permeated everything, but it was only a lingering odor by this point. Everything smelled like fox now, me, especially the bathroom down the hall. I hopped off the bed landing first onto my forepaws, careful to launch a trajectory that didn't send my tail over my head again. That had been embarrassing, and a little bit painful.

Claws clacking on the wood floor, I trotted down the hallway to the bathroom where the smell of urine and wet fur still remained from previous nights. My bathroom was only partially fox compatible. If I carefully sat on the seat and remained mindful of my tail, I could still use the toilet when I needed to defecate, but with my sheath anchored to my belly, I didn't have a prayer of getting urine into the bowl. That's where the tub came in. I found I could climb in the tub and spray everywhere my new body needed, but then there were some new challenges I had to overcome. The first attempt started with my elbow getting soaked from my stream, but I was able to save it by lifting my leg a little and putting the stream on the wall. This resulted in the backsplash covering my paws before reaching the drain. I then got the great idea of turning on the faucet with my nose to try to rinse off, but what I didn't realize was the shower diverter was still active from the last shower I took, and I ended up dousing my orange fur with ice cold water. Yipping loudly in sudden shock, I had leapt out of the tub with my tail between my legs before shaking off the cold damp in the middle of the hall. This time, I approached the tub more carefully and nudged on the water while standing outside the tub. Once sure that the shower wasn't active, I stepped in and let the cool water wash over my paws. Lifting my leg, I aimed at the wall again, and didn't make a mess. I nudged off the water faucet and gave a swish of my tail. I had done it right for once.

Ok, so it wasn't completely perfect. There were some very wet paw prints left on the floor as I exited the bathroom and went to the kitchen. I'll just have to hope those dry properly, unlike the streaked hallway. There's not much I could do about it at all once I made a mess. Trying to ignore the chew marks I had already caused, I wrapped my fangs around the refrigerator door handle, and braced against it with all four paws until it finally gave way and opened. I fixed my golden slitted eyes on the contents of the fridge, its interior lighting glinting sharply in my gaze as I looked up at the glass shelves. Most of what was left was either spilled out or ripped open and left to dry in the cold air. I turned my nose up at what was there. I don't think I should eat mustard or ketchup, not yet at least. Wrappers from lunch meats remained as a reminder of the meals past, and the spilled milk carton was drying on the shelf around the areas I had lapped it up. Some of the cheese remained, as did the vegetables, but I wasn't going to get a meal out of either.

Turning to the pantry, I meandered past an empty sleeve of bagels on the floor and other spilled trash and nudged the door further ajar. Unless I could operate a can opener, I was out of luck. All that remained accessible was a few bulk bags of uncooked rice and beans. Cautiously, I dipped my head into the bag of rice and took a bite, trying to pretend it was kibble. Grains of rice stuck to my damp nose while the mouthful of rice cracked and crunched in my fangs. Bits of rice stuck everywhere in my mouth and black lips, and I spent more time lashing my tongue out over my nose to get the stuck rice out of my nostril than eating the bland grain. I started to curse my fortune.

I had been comfortable living alone, and the seclusion of my country house meant no one was around to bother me. Now, I wished that all had not been so. If I was further in town, there would have been options for me to get food, like a neighbor's outdoor cat dish, or scraps to beg for. If I had a roommate or gotten a girlfriend like my parents wanted me to, I could have had a pair of hands around to help me open drawers and cans. Not to mention someone to be a companion while I learned how to be a human in a fox's body. My stomach gurgled and I slumped to the floor, resting my chin on my black furry arm while splaying my rear legs and tail out of despair.

The void in my stomach hadn't completely gone away since I left the forest. In fact, it had only gotten worse, but not by much. Eating didn't seem to satisfy it, and it didn't quite give me hunger pains like an empty stomach, but it was a void that needing filling, nonetheless. I had finished my bagel when I got home last week to try to fill it, mistaking it for edges of hunger, but the food did nothing to help it, and so I just had to get used to its presence. I was very fortunate that my front door had been unlocked when I got home. All I had to do was push against it to open it after I saw it flash purple for a second. At least, I was able to spend this week in my house and bed and have some food with my shelter.

Accidentally leaving the door unlocked on my last trip to work was my lucky break for the week.

I gave another frustrated huff, and I saw a wisp of a furball slide around the linoleum. I was shedding a lot too. My bed was covered in orange and black when I got up this morning, and unless I found a lint roller or vacuum cleaner that I could hold with paws, it was going to stay that way. Sleeping in a dirty bed wasn't appealing, but at least it was my fur, and not someone else's.

*BZZ* *BZZ* *BZZ*

I folded my ears back against the loud noise from across the house, the snooze timer had expired. Sliding a bit on the linoleum before rising fully to my paws, I trotted back to my bedroom and jumped back onto the soft bed to start clawing and chewing at the clock again. After I got it turned off, the red LCD displayed 6:43 on the alarm face. At least, I knew it to be red. Some colors had faded a bit since I got my fox eyes.

Looking at the glow of the clock and feeling the rumble in my stomach, I decided it was time I stop lazing about the house, since nothing was going to get better while I hung around here. Besides, I couldn't stand dealing with the clock another four times over the next hour. If I left the house now, I could reach the bus stop before it arrives. I trotted back into the kitchen and found my bag. It still had been adjusted for vulpine use, but with the slack in the arm straps removed, I wasn't sure if I could do the same maneuver as I did last time to get it on my back. Still, I needed to carry something to eat back here, so I gave it my best. Just like before, getting one arm in a strap was easy. All I had to do was step in the loop and thread my paw through it. I scooted forward using my hind paws until the strap was all the way to my short shoulder, then I rolled into the backback while flailing my legs all about in the air. Somehow, while I laid on top of the bag, the bag slid past the ridge of my back and allowed a random swipe of my arm to get through the second arm strap. I yipped in triumph and sprang back to a standing position with my tail wagging excitedly. The bag held firmly on my back! I darted to the front door and scratched at its edge, bringing more paint off the jamb, but the slight crack I left in it allowed me to get enough grip with my claws that I could pull it open. Using my tail as I left the threshold, I pulled the door almost shut, leaving enough of a crack so I could get back in later this evening.

The morning air was damp and heavy, like it could rain any time. I trotted merrily along sniffing the cool air and listening to sounds of nature with my large furry ears. There were many new smells and sounds I would not have perceived as a human, but I felt inclined to ignore them as a fox today as well. I had business to attend to. At the end of my driveway, a few fresh rodent holes had sprung up in the ground, and I could hear its scratching underneath the soil. I paused for only a moment at the hole, cocking my head with my ears perked up, considering my lack of food, and thought better of it. I had a bus to catch, and it wasn't going to wait for me to hunt. Bolting off, I ran down the road to meet the arrival time.

Unlike that fateful morning a week ago, I didn't get the sense anything was amiss. However, I think my presence was causing a disruption more so than normal. Birds stopped calling as I neared their location, and there still was a slightly odd lack of cars in the area. My run slowed to a purposeful trot, just so I didn't have to exert myself fully. Panting was a lot of work compared to sweating, and I didn't want to do it if I could avoid it. Arriving at the stop, I instinctively started to reach for my phone to check the time, but my paws had no pockets to reach for. Snorting with frustration and how ridiculous the notion was, I hopped up onto the covered bench and sat patiently, waiting for the bus.

Being back at the stop got me thinking about Her again. She had made her appearance not fifty feet from here. I looked with some trepidation across the road to the woods, focusing hard to see if I could see a flash of orange fur, or a whiff of her scent, but there was nothing but trees and darkness. Maybe she's hiding from the incoming rain, I thought to myself, or maybe she's hanging out with her other fox friends. They all were having a lot of fun in that abandoned house before I got there, it seemed. My sharp ears picked up the slight rumble of an engine far in the distance, and I could tell it was my bus arriving, probably more on time than normal. I hopped off the bench and stood waiting for the bus with my fluffy tail in the air.

The bus wasn't more on time at all, assuming my internal sense of time was correct, I just had heard it from further away. I had to wait for several more minutes before it came into sight. The bus cornered the last turn in the road and began to slow for my stop. I rose to all fours and wagged my tail gently now that it had arrived for me. Instead of hitting the breaks and sounding their normal low squeak of compression, the bus hit the accelerator and rumbled on past! I was aghast at the nerve of the driver just passing me while I stood there, but then I remembered he only stops for humans, and I looked like the local wildlife, albeit wearing a backpack. Luckily, not all was lost. There was still a chance to get on that bus.

While I had been lamenting my choice of housing location earlier today, there was one thing about it that was going to help me today. The route for the bus involved taking a U-turn just a quarter mile up the road, since my stop was the last stop on the run. I padded into the middle of the lane in front of me, and waited for the bus to return. Only a matter of minutes later, I could hear it approaching again. I widened my stance, lowered my head, and stared with my golden eyes at the approaching bus, daring it to run past me again. Stop. I need you to stop so I can get on. I said in Fox to myself and the bus. Determination and desire swelled within me, and my vision flashed purple again.

*WISH*

The bus hit the brakes, and slowly came to a halt, ten feet in front of me. With a hiss, the side door swung open. ** **

I wasn't going to waste any time or the chance. I bounded over to the open door and climbed up the stairs past the driver. The driver never broke eye contact with the road ahead. He merely reached for the door lever and drove forward toward his next stop.

Just as entering my house for the first time had been a fascinating change in perspective, so was the bus aisle. My head barely reached over the seats and so it was hard to see which benches were already occupied. I really didn't want to draw attention to myself. I know if I saw a fox with a backpack walk onto the bus, I wouldn't have been able to resist doing something about it. My fortune continued as I found only 3 people sitting in the rows, and all of them seemed dazed or dozing. I don't think any of them realized an animal was among them. Choosing window seat, I leaped up on the bench and curled into a fluffy ball. I had about an hour before I'd be in the city.

The bus ride was a bumpy one, and I was no longer equipped to deal with it. All the stops and starts had me propping myself up into a sitting position just so I could brace against the motion. One lurch I hadn't braced for, sent me flailing and flying off the seat, thudding hard against the bench in front of me. I

scrabbled back up onto my perch and remained seated with my tail curled up next to me. There was no chance of getting a good rest here today. While the original three passengers seemed too unconscious to notice me, I was worried about new arrivals. Every group the bus let on and off just walked past my bench like it wasn't there. They seemed to be stuck in their daily morning routines, walking around like robots. No doubt, I was doing the same thing along with them just a week prior. Maybe, if I find a job that will hire a fox, I could get into the same mindless routine again. It was a comforting thought.

That's when it dawned on me: I didn't know where I was going! I was following my morning routine like everyone else in the bus, but I didn't take a moment to think where the bus would take me to get food. There were supermarkets and restaurants and back alleys that could all give me food, but I had no idea where to go from to the bus stops I had along this route. I knew the further I got into town, the more trouble I could get into by being a fox around so many people. I put my paws up on the window while my hot breath started to fog the glass, just to see where I was. Shoot! I was one stop away from work already. I decided I may as well wait until my usual stop. Whatever risks there were being this deep into the city would be mitigated by my familiarity with the area. Slowing to a halt, the bus reached the stop, and six other riders rose from their seats and started shuffling down the aisle to disembark. I waited for the last one to pass my bench before hopping into the aisle with them.

The city street was massive. Scores of people were walking past me in both directions, and everyone seemed unaware of the fox among them. Car fumes filled my nose and the dirty concrete scratched my paws while I trotted down the sidewalk towards my office. I didn't know what I was going to do at the office, but I figured I could sit in the building lobby for a bit while I thought about my options. I only needed food, and anything I could get into the backpack would be a huge plus. One of the bus patrons was ahead of me, so I just kept following in his shadow to look less conspicuous. Maybe onlookers would see me as his exotic pet. The man shuffled some papers in his hands, checked the address of the building he stopped in front of, and then entered the door of my office building. I wasted no time tailgating in the swinging door with him.

The building was one of the large office complexes that made up many of the buildings in the city. The lobby had a large stairway and high vaulted ceilings. The upper floors were protected by glass railings that overlooked the lobby. The cool conditioned air hit my nose with a welcome change from the exhaust fumes outside. I was beginning to move towards the lounge area, with plans to sit on or under one of the chairs in the lobby, but the bus passenger did something to catch my attention. He was wearing a suit and tie, and had walked over to the digital directory pedestal, and started paging through the business options. My ears perked up at each "ping" of the interface as he paged though, and after a few moments, he stopped on the listing he was looking for. It was City Medical Technologies, my company. I grew intensely curious. We didn't normally get visitors, and unless this was a salesman of some sort, he was someone that didn't belong in my building. Even then, I'd argue that the salesmen didn't belong visiting either. I abandoned the lounge area and trotted after him.

Like everyone else, he seemed oblivious to me, and despite my claws clacking on the tile floor while I trotted behind him, I was able to sneak into the same elevator car as him. After the doors closed, he reached out and pressed the button for the 19thfloor. I stood in the corner of the car behind him, looking up at him intently with my vulpine eyes, and sniffing with my sensitive nose, trying to figure out what he was doing here. We were a medical company with a lot of sensitive data. It was my job to get it entered into the computers, and strangers showing up like this was a huge security concern. The car began to move upwards, and I had to brace against this motion as well. Transport felt so weird as a fox.

Each floor greeted the elevator with a soft "ping" as we ascended. The stranger started to shuffle a little nervously, as we arrived at the 19th floor. Stepping out of the elevator, I shadowed the man as we walked towards my office, thankful for the softer office carpet instead of tile beneath my paws. Checking his notes again and then the suite number, he pulled the door open and we both stepped inside.

Our front desk area wasn't very large, and there was seating for only a handful of visitors. I decided to duck under one of the waiting chairs, and watch the man approach the front desk. Rhonda, our receptionist, stood up and greeted the stranger.

"Ah, you must be our 9:00. Please have a seat. I'll let the manager know you're here."

Exchanging pleasantries, the man signed in on the clipboard on the desk, and turned toward me to find a seat to wait at. Plopping down on one of the chairs, he reclined back and snatched one of the old magazines off the coffee table, idly paging through it. I could tell it wasn't grabbing his interest much, and he finished paging through it in a matter of a minute before tossing it back onto the pile. Heaving a sigh, he folded his arms and began tapping his leg.

I still didn't know why this guy was here, but at least he had an appointment. My concern started to wane as the hunger and the void started to churn heavily in my stomach. There was an employee break room I could go pilfer from, but I wasn't sure I wanted to steal from my coworkers. My plan was to find a supermarket or a gas station convenience store and load up there. Just then, my manager, Rebekah entered the room from the employee door.

"Chris?" She called out. The man I had been following stood up and approached her to shake her hand. They began to exchange pleasantries, and Rebekah asked him as they left the room, door swinging shut behind them, "How long have you been in data entry?"

My jaw hit the floor, literally. The stranger I was following was my replacement! Anger started to swell up within me. How dare they just throw me out so suddenly. I know I had been missing for a week now, but it wasn't like I wanted to be a fox, or lost my phone on purpose. I needed my job if I was to keep my house. How was I to pay my bills if I didn't have my job? I started to pull myself out from under the chair and then stood up on all fours. Slowly, one paw in front of the other, I moved toward the reception desk, trying to figure out my next move. Anger was flowing around in me, as was the desire to not lose my job. The injustice of my affliction was coming to full terms in front of me, and all I could do was scream in a loud yap, I want my job back!!!

*WISH*

A purple wave of light exploded from me, flowing over the reception desk and out through the walls of the entire office suite. A slight breeze followed in its trail, ruffling the papers on Rhonda's desk, and she looked up and finally saw me, smiling welcomingly.

"Oh hello, you must be our 9:30 then?" she queried.

I expected her to be shocked to be seeing a fox standing in the room, but instead, she looked down at me like it was perfectly normal to talk to a fox and expect a conversation. I replied in Fox, with a flick of my white-tipped tail, agreeing with her.

"Oh excellent. Rebekah is with another applicant, but she should be available soon."

I noticed her gaze wasn't entirely fixed on me, like she was in a daze and looking past me. What was going on? Did I just do magic? It would explain a lot of the fortune I was having, but I hadn't seen it appear with such explosive force before, not even when the foxes of the forest were using it on me as I was turned. If I could do magic, then there was a chance I could keep my job, and therefore my house. I

swished my tail excitedly at that thought, just as the void took an extremely sharp churn in my belly.

Wincing, I cocked my head and panted at Rebekah to ask about refreshments. Usually, we had some coffee or tea to offer what few guests we had. "Oh sure, just one moment," she said as she got up and went into the breakroom. She came back with a whole ham sandwich and tossed it onto the floor for me. I think it was her lunch, but if she was giving it to me, I wasn't going to decline. I began to chow down greedily. It struck me as odd how she was seeing me as a guest or interviewee, but she still threw the food on the floor for me as if she knew I was a fox. I tried not to think about it too hard as I finished the meal and began to lick my nose and whiskers off.

Having finished the sandwich, I decided to take the opportunity to strike up a conversation, since I had not had one in over a week. _So, tell me about this position you have open, _ I casually gestured at her.

"Oh, it's a pretty standard data entry job," her eyes narrowed with suspicion, "Didn't you read the job description in the posting?"

No, no, no, I meant to ask, how come are you filling the position? I replied in Fox.

"Oh, it's really sad. We had an employee just disappear on us just last week. First it started with a nocall, no-show, but we heard the police are involved now, since a missing person report was filed. We couldn't keep the position open for him to return. The duties are essential."

The involvement of the authorities was news to me. Were they able to track his last known position with a cell phone or anything? I asked.

"That's the weirdest thing. They had some tracking data on the phone before it powered off, but the closest anyone has gotten to its location is by air. The forest it was lost in was too overgrown to get into. No one knows how it got in that deep."

Well, hopefully they find him alive and well, I smirked a fanged smile. Being a fox had been hard so far. Being a magical fox that can have conversations with humans might not be so bad at all. I was starting to get excited for the interview.

There was a shuffling from the room where the interview was taking place, and I could hear Chris and Rebekah returning to the lobby. The look on Chris's face told me that he had a bad interview, which was confirmed by Rebekah shaking her head silently to Rhonda behind his back. "We'll call you," she said as she walked him out of the suite.

Turning towards me, she asked "Are you ready for your turn?" I wagged my tail in affirmative. "Excellent, right this way," she said, gesturing towards the employee door. Rhonda handed her a sheet of paper as we walked past the desk, and entered the small meeting room for the interview. I hopped up on one of the chairs and placed my fuzzy paws on the table, claws making a light clicking as they rested there. Rebekah took the chair opposite mine, and laid the sheet of paper on the table, skimming over it with her pen. "It says here you have over a year and half of experience in data entry?" she said, tapping the paper. I looked down my muzzle at the sheet, and it was completely blank. Whatever she thought she was reading, it wasn't there. I yapped back excitedly, dancing my paws on the table. "Good! Good. That's exactly what we need around here. Someone with experience and enthusiasm." She leaned in close "Unlike that last applicant. He barely could say a word! Ha!" I playfully gekkered in reply and she chuckled along with me. "Well, I don't see any reason to keep you in suspense, you're exactly what we need around here. You're hired!"

A sigh of relief escaped my lungs. As long as I could get money, I could keep paying for my house, which meant I would have a comfortable place to sleep each night, and food to put on the table, so to speak. Realistically, I was going to have to eat off the floor. The interview concluded, so I signaled my thanks and Rebekah walked me out. My first day would be tomorrow and I could hardly wait. I left the suite and pawed the elevator call button in the hallway. Now to find a way to fill this backpack on my back with food.

Back in the lobby, I trotted imperiously towards the front door of the building, claws clacking on the tile as I marched merrily forward. The swinging glass doors were shut, and there didn't seem to be anyone going in or out for me to tailgate. Impatiently, I tried pushing up against them to get a crack between them for me to squeeze though, but the tension on the door was too great for my tiny body. Defeated for the moment, I started to amble to the lounge again, only to remember I could do magic! Spinning around, I barked Open!

*WISH*

The door flew wide as if a strong gust of wind had slammed against it. I yipped in excitement and bolted out the door onto the city streets before it swung closed again.

I was practically prancing while I returned to the bus stop. Head held high, and one deliberate paw fall in front of the other, I danced my way back to the stop with confidence. Too much confidence.

"Mommy, look! A fox!" I heard a little girl cry out from the crowded street around me. Oh shit! The whole way in, I was using magic to hide myself and I didn't even know it. I didn't want people to see me, and it happened just as I needed it. Now I was strutting around without a care, and everyone could see the rusty orange fox with a backpack roaming the city street. I need to not be seen, I said.

*WISH*

The little girl's mom swung around in response to her daughter. "Where?" she asked, but the little girl was now pointing at what looked to her as empty space on the sidewalk.

I still wanted to dance and prance, more so after pulling such a blatant disappearing act, but I knew I had to keep a stealthy attitude in mind, or the spell might change to suit my mood. Dancing was a call for attention, and I couldn't risk the consequences of having the eyes of an entire city block looking at me. Keeping my head down and ears pulled back, I sauntered to the bus stop and sat down to wait. I had no idea what the mid-day bus schedule was like, so I planted my paws down on the pavement, wrapped my fluffy tail around my side, and stood waiting like a furry statue for the next bus to show up.

The void twisted some more, almost as sharp as it was the first time it appeared in the woods. I grimaced against the discomfort. There had to be some way to satiate this emptiness in me. Again, my thoughts drifted to the Vixen. She seemed to genuinely care about me, despite having just met, and I had shrugged her off so dismissively. To be fair, she had just turned me into a fox. I don't know how anyone was supposed to act after experiencing that. Maybe others would have given into being a fox and just joined the mating circle, but that wasn't me. I wanted order and structure to my life that being an animal wouldn't provide. The last week cooped up in my house was proof enough of that.

Over the loud din of the streets, the low rumble of a bus engine a few blocks away became clear to my ears. Not long now. I stood up on all fours and let my tail swish behind me, anxious for the bus to reach the stop. As it pulled up, several passengers disembarked, and I hopped on just as the folding door brushed my tail while it closed.

The bus was a lot more crowded at this time of day. Keeping my head low, I sniffed from seat to seat, looking for an empty bench I could curl up on. Most were full, but one had been left open for me. I jumped up onto it and curled up so that my tail covered my snout. I really needed people to not see the whole bench I was on.

The passengers at this time of day were very loud. Coughs, sniffles, engine revs, brake squeaks, babies crying, kids bickering; it all was too much for my ears again. I pulled them back to try to stifle the noise. Unlike my last trip, the driver did a much better job keeping the ride smooth, which made the ride a lot more relaxing. Every time the bus found a bus stop, more people shuffled on and off, and I would stand up and look out the window without fear of being thrown off my seat. An hour passed, and then two. I realized the bus was taking me to areas of the city I had never gone to. None of it was familiar or looked like I could get a bite to eat from the offices of the area. No restaurants to beg at, or supermarkets to raid. Frustration and despair began to overtake me. I think I boarded the wrong bus. The bus I should have been on would have taken me out of the main city districts by now, but this one was on an innercity circuit. Slumping down, I curled back up and closed my golden eyes. The day had been long, and I

didn't sleep well overnight. Slowly, I started to doze off as the bus gently rocked me to sleep.

I was in the dusty abandoned house again, its warmth welcoming this time. There were foxes all around the room, more than I had seen when I was there as a human. I sniffed the air and I could smell her near. Turning around, I found her approaching me from the crowd of red-orange fur. Are you ready to join us yet? She motioned. I stammered, but couldn't give an affirmative or negative. She didn't wait for my answer. She slowly moved closer, one black paw at a time, dipped her muzzle between my legs and started licking. Last time was so wonderful, I responded by rolling onto my back and splaying out my legs for her while I tucked in my forepaws into my chest. Again, she positioned herself between my short furry legs, careful to not step on my tail, and began to lick my sheath with her long, loving licks. Slowly, my erection began to emerge out of its furry folds, red flesh contrasting my white fur. She pressed her dark nose into it and inhaled deeply, drinking in its musky scent. She began to crawl over me again, aligning my muzzle with her muzzle before pressing her body down on mine. Just as she was about to envelop me again, the other foxes in the room circled in close and I was embraced in a sea of orange and white fur which slowly turned a shade of purple.

_ _

I snapped awake. There were no foxes around me, but a gentle pressure wrapped my tiny body, and I found I was actually being embraced in the waking world. A passenger had found me and taken me onto her lap and was petting the white fur on my chest, cooing at me like I was a baby. I looked up and fixed my golden eyes on hers, and she smiled warmly back.

"Now how did a little guy like you get on the bus?" she asked.

Still groggy, I started to notice that it was now dusk outside. I had been sleeping for several hours, and must have lost focus on keeping myself hidden.

"Don't you worry, I have plenty of food at home for you" she continued while she stroked my belly. My belly churned again, both from hunger, and the ever-present void that just kept getting more and more ravenous. I decided to play the lost animal for a bit until I could get that meal. Tucking my ears back, I lapped my tongue up at her and she giggled. Just to rub it in, I thwacked my fluffy tail against the bench seat repeatedly.

"Oh my, you are a friendly one!" she said, still burying her hand in my fur. I rolled over in her lap, and she continued stroking my side around the backpack until we got to her stop. Using the hanging loop on the pack as a leash, she led me off the bus, dismissing the glares she was getting by announcing I was her service animal.

We were in a residential district, with tall concrete apartment buildings surrounding us. The bus closed its doors and rumbled off, leaving us alone on the dimly lit city street. I looked up at her, and she seemed to be staring off towards her building.

"It's this way. Come with me, little one," she said and started to walk ahead. Stomach gurgling, I

followed cautiously, trotting behind her while staying alert. There was no way for me to tell if she had an ulterior motive.

The trip to her 4th floor apartment was only a few blocks and a few flights of stairs, and we arrived uneventfully. She never really checked to see if I was following, but the sounds of my claws on the pavement would have been enough to reassure her that I was still following faithfully.

"I'd like to know how you got that backpack on you," she said as she dug through her purse and pulled her keys out to unlock the door. "You must be someone's lost pet. But I don't see a collar on you. Hopefully your owners chipped you." Comments about being owned and chipped didn't sit well with me, but I didn't react to them. She was being very gracious by helping me at all, instead of the response I would have expected, like a call to animal control to evict me from the bus.

With the door unlocked and open, I darted inside ahead of her, anxious to get out of the open. Lights flicked on after she entered, and she plopped her purse and keys down near the door. The apartment was small and cluttered. There was a sectional sofa in front of the TV that was rather clear, but draped over anywhere that could hold laundry was various articles of clothing and linens, and every counter and table surface was stacked with boxes, knickknacks, clean and dirty dishes, and any sort of miscellaneous bric-a-brac a homeowner without an organization system would have lying about. The room smelled of cats and old cooking, but none of her pets came out of hiding to greet us. I turned to the lady as she absently shoved the door with her palm while she left the entryway. The door didn't quite meet the jamb to close properly, but she moved away without regard.

"Let me help you with that backpack and get you some food," she said. She sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to her, indicating she wanted me to hop up. I willingly obliged. The couch was very soft, and my light paws still sunk into the fabric. There was a tugging at the arm strap from behind me, and I assisted by lifting my paw from the couch while she unlooped the strap from my right arm, and then the left. One the pack was removed, she began to stroke my back fur, first gently, and then with more indulgence.

"Oh, my. You are so,Soft!" she said. My mouth cracked open, and I reflexively began to pant a little. It was nice getting this sort of attention, and the backpack had gotten hot and itchy over my fur. Her hands began to wrap around my fluffy white chest, "So soft," she repeated dozily. I allowed her to roll me onto my back so she could keep stroking my soft white fur. Tucking my paws into my chest, I let my head flop back and gravity pulled my black lips away from my narrow muzzle, allowing my fangs become exposed in a blissful smile. The stroking continued, now from the white tip of my chin to the underside of my rib cage. If a part of me was white and fluffy, she was petting it. "Soft..." she repeated once more, and her hand brushed my foxhood. The dream I had on the bus floated to the front of my mind, and my fleshy member started to peek out from it sheath.

"Mmm," she hummed, and she took her hand and started gently caressing my genitals, coaxing my member to extend more. "Let me help you with that," she said again as she leant in to kiss my exposed chin. I was in an euphoric coma, and couldn't care what she was doing with me. She rubbed her face in my chest fur, smelling it and getting lost in the scent of it. "I bet you're going to enjoy this," she murmured, and I agreed. I really needed this right now.

Scooting backwards off the couch and letting my fluffy tail hang between us, she got down on her knees and began to rub her face against my budding erection. Her soft touch was electric, and the sensitive skin on my penis was far easier to stimulate than my human member. I whined softly and cracked my muzzle wide open with a wide smile, letting the attention raise me to full mast. She took my red rocket into her mouth, knot and all, and began to deep throat my foxhood. The sensations were incredible, and I started to kick out with my hind legs as the stimulation from her warm mouth poured through me. Fearful of scratching her delicate face with my claws, I settled their pads on her shoulders and pushed against her in ecstasy. The pressure didn't dissuade her, and instead, she pushed back to put more effort in. Rubbing the base of my penis with her tongue and sucking hard like a hot popsicle, she brought her hands up to my torso and began rubbing the fur on my sides and chest. The whine in my throat became a blissful squeak. Then, she stood up and bent over me, allowing my legs fall off her shoulders, and began to stroke my furry balls with one hand while the other worked my knotted shaft. I reached out into the air with one of my forepaws, trying to grab on to something to steady myself against the onslaught of pleasure, but instead just pawed limply at nothingness. I couldn't hold on any longer, my penis was throbbing, and I was about to burst. Hot jets of fox semen started to blast out of my member, first squirting over her face, and the rest into her gaping mouth after she lunged down to gobble down as much of it as she could. I heaved a growling moan as more and more jets erupted from me while she held her mouth over my red flesh, greedily gulping after each new, continuous blast.

Unlike my human self, I didn't start to deflate once my seed was pushed out. My fox body expected to be knotted to my mate. Because of this, the woman didn't pull off once I was done spurting, and instead, she kept her mouth tightly wrapped around me, and rolled her tongue against my tip. It was then I started to feel a warmth of golden energy flowing back into me from her. From the tip of her tongue to the tip of my erection, I felt a hot flow of something powerful and energetic flow into me, and start to fill me up. It was like a second orgasm being pulled backwards into my whole body. My head still laying on the couch, I closed my eyes against the intensity of the sensation, and bright purple light started to glow within my eyelids. The void in my stomach was filling, and it was filling fast. I started to howl a high-pitched squeak, and just as the void started to overflow, the energy stream stopped. It was over.

Rolling over, and tongue hanging out panting, I stood up on all four of my paws and shook out my coat. Preparing to jump off the couch to get the food I had been promised, I realized my member was still extended from its sheath. There was a nervous feeling like I should lick myself off, but I knew how to operate a shower, it could wait. Looking at the woman before me, I noticed her behaving oddly instead of getting the food she had promised me. Considering the events of the day, I should have been on guard for something like this, but I had been lost in the moment entirely. Hunched over, she was wiping at the fox semen on her face with the back of her wrists and then greedily licking it off. She was mid-lick when she froze suddenly, horror stricken. Looking at her semen covered hands and dapping at her face in sickly realization of what was on her face, she gave a loud, horrified scream.

"What am I doing?" she panted hysterically, slowing rising back up and glancing around for any material she would be willing to wipe off on. She winced and grabbed her stomach, and then her eyes fixed on me. "You! Get out of here!" she shouted, "Get!" I didn't move from the couch, but I could feel my member starting to retreat back into its sheath instead of hanging freely. "Now!" she yelled bellowed. Still, I did not move. I had been promised food, and I was going to get some.

Furious, she got up from the sitting area and turned her back to me, only to reach for a closet and pull out a broom. Brandishing the broom, she spun around and faced me again, and my heart skipped a beat in horror. Long black whiskers were protruding from her upper lips, eyebrows and chin. Her eyes had changed to gold slits, and the skin on her nose and lips was leathery and black. Taking two steps forward, she held the broom high, making it clear she intended to strike me with it if I didn't move. I shrank back into the couch, and just as the woman started to draw back to strike, the broom suddenly popped out of her hands. Her reaction was quick, and she swatted at the broom to catch it before it landed, but instead of restoring her grip on the handle, it just slammed to the floor harder from her spiking it. Reaching down to pick it up, she found her hands weren't working anymore. In fact, they weren't even hands at all! Not understanding what was happening, she brought her furless paws up to her face, finally seeing her pink, fleshy pads on her fingers and palms. Bloodcurdling horror flashed on her face, and she tried to scream again, but ended up squeaking instead. Placing her paws on her throat, she tried her voice again through her panicked heaving, but only made a squeaky noise like air slowly escaping a balloon. Orange and white fur started spouting over her face, and her ears pulled out to long fox ears. Orange fur started poking short tufts out through her long brown hair, popping her human hair out of her scalp in tiny patches.

The sight was horrible to behold. I remembered how the other foxes had left me alone to transform, and I wondered if this was why. She looked from the shoulders down, like a botched taxidermy showcase, and it was only spreading faster. Her muzzle and fangs were pushing out now, and her paws and claws were finishing their transformation while she still held her white furry throat. Squealing again, she doubled over, and there was a loud crack as her shoulders were brought to the sides of her torso, making her grasp on her long furry neck impossible. With another squelching crunch, her rib cage stretched forward, and she landed on her new furry paws. She stopped squealing for a moment, but made struggled coughs while she had the air knocked out of her. Her clothes started to sag off from body, and her pants slid down to her knees. I could see a smattering of orange fur covering her butt cheeks, while her smell started to become distinctly vixen. Finding her voice again, she gave another high-pitched scream, and a small bulge started to press out of her underwear. Her golden eyes fixed on mine with cursed accusation, and she tried to drag herself forwards toward the couch on her paws and knees, only for her to slip out of her open-toed shoes and place dainty black fox paws on the carpet. Panting hard through wide black lips and ivory fangs, her panties gave way and a full fluffy fox tail burst forth, and she collapsed to the floor, completely exhausted by the finished change.

I didn't know what to do. There was nothing I could do. I didn't mean to turn her into a fox, but now she was one, and there was no way I could get food from her. Maybe some cat food would be enough?

I grabbed my bag with my mouth and leaped off the couch past her, while she struggled to find any strength to stand or shake off all the clothes she was entangled in. I clacked into the kitchen, looking for a food bowl I could pilfer, or a bag of pet food on the counter. Instead, my eyes landed on the freezer door four feet above my head. Open!

*WISH*

The stainless-steel door flashed purple and swung open like it had been stuffed with too much food, and its contents poured out on the floor. TV dinners, frozen chicken breasts, and a few ice cube trays all showered down on me. I began to load them into my bag, taking each item into my jaws and finding a place for it in the bag. Closing the zipper was hard, but I did manage to hook a fang and pull it shut while the new vixen screamed at me, her ears held back in anger from within her bundle of clothes.

I didn't realize how much a fox could sound like an accosted woman until that moment. There were hurried footfalls outside the front door, and a deep voice bellowed from outside, "Ma'am, are you alright?" Loud pounding came from the door, but it had never latched properly, so it swung open freely, and the good Samaritan peered inside to see two foxes in a rather messy apartment. The vixen started screaming louder at the man from her bundle of clothes, so I took the moment of confusion to grab the much heavier bag in my jaws and run past him out the door. The vixen brought herself up shakily on her forepaws to stop me, but I was already bolting out the door as fast as my springy fox legs could carry me. The man just stood in the doorway as I passed by and ran down the stairs, completely confused by the scene in the apartment.

About a block later, I paused to catch my breath and put down the bag so I could pant properly. What had I done? Life was really hard as a fox, and I had unwittingly turned another human into one. It was so easy too. I shuddered at the thought of accidentally doing it again. The sounds she made and the way her body warped and twisted was beyond imagination. Somehow, going through the transformation myself was less horrifying, but I couldn't watch myself change the way I was able to watch her.

I placed my paw through the strap of the bag, and did my little rolling trick to get it back on. It was a lot harder while the bag was full, but eventually I was wearing a very cold sack of food that should last me for quite a while. The night was young, and so I set out to find my way home for the night. I was expecting to have to travel on foot all the way home, but a quick flash of magic let me hitchhike in the back of a passing pickup truck. I wasn't about to get too close to another driver if I didn't need to.

---

A half hour later, I was watching the headlights of the pickup pull away from my driveway. I turned around and trotted down the coarse pavement to my front door. The house was dark, and only the night sky allowed me to see it at all from the end of the drive. I normally didn't get home this late, so I didn't have any lights on. Not to mention, it was hard to flip switches and I wasn't looking forward to dealing with the power company. Reaching the door, I pushed it gently open and stepped inside, expecting to rely on my fox eyes in the dark home. However, something felt weird as I entered. I stood up on my hind paws and flicked the switch on the wall next to the door with my pads, trying to not nick the paint with my claws. Brilliant light filled the kitchen, and standing next to the heap of trash I had left, was Her.

Hello. Mate. The Vixen flicked her tail in greeting.