We don't hate being micros chapter 10b - It's not so bad. by Jevin

We don't hate being micros chapter 10b - It's not so bad.

Jevin, Cougar, Foot Fetish, Fox, Macro, Micro, Wolf

We don't hate being micros chapter 10b - It's not so bad.

Cameron growls, pressing Robert to the ground with a large hunter's knife only a foot above the fox's chest. Robert holds the wrist of the hand that clenches the knife pointed at his heart, growling loudly up towards the cat.

"I'll kill you!" He growls out, staring at Cameron with a murderous gaze. The cougar is taken aback, he has never killed anyone before and despite Robert being a rather cruel giant, he hesitates to put full force behind his arm to attempt to plunge the knife into Robert's heart.

He thinks about George, about their past, how they were adopted, their parents, and their own pledge to one another as brothers. It pisses him off that it has to come to this, but if he doesn't kill Robert, there's no guarantee of their safety. He doesn't know how, but staring into the crazed eyes of the fox struggling beneath his weight he feels that Robert would never give up if he survives this. He frowns and pushes down with resolve, staring to break the grip of the fox down as the knife moves ever closer to the vulpine's chest.

~~~one week ago~~~

Cameron sits in his cage, fingering the ring and looking about the master bedroom, hardly able to believe it has been a week since he was caught. Looking around, he sees and hears nothing more than silence and so he figures it's safe to take the ring out again. Had Veronica told Robert about the ring? Would he be able to keep it when he goes 'hunting'?

'I've never tried to kill anyone before, I wonder... I wonder if I'll be able to do it? What if I can't?' He sighs and stares at the golden band he was given by Veir. He moves it around between his fingers, thinking about what he has to do. 'If I fail then George and I may not see the light of another day. If I start this fight then Robert will have to be the one who dies.' He closes his eyes and shoves the ring back into his pocket. 'Fuck...'

"Why did you bring me out here?" George asks while looking up at the looming face of Veronica, still a little nervous around her despite her apparent lack of desire to harm him. Her face is one of unease, something is bothering her. George stares attentively, showing that he's willing to listen.

"I want talk to you about something. Normally, I'd just handle this myself but..." She frowns a little, "Well, lets just say I'm worried about Robert's mental health and I'm worried about what's going to happen on that 'hunting' trip. You see, your brother seems to have found a way to grow himself..."

"What!?" George perks but then lowers his ears and covers his muzzle.

"Yes, I saw him standing at what I would estimate to be my height before he did something. It looked like he rubbed his hand or removed something from it and afterward he was suddenly only a few inches tall. Do you know anything about this, George?"

The wolf stares up at the fox for a moment before lowering and shaking his head. "No... nothing at all."

Veronica frowns a little bit. "George... if I don't figure out how your brother did that, I -will- do something about it myself. I can't promise you'll like it. I'm giving you a chance to tell me if you know anything so that we can work this out together."

George frowns a little. He's not supposed to tell anyone about the cloakers, they're a secret and if the giants found out...

"If... if I tell you, you have to promise you'll help me protect Cameron. I don't want anything to happen to him-- I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him." The wolf stares up into the larger eyes of the vixen whom gives a simple nod.

"I told you before, I don't care to see you guys harmed and I think it's high time that Robert finally face up to what happened and stop this senselessness..." Veronica speaks with an exasperated tone.

"What do you mean?" George asks, only to have Veronica wave her hand in the air. "First, you tell me how your brother is able to grow and then I'll tell you about Robert..."

George sits and crosses his legs, thinking back to the last time he spoke to Cameron before Robert caught him. "They're called cloakers, they let us... well, they let us hide in plain sight. Cameron... well, I wanted one for a long time. It's hard being as small as we are. If even one of us could be a giant then it'd be so much easier to find a place to live and settle into a consistent, comfortable life."

"So micros -have- taken this technology further than we have. That's amazing considering the conditions under which any micro scientist must live." Veronica frowns a little bit. "So Cameron has a cloaker? That will be problematic; I bet he's planning to do something when he and Robert go hunting. There's no other reason he would've been as calm as he was when he accepted Robert's terms."

"Please don't take it away from him, Veronica... he doesn't stand a chance against Robert without it."

"No, but my question is what will he try? Will he run? Will he fight? I'm betting on the latter, considering you'll still be here with us. He doesn't anything to happen to you... I don't see another way, we have to take it away from him."

George shakes his head, standing. "Veronica! Please... look, you've been really nice to us considering the position you're in. I know your family comes first and... whatever decision you make, I can't do a whole lot to stop you. This is our only hope, though. If I lose Cameron then I don't know what I'd do, and I don't want to live under Robert's feet for the rest of my life."

Veronica keeps her frown. She'd always done things to protect her family and no one else. Still, Robert has been spiraling down a demented path ever since she married him. Taking the cloaker away from Cameron isn't going to fix that.

"What happened to Robert?" George asks. "Maybe... maybe we can help one another? I want Cameron to be safe and happy and you want the same for Robert. I don't know how, but... maybe there's a way..."

Veronica's frown fades and she sighs a little bit. She moves a finger forward to press against George's chest, petting her black, supple fingerpad down over his torso for a moment. It feels strange, but George doesn't resist. He sits down and leans back on his hands, watching the Vixen curiously and enjoying the petting.

"Shortly after the micro wars... close to 18 years...."

Robert rubs his eyes, sitting up from bed and looking around for a moment. It's dark outside and either fairly early in the morning or late at night. He stands up and begins to walk to the bathroom. Inside, he uses the toilet and peers into a mirror stuck to an adjacent wall. He makes silly faces while he relieves himself, the 9 year old fox in the mirror mimicking everything he does. He grins at his own silliness and pulls his pajama bottoms back up to leave the bathroom. Before he leaves, he takes one more look into the mirror. He sees himself but, also... a micro hanging from the ceiling? Turning, the fox starts to speak but something sprays right into his nose, and he feels suddenly weak before passing out.

Upon waking up, he looks around, cringing at the headache rattling his brain. He tries to get up but finds his legs and hands bound. Once his vision clears, he gets a good look around the room, which just happens to be his parents' room. He notices his parents sitting against the backboard of their bed opposite of the wall he's sat up against. His brother is struggling next to him and their hands and legs are all bound similarly.

"Are these the ones, Scout?"

"Yea, this looks right. A family of four foxes..." comes a couple of voices, shrill and high-pitched as micros' voices tend to be to a giant. "W-who are you...?" Robert's father calls, causing the micro apparently named Scout to look toward him. "He's first, then the giantess and the kids last."

"Please! You've got the wrong guy, we've never killed or harmed any micros, at least not intentionally..." speaks Robert's father. "Please, if you just give me a chance then I can show you some ID or something... you have to believe us..."

"Shut up!" Scout growls, glaring up at the giant for a moment before grinning and pulling a weird-looking syringe from his pocket. He climbs Robert's dad's chest and pulls himself up to the vulpine's muzzle. "This is why you giants should stop fucking around with us... think you can just trample our homes and families? Well, now you'll get a taste of it for yourself. Your kids are gonna watch as we kill you and the bitch. After that, we'll end their misery as well. At least we're merciful enough to kill entire families..."

"Please! Listen to him! He's telling the truth." Robert's mom shouts while Robert and his brother shout for their father along with her. At this point, several more micros come out of the woodwork, each carrying a syringe. They take their own positions similar to scout's place on Robert; one per giant. Robert stares at the micros standing on him, shivering nervously. He wonders what's going to happen, if his family will be alright...

Robert's father tries to shake his muzzle but Scout is fast, the feline quickly digs his claws into the fox's flesh and hangs on. It doesn't take long, Scout times his movements correctly and plunges the needle into the vulpine's flesh. After emptying the syringe, he jumps down.

Robert's dad immediately begins shaking and growling, his entire body tensed as the poison takes its affect. The family quiets down and the micros standing on their bodies watch with them as the fox strains against his bindings and shouts out in pain. Robert's brother closes his eyes but Robert can't, it's like he's living in some sort of a nightmare. After a few minutes of intense growling and struggling, Robert's father quiets down and slouches while a strange foam leaks from his mouth.

"D-dad?..." Robert looks on, eyes widening. "Dad!?"

Scout grins. "This is how it feels, do you understand now?" The cougar smirks, staring at the kids and then towards their mother, who has begun pleading again.

"L-leave the kids out of this! I-I understand you're angry... but we've always tried to help micros! W-we've housed them, we've fed them... please you have to believe me. I-if you have to take someone's life then take mine and... leave my kids alone. Please... just let them--"

"Shut up." Scout growls out, pointing to her and watching as she is injected as well.

Again, Robert can only watch. He wants to look away but something won't let him. He tears up and the entire room becomes blurry. He can't see any more than a blob of his mother's form writhing from the poison through the copious amount of liquid filling his vision.

"Stop..." Robert starts crying. Apparently, the micros are getting anxious as they don't wait until his mother is dead to inject Robert's brother.

"Someone is coming, Scout..." one of the micros whispers loudly enough for Robert to hear. He's not paying attention, though. He's watching his brother die, but for some reason he can't plead or cry anymore. He knows it's too late. His vision turns to look at the micro hanging onto his body. He doesn't squirm, he just watches... waiting...

A knock sounds at the door. "What's all the screaming in there? Are you guys okay? Hey! Open this door.."

"We gotta leave, Scout..."

The cougar growls and looks to Robert. "Inject him! Now!" He shouts but the lock to the door clicks and the micro hanging onto Robert hesitates.

Scout growls and starts running towards the back of the house. "Get out of here! Now! We gotta get out of here before they find us..."

Robert watches as the micros flee towards the back door. The last of his tears falls down his cheeks and he looks around at his family. His brother lays next to him and his parents in their bed. None of them are breathing, and they all have that strange foam coming from their muzzles. He shivers, speechless, unable to think, hardly able to breath... something warm wraps around him and he looks up to see an adult picking him up, trying to comfort him....

George feels choked up. He clenches his teeth and looks down, growling softly to himself. No wonder Robert is so cruel. It makes perfect sense and, though it doesn't excuse Robert's behavior, George can't help but sympathize with the giant just a little bit. "I-I've heard this type of story a lot. Cameron and I faced similar conditions. It's so typical in this world. The sting never feels any better, either. No matter how many times you hear it about it happening, it's always a tragedy and it always leads to more pain..."

Veronica looks up as George speaks but only acknowledges his words before looking down again to continue.

"When I met him, he was untrusting, cold, friendless, and disliked micros with a passion. I don't know what made me speak to him, maybe I wanted to save him or something. When we began dating, things seemed to become better for him. He even gave up hunting for a while. He became a different person during that period all the way up to when I became pregnant with Terry. He told me that the reason he wanted to take up hunting again was because he wanted to protect us from micro threats. He didn't want what happened before to repeat. I knew he was being a bit paranoid but, against my better judgment, I didn't stop him. It was harmless at first, but as time went on he began doing more than just taking note of nearby micros. He started bringing them home and even giving them to Terry as 'snacks'." Veronica frowns a little bit and leans back, moving her finger away from George.

"I admit, I tried eating one of you guys one day. It... tasted good. I didn't stop Robert because I actually enjoyed eating micros. I didn't see the harm in it. I didn't grow up around micros and while I'd heard things about them, I'd never become attached to them and never felt you were anything more than.... well, animals. Terry is the one that snapped me out of that when he found you. The day after he found you, he asked me why I'd never told him that micros could talk. I guess I kind of knew that..."

"He wouldn't do it if he knew that we are also people..." George finishes the sentence, understanding, at least in part, the chain of events leading up to now. "And if he didn't do it, you couldn't do it because, as the adult, you don't want to set a bad example and... you knew that eating us is wrong, you just couldn't acknowledge it because you didn't want to stop."

Veronica frowns again. "Don't get me wrong, I understand that life for micros is hard. I won't say I've done right by you all at any point during my life. I've always cared most for making sure Robert and Terry are alright. Unfortunately, I think that I made a mistake when I let Robert start hunting again."

"Strangely enough, I understand," George frowns. "I wish you'd be more proactive in helping us, Veronica. Despite your methods, I don't think I'd have made it to this point without you. We've all wronged in the past, even Cameron and I have thieved and stolen from giants or other micros in order to survive. Help me save Cameron and I'll help you with Robert... you know as well as I do that this will only end badly for both of us unless we do something."

"And how will you help me with Robert?" She asks, peering closely at the wolf. She doesn't know how, but even now she feels closer to this little micro than she has ever felt to one. She -wants- to help George.

"I... don't know. I'll come up with something, though..."

Veronica rolls her eyes and smirks, resting her head in one of her paws and peering down at the wolf. "Fine... I think I know how we could stop anyone from getting hurt, at least..."

In the days prior to the hunt, George had been thinking about how to snap Robert out of his rage. He needed to resolve the fox's hatred for micros but he has no clue as to how he could ever pull it off. The night before the hunt he sits with Terry as the fox kit does his homework above. He thinks about Veronica's plan and about what Cameron must be going through. He feels bad that he can't help the cougar.

"Terry? I want to ask you something..." George rubs along the sides of the massive, black-furred toe of the giant fox kit. The fox peers down at George and wriggles his toe gently.

"What's that, George?" He asks as he works on the assignment sitting on a clip-board in his lap.

"What would you say if you, Cameron and I became brothers?" George asks, leaning down and resting his muzzle atop the fox's toe before peering up towards Terry again.

"Brothers? What do you mean...?" He smiles, pushing George backwards and pinning him under his warm paw. "You're already my pet!"

"Well, yes..." George mrrfs and pushes his palms gently into the soft sole of the kit, trying to lift the paw but finding it rather impossible. "R-remember when we agreed that micros are people too? Well, I figured it's only right. You'd become a brother to both Cameron and I."

Terry blinks and lowers his ears a little bit. "Well... of course we can." He smiles widely, grasping George with a few toes and lifting the wolf up into the air to deposit him into a handpaw. The wolf squirms a little bit and looks up at the fox with a smile. Terry hugs George to his chest and then scritches at George's head. "So you're my little brother?"

George blinks and laughs a little. "Yea, I guess I kind of am. I'll be your older little brother." He rubs at the palm of the giant gently, flicking his tail.

"How old are you anyway, George?" George blinks. "Huh? Oh... 16"

Terry smiles and gives a quick nod."Alright! older little brother, then. Who is Cameron?"

"We adopted one another as siblings 5 years ago. He's my older brother."

"Where is he?"

"Your mother and father have him, he'll probably join us soon. I just want to ask you a quick favor, Terry. I can't go to school with you tomorrow, but do you think you could meet me somewhere once you're out? There's something I want to show you..."

"Sure, George..."

George frowns a little. The plan is bad, but he promised Veronica he'd try. He looks to Terry and begins to give directions. "Meet me..."

Cameron feels the car stop and the sound of his cage being unlocked. He looks out towards Robert only to be snatched up rather roughly. "Alright, this is the area? Are you sure?" Robert glares down to him.

Cameron struggles gently in the fox's grip. "Yes, this is the area. If you put me down I'll show you the way."

"You'd better not try any funny business..." Robert says, putting the micro down and keeping close. Cameron did, in fact, lead George to a well-known micro-run refuge. It's a bit risky, but he figures that's the only way he'll get the fox to drop his guard for a moment. Cameron walks through the small, wooded area just outside of the city, about a mile off of the road. A tree provides cover as Robert and Cameron spy on a little hovel built into the side of a hill. It's covered by brush but with Cameron pointing it out to him it's easier to spot than it might be to a passerbyer.

"Heheh, good boy..." Robert grins, staring over the hovel, already planning how he'll lure any micro that enters or exits and giving Cameron the moment he needed. Cameron's hand slips into his pocket and he puts the ring on as quickly as he can. Being just outside of Robert's peripheral vision, he gets the element of surprise. As Cameron reaches 6', leaves and ground crackle beneath his feet and Robert turns to see the teenaged cougar now standing taller than him. "W...what!??" He reaches for his knife but Cameron is faster. Cameron pulls the knife out of its holster at Robert's side and throws a punch at Robert. It misses and the fox throws himself into the cougar's midsection.

Cameron falls backwards but the fox is surprisingly... not that powerful. He rather easily uses the force of the fox to lead him to overextend himself and roll over, allowing Cameron to pin him down to the ground beneath his rear. Cameron raises the knife in his paw and brings it down towards Robert's chest, it only stopping because Robert grasps his wrist with a paw.

"I'll kill you!" He growls out, staring at Cameron with a murderous gaze. The cougar is taken aback, he has never killed anyone before and despite Robert being one of the most twisted, cruel giants he has met, he hesitates to put full force behind his arm to attempt to plunge the knife into Robert's heart.

Veronica stares down from the trees, seeing Robert and Cameron struggle. Since Cameron seems to be winning she holds back, as per the plan, waiting for George to take action but holding a small pistol in front of her just in case the little wolf is unsuccessful. As Cameron's knife gets closer to Robert's chest she contemplates shooting, wondering what George is waiting for. Just as she's about to shoot, she see George and settles the gun back into her pocket to prepare to climb down.

"Cameron! Stop!"

Cameron looks down and to the side to see George panting heavily and looking up at him from below. He's so tiny, he's never seen George from so high up. Robert tries to take advantage of Cameron's lack of attention but the cougar is too heavy. Cameron keeps fox pinned and growls. "George, what are you doing here?"

"You can't kill him, Cameron, this is wrong... you can't do that to Terry..."

"This isn't the time, George. He'll kill us and others if we don't kill him first. I know you, and I know what you're thinking. Life isn't like that and you know it, George. You remember how our parents died, don't you!? Same damn deal.."

"And you're using that to justify this!? He has a son, Cameron! It can't end this way, it'll be that day all over again except it'll be our fault this time..."

Cameron growls. He wishes George weren't here, he's just going to make this hard. Robert, meanwhile, is snarling and tiring, unable to overpower the cougar or even stand up. The anger he feels overrides any want to continue living. He doesn't plead, he doesn't give up. Seeing him this way, Veronica starts to climb down the tree.

"Dad!" Terry shouts, causing Cameron to look up and Veronica to nearly fall off of the limb she's climbing down. "Terry!?" She asks, but she's too slow to get out of the tree. Terry runs to Robert and Cameron isn't sure what he should do. He begins to lift his hand to shake it, feeling a strange weight on it but paying it no attention just yet. Does he block the kid? Does he finish-- Cameron suddenly feels a sinking feeling and before he knows it, he's laying beside a gigantic Robert with George pulling him away.

Using all of his might, George is unable to pull the ring from Cameron's finger until the cougar shifts and lifts his handpaw. With the help of gravity, the ring comes off and George pulls Cameron off to the side. The knife falls to the ground next to Robert and Cameron looks flabbergasted "What are you doing, George!?" Cameron shouts. "We had our chance! George! What the hell!?"

Terry gets on his knees... "Dad!?" He looks down at the enraged face of his father, who is still trying to figure out what happened. Robert spots George and Cameron and starts to roll and try to grab one of them but Veronica holds him back, arriving just in time to pull Robert away from the two micros.

Cameron and George face the family of vulpines now. Veronica ignores the fact that Terry is here for now, trying to get Robert to stop squirming. "Let go! Let go, I'll kill him!" Robert shouts.

"Dad! W-what's wrong?" Robert glances at Terry for a moment as if only just noticing that he's here. He feels embarrassed for a moment, due to the fact that his son sees him in this condition. His growling ceases but he still glares at Cameron and George. "Terry! Get them!"

Veronica keeps a hold of Robert. "Robert, it's time to stop this. It's time to stop being pissed off at them because of what happened to you. You've gone crazy, do you even see yourself?"

The kit looks to George and Cameron, starting to approach them slowly as Veronica tries to talk sense into Robert.

Cameron starts to back away but George holds him still. "It's alright, Cameron... this is Terry. He's, uh... well, he's part of our family now."

Getting on his knees, Terry smiles a little. "This is Cameron, George?" The wolf smiles and nods. "This is Cameron... Cameron, this is Terry."

Cameron seems nervous but as the fox reaches down and places his hand on the ground, as opposed to grabbing them outright, he feels a little less nervous. With George leading him, he climbs into the fox's palm and shivers a little. The adrenaline is still coursing his body and he finds it hard to relax. "H-Hi..." Cameron stutters. Terry has more questions, but he holds them for now. He's worried about his dad and wondering why he wants George and Cameron so badly.

"He almost killed me, Veronica! You can't say you're going to just let that happ-"

"You were trying to kill them, Robert! What the hell do you expect them to do? How many is enough, Robert? When will you be satisfied?"

Terry comes over and looks towards his father still being held by Veronica. "Mom? Dad? Why're we all out here? What did you want to show me, George?"

"It's my fault, I made sure we'd all be here. Or, at least, I tried to make it so we'd all meet here." George states before looking up to Terry. "Set me on the ground, please, Terry..." Terry does so and George now stands before Veronica and Robert. George looks up into the enraged glare Robert sends back and then lowers his ears.

"I'm sorry, Robert. Veronica told me everything, and I'm really sorry it happened to you. There's no forgiving the micros that did that to your family."

"You... you did what!?" Robert looks up to Veronica who growls. "Just listen, alright?" She looks down to George, listening.

"Cameron and I know what it feels like, our families were also killed and it was by a giant who felt their deaths were entertaining. We watched them crushed, eaten, pulled apart..." George stops for a moment, hardly able to think about it and continue speaking coherently.

"I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't be angry, but taking it out on us isn't making it better... what do you think happened to those micros to make them want to do that? Your family didn't deserve it but it still happened, didn't it!? We never did anything to the giants that attacked our families but they still did. It's unfair, why should anyone have to go through that?"

"You're a micro, it's diffe-"

"It's not. Do you wanna know why Cameron was able to grow?" George pulls the ring out and puts it on, growing to a full 5'5". The experience is exhilarating but he stays focused. "This is a cloaker. Why do we need these? It's because giants scare us, it's because we're treated like dirt. We wear these so that you can't find us as easily, so that we can live normally and keep our families out of danger. Are we really that different from you? I bet you were scared after your family died... I bet you used to kill us just because you didn't want something terrible to happen to those you cared for again..."

Seeing George grow makes Robert flinch. Now he understands... it was that ring. George's words do finally begin taking affect, however. He's still pissed, but seeing this... it's a bit confusing.

Smiling, Veronic gives a quick nod before looking down to Robert. "Lets go home, alright? We can talk more there." She looks to George once more, unable to help but admire how far the micros have come with this growth technology. She'd love to get her hands on that ring.

Terry is, meanwhile, speechless at the fact that George is so big. "G-george? Wh.. what's going on? How are you normal sized...?" He doesn't get his answer yet, however.

Sirens fill the area as emergency teams close in. George, out of time, looks to Robert and lowers his ears. "Please just understand... please." He says before removing the ring, afraid that the police might find out about it. He walks over to Terry once small again, standing near the kit while the police arrive. Veronica helps Robert up and Cameron stays put in Terry's paw. As the police leave the vehicle, an excited lemur walks forward from the back of one of the police cruisers.

"Right there, that's the micro right there!" the lemur proclaims as he moves. Apparently, a few nearby civilians had been alerted to the commotion and called the police. The lemur points to Cameron.

Video footage of the fight, taken from a distance by the same civilians, reveals Cameron as having been large at one point, but when the police arrived he was small. George, Cameron, and Robert are all brought into custody and It's not long before an experimental cloaker detecting device is brought in on suspicion. Having no idea that the giants had a way of detecting cloakers, George's was found by the device and confiscated. When placed on Cameron, the assaulter they saw in the video was confirmed and, before long, Cameron is taken in for questioning. As a micro, he has no rights, they can detain, jail, or do anything they'd like with him.

The reunion between George and Cameron is bitter sweet. They only have a day together and they spend it catching one another up on their adventures. George tells Cameron about Terry, the sole suit, Robert, and Veronica; recalling the help Veronica gave, Terry's kindness and Robert's abuse. Cameron talks about his adventures through the school and how Veir saved him. He talks about Veir and Din and how he was given the ring. Their day doesn't last long enough and Cameron is moved to another location. All George knows is that he is to be 'tested' and 'questioned' even more.

George breaks down while imprisoned without Cameron, depressed that that the cougar was caught, and even more annoyed that Robert is found to be completely innocent while his brother doesn't even get a trial. Once released, Robert is allowed to take George, as the micro is deemed to pose no threat and because Robert calls the wolf his pet.

Terry is overjoyed to see George, but the depressed wolf quickly dampens the kit's mood. As time moves on, George explains what the cloakers are to Terry and why he and Cameron put so much on the line to find one. "They help you hide from us..." Terry stated, seeming to think deeply on the notion. He'd never forget the faces of the micros he'd killed, even now he wonders what they would have been like if he would have tried speaking to them instead of eating them. News of Cameron's whereabouts or his health is a mystery for the greater part of a year. When George finally gets his first letter from Cameron, the news doesn't cheer him up much...

"Runt? Mail." Robert speaks, opening a letter and unfolding the paper to peer over it. George's relationship with Robert has improved since the day of the fight. Despite George still feeling betrayed by how easily Robert was let off, the fox has made large strides in being at least somewhat kind. He's not quite there yet, but letting George stay as part of the family and not forcing the wolf to humiliate himself anymore are all George could have hoped for considering Robert's attitude only a year prior.

Robert begins reading.

"Dear George,

I hope this letter finds you.

I don't know what they plan to do to me, I'm sorry I can't be there with you. I can't tell you what they're doing, or when I'll see you next. Do something for me, alright? If you find Veir, or Din... tell them thanks for me. I'm sure you'd like them, I couldn't have helped you if Veir hadn't helped me...

I don't have much time, please don't worry about me. I hope things are going smoothly, and I hope you find yourself able to move forward. You'll always be my brother, and I'll fight to get back to you every day that I'm alive.

Sincerely,

Cameron. "

Robert finishes reading and looks to a shivering George. He brings a finger over, hesitating for a moment before he rubs over George's back. He doesn't say anything, he just pets.

Terry walks in, noticing George and his father and moving to ask, "What's wrong, George?" He replaces his dad's paw and rubs over the wolf's back, finally noticing the letter spread over the table. He reads the letter, frowning slightly, understanding why the wolf looks so pained. Not wanting Terry to feel bad, George attempts to regain composure but before he can speak Terry picks him up and hugs him firmly. "Don't worry, George, we'll save Cameron someday. I promise..." He pets over the wolf whom just leans into the fox's chest. "Thanks, Terry. I hope so..."

Later that night, George decides to write a small letter to Cameron, even if he won't be able to send it. There was no return address on the letter Cameron had sent.

"Dear Cameron,

Things are going splendidly, they're starting to treat me more like a member of the family than a pet. I'm happy for this, and I'm happy that Robert is starting to show signs of improvement. He no longer hunts and he spends a lot more time with Terry and Veronica. I try to stay away from him but, as I said above, he's much more kind and forgiving. Terry tries to cheer me up when depression takes over, it kind of works, but I fear I only dampen his days more than he brightens mine.

I only wish that I didn't have to lose you again in exchange for this. You've always went out of your way to try and make me happy and now I'll never be able to pay you back. I wish I never wanted that stupid cloaker, at least then you wouldn't have been so driven to try and gather the money for it. I guess I shouldn't dwindle on the past... I'll find you someday, if it takes me to the end of my years I'll figure out a way to get you back.

Be safe and healthy, wait until I can find you... don't die or anything before that...

Sincerely,

George."

The wolf looks down at his writing and then folds it up, placing it in his pocket for safe keeping. He climbs into the bed next to Terry and curls up against the warmth of the fox's fur.

"I guess I was wrong, Cam. Being a micro isn't so bad..." He mumbles before drifting off to sleep.

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