# Chapter 1: Goodbye Willowdale

Author: HeatherOBunn
Tags: Bittersweet, Chapter, College, Fox, Novel, Parents, Predator/Prey, Prejudice, Romance, Vixen, departure

#1 of Flora: A Tale from Vulpineva

My third novel is different from my first two as it is not a thriller. Instead, it is a YA romance novel. The entire novel is SFW with some mild kink. It is a prequel of sorts in that it deals with some secondary characters from the second novel a decade prior to the events of that novel.
Flora is anxious about starting undergrad at the prestigious Royal College of Vulpineva, and when she immediately clashes with her roommate, Isabelle, things don't seem to be going well. She soon meets some like-minded friends, but will Isabelle let go of Flora's slight against her? How will this grudge affect Flora's studies and her search for romance?

_Flora: A Tale from Vulpineva_  
Heather O. Bunn

© Heather O. Bunn 2021

_In memory of all of the animal victims of human violence. May we finally understand that their  
lives are their own and not for us to take or exploit._

Chapter 1: Goodbye Willowdale  
Flora shoved the final cardboard box into the back of the metallic blue minivan. Stepping  
back, she grabbed the overhead door and slammed it down with a heavy whump. She dusted  
her black-padded hands on the light blue pleated skirt that encircled the hips and upper thighs  
of her furry mottled gray, light brown, and white legs. Her bushy tail also emerged from the  
bottom of her skirt, its black tip brushing back and forth across the pavement as she regarded  
the packed van with a churning mixture of excitement and trepidation.  
Flora was a gray fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus. Typical in coloration and stature for her  
species, she had fluffy white cheeks, neck, and belly ringed with a warm light brown that crept  
around her face and up her black-tipped ears. Her back, sides, forehead, and muzzle were  
black-flecked gray, and additional black lined her green eyes, extended down her muzzle to her  
black lips and nose, and wrapped around the underside of her jaw. Solid black also tipped her  
tail and extended in a narrow stripe up the gray top side of the bottle-brush-like appendage.  
Lithe of figure, she weighed nine and a half pounds, and like all terrestrial mammals had for  
uncounted millenia, she stood comfortably on two hind legs.  
"Hard to believe it's the big day!" her mother's lilting voice interrupted her brooding.  
Flora turned toward her mother, who stood in front of their inconspicuous Cape Cod  
style home. Her mother stepped forward and embraced her in a tight hug. She'd been doing that  
a lot lately. Flora knew seeing her last kit preparing to leave home was bitter-sweet for her.  
Flora's four older brothers had moved out years ago, attended college, begun careers, and even  
started families of their own. Flora was the baby of the family, several years younger than her  
siblings, but now it was time for her to leave as well. She returned her mother's hug.  
"I'll call you every day, Mom," she promised.  
Her mother broke the hug and took her hands, stepping back to regard Flora knowingly,  
her smile warm but not without a hint of amusement, "You can call me whenever you like, but  
you don't need to worry about us. Your father and I couldn't be prouder. Just promise me you'll  
study hard! The Royal College of Vulpineva is no Willowdale High!"  
"I will," Flora answered. The last thing she wanted was to get into the most prestigious  
school in the country only to flunk out! To tell the truth, she could still barely believe she'd gotten  
in. No one else in her graduating class had, and she was certain some of them were smarter.  
Maybe they didn't apply.  
Her mother gave Flora's ear an affectionate nuzzle, "I'm sure you'll be outstanding.  
You're my brilliant girl!"  
They headed back to the white vinyl house along the gravel path that led from the  
driveway to the maroon front door. The smooth stones were cool under Flora's calloused  
footpads, not yet warmed by the rising August sun. Inside, Flora's father was finishing his  
breakfast, toast and orange juice with turkey sausage links. The turkey was lab-grown, a meat  
substitute cultivated in vats on an industrial scale. It was real animal tissue, in a sense.  
Genetically, it was turkey, but no turkeys had been harmed in its production, which was the  
point. Predation had been outlawed in Vulpineva well over two centuries ago with the help of  
this very technology, and Flora's best friends were three rabbits and a red squirrel.  
"I just need to brush my teeth, and I'll be ready," he stated. "Are the two of you ready to  
go? Don't forget to pee before we leave, Flora. It's a long drive."  
Flora dipped her head in acknowledgement, though she would have rather rolled her  
eyes. She was well aware of how long the drive was. RCV was in Wolfsbane, Vulpineva's  
capital, centrally located but hundreds of miles South of the northerly Willowdale. They'd booked  
a hotel for the night in Maplesburg and wouldn't arrive at the college until tomorrow afternoon.  
Flora was a bit nervous to be moving so far from home, but she was more nervous about the  
sheer size of the city she was moving to. She'd checked the population: over fifteen million in  
the Wolfsbane metro area. Even though the college was located several miles from downtown,  
the idea of that many animals in one area was unfathomable. Willowdale had a population of  
twenty thousand, still qualifying it as a city, but as Flora's friend Ellie liked to complain, it felt  
more like a town or even a village.  
Flora went to her room to check one last time that she hadn't forgotten anything she'd  
need. As she opened desk drawers and rifled through her closet, Flora couldn't help but notice  
how empty the room felt without her things: the pictures of her friends, her favorite books,  
knicknacks she couldn't leave behind, clothes and jewelry. All were packed and loaded.  
Searching a dresser drawer, she found a wooden bracelet her friend Charlotte had made her:  
two intertwining rings, carefully carved, smoothed, and stained reddish brown. Flora slipped the  
bracelet onto her left wrist.  
Once Flora had finished searching her room and using the bathroom one final time, she  
headed back out to the van. She was opening the back passenger-side door when she was  
interrupted by a high-pitched shout.  
"Hey! You don't think you're getting away without saying goodbye, do you?!"  
Flora whipped around to see Charlotte, Samantha, and Olivia dashing up the sidewalk  
toward her. The red squirrel was in front, but the two rabbits bounded past her, the albino rabbit,  
Samantha, reaching Flora first. Samantha leapt on Flora and hugged her tight. Flora hugged her  
back, resting her jaw on the smaller mammal's head as she smiled at her other friends. Olivia  
was white with black spots, and Charlotte, by far the smallest of the bunch, was rusty red with  
tufted ears and a white belly. Flora hugged Olivia then snatched up Charlotte to squeeze the  
diminutive squirrel to her chest. Charlotte hugged Flora's neck and nuzzled her in return,  
unperturbed at being captured by the carnivore.  
"I wasn't sure you'd come. I thought it might be too early," Flora murmured.  
"Of course we came, just like we saw Ellie off last week," Charlotte replied. "By the way,  
if you see her on your way through Maplesburg, tell her hi."  
Flora didn't think that was likely. While University of Northern Vulpineva was between  
Maplesburg and Willowdale, they wouldn't really get close to Ellie's school. "I will," she said  
anyway. She set Charlotte down as she was getting heavy.  
"It'll just be me and Sam left to see Charlotte off," Olivia noted.  
"Are you still planning to apply for next year?" Flora asked the black and white rabbit.  
Olivia nodded, "Mmhm."  
"You should apply to RCV. If I can get in, I'm sure you can," Flora encouraged.  
Olivia flicked a long ear, smiling self-consciously, "Oh no, I'd never get in. Besides, it's  
so far away. I'll try to get into UNV like Ellie or maybe Rowansburg; then I could live at home."  
Samantha smiled at the other rabbit, "That would be nice. We could still hang out then."  
Flora's stomach churned, contemplating once again how far she'd be from her friends  
and family. Maybe she should have accepted UNV instead; she could have roomed with Ellie  
even. However, when she'd mentioned the idea to the white and brown rabbit, Ellie had been  
firmly against it. As far as Ellie was concerned, getting accepted to RCV wasn't something you  
passed up. Flora had figured she was right--Ellie was always certain in her convictions, which  
made it easier to agree with her than argue--but now Flora was worried she'd made the wrong  
choice after all.  
"I'm going to miss all of you," Flora confided wistfully.  
"We'll keep in touch!" Charlotte vowed. "Don't worry. You're going to make us all proud  
showing those snobs you don't have to be born with red fur to be clever!"  
"I'm sure most of them are nice," Flora replied diplomatically.  
Charlotte rolled her dark eyes, "If by nice you mean spoiled rotten. Have you ever heard  
of a red fox who wasn't born with a silver spoon in their mouth? Besides, everyone knows they  
let any red fox in. They didn't earn it like you."  
"Perhaps they only let me in for my species too," Flora suggested. "I'm also a fox."  
"You know that's not true!" Charlotte protested. "They only care about their outdated  
club. They wouldn't let you in for being a fox any more than they'd let me in for having red fur.  
It's red foxes only; even arctic foxes are second class."  
"It's sounding more pleasant there all the time," Flora quipped dryly.  
Charlotte looked embarrassed, "Sorry, I'm sure you'll meet nice people too. Just as long  
as you don't come back married to one of those speciesist snobs."  
Flora smirked, "I wouldn't want to disappoint my dear Charlotte," she returned with mock  
gravity.  
Charlotte shoved her, which didn't move her in the slightest.  
Flora giggled, "Heeheehee, alright, I promise I won't marry into nobility. Unless he's rich  
and handsome and also really nice, then no promises," she teased.  
Charlotte sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, I assume you're coming home for winter  
break before Saturnalia, yes?"  
Flora nodded.  
"Well, I'll see you then. Take care, Flora."  
Charlotte turned back towards the rabbits, but Flora picked her up again and gave her  
another hug. "You take care too, squirrely squirrel."  
Flora set Charlotte back down, who flicked her bushy tail in slight annoyance. She  
peered back at Flora over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to pick her up again.  
Flora giggled, and Charlotte snorted and then grinned. Flora watched her friends leisurely lope  
away down the sidewalk. Once they had rounded the corner, she turned and climbed into the  
van.  
\* \* \*  
The drive was long and boring as long drives tended to be. They arrived at the  
Maplesburg hotel at five that evening. After checking into their room, they had dinner at a  
nearby Ethiopian restaurant, and then Flora's parents turned in, exhausted from gripping the  
wheel. They only had to do the same thing three more days out of the next four.  
Flora took a shower then sat in her bed, browsing social media on her phone until she  
felt tired. The hotel pillows were too fluffy, but eventually she fell asleep.  
\* \* \*  
Sunday's drive was much like Saturdays, but finally, around two in the afternoon, they  
arrived at Royal College of Vulpineva. While the vast nest of skyscrapers demarking central  
Wolfsbane was visible from the top of any reasonably tall hill, bridge, or highrise, Flora was  
relieved that the area around the school was more reminiscent of Willowdale. There were  
highrises as well as houses. Restaurants and shops crowded the perimeter of the college, and  
the Fox Claw River wound its way between the college and the city proper. The buildings of the  
college itself were constructed of heavy white marble blocks, a few having matching columns  
adorning their façades. The campus also featured a number of massive trees, oaks, maples,  
sycamores, and beaches, though none of them were as ancient as the architecture itself. If any  
of the buildings had been built in the past three hundred years, the architects must have taken  
great pains to make them match the existing buildings. To Flora, it actually looked a bit grim.  
The marble was streaked and eroded by centuries of rain; although, someone had meticulously  
kept the buildings free of vines.  
Her mother parked the van in the lot beside one of the towered edifices. She looked  
back across the car at Flora, "This is it, Brush Hall. It certainly looks fancy for a dorm!"  
Flora nodded, but she was more preoccupied with her rising nervousness as the fact  
she'd be staying here solidified from ephemeral concept to concrete reality. Her heart pitter-  
pattered at a rapid rate as she examined the austere dormitory. Would her roommate be here  
already? What would they be like? Would she be able to make friends? What if the classes  
were too hard? What if she couldn't find her class?! Her parents exited the van, and Flora  
followed in a trance-like state.  
On the tan brick sidewalk in front of the dormitory, a pair of the university staff were  
sitting at a white folding table. One was a red fox, and the other was a mink with jet black fur  
and sharp eyes.  
The red fox smiled at them amiably. "Moving in?" she asked. "I'll just need to scan your  
paw, and then you'll have access, just wave your hand over the readers."  
Flora held out her left hand back side up, and the red fox used a hand-held reader to  
scan the microchip implanted under her skin. There was no need for cash or any other form of  
identification in Vulpineva; everything was linked through one's unique chip. The red fox  
examined a tablet on the table in front of her then looked up.  
"Miss Flora Mason, yes?"  
Flora nodded.  
The red vixen gave Flora a friendly smile and glanced at each of her parents before  
glancing back at the screen. "With Jeff and Caroline, I assume," she added.  
"That's right," Flora's father answered.  
"You didn't happen to write that book about the frog, did you?" the vixen asked him.  
Flora's father smiled amusedly, "I get asked that sometimes, and like I always say, out of  
the million other Jeff Masons, you've just won the jackpot. Yes, that was me."  
The vixen beamed at him, "My children love that one!" She turned back to Flora, whose  
embarrassment over her father being recognized wasn't improving her mental state. "Just pick  
up a packet from Dennis, and you're good to go."  
Flora stepped over to the mink who eyed her suspiciously before thrusting a thick  
stapled stack of paper in her direction.  
"Make sure you read through that," he snapped.  
Flora accepted the packet, which had a coral-colored title page reading "Orientation  
Information and College Policies".  
"Have fun!" the vixen called as they proceeded back down the sidewalk.  
They went to the van to collect some of Flora's things, and then, each carrying a box,  
they made their way into the building. Still holding her box, Flora leaned her hand toward the  
reader to the left of the door. The reader beeped and turned from red to blue, the lock clicking  
simultaneously. Her father pulled open the door, and they took the worn marble stairs in the  
East stairwell--they didn't see an elevator--to the second floor. The college had emailed Flora  
with her room number and the name of her roommate, Isabelle Bouillier. Flora had tried to  
contact Isabelle on social media, but she hadn't responded. Her photos had been private and  
her profile picture an ocean sunset, so Flora didn't even know what species she was. They  
found room 222 and repeated the door opening procedure. Flora stepped into the room with her  
parents on her heels.  
Sitting on a bed with pale pink covers was a red vixen in a lavender cami. She looked up  
from her phone in surprise as Flora entered. Flora stopped in the doorway, regarding her  
nervously.  
"Hi," Flora greeted shyly. "I'm Flora. Are you Isabelle?"  
The vixen nodded, staring at her with undisguised interest. It made Flora even more  
uncomfortable.  
"I tried to contact you," Flora murmured. "Did-"  
"What kind of fox are you?!" the red vixen chirped.  
"I, I'm a gray fox," Flora murmured embarrassedly.  
The red vixen hopped up from her bed, and Flora quickly set her box on the dark blue  
mattress of the unmade bed, which was adjacent to the left wall. She stepped farther into the  
small room so that her parents could follow, also setting down their boxes.  
"We'll keep bringing up your things while you get introduced," Flora's mother chirped  
cheerfully.  
Her parents left.  
Flora held out her hand, but the other vixen ignored it, curiously examining her from  
head to tail. She was a head taller than Flora with typical red fox coloring. Most of her fur was  
auburn, and she had black forearms, lower legs, and ears. Her bushy tail had a white tip and  
black guard hairs dispersed among the red. Finally, the red vixen thrust out her own hand,  
which Flora shook.  
"I've never met a gray fox before!" she exclaimed. "You said your name's Flora?"  
Flora nodded, smiling self-consciously, "I've never met a red fox before today either,"  
she admitted.  
Isabelle's amber eyes widened in shock, "Wha?! But there are so many of us! We're,  
like, a fifth of Wolfsbane, half of RCV!"  
"I'm not from Wolfsbane," Flora replied embarrassedly. "I'm from Willowdale."  
Isabelle looked at her blankly, "I've never heard of it."  
"It's in Northern Vulpineva," Flora explained.  
"Near Maplesburg?"  
"Farther North than that."  
Isabelle shook her head, "No wonder you've never seen a red fox! Are there a lot of gray  
foxes in, where did you say, Willowsdale?"  
"Willowdale," Flora corrected. "There are some. There were several in my class at  
school. Willowdale is mostly rabbits though."  
Isabelle gawked at her in horror, "Great Zeus! That sounds awful! All of those rodents  
just, just hopping everywhere!"  
If there was one way to make Flora furious, it was to insult her friends. She glowered  
back at the red vixen. "Rabbits aren't rodents," she stated angrily. "And even if they were, it  
wouldn't make a difference! One of my best friends is a squirrel, and the other three are rabbits!"  
Isabelle looked taken aback by Flora's anger, and she took a step back, "Sorry, I didn't  
mean to insult you. I'm sure you'll make some vulpine friends at RCV."  
Flora was going to snap back that it hadn't been her who the vixen had insulted, but her  
mother pushed through the open door.  
"Sorry, we got stuck outside until Beth let us in," she stated. She set another box on the  
bed as did Flora's father.  
"Oops," Flora murmured. "I'll come help, so you won't get locked out again."  
Flora followed her parents back to the van to collect more of her things. Only as she was  
making her way down the stairs did she have the sinking feeling that she might have just blown  
it with her roommate.  
They brought up the rest of Flora's things and unpacked the boxes, putting everything in  
her closet or desk and making her bed. The doorless closets were located on either side of the  
entrance, Flora's on the left like her bed. Isabelle's bed was on the back wall by the only  
window, and the veneer wood desks were next to each other on the right wall, Flora's closer to  
the door.  
Flora had a pair of framed photographs of her with her friends, which she placed on the  
back right edge of her desk, away from Isabelle's. One photo showed the group at the beach  
with the ocean behind them. They were posing with Olivia making the peace sign and Ellie  
giving Samantha a second pair of rabbit ears. Charlotte was perched on Flora's shoulders with  
Flora grasping one of the squirrel's ankles in each hand. The other photo was of the five of them  
at their senior prom, each decked out in sparkling, frilly gowns, except for Charlotte who had  
worn a tuxedo top. The squirrel's midnight blue jacket and sparkly silver bow tie matched Flora's  
midnight blue velvet dress, the bottom half of which was studded with silver sequins. The  
matching pair were holding hands in the middle while the rabbits goofed off on either side, Olivia  
and Sam pretending to kiss and Ellie sticking out her tongue and crossing her eyes. The rabbits  
had each come with a date but had ditched them for the picture. Flora and Charlotte hadn't had  
dates and had decided to come as each other's date, which was why Charlotte had worn the  
tuxedo.  
Once everything was put away, they took the boxes back to the car then went to dinner  
at a nearby pizza parlor. Flora's parents dropped her back at her dorm and went to their hotel.  
They would have breakfast together in the morning before her parents went home. Flora wanted  
to ask if she could spend the night with them in the hotel room, but she didn't want them to know  
anything was wrong. She opened the door to her room cautiously and peeked inside: Isabelle  
was sitting on her bed again. Flora couldn't tell whether she had left, but she assumed she had  
for dinner. She crept into the room and sat on the edge of her own bed.  
"It looks like you have fun together," Isabelle stated awkwardly.  
Flora turned her head to look at the red vixen, "Huh?"  
Isabelle nodded toward Flora's photos, "You and your friends, it looks like you have fun."  
"We do."  
Isabelle looked away embarrassedly, "I'm, um, sorry about what I said. Most of my  
friends are red foxes; I didn't think about other foxes being different."  
"I'm sure we're not so different," Flora returned diplomatically. In truth, she wasn't really  
sure what the other vixen meant. Different how?  
Isabelle turned back toward her with a frown, "You must be. I could never have prey  
friends."  
Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, Flora replied, "I'm sure you could if you wanted to.  
Prey are just like us."  
Isabelle looked at her like she'd sprouted weeds out of her ears, "'Just like us?!' We're  
completely different! We used to eat them!"  
The final statement piqued Flora's anger. Her friends were not someone's meal! "Okay,"  
she sniped. "They're not carnivores. If that's what you mean by 'different', then I guess you're  
right, but I hardly think diet is all that important!"  
"It's not about diet; it's about history," Isabelle sniped back.  
Once again Flora wasn't sure what she meant, "History? I know history is important, but  
no one I know lets what carnivores used to do prevent them from being friends."  
"It's not about that either," Isabelle returned snootily. "This is what I meant when I said  
you're different. Our history is very important for red foxes. It defines us and our place in  
Vulpineva. Gray foxes didn't have the same role we did, so for you, perhaps it is just, 'We ate  
prey, and then we didn't.' But who was responsible for that?! It was us!"  
Flora could imagine Charlotte giving her a look that said, I told you so. However, Flora  
wasn't ready to concede. These were her friends they were talking about! "I still don't see why  
that means you can't have prey friends," Flora replied. "Yes, the ruling class was instrumental in  
the transition to lab-grown meat. But shouldn't that mean you'd be more likely to have prey  
friends? If your species' history of liberating prey is an important part of your identity, why  
wouldn't you want to be friends with them?"  
"Because they're completely ungrateful," Isabelle sniped. "They expect predators to  
grovel. They expect us to do everything to make them comfortable while they do nothing. They  
could still be getting eaten if it weren't for us, so we won't grovel. They should conform to our  
sensibilities."  
"I've never met anyone who expected me to grovel!" Flora shot back. "My friends treat  
me just like anyone else!"  
"I'm sure they do," Isabelle replied, her tone snidely condescending. "I'm sure they're  
pleased with their tame vixen."  
I'd rather be 'tame' than a speciesist jerk! Flora restrained herself from returning the  
insult. There was no point in arguing further. You couldn't change someone's mind if they were  
simply a bigot. She looked away from the red vixen, "My friends are my friends. We have to live  
together, so let's not talk about them."  
"Agreed," Isabelle acquiesced. "I'm sure you'll learn how to be a proper fox before long  
here anyway."  
Flora wanted to tell her she didn't want to be a 'proper fox', but she bit her tongue. "I'm  
going to take a shower," was all she said. She grabbed a yellow towel from her closet and  
tromped down the hall to the bathroom.  
Flora spent a bit longer than usual in the shower, letting the hot water soothe her nerves.  
She patted herself dry and brushed her teeth then returned to the room to use her blow dryer.  
Isabelle was gone. Flora hadn't seen her in the bathroom, so she didn't know where. She took  
one of her favorite books, Poppy by Avi, off of the middle shelf of her closet and spent some  
time reading about the brave little mouse before turning off the light. Isabelle still hadn't  
returned. Flora pulled her blankets over her head in case Isabelle turned on the lights and went  
to sleep.  
\* \* \*  
When Flora awoke, Isabelle was curled up in her bed. Flora could see her side rise and  
fall under the pink sheet. Quietly as she could, Flora donned a lacy white midi skirt and left the  
room. She texted her parents to let them know she was ready, and the minivan pulled into the  
Brush Hall lot fifteen minutes later.  
"How was your first night?" her mother chirped as Flora climbed into the seat behind  
hers.  
"Okay," Flora murmured.  
"Tell us about your roommate. Did you talk to her more?"  
Flora wasn't sure what to say. Should she say Isabelle was a jerk? Should she tell her  
parents they'd argued? She didn't want them to worry. "We talked. She was interested in my  
pictures with the girls."  
"It sounds like she was trying to get to know you. Did you ask about her friends?"  
Sort of. "Yes, she said they're mostly red foxes like her. She was surprised mine were all  
prey."  
"Hmm, it sounds like she might be a little uncomfortable around prey. Maybe you can  
help her meet some."  
Yeah right. "Yeah."  
Her mother turned to smile at her knowingly, "And it won't hurt for you to make some fox  
friends, like a nice gray tod, for instance."  
"I guess," Flora replied noncommittally.  
"We just want you to be happy, Honey, but I think you might like to have a family  
someday. Your dad and I are happy."  
"I just haven't met a boy I like," Flora replied wearily. How many times had they had this  
discussion?! It wasn't her fault the gray fox guys at Willowdale High were jerks! She'd tried  
dating a tomcat, but it hadn't lasted long. Flora also knew the next question and preemptively bit  
her tongue.  
"We'll be just as happy if you find a nice vixen. You know you can tell us anything, right?"  
Annoyed even though she'd known the question was coming, Flora sighed, "I'm not into  
girls, Mom. Charlotte and I did that as a joke."  
The longer story was that Charlotte had realized she preferred girls early in middle  
school and told Flora soon after. The fact had never bothered Flora; they were friends and  
whether or not Charlotte was attracted to her didn't change that. Besides, predators and prey  
didn't usually mix in that way. There were many interspecies couples, but they tended to involve  
closely related species. For a while, Flora had thought Charlotte and Ellie might get together,  
but when Ellie had finally gotten a date shortly before senior prom, he'd been a buck. The buck,  
Cliff, was a somewhat parochial rabbit, and Flora hadn't been disappointed when Ellie had  
broken up with him. Ellie could do better.  
They had breakfast at a local café. Her mother questioned her more about Isabelle, but  
Flora deflected, saying they hadn't discussed much else. Her mother made her promise to ask  
her roommate more about herself and interests. Flora was fairly certain any hope of them being  
friends was spoiled at this point, but she pretended to take the suggestions seriously. Not that  
I'd want to be friends with someone like that anyway!  
All too soon, it was time for her parents to return home. Her mother had taken today and  
tomorrow off, but Wednesday, she'd be back at the law firm. Flora wished they could stay  
through orientation, but she also knew this was her time to begin to get accustomed to college  
life before the real work started. She couldn't do that with her parents here to coddle her.  
They returned to Brush Hall, and her parents both got out of the van to say goodbye.  
Flora hugged each of them tightly, and as she did, hot tears welled in the corners of her eyes. A  
lump rose in her throat, threatening to choke her. As she broke away from her mother, a fat pair  
of tears ran down her fluffy cheeks. Her mother brought her right hand up--her left still on  
Flora's back--and brushed away Flora's tears with her thumb. Her mother smiled a bitter-sweet  
smile, regretful but also happy. Flora noticed tears glistening in her eyes as well.  
"I'm going to miss you, Flora," she murmured. "You be safe and make some friends, and  
we'll see you in a few months. It seems like forever now, but when it's here it'll seem like no time  
at all." She smiled again.  
"I will, Mom," Flora murmured back.  
She could feel even more tears coming, and she tried to hold them back. She hugged  
her mother again then stepped over to the lawn while her parents got into the minivan, pulled  
out of the parking lot with a final wave, and turned onto the street. Then they were gone. Flora  
watched the street where they'd disappeared, tears streaming down her face. She took a deep  
breath, trying to fortify herself, and turned back toward Brush Hall.

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/k1VKpDQe
Part of the series Flora: A Tale from Vulpineva
Next: https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2032989-chapter-2-the-royal-college-of-vulpineva.md