{"sf1_id":2034025,"sf2_id":"J1Oq95gm","title":"Chapter 5: Getting Settled","author":"HeatherOBunn","words":3852,"posted_at":"2023-08-05T23:02:00.000Z","tags":["Cat","College","Dorm","Fox","Mouse","Novel","Rabbit","Registration","Romance","Squirrel","Stoat","Vixen","cafe"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2034025-chapter-5-getting-settled","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/J1Oq95gm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/73/89/73897179-6f24-492e-af6e-6ca4d98079f2","description":"#5 of Flora: A Tale from Vulpineva\n\nFlora and Cynthia move into their new room together.","content":"Chapter 5: Getting Settled  \nWith help from Chester, Rosemary, and Becca, Flora and Cynthia moved into room 337  \nof Hollow Oak Hall Thursday afternoon following the morning's seminars. Isabelle disappeared  \nbetween Flora and Chester's first trip between the rooms, and Flora was relieved that the red  \nvixen didn't decide to make a fuss about her moving out. In fact, they hadn't spoken since their  \nargument about Cynthia Tuesday evening. The campus wasn't big enough that Flora would be  \nunlikely to see Isabelle again, but at least she wouldn't be on edge every time she stepped into  \nher room. Rosemary and Becca handled Cynthia's things as they were small enough to  \nsqueeze into the mouse-sized basement.  \nOnce they had all of their things arranged in the new room, which was roughly the size  \nof Flora's old room though the ceiling and door were lower, they all had an early dinner, having  \nmissed lunch.  \n\"I tested into organic chemistry,\" Flora informed the others while they were eating.  \n\"I didn't,\" Becca admitted embarrassedly. \"I'll be registering for general chemistry this  \nsemester. Lance said he got in though.\"  \n\"I tested in too,\" Cynthia added.  \nFlora smiled down at the little mouse, who, as usual, was obliged to sit on top of their  \ntable, \"We should try to get into the same section. What other classes are you taking?\"  \n\"I'm thinking about majoring in chemistry, so I was going to take organic, physics, and  \ncalculus along with my writing seminar.\"  \n\"I'm pre-Pharmacy,\" Flora replied. \"I want to take organic, calculus, and intro biology. I'll  \nprobably major in biochemistry.\"  \n\"Zeus' bolts! That sounds awful!\" Rosemary exclaimed. \"I guessed you two were science  \nmajors, but I can't imagine taking all of that at once!\"  \n\"What majors are you considering?\" Flora inquired curiously.  \n\"Political science,\" Rosemary answered.  \n\"I'm going to do psychology,\" Chester added.  \n\"I want to do biochemistry like Flora,\" Becca stated. \"The two of us might be in the same  \nbio class, and all three of us could be in calculus together.\"  \n\"We'll try to coordinate,\" Flora decided. \"It will help if I'm in the same sections as Cynthia  \nbecause I can carry her to class more easily.\"  \nFlora and Cynthia had early registration times on Friday, so they promised to tell the  \nothers which sections they got into. They also agreed to meet for lunch at the welcome cookout  \ntomorrow at noon. When they were all finished with dinner, Flora took Cynthia back to their new  \nroom.  \nBack in their room, Flora turned on her laptop to look through the available sections for  \nher classes. Cynthia joined her, sitting beside the laptop on Flora's desk, and they worked out a  \npotential schedule that would place them in the same calculus and chemistry sections Monday,  \nWednesday, and Friday. It looked like they could both take calculus and organic at 8 and 9AM,  \nrespectively, but Flora would need to run Cynthia to physics afterward before going to the 10AM  \nbiology section. It seemed better than both of them needing to find somewhere to wait for an  \nhour if Flora took biology at 11. Fortunately, the science buildings were clustered close together.  \nWaiting was unavoidable Tuesday and Thursday mornings as Cynthia's assigned writing  \nsection was at 8AM and Flora's was at 9. Flora would have snuck Cynthia into her section if  \nshe'd thought the mouse would be comfortable in her bag.  \nWith their plan established, Flora returned Cynthia to her bed in the back left corner of  \nthe room, against which the mouse's crutches were propped. Flora's bed took up most of the  \nrest of the left wall, and her desk was next to the closets on the right. There were three open  \nclosets between Flora's desk and the door, two of which Flora was using. Cynthia had an  \nappropriately sized metal wardrobe for her things, which, along with her desk, was near her bed  \non the back wall. The back wall also held the single window, which looked out across a street  \nonto a soccer field. The back right corner would need to hold the third bed and desk if they ever  \ngot another roommate.  \n\"Flora,\" Cynthia piped after Flora had put her laptop away.  \nFlora crouched down on her haunches by Cynthia's bed. She was conscientious of the  \nfact that she still towered over the mouse and tried not to loom, keeping her back straight. She  \nwondered if lying on the floor with her head on her hands would be more or less imposing.  \n\"Would you take our picture together?\" Cynthia asked shyly. \"I want to let my friends  \nknow that I'm going to be alright now.\"  \n\"If you want. Are you sure they won't be more worried seeing you with a fox?\" Flora  \nasked concernedly.  \nCynthia smiled, showing her large incisors, \"I'm kind of hoping they'll be a little surprised.  \nI wouldn't have believed I'd be rooming with a fox, and I want to show them I'm making all kinds  \nof friends.\"  \n\"Do you mind if I send the picture to my friends too?\"  \n\"Go ahead!\"  \nThey decided to take the picture with Cynthia on Flora's left shoulder. They both smiled,  \nand Cynthia held up the peace sign as Flora took the picture with her phone. After she put  \nCynthia down, Flora sent the picture to her group chat with Charlotte, Ellie, Sam, and Olivia with  \nthe caption, My new roommate!  \nA few seconds later, Charlotte responded, Cute! and then, I miss you.  \nI miss you too, Flora typed back.  \nYou got rid of that jerk then? Ellie inquired a moment later.  \nI moved, but I'm glad I won't have to live with her anymore.  \nCharlotte responded with a heart.  \nEverything still going okay at UNV? Flora asked Ellie.  \nYes.  \nHow about at Twisted Oak? Flora asked Charlotte. Charlotte's school was a small liberal  \narts school in Western Vulpineva that had once been girls-only but now accepted all genders.  \nIt's great! If you hadn't gotten into RCV, you should have gone here!  \nYou mean so she could be your roommate, Ellie teased.  \nThat's one reason, Charlotte sent back.  \nI wish I had accepted where one of you did, Flora replied wistfully.  \nRCV is still RCV, Ellie sent back. Plus, you have a better roommate now, and you said  \nyou've met other friends.  \nYou have someone to look after now. I'm sure you'll be content, Charlotte teased.  \nFlora smirked and rolled her eyes, but she didn't try to rebut Charlotte's percipient  \ncomment. They texted a while longer about what was happening at their respective orientations.  \nWhen they'd said their goodnights, Flora set aside her phone, removed her skirt and cell holster,  \nand grabbed her yellow towel and pale green toiletries basket.  \n\"Do you need help in the shower?\" Flora asked Cynthia.  \nThe mouse shook her head, \"I can't get my cast wet, so I have to lick myself clean until it  \ncomes off. It's a little gross, but I'm getting used to it. Some species still wash like this most of  \nthe time.\"  \nFlora nodded in acknowledgement, \"I'll be back soon, and then I can help you use the  \nsink if you need me to.\"  \n\"The elevator's not far, so I think I'll take it to the basement and use the bathroom there.\"  \n\"Alright, be careful, okay?\" Flora responded worriedly.  \nCynthia nodded in agreement, \"I shouldn't have to worry so much about someone  \nstepping on me here as in the common areas, but I'll keep alert.\"  \nFlora headed to the bathroom at the left end of the hall. A tuxedo tomcat with two white  \nfingers on one hand pushed open the door as Flora reached it. He offered her a nod and held  \nthe door as she entered. Flora was lucky to find two of the four shower cubicles empty, and she  \ntook a nice hot shower, more relaxed than she had been in days.  \nCynthia had left and come back by the time Flora returned to their room to blow herself  \ndry. After reading a chapter in her book, Flora switched off the light and went to bed. Cynthia  \nwas using a reading lamp clipped to her own bed, but the tiny light didn't bother Flora as she  \nsunk into restful slumber.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nFlora was awoken the next morning by Cynthia's creaky wardrobe door. The pale light of  \nearly dawn was filtering through the Northwest facing window. Flora yawned and rolled over  \nonto her side, tucking her chartreuse linen sheet and fuzzy dark green blanket more tightly  \naround her. A minute later, the automatic door to the room whined as it swung itself open. Flora  \nturned an ear toward the light tapping of Cynthia's crutches on the tiled floor of the hall, and  \nthen the door creaked closed with a final whump.  \nAfter rolling back and forth for a few minutes, Flora swung her legs over the side of the  \nbed and dropped onto the thin, slate gray carpet of the dorm room. Her black claws scraped  \nover the carpet as she stretched up onto her tiptoes. She stretched an arm over her head but  \ndropped arm and feet back down with a start when her hand hit the ceiling. Flora anxiously  \nchecked the ceiling for claw marks, but fortunately, she hadn't scratched it. She donned a knee-  \nlength, pleated, yellow and black plaid skirt along with her cell's thigh holster.  \nFlora went to the bathroom, and by the time she got back, Cynthia had returned. The  \nbrown and white wood mouse was wearing a powder blue, midi sundress with spaghetti straps.  \n\"That's a pretty dress,\" Flora commented. \"Did you want to go get breakfast? I don't think  \nthe cafeteria is open yet, but we can try to find somewhere that is.\"  \n\"There's a café just across campus,\" Cynthia replied. \"I can show you the way.\"  \nFlora slipped Cynthia's crutches into an auxiliary pocket of her holster and scooped up  \nthe mouse. They made their way across the quiet morning campus, Flora's furry, padded feet  \ndampening with cool dew as she cut across lawns in the direction Cynthia indicated.  \nThe café was tucked between a clothing shop and a small French restaurant on a street  \nleading into the East side of campus. Aside from a counter displaying baked goods and drip  \ncoffee, the front of the café contained a pew-style bench and tables along the left wall and a  \nselection of smaller tables on the right side of the entrance in front of the counter. As was often  \nthe case for small businesses in Vulpinevan cities, the café did not appear to accommodate  \nlarge animals. The silver tabby behind the counter, who wore a sky blue apron bearing the  \ncafé's name in curly cursive, 'The Rosehip Café', smiled at Flora politely as they entered.  \nAfter perusing the one-page, tan cardstock menu, Flora ordered English breakfast tea  \nand a mushroom and mozzarella omelette whilst Cynthia ordered tea and a cream cheese  \ncroissant. Once they had each paid, Flora set Cynthia on the left-side table three tables deep  \nfrom the door and fetched their steaming cups of steeping tea and Cynthia's croissant from the  \ncounter. She sat on the smoothly worn pine bench facing the mouse. Flora watched her nibble  \nthe croissant while she absently bobbed her tea bag by its string.  \n\"Did you know about this place before today?\" Flora asked curiously after a minute.  \nCynthia set her croissant on its pink-rimmed plate and shook her head, \"I found them  \nthis morning when I was searching for what was open.\"  \n\"Do you usually get up early?\"  \nCynthia shook her head, \"Erm, no, I was having trouble sleeping, actually,\" she admitted  \nbashfully.  \nFlora frowned worriedly, \"Oh no, that wasn't my fault, was it?\"  \nCynthia straightened her whiskers embarrassedly, \"No, I, uh, I just have to get used to  \nit.\"  \n\"Get used to what?\" Flora inquired confusedly.  \nCynthia looked down at her croissant, \"To sleeping close to someone so big,\" she  \nmurmured sheepishly.  \n\"I'm sorry,\" Flora apologized contritely. \"I should have considered this might be a  \nproblem.\"  \nCynthia shook her head emphatically, \"It wasn't your fault! The other day, under the tree,  \nI, erm, I didn't have a problem then. It was just, um, hearing your breathing and forgetting who  \nwas there; I kept waking up because I thought it was someone else.\"  \n\"What was different under the tree?\" Flora asked puzzledly.  \nCynthia looked back at her pastry, \"I guess, um, being next to you, I knew who it was,\"  \nshe murmured bashfully.  \n\"We'll figure something out,\" Flora averred. \"I'd be kind of worried I might roll on top of  \nyou, but if you need to, you can sleep with me. We'll find a safe way.\"  \n\"O-okay,\" Cynthia squeaked shyly.  \nFlora removed the tea bag from her tea, which was now quite dark, and added a couple  \npackets of sugar to compensate. Shortly, the silver tabby set her omelette in front of her.  \nFlora looked up to offer the cat a smile of gratitude, \"Thank you!\"  \nThe cat returned a stained smile and gave Cynthia an uncomfortable glance before  \nheading back behind the counter. I suppose she could hear everything we said, Flora realized  \nembarrassedly. Out of context, their talk of sleeping together could've easily been  \nmisunderstood. Flora tried to quell the tickle of embarrassment in her belly with a sip of hot tea.  \nWhile she wasn't entirely certain about her own orientation, she didn't think a relationship with  \nsomeone less than one-hundredth her size would work.  \nWhen they'd finished eating, Flora took Cynthia back to their room. Their registration  \ntimes were at 9:30 and 9:55, respectively, with the first still two hours away, but Flora was  \nanxious to ensure they'd be ready to register promptly. Flora glanced down at the mouse as she  \nstepped into their room and found Cynthia had dozed off on the return walk. Not wanting to  \nwake the tired mouse, Flora carefully cradled her in one hand while she retrieved her laptop and  \nthen placed Cynthia in her lap once she sat at her desk. After logging into the registration portal  \nand selecting her desired sections, Flora kept busy on the computer checking her email and  \nsocial media. She avoided watching videos that might have disturbed Cynthia's rest.  \nIt was nearly Flora's registration time when the mouse finally stirred, uncurling and  \nstretching on the smooth yellow and black fabric of Flora's skirt. She seemed to notice where  \nshe was and quickly sat up, still nestled in the warm cleft between Flora's thighs. She looked up  \nembarrassedly at Flora, who had slid her chair back to look down at the little mouse.  \n\"H-how long was I asleep?\" Cynthia asked self-consciously.  \n\"Close to two hours,\" Fora answered soothingly. \"Your registration time is in half an hour,  \nbut you can go back to sleep afterward if you want.\"  \n\"Th-that's okay. I feel better now. I should get ready to register.\"  \n\"I'll help you as soon as I'm done; my registration opens in a few minutes.\"  \nFlora left the mouse in her lap and went back to staring at the clock over her registration  \ncart, her right pointer anxiously hovering over her trackpad. Finally, the clock turned to 9:30. The  \nRegister button lit up cyan, and Flora immediately clicked it. She waited tensely as the website  \nprocessed her cart then let out a sigh of relief when it reported her registration had been  \nsuccessful. She looked down at Cynthia, who was waiting where she'd left her.  \n\"I got in. Hopefully, you'll get in too,\" Flora remarked.  \nCynthia looked up and smiled awkwardly, \"Yeah, and Becca too.\"  \nFlora helped get Cynthia situated at her own desk with her laptop, and then she put hers  \naway and sat on her bed with her phone to text Becca and the others about which sections  \nshe'd gotten into. Cynthia also got into the sections they'd planned, and Flora let the others  \nknow this too.  \nThey relaxed in their room the remainder of the morning and listened to the sounds of  \nother students moving in. Today was the first move-in day for Vulpinevan students who weren't  \ntransfers or first-years, and by 11 a steady stream of cars had begun to arrive. At noon, Flora  \nand Cynthia found their way to the lawn behind the student union where the welcome cookout  \nwas being held. They located Chester and Rosemary at one of the white folding tables that had  \nbeen set out for the event. The lawn was already bustling with students. Flora circled the tables  \nclockwise to reach Chester and Rosemary's table at the back, farthest from the grills on the  \nwhite brick patio.  \n\"You'd better hurry while there's something left,\" Chester commented jovially as they  \napproached. \"The upperclassmen are here, and it seems like they came hungry.\"  \n\"What do they have?\" Flora asked.  \n\"Burgers and sausages, made of whatever you want. I think there might be some grilled  \nchicken too if you prefer,\" the tabby answered.  \n\"I guess you got into your sections together,\" Rosemary remarked.  \nFlora nodded, \"Have you registered?\"  \n\"Yeah, I had to take an earlier statistics section than I wanted, but I was able to get into  \nmy classes,\" Rosemary answered.  \n\"My time isn't until four,\" Chester added.  \nFlora took Cynthia to get their food. She got a bratwurst, and Cynthia got a soy dog.  \nBecca arrived several minutes after they'd sat down.  \n\"Sorry! I was registering!\" the stoat apologized as she hastily waddled toward the table  \non her short, brown and white legs. As usual, a skirt, this one a pleated raspberry midi, danced  \naround her shins and black-tipped tail as she walked.  \n\"Did you get into the sections we did?\" Flora inquired.  \nBecca scrambled onto the chair on Flora's right, her shoulders barely poking above the  \ntable without Lance's bag to sit on. \"I got into your calculus section, but I had to take chemistry  \nat ten. So I'm in bio at eleven,\" she explained.  \n\"I'm glad we'll be in calculus together at least,\" Flora replied.  \n\"I need a fourth class,\" Chester remarked. \"Maybe I'll take bio with Becca.\"  \n\"Better you than me,\" Rosemary muttered darkly.  \n\"You have to take a natural science class eventually,\" Chester pointed out amusedly.  \n\"They have classes for non-majors,\" Rosemary rejoined stubbornly.  \n\"Let me know if you get in,\" Becca requested. She slipped off the chair and hurried away  \nto get her food.  \nThey were all still eating--Chester on his second serving--when Flora noticed a mostly  \nblack rabbit with a white spot over their muzzle anxiously skirting the edge of the tables with a  \npaper plate of food. As far as Flora could tell, they were looking for a place to sit.  \nFlora waved and called out in her friendliest voice, \"You can sit with us!\"  \nThe rabbit stopped dead, stared at her with an expression Flora could only describe as  \nterror, and bolted in the other direction, their food and plate ending up on the grass in their mad  \ndash.  \nFlora stared after the rabbit in shock, \"Wh-what did I do?\" she stammered.  \n\"What happened?\" Rosemary, who was facing the other way, inquired.  \n\"Some rabbit took one look at Flora and ran for the hills,\" Becca answered amusedly.  \n\"I, um, I think that was Pete,\" Cynthia murmured awkwardly.  \nFlora looked down at the mouse on the table to her right, \"You know them?\"  \nCynthia shook her head.  \n\"If Cynthia's right, Pete's a rabbit who's apparently terrified of predators,\" Rosemary  \nexplained. \"I wasn't sure how much to believe, but there've been rumors going around. I don't  \nknow how he managed to end up at RCV, but I doubt he'll be here much longer.\"  \nThe rabbit was long gone, but Flora anxiously glanced in the direction they'd  \ndisappeared. It upset her to think of someone so afraid, regardless of why, but it made her sick  \nto her stomach to think she'd caused that terror. I wish there was a way I could help them. How  \nwould this rabbit even survive in Vulpinevan society, let alone at RCV, if they were so terrified of  \npredators? Had something horrible happened to them, or were they somehow unaccustomed to  \nbeing around carnivores? Flora wished she could talk to them, but if they'd run at so little, she  \ndoubted she'd ever get close enough to have a conversation.  \n\\* \\* \\*  \nChester got into the 11AM biology section with Becca, and when they met for a light  \nsupper that evening, they learned he was also in the same intro psychology section as Lance.  \nLance, it turned out, was planning to major in neuroscience.  \nAs bedtime approached, Flora began to worry about Cynthia's sleeping arrangement  \nonce more. The mouse looked exhausted, but what if she was unable to sleep again tonight due  \nto Flora's breathing? Tomorrow might be Saturday, but classes started Monday. They needed to  \nfind a solution so that she wouldn't be nodding off in class! Flora got up from her bed and  \nreplaced her book on the closet shelf, unable to focus on reading.  \n\"Did you want to try anything different tonight?\" Flora asked. \"If you sleep by my neck,  \nyou might not have to worry too much about me squashing you.\"  \n\"W-would you be comfortable?\" Cynthia squeaked shyly.  \n\"If it helps you sleep, I'll be more comfortable than if I'm worrying about keeping you up,  \nbut if you're not comfortable with it, we can try to think of something else.\"  \n\"If it doesn't bother you, I think it might help,\" Cynthia murmured. \"You're really sure it's  \nokay?\"  \n\"It won't bother me in the slightest, but make sure to bite me if I roll on you, alright?\"  \n\"I-I don't want to bite you!\" Cynthia squeaked in distress.  \nFlora frowned worriedly, \"If you aren't willing to bite me, I'm not sure it will be safe. I'd  \nheal, but you could be smothered!\"  \n\"I-I will if I have to,\" Cynthia agreed uncomfortably.  \n\"I'm ready for bed if you are,\" Flora remarked. \"We got up pretty early.\"  \n\"I'm ready.\"  \nFlora collected Cynthia and her pillow and set them at the head of her bed before  \nswitching on her reading lamp, which had a transparent, green fixture, and switching off the  \noverhead light. \"Did you want any of your blankets?\"  \nCynthia shook her head. Flora carefully climbed into bed and slid under the blankets.  \nCynthia crawled over next to Flora, dragging her pillow. Lying on her left side, Flora pulled the  \nblankets up to her neck and rested her head on her pillow. Cynthia laid her own pillow a short  \ndistance from Flora's neck and curled up on her side facing Flora.  \n\"Move as close as you need to get comfortable,\" Flora told her. \"I'll grab your blankets if  \nyou get chilly.\"  \n\"I'm okay,\" Cynthia squeaked.  \n\"Alright.\"  \nFlora switched off the reading lamp and closed her eyes. She didn't go to sleep  \nimmediately but listened to the mouse's breathing to hear whether she was able to sleep with  \nthis new arrangement. After what seemed like several minutes, Cynthia scooted closer and  \nsnuggled against the base of Flora's neck. Flora smiled softly to herself. Soon, the mouse's tiny  \nbreaths had slowed, and Flora allowed herself to drift into contented slumber.  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Flora: A Tale from Vulpineva","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2033339-chapter-4-the-vixen-in-the-northeast-wing.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2034029-chapter-6-classes-begin.json"}}