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The Victoria Chronicles

**Chapter 07

The Unknown Lady**

"What?" Vix repeated to the room. In the privacy of her own head she practically screamed at Percii. Looking down at herself again she noticed that the bracer normally grafted to her left arm seemed like it had been replaced by an elegant analog watch. Somehow she just knew that things weren't as simple as they appeared.

"Percii!! What the hell is going on?!?!" Vix screamed inside her head.

"Keep calm and keep concentrating." The AI said inside her head.

"Concentrate on what?!" Vix panicked.

"On holding your form." Percii said in a surprisingly soothing tone for the usual condescending AI. "If you loose concentration you'll revert back to your base form."

"You mean I'm doing this?" Vix thought nervously.

"Yes." Percii said in her head. "You instinctively tried to hide, and this is the result. Visalth could do it. And apparently so can you, though I'm not sure how. Normally one would need training and practice to do what you have done instinctually. So, keep concentrating!"

"Victoria?" Kristine whispered concerned, "Are you ok?"

"I'm not sure." Vix whispered back quietly, "Ask me later if I survive the evening."

Kristine nodded slightly then turned towards Earle and the sheriff. "Sheila, how are you doing?"

"Been busy the last few days. That's why I haven't been by." The sheriff said still standing I the doorway. "There's been a number of disappearances in town. People going missing."

"Who's missing?" Pops asked getting up from his chair and offering her a place at the table before sitting sown again after she'd taken her seat.

"That's the thing. It's been completely random." Sheila replied. "No known suspects or pattern to who's gone missing. The only thing in common is that it's happened to people in isolated areas. Typically when they've been along or in small groups."

Vix had been listening the whole time the sheriff had been talking and trying to not be noticed. But when she heard the last part she started choking while she had been taking a sip from her glass.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had a visitor." Sheila said, noticing Vix for the first time.

"Sheila, this is our guest Victoria." Kristine said. "She visiting from..." she trailed off slightly trying to think of something quick, but also giving her husband a bit of an evil eye for his lack of tact in regards to their vulpine guest.

"Yeah, she's uh, Frank's adopted niece." Pops cut in quickly. And thinking a bit quicker than his daughter added, "He mentioned where she's from, but for the life of me I can't remember where he said at the moment." Pops made a mental note to fill Frank in on his newly adopted niece ASAP.

"Please to meet you Victoria." Sheila said politely. "Are you staying long?"

"My visit is currently open ended." Vix said truthfully, "Trying to reconnect with some friends."

"Well it's nice to meet you." Sheila said somewhat distractedly before moving back to the reason she had stopped by in the first place. "Anyway, has anyone seen anything out of the ordinary?"

"Vix is a real fox lady!" Jimmy blurted out. Kristine quickly admonished her son for his outburst.

"Jimmy!"

"Now jimmy," Sheila began, "It's not polite to say that about pretty ladies."

"But it's true! She's a real fox!" Jimmy cried out.

"Excuse us would you please?" Kristine said as she got up and quickly ushered her son out of the kitchen to give him a quick lesson on the finer points of discretion and that sometimes children should be seen and not heard.

"Anyway, I wanted to visit the people in the more out-flung edges of town to warn them and see if they have witnessed anything odd." Sheila said.

"What kinda of odd things?" Pops asked.

"Oh, well, at the risk of sounding like one of those conspiracy people, strange animals, lights in the sky, showdown men roaming about, and some guy named Smith being a right pain in my ass."

Vix was just reaching for a fresh seltzer can listening while Sheila was talking. But when she heard mention of Smith she squeezed the can so hard that it exploded in a shower of seltzer.

*Bang!!* *Shzzzzz....*

"What the hell happened?!" Pops said getting up quickly and grabbing a towel.

Vix was still sitting in her chair, soaked from seltzer and with a slightly stunned look on her face while still gripping the remains of the now empty and fizzing can.

"Oh my god." Sheila said, "Are you ok?"

She blinked a few times before responding. "I'm ok, just a bit wet." She looked down at the can that now resembled an exploded metal flower that she still held in a death-grip, before relaxing her grip and putting the ruined can on the table.

"I think this one may have got shaken up. Could you excuse me please? I need to wring out a few things." Vix said getting up and leaving the table.

"Bathrooms down the hall and on the right Victoria." Pops said as she squelched past in an event to hold on to her dignity. Evan soaked on seltzer she managed to pull it off.

Vix left the room and headed to the bathroom, passing Kristine and Jimmy on the way.

"Everything ok?" Kristine asked concerned. "I heard a loud bang."

"Just an exploding seltzer can. No big deal." Vix politely said as she slid slunk past.

Entering the bathroom she closed the door then turned around and leaned against it with her back and sighed heavily. She relaxed her concentration and quickly morphed back to her foxy form. Immediately her headache that had been slowly mounting since Sheila had arrived quickly started to dissipate.

"Ok Percii. What the hell is going on with me?" Vix said allowed in a low voice. "The feet I can see, sorta, but these feats of strength that come out of the blue and now I can apparently look human when I want? And what's up with the headache I was getting there near the end?"

"Calm down." Percii started, "I can ex--"

"Calm down?!" Vix practically screeched but managed to keep her voice quiet. "How am I supposed to keep calm when this weird shit keeps happening to me?!"

"I understand your frustration." Percii started again in his usual patronizing tone.

"Ugh!!" Vix sighed heavily, "You're not going to start in again with another long explanation are you? I'd rather talk with Visalth."

I can hear you little one. Vix heard Visalth's voice say in her head.

"Visalth?" Vix asked looking around the bathroom. "I can hear you, but I can't see you."

Calm yourself little one. Visalth said, everything is ok. Your powers are just manifesting faster than Percii and I anticipated.

"What does that Evan mean?" Vix asked.

What has happened little one is that when you perceived danger you instinctively used a form of camouflage that I often used in the past when around humans. Visalth said soothingly. The headache you got was from concentrating too hard and from never using it before. You just need more practice with it.

"Ok..." Vix said slowly, "So, I can look human again. I don't suppose I can look like myself can I?"

"That is looking like yourself." Percii interjected.

"Not what I meant." Vix said reproachfully.

Victoria, Visalth began using Vix name for once instead of her usual pet name for the vixen. Vix suspected this was for a reason. Your old form is gone now. You are going to have to learn to except that. I know this is not easy for you, but you must except that your old life as you knew it is over. You now have a new purpose in the universe, but that doesn't mean that you can't live your life. But it does mean that you have to learn to live it with as you now are.

"I know." Vix said looking down at her feet. Her foxy clawed feet. "It's just hard sometimes. It's all just so much to absorb."

I know little one. But believe me, I know you can do this. There is something special about you. Visalth said kindly. Now, before a leave you for now, are you ok?

"Yeah, I think so." Vix said. "Like you said to me before, I just need time to adjust."

Good girl. I'll be around. Visalth said, her voice fading. And listen to Percii, he may be difficult sometimes, but he means well. Take care.

With that Visalth was gone and Vix found herself alone in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror. Well, not quite alone.

"Vix?" Came Kristine's voice from the hallway. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just wringing out my shirt." Vix said pulling the wet garment over her head and wringing the moister out of it in the sink.

"There are towels in the cabinet to the right on the sink dear." Kristine said, "Do you need me to get you a dry set of cloths? Undergarments?"

"No, that's ok. I think just the shirt got wet." Vix replied, flapping the shirt a few times and hanging it over the shower certain rail while she dried her hair. "I'll be out in a few."

"Ok. Holler if you need anything." Kristine said before walking back down the hallway.

Vix garbed a towel from the cabinet where Kristine said they would be and started drying her hair. She had forgotten how much of it she had. Luckily she wasn't as wet as she thought. She was also glad that it was just seltzer and not something sticky like soda or juice.

After drying out her hair and fluffing it out a bit she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair really was a wild mane, and quite long. She needed to either cut it or tie it back with something. Looking in the medicine cabinet she found some hair ties. Pulling her hair back she tied her long hair into a loose ponytail. Then she took another look at herself in the mirror.

"Well Victor, just look at the mess you've gotten yourself into this time."

Heading back into the kitchen Vix walked with a bit more confidence. She had talked with the AI on her wrist a bit more and he actually had some good advice for her about her... camouflage? For one, she needn't concentrate so hard on holding her form. A little practice in the mirror in the bathroom had shown that it just took a little concentration to shift to human, then all she had to do from there was be aware of her form to hold it. It didn't take much effort after that. And she could hold it for short periods of time. The more practice she got, the longer she could hold it for.

One thing Percii had mentioned though was that she needed to remain conscious to hold it. She if she were to go to sleep or lose consciousness for any reason she would revert back to her normal vixen form.

It made sense when Vix thought about it.

Stepping back into the kitchen she noticed that Sheila had already left to continue her duties.

"There you are Victoria. Is everything alright?" Kristine asked concerned, "You were in there for a while. Oh, and your still human. Are you back to normal now?"

"Ha, no. This is not how I looked before." Vix replied as she took her seat. "I wasn't sure if the sheriff was still here or not and I would prefer not to advertise the presence of a fox-morph to the world as of yet. Now that I know I have that option."

Vix resumed eating her slightly cooler dinner as the others chimed in.

"How did you look before?" Katie asked. Vix noted a slight look of suspicious contemplation on the teenager, but decided not to comment on it at this time.

"I looked...different is all." Vix hesitated after eating a mouthful of potato and swallowing before answering. "It doesn't matter, that life seems to be over."

Jimmy, who was sulking and poking at his remaining food interrupted with, "You looked better as a fox lady."

"Jimmy!" Kristine reprimanded the boy.

"No. It's alright. I can only hold this for only so long at the present." Vix said before relaxing her hold.

*Floof!*

There was no sound, but suddenly Vix went from human to fox in the blink of an eye. Her fur floofed out all over and her ears shot towards the ceiling, going from round to pointy triangles covered in soft dark fur. Her mouth extended from her face back to the muzzle it had been earlier. In an instant she was back to her furry form as if nothing had happened. Ass while she continued with her meal.

"Cool!" Jimmy said in aw.

"That's a neat trick." Katie remarked, "Are you sure you are not a werewolf?"

"Quite." Vix replied, "A: Fox not a wolf. B: this is my actual body now. So no, not a werewolf."

"She's a freak is what it is!" Earle said angrily from his chair.

"Earle! That not fair! She's a human who has been through a tough ordeal." Kristine said, defending her guest.

"So it says. We don't know whether it is telling the truth or not! It could be telling stories to lull us into a false sense of security and do unspeakable things to us while we sleep!" Earle accused and shaking a finger at Vix.

Vix flattened her ears as she listened to them go at it. One, defending, one attacking.

"I don't want that, thing, in my house anymore!" Earle said angrily. "And I don't like how all of you seem to have fallen under its power!"

"Victoria is a guest here!" Kristine replied as she shoed the younger children out of the kitchen. They didn't need to be a party to this.

"No way am I allowing that thing to sleep in this house!" Earle yelled back.

"Perhaps I should leave." Vix said quietly and raising from her chair. "I don't wish to cause trouble."

"And where would you go?" Kristine said in a less aggressive tone then the one she was using with Earle. "You can't just sleep out in the cold."

"Works fine by me! It's an animal, and animals sleep outside!" Earle said dismissively.

"I have a spot she can stay for now." Pops said standing up. She can stay in my old office above the shop."

"I don't want that thing on my property!" Earle shouted.

Pops turned slowly towards Earle and starred the smaller man down before saying in a calm quite steady voice that booked no argument. "The house is yours, the Farm is still owned by me. You fixed up this house for you and your family, and that's fine. But I have final say what happens on my farm property."

Realizing that he had already lost the argument before it had begun, Earl sat back down in his chair and glowered at his plate, muttering under his breath.

"Come on Victoria, let's get you settled." Pops said.

"Is she going to be ok in that old office of yours?" Kristine, ever the protective one of those in need of help asked concerned.

"Hey, it's not that bad up there. I've kept it clean, and there's even a couch." Pops said in his more usual easygoing way. "It'll be better for the peace this way. And in the morning we'll go have a chat with Edna."

Vix, not wanting to cause any more trouble for the family, but seeing little other recourse followed Pops out of the kitchen. Katie quickly cleared her plate and soon followed.

"Where do you think you're going?" Earle asked accusingly.

But Katie was already ahead of him with a response. "Evening chores dad. Animals need their dinner too."

"Well...fine then, I suppose." Earle said deflating some. "But stay away from that...thing."

"Earle! That, thing, as you call her is a person with feelings!." Kristine said raising her voice again.

Katie quickly left the room before things got too heated between her parents again. She put her dishes in the sink and ran to catch up with Pops and Vix. Crossing the yard and ascending the outdoor stairs to the second floor office she found them already inside.

"I know it's not the Ritz, but it's serviceable." Pops was saying as Katie walked in. "The couch is pretty comfy, I've used it to take the odd nap or when I'm staying close by to watch over a sick animal."

"It's fine." Vix said looking around. "It's actually better than most apartments I've had. Bigger too."

And it was. The office was less an office, and more a small apartment that sat alongside the open loft to the side of the half second floor above the shop below. The second floor ranks along one whole side of the large shop and over looked the taller garage area where tractors and equipment were worked on and sat over the tool-crib and workshops. It was actually a good use of otherwise wasted space in the large shop building. From the outside the shop resemble more in old brick machine shop from the turn of the century then a storage shed you more commonly saw on a farm.

"It's an interesting building." Vix remarked looking around, "How did it come to be on a farm?"

"The farm sits on the edge of what used to be a small industrial site. There used to be a small manufacturing company here." Pops said, clearing a few boxes off the sofa. "This was the only building were sitting when my father bought the farm back in the 60s. We fixed up the old building and converted it into a machine shop for the farm." Pops continued.

"It's a beautiful piece of architectural history." Vix replied. "They don't make these old brick buildings anymore and it's a lost art. Much more art deco in the steel boxes they throw up now."

"You know, that's exactly what my old man used to say." Pops said. "Anyway, this is the main room that overlooks the shop. There is a bathroom at the end of the hall, and a small kitchenette just through the door. In the closet or a few pillows and some blankets. Like I said, sometimes I use this when I need to hang around the farm rather than go home just to come back."

"If there is anything else you need Vix let me know and I'll try to sneak it out of the house when dad's not looking." Katie said slyly.

"I think I'll be good for the night." Vix said. "I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"Ah, forget about Earle. He's not really that bad normally, he's just wound up a bit tight." Pops said dismissively, "He'll settle down as he gets to know you. He just takes time to trust new people, and...well...you are a bit of an oddity really. No offense meant."

"None taken." Vix said with a wry smile. "Truth be told I don't know how I would have reacted to meeting someone like me before this happened. Now though, I'd like to think I would treat them with more humanity. Having lived through it for the brief time I have."

"All considered, I think you are doing better than most." Pops remarked. "The occasional outburst included. Most people would be having a much worse time dealing with it I suspect."

"Well, I got to get to barn chores before dad finds me missing. I'll come by later and bring your cleaned cloths from the wash." Katie said before disappearing from the door.

"I should probably be getting back to Edna myself." Pops said looking at his watch. "You gonna be ok by yourself here?"

"It's not the first time I've spent the night alone." Vix smiled, "I'll manage."

"Well ok then. I'll be off then. If you need anything there's a list of numbered pined to the wall by the telephone on the desk. Kristine's and my numbers are near the top. It took while to get the kids to memorize phone numbers, so we posted them and emergency contacts next to every wall phone on the property. The two young's are too young for mobile phones as of yet, but Katie has her own. If not for the appalling reception out here I'd worry that she would spend more time on it than her responsibilities,"

"On that note, I do have a question about Katie." Vix said with a note of curiosity in her tone. "Kristine and Earle are in their mid-thirties, right?"

"That's about right, yes." Pops said.

"And Katie admitted to me that she's nearly nineteen years old." Vix continued with a thoughtful look on her face.

"And you are confused about the difference in years, right?" pops said complicating Vix's though for her.

"I hope I'm not stepping out of line here, but it did seem...out of place, if you don't mind me asking."

"Katie is not in fact Kristine's or Earle's daughter. Not by birth at least." Pops began. "Kristine is my youngest child. Her older brother had Katie with his wife. But they both died in a car crash when she was only eight. Kristine looked after her after that. That girl treated Katie more like a daughter than a niece, and eventually adopted her legally after she and Earle got married. Sure, there is some friction between Katie and Earle from time to time, but that's just how he is. You've seen that for yourself. But that doesn't mean that he loves her any less."

"I understand. And I think it's admirable." Vix replied. "I'm sorry to have brought it up. And I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, it was hard on all of us, especially Katie." Pops said heading for the outside door. "But she was a remarkably tough little girl then. And now."

Pops opened the door than turned sideways in the doorframe. "Goodnight Victoria. I can't imagine what you've been through, but we are glad to have you while you sort things out. Tomorrow we'll go have a talk with Frank and Edna. Maybe Edna may be able to shed some light on things. And I'm sure Frank can do something for your car. So you in the morning." Pops said before closing the door. Vix listened to the staircase as pops thumbed his way down to the bottom and got in his truck. A few minutes later she heard his truck start up and soon after get quieter and he drove down the driveway.

She was amazed that even after five minutes she could still make out the sound of his truck long after he hit the state road as he drove home.

Looking around Vix decided that after the day she had that a shower was in order. Poking her head in the bathroom she was pleasantly surprised to find that there was indeed a shower stall in the cramped bathroom.

Checking out the rest of the small room she was pleased to find that there was in fact soap, shampoo, and other amenities, she would not need to go searching for anything it seems. It also helped that the bathroom was reasonably clean as well.

Avoiding her reflection in the mirror, (looking at her new body clothed was still something she hadn't gotten used to yet, let along without cloths,) Vix found a towel and washcloth and prepared to clean up.

Stepping out into the hallway after her shower Vix headed for the main room while still drying her hair. That too was something she had to get used to. Not having hair, but having so much of it! Currently she was dressed in just her jeans and her sports-bra. She'd have to go cloths shopping or something soon. She couldn't just keep wearing the same cloths all the time. Plus she needed better suiting undergarments.

Her experience in the show for the first time since becoming--this--had been an interesting one. For one thing, she was sure that regular bar soap probably wasn't the right soap for clean the majority of her body, so she used shampoo for her fur. Also her currant body was the other problem, she was still treating it as if it was someone else's body. There were parts of herself that after her chance she was still embarrassed to consider hers. Let alone actually touch!

But it was over now, for the time being anyway. And she could get one with getting ready for bed. For one, she was used to sleeping topless. And now she was a bit confused as to whether that was considered proper considering her new form. It's not like she had a lot of alternative for sleepwear though. For tonight she decided to just wing it.

Her fur was already mostly dry, and she had hardly done much but give herself a light toweling before concentrating on her mane of hair. Sitting on the couch she rummaged in her backpack for Sarah's hairbrush, she probably wouldn't mind if Vix used it under the situation.

She was still staring at it in contemplation when there was a knock at the door. Walking over she moved the sackcloth curtain aside to see who it was, and when she saw it was Katie she unlocked the door and let her in, walking back to the couch and putting her flannel on over her sports-top for the added modesty before sitting down.

"I got you laundry." Katie said indicating the basket of clothing all clean and dry. Someone had also seen fit to fold everything into neat piles.

Vix had already seated herself back on the couch and was brushing her long hair, carefully navigating around her tall pointy vulpine ears. She merely indicated with a shoulder movement to just put them on the floor near the desk for now while she continued her task.

"May I ask a question?" Katie said taking a seat at the far side of the couch.

Vix just shrugged while she worked on her hair.

"How many people did you saw you were camping with again?" Katie asked curiously.

"Two others, Ben and Sarah." Vix commented. She had temporarily started brushing her fur, not all together sure whether that was something she need to do or not. It seemed the thing to do.

"Only, while I was folding the cloths from the dryer I noticed that there were more men's cloths than woman's cloths. It just seems odd that with two women and one guy it would be the other way around?" Katie said a bit perplexed.

"I usually travel light." Vix commented as she continued her work, brushing anything there was exposed as an excuse not to talk about it. The argument between Earle and Kristine over her was still fresh in her mind, and she didn't want to cause anymore strife with anyone over what she was and what she was now.

"But really, there seemed like there was about enough for one girl and two guys when you look at it. It just seems strange." Katie said, persisting on pressing her bewilderment.

"Like I said," Vix said in an uninterested and far away tone of voice, "I tend to travel light on cloths, saves from a lot of cleaning at home. And Ben always packs too much, expecting to get overly muddy or whatever. He always goes home with more clean cloths than dirty."

"Oh. I guess that make sense." Katie mussed before adding, "Vix?"

"Hmm?"

"You asked me today if I believe in aliens. What do you believe in?" Katie asked with a clouded look on her face. "Before today I would have said no. but after meeting you I'm not so sure anymore."

Vix put down the hairbrush and glanced over at the teenager before looking down at her furry feet and looking at her hands as she rested them on her knees casually. "Before all this, I would have had serious doubts about intelligent life visiting our planet. I am sure that life exists out there somewhere in the universe. It would be stupid to think that we are the only game in town in a universe as vast as ours. But to think that any had taken an interest enough to come here? No, not very likely. The closest sun like star to us is Alpha Centauri at 4.37 light-years, but most likely the closets habitual plants for intelligent life would be closer to 50-70 light-years away from us. With radio waves traveling at the speed of light that's about 50-70 years one-way before it would reach anyone able to hear us. Then they have to understand us, than have enough interest in us to mount a voyage. That's a lot of assumptions and time spent." Vix explained.

Vix then was silent for a few minutes in contemplation before continuing, for one she couldn't believe that she had just now remembered all that from science class all those years ago, or the scant times she had watched a program on TV documenting the subject or had read something in a newspaper somewhere. Eventually she sighed and continued.

"But know? Knowing what I now know and have experienced?" she said gesturing with her hands her vulpine body as evidence. "Now? I'm not so sure."

The two were silent for a time before any said anything. Vix was thinking about all that had happened to her and Visalth's occluded warnings of things to come, and Katie's mind was on other questions she wanted to ask, but decided that now wasn't the time for them.

Eventually Katie stood up from the couch. "Well, it's getting late, and you've have a hard enough day without me taking up any more of your time with silly questions. I'll see you in the morning." Katie said opening the door, "Have a good night's sleep. I'm sure things will be better in the morning." She said before closing the door and walking down the stairs.

Vix eventually got up from the couch and opened the closet to get a few blankets and pillows. Making a bed on the couch she took off her flannel shirt and the sports-top, deciding to just go with what felt like what she would normally do. But first, she made sure the door to the outside and the door to the mezzanine overlooking the shop were both locked and the curtains drawn.

Laying down she reflected on the day's activities. Hoping that tomorrow would be a better day, but suspecting there would likely be more surprises in store for her. There always seemed to be these last few days.

Falling off to sleep she was awarded a few scant hours before the universe decided to spring another surprise.