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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.