FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 4: The Vixen in the Northeast Wing

The first time Pete saw the vixen he had just returned from lunch after the Orientation

Seminars Thursday morning. He stepped out of the Northeast stairwell of Hollow Oak Hall and

almost leapt out of his skin as she and a beige tabby emerged from room 337, several doors

down the hall on Pete's right. Pete quickly ducked into the bathroom on his left and only

emerged when he heard the predator pair enter the stairwell themselves. Pete was a rabbit,

Oryctolagus cuniculus, with crisp blue eyes and mostly black fur except for his white belly and

spot over his nose and mouth.

Pete was profoundly regretting his decision to attend the prestigious college. He had, of

course, heard that there were many foxes at RCV, but his imagination had paled in comparison

with reality: the campus was thick with them. Only on the prey side of the cafeteria, in his room,

or occasionally, in the rabbit-sized section of his dorm did he ever feel sufficiently distant from

the dangerous predators. Smaller predators made him nervous too, but at least those on the

third floor of the dorm were at most twice his size, until now. The vixen wasn't very large for a

fox, but she was still probably three times Pete's size. What would he do if she cornered him in

the shower? The thought made Pete's heart leap into his throat, and he had to catch himself

against the smooth marble wall whilst he recovered from the palpitations.

Pete was aware his fear was greater than that of the typical prey, or at least, it seemed

to be. His parents had taught him a brave front would discourage predators, but Pete was

unable to overcome his timidity. Perhaps it was his heretofore sheltered life that had denied him

the opportunity to learn to control his instincts. Homeschooled by his parents, Pete had only

encountered predators when his family went out, and then he'd had his parents and littermates

to protect him. There was safety in numbers, his mother had said.

Now, he was on his own, and he didn't even know any of the other prey at the school.

He'd tried to approach other rabbits in the cafeteria, but apparently, he'd gained a reputation

that had rapidly spread. Other prey seemed embarrassed to associate with him or even treated

him with cold disdain. Pete ate most of his meals alone. If feeling besieged by hungry predators

wasn't bad enough, being isolated in his ordeal certainly made things worse. Mere days after

arriving on campus, Pete was strongly considering transferring the next year--assuming he

survived this one--but he held onto a tiny sliver of hope that, somehow, things might improve.

Pete made it through the Northeast wing and into the central section where he was

housed, room 328. There was a stairwell on each end of the building and between each section;

Pete would no longer be using the one on the Northeast end. He breathed a sigh of relief as he

shut the door of his room behind him. His roommate, a hare named Bill, wasn't present, a small

mercy given that the hare mocked him whenever he found Pete in a frightened state. Bill may

have been responsible for propagating Pete's reputation, but Pete suspected he would have

denied it if asked. Whatever his responsibility for Pete's ostracization, the hare clearly didn't like

him.

Pete plugged his earbuds into his phone and reclined on his bed to listen to some

relaxing Classical music, and before long, his unfortunate encounter with the vixen was

mercifully swept from his mind.