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