FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Not my favourite this story, Makai is my baby, but working on this for a distraction! It is a bit long, and it is a WIP, but hope you enjoy it! Please do leave any creative criticism, I can lap the stuff up and it's all much appreciated!

Ghost Town

Lakeshore Burrow was a dead town. Ears were fallen, eyes empty; looks shared between individuals were distant and unseeing. All were as dead to the world as the world to them. The cold bit at him this time of year, a feral beast that ravaged the Newlands. Snow cut the town into haze, spinning and shifting around them, battering them until they found their way beneath it. She huddled close to him, snow invisible against her fur, she turned to him frost brimming beneath heavy sockets, the sad, melancholic gaze spoke as words, Twelve years they said, its been twelve years now. He lifted an arm and she fell close to him, curling his tail around them as life went on unhindered above them, as dead to them as the world.

"Children, behave yourselves." A murderous glance locked the pupil stone solid in his tracks. Miss Cobbles was the sort of teacher that commanded attention, order and compliance as a fox might do a hare, or in this case, the hare might to the fox. She walked with slow, powerful steps, her feet leaving prints big enough for two pupils to stand in within the snow that came up to most of the children's wastes, the shorter mice even lost sight of all else in particularly deep snowfalls. "Line up, Vin, stop that," the fox again stopped dead in his tracks, preparing to trip another unsuspecting pupil. His hands dug solidly into his trousers as he muttered "Sorry miss." with his trademark innocence, before falling prey to his own stunt and collapsing in the snow. A snarl whipped from his crooked teeth as he turned to face the culprit, Sael, it was always Sael. His arrows narrowed intently as he rose, brushing the snow from his jewelled fur, the colour aflame in the setting sun. "Sorry miss." Sael said, flashing a smile that softened any teachers heart. Sael grinned with eyes set on Vin, the fox brimming with anger, waiting for chance to get back at the sewer rat. "Forget about him Vinny" A quiet voice spoke next to him, catching him by surprise, causing him to jump into an unsuspecting pupil, his bulk pushing the mouse into the snow. Liet was there in a hop, offering a hand to the pupil, she was always offering hands to everyone. Everyone, that is, except him, all he got was a "Watch out!" before she helped to dust off the mouse, his green knitted sweater held tight against him as he hurried past them both and back into line, head hung low and eyes held lower, as if the answer to warmth lay somewhere at his feet. Liet walked back to Vin, who saw Sael behind, staring intently at them both, plotting again, "I swear I'll get him back. He'll be sorry." Vin muttered to Liet, all bravado. He didn't feel the cold as much as the others, he never had, he took great pleasure in walking with coat on arm and his jumper left open. This world was dull, it always had been and he'd never enjoyed coming here on the trips, but even he was excited about tonight. The great circus had come here, fire, lights, acrobatics. He'd once tried his hand at fire-breathing, but it didn't work out, he set fire to the summer-dried playfield and nearly burnt down his first school.

The second school he did not enjoy, however strict Miss Cobbles in his current 3rd school were, the hoppers in Leftburrow were worse; the teachers once committed him to twelve lashes for biting a boy. He hadn't even wanted to, but a fox can only take so much taunting from a hopper before he cracks. That particular rabbit, Rex, had been his tormentor from the first day. Fed up with the move, and having to start a whole new school, Vin was determined to dislike everything about his new home, and so far nothing had changed his mind, and it was in this mood that Rex approached him. "Oh look at his sweater!" he'd laughed as Vin first entered the room, the room had erupted in laughter, it had been a gift from his grandmother, hand-knitted red with a fox cub on it, sniffing a his favourite flower. It had reminded him of mornings spent out on the field in spring, enjoying the new growth with his mother, she would call him over and ask him the name, he'd racked his brain and said "daffodil", "bluebell", or his personal favourite "Crocus", with growing satisfaction and pride as his mother nodded, and said each time in her usual hushed tones, "That's right." He had hated winter, and the sweater had reminded him of spring, of home, of his parents, but now he took it off and shoved it in his backpack as he slumped behind his desk, tail tucked in very close, twitching every now and again. He had spent that lesson focusing on the blackboard and the work, not the looks and giggles he got from around the room, the teacher letting out the odd "Quiet class. That's enough." The day had not gotten better after that, during break he sat alone and quietly ate his lunch, a box of steak chunks his mother had cooked specially for his first day, her 'brave little nipper' who should 'keep head up and power through this, just as his father would'. His father had left for work off-world, mining, the pay was good but the expense of the travel was compensated by requiring the workers to live on site for a year, without the space for any extra personal he had had to leave them. It was a cold day, the sky swept aqua above him, a sea brimming with white scars, threatening to collapse on him at any time; Vin sat a little closer to the wall, under the roof.

He brought one leg under him, his tail curling against his feet, bare with his shoes tucked under the bench. He forget his worries a little as he bit into the meat, the juices dripping back into his box, his tongue flitting across the tender flesh, soaking up any drops they could. He lifted his head to the sky to swallow, savouring the taste, a small smile breaking across his blackened lips; he hadn't had such nice food since the spring. Laughter brought him back to reality; he looked down to see Rex and a few of his classmates hopping and running away with his shoes, laughing as they went. Vin chased after them with a shout, mustering all the worst words he could manage, but they were too fast for him, he'd never been swift on his feet, 'as swift as a fox' had never been a favoured motto of his. "He's more mouse then anything, waddling away, look at him!" his dad had once joked. His dad had often joked.

****************

"Vin," the hand shook his shoulder hard, "we gotta go." pain shot through his leg as he sat up heavily from an old wound, he braced his arms and walked himself up using his paws against the wall behind. His shoulders felt heavy, stiff from the uncomfortable cave, with little effort he helped his companion up, she was light where he was heavy, though his shirt hung a little loose from him lately; food was scarce. When they did find food, they had little effort bringing it down, her aim was honed after a childhood of survival, but it was more keeping the food once they had brought it down, the transition of death heralded a lot of attention, then it was his job. Few could match his strength. "Vinny," She brushed his face, he looked back to her, he realised he'd been staring at the cave mouth for longer than he thought, a soft tapping echoed across his vision as he located the source, the hushed light just caught the droplets as they fell down his cheek. Suddenly his nose felt cold, tickling even, he brushed it and brought his paw back wet. "Your tail was twitching again." Her eyes swelled with emerald fragility, far too fragile at times. "So was your leg, kick, kick, kick, do you ever do anything else?" Her steps were half hop, half walk, she'd always been bouncy. "You're always grumpy in the morning, don't take it out on me. Did you sleep badly?" "I was, just..." he trailed off, his mind distanced him from the cold again. "Thinking of before the haunting," "Yeah. Do you remember the crocuses?" Most of all, he missed the crocuses, he had once ran from sunrise to sunset through violet fields, they slithered in the wind like some great snake, he had chased it, been chased by it, laughed as he'd evaded this snake and that, this bee and that wasp, been tickled by the petals until he'd laughed for longer than he could remember, until the chase, the hunt, the laughter, the tickle and the short nip of the insects had melded into an ecstasy. He never spoke of the day to anyone, it was the silent core that lit all his worries, if he shared it someone might pervert it; He had no greater worry than letting someone corrupt his soul.

The stench of flaked blood set him to spluttering and wheezing; he recovered to throw a paw over Liet's maw, stifling any response she may have had. She was slammed back hard against the wall, eliciting a soft gasp of pain as a stone cut into her back, tearing yet another hole in her shirt. Vin's nose had always been particularly sensitive, and only now could she see what he'd smelt. A rattled rasping, loud in the silence of the cave, signalled the entrance of others. They stank of corruption, they stank of flesh long since forgotten, and any injury was simply an irritation, an invitation to make the next time that much cleaner. They had seen the corrupted before, briefly, a jaw that drifted open and shut in the wind, teeth askew through lip and gum alike, limbs far too long for their bodies, limbs far too short to support them. The stronger the soul, the darker, some Unhaunted had hoped to reach greater purity of soul through slaughter, each kill was another step to domination of the corrupted. "Vin," he looked down, she was so thin now, her fur once as plush and pure as the snow, was almost as dark as his with filth. She looked rotten herself. Shadows skittered across the mismatched flint now set to dancing with bespeckled sunlight, he gently pushed against her shoulder and they began to edge back further into the cave. A scream and scuffle sounded behind them, the sound of blade against iron.

*****************

The circus was taking place at a nearby off-world colony, on Kashel, it was unusual for the school to allow travel off-world for young children, but the circus was said to be the greatest in all the galaxy and would only spend a short time in each system. The children were awash with murmurs and marvelling as the scale of the building came into sight. The circus was performed amongst a giant dome, transported and built up on each planet it landed on, "it's the size of our town!" one young cat said to its friend, his eyes bulging so much they threatened to explode out his head, "don't be silly, it's bigger!" said his friend, the game of exaggeration building with each child as it overheard the last comment. By the end all were in agreement it was at least the size of a moon as they neared, the teacher muttering to herself at the ridiculousness of the comments, saying it was indeed large, but no larger than a mile in diameter. But if the children were impressed from the outside, as they entered it was all the teacher could do to stop them from hyperventilating with excitement.

The dome had been built in such a way as to bath the entire structure in an array of bright colours, dimmed or brightened to create various optical effects. The main illusions were bent light that created floating holographic constellations, planets that the circus had visited were enlarged and elaborately decorated, it was an honour to be chosen for the landing of the Maezrithic Circus. Kashel was a planet of extremes, and it too had been emblazoned now on the ceiling, a clever cut away image of the planet showing the harsher conditions and ruggedness of the surface land, with the bright colours, the exotic sites and the even more exotic people of the underground, which on the planet was heated, and illuminated, by the highly sought after Iselin gems, which glowed with their own energy and fuelled much of the systems industry.

Spots of light danced within Vin's eyes, he could barely process what he saw and lost himself totally to the spectacle. His eyes darted this way and that, then lingered on each of the enlarged planets in turn, examining them, committing every aspect of the ceiling to memory. Sael took his chance, tearing his eyes from the ceiling he had seen Vin was distracted and edged slowly towards him, tapping each student in turn on the shoulder to watch, each one stifled a giggle and was sure not to alert teacher, or that fur-clot Liet. With the noise and smells of the stadium they didn't even need to sneak particularly carefully as Sael and another stepped up behind Vin and Liet and prepared themselves. Two of the kids tapped Vin and Liet on the shoulder, they looked down to find the class staring at them, all too late as Sael and his cohort tore the loose-fitting state-issued uniform trousers and skirt to the floor before jumping back to join the class in fits of giggles.

Vin had only ever heard Liet cry once before, he had just started his time at his current school, Redleaf. He had spent the year trying to decide if he had been right in hospitalising Rex after biting off half the rabbits ear in a fit of rage. His mother had certainly been upset, she had cried when she first found out and shouted at him, telling me what his father would think were he to hear, that Vin was a terrible cub that had done a terrible thing. She had nearly disowned him. But then Vin had told her about school. About everything he'd hidden from her. The pushing, the singling out and humiliating, the circles of boys who would hit him in turn as he was told to sit there like a good boy, and maybe then they'd let him go home. She had listened quietly, and after that, she didn't shout. She told him he should have told her, that she would always stick up for him and that she would do something about it. So she had sold the home and they had moved far away. She hadn't said it was wrong of him to bite the boy that had hurt him, when she'd known about it, so he thought maybe under the right circumstances; it was ok, and maybe even good to fight back if he'd been pushed enough. Either way, he had had to start a new school, and the class was at least half hoppers.

Vin hadn't gone in wearing his red sweater, long since discarded with an "It looks stupid mum! You're stupid! I don't want to wear that stupid thing!" and torn up in the year before, only to then be carefully preserved in a box and secretly, badly, stitched back together to be worn when no others were around. He had decided this year he wasn't going to be picked on again, he was going to make sure everyone knew they weren't to hit him unless they wanted an ear missing. He had decided biting would upset his mother again, so he used the next best thing, and made it his duty to keep others at bay with words and image. "Are you sure dear? It's awful dark, aren't you a little young to be wearing that? Here, how about this!" Vin's mother held up a bright chequered green, yellow and blue t-shirt with a spaceship emblazoned on the front. "No! I want this." The puckered lips, tense eyes and furrowed fur around the eyes broke his mothers façade and she smiled to herself, taking the leather jacket, steel buckled boots and skull belt from him. "I do wish you'd wear something a little brighter in the spring though, maybe nan could knit you a nice blue sweater instead of this, I thought it was your favourite colour."

"No. I don't want to be laughed at." Vin's mum looked down at her boy, she saw the fragile boy that had been so easily broken the previous year, that she felt threatened to collapse at the slightest gust, that she had cradled in her arms and comforted after the fight. She looked at the boy and felt guilt, then at the bundle in her arms as some kind of salvation, she balanced it all in one arm and placed another on the nape of her son, who's head rolled back in pleasure as they headed towards the till, his head nuzzled into her side as he whispered, "Love you mum." And she to him, "I love you too."

They had all alienated him that day, ignored him, he had thought he'd enjoy it but soon after it got to him. He'd tried to say 'hi', he'd tried to get involved, but they had looked away, muttered a few words about 'needing to go back to doing work', and had left him standing there, feeling an idiot. Rumours had been around, stories about him and why he'd left his old school, someone had overheard the head-teacher talking to Vin's mother, and had learnt he'd been expelled for assaulting another pupil. Soon it was thought across the school that he'd killed a rabbit, eaten her heart, and that his mother and him were under false names and running from the police. Not everyone believed it, in fact Vin wasn't sure anyone believed it, but he had the reputation already of someone that was strange and intimidating. Not a boy for fun, but one you shouldn't mess with as he could, and maybe, would kill. He was feral, only pretending to be tame.

Vin had been sitting on the wall with his lunch, it was warming up, nearing the end of winter. His hand supported him as he leaned his head back, swallowing as he watched the bird flocks overhead, his legs swinging against the wall, his fingers giving away his irritating as they drummed against the wall. That day he had hit a hopper that had asked him what mouse tasted like, alluring to the new rumour that he hunted and ate mice, whole families, which he and his mother would then feast on at night. He had lashed out and sent the rabbit whimpering to the floor, "I don't eat mice!" Vin had shouted and the rabbit had scuttled off holding one hand to his mouth, so far Vin hadn't been called in by the teacher but he was expecting it; it had been the third time this term he'd hit a student, and he faced expulsion if he was told off. He no longer cared, he wanted out, no matter what he did he always ended up in the same position. His jacket lay on the ground next to him, he grabbed it, bunched it up and lay back against it. The hill he lay on was a short walk from the school, part of the fields but separated by a line of trees, if he lay back he could almost pretend it didn't exist and he was lying in his field at home again, surrounded by crocuses. And then someone was shadowing his sun, he sat up and saw a face looking down at him, the nose twitched and the eyes shone brilliant green in his view, the fur was so white she seemed to melt into the clouds. "You know you're not meant to hit people." She said, her voice was quiet, but not weak. "So? Aren't you going to ask if I like mice too, or rabbit, or maybe a bit of fox?"

"No." was her simple answer. As she stood he felt an odd warmth fill him, it was as if the shadow wasn't there, as if the sun was lying against him and the areas where her shadow didn't fall were the real shadow. He knew then he'd found a friend, and he'd pretty much skipped home. His mood was quickly shattered when he reached home, and found a strange car outside his house. His house was a simple burrow, built into the hill the walls on the outside were plain white, there were windows all along, in the beige seat of the ochre lounge he saw a strange man in a suit, and his mother, head in paws, wiping at tears before they stained the carpet. He forgot everything that had happened that day, he forgot about school, and he fell into a chasm deeper than any he ever saw. Liet had wept with him the following day, when he had told her his father had died.

Vin didn't remember much, just that one minute he had felt particularly cold on his legs from his ankles up, then he was looked over at Liet, her legs bare, the class laughing, her face collapsing, imploding even, as her eyes erupted, and then Sael. And then Sael was on the floor, he had a strange taste in his mouth, he was being pulled back, Liet was still crying, staring at him, was she crying over him? Something dropped from his teeth, saliva, he drew a paw to wipe it from his mouth and it came back wet. He wiped it on his clothes. It was an acidic taste in his mouth, and he looked down at Sael again the teacher had thrown herself now over him, everyone was staring at him. Some were shouting, pointing, gasping, muttering. His eyes widened in fear, his head darted this way and that in confusion. Some of the other kids were crying loudly now. He raised a sore paw to his mouth, stretched it then licked it, he must have hit Sael. He looked around him again, everyone had backed off, a circle spread around him, the crowd before him, behind him the large exit and Liet standing at the centre of it, silhouetted in the white curtain behind her, only her face glittered with the tears she wiped away again and again, her eyes unusually prevalent in the white, he wanted to ask if she was alright, if he had hurt her, that he was sorry for whatever he had done. Something was dawning on him, he wracked his brain trying to remember what had happened as the security started approaching him, two large wolves, two very large wolves. He knew he must have bitten Sael, and badly.

It wasn't what had happened that struck him, nor Liet crying, nor indeed a fear that he had done something awful, but a sudden, overwhelming sadness that he would never see the great Maezrithic circus that he'd spent his life hearing about, dreaming about. And it was because of Sael. It was always because of Sael. Anger brought him back, and with the anger a shuddering fear. He backed off towards the entrance, the wind whipped and swept up his jacket, so much louder now than anything else around him, the light seemed to focus on Liet as he darted eyes back towards her; all else fading but him, Liet and the security personnel. He was alone thundering down a tunnel as if on a train, and the only thing that would hold him back from the broken lines was Liet. He called to her, she carried on crying, staring those giant stars that sat heavy and overflowing upon her forehead. She backed away from him, terrified, he reached out to grab her, just to hold her, to level himself on the earth and to save himself from the fall but she pulled back all too fast and flattened against the wall. He jumped in surprise, and then his nose was damp, his jaws were chattering, terror coiled around him as a serpent and snapped his head around. The serpent drew him faster than he had known possible out into the flush of pale shadows that danced in the night air, another of Kashel's blizzards, where a paw from a face could lie in total isolation. He knew nothing, and knew of nothing, so he let the serpent guide him as he drew his jacket tight around him, it was bitterly cold on this planet, he realised.

Chapter 2

Liet had never felt more humiliated, more outcast or more alone than that very night. The whole class had stood, watching and waiting for the moment she would be degraded, they all stood with smiles and laughs ready for when any ounce of respect she may have had was shed from her. That was why she had begun to cry. Vin had turned to her and in that moment more had passed between them than possibly any other time she had known him, except, perhaps, when he had collapsed on the curb and huddled quivering as tears ran down his face. He told her that his father had died in an accident, that he was never coming home, that he would never meet her or see how well he had done at school. She had cried for him, for his sorrow, for his loss, because all she had wanted she had. It was the guilt more than anything. But now she cried for herself, and Vin did not go to comfort her, he knew that would be no good, that she had been outcast, and she saw in his eyes mirrored his own status; it might have been guilt that he had drawn her out of the school, it was his fault, but she would never think that. She saw in Vin not sorrow, but anger, greater anger than she had ever seen in him before, greater anger perhaps than he had ever felt before. And she was afraid. His eyes didn't brim with the soft droplets that slipped from her eyes, they didn't quiver with humiliation, only his body gave an odd sort of shivering from a source other than the cold, his eyes were still, in a matter of moments all that passed between them was washed out with tidal anger. She had watched every moment as every moment watched her, they would stay with her. The images were blurred, distorted, a dark figure moving with such speed she could barely follow it, the sound around them slowly died down as those around turned and looked. And then the show had started, it was dark and everyone was staring at Vin, Liet's eyes followed Vin, and she cried. She didn't see her friend, who gave off an image of the tough lone wolf, but had sat with her the quiet, flower sniffing child.

She saw no trace of that child as he rose, something else, something much darker entirely. She almost looked upon a man, bursting to escape from the shackles of the fragile outer shell. She felt the loss more keenly than the man-thing that stood staring savagely at her, and then tenderness, and then the emotion was flowing again and she couldn't bare to look upon it, to know it could so easily be lost again, that it was only a shadow of a true self that had just escaped and shown itself; how could she trust a thing like that again, that whispered so sweetly but beat so readily. She had feared to be swept up in it herself, so she had backed away as he had run, and she felt in her action, she had broken him completely as he disappeared as a ghost in mist. She only vaguely registered his pursuers.

"Ladies and Gentleman..." the ringmaster began. Swirls of red, of green, explosions of blue and yellow and great jets of fire flew from the stage and out across the dome. The circus had begun. The show must go on. Loud applause. Laughter. Glee. Only the class remained silent, trapped and separate from this world, each trapped in their own nightmare. Miss Cobbles had at first an odd first thought that she had not expected, 'but how will I tell his parents'. Having already given up on the boy. Some of Sael's friends were frantically calling in his ear, nudging his shoulders, shaking him. Other children were in various states of dishevelment, some were collapsed, others holding onto their friends, others with head in hands. And yet some children, some classmates, had turned to watch the show. They had turned, walked off, pretended they had not seen it and gone closer to the stage. A great fire-breather was on stage, performing marvellous feats of acrobatics and balance, while sending out great streams of multicoloured fire, this way and that. By the time Miss Cobbles had recovered somewhat, she looked to her flock, to protect how few she had left, when she looked for the little girl with her skirt down and eyes aflood, she saw an empty space, so cold without her presence, and realised far too late she had lost two children to the blizzards that day, and a third lay dying or dead at her feet. The paperwork would be phenomenal.

She knew where to find him instantly. She trusted in her instincts and retraced her steps. Whenever he felt truly upset he would find a quiet spot near home, he liked the dark, but he also liked to feel close familiar shelter. She found him huddled under the ship, small compared to most, with large curved wings and a round body. But he had found himself up under the wheels, hidden from view, he had easily lost the security, but not her. Liet approached quietly, her ears drooping down, her head held low, her eyes fleeting up now and again. She held her hands close to her as she did when she was nervous, fingers tapping, fumbling, caressing each other in alternating quick and slow patterns. She climbed up easily to his side as he shifted over, his face was hidden in the darkness the interior provided, sheltered from the runway lights. He turned to her, his eyes glinting in the dark and his outline distinct on one aspect. Liet stared fixedly at her hands. The cavity was warmer, sheltered from the storm, but they couldn't escape the smell of burning tarmac that peppered the runway, the acrid burn torture to a sensitive nose, her eyes stung with it. And then he brushed her eyes, and she flinched. She hadn't meant to, but she found herself a good foot away and her arm up to block him, flakes of snow drifted up to fill the gap between them, stark white in a sky of black that set heavy atop them. The silhouette of the fox was solid, only his arm fell to his side, he looked so alien to her she could have mistaken him as a statue. Flashes of bloodied fists rained in her mind, deafening in the dark canvas that held them in this space. Thoughts projected easily in this place, but they changed, also, shifted. She was looking now at the young boy that she'd seen laying on top of the hill earlier that year, so tranquil and content.

A flower rolled back and forth across his lips, up and down, up and down, he had looked a character from a child's book, ready to strut forth on an adventure of fortune and excitement. But he had also looked so much quieter than the others at school, he really thought about the world, she decided, he really thought about life. He wasn't playing rough and tumble with the other boys, always teasing her and the other girls, but neither was he talking about who likes who, or who did what last night with who you'd never believe. He was quiet. She'd never known anyone like him before, but then there was the rumours. That he'd eaten a whole family of rabbits. And he made it no secret he didn't like rabbits, he'd call them 'hoppers'. But she didn't hop, so much as bounce, and he did look lonely too.

She saw the boy that had, with great ceremony and care, gently unveiled the little flower of violet colour, with yellows and whites as it reached its centre. "What have you got there?" she'd asked. He was lying on his chest, with his legs in the air above him, his tail casually curling around his feet, his shoes by his side. When he heard he had jumped and quickly rolled onto his front, holding his hands behind him, "Nothing." He tried to say casually.

"Vinny, I know you have something. You can show me." She tried to approach him, to reach behind, but he turned on her baring his teeth and hissing, shoving her away so hard she stumbled and nearly fell backwards. She'd never known him to lash out against her and as tears threatened to spill he had been over in a flash, his teeth all hidden and eyes hanging heavy as he rested on his knees offering a hand to pull her up, his words babbled apologies. "I thought you'd just laugh if I showed you," he said, with her sitting by his side, forgiving and curious again, "Everyone would laugh if they found out, they'd think me a girl, I am a girl who likes smelling pretty flowers. Go on, go tell everyone that the big bad family-eating fox likes picking and smelling pretty flowers. Go so you can laugh with all the others." He turned away suddenly, heavily, definitively with the flower twirling between fingers as he stared fixedly at it, all joy gone from the first to grow of the season. She reached her arms over him, her fur soft as it brushed against him, and she took it in her hands very gently, raising it to look at it, his cheek brushed against hers as he looked up more like a protective mother than anything, she smelled it deeply and then stood, holding it down to him again, "I think it's very pretty too. Why would I laugh? You're my friend." She remembered him taking hold of the plant and storming off, a paw swiping across his face when he thought he was sufficiently far away to be hidden. She realised no one at the school had said that to him before.

She found herself shuffling closer to him, and felt how cold his hand had become. The smell sat dank but forgotten in the empty space around them. Liet felt only the trembling, shifting fingers of the fox warming against her own, and held them there for long enough for the memories, the shifting shadows, the images to fall into silence. Their bodies sat as one silhouette, warming against the bright neon of the surrounding world.