”This might not be a wise decision pup.” Alumine turned a confused expression to her Ma before her gaze swung back to the misshapen wall surrounding the city. Snorting slightly she inched out of the foliage and crept forward ignoring her Ma’s annoyed hiss and continued her crawl to the city. She wanted to see humans, the people she seemed to crave knowledge of, the people she had only seen passing through the surrounding land. She wanted to see them up close.
The closer she got the more nervous her stomach became her breakfast threatening to spill out, blood pumping heavily through her veins it felt as if every sense in her was higher than usual, each thud of her paw seemed loud than thunder, the growing smell of stone seemed to burn her nose; still she pressed forward. It would be her first adventure.
Stopping just before the lowest edge of the wall she could find she then
closed her eyes. She had only just begun shifting, it felt strange and most human scents stung her nose with a vengeance but she couldn’t very well stay in fox form and speak at the same time. Taking a deep breath she thought of nothing but human and smiled, for when she opened her eyes she found that her hands were furless and light tan and most important, completely human! Grinning nervously she inhaled sharply and scrambled over the wall and landing hard on her rear.
”I’m here.” The voice startled her and she clapped her hands over her mouth and ducked low, her eyes wide as dinner plates before she realized it was her who had spoken. With a breathless giggle she pressed herself against the nearest wall and plastering herself too it. She flinched and smothered her yelp of surprise at the cold wall, without her fur everything was more susceptible to the elements; she didn’t care for it much.
Alumine watched the people walking curiously before flinging herself back with a holler of protest, the people who had stood there only moments before were gone! And now stood different people who eyed the alley way curiously, briefly trying to find the source of the noise. Once more shoving herself against the wall she found herself screaming in surprise as she fell through a square hole in the wall.
On her feet in seconds glowing orange eyes surveyed her surroundings, it was a small, unlit room containing only a cot, closet, stove and a knapsack littered across the floor, smiling her entire posture slumping in relief when she found it was empty. Her relief only lasted moments though as she heard footsteps and she ran around the room in shock, she didn’t want to be seen yet! Darting behind the nearest closet she huddled into herself
and held her breath.
It seemed like hours before she was able to move, head peeking out
cautiously from the closet corner. The human slept on the cot his breathing slow and deep, waiting only a few more seconds she inched towards the way she had come in only to find, to her horror, it had changed as easily as the streets.’Oh, oh no. I can’t leave! Don’t panic. Can’t panic…I’m scared!’
Pacing nervously back in forth she tried to quite her now heavy breathing, her eyes rolled anxiously before landing once more on the softly snoring human.
Without realizing it she found herself creeping closer, she hadn’t ever been this close to one. Keeping up her halting totter she stopped abruptly in front of the sleeping figure. Leaning forward carefully the young girl shoved her face closer to the humans. ’Humans and I don’t look any different! But the do sleep funny.’ So absorbed was she in her ‘human watching’ that she didn’t notice her body teetering forward and so it was as much as a shock to the human as to her.
It all happened in seconds; it seemed to move slowly in hours, the room spinning and whirling strangely as she fell to the ground in burning pain.
He woke in a fright he sword swing first and slicing her cleanly across. The yowling that filled the room sounded strange even to her own ears and she flopped away from the human in anger and fear. Her chest heaved and the sharp scent of blood stung her nose as she heard the human shout in surprise and felt him move towards her beseechingly.
”NO!” Screaming the one word over and over she scrambled to the only door and flung it open teetering down the hall, shoving any and all out of her way in her mad dash.’Hurts! Hurts! Blood, lots of blood, hurts!’She did not stop her blind though only cried and stumbled shifting quickly to move with more ease; she felt her fur mat quickly with blood, drying and tightening against her painfully.
The young fox did not get far though for in just moments she felt human arms close around her waist painfully. Snarling her teeth clamped onto the arm in a futile attempt to escape.
”Hold still little one. And release me, that hurts you know.” Although she could hear and understand the words the human spoke her brain could not seem to completely comprehend that they were not trying to cause her harm. Instead it only made the frightened Kelvic clench her jaw tighter around the arm.
Ignoring the slight pain running through his upper arm, Arian walked the small fox back to his room with slightly panicked steps. He knew the wound could not be too deep or the child would not have been able to move. Remembering his wake his guilt stung him righteously, he had not meant to hurt her; it had been a reflex. In the wilds the only people who got that close were thieves and murders or even monsters.
Once inside Alumine felt her instinct for survival press against any human-like thought in her head and releasing the man’s arm briefly she latched quickly onto the other, feeling the slick pop of a vein and her body fall and dragged herself once again behind the closet.”That hurt. An eye for an eye? Come now I’m going to fix you.”
Hissing angrily she shoved herself farther back against the wall, but it came out weaker than intended and anxiously the fox watched her vision blur. Too much blood had been lost, too much running, her small body felt heavy; with a ‘thump’ her belly landed painfully on the floor. Her heavy pants filled her air and coarse fingers gripped the scruff of her neck gently. The last thing she knew was large, brown human eyes.
Young Alumine Human
Young Alumine Kit
Arian
