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Writer's Guild / Lumnous' request
« on: September 30, 2012, 04:11:36 PM »
Alright folks, I need a hand here. A friend on FA (www.furaffinity.net/user/lumnous) Made a request, which I finished last night. Now, the problem is that I have no good title ideas. I want to post it here first and see if anyone has a good idea, because all the ones I can come up with are lame. Spelling mistakes that get pointed out are also appreciated! If you take the time to read this, thank you very much. 
Edit: The title and spelling are irrelevant now, but enjoy it all the same.
Lumnous belongs to www.furaffinity.net/user/lumnous
All other characters are mine.
Edit: The title and spelling are irrelevant now, but enjoy it all the same.
Lumnous belongs to www.furaffinity.net/user/lumnous
All other characters are mine.
The early morning is the only remotely safe time to travel. Most of the night predators are no longer about, and many of the day predators haven’t awoken yet. There were still dangers, of course, no journey was without them, but at least the dangers were a bit more rare. The cool stone under the tiny wolf’s sore paws was a welcome relief in comparison to the blazing sun that he’d been used to travelling under.
Lumnous kept forcing himself to put another paw forward, feeling like he was getting nowhere. The street, the sidewalk, they never changed, aside from the occasional wad of gum the wolf skirted around. As unappetizing as it was, the slightly sweet smell made him drool and rub his grumbling tummy. He approached another building, this one much bigger than the residences he’d passed so far.
The bricks were faded to a dull pink from the sun. The building must be old, he thought. He caught the scent of heavy traffic, mixed with species of several ages, but most of them young. The fur on his neck bristled and he shivered. God forbid, a school… he thought, I’m not going anywhere near there… But he stood there for a long time, because mixed with the scent of large furs there was a lingering smell of food.
Lumnous tore his gaze away with a groan. As much as he wanted to, going in there after the smells was suicide and he knew it. He heard another growl, and he patted his tummy reassuringly as he turned away. The sun was beginning to come up, and he knew that he had to find somewhere safe soon. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the rhythmic padding behind him.
He turned in time to catch a glimpse of a large figure, and he made out a reddish color before his gaze was blocked by the paw it raised. He fell back with a scream, and as the paw came down that scream intensified. In an instant, his nose filled with an earthy, natural scent, his cold body was warmed, and he was pushed to the ground and his breath was forced out by the pressure. He heard a sickening crunch and blacked out as pain shot up his spine.
**************
The shrill squeal sent shivers up the fox’s spine, causing him to pause in his slow walk. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t been watching where he was going. He hesitated, feeling something warm under one of his paws. He took a step backward, idly pushing his hair out of his eyes. There was a dark shape on the ground in front of him, and he heard a small whimper.
James bit his lip and crouched down, swinging his bag over and setting it down next to the curled-up figure. It was nowhere near the first time he’d seen a micro, but normally he only caught a fleeting glimpse. This was the first one he had ever been close enough to touch. His fingers lightly brushed the canine, who groaned and pulled away, clutching at his lower body. James persevered, sliding his fingers under the warm body and cupping the wolf in his hands.
He took the shivering for a good sign, because it meant the wolf was aware enough to be scared. A sharp nip on his fingertip made him yelp, the fingers easily pinning the wolf’s head between them. There wasn’t much conviction behind it though, the bite hadn’t even penetrated the skin.
James closed his eyes and his ears pulled back, quietly collecting his thoughts. He was perhaps an hour early for school, and the man he was going to see was probably the wolf’s best chance. He carefully rolled the wolf into one hand, cupping it to his chest. Retrieving his bag, he stood up and slowly made his way into the nearby building.
Lumnous thought that he was dead. He lay on something soft, his body was warm, and his injuries didn’t seem serious at all. There were lights streaming overhead, making his vision swim in front of him. The fox crushed my head when I bit him. He thought, I couldn’t have done something so stupid and lived… He shook himself, eliciting another groan. His body tilted upward, making him cringe, expecting a fall. Instead a soft blue eye took measure of him.
The wolf reached down, too scared to look. His hand shook as he ran it over his hand-stitched pants and felt the bone out of place. It didn’t seem to be bleeding, but the edges of his mind seemed fuzzy somehow. The pain didn’t fade, but it seemed less pressing as the shock threatened to take him under again. He bit down on his lip until he felt blood run out, managing to stay awake.
Something important tugged at him now… something had changed. He thought hard, and it came to him. They’d stopped moving. He barely got the courage to try and crane his neck around before the fox lifted his other hand and rapped twice on the door. Shards of sound like glass shot through his head, and his eyes watered. I must have hit my head.
“Yes, come in…” Came an aged voice, and the fox fought to turn the reluctant doorknob finally pushing the door open with a grunt. Lumnous peeked through the fingers and saw an aged grey wolf sitting at a desk. The pen in the wolf’s hand was dancing over a page, and his glasses had slid to the end of his nose. He barely seemed to notice the fox before the young vulpine cleared his throat. The wolf paused and looked up.
“Ah, yes. James, come in.” Said the wolf, setting his pen to one side and standing up. Lumnous lost sight of him for a moment as the fox, now he knew him as James, turned to yank the door shut behind him. “These outfits of yours never cease to amuse me…”
James couldn’t help but smile, even considering the circumstances. The wolf had become a dear friend over the past few years, but he could never understand why the fox insisted on wearing what he saw as a skirt. “You know, I think I might be able to fit you into one, Doc.” he said, raising his gaze to meet the wolf’s, easily a foot higher than his.
The wolf chuckled, the sound coming out rough from years of smoking. “Thank you, no. I prefer my own wardrobe.” He replied, sitting down and motioning to the chair in front of his desk. “I was about to come to the classroom, James, you could have waited there.”
Lumnous saw the black lips dip into a frown and then the blue eyes were on him again. His fur perked up and he didn’t need to look to know that the wolf’s yellow eyes had followed. “I stepped on this micro, Doctor Bernhardt.” He explained, his voice catching as he opened his hand so that Lumnous’s body was exposed. “I thought, you know, that maybe…”
Bernhardt sighed and reached for his glasses, “Leave it to you to get broken up over something that others find common, lad.” He complained, but Lumnous felt the rough finger pads roaming his body, and he kept very still, as he felt very vulnerable in that moment. “I’m not going to hurt you, lad.” He heard the old wolf mutter in a soothing tone, and in his state, he nearly replied. He bit his cheek and it came out as a whimper instead. His mother also said that no good could come from talking with the giants.
James stiffened when the Doctor touched the wolf’s leg and it yelped. He bent close so that Lumnous only saw one eye, and the fox’s breath against him. “It’s okay.” James muttered over and over, and Lumnous clung to that idea. He heard a creak as the wolf sat back in his chair and nodded. “He has a broken femur, and a couple of broken ribs.” He explained, “Probably bruised ribs as well, among other scrapes, but I’d say he got lucky.”
Lumnous didn’t feel lucky, but he kept that to himself. James sighed and sat back, leaving his hand on the desk. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I thought when I felt that crunch…” He looked a little ill, and
Lumnous found himself wishing that he wasn’t right in front of the fox.
Bernhardt grunted, his back protesting as he stood and walked around the desk. “I need to fetch some things from the infirmary, lad.” He explained in response to James’ questioning look, “I won’t be very long.” He patted James on the shoulder on the way by and easily pulled the door open, leaving the two alone.
Somehow, Lumnous found that being alone with the fox wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought it might be. James seemed to be looking everywhere but at Lumnous, as though he felt guilty. Lumnous felt blood rush to his cheeks in spite of everything at the thought, and before he knew what he was doing he’d given the finger in front of him a few licks.
James brought his gaze to bear on the wolf, who swallowed. The fox’s curiosity was piqued, and he leaned forward, his nostrils flaring. He wore a sheepish grin, one that Lumnous found it hard not to match. He didn’t seem like a monster from the stories that his mother had all but beaten him over the head with. A fingertip repeatedly ran from the tip of the wolf’s nose to the crown of his head.
“I’m sorry you wound up where you did, little guy.” The fox said, more to break the silence than anything. Lumnous’ tail wagged once before the movement set off every nerve in his lower body and made him cringe. He hissed and shivered.
“I’m not…”
The simple phrase hung between the two of them, and a feeling of dread crept up the wolf’s spine. James’ eyes widened slightly, but he just smiled and stroked the wolf in the same manner as before. He opened his mouth as if to reply, then winced and turned around as the door banged open and Doc Bernhardt entered with a bin full of supplies. James turned back and winked at the wolf, and the dread melted away.
************************
Lumnous forced himself to a sitting position, surveying the cage he’d been put in with a surrealistic eye. The Doc had measured the painkillers perfectly, and his thoughts came sluggishly at best, when he wasn’t drooling on the floor. He had to see if James and Bernhardt still were there, watching him.
There was no way he was going to get out of the cage, and when he looked up he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Yes, they were still there. The fox was in a seat nearly directly in front of him, obviously distracted as he wasn’t writing any notes. Bernhardt was at the front of the class, lecturing into the microphone clipped to his lapel. He must have been spouting nonsense, because ‘the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus’ was obviously made up.
James paused in his musings and glanced up, making Lumnous dip his head under the plastic portion of the cage. The blue eyes followed, curling up at the edges with his smile. Lumnous would have returned the smile, but he was too busy noticing everyone else in the room.
James almost always arrived at least an hour before every class, and the empty classroom the wolf had seen earlier was now teeming with students. Most of them looked bored, even when they were diligently taking notes on the lecture. Lumnous thought that in his defense, Bernhardt didn’t sound like a particularly boring speaker. His words were full of the passion of his interest, and Lumnous could sense the wolf moving around behind him, gesturing, writing, his body flowing with his words.
He decided to try to stand, and reached out to grab one bronzed bar. The metal was slippery, and cool to the touch. He wrapped his fingers around and pulled, managing to lean on his good leg. The other was wrapped tightly, with something unseen bracing it straight. Lumnous eased his weight onto it, and the pain was so great that his vision swam and he let out a sharp yelp.
The noise had coincided perfectly with a pause in the Doctor’s lecture, and many students, James included, looked curiously at the micro. Lumnous saw more than a couple predators whose instincts had kicked in from the sound of a wounded animal, and they were watching him intently.
James and Bernhardt exchanged an unreadable look and James nodded. Bernhardt cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentleman, we have a guest, as you may have noticed.” He said, gesturing at the cage with a hand, pointing with the marker held within. “This morning we discovered this diminutive wolf, and determined it to be injured. His injuries will take some time to heal, and he may become a regular guest in our classes here.”
Lumnous’ heart sank. He didn’t like the prospect of being in a cage for a day, much less for as long as it took him to heal. There wasn’t much he could do about it, but it didn’t help very much to think that way. He sat down and listened. A lot of it made no sense to him, but at the least he wasn’t forced to sit and wait in silence.
James’ mind was everywhere that day. The wolf had been out for nearly two hours after they’d finished treating his wounds, and they were now halfway through the three hour class. He still felt an enormous sense of responsibility for the wolf, and most of it was rooted in guilt. This was his fault, he hadn’t been watching where he was going. He glanced at the clock and sighed, just as Bernhardt did the same.
“Alright, let’s stop there for a ten minute rest.” He declared, “I want those papers on the lobes of the brain and their functions on my desk by the time we resume.” He took off his microphone and set it on the desk.
Most of the students stood up, wandering out into the hallway or up to the desk to turn in their papers. A few of them gathered around the cage, fascinated by the little wolf. Lumnous slumped into a corner and tried hard to ignore the hungry stares, but it wasn’t easy. A feline slipped a slender finger into the cage to touch one of his ears. He quickly pulled away and whimpered, the movement causing his chest to twinge in pain. James glared at the feline, and was happy when he heard, “Natalie, please leave our guest in peace. I can’t say any of us would want to be pestered by giants while injured.”
The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only James. Lumnous looked up at him and whimpered. He’d never been close to anyone, not even someone his own size, and the fact that he felt he could trust this fox scared the life out of him. James bent forward to take a closer look, and a few hairs dangled above the wolf’s head, making his nose twitch.
A few ears twitched at the squeak-sneeze, but no one really paid attention to it. James thought it was about the most adorable sound he’d ever heard. Doc Bernhardt cleared his throat and took the paper James was holding. “He’s not going anywhere, lad. We’ll talk more about it after class, you only have the one today, right?”
James nodded and went back to his seat, copying the key notes from his lab partner while he waited for class to resume. Bernhardt opened the top of the cage and examined Lumnous, muttering to himself. After a moment, he nodded and replaced the top, and then he replaced his microphone. “Now, who can tell me one of the functions of the cerebellum?” He asked his class.
*************************
It turns out that a side effect of the painkillers was that Lumnous could sleep just about anywhere. When he woke, curled up in a ball in a corner of the cage, his leg sticking out at a strange angle, his body was stiff and ached, but his head was much clearer. The classroom was nearly empty, and James and Bernhardt were deep in conversation.
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea, lad.” Bernhardt argued, “I know how you feel, but I don’t know the extent of his injuries yet.” He glanced at the cage and smiled wryly, “Welcome back, we were just talking about you.”
James sighed and leaned on the desk, his arms crossed, “I know how to take care of a broken bone, Doc.” He sighed, blowing his hair out of his eyes, “I just think he’ll be comfortable around me.”
Lumnous hauled himself up and stuck his nose out between the bars, whimpering. His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. Bernhardt bent down and looked at him, and Lumnous licked his lips clumsily. The larger wolf frowned, but he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a fruit bar. He broke a decently sized piece off it and dropped it into the cage. He also took a coffee cup out of the cupboard and filled it to the brim with water from his water bottle.
Lumnous lapped eagerly from the cup, managing not to lose his balance, then he submerged his face, trying to clear his head. The water was bitterly cold, and though it made his head pound, it refreshed him slightly. The doctor chuckled and then nodded at James, “Alright, but if anything comes up, call me.”
James nodded and picked his backpack up. He looked the wolf over, then pulled the top off the cage.
Lumnous recoiled, not knowing what to expect. Part of him felt that the fox was to blame for his injuries, while another was satisfied simply by being fed and taken care of for a while. The fox didn’t reach for Lumnous, though, instead he removed the food and water dishes. “I’m going to take these along and refill them at my house,” James explained, looking at Bernhardt but making sure that the wolf heard him.
“Mind what you feed him, lad.” Bernhardt cautioned, taking the dishes to dump into the garbage can and the sink. “We don’t know what he ate before he had a run in with us, and too much processed food at one time might cause complications.”
James nodded absently, and added, “Yes, I know.” to ease Bernhardt’s mind, but he already had an idea in mind. James pulled a spare shirt from his bag, that he kept ‘just in case’. The fox wasn’t overtly clumsy, but things did happen to (or because of) him occasionally that required a wardrobe change. He
reached to pick the wolf up and yelped as Lumnous nipped his finger.
The wolf watched James warily as he stuck his bleeding digit in his mouth. For the moment, the side that blamed James was winning, despite all his rationalization. James sighed, deciding to try a new tactic. “I’m going to wrap this around you,” he explained, opening the shirt to show that there was nothing threatening about it. “Just in case something happens, so that you have some padding.
Bernhardt raised an eyebrow, “Lad, you’re one of my brightest students, but now you’re talking to the wildlife like it can understand you.” He observed condescendingly, “Micros have never proven to be capable of verbalization. You saw the recent study, I suspect?”
James set the shirt down carefully and put a hand behind Lumnous. He growled at James, glaring at the hand, but he allowed himself to be herded inside the walls of fabric. He’d understood every word, but he didn’t want them to realize that. He didn’t utter a single cry when the shirt was carefully tied together with the smallest knot the fox was capable of tying.
James turned back to Bernhardt, replacing the top on the cage, “Yes sir, but I don’t believe that abducting an entire population, sticking them in a glass box, and pointing microphones at them is the best way to get answers.” He fumed, “In fact, if they are intelligent, as I suspect, they would do exactly what you or I would do when threatened by an enemy who we believed wanted to destroy our friends. They’d keep their mouths firmly shut.”
Bernhardt winced as he walked closer, fishing a bottle of Advil out of his lab coat. He held up one hand and sighed, “Easy lad, I didn’t mean to ruffle your fur.” He apologized, shaking two pills out of the bottle and swallowing them dry, “I mean to say, more or less, that you seem very attached to this one.” He gently tapped the cage with a finger, “And I have to wonder if it’s guilt or curiosity that drives you.”
Bernhard walked the fox to the doors that lead out onto the campus, patiently holding the door for the fox, who stood behind him. James stood and stared at the cage for a long while, before taking a deep breath and blowing it straight up to scatter his bangs, “Both.”
**************************
The journey home was frightening for both the micro and the normal fur. Lumnous keenly felt every movement, and his leg was throbbing. His survival instincts were clawing at him, making him itch to get out of the confined space.
James on the other hand was busily avoiding every fur he came across, trying to keep his movements as fluid and gentle as possible while dodging people all bustling about in an attempt to get their lunch or business out of the way before their break ended. When his brother’s car came into view, he’d never been so happy to see the piece of junk.
The rust spots on the wheel wells had begun to open holes in the metal, and the paint, once baby blue, was faded nearly to white. Thanking the transit gods under his breath, he yanked the door open, wincing at the sharp sound of metal-on-metal. Reuben kept saying he would fix it, but his job kept him busy. James probably would have fixed it himself by now if anything mechanical didn’t fall apart in his hands.
Lumnous breathed a sigh of relief when the cage stopped shaking. He leaned against the wall, pressing into the fabric. His mind was reeling with possibilities. Am I actually safe? He thought, Or is he just taking me home so he can keep me to himself when he eats me? A sniffle turned into a whine, and within a minute the wolf was curled mostly into a sobbing ball, his hands on his face, his leg sticking out at a weird angle.
Light streamed into the cage, and Lumnous slid his hands down so that he could see. As James replaced the lid to the cage, Lumnous recognized the look on his face. It was pure, straightforward pity. Maybe everything will be alright after all… he allowed himself to hope.
James pulled his gaze away from the cage and focused on getting the car started. His brother had taken to calling it ‘Baby Rusty’, and right now the fox was alternating between whispering encouragement and threats to the hunk of junk. The motor begrudgingly turned over, and the engine grumbled to life. James leaned forward and kissed the steering wheel. Anything was better than taking a train today.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, as James took the first road out of the town he could find and stuck to the paved roads instead of the ‘back country highway’ that he and his brother usually favored: a series of dirt roads with few bumps and fewer police officers patrolling it that they’d discovered as kids.
Lumnous’ fur eventually settled down after hearing the motor cranking. Everything seemed to set him on edge, but the rhythmic bumping of the tires on the road began to lull him to sleep. He shook himself awake, eliciting more shooting pains from his leg, which woke him up completely. The stubborn survivalist part of his brain was filling his mind with images of his meat being stripped from his bones by sharp vulpine teeth. As he watched the fox work on driving the car he gradually relaxed again. A few minutes later the brakes squealed for the last time and the engine shut off.
The difference between the vulpine and the canine was that the smell rising from the ranch style house made James’ mouth water, but it made Lumnous drool. James smiled in spite of the fact that the situation just got even more complicated. James reached over and lifted the cage, and this time Lumnous didn’t even notice.
The wolf’s stomach was burning and twisting. The smell of such good food was overwhelming on a stomach that hadn’t seen food in days. The door opened, and another fox leaned out, her fur lighter than James’ and her red-brown hair pulled into a ponytail.
“James, sweetie, can you get the mail?” she called, then her eyes widened slightly, “What are you bringing into my house?”
James chuckled. Jean was seven years older than him, the same age as his brother, and despite, or perhaps because of, being a housewife who did nothing more than odd jobs around town, the house and yard were undeniably hers. Jean and Reuben had been in love when they’d met in college, and despite his brother’s oddities, and the dirty work Reuben did on occasion, they were one of the happiest couples any of his friends knew.
“My hands are full, sis.” He said, carefully pushing past her with his bag in one hand and the cage tucked under another arm. “It’s nothing slimy, I promise.”
Jean’s brown eyes followed the cage until it landed in the center of the table, then she crossed her arms, “Alright. Speak, boy.” She demanded, her tail swishing irritably behind her.
Lumnous backed himself into a corner and stared at the female in awed silence as James explained the situation, leaving nothing out. Her eyes never wavered toward the cage, but her gaze softened and her arms relaxed. At the end, she reached out and patted James on the shoulder, telling him it was all right. Lumnous didn’t know what to think. She seemed to be hard one minute and soft the next.
Jean leaned forward, looking into the cage just in time to catch Lumnous’ stomach growling again. He licked his lips and made a show of sniffing in the direction of the kitchen. Her lips perked up in a smile, “Well, he has good taste, I’ll admit.” She joked, “Do micros eat pot roast?”
James nodded, “It’s fine, yes, just no processed foods.” He answered, looking in the direction of the kitchen, “Is Reuben going to be joining us tonight?”
Jean frowned, “No, unfortunately. He had to stay on another night, so I guess he’ll have to make due with leftovers.” She replied, then a smile crept into her eyes, “If there are any, that is. You both look like you’ve had a long day and could use a good meal.” Jean took the liberty of taking the lid off the cage and making room for food as Lumnous stayed well away from her hands, “Go wash up, sweetie. We’ll find out how much this little guy can eat.
It turns out that a hungry wolf can eat quite a lot, no matter what size. A serving of beef a quarter of the size of his body, a spoonful of mashed potatoes, a quarter of a biscuit, and a spoonful of corn casserole later, along with a tea saucer full of water, and the wolf was laying on his back, his tongue flopped out, feeling completely at ease. The foxes seemed to think it was hilarious, and James even went so far as to poke gently at the wolf’s slightly bulging belly. Lumnous responded with a lazy swipe of his hand.
The suspicious voice in his head silenced, he shifted his body so that his head was resting on the plastic divider, watching the two eat. James was talking about the lecture that he somehow had managed to pay some attention to, and his spoon, full of potatoes, was now an impromptu pointer as he used his fist in place of a brain model. Lumnous understood none of the terms, but he found himself pointing at the places on his head along with James’ potato pointer.
James noticed this and stopped, making Jean glance at the wolf as well. James set the spoon down on his nearly empty plate and set a hand on Jean’s shoulder. “Some introductions; this is my sister-in-law, Jean. I trust her more than nearly anyone else in the world, so you’re safe with her.” He said. Jean smiled and dug her fingers into his armpit. James made a face and Lumnous couldn’t hold back a giggle.
James glared at Jean before he continued, “I’m James, as you know. I know you don’t trust me yet, but I promise I mean you no harm.” He leaned in a little closer, “Now, I don’t know your name, but… I have a feeling that you can tell me, if you wish.” Try as he might, Lumnous couldn’t keep himself from looking back into James’ eyes. Moment of truth: do I tell them or do I keep quiet?
His mouth opened, and in spite of all the water he’d drank, it felt dry. He coughed and cleared his throat, and his voice shook. “L-Lumnous…” he muttered.
Both foxes ears perked up, and Jean leaned forward, “I’m sorry, sweetie. What was that?”
Lumnous’ whole body trembled, “M-my n-name is L-Lumnous… Lumnous Wolfenheart…” His stomach threatened to expel all he’d consumed, despite being starved an hour before.
James sighed happily, “It’s nice to meet you, Lumnous. Believe me, your secret is safe.” Jean nodded her agreement, zipping her lips and crossing her heart for good measure. Lumnous lapped the last bit of water from the saucer and looked forlornly at it. His ears dipped and rose with his thoughts. Now that he’d started…
“M-Mrs. Jean, can I please have some m-more water?” he stammered, clenching his hands to keep them from shaking.
Jean reached into the cage to grab the saucer, but not before one of her claws softly ran down the wolf’s back, “Don’t call me ‘Mrs.’, sweetie,” she requested, “It makes me feel old.” When she returned with the water, she wasn’t surprised to find that the cage was now separate from the plastic base.
James tapped the table, and following his directions, she set it down on the surface.
“I’m going to take you out of there, Lumnous.” James stated, “It’s not necessary anymore. You’re not a prisoner, we’re just trying to help you.” After Lumnous nodded nearly imperceptibly, he reached in and carefully scooped Lumnous up, cradling him in his hands.
Lumnous tried to keep his breathing steady as he clung to a finger, getting a sense of déjà vu. The entire micro population’s biggest secret, and he’d just shattered it with a few words. His body wouldn’t stop trembling. He’d given it away, and now it was held by the fur who’d stepped on him, and his sister. He couldn’t hold his balance when James set him down and he felt the back of his head get soaked.
Jean clicked her tongue and very gently righted the wolf. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Does your leg hurt?”
Lumnous took deep breaths, trying to bring the world into focus from his panic-stricken haze.
“J-James…” he stammered, forcing himself to look at the fox, his enemy, his friend, the only fur he’d ever met that seemed to care. “Please, please don’t tell Bernhardt.” He begged, his eyes glistening with tears, and an edge of hysteria to his voice, “They can’t know we talk, they’d… they’d do something bad with it, I know…”
James reached out with a finger and set it comfortingly on Lumnous’ shoulder, “I promise, the fact that you can talk never leaves this house.” He soothed. Lumnous felt another finger on his other shoulder.
“Reuben and I won’t tell anyone either,” Jean swore, tapping her finger, “It’s not important to them anyway.”
Lumnous felt his body steadying, and a hopeful smile spread to his face, “Sir, and Mi- uh, Jean…” he offered, “Thank you, for being so kind to me.” He sat down, facing them, “So now what?”
Jean grinned, “Well, Jamsie here will take care of dishes and clean up the kitchen,” she declared, earning her a frosty glare from her brother-in-law, “While I show you the virtues of a DVD player.”
James sighed, nodding his consent, “Well, I guess I should be thankful you’re not a messy cook,” he grumbled playfully, watching Jean scoop Lumnous up as he gathered the dishes from the table, “Otherwise I’d be in there all night.”
Jean stuck her tongue out and stepped back, “Ah, brother dear, you do know how to touch a girl’s heart.”
*********************
It had taken quite a lot of explaining to get Lumnous to believe that there weren’t more people in the room. It was a romantic comedy Jean had rented, and by the time James finished and flopped onto the couch next to them, Lumnous was deeply engaged in the film.
James grinned, “Two firsts in one day. First, a micro speaks, and then a micro watches a movie with his giant friends.”
Jean and Lumnous turned to glare at him, and he laughed very hard when the tiny wolf leaned forward and shushed him. He ruffled the wolf’s head with a fingertip and smiled, “Alright, I have homework to do anyway.” James said.
Lumnous found that Jean’s shoulder was more comfortable than he would have thought, particularly when he was carefully snuggled against her neck. Her scent was somehow intoxicating, a smell he’d come across before. It calmed his mind and made him drowsy. About halfway through the film, just as
James closed his books in the kitchen, Lumnous drifted off into sleep.
About five minutes later Jean let out an earsplitting shriek as the unconscious wolf slid into her shirt. James hurried into the room to see Jean waving her hands at her chest, fighting the urge to swat at the little thing in her cleavage. James bit his cheek to keep from laughing and moved in front of her,
“Jean, sit down, you’re probably scaring him.” He said, taking her by the shoulders and easing her down to the couch.
Jean whined, pulling her shirt away from her bra and staring at the wolf’s legs, one bare and one casted, sticking out of her cleavage. She blushed, conscious of James' eyes on the wolf, but feeling that he was staring at her breasts. “James, if you weren’t gay I’d sock you in the nose…”
“Yes, I know…” he said, reaching forward and carefully extracting the dumbstruck wolf. He caught a scent on Jean and smirked, “Lavender?” he asked, “What is it? Perfume, shampoo or body wash?”
“None of your business,” she grumbled, standing up and smoothing her fur down. Then she smacked James on the back of the head, “I’m going to go into the bathroom and scrub myself for a bit now.”
James rolled his eyes at her retreating tail and chuckled. He was glad he’d gotten a sister when she was already grown up, but sometimes she could be a pest. “Are you alright?” he asked, the ball of fur in his hand, then he noticed something. He sighed and pulled the wolf’s fingers out of his ears, then repeated the question.
“Yes…” Lumnous ventured, “What was wrong with her? It was a nice bed.”
James had to set the little wolf on an end table, afraid of hurting him because he was laughing so hard. Lumnous chuckled as well, even if he didn’t understand. When James finished laughing, he set his muzzle on the table and beamed.
Lumnous smiled, giving the fox a lick on the nose, which James returned across the wolf’s entire torso. Looking back later, Lumnous would remember that as the first time he’d ever fully felt completely at ease among his giant friends.
Thankfully, it was far from the last.
Lumnous kept forcing himself to put another paw forward, feeling like he was getting nowhere. The street, the sidewalk, they never changed, aside from the occasional wad of gum the wolf skirted around. As unappetizing as it was, the slightly sweet smell made him drool and rub his grumbling tummy. He approached another building, this one much bigger than the residences he’d passed so far.
The bricks were faded to a dull pink from the sun. The building must be old, he thought. He caught the scent of heavy traffic, mixed with species of several ages, but most of them young. The fur on his neck bristled and he shivered. God forbid, a school… he thought, I’m not going anywhere near there… But he stood there for a long time, because mixed with the scent of large furs there was a lingering smell of food.
Lumnous tore his gaze away with a groan. As much as he wanted to, going in there after the smells was suicide and he knew it. He heard another growl, and he patted his tummy reassuringly as he turned away. The sun was beginning to come up, and he knew that he had to find somewhere safe soon. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the rhythmic padding behind him.
He turned in time to catch a glimpse of a large figure, and he made out a reddish color before his gaze was blocked by the paw it raised. He fell back with a scream, and as the paw came down that scream intensified. In an instant, his nose filled with an earthy, natural scent, his cold body was warmed, and he was pushed to the ground and his breath was forced out by the pressure. He heard a sickening crunch and blacked out as pain shot up his spine.
**************
The shrill squeal sent shivers up the fox’s spine, causing him to pause in his slow walk. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t been watching where he was going. He hesitated, feeling something warm under one of his paws. He took a step backward, idly pushing his hair out of his eyes. There was a dark shape on the ground in front of him, and he heard a small whimper.
James bit his lip and crouched down, swinging his bag over and setting it down next to the curled-up figure. It was nowhere near the first time he’d seen a micro, but normally he only caught a fleeting glimpse. This was the first one he had ever been close enough to touch. His fingers lightly brushed the canine, who groaned and pulled away, clutching at his lower body. James persevered, sliding his fingers under the warm body and cupping the wolf in his hands.
He took the shivering for a good sign, because it meant the wolf was aware enough to be scared. A sharp nip on his fingertip made him yelp, the fingers easily pinning the wolf’s head between them. There wasn’t much conviction behind it though, the bite hadn’t even penetrated the skin.
James closed his eyes and his ears pulled back, quietly collecting his thoughts. He was perhaps an hour early for school, and the man he was going to see was probably the wolf’s best chance. He carefully rolled the wolf into one hand, cupping it to his chest. Retrieving his bag, he stood up and slowly made his way into the nearby building.
Lumnous thought that he was dead. He lay on something soft, his body was warm, and his injuries didn’t seem serious at all. There were lights streaming overhead, making his vision swim in front of him. The fox crushed my head when I bit him. He thought, I couldn’t have done something so stupid and lived… He shook himself, eliciting another groan. His body tilted upward, making him cringe, expecting a fall. Instead a soft blue eye took measure of him.
The wolf reached down, too scared to look. His hand shook as he ran it over his hand-stitched pants and felt the bone out of place. It didn’t seem to be bleeding, but the edges of his mind seemed fuzzy somehow. The pain didn’t fade, but it seemed less pressing as the shock threatened to take him under again. He bit down on his lip until he felt blood run out, managing to stay awake.
Something important tugged at him now… something had changed. He thought hard, and it came to him. They’d stopped moving. He barely got the courage to try and crane his neck around before the fox lifted his other hand and rapped twice on the door. Shards of sound like glass shot through his head, and his eyes watered. I must have hit my head.
“Yes, come in…” Came an aged voice, and the fox fought to turn the reluctant doorknob finally pushing the door open with a grunt. Lumnous peeked through the fingers and saw an aged grey wolf sitting at a desk. The pen in the wolf’s hand was dancing over a page, and his glasses had slid to the end of his nose. He barely seemed to notice the fox before the young vulpine cleared his throat. The wolf paused and looked up.
“Ah, yes. James, come in.” Said the wolf, setting his pen to one side and standing up. Lumnous lost sight of him for a moment as the fox, now he knew him as James, turned to yank the door shut behind him. “These outfits of yours never cease to amuse me…”
James couldn’t help but smile, even considering the circumstances. The wolf had become a dear friend over the past few years, but he could never understand why the fox insisted on wearing what he saw as a skirt. “You know, I think I might be able to fit you into one, Doc.” he said, raising his gaze to meet the wolf’s, easily a foot higher than his.
The wolf chuckled, the sound coming out rough from years of smoking. “Thank you, no. I prefer my own wardrobe.” He replied, sitting down and motioning to the chair in front of his desk. “I was about to come to the classroom, James, you could have waited there.”
Lumnous saw the black lips dip into a frown and then the blue eyes were on him again. His fur perked up and he didn’t need to look to know that the wolf’s yellow eyes had followed. “I stepped on this micro, Doctor Bernhardt.” He explained, his voice catching as he opened his hand so that Lumnous’s body was exposed. “I thought, you know, that maybe…”
Bernhardt sighed and reached for his glasses, “Leave it to you to get broken up over something that others find common, lad.” He complained, but Lumnous felt the rough finger pads roaming his body, and he kept very still, as he felt very vulnerable in that moment. “I’m not going to hurt you, lad.” He heard the old wolf mutter in a soothing tone, and in his state, he nearly replied. He bit his cheek and it came out as a whimper instead. His mother also said that no good could come from talking with the giants.
James stiffened when the Doctor touched the wolf’s leg and it yelped. He bent close so that Lumnous only saw one eye, and the fox’s breath against him. “It’s okay.” James muttered over and over, and Lumnous clung to that idea. He heard a creak as the wolf sat back in his chair and nodded. “He has a broken femur, and a couple of broken ribs.” He explained, “Probably bruised ribs as well, among other scrapes, but I’d say he got lucky.”
Lumnous didn’t feel lucky, but he kept that to himself. James sighed and sat back, leaving his hand on the desk. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I thought when I felt that crunch…” He looked a little ill, and
Lumnous found himself wishing that he wasn’t right in front of the fox.
Bernhardt grunted, his back protesting as he stood and walked around the desk. “I need to fetch some things from the infirmary, lad.” He explained in response to James’ questioning look, “I won’t be very long.” He patted James on the shoulder on the way by and easily pulled the door open, leaving the two alone.
Somehow, Lumnous found that being alone with the fox wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought it might be. James seemed to be looking everywhere but at Lumnous, as though he felt guilty. Lumnous felt blood rush to his cheeks in spite of everything at the thought, and before he knew what he was doing he’d given the finger in front of him a few licks.
James brought his gaze to bear on the wolf, who swallowed. The fox’s curiosity was piqued, and he leaned forward, his nostrils flaring. He wore a sheepish grin, one that Lumnous found it hard not to match. He didn’t seem like a monster from the stories that his mother had all but beaten him over the head with. A fingertip repeatedly ran from the tip of the wolf’s nose to the crown of his head.
“I’m sorry you wound up where you did, little guy.” The fox said, more to break the silence than anything. Lumnous’ tail wagged once before the movement set off every nerve in his lower body and made him cringe. He hissed and shivered.
“I’m not…”
The simple phrase hung between the two of them, and a feeling of dread crept up the wolf’s spine. James’ eyes widened slightly, but he just smiled and stroked the wolf in the same manner as before. He opened his mouth as if to reply, then winced and turned around as the door banged open and Doc Bernhardt entered with a bin full of supplies. James turned back and winked at the wolf, and the dread melted away.
************************
Lumnous forced himself to a sitting position, surveying the cage he’d been put in with a surrealistic eye. The Doc had measured the painkillers perfectly, and his thoughts came sluggishly at best, when he wasn’t drooling on the floor. He had to see if James and Bernhardt still were there, watching him.
There was no way he was going to get out of the cage, and when he looked up he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Yes, they were still there. The fox was in a seat nearly directly in front of him, obviously distracted as he wasn’t writing any notes. Bernhardt was at the front of the class, lecturing into the microphone clipped to his lapel. He must have been spouting nonsense, because ‘the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus’ was obviously made up.
James paused in his musings and glanced up, making Lumnous dip his head under the plastic portion of the cage. The blue eyes followed, curling up at the edges with his smile. Lumnous would have returned the smile, but he was too busy noticing everyone else in the room.
James almost always arrived at least an hour before every class, and the empty classroom the wolf had seen earlier was now teeming with students. Most of them looked bored, even when they were diligently taking notes on the lecture. Lumnous thought that in his defense, Bernhardt didn’t sound like a particularly boring speaker. His words were full of the passion of his interest, and Lumnous could sense the wolf moving around behind him, gesturing, writing, his body flowing with his words.
He decided to try to stand, and reached out to grab one bronzed bar. The metal was slippery, and cool to the touch. He wrapped his fingers around and pulled, managing to lean on his good leg. The other was wrapped tightly, with something unseen bracing it straight. Lumnous eased his weight onto it, and the pain was so great that his vision swam and he let out a sharp yelp.
The noise had coincided perfectly with a pause in the Doctor’s lecture, and many students, James included, looked curiously at the micro. Lumnous saw more than a couple predators whose instincts had kicked in from the sound of a wounded animal, and they were watching him intently.
James and Bernhardt exchanged an unreadable look and James nodded. Bernhardt cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentleman, we have a guest, as you may have noticed.” He said, gesturing at the cage with a hand, pointing with the marker held within. “This morning we discovered this diminutive wolf, and determined it to be injured. His injuries will take some time to heal, and he may become a regular guest in our classes here.”
Lumnous’ heart sank. He didn’t like the prospect of being in a cage for a day, much less for as long as it took him to heal. There wasn’t much he could do about it, but it didn’t help very much to think that way. He sat down and listened. A lot of it made no sense to him, but at the least he wasn’t forced to sit and wait in silence.
James’ mind was everywhere that day. The wolf had been out for nearly two hours after they’d finished treating his wounds, and they were now halfway through the three hour class. He still felt an enormous sense of responsibility for the wolf, and most of it was rooted in guilt. This was his fault, he hadn’t been watching where he was going. He glanced at the clock and sighed, just as Bernhardt did the same.
“Alright, let’s stop there for a ten minute rest.” He declared, “I want those papers on the lobes of the brain and their functions on my desk by the time we resume.” He took off his microphone and set it on the desk.
Most of the students stood up, wandering out into the hallway or up to the desk to turn in their papers. A few of them gathered around the cage, fascinated by the little wolf. Lumnous slumped into a corner and tried hard to ignore the hungry stares, but it wasn’t easy. A feline slipped a slender finger into the cage to touch one of his ears. He quickly pulled away and whimpered, the movement causing his chest to twinge in pain. James glared at the feline, and was happy when he heard, “Natalie, please leave our guest in peace. I can’t say any of us would want to be pestered by giants while injured.”
The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only James. Lumnous looked up at him and whimpered. He’d never been close to anyone, not even someone his own size, and the fact that he felt he could trust this fox scared the life out of him. James bent forward to take a closer look, and a few hairs dangled above the wolf’s head, making his nose twitch.
A few ears twitched at the squeak-sneeze, but no one really paid attention to it. James thought it was about the most adorable sound he’d ever heard. Doc Bernhardt cleared his throat and took the paper James was holding. “He’s not going anywhere, lad. We’ll talk more about it after class, you only have the one today, right?”
James nodded and went back to his seat, copying the key notes from his lab partner while he waited for class to resume. Bernhardt opened the top of the cage and examined Lumnous, muttering to himself. After a moment, he nodded and replaced the top, and then he replaced his microphone. “Now, who can tell me one of the functions of the cerebellum?” He asked his class.
*************************
It turns out that a side effect of the painkillers was that Lumnous could sleep just about anywhere. When he woke, curled up in a ball in a corner of the cage, his leg sticking out at a strange angle, his body was stiff and ached, but his head was much clearer. The classroom was nearly empty, and James and Bernhardt were deep in conversation.
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea, lad.” Bernhardt argued, “I know how you feel, but I don’t know the extent of his injuries yet.” He glanced at the cage and smiled wryly, “Welcome back, we were just talking about you.”
James sighed and leaned on the desk, his arms crossed, “I know how to take care of a broken bone, Doc.” He sighed, blowing his hair out of his eyes, “I just think he’ll be comfortable around me.”
Lumnous hauled himself up and stuck his nose out between the bars, whimpering. His tongue had stuck to the roof of his mouth. Bernhardt bent down and looked at him, and Lumnous licked his lips clumsily. The larger wolf frowned, but he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a fruit bar. He broke a decently sized piece off it and dropped it into the cage. He also took a coffee cup out of the cupboard and filled it to the brim with water from his water bottle.
Lumnous lapped eagerly from the cup, managing not to lose his balance, then he submerged his face, trying to clear his head. The water was bitterly cold, and though it made his head pound, it refreshed him slightly. The doctor chuckled and then nodded at James, “Alright, but if anything comes up, call me.”
James nodded and picked his backpack up. He looked the wolf over, then pulled the top off the cage.
Lumnous recoiled, not knowing what to expect. Part of him felt that the fox was to blame for his injuries, while another was satisfied simply by being fed and taken care of for a while. The fox didn’t reach for Lumnous, though, instead he removed the food and water dishes. “I’m going to take these along and refill them at my house,” James explained, looking at Bernhardt but making sure that the wolf heard him.
“Mind what you feed him, lad.” Bernhardt cautioned, taking the dishes to dump into the garbage can and the sink. “We don’t know what he ate before he had a run in with us, and too much processed food at one time might cause complications.”
James nodded absently, and added, “Yes, I know.” to ease Bernhardt’s mind, but he already had an idea in mind. James pulled a spare shirt from his bag, that he kept ‘just in case’. The fox wasn’t overtly clumsy, but things did happen to (or because of) him occasionally that required a wardrobe change. He
reached to pick the wolf up and yelped as Lumnous nipped his finger.
The wolf watched James warily as he stuck his bleeding digit in his mouth. For the moment, the side that blamed James was winning, despite all his rationalization. James sighed, deciding to try a new tactic. “I’m going to wrap this around you,” he explained, opening the shirt to show that there was nothing threatening about it. “Just in case something happens, so that you have some padding.
Bernhardt raised an eyebrow, “Lad, you’re one of my brightest students, but now you’re talking to the wildlife like it can understand you.” He observed condescendingly, “Micros have never proven to be capable of verbalization. You saw the recent study, I suspect?”
James set the shirt down carefully and put a hand behind Lumnous. He growled at James, glaring at the hand, but he allowed himself to be herded inside the walls of fabric. He’d understood every word, but he didn’t want them to realize that. He didn’t utter a single cry when the shirt was carefully tied together with the smallest knot the fox was capable of tying.
James turned back to Bernhardt, replacing the top on the cage, “Yes sir, but I don’t believe that abducting an entire population, sticking them in a glass box, and pointing microphones at them is the best way to get answers.” He fumed, “In fact, if they are intelligent, as I suspect, they would do exactly what you or I would do when threatened by an enemy who we believed wanted to destroy our friends. They’d keep their mouths firmly shut.”
Bernhardt winced as he walked closer, fishing a bottle of Advil out of his lab coat. He held up one hand and sighed, “Easy lad, I didn’t mean to ruffle your fur.” He apologized, shaking two pills out of the bottle and swallowing them dry, “I mean to say, more or less, that you seem very attached to this one.” He gently tapped the cage with a finger, “And I have to wonder if it’s guilt or curiosity that drives you.”
Bernhard walked the fox to the doors that lead out onto the campus, patiently holding the door for the fox, who stood behind him. James stood and stared at the cage for a long while, before taking a deep breath and blowing it straight up to scatter his bangs, “Both.”
**************************
The journey home was frightening for both the micro and the normal fur. Lumnous keenly felt every movement, and his leg was throbbing. His survival instincts were clawing at him, making him itch to get out of the confined space.
James on the other hand was busily avoiding every fur he came across, trying to keep his movements as fluid and gentle as possible while dodging people all bustling about in an attempt to get their lunch or business out of the way before their break ended. When his brother’s car came into view, he’d never been so happy to see the piece of junk.
The rust spots on the wheel wells had begun to open holes in the metal, and the paint, once baby blue, was faded nearly to white. Thanking the transit gods under his breath, he yanked the door open, wincing at the sharp sound of metal-on-metal. Reuben kept saying he would fix it, but his job kept him busy. James probably would have fixed it himself by now if anything mechanical didn’t fall apart in his hands.
Lumnous breathed a sigh of relief when the cage stopped shaking. He leaned against the wall, pressing into the fabric. His mind was reeling with possibilities. Am I actually safe? He thought, Or is he just taking me home so he can keep me to himself when he eats me? A sniffle turned into a whine, and within a minute the wolf was curled mostly into a sobbing ball, his hands on his face, his leg sticking out at a weird angle.
Light streamed into the cage, and Lumnous slid his hands down so that he could see. As James replaced the lid to the cage, Lumnous recognized the look on his face. It was pure, straightforward pity. Maybe everything will be alright after all… he allowed himself to hope.
James pulled his gaze away from the cage and focused on getting the car started. His brother had taken to calling it ‘Baby Rusty’, and right now the fox was alternating between whispering encouragement and threats to the hunk of junk. The motor begrudgingly turned over, and the engine grumbled to life. James leaned forward and kissed the steering wheel. Anything was better than taking a train today.
The rest of the ride was uneventful, as James took the first road out of the town he could find and stuck to the paved roads instead of the ‘back country highway’ that he and his brother usually favored: a series of dirt roads with few bumps and fewer police officers patrolling it that they’d discovered as kids.
Lumnous’ fur eventually settled down after hearing the motor cranking. Everything seemed to set him on edge, but the rhythmic bumping of the tires on the road began to lull him to sleep. He shook himself awake, eliciting more shooting pains from his leg, which woke him up completely. The stubborn survivalist part of his brain was filling his mind with images of his meat being stripped from his bones by sharp vulpine teeth. As he watched the fox work on driving the car he gradually relaxed again. A few minutes later the brakes squealed for the last time and the engine shut off.
The difference between the vulpine and the canine was that the smell rising from the ranch style house made James’ mouth water, but it made Lumnous drool. James smiled in spite of the fact that the situation just got even more complicated. James reached over and lifted the cage, and this time Lumnous didn’t even notice.
The wolf’s stomach was burning and twisting. The smell of such good food was overwhelming on a stomach that hadn’t seen food in days. The door opened, and another fox leaned out, her fur lighter than James’ and her red-brown hair pulled into a ponytail.
“James, sweetie, can you get the mail?” she called, then her eyes widened slightly, “What are you bringing into my house?”
James chuckled. Jean was seven years older than him, the same age as his brother, and despite, or perhaps because of, being a housewife who did nothing more than odd jobs around town, the house and yard were undeniably hers. Jean and Reuben had been in love when they’d met in college, and despite his brother’s oddities, and the dirty work Reuben did on occasion, they were one of the happiest couples any of his friends knew.
“My hands are full, sis.” He said, carefully pushing past her with his bag in one hand and the cage tucked under another arm. “It’s nothing slimy, I promise.”
Jean’s brown eyes followed the cage until it landed in the center of the table, then she crossed her arms, “Alright. Speak, boy.” She demanded, her tail swishing irritably behind her.
Lumnous backed himself into a corner and stared at the female in awed silence as James explained the situation, leaving nothing out. Her eyes never wavered toward the cage, but her gaze softened and her arms relaxed. At the end, she reached out and patted James on the shoulder, telling him it was all right. Lumnous didn’t know what to think. She seemed to be hard one minute and soft the next.
Jean leaned forward, looking into the cage just in time to catch Lumnous’ stomach growling again. He licked his lips and made a show of sniffing in the direction of the kitchen. Her lips perked up in a smile, “Well, he has good taste, I’ll admit.” She joked, “Do micros eat pot roast?”
James nodded, “It’s fine, yes, just no processed foods.” He answered, looking in the direction of the kitchen, “Is Reuben going to be joining us tonight?”
Jean frowned, “No, unfortunately. He had to stay on another night, so I guess he’ll have to make due with leftovers.” She replied, then a smile crept into her eyes, “If there are any, that is. You both look like you’ve had a long day and could use a good meal.” Jean took the liberty of taking the lid off the cage and making room for food as Lumnous stayed well away from her hands, “Go wash up, sweetie. We’ll find out how much this little guy can eat.
It turns out that a hungry wolf can eat quite a lot, no matter what size. A serving of beef a quarter of the size of his body, a spoonful of mashed potatoes, a quarter of a biscuit, and a spoonful of corn casserole later, along with a tea saucer full of water, and the wolf was laying on his back, his tongue flopped out, feeling completely at ease. The foxes seemed to think it was hilarious, and James even went so far as to poke gently at the wolf’s slightly bulging belly. Lumnous responded with a lazy swipe of his hand.
The suspicious voice in his head silenced, he shifted his body so that his head was resting on the plastic divider, watching the two eat. James was talking about the lecture that he somehow had managed to pay some attention to, and his spoon, full of potatoes, was now an impromptu pointer as he used his fist in place of a brain model. Lumnous understood none of the terms, but he found himself pointing at the places on his head along with James’ potato pointer.
James noticed this and stopped, making Jean glance at the wolf as well. James set the spoon down on his nearly empty plate and set a hand on Jean’s shoulder. “Some introductions; this is my sister-in-law, Jean. I trust her more than nearly anyone else in the world, so you’re safe with her.” He said. Jean smiled and dug her fingers into his armpit. James made a face and Lumnous couldn’t hold back a giggle.
James glared at Jean before he continued, “I’m James, as you know. I know you don’t trust me yet, but I promise I mean you no harm.” He leaned in a little closer, “Now, I don’t know your name, but… I have a feeling that you can tell me, if you wish.” Try as he might, Lumnous couldn’t keep himself from looking back into James’ eyes. Moment of truth: do I tell them or do I keep quiet?
His mouth opened, and in spite of all the water he’d drank, it felt dry. He coughed and cleared his throat, and his voice shook. “L-Lumnous…” he muttered.
Both foxes ears perked up, and Jean leaned forward, “I’m sorry, sweetie. What was that?”
Lumnous’ whole body trembled, “M-my n-name is L-Lumnous… Lumnous Wolfenheart…” His stomach threatened to expel all he’d consumed, despite being starved an hour before.
James sighed happily, “It’s nice to meet you, Lumnous. Believe me, your secret is safe.” Jean nodded her agreement, zipping her lips and crossing her heart for good measure. Lumnous lapped the last bit of water from the saucer and looked forlornly at it. His ears dipped and rose with his thoughts. Now that he’d started…
“M-Mrs. Jean, can I please have some m-more water?” he stammered, clenching his hands to keep them from shaking.
Jean reached into the cage to grab the saucer, but not before one of her claws softly ran down the wolf’s back, “Don’t call me ‘Mrs.’, sweetie,” she requested, “It makes me feel old.” When she returned with the water, she wasn’t surprised to find that the cage was now separate from the plastic base.
James tapped the table, and following his directions, she set it down on the surface.
“I’m going to take you out of there, Lumnous.” James stated, “It’s not necessary anymore. You’re not a prisoner, we’re just trying to help you.” After Lumnous nodded nearly imperceptibly, he reached in and carefully scooped Lumnous up, cradling him in his hands.
Lumnous tried to keep his breathing steady as he clung to a finger, getting a sense of déjà vu. The entire micro population’s biggest secret, and he’d just shattered it with a few words. His body wouldn’t stop trembling. He’d given it away, and now it was held by the fur who’d stepped on him, and his sister. He couldn’t hold his balance when James set him down and he felt the back of his head get soaked.
Jean clicked her tongue and very gently righted the wolf. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Does your leg hurt?”
Lumnous took deep breaths, trying to bring the world into focus from his panic-stricken haze.
“J-James…” he stammered, forcing himself to look at the fox, his enemy, his friend, the only fur he’d ever met that seemed to care. “Please, please don’t tell Bernhardt.” He begged, his eyes glistening with tears, and an edge of hysteria to his voice, “They can’t know we talk, they’d… they’d do something bad with it, I know…”
James reached out with a finger and set it comfortingly on Lumnous’ shoulder, “I promise, the fact that you can talk never leaves this house.” He soothed. Lumnous felt another finger on his other shoulder.
“Reuben and I won’t tell anyone either,” Jean swore, tapping her finger, “It’s not important to them anyway.”
Lumnous felt his body steadying, and a hopeful smile spread to his face, “Sir, and Mi- uh, Jean…” he offered, “Thank you, for being so kind to me.” He sat down, facing them, “So now what?”
Jean grinned, “Well, Jamsie here will take care of dishes and clean up the kitchen,” she declared, earning her a frosty glare from her brother-in-law, “While I show you the virtues of a DVD player.”
James sighed, nodding his consent, “Well, I guess I should be thankful you’re not a messy cook,” he grumbled playfully, watching Jean scoop Lumnous up as he gathered the dishes from the table, “Otherwise I’d be in there all night.”
Jean stuck her tongue out and stepped back, “Ah, brother dear, you do know how to touch a girl’s heart.”
*********************
It had taken quite a lot of explaining to get Lumnous to believe that there weren’t more people in the room. It was a romantic comedy Jean had rented, and by the time James finished and flopped onto the couch next to them, Lumnous was deeply engaged in the film.
James grinned, “Two firsts in one day. First, a micro speaks, and then a micro watches a movie with his giant friends.”
Jean and Lumnous turned to glare at him, and he laughed very hard when the tiny wolf leaned forward and shushed him. He ruffled the wolf’s head with a fingertip and smiled, “Alright, I have homework to do anyway.” James said.
Lumnous found that Jean’s shoulder was more comfortable than he would have thought, particularly when he was carefully snuggled against her neck. Her scent was somehow intoxicating, a smell he’d come across before. It calmed his mind and made him drowsy. About halfway through the film, just as
James closed his books in the kitchen, Lumnous drifted off into sleep.
About five minutes later Jean let out an earsplitting shriek as the unconscious wolf slid into her shirt. James hurried into the room to see Jean waving her hands at her chest, fighting the urge to swat at the little thing in her cleavage. James bit his cheek to keep from laughing and moved in front of her,
“Jean, sit down, you’re probably scaring him.” He said, taking her by the shoulders and easing her down to the couch.
Jean whined, pulling her shirt away from her bra and staring at the wolf’s legs, one bare and one casted, sticking out of her cleavage. She blushed, conscious of James' eyes on the wolf, but feeling that he was staring at her breasts. “James, if you weren’t gay I’d sock you in the nose…”
“Yes, I know…” he said, reaching forward and carefully extracting the dumbstruck wolf. He caught a scent on Jean and smirked, “Lavender?” he asked, “What is it? Perfume, shampoo or body wash?”
“None of your business,” she grumbled, standing up and smoothing her fur down. Then she smacked James on the back of the head, “I’m going to go into the bathroom and scrub myself for a bit now.”
James rolled his eyes at her retreating tail and chuckled. He was glad he’d gotten a sister when she was already grown up, but sometimes she could be a pest. “Are you alright?” he asked, the ball of fur in his hand, then he noticed something. He sighed and pulled the wolf’s fingers out of his ears, then repeated the question.
“Yes…” Lumnous ventured, “What was wrong with her? It was a nice bed.”
James had to set the little wolf on an end table, afraid of hurting him because he was laughing so hard. Lumnous chuckled as well, even if he didn’t understand. When James finished laughing, he set his muzzle on the table and beamed.
Lumnous smiled, giving the fox a lick on the nose, which James returned across the wolf’s entire torso. Looking back later, Lumnous would remember that as the first time he’d ever fully felt completely at ease among his giant friends.
Thankfully, it was far from the last.