Fox snuggled up against solid warmth as he yawned, then stretched with a content sigh, his whiskers twitching every so slightly as they brushed firm skin.

So comfortable.

After a few moments of contentment he opened his tired eyes... to nothing. Sitting up, Fox looked down at his hands, only to find that they were paws again. Twitching his left ear, he leaned down and licked one, then tilted his head. He was glad that he was a fox again, but had he actually even been a human earlier?

"Are you okay, Fox?"

Ah, the vegetarian.

Fox's belly grumbled as he quickly moved to the edge of the bed, then hopped down before walking up to the door and scratching at it lightly. A moment later it was opening to reveal Henry with a plate of hell yes.

"I see that you're back as a fox," he stated as he set the plate down and stood back up.

Fox dug in without a second thought. As he devoured the first pancake of the stack he considered the man's words. So he had been human earlier. That was a bit of information he had really hoped would be part of the odd dream he'd been having before waking up, but it appeared that he wasn't that lucky.

Wonder where Noah went.

As the second pancake went down the hatch, Henry replied to his thought. "I told him not to, but he actually went out to buy you some clothing and other stuff I know that you'd find useless once you shifted back."

Smart vegetarian.

"My name is Henry, by the way. I'm sure you've heard it enough to know that, though. Either way, he should be ba—" the sound of the door opening, then shutting a few moments later drew their attention down the hall. Fox made sure to quickly clean his plate before sticking his head out of the bedroom door to look toward the entryway.

Noah appeared a minute later with two large bags, one in each hand. He had an excited grin on his face... until he saw Fox.

"He changed back already?"

Nope. Still a human. Can't you see my awesome fingers and dick? Well, I still have that in animal form, but it's definitely not as visible. He paused in his thoughts for a moment, then finished, we'll just go with my fingers. I don't have those anymore.

Shaking his head, Henry walked past Noah, taking one of the bags on his way to plop it down by the sofa, then sit down to sort through it. Fox meandered over, too, curious about what was in the bag. He'd been quite frustrated over the past few days. Tearing up a few things would definitely help him relax a bit.

"Do you really prefer to stay as a fox? You really don't want to be human just for a little while?" Noah asked as he lifted a dark red T-shirt with a blue trim out of the bag, frowning at the fabric.

I am a fox. Of course I prefer to stay as myself.

Noah scowled, but Fox just twitched his nose and reached up to grab at the edge of the shirt with his teeth. It was jerked away a second before he could snatch it, making Fox pin his ears back and grumble.

"If you want the shirt, you're going to wear it, not shred it," Noah stated with a determination that Fox wanted to piss on. He wasn't shifting so that he could wear a stupid human shirt!

I'm not wearing that dumb thing.

Swishing his tail with indignation, Fox sauntered over to the back sliding door and pawed at it, wanting to go out. Of course, neither man got up to open it, and he honestly hadn't expected them to. They were, after all, waiting for that social worker to come back and ask him if he wanted to go with him or stay with Noah and Henry for the time being.

Until my family comes to get me. The thought was hissed as a shiver ran down his spine, making him shake his coat out to dispel the unwanted sensation. Said sensation was replaced with gentle but firm hands as Noah picked him up.

You're asking to get clawed.

"I'm sorry that things aren't going they way you wanted them to, Fox, but sometimes that's for the best."

Fox pinned his ears in confusion. He wasn't sure what Noah was talking about until he started carrying him towards the large dog crate.

Wait. We talked about this. Just put me in your room. Why are you trying to put me in there?

He struggled in the man's arms, but his grip was firm. Fox was about to give up, resigning himself to several hours in the crate until the stupid social worker showed up to take him away to hell, when Henry walked over and abruptly took him from Noah.

He wasn't a fan of being held in general, and definitely not by someone besides Noah, but Fox let it go this time since he was saving him. The moment Henry set him down Fox darted for the hallway, then disappeared into Noah's room beneath the bed.

What ensued after that was a rather vivid argument that Fox only heard tidbits of. He didn't care to listen, anyways. His parents and siblings used to argue over him staying a fox quite often before he'd run away. He didn't want to hear it again.

By the time he heard someone walk into the room, Fox's heart was beating much faster than it should have been and his face was buried in his paws.

I want to go. I don't want to be here.

There was a long moment of silence before Henry quietly replied.

"Come with me, Fox. I'll let you go."

Fox jerked his head up, nearly hitting it on the bottom of the bed.

You'll... let me go? Outside?

"Yes. The door is already open. You can leave."

It sounded like a trap, but he had to leave. He couldn't stay and wait for bad things to come to him. So, hesitantly, he crawled out from beneath the bed a few feet away from Henry. When the man offered him a small smile and stood up, then turned and walked out of the room, Fox nervously followed him, being careful to check around the corner in both directions before slowly creeping after him.

I can smell the breeze from outside. I smell snow.

Excitement welled in his heart as he glanced both ways at the end of the hall, then stepped into the small living room area. The back door was open, as promised... but where was Noah?

Looking around again, Fox felt his excitement deflate just the slightest amount when he saw the man leaning over the counter in the kitchen with his back to him, his shoulders hunched. Whatever argument they'd had, he'd clearly lost it, but when Fox looked back and forth between the two, he knew that that wasn't the whole story. For once, he was actually interested in figuring out why this situation had played out as it had, but instinct always overruled curiosity with him. Pushing aside his interest, he hurried out the back door and up into the medium tree in the backyard, then onto the privacy fence. The chilly breeze that rustled his coat as he sat down had him tilting his head towards the sky and taking in a deep, cold breath. He finally felt like he was home again as a single snowflake settled on the tip of his nose.

Sensing eyes on him after several quiet moments, Fox slowly turned his attention back toward the house.

Noah.

He could see how stressed the man was, but that wasn't his concern. It wasn't. He'd done it all to himself by interfering with his life.

Don't be too hard on him, Fox. He believes that you'd still be happier learning how to become a human again... but he relented because he knew that what you wanted right now was to be free.

He'd never wanted to be a human. He'd just been born into the situation. When he'd shifted from his human form for the first time it had been the most liberating feeling. He'd finally felt like he belonged in his skin.

"Fox?"

Refocusing, Fox noticed that Noah had taken a step out onto the back porch and was fiddling with something in his fingers. When he lifted his eyes to meet the man's, he hesitated for a moment, then slowly maneuvered his way back to the tree, then down to the ground. When he looked back up at Noah, the man was walking toward him. Fox fought with himself to remain still as the man stopped a few feet away and knelt down into the thin layer of snow... in his pajamas.

Fox took a curious step closer, tilting his head when Noah lifted what he was holding in his hands out to him.

I am not a pet!

The thought had Noah smiling sadly as he nodded. "No, you're not. I just... if you ever get into trouble again, I'd rather take the blame then have you get hurt," he said as he grasped the small tag hanging from the dark gray collar and turned one side to face Fox. Noah's name, address and phone number were carved into the shiny metal piece.

I won't get caught again, Fox stated stubbornly.

He would be much more careful around people from now on, but even with that understanding, he only took a half step back when Noah leaned forward and, after a brief moment of hesitation, flipped the tiny tag over so that he could see the other side... and what was written in big block letters.

Not Adam? And why does he have a tag and collar when he'd just bought all of those human clothes? He highly doubted that they could have been purchased at the same store.

Noah had been the one to push him the hardest about his former name, too, yet he'd put his current one on the tag.

"Your name is who you are. Right now, I guess you're not Adam, and I got the collar because I knew that just making you be a human wasn't an option. Even though I'd really hoped that you'd at least consider it... even for some pancakes."

The nervous attempt at humor made Fox twitch his whiskers. He slowly sat down on the damp ground and bowed his head slightly. Noah, thankfully, didn't hesitate as he slid the collar around Fox's neck and secured it.

"Come back whenever you'd like. I'm sorry that I put so much on your shoulders so quickly," Noah said as he stood up, the knees of his pajamas soaked through from the snow as he took a step back and smiled gently.

"Take care of yourself, you stubborn Fox."

Having no words to offer, Fox simply gave a small nod, then turned and hopped back up into the tree, then onto the fence. After one brief glance over his shoulder, he disappeared from sight.