"Do you really think he's a rever?" an unfamiliar voice asked in a whisper, drawing Fox out of his sleep.

Where am I?

Fox blinked open his eyes, only to see nothing. The darkness startled him, but he took a minute to go back through his fuzzy memories before panicking. The smell of cigarettes, though faint, had him acknowledging his situation.

"I'm pretty sure of it. He's not comfortable around people at all," cigarette man replied, making Fox finally nudged his way through the blankets until he felt cool air hit his face.

There was only one light on that he could see, which was a lamp over by the sofa where cigarette man and a person he didn't know sat next to each other. The new man was shorter, with glasses and light brown hair that wasn't styled at all.

"I believe your friend is awake," the new man said quietly as he glanced up from the computer he had in his lap.

When their eyes met, Fox immediately ducked back beneath the blankets, though he wasn't sure why. The guy was all the way across the room, yet he couldn't stop his own reaction to him.

Is this guy good or bad?

He somewhat trusted cigarette man, as long as he didn't try to pick him up again anytime soon, but his father and the new person? Not a chance. Especially not with the way he was looking at him.

It's not creepy or anything, but then what is it?

"Wow, I think you're right," the new man said as the sound of him shutting his laptop met his ears before he heard it being set down on the glass table in front of them. "I've never met another one."

"Right? He's being looked after by two guys at the moment, and I called them earlier to make sure that they knew he was safe, but I thought that maybe you would want to meet him, and he might want to meet you."

Yeah, no.

"He doesn't seem interested right now, though," the new man said with a chuckle as Fox's eared flicked, listening to both of them get up and make their way toward the kitchen.

The sound of the refrigerator opening had Fox's stomach grumbling, and eventually, drew him to peak out of the blankets again, this time toward the kitchen. Both men weren't paying him any mind this time, giving him a chance to take in the situation.

"One of the people who look after him said that he likes pancakes and brought over a huge stack," cigarette man said as he pulled a large plate out of the fridge. "He plans to come back and pick him up after one of them is off work."

Oh, hello. I knew you loved me Noah!

The plate held at least six massive chocolate chip pancakes on it. Just the sight of them drew Fox to sit up, making some of the blankets slip to the floor while a few remained wrapped around him or sloppily atop his head like a skewed hood.

The motion brought two sets of eyes to him immediately. The attention was rewarded with a warning growl and bared teeth. He wouldn't be holding back anymore. If either of them tried to touch him, they were going to get bitten.

"I think he's had enough of my attention for the year," cigarette man said as he set the large plate of food down on the counter.

"Do you want me to heat them up?" he asked Fox with a small smile.

Fox quickly shook his head. He didn't care if they were hot or not. He knew that the man who made them was darn good at it, and it meant a lot that he had actually cooked and brought them by before he had to go to work.

I hope he hadn't been late because of me.

It was an odd thought to him, but he felt like he meant it.

When the plate of pancakes abruptly appeared in front of him, Fox reacted on instinct. Without thinking, he lunged upward, catching cigarette man's jaw right before he could fumble backwards onto the floor.

I...

Fox withdrew back into the blankets as best he could, which wasn't very well considering most of them had already fallen around his waist.

He watched silently as cigarette man sat up and wiped the tiny bit of blood from his nip off of his chin.

"I should have seen that coming. You did warn me plenty of times and you seemed distracted when I approached," he said with a kind smile.

Fox hunched farther back and eventually lied down, no longer feeling like he quite deserved the pancakes, even though he didn't feel like he was really in the wrong.

I feel weird.

"Do you know how long they have had him around for?" the man's friend asked, drawing the guy's attention over his shoulder toward him.

"No idea. I didn't ask since it wasn't really my business."

His friend nodded and came over to sit beside him. While Fox was tolerant of cigarette man's presence, he had no idea who the new man was or what his intentions were, so he did give off a nervous warning growl again.

Your eyes are just unnerving.

"I think he can tell what I am, Amo," the new man said with a tilt of his head that made Fox tilt his own in the opposite direction.

Fox bared his teeth again, confused.

"I can tell that you're eager to see his reaction. Go on, already," cigarette man said, gesturing for his friend to leave the room with a nod toward the hallway he'd gone down to get the blankets earlier.

After a few moments of hesitation his friend got up and disappeared down the corridor. Fox kept his attention on the hall until the man reappeared a few minutes later, but...

No way.

Seemingly of its own accord, Fox's body shifted. His paws carried him right up to the other fox without a single thought for the boundaries he'd just set with the two men. The tip of his tail flicked repeatedly in curious excitement as he circled the mostly-black fox with mixed silver ears.

You're a fox!

He nudged his nose nearly into the other animal's mouth before darting behind it to sniff his butt, then along his thick coat.

I haven't met another fox shifter in years! I can't believe you're a fox!

He whined as the other fox started walking toward cigarette man, but Fox wasn't deterred. Following, he continued his attentions, trying his best to take in the animal's scent as he continuously circled it with uncontrollable excitement.

I'm a fox, too!

Fox returned to the animal's backside to continue his assessment when he heard a low warning growl.

Oh, okay. Got it. No more butt!

He immediately redirected back to the fox's face and nudged his nose just about everywhere and anywhere he could in his exuberance. Another warning growl soon met his ears, followed by a flash of teeth, but he was too excited to heed the clear signals to calm down.

You're so cool! I wonder what your name is. Can we be friends? I'm a fox like you!

Fox circled the other animal two more times in his craze, then ducked beneath it and out the opposite side before rubbing his face against the fox's. He was about to lick the animal's muzzle again when it suddenly snarled and snapped its jaws at him, making Fox fumble onto his back atop the pile of blankets he'd slept beneath earlier.

"I probably should have warned you, but his fox doesn't have the greatest eyesight and can get pretty testy when others run around him," cigarette man said, making Fox blink over at him.

He stayed on his back until the fox sniffed him a few times, then backed away to sit beside the other man, who gave him a quick pat on the head. Rolling over, then pushing himself back to his paws, Fox twitched his nose and reluctantly sat down where he was. He wanted to go over to the other fox, even if cigarette man was sitting right next to him, but he'd made it quite clear that he hadn't enjoyed his attention.

Fox's ears drooped to the sides as his fuzzy shoulders hunched and he looked at the floor. He hadn't exactly been around other fox shifters much. His family was actually the last group of shifters he'd intentionally interacted with, and they had rarely ever gone into their animal form... especially after he refused to shift back from his own.

I guess I got carried away.

"I mean... I'd be glad to get that kind of excited attention, hmm? You make an adorable human," cigarette man said, raising his eyebrows a few times with a smirk that made Fox roll his own and give a dismissive snort.

The other fox glanced up at his friend at the same time cigarette man looked down at him and started laughing. The fox shook out its coat and stepped forward, making Fox immediately stand at attention. He wanted to run to him, but didn't want to offend again, so he made himself sit back down and began to frantically clean his left paw while sneaking glances his way.

He wanted to interact more with the fox, but after a few blinks, the young man was back in his naked human form.

Aww, but my fox friend.

"Here Owen," cigarette man said as he offered his friend his glasses back that he'd left with him.

Owen. I like that name.

Fox waited for Owen to put his glasses on before lifting a paw to swipe at the tag on his collar.

I'm Fox, he thought proudly as he held his head high.

"One of the men who are looking after him said that his name was Fox."

Owen chuckled at that as he got up "I bet it is," he said as he disappeared back down the hall he'd come from, then returned a minute later with boxers on, but most of his clothing in his arms. He set it all down beside cigarette man, then took a step closer to Fox before sitting back down.

"Nice to meet you, Fox. I'm also quite fond of my other form. I'm sorry I seemed to startle you when you first saw me. My fox calls most of the shots, even when I'm in my human form, and it's usually always looking out of my human eyes."

Ah, that's why I had felt odd staring him in the eyes.

Fox took a hesitant step closer and sniffed at Owen's knee before sitting back down. He wanted the man's fox back.

"Sorry, I don't have much of a choice. I had spent so much time in my fox form that I began to age like one. Eventually, my fox's vision began to go. I was left to rely on my friend more and more," Owen said as he looked up at cigarette man, then back to Fox. "I eventually decided to try and be human part of the time."

I'm fine with aging as a fox. That's what I am, anyways.

"I know that you probably don't mind dying as a fox. I didn't, either, until I realized what I would be missing by cutting my life short like that," Owen said as he leaned back and elbowed cigarette man in the side. The guy made a grunting sound and fell backward on the carpet dramatically, making Owen snort a laugh before standing up.

"I've got to head to my next class, but if you'd be okay with it, I'd love to meet you again, Fox," Owen said as he got himself dressed, then walked over to retrieve his laptop and bag from by the couch.

Fox followed, but kept a few feet between them.

Can't you stay a little longer? And a little fuzzier?

"I think he agrees to see you again. I'm glad that things seemed to have worked out. Maybe you can help him out a bit, if he decides to shift to his human form more often," cigarette man said, making Fox twitch his whiskers and sit down.

I want to be worth Noah's attention... and that means I probably have to be human, so I suppose a little help wouldn't hurt.

"I'll talk with his guardians and see what he wants to do, since they mentioned that he can communicate with them."

Owen paused by the door and turned, raising a brow at that information.

"That's quite interesting. It's not easy to create a link with a shifter, and you're the only one I've ever linked with. They must mean a lot to him," he said as he gave Fox a smile that had him running closer, but not quite close enough to reach out and touch.

"I'm glad that you've found two people you trust, and..." he paused, looking up at cigarette man for a moment before returning his attention back to Fox. The man's animal shone through his eyes, but Fox was no longer worried about it. "Maybe you'll come to trust us, too. Amos is a great friend of mine that has been with me through a lot of tough times. He's a really nice guy."

Fox glanced at Amos, who was standing a bit closer than he'd intended him to be.

"Don't make me sound too nice, Owe. I have appearances to keep up," Amos said before sticking his tongue out at his friend.

Owen shook his head with a light chuckle. "College isn't high school, Amo. No one gives a damn, and you're in your second year already."

Amos mirrored his laugh as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Get going, or you'll be late."

Owen glanced down at the time on his phone and gasped, then turned and bolted out the door with an abrupt "bye!"

Amos walked forward to shut and lock the door once his friend had gone, then turned and leaned his back against it with a reassuring smile that had Fox tilt one ear to the side.

"One of your friends will be here to pick you up in a bit. Want to just eat and chill until then?"

Not like I have anything else to do... and now that you mention it, I'm really hungry. However, I also have to poop really badly.

Glancing around, Fox wandered down the hall Owen had disappeared down to change.

Aha. Bathroom.

He wasn't able to call forth his human form, so he just decided to squat and relieve himself.

"Hey Fox, did you w—Oh shit!"

Fox finished his business and took a few steps forward, then sat down to start cleaning a paw.

Yep. That is indeed what it is. My gift to you for taking such great care of me today. No thanks are necessary.