Wolf in the Big City

Chapter 21 - Break

"Right, so...fox spirit. That's me. I know I told you about me a few days ago but...do you want to see what I really look like?"

"Sure. And in return, I guess I'll show you what I look like."

I nodded and pulled my own medallion from within my shirt. She did the same, revealing the little bronze disc she'd shown me a few days ago. As she let the medallion settle on her chest, her body became engulfed in a familiar white fire as she transformed before my eyes.

Evelyn was indeed a fox, that much I gathered. Her fur was snow white and she had a single tail that ended in a red tuft of fuzz. But other than that, she kept the rest of her features; her short but neatly kept brown hair, dark brown eyes and even the little scar she had on her right cheek. And she was still just as stunning as she was in her human form. As she smoothed out her blouse, I shifted to my wolf form, leaving me perched on the edge of her bed.

We sat there in silence for a while. I guess we were both stunned by how things had turned out. It felt like an eternity before we spoke. Well, I spoke.

"You're... Beautiful, Evey."

"And you're every bit as handsome as I thought you'd be. But a lot fluffier."

Some vestigial, bestial part of me reacted to that statement. I could feel my tail wagging without me willing it to do so. Felt weird. Really weird. But in a good way. Evelyn chuckled as I laid down next to her, my head close to her shoulder. Eventually, she spoke, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"So... What now?"

"Well, what's done is done. All we can do now is focus on what comes next. And that's finding our suspect. We have his name. We know where he lives. We know how he operates. It's only a matter of time before we catch him with his pants down."

She nodded. I felt her hand lightly grace the back of my head. It felt good.

"Y'know Evey, now that we have some free time, we can finally spend it together. We haven't had a chance to hang out in a while anyway. How long until you're okay to be allowed home?"

"Day or two. Depends on how the blood test results are. If they're good, I'm out tomorrow. If it's not, they have to run checks and I don't know how long that will take."

"Mmm. How about, once you're discharged, we head down to Central Park, have some sandwiches and soda. Take a walk along The Pond? Maybe stop by Gastow Bridge?"

She smiled. Somehow, that warm and charming smile grew even more beautiful in her fox form.

"I'd love to, Dan. I think we both could use a break."

I returned the smile and laid my head on her chest. I felt her hand atop my head, idly rubbing the rim of one of my ears between her fingers. I couldn't describe how comfortable it was, even in that sterile smelling hospital ward. We were both going to be fine. And we had a nice day out ahead of us too.

The next thing I remember was waking up on the hospital bed. Evelyn was asleep as well. I didn't remember when I'd passed out but I think it must have been the exhaustion of the last few weeks. All the stress of the investigation, my injuries. Finding out about myself, that whole thing. It had been a roller coaster ride that I thought just wasn't going to stop. And, in some sort of weird way, I had the feeling that it would never stop. And that was fine by me. After all, the person I relied on for support the most was right there in front of me. We were both in the same boat.

I hopped off Evelyn's bed and changed back into my human form to check my watch. It was early in the evening when the sun was just setting and I could feel my stomach grumbling at me. I left the room quietly and made for the exit, running into the satyr from earlier on my way there. He gave me a warm smile and a wave, a gesture that I returned as I left. I eventually found myself a cab and went home, with a warmed heart in my chest and Dylan's reassurance from before in my mind. I fixed myself some pasta and had a beer in some sort of vague celebration of Evelyn's upcoming hospital discharge.