Foxheart

Chapter Forty-Seven

Fox woke and instantly felt on edge. The colours of orange and yellow danced among the swamp's sodden grass and fat, bulbous trees; all filled with Sprites. Each set of golden eyes were fixated on them and whispers passed around the Sprites. He remembered very quickly he was still within the Spirit Paths. He hadn't like it but at least no one could find them here, not while the Plague Spirit closed off the doors. He didn't like it but it was safest. He still burned the incense though.

Fox stirred from his small island of vaguely dry earth and reached out to stir Dupont. Due to the sun swinging up well above the horizon, he expected skin to meet him, warm and soft. Instead fur did.

Fox whirled and, beneath his palm, was a bundle of red fur. Dupont slept deeply with her ears twitching from the tiny midges bothering her. Fox turned to look up. The sun was well beyond dawn. It was definitely day. Then why was Dupont still in a vixen curse?

He shook her violently, panic swelling. 'Oi, oi, Dupont. Wake up!'

Dupont's tiny body twitched as she woke before she squirmed, wiggly away from his grasp. Snapping her jaws in irritation and growling made Fox worry more. Had the curse somehow complete itself? Was she now just a vixen? But he relaxed when Dupont paused. She glanced at the sky then back at her paws. She was realising too and her golden eyes widened in confusion.

'It's fine, Dupont. Nothin' to worry about.'

The scowl he got in return from the tiny Fox said otherwise. She was frightened. But Fox didn't know what to say or do other than scoop her up and plonk her in between his legs. She settled instantly, shivering slightly, and he pet her soft head. He hoped she'd feel some kind of security with him. He had no clue about what was happening to her or how to stop it but it had never occurred to him it would get worse. He suddenly felt this flash of pressure and protectiveness as he realised there was a time limit before Dupont became nothing but a mindless animal, and, worse, he had no idea how long that limit was. The idea of losing her, of her becoming a snarling animal that could run off and never return, made his gut curl.

'We'll fix it.' Fox said as he buried his fingers in her fur.

She whimpered in fear then, very suddenly, grew. Her fur melted away and her body lengthened and stretched into something more human. Fox, who still wasn't used to seeing her naked and grew very uncomfortable, closed his eyes and tried to pull himself away. Dupont however had arrested his neck with her arms and buried her face in his shoulder.

Fox was forced onto his back by the sudden weight and he grimaced as the wind was knocked out of him and something hard dug into his back. Instantly he was enveloped by the warm softness of Dupont and it made him feel very odd indeed. Excited, of course, but something fluttered in his chest. Something foreign.

He was about to try push Dupont's large body away from him and untangled her legs from his but found he couldn't. Dupont was shaking and tiny croaking sobs were leaving her mouth. He didn't need to see her face to know she was crying. She'd been that terrified.

Not having the heart to remove her, Fox awkwardly patted her blond head and turned his head to the side so he couldn't see anything. He found it much easier to comfort a small fox than a large naked woman; especially one who made him feel weird.

'It's fixing itself.' Dupont bawled into his shoulder. 'The sun does not break instantly anymore. I'm going to be nothing but a fox in mind before long, I'm sure!'

Fox ignored the tug at his gut and instinctively reached for her hair. 'You won't.'

'The curse is growing. I should not be a fox at dawn and it's happened twice now!'