A subtle, soft sound reached Timothy's ears. Spinning around,
his sharp eyes focussed towards the dim light that surrounded
the old packing crates he kept in one corner of his living room.
His heart began to beat faster as his sensitive nose picked up
the scent of someone there ... someone who was watching him.
His lips pulled back in a feral snarl, almost without Timothy
thinking about it. He crouched, a defensive feeling filling his
body as adrenalline began to coarse through his veins. "You
there," he snarled, his patience fading, "I can see your shape ...
smell your stench... Get out here..."
It was really strange to hear those words coming from his
mouth, but -at this point- Timothy felt he deserved to be a little bit
stressed.
Slowly, the figure in the shadows stirred.
Stepping forth into the light of the living room was the delicate
and quite nervous looking form of Saul. His slender features
looked tense ... as if prepared to run or fight should the need
arise. Timothy paused and felt relief (and embarassment) wash
over him. "Saul...! Thank the Gods..." he muttered.
"Tim? Timothy, is that ... you?" gasped his friend.
Timothy blushed and nodded, hiking up his pants a bit before
remembering that his tail poked out over the band in back. He
winced. "It's a long story..." he said, shyly.
Saul stepped closer, timidly, and laid his hand on Timothy's
shoulder with some apprehension. "Tim, good God, man; what
happened?"
Slowly, and with great pauses to gather his thoughts, Timothy
told Saul the tale of the mysterious Chest, the gemstone buttons
with the corresponding keys and his rapid transformation into a
fox. By the time he was done, he felt like sobbing. He wasn't
sure why, but as he drew his breaths, they came out more like
stuttering shudders than coherant sentences.
"...s...so you...you see..." he concluded, "I....I don't
unders...understand wh...why ... I'm like ... this...!"
Saul swallowed hard and put his arm around Timothy's shaking
shoulders. Even when they'd been lovers, he'd always taken
care of Timothy ... looked out for his feelings and the stresses
he'd accrued from being in charge of the operation. Even though
they'd broken up, Saul still carried feelings for his small friend...
...Feelings that were now, welling up in his breast.
"Tim, don't worry... It'll be..."
"Allright?" finished Timothy, with a note of desperation in his
voice. "Oh, Saul! How can you say that? This isn't like a death in
the family or ... or something *normal*! I'm... I'm a fox!"
Saul smiled ruefully and hugged his former lover. "That's
nothing new to me," he said in a soft, reassuring tone. With that,
he bent forward and -very gently- kissed Timothy on the side of
his velvety-smooth muzzle.