Fox
The fox looks you up and down, licking his lips with his thin, little tongue. Against your will, your ears flatten to your skull and you bare your teeth, eyes wide and fear trembling in your belly. What’s his problem? You had forgotten for a moment, once again, your new gender and that you are just as subject to stares as the female furs that you watched so eagerly. It is distasteful to remain staring when another observes, so you flatly and defiantly meet the fox’ dark brown eyes, dirty in their obscenity, and dare him to do his worst. Flashing a pointed grin in your general direction, his eyes flit over your shoulder and he draws a grey hood up around his ears, his interest lost or disguised.
Satisfied, you trot around the remaining shoppers, narrowly avoiding an elbow to the ribs and earning a sharp look from the dragon on guard for others that sought to take her hard-won purchases away. You had no idea that women, or female furs under the circumstances, could be so ‘grabby’ and belligerent when it came to high-end sale items. As you stumble and allow a curse to pass your lips the thought that it might all be for show comes to mind. They should all be actors but, with so many furs, it seems impossible that a simple game show could or would hire so many. You shake your head and bite your lip, drawing a bead of blood. What is real and what is not?
A grubby grey sweatshirt and red paw brush against your side and you flinch away reflexively. Who was that? The paw follows your side and strokes the hem of your tank top with disconcerting familiarity. You recognise the muzzle behind the hood and fight down the urge to raise a clenched fist. The fox, of course it was the fox. He hadn’t disappeared at all! He has followed you — but why? Spitting something that you would not have dared utter to a respectable family member, you slap his paw away and squirm into the crowd. Every fur has somewhere to be and their pace is quick, sweeping you along like a drop of water carried with the body of the river. You lift your head high and curl your leonine tail between your legs, wanting to appear as if you are one of them, just one anthro in a crowd.
Written by Amethyst Mare on 26 May 2013