Chapter 3

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Break for Kris was a simple affair. He sat next to Agnes at one of the hexagonal tables in the library as they worked through her problem areas slowly but surely. He was fine with that, able to concentrate and give out helpful advice. Agnes tried to follow it bit by bit but every now and again she'd get distracted. Looking down, or up at the ceiling, or just phasing out before snapping back to the present with a surprised 'huh!'

His ears drooped on the third time, and he followed her gaze to see a little green alarm unit, tucked away in a corner next to the standard fire alarm.

He sighed, before reaching down with a paw to hold hers.

She flinched a little, before looking back at him, a faint smile on her face.

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Meanwhile, Ash walked along the edge of the playground, just relaxing on his own. He had his own feelings about the scare, feelings he liked to mull over by himself. They weren't so much about the risks, he was confident that the bad guys would be defeated. It was more about who those bad guys where. What they were doing. Why?

"Why not get two for the price of one. Two for the price of one? Come on, I'm just giving them away here!"

Ash's ears perked up, and he followed the new sound to its origin, or at least as close as he could get to it. Looking through the fence, he saw a thin and wiry weasel, a plus sign shaped bandage on his forehead, trying his best to hawk off a table full of goods. By the looks of it there were video games, fancy rucksacks and branded sporting accessories, such as refillable water bottles.

And they were all rubbish. Ash knew this, having encountered some poor fellow students whose work had been ruined by a leaky bottle. They'd dropped their bag down in their locker or in a corner while heading off to lunch, the bottle had split right down a seam on the side and flooded out, and they'd returned to see the horror. Remembering it all, he frowned with irritation. One of his ears twitched a bit and he banged on the fence, getting the mustelid's attention.

"Want anything?" He asked, scurrying over. "I'm happy to help those who still have to stay inside, like you. Not a problem. Money?" He paused, smiling. "Well there's holes in this fence, ain't there."

Ash frowned. "There's junk on your table."

"You mean other mammals treasure," the weasel said, his face scowling up like an ageing fruit.

"Until it breaks and they learn it's junk."

The weasel huffed, an irritated look on his face. He leant in, looking the fox in the eyes. "I'm just a mammal trying hard to make a livin', an' get myself back on my own two paws. Don't hassle me until you've had a go at it, kit!"

"What happened to take you off those paws?"

Freezing slightly, the mustelid let his teeth bare ever so slightly. "I got hassled by some idiots who thought I'd stolen something from 'em. There. You're being mean to a charity case now. Happy!?"

"Did you steal from them?"

…

"They didn't find nothing!"

Ash frowned. "I heard a good delay there and some overcompensation. More importantly, I didn't hear a no. I'll take that as a very long yes."

"Listen now! I don't got a lot after my encounter with them. But I do have all this, and I'm just trying to do some honest business to get back on my two paws again. So, if you want to belittle me, then skadoosh…"

Ash looked on at him and shook his head. "I don't want to see you fleecing other students," he warned, before turning away. There wasn't really anything he could do, so he instead headed off to his locker. He didn't use it for stashing books; like most students he just took everything home with him. Instead, he had a stash of sweets and stuff and, after opening a biscuit tin, he slid a few jammy dodgers into his mouth before shutting it all up again. Checking the time, it was still a bit early to go to the next lesson, but as it was art he could set himself up there and do a few more storyboards for his comic.

That sounded good.

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The two foxes met again in the art class, their form all together for it, before they picked up on their assignments for the day. The room itself was in one of the older buildings on the edge of the school site, more specifically a large brick barn that had been converted for use rather than being demolished. Their studio was in the roof space, long and narrow and with windows on both sides, making it both light and cosy. All sorts of random items were present, from old musical instruments to bits of teaching skeletons, while various bits of art hung on the wall. This meant that, when asked to pick something and 'do something with it', there was a lot to choose from.

Usually the mood during such a thing would be joyous, but today it was far quieter. Many students were using it as an opportunity to just calm down after the worrying news from the assembly. Kris, though he felt a tinge of guilt about it, almost preferred it that way. More peaceful, more relaxing, just him with a pencil and a sketchpad. He'd chosen a bronze-colored, blocky, battery-powered mantle clock for his first sketch. Two deer bucks in soldiers' uniforms stood to attention either side of it, their fur and clothing richly detailed. The silver fox observed it closely, before pencil went over paper. Quickly glancing up and down, he got the silhouette done, before breaking out a rubber. One of the tines was just a little bit off. Fixing it, he then began working on the basic facial features, while also filling in some of the fur. On he went, quietly and methodically, until his ears twitched with the sound of someone behind him.

"If you don't take art as an option all the way up to the top, I'll forever be disappointed in you," came the joking voice of his art teacher.

"I've got it down," Kris said with a smile, "and I very much intend to."

"Good," the art teacher said, before stepping around, just to have a closer look at it. He shook his head as he did so. "It's remarkable. I've got mammals in their last year, doing art, in line for solid grades. Yet you, you can match them. It really does just come naturally to you, doesn't it?"

He shrugged. "I mean, I just see things and my paws follow the instructions I give them. Same reason why I'm good at sport."

The teacher nodded. "Those could be surgeons' paws, right there."

There was a chuckle. "Thank you, sir."

"You know…" he carried on, before pausing. "I don't think I've told the class this yet, but art is why we have the A-star grade. You see, a mammal could create a piece of great work that fully achieves the targets set for it. That's you're A. Then, another one can come with a work that is simply better. By a long shot. Given how many of those top grades I give you, I think you can tell where this is going."

"I do."

The teacher nodded. "Carry on," he said, before pausing. "-Also, I've been catching your comic."

Kris nodded. "Ash's and my comic."

"Of course," the teacher said, nodding slowly. "You know, I'm surprised that you two decided to join together. When I first pointed him to those competitions, I was expecting something wild and out there, whereas you would do something much more intricate."

The silver fox paused, wondering whether to tell him the truth. That his own acceptance to the comic magazine resulted in Ash's work, which he'd put his heart and soul into, getting booted off. That it had been the heavy straw that had broken the camel's back, boiling him over, and so nearly making him end it all. Not that many mammals even knew about 'the Incident'.

"-though, to be honest, you two do a good job," the teacher continued, thankfully unaware. "I see your work, and your detail, as the main thing that pops up. But I keep on seeing these fun bits of Ash's experimental side, and his old style, breaking through."

"All the thought and dream sequences," Kris said proudly. "The flashbacks and stuff."

"Pretty much wherever you have one of your art style changes. And I must say, having different ones for different 'states' is excellent. You know, -I really enjoyed that one time when you had the character passed out, and his inner monologue used the wispy dream style! Then slowly morphing back into the normal style as he recovered. It really helped the reader understand what was going on, though I'd better compliment Ash for that."

The silver fox paused, thinking back. "Ash wanted to try out all these different styles, but I encouraged him to limit them to make things more coherent. We settled on different styles for different 'states', like you said, but it was his idea to play a bit loose with the rules sometimes."

"Indeed," the teacher said, his eyebrows raising as he took note.

"By the way…" Kris pondered, a sudden curiosity coming over him. "What do you think of Ash's work?"

"Well," he began. "For a start, I'd be equally disappointed if he chose not to carry on art. For the next two years at least. As for his style…" he trailed off, before looking over.

Across the room from him was the red fox in question, listening on to his Walkmammal as he worked. Unlike the rest of the class, who'd mainly picked pencils with a few pastels and paints thrown in there, he had a whole host of items and materials around him. The subject of his piece was a paw held fan, nothing special by itself. But he'd drawn its frame, and a jagged paw that held it, in solid black ink. There were crooks in the bits of wood, giving it an almost broken look, while the paw looked like something climbing out of the earth in a black and white comic book. Compared to that, though, the bits of fabric that made up the fan itself were a literal rainbow. From red acrylic paint at the top, to light blue tissue paper collage further down, he was making them all as different as they could be. Currently, he was rubbing a yellow highlighter against one of his finger pads, before pressing it down, literally finger painting in senior school. In contrast, every other mammal was trying a like for like recreation of their item.

Nodding and looking back at Kris, the teacher smiled. "In terms of fidelity, you come out fully on top, no contest. But your cousin, he tries things, sometimes great things and sometimes things that fall flat. Maybe it doesn't get rewarded as much, but it's something I deeply respect."

The silver fox took it in with deep interest, already knowing what must be done. "I'd tell him that," he said, looking over. "Tell him everything. It'll mean so much to him."

The teacher nodded. "I'll do that right now."

So he did as Kris returned to his sketch. Making sure his pencils were sharp and accurate, he did the fine details around the eyes, even using a rubber to help create little sparks of light in the formerly dead pupils. He glanced over to where his cousin stood and saw the teacher there, talking to him.

The red fox's tail was wagging vigorously, and Kris smiled as he returned to his work.

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Breaking up for lunch, both foxes went their separate ways. Kris went into the queue for the main canteen, even though his year had a lower priority today. He was happy to wait though. Ash, meanwhile, made his way to the hot snacks bar to pick up a chicken wrap. There was the option of adding some salads and such, but he ignored them, just adding some barbeque sauce and then paying. He scarfed and wolfed it down in less than a minute, with Kris having to wait for five more minutes to enter the canteen and get his tray. Picking out some plain oat cookies for dessert, he then had a look at the predator option that was on, a bug lasagne. Perfectly good for him, particularly with a side of chips and some peas and sweetcorn as well. There were some large bowls of prepared salad-stuff, and he helped himself to a nice helping of coleslaw, alongside a shredded beetroot and chickpea salad. He waved to the till lady, an older and quite eccentric vixen, before he settled down, alongside Agnes. He brought some water cups and they ate together, engaging in frequent small talk.

After that, he left to meet up with Ash again. As he walked, though, he thought he heard something and followed the sound to investigate. Behind one of the buildings, Beavis was singing to a small bunch of mammals. Kris wondered if this was a more sensitive side to the distasteful bully, but that idea quickly sunk as he heard the lyric content.

"Weeellllllll….. Sheep are evil, very very evil,

they're the biggest evil in the whole wide world,

The ewes are evil and rams are evil,

And lambs are evil to the boys and girls.

On Monday they hate preds,

On Tuesday the hate preds,

On Wednesday to Saturday, they hate preds,

Then on Sunday, just to be different,

They hate preds and prey and extra double preds!"

Kris shook his head and walked away. That chipmunk wasn't worth the effort, and he had better things to do.

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At the same time, Ash wandered over to where he'd seen the weasel before, sighing as he saw him still at it. Worse, Brittany, who liked to eat her lunch offsite, was passing him. She gave his offers a firm no, but still he persisted, visibly aggravating her. Ash's phone came out, ready to record everything, but at that point the weasel gave up, returning to his stand.

Ash put it away, before noticing something odd. The weasel was looking around, worried, sniffing the air. Then, in a sudden rush of frantic activity, he packed everything up as fast as he could before hauling everything up a tree.

Seconds later, a cop came around the corner.

Not just any cop, though.

"Hey there!" Nick shouted, a giant grin suddenly growing on his face. He jogged forward so he was right up next to the younger fox, before leaning against the fence and giving him a great big grin. "How's it hanging, Mr…" he said, before spitting on the floor.

"Good! Very good," Ash replied, eagerly. He smiled. He was in a good mood ever since the unexpected pep talk from his art teacher. Still, though, there was that other thing…

"You okay?" Nick asked, his voice suddenly sounding a bit concerned, just as Ash realised that he was beginning to feel very down.

He sighed, paw on his forehead and scratching slightly. "I'm not sure," he began, taking it slow. "I said I was good, I had some very good lessons. But… -but is it true that night howlers are back?"

The older fox looked at him sadly. "I investigated the theft," he said, honestly. "We don't know what's being done with them, but some have been taken. But! I promise that we're doing everything we can to stop whichever bad mammal is planning something."

Ash smiled. "Well, you're on the job, so we'll get there."

"We will!" Nick said proudly, before pausing. "Say," he said, as his paws went out. Ash saw him sign the words for 'stay quiet'. The younger fox nodded. "Did you know that my mother works at this school?" 'Looking for a weasel.'

"Oh!" Ash replied, suddenly interested on multiple fronts. He smiled. "Is she the slightly wild one who runs the lunch till?" 'Third… -Acorn-tree from left'

"Ah! You know her!" Nick replied happily, chuckling a bit. "And yes, Wilde on multiple fronts!"

As he spoke, he wandered backwards, before his face quickly darted towards the tree in question. Looking up, he saw a hole in the trunk and brought out his radio. "Judy, I think I've found where our M-O-I is holed up," he said, as he grabbed a pinecone and tossed it in. It bounced back out, albeit much slower than before.

The fox frowned.

"Duke! We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Come on now. You're not in trouble, we just want to do a bit of questioning… Wesselton…"

"It's Weas…" came a shout, suddenly cut off hallway through. Nick looked to Ash and winked, and he did the same to Judy as she arrived, pointing up at the hiding hole. Then his nose twitched a few times, and a darker look began growing on his face.

"Was he doing anything?" she asked, looking at Ash.

"Selling knockoff junk."

"That's not all," Nick warned, his face scowling before he glanced at Ash. "The wind carried it away from you, but I've just smelled a whiff of alcohol."

"-You got nothing! No proof I did anything even if I do have that stuff on me! The dumb kit didn't see nothing!"

Nick frowned, shaking his head as he tutted. "Now, now, Duke! I quite like that kit, and he's clever enough to secretly tell me where you were. Anyway, I can smell the alcohol now. Smells like industrial stuff. Let me guess, selling little shots that you can mix with pawpsi and then sell to school kids. Oh dear me…"

"If your stupid nose is so good," the weasel shouted, popping out of his hole as he did so. "Then why did you need a kit as a witness!? Why didn't you just use that sniffer to track me down?"

He shrugged. "I just wanted visual confirmation from a friend. My nose could easily track any mammal down. Especially one with such a distinct and notable odour such as your own."

…

"I'm still not coming out," he grumbled, as Judy stepped up, an unimpressed look etched onto her face.

"I've just asked for back up. Officer Pennington will soon be on her way and she'll get you out, so I strongly advise you to just give up now. We have probable cause, and evidence if you have all the right pieces present. We can then interview the pupils, leading to a guilty charge and jail time given your record. If you help us with our questions, we can get a plea deal for the alcohol thing, and then you're only looking at community service. The more helpful you are, the shorter that can be. Or are you going to be your usual charming self?"

"Ooooh," Nick commented, as he looked over at her. "That's the 'I've had just about enough of this' look. Remember the last two times you saw that? Wasn't pretty for you, was it?"

Duke gave an irritated growl, before flinging his arms out. "Fine then!" he hissed.

There was some cussing and cursing as he got out of his hole, Nick and Judy taking up positions around the tree to make sure he didn't make a run for it. Coming down, Judy cuffed herself to him while Nick examined the base of the tree, finding some of his larger wares. He tutted, looking up to his partner. "Just look at this," he said, holding up a water bottle, showing off the distinctive crack in it. "At least I had standards in my hustling days." A quick rummage around found the alcohol and, glancing back down at Weaselton, he shook his head. "Let's get this over with, Duke!"

"Shut up!" he shouted, seething. He looked up at Nick and Judy, then over at Ash. "I'll get my own back on you bunch. Just you wait."

"Still a sore loser, I see," Nick noted, watching him getting led off. He paused, before glancing back to the watching student. "Thanks for the help, Mr…" He spat on the floor, earning a slight roll of the eyes and an eager smile from Ash.

"No problem. It was kind of fun."

"Good to hear," he said back, giving a playful salute. "And don't worry about Duke's threats."

"I won't. He seems embarrassingly useless."

"Yeah… That about sums him up," Nick replied, before heading off, giving Ash a quick wave as he went. "See you around! Loving the socks!"

"You too! Thanks!" Ash said, as he watched Nick go.

…

That was fun.

He turned back, though, ready to meet up with Kris in the art room again. Their comic needed working on, after all.

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Meeting up with Kris, the pair brainstormed where the final arc would go. They knew the basics, and the outline. The main characters would discover a certain conspiracy, find out that two ostracised characters were on the side or right, and try to break the story only to find themselves caught in an all-out brawl. Each had scenes that they wanted to fit in, and plans for certain characters, and it was a back and forth to try and map out where best to have everything go.

By the end, they believed they'd got there, and together they packed up their things and head off back to the form room. Brittany was waiting, ready to do the count, while other classmates were coming back in. Kris, spotting Agnes, walked over to talk to her, leaving Ash waiting alone.

He looked around.

He paused, as he saw Maisy sitting alone, looking around nervously. He wondered for a few seconds, before slipping off his stool and walking over to her.

"Hey," he said softly.

The sheep turned and yelped, flinching back a bit and looking around in panic. Ash, taken aback, put his paws out to try and calm her, but it only seemed to make her worse.

"I don't know anything about this!" she shouted, standing up and glancing around in panic. "I know nothing! Just because I'm a sheep doesn't mean I'm a bad mammal!"

"I wasn't…"

"You can't judge me for what she did!" she cried out, before turning and running. Ash looked on, stood still and utterly confused, as she raced out the door, barging past the form tutor as he went.

"What was that for?"

Again, Ash opened his mouth to speak only to be cut off, this time by Beavis. "Sir. Ash told her that she's a dirty speciesist sheep, and deserves to be in jail with Bellwether like the rest of them."

"I DIDN'T!"

"Yes, you did! Stop lying, you…"

"He didn't, sir," Brittany said out loud, walking up to defend the younger fox. "I think he just went over to comfort her and she reacted badly… She was taking the whole news very hard."

The form tutor looked between them, then at Beavis. "Absolute last warning."

"But.. -come on sir. She's a fox! He's a fox! They're ganging up. Sticking for each other! It's what their species does!"

The teacher's eyes narrowed. "That's your break and lunchtime tomorrow spent with me then."

"What! That's not fair! I'm just telling the truth!"

Brittany walked up to him, a mixture of anger and supreme satisfaction etched across her muzzle. "Two days ago, you said that us foxes would sell each other out for a dollar. If you're gonna be specist, at least keep your story straight."

He looked around, trying to garner sympathy but finding none. Finally, he turned to the teacher. "Come on. Who are you really going to believe, huh?"

…

"Them," the teacher said loudly. "And you can stay after school tomorrow too."

Beavis' mouth gaped wide open, but he finally seemed to get the message and shut up. He trudged off, Ash smiling a little as he heard him sniff slightly. Not long after, everyone was packing up and heading to their afternoon lessons. The first one happened to be just across the hall.

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"-And so," the physics teacher, a bespectacled ocelot explained. "The current travelling through the wires induces a circular magnetic field." She drew rings around the two circles, with arrows in them to show the flow of the magnetic force. "On its own, not useful. But, if aligned, the two magnetic fields in the centre are flowing the same way." She then held up a sheet of paper, covering the wires, and just showing the flowing field lines. "In effect, creating something equivalent to a standard bar magnet."

She then explained how, by adding bar magnets to the sides, an electric motor could be created. That would be the task for today. First, though, she brought out a large electric wire and asked if one of the foxes in the room could volunteer. Kris felt fine letting others have the first shot, and both Ash and Agnes were interested, with the latter getting chosen. She stood up at the front of the class, as the teacher spoke out. "Some mammals have a sense of magnetism. Often, this may be in the form of a subtle feeling, such as balance is, and can be observed when they tend to lie or arrange their beds to face a certain way. Ask them, and it just feels better. Foxes, though, are unique in that said magnetic sense, or rather the specific proteins that detect magnetism, are present in certain eye cells." She paused, and looked at the vixen. "I believe, you can see a faint smudge, pointing down, in a certain direction," she said.

Agnes nodded. "Yes Ma'am. That way." She pointed into a corner of a room, downwards, to which the teacher nodded. "Magnetic north. It was this skill that made fox navigators so important in the maritime cultures of the old world. It can be still used today, with relevance to electric systems."

Going back to a wire, the teacher flipped on a power supply and asked Agnes if she could work out which way the current was flowing. She looked above and below the wire, before shaking her head. "I think it's still off."

The teacher smiled and flicked on the plug. "How about now."

Agnes repeated the experiment, before pausing as she slid her nose under the wire. "I see it now. Just this odd shadowy blur."

"And which way is the current flowing?"

"Well, this is facing into the north…. So south is behind me. So…" She held out her right paw so that her fingers were coming down and under her wrist, pointing towards her, while her thumb stuck out to the side. "So, the current is going from right to left."

The teacher nodded. "Well done."

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The rest of the lesson carried on. All groups got out a power supply and a small kit and, together, they had to build their own electric motor. By the end of the lesson, all had devices that were spinning away, and then it was time to pack up again and leave for the final class of the day.

It happened to be P.E. or, more specifically, swimming.

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The locker room was crowded as mammals took off their clothes and stashed it all into the present lockers. Each student had their own pair of swim wear, and their own towel, with some still using goggles as well. They all filled out, eager to get started, eventually just leaving one left.

Ash.

He stood there, in just his trunks and sweat bands, as he leant against his locker and breathed in and out. It wasn't that he didn't like swimming, he quite enjoyed it, just…

Just…

"You okay?"

He turned, spotting Kris in the corner.

"I noticed you weren't coming through. I thought you might be stuck on the toilet, or…" He trailed off, though, as he saw the small bits of fabric still around the red fox's wrists. Looking away a little, he sighed, scratching the side of his muzzle. Most other mammals would tell Ash that they were just bits of dumb clothing, not important in the slightest, and he was being silly in not wanting to take them off. Others would just note that he was 'different', though after learning just how much he hated the label, Kris knew otherwise. He knew a lot about his older cousin, and so he did something completely different. He walked up to Ash and he held one of his paws.

Ash held back, tight, taking in a breath fast as he used his other paw to rub the wrist band hard, massaging it. Deep breath in, and he let go, tearing off both wrist bands like they were plasters and stashing them into his locker, sealing it shut before glancing at Kris. "Thanks," he said, as the silver fox led him out. He tried to follow him but, after just a few steps, his eyes lowered to look at his paws.

His wrists.

The scars…

Below each paw, on both the top and bottom, the charcoal grey fur of those areas was riven with bare skin, dabbled, marked and clear to see even if he tried to brush over it. A thumb pad slid over, making its way through the lines of damage, and he felt the roughness beneath.

He'd done this.

To himself.

Because he could.

Because he was angry.

Because he snapped, and he wanted to end it, and it felt good to hurt himself then for some dumb reason which he couldn't remember, yet could.

The whole sight of the things, which would last him his entire life, sent him remembering, and he never liked that. His wrist bands kept them covered up, out of sight and mind, where he wanted it all…

He had to take them off for showers and such at home. That was okay, for a little bit. But school or in public was a different matter. Just the thought of having mammals asking questions and him having to explain it all gave him a horrible twisting feeling in his stomach. The more explaining you had to do, the worse it got.

Always.

Still, he would get through this.

Into the pool room, he did stretches with everyone else, before being one of the first to get in. Paws went into the cool water, the damage blurring beneath the ripples. He watched on as the others came in, Kris the last among them. His feet went down the ladder and the first, hitting the water, flinched back up again. It slowly went down, dipping in, and was then carefully followed by the other. The silver fox's ears pulled back, slick against the top of his body and, taking a deep breath in, he pushed himself the rest of the way. He then joined Ash, doing some little exercises beneath the water as he did so, before the rest of the lesson started.

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By the end of it, Ash had remembered that Kris was a very good swimmer. Comparisons were hard between most pupils, given that some were far more adapted for swimming than others. But between the foxes, Kris, with his unusual front crawl, thrashed Ash and his equally unusually breast stroke. Most mammals stuck to a trusty paddle, with varying degrees of success. There was a feeling that the otter instructor, Coach Skip, tended to focus on those at the top rather than the bottom; so as long as they weren't in trouble, the weaker swimmers were left to themselves.

Regardless, swim period was uneventful, and the pupils eventually got out of the pool, before making their way back to the changing rooms. It was the end of the school day and there was a buzzing energy in the air as the pupils looked forward to going home. First, though, showers and a quick fur dry. A whole line was gathering, ready to hop in. The showers were individual and had basic curtains, while there was a walk-through fur dryer right nearby. A queue was already forming for the former and, water dripping from them, the two foxes waited in line.

"Please hurry up," Kris mumbled, as his cousin looked over to him. The silver fox was shivering a little, his paws rubbing up and down his forearms. It was a bit of an odd sight as far as Ash was concerned. Sure, he himself was cold and beginning to tremble. But Kris not being composed… -Then again, there were moments when he showed his more vulnerable side.

"Mind if you hold my place?" Kris asked suddenly, Ash nodding in return. The silver fox sped off into the toilets, locking the door, and the sound of him shaking himself off rang out.

Out he came again, still holding himself with his ears peeled down but looking a bit better. He carried on fidgeting until they got into the lukewarm showers, both of them shampooing their fur and washing it out, before giving themselves a little shake and heading off to the fur dryer.

They both paused as they spotted a crowd around it.

"It's not working," Kris said, a hint of nerves in his voice. "Is it?"

"The heater's gone!" one of the students up ahead shouted. "Drys you off but freezes you too."

Many students in line, Ash included, grumbled at the annoyance, only to pause as he heard what almost sounded like a whimper coming from Kris. His cousin was physically shivering right now, his breath getting just a little bit faster, and Ash realised that this wasn't just the cold getting to him. There was something else there too. Something that was playing with his nerves.

Kris hurried back into the toilets, Ash behind him, and they both found cubicles in which they could shake off most of the wetness. Ash felt cold, certainly, but as he grabbed a bath towel and began drying himself out he began feeling warmer.

He also heard Kris' teeth chatter slightly as he vigorously dried himself off.

Ash frowned and, finishing off his drying, he changed his trunks for underwear and put on his sweatbands again.

Kris, meanwhile, kept on rubbing himself, trying to get the damp out of him. A faint breeze or a waft from a moving mammal would send a chill down his already cold fur, allowing it to claw in just a bit further. His normal calmness was replaced with a running unease, as he just had to get himself warm and dry.

His activities were suddenly halted as a towel landed right into his chest. Hard. He looked at it, he looked up, and he saw Ash in front of him, getting dressed. "If you're cold, you can have that," he said, and Kris sighed with relief. The new towel, though damp, went around his upper body as he finished drying his legs and got his trousers on. He then handed it back, finished off his top, and put his shirt on.

He still felt cold though. Still felt a faint tremble, and he grimaced at having to go all the way home like this.

Something soft hit him in the stomach and, looking down, he saw that it was Ash's hoodie. "Bring it back tomorrow," the older fox said, "and bring your own fleece next time."

The worried tension in Kris' body released itself blissfully and, relaxing, he smiled. "Thanks Ash," he said, as he put the fleece on. It was too small for him, and tight, and there was a visible bit of his shirt sticking out the bottom. He looked stupid, but he didn't care.

He felt warm again, and that was something much better for him, and a smile returned to his face as he heated up on the walk out to the bike shed, Ash getting his bike out while Kris kept an eye for the bus.

"I'll remember," he promised. "See you tomorrow."

"You too," Ash replied, before pausing. "I'll do some storyboarding."

"I'll fill in some of the ones you've already sent me."

…

"And thanks. Again. For the jumper."

Ash rolled his eyes. "You're welcome," he said, as he pedalled off, both foxes going their separate ways for the rest of the day.

.

.

AN: So, it looks like things are going on outside and in. But where will it lead? Is Duke actually involved? Will there be any surprises in store when Ash and Kris get home? Well, there's one more chapter left following our two young fox's day, and then the rest of the story in which to find out.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I put a lot of work into them, so dropping a comment (even a little one) is always super appreciated and puts a big smile on my face. Thanks, and looking forwards to next time...