I guess I can't help myself. This is too much fun.
Fay Tells All II: Fay Solves a Problem For Fox.
After telling Krystal about the way she met Fox, Fay asked the vixen if she wanted to walk around the neighborhood. There was also a park nearby, she explained, and if they wanted they could stop by there and enjoy the weather. Krystal agreed.
"But," Krystal said, "I'd like to hear another high school story about you and Fox when we stop."
"Curious?" said Fay as she and Krystal stood by the doorway and put on their coats.
"Yes," said Krystal. The two girls walked down the steps of Fay's home and began their walk to the park. "I sense your relationship to Fox is a little different that his other bonds."
"How so?"
"Well, like you said in the story, you have a sisterly attitude towards him. All of Fox's friends have a sort of…well, an equal standing to him, if that makes sense; but to you and Sheila, Fox seems like a brother before anything else," said Krystal. "I like that. It's sweet."
Fay smiled. "You're very astute," she said.
"Thank you," said Krystal, smiling back. "I bet you spoiled him rotten."
"Of course!" said Fay. "Don't tell Fox I told you this, but I still kinda consider him my cuddle toy after all these years." She giggled. "And I have plenty more stories to tell, once we get to the park."
The two arrived at the park shortly, and picked a park bench close to one of the ponds that dotted the lovely patch of land. Fay cleared her throat.
"You don't mind," she said, "if I go out of order, do you? Chronological order, I mean?"
"No," said Krystal. "I'm happy to hear any story you have, honestly."
"Thank you," said Fay. "Now, this story takes place the day after we met. The first full day of classes. It was the day I met Slippy, and also the day Fox met one of my other cheer friends…"
In the past...
The lunch room.
Sometimes, in one of Fay's history or social studies classes, she would catch a snippet about famous social experiments or surveys; anecdotes the writers of history books decided important enough to include. Fay was interested in such stories, because she was interested in people. Whenever she heard those stories, she thought it would be interesting to study the social dynamics and psychological going-ons of a high school lunch room. Nowhere else on campus was there a place where the whole student body could mingle at once. It was a hodgepodge of bodies and interactions and thoughts. It was a fine place to people watch. And people watch was what Fay did as she waited in her spot for Sheila to arrive. The new students were heartbreakingly easy to spot. They were the ones frozen in fear, staring at the tables with their lunch trays in paw, wondering where to sit. Fay knew that feeling, and she was grateful that Sheila called her to her table—for no other reason than to be friendly—on her own first day of high school two years ago.
Looking around, Fay caught sight of two figures and perked up. A familiar fox and toad were standing some distance away in this section of the cafeteria, looking around at a loss. The fox looked determined but frustrated, and the toad just looked nervous.
Well, here was a problem she could solve.
"Fox!" said Fay, waving a paw in the vulpine's direction.
Fox's ears perked up, and he looked at her and smiled. His friend—Slippy, she realized, thinking back to yesterday—looked with him, and blushed. They both walked over, with Fox leading the way.
"Fay!" said Fox. "So this is where you sit."
"It is," said Fay. "Clearly you two need a place to sit, so why don't you sit with me?"
"Really? Oh, thank goodness," said Fox, sitting across from her. Slippy remained standing. "Thank you so much. We were having a heck of a time finding a place to sit."
"You really did make friends with cheerleaders your first day of school…" Slippy whispered. Fay chuckled.
"So he did," said Fay. "He's rather lucky."
"I am," said Fox. The honesty in his voice made Fay squeal inwardly. "C'mon Slipp, sit down. She won't bite. If anything, I'm the one in danger."
"Shush, you," said Fay, swatting his arm.
Slippy sat down, and the two boys began to eat. Fay asked about their first day of school thus far, and they said it was an interesting experience; Corneria High was so big it was overwhelming at times. As for classes, Fox wasn't too nervous about his class load yet, and Slippy was eager about his science courses. Seeing the two boys talk like this brought Fay back to her freshie days, and it brought a nostalgic curve to her smile. Then Fay saw a figure drop their tray besides Fox's.
She tried to warn him, but it was too late.
"Fox!" said the figure, a certain hyper-active husky who engulfed the poor boy into a smothering hug.
"Sheila—mmph!" said Fox.
"So you're sitting with us now! Perfect! I was thinking of looking for you and grabbing you anyway but this just makes things easier," said Sheila. Fay thought about the image of Sheila abducting Fox from somewhere in the cafeteria, right in front of everyone, and would've doubled over laughing before remembering that Fox had lungs, and they needed air.
"Sheila, he needs to breath," she said.
"I know!" said Sheila, who promptly released the boy, leaving him blushing and gasping for air. Slippy just stared, and Fay wondered how many times over the course of his high school years Fox was going to get acquainted with Sheila's bosom like that. It was likely to be a high number, and Fay didn't know if she pitied him or found it cute.
"And you must be Slippy!" said Sheila, turning to the bewildered toad. She opened her arms. "You get one too."
"Sheila you'll give him a heart attack," said Fay, reaching out and putting a paw on her friend's shoulder. "He's shyer than Fox."
"Aw, alright," said Sheila. The husky waved at Slippy. "Nice to mee ya! I'm Sheila."
"N-nice to meet you," said Slippy. "…uh, is it true that Fox met you both-"
"Slipp!" said Fox. "Not in front of everyone in the cafeteria."
"Oh, sorry," said Slippy. "But is it true?"
"It is," said Fay. "It is a little silly, hm?"
Slippy chuckled. "I told Fox it was something out of a cartoon. It was too funny to be true."
"Thinking back to it, yeah it was," said Fox. "But here I am, with two new friends for it."
That got a smile out of Fay, and she was about to respond to that when she heard pawsteps behind her.
"Well, these must be the new friends you messaged me about," said a voice behind her. Fay grinned and turned around. Standing there was a snow leopard, a tall one with long brown hair and blue eyes. She was quite athletic, with a lean build befitting someone in a cheer squad. The large, fluffy tail her species was known for swayed behind her, and she gave an easy wave at the three of them.
"Hiya," she said.
"Marie!" said Fay, jumping to her footpaws and giving her a hug. "You're back from your trip! And only one day late, no less."
"You missed the pep rally too!" said Sheila, joining in the hug. "But here you are finally, safe and sound."
"The family reunion on Fichinia went longer than expected," said Marie. The girls sat back down. Marie eyed the two newcomers, and Fox waved back at her.
"I'm Fox, and this is Slippy," he said. "You probably know the whole story of how I ran into your friends already."
Marie giggled. "Fay told me all about it. Seems you two are adopted."
"Adopted?" said Slippy.
"More me than you, Slipp," said Fox. "You can escape them. I can't."
"Yup!" said Fay, who walked around the table and threw her arms around Fox, drawing him into her own engulfing hug. "Terrible situation, really."
"It really does look that way," said Slippy sardonically, giving Fox a bemused and jealous look. Fay caught it, and made a note to hug the boy later.
"Keep teasing me and I'll—mmph—I'll sic Sheila on you," said Fox. Fay let him go, and she sat back down.
"Really?" asked Sheila.
"You're dealing with a powerful weapon, Fox," said Marie, her tail still swaying behind her. "She'll take your friend home and he will never leave."
"Good, I can drag him along when she comes for me," said Fox. That got a chuckle out of all of them.
"Alright, alright," said Slippy, waving them off.
The group ate their food this way; talking about themselves, their first days of school, and how they wondered about what the rest of the year had in store for them all. Fay loved the normalcy of moments like this in school. It was the cozy feeling of being with friends. She was quite happy to meet Fox and Slippy. Fox had this simple goodness to him, just like a kid from Papetoon; an earnest and friendly manner. Slippy was shy, but Fay could tell he was a sweet kid coming out of his shell slowly. Too her delight, Fay saw that Marie was clearly taken with the two of them as well. Another big sister to the bunch, that was sure.
In time, the lunch period began to end, and they all gathered their trash and started to leave. While they stood up, Fox walked up to Fay.
"Hey Fay?" he said. "Thank you."
"For what?" Fay asked.
"For giving us a place to sit," said Fox. "Would it be alright with you if me and Slippy sat with you girls for now? You really got us out of an awkward spot there."
"Of course!" said Fay, giving him a warm smile. "What are friends for?"
Fox's tail wagged and he smiled back. "Thank you," he said.
In the present...
Krystal was squealing softly when the story ended. "Oh my goodness," she said. "These stories are so cute."
"Thank you," said Fay. "They were adorable in high school, those too. You're lucky for them to have found you. You're in good paws."
Krystal stared off in thought, smiling gently. "I know," she said. "They've been very good to me. Fox has been nothing but helpful in getting me settled here." The vixen said his name in a certain way, and with a certain look on her face when she said it. Fay knew what that look meant, and she was happy to see it. She more than approved of this development.
"Lucky for you," said Fay, "there's plenty more stories for me to tell."
As always, a special thanks to Shep for letting me use Sheila!
