Chapter 4: What Did You Expect?

Jacob was going for a nice morning walk around the property, his brother was covering him at the gas station so he didn’t have anything to worry about. The middle-aged man liked to take nice strolls and appreciate nature, just going on a quick trail around his workplace and the two houses behind it. He remembered the old days where they all lived in the same home together, but eventually his part of the family grew big enough that they finally took down the old storage shed and built a humble abode in its place. This was at the time he got married, but unfortunately that didn’t last. He wanted a family, kids like his brother had, but his wife didn’t want to live and work at the station for the rest of her life. Why? It was a nice place, they could’ve made something special together, but she chose to leave him behind to lead a “more exciting life”. Yeah right, she probably just met someone else and decided that they were better than a gas stop co-owner with a beer gut and graying hair.

He took a look at his house, standing right next to his brother's residence. There was a charm to it: only one floor and two bedrooms, both lay empty, the only thing he had left in his life was the gas stop and his family. Since he never had children of his own he treated his nephews like so.  Jacob hoped that they appreciated all that he tried to do for them, it came from a place of love and respect.

The bad memories had gotten to him again, luckily there was a spot in the property he always liked, this small clearing right around the border. He and his ex-wife shared so many moments there, but now she is gone, and only the memories remained. Maybe going there would at least calm him down

Then, right as he walked the beaten path towards the spot, Jacob heard someone speak. “...killing anyone that…” the person said, it was a distinctively feminine voice that he had never heard before. He couldn’t understand the rest of what was spoken, but the mention of killing put him on edge. There were strangers talking about killing right next to his house, near his brother, and so close to his nephews! He ran back to his home, time to grab the shotgun and tell her to run off and never come back.

-

Alopex had been distracted by her heart to heart with Peter, she knew that paying attention to her surroundings was essential, but right now she was too relieved to even care. Getting accepted by someone and being welcomed as a friend was exactly what she needed. There was no harm in enjoying this peace a bit more. “Is it ok if we stay here for a few more minutes before going to meet your sister?

Peter realized it was probably better to have a longer conversation with her anyway. Plus, this place was quite calming and they still had some time until his mom would check up on him  “Sure, we can talk to each other a bit more as well”

The Fox smiled, but the next few moments were filled with pure silence. Neither of them knew what to do next, they never actually expected to get this far. It was only half an hour ago that both believed that they’d never see each other again, so this new dynamic would take some getting used to.

“So what kind of crazy stuff have you seen out there?” Pete spoke out an awkward ice-breaker. Hopefully she had an interesting answer to keep the conversation going

“Well, there was a witch working with the Foot Clan” Alopex decided to go with something more fantastical for her answer, instead of just talking about the other mutants she knew.

“No way, could she do real magic?” The teenage boy gave out an enthusiastic response. It was like an entire world of fantasy was being unraveled before his eyes, all thanks to the fox sitting next to him.

The mutant decided to play along with his enthusiasm, even though she knew what said “witch” had done in the past “Yeah! She was a truly powerful sorceress. Her name was Kitsune” 

The word kitsune sparked something inside the boy’s brain that made a quick connection “Huh… That reminds me of an anime I watched once”

“Peter, Kitsune means Fox in Japanese. Plus they are heavily associated with legends and folklore, this is not about a children’s cartoon” The Vixen said with confidence. She didn’t like the idea of comparing a person who possessed real mystical power with a cartoon.

“It’s not really for kids though…” Pete spoke, defeated and slumping down the rock until he was sitting on the ground.

“Doesn’t matter, she was dangerous and manipulative. Brainwashed one of the Foot’s enemies into becoming a loyal soldier and betraying his own family, he almost wasn’t able to snap out of it… he was in that van I took a ride with… hopefully he’s recovering. Nobody deserves to be brainwashed like that” Alopex was taking this seriously now, she had seen what that Witch's power could do. It was a terrible choice to mention her while trying to lighten the mood, Kitsune had manipulated others much like Al’s former master manipulated her, though using magic to do so. It was a truly evil act, she saw that now, but it was all in her past. At least she hoped.

As if reading the Arctic Fox’s mind the teenage boy responded. “Well, all that’s behind you now” He pulled himself back onto the rock to take back his original sitting position. Only to realize he had been continuously holding her hand for quite a while, he awkwardly let her go and both pretended not to notice.

In an attempt to change the subject to something lighter The mutant decided to ask her new friend about himself “What about you Peter, what’s your story?”

“Oh, me? I’m only a gas station worker nowadays, but I go to school every day of the week. I have a few friends there but they live back in the town, so I don't get to see them very often outside of school… Also, I play baseball for the school team, one of the few times my dad actually lets me do something fun” Peter said, with his voice deflating from its initial jovial tone the moment he mentioned his father.

That last part sounded quite off, not the bit about playing in the baseball team of course, but the way he talked about his dad. If Alopex was going to stay then she’d have to know more about him “What do you mean?”

“My dad is always looking over my shoulder trying to protect me, but it’s too much, y'know. I wish he’d let me loose a bit, if he knew that I was here with you he’d probably get really mad” Pete was honest, he probably could’ve been more negative, but couldn’t bring himself to badmouth his own father.

So it was only an overprotective father, that was a relief. For a second she was worried that there was some kind of abuse involved. “He probably wants to keep you safe, things are dangerous out there. Trust me, if you think i’m weird it’s just because you haven’t seen some of the mutants I have”

“You’re not that weird, you’re just like uhh.. A big bipedal arctic fox, not that odd all things considered. I mean, you talked about an evil fox witch before so you’re normal in comparison to that!” Peter meant it as a reassuring pep talk, but it really came off as a failed attempt at complimenting her in the end.

Still, she wanted to thank him for his attempt, it’s not like she had gotten a genuine compliment before “You’re probably the first person I’ve met that thinks that way, thanks… Petey”

Now Peter even had a new nickname “Wow, ahahaha, Petey! Sure thing uhhh… Al, no wait, Pex? No, I got it… Allie!” He was happy to finally have someone he could kid around with. Sure he talked to his friends through the internet sometimes, but he always preferred being face to face with someone.

The teenage vixen would’ve gone for something like Al, but Allie had a nice ring to it. Maybe it would stick, or maybe everyone would just default to calling her Alopex anyway “Hahaha! that’s a nice one”

“Yea-”

Peter was about to start up a new conversation when Al interrupted him “Wait, there’s someone near us…” she had failed to notice it before due to her emotions flaring up, but there was a person nearby getting closer by the second, and they were armed.

“Stay behind me, i’ll keep you safe Peter” The deadly predator’s sharp claws and teeth were in full display for her attackers. She would’ve tried to hide and ambush whoever was coming after them, but she couldn’t run the risk of letting her friend get hurt. This time she wasn't hunting, she was protecting someone.

Then, Peter saw something that put fear in his heart, his uncle Jacob jumped out of a corner, with a gun pointed straight at Alopex “Peter?! What are you doing? What the hell is that thing!?” His grip on the shotgun was shaky, clearly in shock over seeing a mutant fox for the first time. The fact she was in full attack mode didn’t help things either.

“Peter, do you know this guy?” She asked, not taking her eyes off the firearm pointed at her. Maybe Pete could clear things up before she was forced to put her experience as a ninja into practice. Thankfully the fact that the armed man knew him made Al stay on the defensive.

Seeing the creature refer to his nephew by name was something he didn’t expect. Was that thing trying to capture the boy? “I’m his uncle, freak!” He yelled out, this only made the situation worse as she growled at the insult.

Pete finally had enough of this “BOTH OF YOU CALM DOWN!” He had never yelled out louder in his life, but the desperation had gotten to him. Jacob almost put down his gun but a determined look appeared on his face as he kept it pointed at Al.

“Not until you tell me what the hell that thing is!” The shotgun wielder ordered. Peter realized he was screwed, things kept getting worse.

“Fine! Uncle Jack, this is my friend Alopex” Peter said while putting his hand on Al’s shoulder, who immediately relaxed from her previously aggressive position. “Yesterday I found her bloody and hurt on the back of the store and helped her using one of our first aid kits. I asked her to stay here with us. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go, she’s all alone… please, I know she’s not a human like we are, but just talk to her a bit and I’m sure you’ll want her to stay”

Jacob was shocked for a few seconds, then he cocked his shotgun and pointed it directly at the fox. He had a steady aim and was ready to fire at any moment “You have 10 seconds to tell me what in the goddamn did you do to my nephew. You freak!”

Alopex snarled. This is not going to end well at all.