FSE

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June stared at the old fox with her jaw hanging open as he embraced her, her heart leaping in her chest as something in his scent said that he was family. But none of her family were fey. She was in far too much shock to really embrace him back, instead pulling back a little and looking up into his face nervously.

"W... who are you?" She whimpered a little as she stood there, her brain trying desperately to process what was going on.

His face fell, his expression filling with sadness. "June... that's right... I've... been able to keep an eye on you... but I've always been hidden to you..." His voice shook at that, his hand coming up to touch her cheek. The touch felt right. It made no sense how such a familiar touch from a complete stranger could feel just so soothing. "June... this is going to be hard... but... I'm your Father."

June's eyes widened as a rush of emotions began to race through her system. Panic was one of the first ones, causing her body to start shaking, while confusion worked to muddy the waters. Soon enough, though, anger started to course through her, and she pushed back from him, looking into his eyes with fire in her's. "You WHAT?" Her voice was sharp, her hands clenching into fists as she started to shake. "How... WHAT... You've kept an eye on me... and you're a fox... wh... and now I'm a fox..."

She was really lost in her riot of thoughts as she moved back in toward him, bringing her clenched fists down against his chest. Not really looking to hurt him, just trying to get the feelings out of her system. She beat against his chest a few more times before she pressed in against him, burying her face in his shirt. "Why are you a fox? What... why did you disappear?"

He took a big breath and just held her in his arms as she pressed in against him. His eyes were filling with tears as well as he nuzzled into the top of her head, taking a moment to breathe. "I was a fool... I went into the woods looking for a special gift to mark your birth... and the fey snatched me away... and made me one of them..."

She started to cry properly at that, burying her face in his chest while her fists moved to clutch at him, holding him close as she sobbed, releasing all of the pent up emotions that she'd felt for all of her life, never having known her father during that entire time. It was a long while before she cried herself out, but he held her through all of it, stroking gently along her back as she began to just sniffle and breathe more steadily.

She looked up at him, the fur around her eyes soaked with tears. "I... I don't know what to do... what's become of me... who you are... nothing..." she whimpered to him, feeling just completely lost and more than a little bit lightheaded.

He gave her a sad smile, remembering how he'd been as he was forced to join the fey world. His hand came up to hold her cheek gently, just gently looking into her eyes as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. That touch... that kiss... they were far more comforting than they had any right to be. It really was as though something deep inside of her knew on a very primal level that he was her father. Had known for all of her life that he was right there with her, watching over her. She sniffled and nuzzled into his hand, closing her eyes and breathing for a moment.

"Okay..." she said after a moment, "Maybe I'm not that lost..." she murmured softly, just letting her head in his hand as she breathed deeply. She was feeling a lot calmer now, nuzzling into his hand. "But... what now? I guess I'm stuck here... " she said, looking up into his eyes.

"Yes... you are stuck in the fey world now... but you aren't stuck here alone," he said, kissing her forehead softly again. It felt electric, and she couldn't help but shiver a little bit. "Even I was never... truly alone, as much as I was torn away from the people that I cared the most about. I don't know if it was a mercy or torture that I was able to watch over you as you grew up... but I made the best of it. And the fey... well, some of them are pretty miserable assholes, but there are some quite worth knowing," he said, his eyes flicking to the squirrel that was still standing there.

She took a deep breath and nodded her head. "So... I guess that I'm not as badly off as I could be," she said with a little laugh, though she really did look just that exhausted at that point.

He could see that and gave her a little squeeze. "How about we go inside and breathe a moment... you look like you are ready to pass out here as I hold you," he said with a little chuckle, getting a sheepish smile from her, her ears folding back rather adorably as she nodded her head and let out a stifled yawn.

He walked her back into the house, the squirrel following along with them as he took her into the front sitting room, starting to settle her down on one of the couches. The squirrel smiled and gave him a little wink as she stepped in to take over settling her down, easing down onto the couch herself and letting the drifting vixen rest against her. Without even thinking about it, or worrying that she didn't even know the squirrel's name, June happily snuggled in against her and just fell right asleep.

James smiled and sighed, chuckling as he shook his head at the squirrel. "I'm not the only one who's been keeping an eye on her, am I?"

The squirrel smiled sweetly and... almost innocently. "Me?" She giggled, brushing her fingers through June's hair softly, drawing soft sounds from the sleeping vixen. "Well, okay, maybe. But no, I didn't have anything to do with her dancing in the ring. That really was on her and her half-sisters." She half frowned down at June, sighing softly.

James laughed softly, shaking his head. "Those two... ah well, not much to be done about them. They may not be my blood kin, but they are for her." He let out a deep sigh, "I do worry what it'll do to Alice, though. First me, and now her." His tone was sad as he half slumped there against the wall.

The squirrel gave him a sad smile, "I know you still love her, James. Neither of them deserved to lose you." She gently stroked June's head, drawing more happy sounds from the new vixen. She wasn't ready to be hopeful just yet... but she couldn't help but wish that things would turn out for the better. She might not be his daughter, but he'd certainly taken care of her like one for a long time now. Given that, she did feel kind of bad for how she felt for June... but she really couldn't help but come to care for the things that he cared for as well.

James gave her a lopsided smile and shook his head. "I suppose that I can trust the two of you together while I get a meal together," he said as he turned to leave for the kitchen.

"Of course you can, James~," she half sang after him.

"Love you too, Caroline."

---

When June woke again, her stomach was growling, making her whimper and press in even closer against the squirrel, nuzzling into her chest. Caroline had dozed off, herself, but the feel of June moving like that against her drew soft sounds from the squirrel... which only fed into the prey-drive of the vixen.

She nuzzled and snuffled around, sleepily searching for the source of the sounds, though in doing so, she wasn't making things any easier for Caroline. The squirrel was blushing fiercely as she squirmed there beneath the young vixen, making all sorts of lovely sounds for her to seek out.

June worked her way up until their muzzles were pressing against each other as her father called out to them to let them know that dinner was ready, causing June to snap awake. It took her a moment to process where she was and what she was doing, a hot blush spreading across her face as the pieces clicked into place.

As her father walked into the room, she sat back on the couch, hands in her lap as she looked up at him with wide eyes. He raised his eyebrow and looked back and forth between the two of them, smirking as they were both quite flustered at the moment. He was merciful, though, and didn't say anything about having found them like that, just shaking his head a little. "As I was saying, dinner is ready."

June's stomach growled loudly at that, causing her to blush and fold her ears back fully, though it made Caroline giggle and smile warmly, getting up and holding her hands out to the vixen to help her up. June smiled sheepishly, but let herself be helped up and helped to the dining room.

It wasn't big or terribly ornate, but it was warm and cozy and felt like home to her. The smell of the food alone made her stomach growl even louder than before as Caroline guided her to one of the chairs and sat her down. Unfortunately, she sat wrong on her tail, causing her to take a moment and fuss with it before she flopped back, looking up at the other two before looking back down to the food.

James and Caroline just settled down into the other chairs as the vixen just stared at the food in awe. Caroline just started filling a plate for June, not making a big fuss about it, just working to take care of her vixen. The vixen. Damnit.

June was just beyond happy at that, thanking Caroline and digging in. She really did her best to eat with the grace and manners that she'd been raised with, but her new instincts as a vixen and just how hungry she was worked very hard to derail that goal. The other two just grinned and were highly amused by June as they ate. As June finished her first plate and started filling up a second one, she looked to James in particular and started asking questions about the world she now lived in.

June had always had a sharp mind, and she hadn't lost that in the least when she'd been changed. Still, she knew that Faerie could be a dangerous place to the unprepared, and she didn't want to be too easy of prey for anyone. In time, though, she asked the question that had been rattling around on her mind. "So... Caroline... do you... live here?" She clearly meant more than that, wondering even if she and her father were... well, lovers.

Caroline giggled and smiled, nodding her head. "Yes... I live here with James... but no... I'm not his new wife... or his lover, or any of that," she said, looking a little bit sheepish, "In a lot of ways... he kind of... adopted me after I lost my parents."

June blinked as she looked at the squirrel for a long moment, her jaw dropping open as she was rendered speechless. It took her a good while to find her words again, her eyes moving back and forth between the two of them. "Oh... " she said softly before she picked up her cup of wine and took a long, quiet sip from it. "So... in some ways... you're... well, no... sister doesn't feel right to say... I don't think there really is a word for it..." she stammered out, half lost in a rush of thoughts and feelings.

"Friend," Caroline said softly, reaching over and putting her hand on June's, "That's the word for what we are." Although, on a certain level... she did hope that one day, they might become more than friends.

June blushed badly at that, but then she couldn't help but laugh and pull Caroline into a tight hug, half crying and half continuing to laugh as she held her close. Not that she'd ever really been shunned within the village, but on some level, she had always been the girl who's father disappeared before she was born. It was hard for the other youths of the town to well and truly accept her as a friend with that hanging over her.

Caroline just breathed deeply, nuzzling into June, a touch that sent shivers down the vixen's spine... shivers that she really couldn't fully understand at the moment... but shivers that she very much liked... and she really didn't have it in her to think more about it at the moment beyond the fact that she liked it as much as she did.

And right at this moment, that was all that really mattered.