Lightbulb has always been taught to stay away from wolves. They eat foxes. At least that's what she's been told. And even though Lightbulb followed the rule very carefully, the small and curious fox couldn't help but wonder... what was up with those wolves?

She hadn't heard of foxes or any animals near her getting eaten by wolves. Everyone told her that's because "they follow the rules".

One day, Lightbulb was talking with Fan and Test Tube, some friends she gained in the forest. Test Tube was a fox as well and Fan was a wild cat. 

"And the wolf almost got me! I ran and I ran and eventually managed to escape him! But man, that's an experience." Test Tube spoke. 

"Wow, so they do eat foxes... I'm still curious though. I mean, why can't we just feed them wolves something else?" Lightbulb asked.

"Wow. There are only foxes, wild cats and wolves in this forest for some reason, so that's not gonna work." Test Tube replied. 

"Hey, can I talk with you guys too?" The three suddenly heard. They turned around, only to see a red cat. Balloon. 

Balloon used to be a total prick, but he changed. Everyone still did hate him. Except Suitcase. She was also a cat, a very shy one, and she liked Balloon. 

"Why don't you talk with Suitcase?" Test Tube asked. 

"She's getting food." Balloon replied. 

"Hey, Balloon, I'm right here. I can talk to you now." Suitcase said. 

Balloon smiled and the two walked away together. 

Lightbulb stretched. "I think I'm going for a walk." She said.

"Ok, but it's getting dark, so watch out." Test Tube replied.

"Yeah, I don't think you'll be safe in the dark." Fan agreed.

"What are you? My parents? Don't worry, I'll watch out." Lightbulb said with a chuckle.

She then sprinted away, her fluffy fox tail moving smoothly. 

It was night. Lightbulb was pretty deep in the forest and couldn't find her way back. She sighed. 

Then, suddenly, she bumped into something. She fell back and looked straight into... the face of a brown-colored wolf. The wolf was not much bigger than her. She whimpered as the wolf frowned a bit. The two looked at each other. Lightbulb didn't know if she should run or say hello. She did want to meet a wolf sometime after all. 

"U-uhm... hello? Please don't eat me-!" Lightbulb managed to say. 

The wolf stopped frowning. "What?" 

"Please don't eat me!" Lightbulb repeated.

"Dude, I already ate. What are you doing here?" 

"Uhm... walking? Until I got lost..." 

"Wow, so stupid." The wolf mumbled with a small smile. "Say, what if I bring you to my place to sleep for a night?" 

Lightbulb smiled. "I...I'd like that." 

"Good." The wolf said. "Let's go, it's nearby." 

The two started walking. It was silent between them. Lightbulb decided to break the ice. 

"Sooo, what's your name?" Lightbulb asked. 

"Oh, I'm Paintbrush." The wolf replied.

"Oh, I'm Lightbulb." Lightbulb said with a smile. "They call me the brightest fox in the forest. Ok, actually they call me the stupidest fox, since I can be a little clumsy, heh... but I call myself bright since I have bright ideas." 

"And you're very talkative I see." Paintbrush said with a smile. 

"Haha, yeah." Lightbulb replied. 

They came at Paintbrush's place. It was a small cave. As they walked in, Lightbulb couldn't help but notice no one else being there.

"Why is no one here? I've heard wolves live in packs." 

"Oh, they kicked me out because I'm non-binary. I didn't need them anyway. They were all about making sound. I'm rather a quiet, lonely wolf." Paintbrush replied. 

They sat down. Lightbulb did too. She noticed how tired she was. She yawned. 

"You tired?" Paintbrush asked. They chuckled. 

"Yeah..." Lightbulb said, laying down. Paintbrush laid down too and wrapped their tail around her.

"It can be pretty cold so I'm keeping you warm if that's ok." They said.

Lightbulb couldn't help but blush at this action. She felt too sleepy to think about it. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. Paintbrush fell asleep soon after. 

The next day came. The sun shone through the opening of the cave in Lightbulb's face. Lightbulb squinted her eyes. She yawned, stretched and sat up. She slept very good. She waited patiently for Paintbrush to wake up. 

Paintbrush woke up a few minutes later. They opened their eyes just to see Lightbulb look at them with a smile. "Hi Painty." 

Paintbrush couldn't help but smile too at her cute goofiness. "Hey Lightbulb." 

"It was very cool, but I think I have to go now. My friends are prolly worried about me." Lightbulb said, suddenly realizing and standing up.

"I understand. Bye Lightbulb. I hope to see you again sometime." 

As Lightbulb exited the cave and started walking back, which she easily could now that it was light, she kept thinking about how pretty Paintbrush looked. Their smooth, brown fur, the yellow point at the tail, the yellow fur in their ears, their green eyes, they were so pretty! 

Eventually, Lightbulb reached her home place. Everyone was there, worried. Test Tube and Fan were the first ones to run up to her and hug her.

"Where were you?!" Test Tube said.

"We were so worried about you!" Fan added.

"Lightbulb, you know exiting the parameters of the forest could get you into deep trouble, right?" MePad (a cat) asked.

"Tell us, where were you?" OJ (also a cat) asked. 

"Oh I was just walking, then met a wolf, got scared but they reassured me they wouldn't eat me, I told them I was lost, they took me to their place and I slept there." Lightbulb casually explained. Everyone gasped.

"You met a WOLF?" Toilet (a cat) called out from somewhere. 

"Yeah, but they didn't eat me so it's fine. They even told me they hoped to see me again!" Lightbulb said with a bright smile. 

"Yeah, to EAT YOU!" Test Tube replied.

"Lightbulb, you can't see the wolf again. It's too dangerous." MePhone (another cat) said sternly. 

"We got to know each other, there's no way they-"

"Lightbulb, you heard me. MePad, Toilet and I are the alphas here, so you listen to us." 

Lightbulb sighed. She knew she wouldn't see them again... unless...

Unless she kept it a secret...

1040 words! Hope y'all enjoyed the first part!