I woke up tumbling out of my bed and onto the ice cold hard wood floor. I tried to stand, using my hands to brace myself, but I couldn't feel my fingers. My limbs flailed around uselessly until I remembered.

I was a fox now.

The clarity came with better control of my legs and the rest of my body, though it didn't give me much solace. Through the thin blinds on the windows, I could see that it was still dark out. A deep, clenching pain within me told me that my stomach was empty. Overcome with hunger, I made my way to the kitchen.

It was small, like everything else in Lady Louise's house. If she, her familiar, and her daughter ever tried to all be in the room at the same time I imagined it would get very crowded. Maybe it was why I never saw them all together in the same room.

I didn't know how late or how early it was, but all the lights were off. As always, I could see just fine – with what little good that did. It wasn't until I was inside the kitchen that my slow brain remembered that I was still a fox. Fox legs couldn't reach the cabinets filled with food near the ceiling. Nor could my useless paws work the doorknob for the pantry. I allowed a soft growl to escape my lips.

I thought about trying to convince, or maybe even threaten, that horrible girl to change me back. But, even if she wasn't still asleep, there was little progress I could make until she allowed me to talk to anyone besides Hornroot. And besides, I didn't even want to look at her, let alone try and communicate with her.

I hated her. With every fiber of my being, I hated her.

"Awake now, are you?"

The question interrupted my thoughts. It forced its way in and made itself the only thing I could think about. It had become such a common occurrence that I was hardly even surprised, despite the late hour and my vulnerable position. Even still, I turned to face the owl roosting on the kitchen counter, hoping he could see it in my eyes how much I wanted him to not be there.

"Stuff it, you irritating old bird."

Hornroot did not respond right away. I watched his big yellow orbs blink once, then twice. I swear that I saw his beak fall open. "I beg your pardon?"

His voice screeched in my head. It took me a moment to recover from the minor headache that followed before coming to the realization myself. "Oh, shit, you heard that?"

"I did, and I am continuing to hear it. You will mind your tongue if you wish to keep it!"

If I had the facial muscles to smile, I would be grinning from ear to pointed ear. "Hah! Jokes on you, I'm not using my tongue! Nice threat though, I'll try and remember to quiver in fear when I go back to bed."

"Insolent fox!" The tawny owl flew down to the tiled floor, landing just a few feet across from me. "You will watch what you say before your betters!"

"Are you kidding me? I've spent an entire week having to listen to your nail grinding voice bounce around in my head and being unable to do anything about it. And now that I've got my voice back the first thing you want me to do is watch what I say? Nuh-uh. Not happening." I stepped closer to him and puffed out my white chest for good measure. "Now, if you want to make this physical, I'm all for it."

If an owl could glare, I imagined that was what Hornroot was doing. His bright yellow eyes seemed to be trying to burn a hole through my head.Then he took off in the air. But, instead of going for my eyes, he landed back on the kitchen counter, far above my reach.

"You haven't changed at all, Flametail," his voice said, sounding particularly disappointed as the owl stared down at me. It was like the time where he stood on my chest and judged me before I even knew what I was being judged for.

Of course, it wasn't like I could tell him that. For all he knew, I had no memories of our first few encounters over two years ago.

"I've changed plenty, Horny," I said, lacing my thought out words with as much contempt as I could muster. "I just happen to take issue with my 'Master' being some little brat who decided to keep me locked away in a fox's body just because I'm not a damn girl."

"The Lady and I are working with Miss Rosetta on being more cooperative," Hornroot shot back, not bothering to hide his irritation either. "But you will watch what you say, Foxy. Familiars can take plenty punishment. It would be my pleasure to show you just how much if you don't learn to swallow that anger of yours."

"So, either I accept being stuck forever in the body of an animal, or you'll beat me? What a tough decision." I didn't know how well sarcasm translated through thoughts, but Hornroot didn't respond. He stared at me until I couldn't stand being stared at anymore. "Whatever, I'm hungry and I'm going hunting. Don't follow me."

"I believe that it a wise decision," Hornroot's voice called after me as I made my way to the doggy door. "I will be asleep, so you shall be on your own, as you desire. But I warn against doing anything foolish. I suspect you have been well versed on the consequences of such—"

The rest of his words were cut off as I slipped through the front door and outside. Maybe there was a certain range to the whole telepathic communication business. A useful thing to know.

...

It was like flipping some inner switch, whenever I was hunting. I was the most in sync with my new body when I was out running through the night. Feeling the crisp air blow against the fur on my face, the muscles in my legs burning—an oddly satisfying sensation. And my night-vision allowed me to see the entire world around me. The wet grass, the tall oaks, and the vacant homes.

But, best of all, were the smells.

The familiar, damp scent of the wild. The sticky, pungent odor of trees and grass and creatures that clung to my nose with ease. At first, it was overwhelming. I thought I would go mad with all the old and new smells invading my nose, vying for attention. But, I quickly found that, while I was running and hunting, it became easier to hone in on the smells that were important.

The bitter and nutty smell of acorns that promised the arrival of squirrels and birds alike. The strong stench of dung—the fresher, the smellier. But, most importantly, the one smell that stood out above all others (and the one I sniffed for first) was blood.

Whether it meant an injury or a fresh kill, it was almost always a promise of easy food. I soon found that, in a residential area, there weren't many predators bigger than me.

That was why I ran with little regard to being seen when I caught the scent. Why I didn't think much on how the smell was leading me to a road in the Lady's neighborhood. I assumed it was road kill. I didn't bother to consider the fact that I hadn't seen a car since I was taken to live here.

The soft sound of someone sobbing reached my ears before I found the source of the smell. I stopped running and remained stock still, trying to pinpoint the noise. It didn't take my senses long to work out that the crying and the smell of blood was coming from the same source.

"Don't fall."

I sprinted around the sparse oak trees, hardly registering the biting wind in my eyes. I almost fell over once or twice, the fox legs not moving as fast as I wanted them to. I knew I could run faster if I was my old self. My old self who ran through bullet wounds, cuts, scrapes, and bites only to fail to save—

"Stupid, Rosetta. Why are you so stupid?"

I stopped running. Stopped thinking, for a moment. The empty road had come into view with dark, empty houses on either side. Between two of these squat homes, I saw a little figure sitting on the sidewalk, hunched over and talking to herself.

"Of course this would happen. Of course you would fall down. You're stupid, Rosetta. Stupid and clumsy."

The coppery scent of blood was nearly all I could smell. I tried to shove it away, focus on the nuts, trees, or even the flowery smell of the girl, but it persisted. It was telling me that this girl, my Master, was weak. Defenseless. An easy kill.

I hunched down and crawled on my belly through the narrow passage between the two houses. My Master had her back to me. Even if she was facing me, there was little she could see in the dark. Even less of a chance that she could hear me.

I was right behind her. The stench of her blood had overtaken everything now. Every sense, every feeling. It spurred my body forward.

It would be so easy. A swift, powerful bite to the back of her neck and it would be over. All of it would be over. I opened my jaws.

Then Rosetta began to cry again. Soft, chocking sobs that hit me like a ton of bricks. Of course she was both the source of the blood and the crying. I had already known that. How did I forget?

Her small shoulders shook as she wrapped her arms around her thin body. She was wearing some sort of dark night gown. She would be nearly invisible to the naked eye. I was reminded of someone else, about the same size and build, scared and alone.

Rosetta was in no way like her. Not in the slightest. I reaffirmed that thought as I closed my mouth and touched the tip of my nose to her back.

The little girl shot up like she had been electrocuted, making a strangled sort of cry to match. I suppose that would have to do.

"Whose there?!" my Master demanded in what I could only assume was a voice she thought sounded brave. "Reveal yourself!"

If a fox could grin... I moved silently around her, until I was situated directly behind her again. When I thought she had calmed down a bit, I raised one of my paws and gently brushed it against her leg, eliciting another wonderful scream of terror.

"Get away from me, you devil!"

Before I could consider her choice of words, I was all at once thrown back as my Master sent a backwards kick that connected perfectly with my face. A weird sort of yelp escaped my mouth as I bounced against the ground and slid to a stop. I lay there for a moment longer than I needed to to take in what had happened. I had been sent flying by a little girl not even in her teens.

Damn this light, useless body.

"Whatever you are, just leave me alone!" Rosetta shouted before tuning tail and running in the opposite direction. I wasn't sure where she was running to, or even if she knew where she was going. No doubt it was still too dark for her to see clearly.

Not good. If I couldn't get rid of her, it would look bad if I just let her go and get herself lost. I had little doubt that Hornroot and the Lady would use it as an excuse to find some twisted way to punish me. Something I knew they were just dying to do. It was part of the reason I tried to do as little as possible since coming under their 'care'. You didn't know what could set a witch off.

With those looming threats in mind, I attempted to stand back up. I wasn't moving my legs for more than a few seconds before I felt them give out from under me. The clawing pain in my stomach and the sudden blackness overtaking my vision all assaulted me at the same time.

I just couldn't believe it. All because that girl got a lucky shot.

"You've got to be kidding me—"

...

*Author's Note*

I guess Foxy is looking to try and beat his Book One record of passing out. Poor guy, all that blunt trauma to the head can't be good for the brain.

It also seems that his relationship with this new family is tumultuous at best. But could it change? Can Foxy learn to get along with the people he considers his new tormentors? Whatever your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!