Fox Life

Upon finishing her meal, Iris wanted to get a towel to clean her face and hands, but that sounded a bit complicated in her current form. Should she try to lick herself like like the cats do? It didn't sound too hygienic, but since animals tended to do it, there should be no problem regarding that, right? Her paws were a bit greasy, and she did not like the feeling of it whatsoever.

Thus, she attempted the weirdest thing ever - to lick herself clean.

To her surprise, it wasn't as bad as she'd feared. It felt awkward, but it mostly came from her human sensibilities. The rest were child's play. In no time, her paws were sparkling clean.

Or so she thought. The man picked her up then, and thinking that he was just going to bring her to the living room, she didn't mind it, but then he entered the bathroom! The moment she saw it, her nails extended, and she made a mad dash for freedom.

One that was unsuccessful.

The man seemed accustomed to holding small animals in a way that prevented them from struggling free, and with her weight of half a kilogram, Iris was as likely to overpower him as an ant an elephant. It just wasn't happening.

With escape blocked, she started screaming. It wasn't very dignified, but she was a fox now, nobody could judge her.

And, oh wow, her screams were loud, and ear-piercing. The man instantly stopped and lifted her up, worry in his eyes. "I wasn't hurting you, was I?" he asked, holding her safely but a lot gentler.

Iris continued to scream. If she was loud enough, maybe he'd change his mind about giving her a bath. Besides, without even trying, her voice sounded like someone was murdering her in cold blood. If this continued, someone would surely come from the floors above or below to check what's going on here.

She prayed for it, at least. There was no way that she would let a stranger bathe her. No way, not even when hell froze over.

"Wait, is this about the bath? You're not fond of washing?"

Her screams intensified.

"Shhh, no need to scream like that…" he murmured, trying to pat her head, but she snapped at him, almost catching his fingers with her teeth. He swiftly retrieved his free hand. "Right… We seem to be at an impasse. You need a bath after your stroll outside, but you don't feel like letting me give you one."

'I. Don't. Care! You're not bathing me! Just no!' Iris instantly refused, shaking her little head as much as she could while being held down. To emphasize the point, she even screamed a couple more times right after he finished speaking.

The man's expression stiffened, and he awkwardly looked between Iris and the bath. He suddenly felt that he'd gotten himself into a position with no way out. If he didn't wash the cub, it'd dirty all the house, but if he did wash it, it was sure to scratch him raw and call all the neighbors with its screaming.

He frowned as he looked at the fragile bundle in his hand. The baby fennec was so small, it looked more like a toy than a living being. Large ears, small dark eyes, cute nose, and a sandy coat on the back that went white around the legs. How could anyone think that such an adorable thing could create such a racket? He sure hadn't.

With a deep sigh, he decided to not risk his health for a pet that might be out of his hands by tomorrow. He picked a towel and put its corner under the faucet to get it wet, then used it to swiftly brush the coat while holding the fennec down.

The little thing glared at him for a moment, then looked away. It stopped struggling and just let him clean its fur. Relieved, Kyro made sure to finish up quickly. The fennec seemed scared to death rather than accepting, based on its trembling body, so he didn't want it to suffer more than necessary.

When Iris was let go of, she shook the water off like a dog. There wasn't much on her fur, but it still felt uncomfortable. The now wet hair was stuck to her skin, rubbing against it as she moved. With a dark look the man's way, she scuttled away, screaming as loud as she could.

Never in her life had she been this embarrassed. Her brain told her that she was now a fox, it was perfectly natural for a human to take care of such things as her bath, but her girl's heart was in a riot at the mere mention of it. What had happened there, him rubbing her clean, she'd been mortified almost to death.

Never. Never again. She was getting out of here and leaving for the wild. Yeah, that's a good idea. She could hunt for food and get water in some stream. She might need to catch some bus to get out of the city, but that couldn't be too hard, right? She was a human, after all, even if in a fox's body. There was no way a simple transportation problem could stump her.

Meowrrr!