A Fox’s Tale
By Joshua Fox
Susan Felin, Debbye Squirrel, Cindy Lapine, Clarence Skunk, Chris Foxx, Rodney Lapine and Wanda the Vixen are copyright Chris Yost. Zig Zag and Max the Black Rabbit are copyright Max Black Rabbit. Sabrina Mustelidae, Tammy Vixen, Sheila Vixen, Tor the Dog and Amy Squirrel are copyright Eric W. Schwartz. Lillian Batholomew, James Sheppard, Rhonda Badger and Tamara Rabbit are copyright James Bruner. Marvin Badger is copyright James Bruner after a description by Chris Yost. Robert Fale, John Anderson, Veronica Salese, Melanie Turres, Joshua Fox, Jim Leard, Ralph Dix, Shawna Coon, Kris Coon, Wilde Cat, Aaron Cole, Victoria Maine and Tara Nadine are copyright Joshua Fox. Blue Wolfe, Kyrin Cat, Metal-Head and Kittiara Seng are copyright themselves. Tyler Leone is copyright Mike Mullig. Thomas Woolfe is copyright Mike Higgs. Rava Purr is copyright her player.
Legal Notice: This story is copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 by Joshua Fox. This story may not be sold or used for commercial profit in any form or fashion. This story may not be modified in any way. This story may not be posted on a mirror site or any internet site without the written permission of the author. This story may not be distributed on print, magnetic, electrical or optical mediums.
Permission to use characters that are copyright to other individuals was obtained prior to the appearance of said characters.
This is an independent work of fiction with no connection whatsoever to any other stories or works by anyone else and does not imply any connection to the above-named sources. As far as these sources are concerned, this story doesn’t exist. They disavow any knowledge and do not officially sanction the events in this story.
Chapter 19 – Skirting the Line
Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my FREAKING GOD! Rang through Josh’s head as his thoughts spun near out of control. The letters! The phone calls! That MISTLETOE NECKLACE! OH GOD, IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW!
The pieces had all finally clicked. After years of shameless innuendo, failed passes and who knows how many ploys, it had taken this to get through to him. And did it ever. Every incident or minor occurrence over the past couple years that he had dismissed as her being ‘silly’ rushed back to him in a frenzied flurry of images, each one now seeming so obvious that he wished to everything he could just kick himself for not seeing it.
But he couldn’t do that just yet. He forced himself back into a state of semi-coherence and again realized that Sheila was huddled up against him, sobbing softly into his shoulder. Looking at her like that he couldn’t help but feel guilty, and as he fended off the surge of memories and events assaulting his mind he also tried desperately to find something to say.
"It’s… it’s ok…" Josh managed to get out as he gently patted her shoulder, his face still near blank from shock. "It’s ok… Sheila…"
Oh, great. That just sucked. The active bit of Josh’s conscious mind determined, chocking up yet another reason to kick himself.
"I guess you’re right," Sheila sniffled as she kept her wet nose buried in his shoulder. "It’s silly, I know. It’s just that it’s been so long and now that I’m finally here…"
At that point she started to trail off. She didn’t stop talking, truth be told, but Josh’s attention was forced at this point, to say the least. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to listen, his mind was just too befuddled to function properly. How could he possibly have been so dense? As scores of memories shot through his head in rapid succession he winced and nodded, almost as if to acknowledge that he indeed had been just that stupid.
"You’re right," Sheila purred as she placed her paw on the male fox’s knee, snuggling up to his shoulder. "Just being here with you makes it special enough."
And oh did Josh’s eyes go wide.
What in the Hell? Josh mentally exclaimed as he turned his head to confirm what he had just heard and felt. How did she go from crying to horny so quickly?!?
A quick glance at the clock partially explained it, showing that a good several minutes had passed during his self-deprecating revelry. Still he was amazed at the turnaround in her demeanor. From what he could see, it didn’t even look like her eyes were the least bit teary. The only remaining evidence of her weeping were the spots on the shoulder of his shirt and the barely noticeable wetted down fur beneath her eyes.
Still Josh was baffled as to how things could have gotten back to this point without his participation, and given his befuddled mindset he wasn’t likely he’d understand it anytime soon. He just remained in that same position without so much as a flinch, trying furiously to figure out what to do.
"I… I…Ah…" Josh’s words fumbled before they even reached his tongue, not being able to get out any better than incoherent gibbering.
"Shhh… it’s ok, you don’t have to say anything," Sheila said as she placed a finger to his lips, those on her other paw slowly moving up his leg.
###
Meanwhile, within Josh’s flittering Psyche…
"Sir! Looks like the message finally got through!"
Brain: "Oh, wonderful. I’ve only been sending that stupid message for THREE YEARS!"
Receptor #2: "Uh, haven’t they known each other for four?"
Brain: "Nevermind that. What’s our status?"
Receptor #1: "Not good. Joints are locked, muscles are tensed and I’m getting messages from so many body parts I don’t even know where to begin!"
Brain: "Figures. Same for you?"
Receptor #2: "Same for me. And ALL of them are marked ‘Urgent’."
Brain: "Great, this is what I need right now, really."
Receptor #2: "Uhm, Captain, we got ‘Mr. Big’ on the channel."
Brain: "Oh, this is going to be good. Patch him through, Number One."
Receptor #1: "Right away, sir."
Mr. Big: "Heya, there, Brain. This is th-,"
Brain: "I KNOW who this is! Now what’s your problem?"
Mr. Big: "Well, ya’ see we’re startin’ to feel some vibrations down here. Detecting’ some body heat from a foreign source and from what I’m bein’ told it’s not from that wolf-buddy of his…"
Brain: "No it isn’t. Now GET ON WITH IT!"
Mr. Big: "Ok, ok, I was just wonderin’ whether or not we should be goin’ to phase two down here."
Brain: "NO! Do NOT go to Phase Two! I REPEAT! Do NOT go to Phase Two!"
"That’s it! We’re sick of taking your crap! WE’RE GOIN’ IN WITH EVERYTHING WE GOT!"
Brain: "What the? Who the Hell is this?!?"
"This is the Testicles. OUT!"
###
"Mmm… besides, it looks like your body’s speaking for you…" Sheila grinned as she looked down at Josh’s pants.
His gaze followed hers, only to find that his body was sending a VERY clear message indeed.
"AH! Um um ahm um…" For the life of him Josh just couldn’t get anything out.
It was as if his body itself were rebelling against him, garbling his speech and restricting his movements to the point where he wasn’t even clear-headed enough to keep any thought in his head for more than a split second.
"Now, let’s see if you’re just as… excited as I am," Sheila grinned most mischievously as she licked her lips, her paw gliding across the inside of his leg and making a bee-line for his fly.
###
Brain: "Dammit! This is the last thing I need!"
Receptor #3: "Messages are coming in twice the rate as before!"
Receptor #2: "He won’t be able to keep ANY wits about him at this rate!"
Brain: "GRAH! This is infuriating! What about our signals? Are they getting through?"
Receptor #1: "Pelvis is completely non-responsive. Legs seem locked at present, but our messages are getting through."
Brain: "Bah. Better than nothing. How about the arms?"
Receptor #2: "We’re getting through to one."
Brain: "One arm?"
Receptor #2: "Um, no. One finger."
Brain: "… one finger…"
Receptor #1: "Yes, the pinky, Sir."
Brain: "….fine, patch me through to the ‘pinky’, then."
Receptor #2: "You got it, Sir."
Brain: "Ok, what the heck is going on dow-,"
Pinky: "NARF!"
###
"AH AH SHEILA!" Josh finally got out as her paw came within mere millimeters of her proposed prey, the metal tip of his zipper almost touching her fingertips.
"Yes?" Sheila stopped and looked up at him sweetly; her own mind of course completely focused on the object of her affection.
"We we we we we can CAN’T WILL do!" Babbled the burly vulpine, every muscle in his body near-frozen to the point that his breathing was starting to become shallow.
"Mmmm… silly foxy…" Sheila almost purred as she moved her nose up to nuzzle his neck. "You do want this, don’t you?"
Yes! Finally the question I need to answer! That small part of Josh’s conscious mind exclaimed happily, finally getting the opportunity he had been hoping for.
"YES! NO! MAYBE?!?" Came his garbled response, only barely discernable as his voice had suddenly gotten much higher.
Oh, crap. Was all he could think before Sheila giggled.
"Oh, I think you do, Foxy," Sheila told him as she flicked her tongue out to just barely touch the tip of his ear. "Now let’s see what you’ve been hiding from me…"
And before even the weakest of protests could be made, her paw had slid its way into his pants.
###
Receptor #1: "We have contact!"
Brain: "Blast! Can we get back control?"
Receptor #2: "I don’t think so, Sir! He’s fading fast!"
Brain: "Do we still have lines open to the rest of the body?"
Receptor #1: "Yes, but not for long. If she goes much farther he’ll be completely gone."
Brain: "Hmmm… are you thinking what I’m thinking?"
Pinky: "NARF!"
Brain: "Dammit, I told you to close that channel!"
Receptor #3: "Sorry, Sir. What’s your plan?"
Brain: "We need to go to emergency evacuation procedures. Full retreat."
Receptor #1: "Isn’t that dangerous?"
Brain: "Yes, but we have to take the chance. Open channels to as much of the body as you can and get the messages out. Full panic."
Receptor #1: "Right away, Sir. I’ll patch you through to the legs, first."
Brain: "Good. Make it so, Number one."
Legs: "What the Bloody Hell is going on up there?"
Brain: "Nevermind! He needs to make an exit, post haste! Get yourselves moving and get him out of there!"
Legs: "We cannae do it, Captain! We dunnae have the power!"
Brain: "That wasn’t funny the FIRST 8,873,038,263 times you said that and it’s not funny NOW, so MOVE IT!"
Receptor #2: "Everything’s set, Sir! Initiating freak out!"
Brain: "Hold on, everyone!"
###
"AH I’M SORRY I HAVE TO GO NOW!" Josh shouted as he sprang to his feet, Sheila’s paw slipping out from his waistband as she was startled back onto the couch.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Sheila blinked repeatedly, more than a bit confused.
"ME HAVE GO TO THE PLACE TO GET THE THINGS SO I CAN DO THE STUFF!" Josh exclaimed loudly, his mind just throwing out words at random.
Neither said anything for a moment and neither moved, until Sheila was the first to attempt to break the silence.
"PHARMACY! YES! I AM GOING TO THE PHARMACY TO GET THE THINGS TO DO THE STUFF!" Josh cut her off before she had even taken the breath necessary to speak. "I WILL BE BACK IN THE SOON TIME FROM THE PHARMACY WITH THE THINGS TO DO THE STUFF!"
And with that the freaked-out vulpine, grabbed his keys from the key rack and went out the door, inadvertently slamming it behind him. This left the surprised Sheila in the apartment alone, staring at the closed door as she heard him run down the stairs to where he had parked his car.
"Wow…" Sheila said dazedly before a broad, happy grin spread across her face. "I’ve never gotten anyone THAT excited before!"
All I had to do was my put paw in his pants and he runs out to the pharmacy! Wee! She leaned back and squealed with glee, kicking her legs in the air. This is even better than I’d hoped!
True, things hadn’t gone exactly as she’d planned, but Josh’s reactions had more than made up for her earlier disappointment. So much so, in fact, that a whole new flow of feral thoughts were surging through her mind.
With a happy bounce she jumped up from the couch and made her way back into the bedroom, remembering a few things she had brought along that might have made for a nice surprise on his return…
###
"I still don’t get it," Rob shook his head as he set down his second beer of the evening on the end table beside him. "What in the heck could make you even THINK to dress up like that?"
"Because it’s FUN, Robbie!" Blue giggled as he set his own beverage down, his legs crossed daintily as he still wore his ‘disguise’ from dinner. "Sometimes you have to cut loose and just be silly."
"If being silly means dressing like THAT, I think I’ll stay serious, thank you very much," Rob shuddered and stuck out his tongue, the idea obviously of no appeal to him.
"Oh, and YOUR version of dress-up is perfectly normal, huh?" Blue grinned and stuck his tongue out as well, but his action much more in a light-hearted spirit.
"You know damn well this wasn’t what I was expecting!" Rob grumbled back, gesturing first to himself then his blue-furred friend. "At least I can’t run in heels!"
And such was the manner of conversation they had been involved in since arriving back at Rob’s apartment. At the present time they looked much as they had when they had first sat down, Blue without his headfur piece and Rob without the thick-rimmed glasses and male symbol necklace that had made his outfit all the more laughable. Neither was in as good presentation as they had been at the restaurant, Rob with his shirt mostly unbuttoned and Blue back to his ‘male’ posture.
They had bantered back and forth about that night, how things went, what went wrong and such, speculating on how the evening’s events may have proceeded for Josh and Susan after they had left.
"Still wondering what they’re doing right now?" Blue ventured with a raised brow as he took a sip of his drink.
"Please, no way Josh is still there," Rob chuckled with an amused grin as he leaned back in his chair, linking his paws behind his head and setting his feet on the table. "My guess is she got him into a kiss and sent him home to think about what he did."
The two shared a good laugh over that, more because of its likelihood than the actual image produced.
"Yeah, second date, he’ll still have gone on home. Now the third," Rob began as he looked over to his friend in drag. "THAT we’re going to have to get him prepared for. Lord only knows what would happen if she got all touchy-feely with him and caught him off guard."
"Yeah. He might faint dead-away," Blue giggled as he thought about the prospect. "Or worse, he might just completely flip out and run."
"Run? Whadaya mean?" Rob asked curiously as he wiggled his toes.
"Well, he might panic or something. I’ve seen it before," Blue told him earnestly as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. "I dunno really how to explain it… something like…"
It was then that the door to Rob’s apartment burst open, a familiar vulpine with a twitching right eye stepping immediately through with his body near rigid as a board.
"SHE WANTS TO HAVE SEX WITH ME!" He pronounced loudly at the top of his lungs, his breathing hard and fast to match the almost crazed look upon his face.
"…like that?" Rob asked as he pointed to his vulpine friend.
"Kinda, yeah," Blue blinked as he saw this, to say the least surprised to have his buddy bust through the door.
"Dude, are yo-," Was all Rob could get out before the big fox bellowed once more.
"ANYMORE OF MY FRIENDS WANNA HAVE SEX WITH ME?!?" Josh’s voice resounded as he tore his shirt open and off, leaving it on the floor beside him. "THEN LET’S GET TO IT!"
Immediately following that unusual request he stomped into Rob’s bedroom, not even bothering to close the door behind him.
The two stunned furs were left speechless and confused to say the least, and neither so much as flinched for a tense moment afterwards… but then both leapt up from their seats, Blue lunging towards the bedroom door as Rob tackled him in mid-air.
They scuffled and pushed and rolled across the hardwood floor, each attempting to reach the doorway before the other. With a shove and a sprint Rob was able to achieve this first and shut the door on the disappointed lupine, locking it to ensure he’d be kept out.
"Are you NUTS?!?" Rob shouted exasperatedly as he turned to face the large fox sitting on his bed. "Even *I* think that was cruel!"
"She’s over at my place," Josh said as he stared blankly at the wall.
"Who? Susan?" Rob asked curiously and he sat down next to the troubled fox, trying his best to ignore the whining and thumping at the door as he knew Blue was pawing at it form the other side.
"Sheila!" Josh blurted out as his paws clenched, obviously still suffering the effects of his panic. "When I got home she was there and she started… doing stuff and she put her paw in my pants!"
"Sheila Vixen?" Rob continued after seeing him nod. "Sheila Vixen… in your apartment… with her paw in your pants… wanting to get it on… excuse me, but where’s the problem here?"
"I don’t want to, dammit!" Josh blurted again, now turning to face the ferret.
"WHO CARES?!? It’s Sheila! Sheila Vixen! As in ‘The Fantasy of Every Male Who Has Opened a Magazine’ Sheila Vixen!" Rob retorted as he pointed a finger directly towards him. "You owe it to your GENDER to go through with it!"
"She’s my friend, man! I don’t see her that way!" Josh replied almost pleadingly as he hung his head. "Same as you and Blue and Tammy…"
Rob groaned at that, rubbing his temples as he leaned back against the wall. It was a good minute of thought before he responded, letting out a long sigh.
"I don’t get it, man, nor am I going to pretend to. But… I guess I can kinda see what you mean," Rob admitted before letting out a long breath. "Is that the only reason?"
"Well, that… and it wouldn’t be right to do to Susan," Josh let out his own sigh after that one, rubbing the back of his neck with his paw.
"Aw, come on," Rob groaned and covered his eyes. "I’m glad you two are getting along so well but you’ve had TWO DATES! You’re not freaking steady!"
"I know, I know. It just seems…" Josh paused as he tried to find the words to describe his meaning, but found them in short supply. "Wrong, I guess. I mean, not Sheila, there’s nothing wrong with her. Just wouldn’t be right to do something like that without Susan knowing…"
"What, like the possibility of this kind of thing happening didn’t shoot through her mind when you told her about Tammy staying over at your place?" Rob chuckled before noticing that Josh was not reacting in the same fashion as he. "You did tell her about Tammy staying with you, right?"
Josh just shook his head slowly, not even bothering to look up.
"Aw, man," Rob just sunk his face into his paws. "Dude, when you’re sitting on a bomb, it’s usually a good idea to diffuse it."
"I know. I just… get so caught up when I talk to her that I didn’t think to mention it," Josh confessed as he leaned his head back on the bed’s edge, looking up at the ceiling. "…Dude, is that a poster of that famous porn star?"
"Nevermind Ziggy," Rob stated abruptly from where he stood. "Phew. Quite a pickle you got yourself into."
"Sure seems that way," Josh admitted with another sigh. "Anything you can think of that I can do?"
"Going back to your damn apartment and setting things straight for one," Rob said tersely as he looked over to him. "How many years has she been dropping freakin’ hints? And because you were too thick-headed to see it, now she thinks she can just surprise you with a little horizontal fun."
"Yeah, but…" Josh trailed off as Rob continued.
"But JACK. You’ve got a mind, you’ve got free will, and you can handle it. Before she can do any ‘stuff’ to you, just sit her down, explain how you feel," Rob advised with authority, not letting his friend waver.
"That’ll work?" Josh ventured hopefully as he looked over to his friend.
"The HELL should I know? I don’t even understand what you’re talking about," Rob scoffed and wrapped his knuckles on the wall behind him. "But it’s the only way you have a prayer of getting out of this."
"Heh. Fair enough," Josh nodded and cracked a smile. "What then?"
"Call Susan, duh," Rob told him flat out as he straightened his posture and stood up. "You want to tie yourself to her, at least make sure she knows everything that would otherwise get you clawed."
"You got a point," The fox chuckled as he got to his feet, stretching out the soreness in his back. "Aw, man. I’m going to need a long shower tonight."
"If Sheila’s still there, ya’ better make it a cold one," Rob said only half-kiddingly as he patted the muscular fox on the shoulder.
"Thanks, Rob. I appreciate it," Josh said honestly with an appreciative smile. "Anything else you can think of?"
"Yup. For goodness’ sake take something from my closet to put on," Rob said as he pointed to the vulpine’s bare chest. "I know almost nothing’s going to fit ya’, but walking back into your apartment half-naked is just ASKING for it."
###
Josh stood outside the door to his apartment for a good few minutes after he stepped on the welcome mat. He was decidedly hesitant about this whole thing, remembering how ‘well’ he had handled things before.
This is ridiculous. I’m afraid to go into my own place. Josh sighed as stood there in a very bad Hawaiian print shirt he had gotten from Rob’s closet. While it had been ridiculously huge on the ferret, it only just barely fit on Josh’s bulky form, the buttons threatening to pop at just about any moment.
Ok, I’ll just get this over with. Josh decided as he clasped the doorknob, taking a deep breath before opening it and stepping inside.
The first thing he noticed was the absence of Sheila’s presence on the couch. A look around the living room and kitchen showed that she was not to be found there, either, and he cautiously moved towards the closed bedroom door.
"Sheila?" He called out, venturing as he padded towards it.
The door didn’t remain closed for long, for within moments it was wide open, a familiar vixen leaning up against the doorframe. But she no longer wore his bathrobe.
Her current look was of a much more ‘interesting’ variety, to say the least. Her hair was tied back in one long braid, easily undoable if the elastic were removed. She wore a white halter-top tied with a knot at the center, the thin fabric not even making an attempt to conceal the black bikini-style bra beneath. And at her waist was a scandalously short pleaded skirt that barely even covered the tops of her thighs, the style almost identical to the jumpers he’d seen Catholic Schoolgirls wear. What he could not see, at least for the moment, was the thong she wore under that, the color and style matching that of her bra. On top of all this the busty vixen wore one other thing, and that was a look of such seduction that it had to be seen to be believed, her lips wetted by her tongue and her eyes those of a hungry predator.
Not having anticipated this, Josh went completely numb. His eyes went huge, his arms froze at his sides and with a baffling speed his pants became VERY uncomfortable VERY quick.
"Welcome back, you tasty Foxy," Sheila said in a low, alluring tone that was even more pleasing to the ears than when he had first found her earlier that night.
When no response came she began to move slowly towards him, walking in just the right way that all the rights parts were moving along with her. In what seemed like no time at all she had her chest pressed against his, her muzzle tilted up so that her nose was just a scant inch or two away from his.
"Are you ok, Foxy?" Sheila asked, hiding her enormous enjoyment of his reactions.
"Haaaaaa…. Hom hom hom hom hom hom hom…" Josh babbled as both eyes took turns twitching, having appeared to have lost all control over his senses.
"Aw, what a sweet thing to say," Sheila grinned as she took him by the paw and led him over to the couch once more, sitting him down and taking a few steps back. "Let’s do it right, this time."
With that same perfect walk she padded towards the stereo as she had previously, her movements giving the male fox a few glances at what was under that jumper of hers. She stopped right before it and turned, cutting Josh off before he had the chance to say anything.
"Oh, I remember it’s broken. That’s why I hooked up my portable CD player to your speakers," Sheila explained with a wink as she held it up to show him. "I borrowed one of your CDs, I hope you don’t mind."
Before any opinion to the contrary could be offered she hit the play button, and the hard tunes of AC/DC immediately began emanating from the large speakers. Now with music to back her up, Sheila began moving to the rifs and the music, her motions much more aggressive and feral than they would have been with hers.
And Josh just sat there, dazed, stunned; awestruck beyond anything he had ever thought possible or believable. Every last thought he had in his head when he walked through the door was now totally, utterly gone. Thoughts PERIOD were gone at that particular moment, as his eyes followed her sensual movement, slowly losing all semblance of conscious awareness…
###
Brain: "Oooooooh, we are SO screwed."
Pinky: "NARF!"