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Description
Allison giggled when the snowball she'd thrown hit her friend in the back of the head while he had tried to gather snow. Jaycee stood up and whirled around, his blood red hair speckled with white and green eyes angry. He threw his snowball at her and she ducked, still giggling. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran away to an area in the schoolyard with more snow. That was where she found the red-orange spot a short distance from her.
Jaycee had an evil grin on his face as he snuck up on his friend while she stood still. He noticed something was wrong when she ran over to a lump in the snow with a worried look on her young face.
"What's wrong, Al?" He asked when he had walked over to her. She was pawing at the snow where something was buried and had to keep fixing her dirty blonde hair when it got in her aqua eyes.
Allison gasped when she discovered the little fox pup barely bigger than her hand. There was a small amount of blood staining its soft looking fur and the snow around it. "Do ya think it's dead?" She asked worriedly as she went to poke the creature.
Jaycee grabbed her hand to stop her, his white mittens contrasting with her black ones. "Be careful Al," He warned. "It's smaller than normal foxes. This one can use fire. I've heard they can raise their body heat so that they burn anyone who touches them."
The little fox's ear twitched which was a sign of life. Al decided to ignore her friend's warning and gently scooped the little pup into her arms, cradling it to try and shelter it from the cold.
"I'm going t' look after him 'til he gets better." She said, turning to go home.
"But Al-"
"We can't jus' leave him t' die." Al snapped. She continued her journey home with her friend trotting behind her, still worried.
"It's not really the monster I'm worried about. What are your mom and dad going to say?" He asked. His friend checked on the little fox she was carrying before replying, making sure it was still alive.
"That man isn't my dad. How many times do I have t' tell ya that? And I don't think they'll cause me much trouble."
Jaycee looked down and saw it instinctively nuzzle against her green jacket for warmth.
Feeling bad for the creature Jaycee took off his red scarf, telling Allison to stop. "He'll freeze to death by the time we get back." He muttered as he tucked the fabric around the little fox. The creature stuck out its little pink tongue and licked its lips, looking comfortable.
The two children made it back to Allison's house ten minutes later and found no one was home except Allison's older brother, Maroon. He was in the kitchen drinking milk when he heard the door open.
Jaycee took off his snow gear and placed it where Mrs. McKenzie had told him to and then held the fox monster while Allison took her snow gear off, revealing the shorts and t-shirt she had been wearing underneath. Jaycee raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I didn't know snow was cold," Allison explained.
Jaycee indicated his own outfit of a thick brown sweater and grey sweat pants. "You didn't think it was weird I wore this when you came to my house?"
Maroon came out from the kitchen to see who had come home and glared at Jaycee. "Jaycee," He grumbled.
Jaycee nodded at the teenager, returning the glare. "Maroon,"
Allison frowned at her older brother when she saw him drinking from the milk jug. "Maro didn't Ma tell you not t' do that?"
"Hey I said to stay away from the creep didn't I?" He shot back. "And look who's with you,"
Allison stuck her tongue out at him and took Jaycee's hand, telling Maroon they were going to her room.
Maroon choked on the milk and coughed. "A-alone? No supervision?"
"Maroon we're ten. We don't need a babysitter with us." Jaycee said, pouting.
Allison opened the door to her room and let Jaycee in, hanging back to have a quick word with her overprotective brother. "Like he said we're ten. We're not going to have sex or anything like that."
She quickly went into her room and shut the door, locking it when her brother started having a fit and asking how she knew what sex was. Jaycee looked at her, puzzled.
"How do you know what it is?" He asked as he sat down on her green bed, watching her set the fox down and running around her room to find things to make a bed.
"Maro's girl told me a little bit 'bout what they'd do some nights. I think that was the reason he broke up with her . . ." Allison dropped a bunch of items onto her bed and got to work setting up a bed for the fox. Jaycee watched her, curious, as she stuffed a bunch of socks into a square box and put a towel over them. After making sure it was neat and tidy she placed a couple of little toys in the corner.
"What're the toys for?" Jaycee asked as he gently stroked the fox's fur, jerking his hand away when one of the little paws twitched. It wasn't as hot as he'd thought it would be.
Allison set the 'bed' onto her nightstand and carefully picked up the creature, setting it onto the bed. "In case he wants t' play. Monsters can get bored too can't they?"
Jaycee shrugged and flopped back onto her bed. "Do you know what's wrong with it?" He turned his head and watched her inspect it.
"Looks like he cut his leg," Allison replied. "Must've figured he could sleep at the school and got stuck in the snow."
She told Jaycee to go find her a cloth and wet it so she could clean the wound. He did as he was told and returned a few minutes later, handing her a wet face cloth.
Allison thanked him and carefully dabbed at the creature's injury, careful not to hurt it. The slight stinging woke the fox up, frightened. It's rich brown eyes darted around the room as it tried to figure out where he was. Finally he found Allison's hand holding his leg, the source of his pain.
Not noticing how angry the creature was, Allison yelped in surprise when it bit her. Jaycee jumped up and asked her if she was okay when he saw the blood on her finger. She replied she was fine and looked at the fox where it still sat, growling at her.
She stuck out her injured hand to the fox against Jaycee's advice. "I'm not going t' hurt you," Allison murmured. "I want t' help you."
The fox was about to sniff her fingertips when Jaycee grabbed her hand, pulling it away from the monster. "Allison I don't think he gets it. He'll just bite you again."
Allison pulled her hand out of Jaycee's and stuck it out again. "He's like a doggy isn't he?" She said when the creature sniffed at her fingers, it's black nose occasionally touching her skin. She giggled when he licked the bite marks he had made. "I think he was jus' scared. We're not too nice t' monsters ya know."
Jaycee huffed and settled back on Allison's bed and watched her go back to caring for the fox. "Can you get me a little band aid fer him?" She asked without looking at the boy. Jaycee sighed and retrieved the band aid from the bathroom and came back. Allison thanked him and put it over the fox's wound. When it began to gnaw on the fabric Allison gave him a tap on the nose saying he wouldn't get better that way.
After the fox had calmed down, and even let Jaycee pet it, it fell back asleep. Jaycee was surprised with a hug from Allison afterwards.
"Wh-what brought this on?" He asked, unsure of what to do. Allison only hugged him when she was upset. But right now she had no reason to be upset.
Allison pulled away and rumpled his hair, grinning. "It's a thank-you fer helpin' me out. I was kinda ignoring you fer a while even though you were being so nice."
Jaycee blushed and scratched the back on his head, unsure of what to say. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Do you think your parents will let you keep it?"
Allison shrugged. "It'd be nice t' have a pet. He might not even want t' stay, though."
From outside the room Allison and Jaycee could hear the rest of the McKenzie family enter the house.
"I think I should go," Jaycee said, getting up. "Ask your folks if you can keep the fox before you decide anything, okay?"
Allison nodded and bid her friend farewell as she watched him go. She heard him say hello and goodbye to her parents, but for some reason ignored her older sister, and leaving the house.

That went well. Allison thought to herself as she climbed into bed to fall asleep. Her parents weren't too happy about her bringing a wild animal into the house and started going on and on about responsibility and work that went into caring for a pet. After some support from Maroon they finally agreed to let her keep the fox so long as it didn't burn the house down.
She looked over at her nightstand where the fox was looking at her quizzically. "What do ya think?" She asked him, turning onto her side. "If ya don't have anywhere else t' go would ya mind staying with me? I'll take good care of ya and read lots of books to find out how to do it."
The fox tilted it's head like it was thinking. Was this particular species able to process thoughts and words?
After a few moments the creature slowly got up and walked to the edge of the nightstand, hopping onto the bed and curling up next to Allison's head. "Is that a yes? Or do ya not understand what I'm saying?"
The fox licked the tip of her nose, closing its eyes and tilting its head, tail wagging. Allison remembered something she'd heard from her father once and tried something out. "Raise your paw if you get what I'm saying." She requested. The fox did as it was told. Allison smiled, excited to see the display of intelligence. Her father said some monsters were fully capable of understanding humans and sometimes even talked with them. But since the fox hadn't said a word Allison guessed that the fox couldn't talk.
"So do ya want t' stay with me?" She asked again. The fox licked her nose again and she smiled. "I guess y'all need a name then won't ya? How 'bout . . . Lyulf?" The fox titled its head and wagged its tail after thinking.
"Okay then from now on yer name's Lyulf. And my name's Allison, but most people call me Al." She smiled and stroked the creature's fur, happy to have made a new friend. Lyulf nuzzled her hand and seemed extremely happy to have a new home.

Description
Allison giggled when the snowball she'd thrown hit her friend in the back of the head while he had tried to gather snow. Jaycee stood up and whirled around, his blood red hair speckled with white and green eyes angry. He threw his snowball at her and she ducked, still giggling. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran away to an area in the schoolyard with more snow. That was where she found the red-orange spot a short distance from her.
Jaycee had an evil grin on his face as he snuck up on his friend while she stood still. He noticed something was wrong when she ran over to a lump in the snow with a worried look on her young face.
"What's wrong, Al?" He asked when he had walked over to her. She was pawing at the snow where something was buried and had to keep fixing her dirty blonde hair when it got in her aqua eyes.
Allison gasped when she discovered the little fox pup barely bigger than her hand. There was a small amount of blood staining its soft looking fur and the snow around it. "Do ya think it's dead?" She asked worriedly as she went to poke the creature.
Jaycee grabbed her hand to stop her, his white mittens contrasting with her black ones. "Be careful Al," He warned. "It's smaller than normal foxes. This one can use fire. I've heard they can raise their body heat so that they burn anyone who touches them."
The little fox's ear twitched which was a sign of life. Al decided to ignore her friend's warning and gently scooped the little pup into her arms, cradling it to try and shelter it from the cold.
"I'm going t' look after him 'til he gets better." She said, turning to go home.
"But Al-"
"We can't jus' leave him t' die." Al snapped. She continued her journey home with her friend trotting behind her, still worried.
"It's not really the monster I'm worried about. What are your mom and dad going to say?" He asked. His friend checked on the little fox she was carrying before replying, making sure it was still alive.
"That man isn't my dad. How many times do I have t' tell ya that? And I don't think they'll cause me much trouble."
Jaycee looked down and saw it instinctively nuzzle against her green jacket for warmth.
Feeling bad for the creature Jaycee took off his red scarf, telling Allison to stop. "He'll freeze to death by the time we get back." He muttered as he tucked the fabric around the little fox. The creature stuck out its little pink tongue and licked its lips, looking comfortable.
The two children made it back to Allison's house ten minutes later and found no one was home except Allison's older brother, Maroon. He was in the kitchen drinking milk when he heard the door open.
Jaycee took off his snow gear and placed it where Mrs. McKenzie had told him to and then held the fox monster while Allison took her snow gear off, revealing the shorts and t-shirt she had been wearing underneath. Jaycee raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I didn't know snow was cold," Allison explained.
Jaycee indicated his own outfit of a thick brown sweater and grey sweat pants. "You didn't think it was weird I wore this when you came to my house?"
Maroon came out from the kitchen to see who had come home and glared at Jaycee. "Jaycee," He grumbled.
Jaycee nodded at the teenager, returning the glare. "Maroon,"
Allison frowned at her older brother when she saw him drinking from the milk jug. "Maro didn't Ma tell you not t' do that?"
"Hey I said to stay away from the creep didn't I?" He shot back. "And look who's with you,"
Allison stuck her tongue out at him and took Jaycee's hand, telling Maroon they were going to her room.
Maroon choked on the milk and coughed. "A-alone? No supervision?"
"Maroon we're ten. We don't need a babysitter with us." Jaycee said, pouting.
Allison opened the door to her room and let Jaycee in, hanging back to have a quick word with her overprotective brother. "Like he said we're ten. We're not going to have sex or anything like that."
She quickly went into her room and shut the door, locking it when her brother started having a fit and asking how she knew what sex was. Jaycee looked at her, puzzled.
"How do you know what it is?" He asked as he sat down on her green bed, watching her set the fox down and running around her room to find things to make a bed.
"Maro's girl told me a little bit 'bout what they'd do some nights. I think that was the reason he broke up with her . . ." Allison dropped a bunch of items onto her bed and got to work setting up a bed for the fox. Jaycee watched her, curious, as she stuffed a bunch of socks into a square box and put a towel over them. After making sure it was neat and tidy she placed a couple of little toys in the corner.
"What're the toys for?" Jaycee asked as he gently stroked the fox's fur, jerking his hand away when one of the little paws twitched. It wasn't as hot as he'd thought it would be.
Allison set the 'bed' onto her nightstand and carefully picked up the creature, setting it onto the bed. "In case he wants t' play. Monsters can get bored too can't they?"
Jaycee shrugged and flopped back onto her bed. "Do you know what's wrong with it?" He turned his head and watched her inspect it.
"Looks like he cut his leg," Allison replied. "Must've figured he could sleep at the school and got stuck in the snow."
She told Jaycee to go find her a cloth and wet it so she could clean the wound. He did as he was told and returned a few minutes later, handing her a wet face cloth.
Allison thanked him and carefully dabbed at the creature's injury, careful not to hurt it. The slight stinging woke the fox up, frightened. It's rich brown eyes darted around the room as it tried to figure out where he was. Finally he found Allison's hand holding his leg, the source of his pain.
Not noticing how angry the creature was, Allison yelped in surprise when it bit her. Jaycee jumped up and asked her if she was okay when he saw the blood on her finger. She replied she was fine and looked at the fox where it still sat, growling at her.
She stuck out her injured hand to the fox against Jaycee's advice. "I'm not going t' hurt you," Allison murmured. "I want t' help you."
The fox was about to sniff her fingertips when Jaycee grabbed her hand, pulling it away from the monster. "Allison I don't think he gets it. He'll just bite you again."
Allison pulled her hand out of Jaycee's and stuck it out again. "He's like a doggy isn't he?" She said when the creature sniffed at her fingers, it's black nose occasionally touching her skin. She giggled when he licked the bite marks he had made. "I think he was jus' scared. We're not too nice t' monsters ya know."
Jaycee huffed and settled back on Allison's bed and watched her go back to caring for the fox. "Can you get me a little band aid fer him?" She asked without looking at the boy. Jaycee sighed and retrieved the band aid from the bathroom and came back. Allison thanked him and put it over the fox's wound. When it began to gnaw on the fabric Allison gave him a tap on the nose saying he wouldn't get better that way.
After the fox had calmed down, and even let Jaycee pet it, it fell back asleep. Jaycee was surprised with a hug from Allison afterwards.
"Wh-what brought this on?" He asked, unsure of what to do. Allison only hugged him when she was upset. But right now she had no reason to be upset.
Allison pulled away and rumpled his hair, grinning. "It's a thank-you fer helpin' me out. I was kinda ignoring you fer a while even though you were being so nice."
Jaycee blushed and scratched the back on his head, unsure of what to say. He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "Do you think your parents will let you keep it?"
Allison shrugged. "It'd be nice t' have a pet. He might not even want t' stay, though."
From outside the room Allison and Jaycee could hear the rest of the McKenzie family enter the house.
"I think I should go," Jaycee said, getting up. "Ask your folks if you can keep the fox before you decide anything, okay?"
Allison nodded and bid her friend farewell as she watched him go. She heard him say hello and goodbye to her parents, but for some reason ignored her older sister, and leaving the house.

That went well. Allison thought to herself as she climbed into bed to fall asleep. Her parents weren't too happy about her bringing a wild animal into the house and started going on and on about responsibility and work that went into caring for a pet. After some support from Maroon they finally agreed to let her keep the fox so long as it didn't burn the house down.
She looked over at her nightstand where the fox was looking at her quizzically. "What do ya think?" She asked him, turning onto her side. "If ya don't have anywhere else t' go would ya mind staying with me? I'll take good care of ya and read lots of books to find out how to do it."
The fox tilted it's head like it was thinking. Was this particular species able to process thoughts and words?
After a few moments the creature slowly got up and walked to the edge of the nightstand, hopping onto the bed and curling up next to Allison's head. "Is that a yes? Or do ya not understand what I'm saying?"
The fox licked the tip of her nose, closing its eyes and tilting its head, tail wagging. Allison remembered something she'd heard from her father once and tried something out. "Raise your paw if you get what I'm saying." She requested. The fox did as it was told. Allison smiled, excited to see the display of intelligence. Her father said some monsters were fully capable of understanding humans and sometimes even talked with them. But since the fox hadn't said a word Allison guessed that the fox couldn't talk.
"So do ya want t' stay with me?" She asked again. The fox licked her nose again and she smiled. "I guess y'all need a name then won't ya? How 'bout . . . Lyulf?" The fox titled its head and wagged its tail after thinking.
"Okay then from now on yer name's Lyulf. And my name's Allison, but most people call me Al." She smiled and stroked the creature's fur, happy to have made a new friend. Lyulf nuzzled her hand and seemed extremely happy to have a new home.