Parkland Wonders

Coale’s eyes flicked to in either direction of the park, only verifying that she was in fact alone as far as she could see. The fledgling hero had been too busy the last few days to really relax much, between her new position as a hero, patrolling the city when she could, and moving into one of the nearby apartment buildings. At the moment, she was in a park that had been just across the street from her apartment, the midday sun high above as she returned her eyes to the sweet treat in her hands.

The girl had always loved sweets, though she rarely showed the side of her currently being displayed the bench she sat on was in a relatively isolated area, with nobody really around to witness the woman’s change. Even if they did it would likely be dismissed, as few knew her in the area anyways. She took another small bite of the sundae, her eyes closing as her expression changed to one of bliss simply from tasting the treat. She was in her own little world for now, happy to simply enjoy the day for now. Some sounds from the bushes were heard, but ignored as she figured it was probably the wind.

The rustling of the bushes was no wind, however. There was a small creature inside of it-- or at least, that's what many would assume. However, there was much more to this small creature. It was, in fact, another hero-- though neither knew the other was one-- and not just a hero, but one who was also new to the foundation. Ember had neither expected her powers or her recruitment, but she was fine with both. After all, her power may not be the most handy in foresight, but for her it was more valuable than many would think. Simple though her power was, it led to one of her favorite pastimes. Turning into a fox allowed her to walk through the park in her transformed state and hear or see things others would not normally do in front of other people, from dropping their public personas to even catching a few less-than-legal activities here and there. Patrolling was not something she really called it, per se, but she would wander as many areas as she could to see what she might overhear that many would think would be outside of the eyes of the populous-- or SF.

Just now, she was half-stalking, half-lazing behind a secluded park bench, curled up inside the bushes and watching those who went by. A girl was sat on the bench, and one that Ember slightly recognized-- did she live in the same building? Ember thought so, and if she remembered correctly, wasn't exactly the friendliest or sweetest person at face value-- not that they were rude, simply not downright kind. Ember understood.

She slowly changed her position, casually flicking her tail against the bush's leaves, rustling them in a very non-windlike way. Ember smirked (at least as well as a fox could) and waited for the other girl's reaction to what was basically an announcement of her presence. Of course, the other person likely would just see Ember for how she appeared-- as a smallish white-furred fox.

Byron was on his way back from his new part-time job.  Things were slow so they let him go home early.  He didn't actually want to go home early because he needed the money but he couldn't really argue.  Luckily, with his other art-time job, he should still make enough for this months rent on time.  Byron was cutting through a local park, as he normally would on his way home.  His apartment room wasn't far from it.  He was mostly minding how own business and not paying attention to his surroundings, so at first he didn't think to identify the child sitting on a bench on the other side of a bush not far off.  At least that was until he heard an odd rustling in the bush by the bench.  

He wouldn't usually admit it, but Byron had a soft spot for cute animals.  As a result, curiosity got the better of him, as he carefully and quietly walked over to the spot, not wanting to scare away whatever animal could be in that bush.  He carefully and quietly parted the leaves of the bush to peer inside.  What he found was a small albino fox standing there.  It was quite adorable and Byron wanted nothing more that to just pet its soft fur.  Byron carefully extended a hand down, palm up, to show that he was friendly.  "Come 'ere little guy.  It's okay.  Don't run away."  Certainly the sight of a guy of Byron's visage and built trying to converse with a small fluffy animal would be quite out of place.

Coale took another bite of her sundae, another bite of bliss as the sweet cream touched against her tongue. The expression probably only made her look even more like a child, but at the moment the currently black-haired girl didn’t really care, not even thinking about such things considering she was, as far as she knew alone. The sudden sounds from the bushes caught the girl’s attention, and she momentarily took on her normal, somewhat annoyed expression. Coale didn’t like the idea of some creeper watching her when she thought she was alone.

Only it didn’t look like it was some creepy guy, and the expression dropped when she caught sight of the small white furred fox. The sight of the creature elicited what, to anyone who knew Coale would undoubtedly be a surprising response as her face once again lit up. A single thought popping into her head. “cute!” Coale didn’t realize or really care at the moment, that she’d said the word out loud, she didn’t try to approach, not wanting to scare the creature, that actually appeared to be looking at her, away.

“aw, come here little fox.” She called out, not really expecting it to respond. Still it was cute enough she’d be more than happy to pet it…though it also looked almost out of place in some way. Too clean for a simple wild animal probably, given how clean it’s fur was. Was this somebody’s pet?

Before she could actually do anything, the currently black haired woman only now noticed the new presence when Byron moved over to the bushes. Coale froze suddenly noticing the boy as he inspected the bushes. Wondering where she’d seen him before…She vaguely remembered him from the school, one of her students! Despite the fact, she wasn’t exactly able to change her currently pleasant demeanor seeing the boy trying to get the fox’s attention. Unable to help the laugh the scene elicited.

Ember glanced between the two trying to gain her attention. Suddenly, her mind formed a devious plot. A plot... for multiple pettings. She coyly flicked her tail and looked at both of them, shaking her fur and giving a cute little fox yip. Yes, this could work. Strangers share secrets while bonding over petting a cute fox. Ember could roll with this. Neither of them seemed much to be the type to pet foxes on the surface, so it was all the more interesting to her.

Byron's hand was inching closer to the furry creature when he heard a soft giggle.  He looked up and caught sight of a girl peering at him through the other side of the bush.  His eyes flew wide in surprise and he quickly retracted his hand back away from the fox, rolling over from on his knees to on his behind.  Byron's cheeks flushed as he realized what the scene of someone like him doing that would look like.  He began fumbling with his words, probably trying to make an excuse for the scene to save face.  Before he could properly form any words he took better notice of the smiling little girls characteristics.  

It took a moment as he glared at her, trying to remember until it finally hit him.  "Hey, aren't you that new teach that owes me a new shirt?"  Changing the subject had somewhat caused Byron to regain his composure.  That once again changed when he heard a small yip from the bush between them.  His attention was drawn back to the call albino fox which was apparently acting quite friendly and not very scared of people. Maybe it was used to it from living in a park where people come by often?  Byron tried to keep his stern persona and look back at Coale, however, he couldn't help but periodically glance back down at the adorable ball of fur at his feet.

“Stop being stupid, I told you I’d replace it didn’t I?” She snapped,,n only the remark didn’t really have near as much fire behind it as she hadn’t even bothered to look up, and the comment would almost certainly come across as half hearted despite her attempt to give an annoyed look. What was a student doing here? She supposed he could have lived in the area. Byron seemed as distracted as she was by the fox, it was a bit unexpected. Either way Coale felt a bit embarrassed being seen b a student no less acting in what might be construed as out of character.

She shored up her composure, before attempting to save face in a way. After all the last thing she needed was students saying she acted like a kid too, o-obviouisly she just…found the creature interesting,  “I-idiot, you shouldn’t get so close to a wild animal, it could have some weird disease.” She lectured, not bothering to acknowledge that she herself had, while giving said warning, actually moved closer to the fox. Nope, obviously she wasn’t fawning over the same fox a minute ago when she thought nobody was around. Definitely not.

How interesting. It appeared these two knew each other. Would that make them more likely to reveal information? Then there was what the boy called the girl. He had called her 'teach'-- which Ember assumed, as there was no other reasoning for it, to mean that this girl was in some way a teacher, yet she looked younger than Ember. This was intriguing, and she needed to know more. She sat and yipped again happily, drawing their attention and accepting their affections.

"I-I was just curious is all! Seeing a fox is already uncommon, but an albino fox has to be pretty rare." Byron turned his head to the side, blushing slightly. Byron shook his head, refocusing and rubbed the back of his head with a half frown. "I swear, 'stupid' and 'idiot' must be your favorite words. If you want to be a teacher you should drop that, or all your students are going to hate you." Byron pushed himself back onto his feet but remained crouching by the bush. "That aside, you'd think if it was diseased it wouldn't be so friendly, right? Like, it would be more scared or aggressive, so it should be fine shouldn't it?" Byron caught himself, "N-not that I was going to pet it or something! I just wanted a closer look is all." The small fox yipped happily again, "But, as long as I'm here and it's so friendly, this is a rare chance." Byron tentatively reached out his hand, palm up, to try and pet the fox under the chin. His face was serious and gave the impression he was holding something back.

“I-“ Coale was going to make a remark but stopped herself short. She hadn’t really thought much about how she interacted with students. “I guess you might be right.” She finally admitted, she wasn’t really in the mood to keep up any real hostility. Teaching was supposed to be a part of her job, and being openly hostile with students would definitely not result in anything good for her. Still the admission caused her to give an almost childlike pout, not really knowing she was doing it. She didn’t really like having to be called out by her student, especially with the fact he was correct.

The short girl caught onto the fact that the boy was probably holding himself back as well, understandably perhaps, though it was still funny to see a macho type like him trying to keep from petting the cute fox. Still she rolled her eyes at it, as well as figuring this was a good way to cover the fact she wanted to pet it. “Jeez, if you’re going to pet it, just pet it!” She declared, moving forward faster than Byron did, reaching forward to pet the top of thewhite fox’s head gently.

Ember allowed the pettings, though was still actively listening. Her ears pulled back and her eyes closed happily and she gave off a cute little happy growl as she let the girl pet her, and she slightly lifted her chin and lazily opened one eye to look at the boy, almost saying 'what are you waiting for?' with a single look. From what she'd been hearing, the girl seemed to be the type to insult people (albeit lightly) on a whim, but didn't really mean the things she said. The boy seemed to be calm and cautious-- to an extent. The girl had a really good petting technique though, and she certainly wanted to measure the boy's ability to give the pets.

Byron was taken aback by Coale's sudden movement and was worried it would scare off the fox.  His worried seem unfounded when not only did the fox remain, but it seemed to urge for the petting.  Coale's quick movement caused Byron to hesitate and pull back his hand slightly, but his worries were quickly dashed by one look from the fox.  It was almost like it was coercing him, asking 'what are you waiting for?'  All excuses evaporated as his hand reached under the foxes chin and began petting gently.  It was then that any semblance of a facade he was putting on shattered.  A smile perked up on his face and now he had both hands petting the chin and fluffy cheeks with a little more vigor.  "S-s-sso fluffy!  It's so adorable!"  Byron let it slip but didn't seem to notice he said it out loud.   His hands eventually made it to the tail at which point he seemed to freeze up, a squeal half escaping from his lips.

Coale raised an eyebrow at how patient the fox was, seemed like it appreciated the attention, causing Coale to again suspect that the fox was somebody’s pet, as it seemed almost suspiciously comfortable. It’s actions, and the happy little sound the fox made distracted her from the thought though, and Coale redoubled her pettings just before the boy suddenly joined in. Seemingly he’d all but abandoned any reservations about keeping up the tough guy thing, and Byrons actions prompted an amused laugh from Coale.

“wow, I forgot you’re still a kid.” She pointed out as she continued petting. It was amusing to see the lose of composure. She herself was still more or less disarmed. “Who do you think owns them…It has to be somebody’s pet right?” She asked out loud.

Oh yes, more pets. Ember could certainly get used to this. She made a little happy whining noise as the two pet her. She almost forgot to listen for a moment. She squeaked in surprise when the boy touched her tail-- it was sensitive, but Ember'd be fine. She then heard the girl ask who it was that owned Ember, and she scoffed a little, halfway tempted to shift back and tell the girl herself that she was not a pet, she would not be a pet ever if she could help it. The pettings were too good though, so she decided against that course of action.

Coale's words brought Byron back to reality.  His face flushed and his brow furrowed.  "Well excuse me for liking animals!"  His left hand left the small fox, but his right hand continued gently scratching the top of its head, occasionally stroking down to the tail.  Byron contemplated for a moment on Coale's question.  "I guess he is pretty well behaved, but I don't see a collar or anything.  And even if we figured he was someones pet, Ruby City, and even just West Citrine, is a big place.  No way of knowing who's his owner.  At best, it's someone in the area.  Why?  Do you think we should try to look for an owner?"  Byron inquired to the half-sized teacher.  Normally, Byron just would have assumed the animal was only friendly and left after playing a bit.  There wasn't much he could do even if it was someones pet.  Hopefully Coale would have an idea.

“Of course I know that!” Coale snapped, frowning. It seemed obvious to her the fox was domesticated…why else would it be so comfortable with humans? The fox had hardly seemed to even flinch since they’d noticed him, if anything they had only been encouraged by the little critter to pet it, Coale couldn’t imagine why a wild animal would behave like that. “There aren’t many apartment buildings around here that allow pets, we probably would be able to find his owner by stopping at them to ask the building manager’s if anybody lost a pet.” Coale pointed out, scratching the fox behind the ears as she thought about it./ There really werent many apartments nearby that even allowed pets at all. Exactly four that were relatively nearby that Coale had been able to find.

She didn’t mention why she’d originally looked into something like that, mainly the fact she’d been hoping to be able to get a pet, but hadn’t been able to find a building that both allowed for pets and was affordable. “His collar probably came off at some point on a branch or something.”

Ember was reasonably miffed. She didn't exactly glare at them, but she gave a slightly haughty huff and shaking a little. All this mentioning of her being owned, and of her being a 'him', however correct they were at the latter, she was still getting somewhat irritated at the way the conversation was moving. She made a little sigh-like noise and allowed them to resume petting if they would after her slight outburst. She was hoping that they would start resuming their talk about themselves; she was still in the mood for a little secret-searching.

Coale seemed to know where to start looking for this foxes supposed owner.  Byron found it a bit strange she knew where all the apartments in the area that allowed pets were offhand, but he didn't read too much into it.  Byron's hand moved back as the fox seemed to puff up a bit and shook like a dog drying itself.  Aftre a moment, the fox seemed to settle down again and Byron gently scratched under the chin.  "Well if you have an idea, I guess we should get started.  You lead the way.  I'll hold on to him while we go.  Hopefully he is friendly enough to not struggle while being held like when we are petting him."  Byron reached out both hands slowly in an attempt to pick up the fox.  Assuming there was no struggle or resistance, he would pick the fox up and hold him to his chest and then stand up, ready to go.

Coale nodded. “Guess you aren’t too bad, for some muscle head type.” She stated, not realizing she was more assuming to an extent, but it seemed a logical assumption to the short woman. After all, his power didn’t currently seem to have a ranged capacity, and aside from possibly using himself to shield against more elemental based attacks, the only logical way he’d be able to use it in combat was with hand to hand. “Houston would’ve just said no, jerk.” She stated idly, looking around for a moment to verify where they were before she led the way.

“I guess I’m just worried, domestic animals don’t always do well, and I’m sure he’d have an even worse time surviving alone in the city.” She stated, trying to make conversation. “First one should be over here. Figure a fox was a bit more exotic and going for the nicer of the options first, the one she hadn’t even been close to being able to afford living in. It seemed a bit more of a logical assumption to make, and she figured whoever owned the seemingly domestic animal would miss the little guy.

Ember would make a slightly uncomfortable noise as Byron picked her up, though wouldn't struggle quite yet. As soon as they started moving, though, she would start to move around in Byron's arms, trying to jump out, though without success. She made a little huff, and with a sudden redistribution of weight and puff of smoke, Byron would no longer be holding a small white fox, but would be holding what appeared to be a white-haired girl in a kimono, looking at him with a slightly irritable look in her bright blue eyes (though it wasn't too serious of a look either). Ember began to speak, addressing both of them.
"Okay, I have a few things to say. First of all, I am not a pet. Secondly, I would prefer if you not call me a guy..." she trailed off, then muttered under her breath, glancing down, "even if you're right...." She shook her head and looked back up. "Anyways. I'm rather independent, thank you."

Having successfully gotten a hold of the fox, Byron stood and moved over to follow Coale.  The pint sized teacher seemed to be mumbling something, but Byron didn't manage to catch it.  He brushed it off as another one of her eccentricities.  The two started walking when Coale mentioned domestic animals not being able to survive well by themselves.  "Yeah, well at least we found him before something bad happened."   The small fox was a little restless, even trying to jump out of his arms, tho Byron managed to hold him in place.  Coale indicated to the first apartment complex that would likely hold the owner.  The fox made an audible huff and a moment later there was a puff of smoke.  No longer was he holding a fox.  Instead, a feminine human sat in his arms princess style.  The sudden increase in weight made him stumble a bit but he managed to catch himself and hold her up.  Byron looked in utter shock at the face of this person who suddenly appeared in his arms, inches away from his face.  She did not look very happy.  She began speaking, mentioning that she doesn't like being called a boy, and then mumbling something somewhat contradictory to that.  Byron fumbled for words, "U-uh, s-s-sorry?"  He just stood there staring at her.  His head was abuzz but his body wouldn't move.  He wasn't processing what had happened very well.

Coale wondered at the fox’s seeming aggravation with confusion, as it had seemed rather passive up until that point. Seemingly fine with humans...was it just hungry? She was going to tell Byron to put the animal down, not wanting to risk letting a student get bitten if the fox decided to react with hostility to them. Only just as suddenly as she’d turned around, the fox had transformed, leaving Coale staring for a moment at the girl that had appeared It wasn’t the first time she’d seen someone with a shapeshifting power, but they were unusual enough that she hadn’t really thought about the possibility that the seemingly domesticated fox would actually be a human...though the fact she’d known for certain that it had been a MALE fox wasn’t lost on her.

“I-idiot, why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Coale asked in response when the girl...or was it? Made herself known. She was a bit annoyed that this person had been content to eavesdrop on them like that. Her temper easily flaring up even as her mind noted the girl’s muttering. Coale found it much easier to piece together exactly what that likely meant, but hardly cared. “Who are you anyway?” She asked, face red as she realized that there was something vaguely...very vaguely familiar about the girl. She turned her attention back to Byron for the moment, a somewhat annoyed expression on her face seeing that he seemed a bit out of it. “Hey stupid, you should probably let her down.”

Ember shook her head slightly, smiling at the guy's flustered stuttering. "Not too big a deal. Though, " she spoke a little louder, turning to Coale and smiling wider, "it's not like foxes can really talk to humans, you know, and you two are both wonderfully skilled at petting. My name is Ember, I believe I live in the same apartment complex as you, miss," she nodded to Coale. "It is a pleasure to meet the both of you. I'd bow, but I'm a little held up at the moment." She laughed a little at her joke. "Anyways, you two are both quite good with animals. You should really consider adopting one." She paused for a moment. "Don't even think of trying to 'adopt' me, though." She turned back to Byron once again. "Though, I would actually appreciate being put down. I don't mean to be a bother, but please make sure to try and do it with a measure of dignity. I'd rather not be dropped or flipped upside down or anything. Shouldn't be hard for somebody with your strength, though."