Another Way

Chapter 6: Reality

Sue's Rest was well needed, her new body finally being released of all the tension that was being held in it resulting in the best sleep she could remember in... well, ever really, the slow awakening that followed it having her begin to stir lightly on the soft bed, getting comfier still- at least, until one of the other occupants of the room noticed.

And once they did, there was no coming back.

Sue felt her ears, or the spikes where her ears used to be, twitch a bit at the sound of soft thudding against the wooden floor, followed by some chipper woofing, followed by more woofing, the sound deeper and more distant this time, followed by somewhat alerted sounding squeaks as the girl in question began trying to pry her eyes at all the commotion, one hand reaching over to rub the sand out of her eyes-

But before she could reach, Ember's- no, Spark's tongue already began licking affectionately all over her face, Sue's features scrunching up as she was woken up the rest of the way in mere moments, though with how cute it was, her only reaction to it was bafflement turning into laughter as she opened her eyes, hand changing direction to instead begin petting the little fox, the little one looking satisfied at fulfilling their mission of getting their friend up and awake.

And considering the disappointed sounding woofs that soon followed, much to someone's dissatisfaction.

As Spark turned around on the spot to bark back at the source of the sounds, Sue had an opportunity to finally sit up, stretching as much of her body as she could before taking a look around the cabin, letting her see who it was that seemed to be so disappointed with the little fox's affection- and somewhat expectedly, it turned out to be their parent. They- well, she, Sundance if Sue still remembered the name right from her dream, were just as fluffy as she could recall back on the clearing. That said, she was much less imposing this time, partly because of lack of waving a burning stick around, partly because of her sitting calmly on the floor, with Doc- no, right, Willow- sitting beside her.

They were both smiling up at her so that was a good sign-

"Good afternoon, Sue."

While the sudden presence of an understandable voice was less shocking here than when Solstice spoke to her inside her dream, it was more confusing in other ways- she could swear that the tall, bipedal fox spoke up at her in its expected woofing, but now, for some reason, she could understand it as if it was plain English, spoken by a middle aged lady no less, the mismatch between what her ears heard and what her mind comprehended making for a weird sensation.

"Good afternoon... M-Mrs. Shundance?"

To her relief, the overly ear-hairy fox simply chuckled at her confusion, lightly shaking her head afterwards.

"No need for any titles Sue, don't you worry. How are you feeling?"

Considering everything, Sue felt... good. Even beyond the immeasurable relief of not getting burned at the stake, the well needed nap did wonders for her, even though her crutch arm was still a bit sore afterwards. Spark immediately scrambling onto her lap and getting to nuzzling her stomach made concentrating on bodily aches rather difficult though, little fox getting some well earned pets for her efforts.

"I-I'm doing well, thank you. Jhust... taking it all in."

Sundance nodded lightly, woofing out once more- though this time, Sue didn't perceive anything more than the expected canine noises, little fox on her lap responding to her mom in kind shortly afterwards as she picked herself up, though with clear reluctance.

"We're in no rush. Though, we left a seat free for you if you want to join us, let me know if you need any help with moving yourself over."

And again, woofs became understandable, as if a light switch was flicked back on. Considering that Solstice mentioned that Sundance would help her get caught up on the whole 'psychic' deal, it would be a good idea to ask her about this particular source of confusion... after she got to move her rear and get over there to join them, instead of sitting high and mighty above them like this.