Mangey the fox got into something

"Come on. Why won't this work?!" Nine growled, the nine-tailed fox slamming his fists down in rage.

Mangey looked up from his spot on the floor, startled by Nine's outburst, he'd been working so hard lately. Mangey didn't know if it had been a day or...however long it could have been, the sun wasn't consistent in this...leaf house? Gnarly didn't like it in here because it was 'fake sunlight', but Mangey found it kind of nice, it was cozy, and he liked it. And there was food!

"I've tried forty-three times in forty-three different ways! Why isn't it working?!" Nine smacked his head on the table, it sounded like it hit hard

Mangey hopped over, trying to comfort Nine and making little concerned whimpering sounds. He wanted Nine to see his original other self as much as he did. Even if the two were technically the same person but from different worlds, that much Mangey understood.

"Mangey!" Nine sounded angry and the jungle-dwelling fox moved back, ears flattening in fear of Nine hitting him, "Shut up! Just-...get the coffee machine going."

Nine slumped in his chair, resting his head in his hand, he was really tired a lot. Mangey remembered when he was really hungry. Maybe being really tired was just like being really hungry. It was close; both were needed for survival after all.

He bounded off, happy to help, he remembered where Nine left the coffee machine. Why it was called that, Mangey didn't know, but he got it set up just like Nine had taught him and Sails. He waited until it made the scary yelling sound and put a cup under it to catch the dirt water with the cloud puff on top.

The first time he used this he had ran into the sink, whimpering and scared because the machine yelled at him. This time he stayed close and growled when it yelled at him. He took the cup to Nine as carefully as he could, knowing Nine didn't like messes and he handed it to the tired fox. Nine liked this dirt water, but Mangey didn't know why.

"Thanks." Nine mumbled, taking the cup from him and Mangey smiled, happy to help.

He went back into the stored food home and jumped back in surprise, fur puffing out and he snarled, he found the dirt water Nine loved had spilled all over the floor. The two were both eight, but Mangey didn't want to get in trouble for making a mess, so he licked all the extra coffee/dirt water clean off the floor, the higher floor, and the floor the others sat on to get to the higher floor the coffee machine was on.

He was happy he had cleaned it all up, so he pulled the coffee machine's tail out of the flat wall tree and walked away. Thinking that his tummy felt funny but went outside to play with Sails on his boat in the big deep puddle. He thought it was fun his friend was a pirate, funny little blue bandana, and all.

"Hoy mate. How be ye?" Sails asked him, "Ready for some scrubbin'? I noticed the deck's in need o' a wash."

Mangey nodded, that meant he had to get the big stick with the floppy end and play with the water on the boat. When he bounded off to get it, his tummy rocked in time with his leaps, but he ignored it and got the big stick back to Sails.

"Thanks mate." Sails said, taking it and dumping it in a bucket of water Mangey tried to drink from every chance he got, "Wind in your sails, mate?"

Mangey tilted his head, Sails always talked funnier than the others, but he felt and heard his tummy make a funny noise and he whimpered, ears and tails lowering, showing his pain.

"Ye don't sound so ship shape, mate." Sails rubbed Mangey behind the ears, "Do ye be feelin' right?"

Mangey whimpered quietly, tails curling into himself as his tummy continued to hurt him from the inside. Sails stayed by him, leaving the big stick to rub Mangey's back.

"I got ye, mate." Sails assured him gently, setting the stick to the side, "Could ye possibly be more at ease on the inside?"

Mangey whimpered and shook his head, tails curling around him as a little self-hug. He pointed to the woods just beyond the metal pain loops around the house and grass.

"Ah, ye be more at ease on the land, not the sea." Sails nodded to himself, "It be okay if I move ye?"

Mangey nodded, curling into himself more and whimpering, the coffee/dirt water from before was still hurting his insides more than the bark he had eaten back in Boscage maze. The bark never hurt him like this dirt water/coffee did. But he wanted to be by the trees, he loved the trees, and they provided him more comfort than the inside of the big leaf home here ever did. When he thought about it, the home wasn't a leaf, but more like a lot of trees cut down and stacked together to make a 'home' pattern.

The second Sails flew the two over the metal pain loops he had yet to learn the real name of and set him on the ground, the coffee/dirt water came back out of him and onto the floor of the forest. He whimpered as it came back, he didn't mind the taste, he had eaten dirt before to survive, so he had no problems with it, but something else inside of it made his tummy hurt.

Once he was sure all the dirt water was out of him, plus whatever was left over from breakfast he turned around and began digging to bury the mess. He didn't want anyone else eating the mean dirt water, but Sails stopped him.

"It be okay, mate. I'll clean it up, you stay here, ya hear?"

Mangey nodded, he felt tired and digging sounded like too much work to him right now, which said a lot considering how badly he wanted to dig. He went a short distance away and curled into a ball in the sunshine below the trees, then he fell asleep.

He was woken a short while later by Sails, "It's all done mate, ye be okay?"

Mangey nodded, he felt a bit better than he had before and was a bit hungry now, he knew he wasn't going to get any more of that dirt water from before, that was for sure.

"Ye mind showing me what made ye feel like ye sank to Davy Jones?"

Mangey nodded and twisted his tails together, flying over the metal pain loops and back into the big leaf home, only to find Nine standing by the coffee machine.

"Someone left this on." He said, "You mind explaining to me why the cord has bite marks?"

Mangey felt his ears and tails droop, he felt bad now, his tummy didn't hurt anymore, but his heart feels did. He hung his head in shame as he walked over to Nine, looking up at him in apology.

Nine raised an eyebrow at him, "You were the one who slobbered over all this?"

Mangey nodded, making apologetic whimpers, and hoping Nine would understand.

Nine sighed and looked behind him, "You see what happened Sails?"

"The lad got a bit seasick from that coffee o' yers."

Nine looked at him, unimpressed, "Seasick from coffee?"

"Aye."

"...So, he got to my coffee, but because he's unused to it, he threw up?"

"Aye."

Nine looked at Mangey, who was rubbing his head against his leg, apologizing to him over and over. Nine sighed and put his hand on Mangey's head, rubbing behind the kit's big, pointed ears.

"If you throw up on me, you're sleeping in the attic." Nine left the room soon after that, reminding himself to never let Mangey get him coffee again.