Carl & Perie. A short story from UNIVERSE X STUDIOS

Chapter one: The meeting

Carl was a boy who lived in England in the date of 1912. He lived in a very lustrous countryside, beautiful forests and mountains all around. He'd go exploring in them from time to time. He also loved to read and write, as well as draw. Those things gave him a chance to express the wild and youthful thoughts in his mind. He'd mostly write and draw about either his dreams, or his days at school. Carl didn't like school so much. The teachers weren't enthusiastic in their teaching, and the school didn't smell nice either.

One day Carl runs into a writers block on one of his stories, and decides to take a walk in the forest. He puts on his green sweater and brings his sketchbook with him incase he sees anything he wants to draw. He goes downstairs and tells his mum that he'll be back soon. However his mum tells him to wait as she quickly gets him an apple as a snack. He takes it and puts it in his pocket, then leaving after saying bye a second time.

He walks onto the dirt road in front of his house and walks to the forest. A horse-drawn carriage passes by him, one of the rich businessmen on it. Carl always thought they looked nice and fancy, but noticed they didn't take much time to themselves. And when they did he could never recall them going on a nice walk in nature like he would do. Carl would laugh to himself, thinking about how much these rich men were missing.

After some walking he makes it to the forest. A little dirt road has been made that leads through the forest. The forest however has started to grow over it again, reclaiming its ground. but Carl doesn't hesitate to walk through it. It fascinates him, the way the earth spreads its own over the ground. After walking through the chill but beautiful forest, he finds a clearing with a big rock in the middle. "A perfect sitting place to draw!" he thinks to himself.

Carl walked over to the rock, climbing on top of it and getting himself comfortable. He then took out his sketchbook and pen, and started to draw his surroundings. Carl wasn't very good with animals or humans or furmen, but he was very good at drawing nature. He'd sketch in the ground, creating little spiky shapes to represent grass, and then draw tall and thick shapes, filling them in with detail so they look like the trunks of trees. He'd then sketch curved lines that then formed poofy shapes on top of the trunks. Carl was very particular with details.

His art had actually gotten the attention of his school. While he didn't like school, he did appreciate how the principal asked for one of his pieces to be hung on the wall of the class. It made him feel special, even if it was from a not-so-great school. As he continued to draw however, he heard a noise not too far from him. He looked up and around, placing his book down on the rock as he got up. He stood and looked all the way around the clearing, not noticing anything in the forest. He then sat back down and reached for his book...

There was no book. It was gone! Someone took his sketchbook! His heart dropped at the moment he realized this. Just then, he heard a voice from behind him. "Hello~" said the person as he turned to them. She was laying on the side of her body, holding her head up with her hand and with the sketchbook in her other. She was a furmen fox, a mischievous and attractive looking one at that. "I haven't seen you here before~" she continued, speaking slyly.

Carl looked at her, and sighed a little. Carl wasn't one for socialization, and he just wanted his book back. He stretched his hand out and asked, "Can I please have my book?" The fox looks at his hand and then to him, her eyes showing mischief as she puckers her mouth slightly. She then adjusts her position, sitting up straight. She swishes her tail as she responds, "Hmm, no. I want to take a peak."

An irritated frown forms on Carls face as she then takes her hand and opens the sketchbook, looking at his sketches. Her eyes widen slightly as she looks through, a smile still present but not as mischievous. She honestly finds his art pretty. She then looks up to him, clapping the book closed and tossing it to him. He immediately reaches up to catch it as if it's a family possession. "Your art is very... pretty!" The fox says to him. This makes Carl change his attitude a little. Her compliment made him feel happy.

He then decides to go on with a kind greeting. "Thanks. I'm Carl." He says as he holds out his hand to her. She looks at his hand, her ears perking up as a cheeky smile forms on her face. She grabs hold of his hand, saying, "I'm Perie. Nice to meet ya, Davinci~" Carl stares at her blank faced for a moment. "I'm sorry?" He asks her.

"You draw like Davinci," she responds, "So I'm going to call you Davinci." Carl wants to object at first, but he comes to actually like that nickname. He doesn't mind it, and gives off a late chuckle at the name. "Alright, that's fine I guess." He says to her. She gives him a cheeky smile, finding him an interesting and fun person to be with. She scooted closer to him on the rock. "So, what do you do for fun, besides drawing? ~" she asked rather coyly and with a sweet tone. Carl looked out into the forest and thought. "Well," he began, "I do enjoy writing and reading. Cooking with my mum is quite fun too."

Perie's playful nature dropped a little, but she picked herself back up. "Ooh okay, sounds fun. But uh, do you ever do anything a little... bad?" Carl just looks at her, calmly confused. An awkward air fills the clearing in the woods. "No?" He responds to her. His simple response and almost unmoved nature makes Perie feel embarrassed almost. "Uh, okay. Okay I was just...wondering." She says, now seeming less confident.

Despite the awkward moment, the two manage to have a nice time in the clearing together. Carl turns the mood around with a conversation about plants and animals and nature in general. Perie, who would do anything for a way out of the awkward situation, listened to him speak. She found it quite interesting what he had to say. They spent many hours on that same rock, becoming good friends in the process. Eventually, Carl had to head back, as the sun was getting close to setting. He got up and held his sketchbook close, then turning to Perie. "I've had a very enjoyable time with you Perie. Maybe we could meet again tomorrow?" He asked her kindly.

Perie, for some reason, took a second to answer. It was if he did something, or, introduced her to something she wasn't used to yet. "Um. Yeah! Yeah okay that sounds fun!" She exclaimed. Carl gave her a smile and a nod, and then walked back through where he came from, leaving the forest. Perie watches him leave, and then sits down on the rock. She crosses her legs and puts her head in her hands as they hold up her cheeks, letting out a "Hmm" as she does so.

Perie had a not-so-dignified life. She was your typical immature and mischievous manipulator and thrill seeker. She'd spend her days looking for someone to play and toy with, using them and making them believe they were "friends" while she was the one who actually prospered from it. Usually, people would be drawn to her charm and looks, and the attention and attraction made her feel happy and proud... but when she talked to Carl, something was different.

Carl didn't care so much for her looks, nor her charm. He didn't fall for her little tricks like all the others did. She almost found it frustrating, yet, she did feel something with that interaction. It was different though, not like the feelings she'd usually run after. After a bit of thinking she starts to find that she kinda enjoyed that simple little moment.