Breaking rules, breaking free (bxb)

Chapter 10

10-  All questions and no answers
It was all going well right up until I arrived at my street. Saying it went downhill would be a major understatement. I had kept out of site going through gardens, shadowy back-roads and suspicious smelling alleyways there had been a couple of near misses with dog walkers and curious children but finally I had made it home. I strode towards my house confident nothing could go wrong, the street was deserted there were no prying eyes to invade my privacy as I arrived.
   Or so I thought until I heard a small shriek of surprise. "It's a fox," a female voice exclaimed. I froze in my tracks and whirled around to see a young couple staring at me in shock and my mind went into overdrive. I smelled the air and my fears were confirmed they were very much human. It was at times like these I cursed Jarred and Angela's decision to live in a non-shifter town, but that argument would have to wait. Thinking fast I raised my paw feinting a limp, often ill foxes went out in the daylight so hopefully they would just leave me alone as a 'dangerous animal' and I could finally go home and eat. 
    You may be wondering why I was going to so much effort to not raise suspicion but rules in the supernatural world are strict and not complying is an execution notice. There are really only three never be different, never be weak and never ever be a threat. I had always been a threat of exposure due to my ears but shifting in front of humans (and I couldn't control currently when I changed back) was inexcusable. 
   I felt a slight tingle shoot up my paw and suddenly the looks of surprise changed to looks of pity. "Oh the poor thing, his leg is hurt it looks like he's cut it," the woman said. Okay that last part was not down to my good acting and looking at my paw I could see no visual damage. There was however a weird blurriness around it's edge almost like a heat haze on a road in Summer. 
   "I think he has something caught on it let me see if he'll let me get it out," the man said and edged towards me tentatively. I decided to roll with it and let out a small whimper shifting slightly towards him and raising it again. The man gingerly removed some unseen obstruction and beamed as I sat still and quiet. 
   "There now that nasty wire is out you can go on free again." He said softly.
"He's very clever isn't he coming to us like that with his problem," the woman murmured watching me as I sat there in turn watching them. I felt like I'd stumbled into a nature documentary. Probably time to leave. I barked a thank you for whatever strange kindness they thought they'd given me and half limped half ran away. 
   Finally I arrived and went in through an open window to the kitchen and crashed onto the floor. I felt a little guilty with Angela's no shifting in the house rule but desperate times and all I was willing to risk her wrath. I let out a small yelp as my leg hit the table with my fall which immediately drew attention. "Who's there," Ben growled creeping in holding up a rules like it was a baseball bat. Poor guy must have been half-way through his homework when I 'dropped in.' He had never seen my fox before and couldn't recognise me on sight but as soon as he could smell me he gasped. 
   "Blaze is that you Jarred and Angela have been looking for you everywhere," he gasped. That was like a punch to the gut. While I had been laying around all day they must have been worried sick!
   I let out a whine and he approached carefully probably expecting my non-existent inner fox to take over if I felt cornered. "Dude what happened, what was with the light and mind control and and..."
  I covered my ears with my paws shaking my had and I could see him trying not to smile at what must have been a very human action for a fox to make. 
  "Okay I can see your not changing back and since we need answers I'm going to break some rules," he grinned clearly having no trouble with the thought. He didn't bother taking off his clothes as most would have done as foxes were small enough not to shred our clothes as we shift. There was an odd thought though because I don't remember seeing my clothes when I changed earlier. Of course there were ways of not shifting naked like using a special ultra-stretch fabric clothes but not many did because it wasn't 'cool' and didn't feel natural as I had heard people say many many times. Eventually all shape changing creatures learn it is just a fact of ourselves and learn to be comfortable in our unclothed human form in front of others. Though I really did not like the thought of suddenly being a naked human again at any unexpected moment and hoped I could perhaps induce the switch again. 
   When Ben had finished the noisy and painful looking business of shifting he was his fetching tawny fox form. It was not uncommon for foxes to come in different colours as of course there were many types of fox and there is high likely hood for two same species fox shifters to have a completely different species fox cub. 
  "Now we can talk," he said. Well said isn't the best word to anyone other than us it would have sounded like some potentially horrible animal sounds but shifters and werewolves can talk together in their animal forms. Each animal has a different accent to it's voice werewolves voices are very gruff and others have all sorts of tones. This is one of the many reasons why people try and insist werewolves are just another branch of shifters but I have a much better theory. People try and argue the point they are shifters because otherwise why would they just be wolves? Well I think it all began when man first tried to domesticate the wolf into a working animal and the group split into humans, dogs, wolves and a newly evolved creature that was the combination of human and wolf the werewolf. However there are many other explanations so try not to put all your eggs in one basket. 
   "I hope your ready I have a lot to tell you."