The Lady and The Fox

Chapter 6

Nova wakes up to find herself in Katherine's arms. Her face heats up as she wiggles out of her arms. Nova looks back at Katherine's sleeping face. Her face looks so peaceful.

Nova smiles at her sleeping friend then sneaks out of the room. She climbs down the stairs where Katherine's friend, Charlotte, sleeps.

The fox strolls into the kitchen in search for food. During her search, Charlotte wakes up with a major headache. She groans in pain which catches Nova's attention. Nova, slowly, steps back into the living room to see Charlotte awake.

"Damn, how much did I drink last night?" Charlotte asks herself. She notices Nova staring at her and they both gasp. "Holy shit! So, I wasn't dreaming," she chuckles.

Charlotte examines Nova, carefully. "I must say, I'm kinda jealous that she got herself a cutie, but what's with the ears?" Charlotte points out, reaching out for her ears.

Before Nova can react, Charlotte has already pulled on her ears. "Ow! That hurts!" Nova cries, changing into a white fox.

Charlotte stands there with wide eyes, unable to process what happened. It finally clicks and Charlotte screams. Her scream was loud enough to wake up Katherine.

Katherine scramble out of bed, rushes downstairs, and runs into the living room to see Charlotte chasing Nova in her fox form.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" Katherine screams, causing them to freeze.

"I SHOULD BE ASKING YOU THAT!" Charlotte screams back.

Nova jumps into Katherine's arms still in the form of a white fox. Katherine can feel her shaking.

"Charlotte, I'll explain everything once you calm down. You scared her," she said.

Charlotte paces around the living with her hand in her curly hair. She takes deep breaths while mumbling, "This isn't happening. This isn't real. I'm still drunk or high or maybe both?" After a few moments of panicking, she plops herself onto the couch and says, "Fine, explain to me what the fuck is going on."

Katherine explains to her friend everything that has happened in the past three days. Charlotte's expression changes throughout her explanation from interested, shocked, then disgusted. Katherine finishes explaining and Charlotte stares at them with a mixture of shock and disgust. Katherine finishes explaining the situation to Charlotte, who is in deep thought about the whole thing.

"So, there really was something top secret about that fucking case?" Charlotte asks, running her fingers through her fingers.

Katherine nods as she strokes Nova's soft fur. "Please don't tell anyone about her. I don't want them to take her back to that awful lab."

"Of course I won't tell anyone, especially to those agents running around! If anything, I want to help," she said.

Katherine perks up, "Really?" A smile creeps onto her lips.

Charlotte nods, "You're my best friend, Katherine. Of course I'm going to help." Her eyes move over to Nova, who is still curled up on Katherine's lap. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I was just a little startled by you," Charlotte apologizes.

Nova changes back in silence then smiles, shyly, at Charlotte. "I-It's okay. I f-forgive you," she stutters.

The copper-haired woman smiles then gazes at her raven-haired friend, "So, what's the plan?"

"I honestly don't know. I want to take her back to the Appalachian Mountains, but I'm afraid that she might get captured again. Then there's those agents looking for her, so who knows when they might give up on the search," Katherine rambles.

Charlotte interrupts her by saying, "Katherine relax. I know someone who might be able to help us."

"Who?" Katherine and Nova ask in unison.

"My grandpa. I remember when I was a kid, he would tell me stories about hybrids," Charlotte answers. "The only problem is that he lives in California."

"How are we suppose to get there?"

"We call Paul if we can take a two weeks off, gather up some supplies like food, money, and clothes, then we'll drive over there."

"Like a road trip?"

"Exactly!"

Katherine nods, "Alright, it could work. When do we leave?"

"We can leave next week since we'll need time to gather supplies."

Katherine smiles, "That sounds great, Charlotte! You're the best."

Charlotte grins, proudly. "No problem, Kathy."

After that, the Nova and Katherine climb up the stairs to pack up. Meanwhile, Charlotte speaks to Paul about taking a vacation. Nova trails behind Katherine while she gathers clothes.

"Katherine, what's a road trip?"

"Well, it's a trip, of course, but we're going to be driving," she answers. "Trust me, you'll love it. You'll be able to see different places and eat all kinds of foods."

Nova's tail wags, excitedly. "Really?"

Katherine can basically see the stars in her sapphire blue eyes. She nods. "Yep!"

Charlotte walks in on the girls with a grin on her face. "Yo, Paul said we're good to go. We can go to the mall if you guys want."

Katherine gazes at Nova. "Sounds like a plan."