There's No Treat Only Trick!

What Does The Fox Say? I.

•°•°3.1°•°•

The weeks pass. Jacque doesn't forget about the Halloween party or the people she met there, but the sting of not being wanted has dulled into a quiet, manageable ache that only surfaces when Jacque passes an old house or sees a particularly fluffy dog at work.

"Hi, Dr. Haruno! Hi Marie!" Jacque greets as she sprints through the front lobby to toss her backpack in the office and grab a shelter vest off the rack by the cupboards.

"What's the rush?" Dr. Haruno grins, spinning around to watch Jacque gather a travel bag and make her way to the storage room.

"I found a fox!" Jacque yells as she sorts through their stack of travel crates. She finds a medium one in the back, normally used for their average-sized dogs and, on one occassion, a very obese cat. "Looks like it got hit by a car or something. It's hiding out in this alcove a couple streets over."

"A fox?" Marie says, looking to Dr. Haruno then leaning down under the front desk to scrummage for something. She resurfaces with a set of gloves, and Jacque tugs them on with haste.

"Poor thing must have wandered in from off the mountain," Dr. Haruno frowns as Jacque finishes packing up. "You okay to handle it on your own, kid? I don't have an extra set of hands to send with you."

"Nah, I got it." Jacque grabs the crate at her feet. "It wasn't moving when I found it, but I think it might just be in shock."

"Don't let it eat your heart!" Marie tells her on her way out the door, laughter echoing in her voice, and Jacque rolls her eyes and takes off at a jog down the street in the direction she was coming from school.

Jacque takes a lot of side roads to get to the clinic, seeing as how the building is hidden in the heart of the neighborhood, but it's true that the base of Takao Mountain is only a half-hour walk south of them. That's why they get so many non-pet related critters coming in. It's the first time Jacque's seen a fox this far into the city, though, and as she runs the maze of back streets towards the more populated area of town, she hopes that something else hasn't found her new friend in the time she's been gone.

Jacque slows to a shuffle beside a familiar alley. Unfortunately the stack of boxes the fox had buried under is empty. Jacque tugs out a flashlight from her bag and begins following the blood trail left behind by the animal. There's no way it could have gotten far this injured, and Jacque turns a narrow corner and looks ahead to see what looks to be a dog hobbling between the recesses of buildings, trying to avoid the street lights.

"Has to get tired some time," Jacque mutters, so she adjusts her pack and her grip on the crate and steadily follows from several yards behind. The animal is limping and doesn't make much distance, and Jacque was right about it's stamina. Only a handful of minutes pass before the fox veers into an alley to rest, and Jacque pockets the light and pads over to the mouth of the alley to peer in.

The white fox is burrowed under another set of empty boxes, and Jacque crouches down to release her crate and pull out a bag of fruit he took from the office fridge (sorry haruki) and the adjustable leash.

The fox doesn't notice her coming up behind, or maybe it just doesn't care; but when Jacque is close enough she clicks her tongue to get it's attention and watches it startle hard enough to knock over the cardboard stack. As it wiggles it's way out from under the mess, Jacque manages to lasso the leash around its neck, hating that she couldn't take more time to gain some of the animal's trust, but it would be worse to lose the little fox at this point and have her bleed out somewhere.

"There, there, you're okay," Jacque croons when the animal tries to thrash, and Jacque keeps a hold of the leash but manages to tug the fox out of the debris. Okay, little fox was an understatement. This white fox is the size of a coyote what are animals eating these days? "You're okay, you're okay," she shushes, offering a handful of berries, making sure to stay low and keep her hold firm.

The fox stills. It's head whips up to look at Jacque right in the face.

"Hey, there," Jacque grins, shaking a palm full of blueberries and strawberries again. The fox cocks its head to the side as if searching Jacque's face, and Jacque notes it has big, blocky black brows that make its eyes seem terribly human. It wears the same black markings on its feet, like a pair of short socks.

"You're very beautiful," Jacque hums. The white fox sniffs. Tilts its head to the other side. It's not even trying to fight. Maybe it is in shock. "What happened? Get hit by a car? You're very far from home."

The fox yips at her, almost like it understands, and Jacque wonders if maybe this is some kind of exotic pet someone snuck in. She tosses the berries into the crate she brought, hoping its big enough to hold the animal at this point, and carefully begins to maneuver her new friend towards the carrier.

"I'm gonna take you back to where I work," Jacque tells it softly, still amazed by the lack of response. What a docile creature. "I have a friend there that's gonna get you patched up so you can go home."

The fox barks at her again but doesn't fight, and Jacque manages to get it inside the, albeit snug, carrier without any trouble.

She stands and places her hands on her hips. Looks around, confused. Okay. Well. That happened.

Jacque has to use both hands to carry the crate back and is a puffing mess when she walks through the doors of the clinic a half-hour later. Marie looks up from the paperwork she's pulling for a patient standing at the desk with a cat carrier, and Jacque salutes as she hobbles through the back doors and immediately makes for the treatment room.

"Dr. Haruno!" Jacque sets the crate on an open table and hears scuffling from behind. "I found her. She's lost a lot of blood and her back left leg might be broken."

"Are you sure this is a fox?" Dr. Haruno asks when he's put on gloves and opened the crate door. "It's the size of a dog."

"She's big and beautiful, that's for sure. Aren't you, sweetheart?" Jacque grins as the fox takes a tentative step forward and goes straight for Jacque's chest.

Jacque raises her arms, ready to push the animal down, but the fox just cradles in close to her, ears pressed flat, sharp eyes set on Dr. Haruno's figure.

Dr. Haruno looks from the fox folded up in Jacque's arms to Jacque. "Are you the animal whisperer now?"

"Looks like it," Jacque laughs, scratching the fox between its ears. It rumbles low in its throat, a subtle purr.