#Raikoo (joshuagannon)

[jolienjoyswriting]

Little Red Fox (ft. Raikoo), Ch. II

The finale (Chapter 2) of "Little Red Fox," a fan fiction story.

Things proceed as normal for the fox friends… until one peaceful night…

Word count: 2,443 – Character count: 13,778 Drafted / Revised: October 2nd, 2022 –

I'd been wanting to write some sort of friendly, romantic, fun story, but I tend to get bored easily.  So, for now… this is all!

Raikoo and related characters and concepts created by © Joshua Gannon Joseph Lithius and related characters and concepts created by and © Jo Li

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    “You’ve entered the Hall of the Queen of the Demonweb Pits.  Her spider minions claw and click against the damp dirt in their tunnels while the demon goddess, herself, sits upon her throne of bones.  As you approach, she waves for her minions to hold.     “’What does this one want of the Demon Queen of Spiders?’ she asks.     “Her dark beauty has captivated man and woman alike while her reputation has terrified entire nations.  She is a betrayer of all and a primordial evil unto the world.  She can’t be reasoned with, bargained, or bought, yet you stand in her court… alone.  What do you do?”         It had been about two months or so since I first met Raikoo.  In that time, we’d ended up hanging out in real life several times as well as spending plenty of time chatting online.  For the most part, we just generally chatted about video games or movies, though the topic occasionally turned to books and even our day-to-day lives.  We were both pretty adamant about avoiding that last topic – though likely for different reasons.  Still… once-or-twice, we ended up confiding in and helping each other through a rough day.  We’d become a lot closer over that time, too.  This was both good and bad.  It was good because that meant we could do more stuff together, like hang out at each other’s places and play D&D.  But, it was also bad because…     “I… try to seduce her.”     It also made me more likely to be silly… or to flirt with her.

    “You… you try and…?”     Raikoo laughed from behind her Dungeon Master’s screen.  She put a hand over her face, shaking her head.  She almost couldn’t believe I’d suggested that.  Almost.     “Roll for Persuasion,” she chuckled.     I rolled a 20-sided die and…     “9.”     Raikoo flashed a wicked grin my way.     “Your seduction attempt… fails!” she told me.  “The Spider Queen laughs at your attempt to woo her before calling her spider minions to devour your flesh.”     “I’m guessing I can’t fight my way out of this one?”     “If you’d like?”  She smiled.  “The Spider Queen has minions unending, though, and you’re right in the heart of her lair.  It’s extremely unlikely that you’d make it out alive.”     “Deus ex DM?”     She giggled at my suggestion before telling me, “It’s game over, I’m afraid.”     “Can I shout something to the Spider Queen?”     Raikoo rolled her eyes.  “Roll for it, I guess?”     I rolled the die again.     “6?”     “Your words go unheard amidst the clicking mandibles and skittering claws of the spider minions.  Not to mention the squish of your flesh and clatter of your equipment as it hits the ground.  If it’s any consolation, though… the Queen does keep your war hammer as a memento of your time together, however brief it may have been!”     “The dice betray me,” I said as I poked my D20.     “That’s just how it is, sometimes, I’m afraid.”     I smiled at Raikoo.  She smiled back.  Then, that was that.

    “Why in the world did you think you could seduce the Demon Queen, Joseph?”     “Oh, I didn’t,” I answered as we cleaned up the Dungeons & Dragons stuff.  “But, I like keeping you on your toes.”     She squeaked as I goosed her, then she turned around and lightly smacked my arm.     “You’re a naughty fox, Joe!” she shouted with a grin.     “You know it, Rai-Rai!”     Her grin melted into a smile and her tail wagged.  I think she appreciated that “naughty” side of me.  Or maybe she just liked being surprised.  Who could say?

    Once the campaign papers were sorted into a file folder and the game pieces placed into a game box, the two of us retired to the living room… where we already were.  My apartment was pretty small, honestly.  Regardless, I sat in my big chair while she flopped on the couch.     “So, now what?” she asked.     I tilted my head in thought while she looked on, expecting something profound.     “Wanna make out?”     She covered her mouth, giggling like crazy and kicking her feet against the couch cushions.  I loved that I could make her do that.     “We could snuggle up and watch a movie?” she suggested after she calmed down.  “I like snuggling with you.”     “I like snuggling with you, too,” I told her, getting back to my feet.  “You’re like a squishy hot water bottle that hugs back!”     “Thanks?” she said with a snicker and a smirk.     “What movie do you wanna watch?”     “Dragonheart?” she asked, sounding unsure.  “Yeah… yeah, Dragonheart!”     “Alright.  One second, then.”     I walked into my bedroom around the corner, looking for my laptop computer.  When I found it, I returned to the living room and sat next to Raikoo, who had gotten herself upright while I was gone.     “Do you wanna make some popcorn or something?” I asked as I loaded a streaming site on the computer.     “Mm.”  She shook her head.  “I just feel like chilling out, tonight.”     “Okay.”  I nodded.  “Then, let’s chill.”

    Within a few minutes, I had Dragonheart streaming from my laptop and onto my modestly-sized flatscreen television.  Raikoo quietly snuggled up against me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.  The two of us watched Dragonheart from start to finish without interruption.  Once the movie was over, I looked at Raikoo and noticed… she was looking up at me.     “What’s up, pup?” I playfully asked.     She softly shook her head before sitting up and snuggling in a little closer.     “Hm…  You’re in one of those moods, huh?”     She blushed under her fur, looking down and folding her ears.  She was so cute…     “Alright,” I answered.  “You know I’m always up for a nice cuddle with a good friend.”     Her tail wagged and she hid her face against my chest.  I guess she’d been looking forward to being cuddly.

    So, at this point, I should probably mention… Raikoo and I were just friends.  Like, despite my flirty behavior and how often we hugged and cuddled, neither of us pushed things any further.  She knew most of my flirtations were in jest and, now that I’m reminiscing… I don’t think she ever returned any of them.  Sure, there were occasions where I got her all squirmy and she was basically bubbling with a fondness for me…  And, honestly?  I’m not sure why I never took advantage of those situations.  I’m pretty sure she would’ve let me… to a point, I mean.  But, for whatever reason… we always let the temperature of the room cool before things got “too warm”… if you know what I mean.     Thinking back, we had come a long way since our first meeting.  I felt honored that the girl trusted me so much.  She even let me touch her tail!  Yeah, I know that doesn’t sound like much, but Raikoo seemed like a “traditional” kind of girl.  You know… the kind of girl who gets flustered by the thought of holding hands with a guy like me?  I guess that’s why I generally kept my hand above her waist.  Gotta be respectful of your friends…

    Anyway… once we had gotten settled, Raikoo rested her head against my chest and closed her eyes.  As usual, I let my hand run along her hair and down her back.  I liked petting her as much as she liked being petted.  It was nice… calming… and just a pleasant way for both of us to relax after any kind of day together.     “Today’s been a really good day…” I whispered.     Raikoo softly nodded.  Her arms were on my chest, her hands were on my shoulders, and her ear was pressed against my heart.  She liked listening to my heart beating.  I got flustered the first time she did it… but since then, It’s been kind of a staple of our downtime.     “I got to spend the day hanging out with an awesome friend…  Having lunch and playing D&D…  I can’t think of a better way to end today than with some friendly cuddles.  And maybe a little scritch.”     She giggled and gently battled at my hand as I tried to scratch her ear.  She usually liked it when I did that.  I guess she just wanted to lay there and reflect, though.

    “Today’s been such a great day…”     She murmured in response.  I softly yawned, my body relaxing underneath hers.     “I hope there’s more days like this…” I heard her whisper.     “Mm… yeah.”     I yawned again.  My eyes were getting heavy.     “You’re so warm, Rai-Rai…”     She made a small sound in response.  I think.  Honestly, I’m not sure.  I was getting a bit drowsy, all of a sudden.     “We should do this… more often…” –

    I awoke with a start.  It was pretty dim, wherever I was, and something warm was laying on top of me.  I removed my glasses and rubbed my eyes before trying to figure things out.     Okay… I thought.  I was in my apartment, laying on my couch…  I… nodded off?     I quietly hummed.  When I moved my hand, the thing on top of me shifted.     Raikoo was with me… I continued.  So that means…     I looked down.  There was just enough light for me to see the silhouette of a fox ear poking up.  I reached down, gently caressing what felt like a soft crown of hair.  When I heard Raikoo sigh in her sleep, I blushed.     Well.  This is new.     As odd as it seemed… I guess Raikoo and I had spent the night together.  We had… never actually done that, up to that point.  Huh.

    I know.  I know.  Some of you are probably calling “bushwa” on this one.  But remember: Raikoo can be a pretty shy girl.  During our first meeting, she was ready to leave two different times because she didn’t want to “overstay her welcome”.  Amusingly, once we’d warmed up to each other, I actually did offer to let her stay overnight.  She always thanked me before declining.  I don’t blame her, either.  Over those two months, she had gotten to know the real me… and, if I’m being honest?  I wasn’t exactly hiding my, uh… “true nature”… from her.  Yeah… I could be kind of a lech, at times.  I never pushed it too far with her, though.  No, I liked pushing it just far enough to get her giggling and flustered.  I think I’m just repeating myself at this point, though.     My point is: Raikoo and I had never occupied the same place together, overnight.  But there she was… peacefully sleeping on top of me without a care in the world.  I probably would’ve left her there, too… if I hadn’t been reminded of why I woke up so suddenly.

    I… gotta pee…

    It was a nightmare situation.  I knew… absolutely knew… that if I woke Raikoo up, she would try and leave.  I dunno if she had work or anything – I forgot to ask – but I knew she would find some excuse to leave.  I didn’t want to wake her… but I also didn’t want to pee my pants.  Doubly so with her laying on top of me.  I was pretty sure that would wake her up, besides.  So, against my selfish judgment… I gave her a little nudge.  And then, I froze.     My nudge… had gotten me a nuzzle.

    So… alright.  Once in a while, I’d be petting Raikoo and she would kind of nuzzle her head into my hand?  But that was it.  She had never actually nuzzled into me, like that.  It was enough to make me blush, again…

    “Raikoo…” I whispered, nudging again.     “Five more minutes…”     I blinked.  That was… a pretty clear response.     “Wh– are you awake?!” I sputtered.     There was a long… long… pause.  Then, she whimpered in a tiny voice…     “Y… y-yes…”     I didn’t have time to respond before she pushed herself up and off of me.

    “R-Raikoo…?”     I called her name in the darkness.  It sounded like she was going somewhere.     “Raikoo, where are you going…?”     I turned on a nearby lamp, flinching as the bright light hit my dilated eyes.     “Raikoo, wait!”     I looked over, my ears folded.  She had made it halfway to the door before I caught her.     “Raikoo…”     She was hugging herself with both arms and her tail.  Why did she look so guilty…?

    “Raikoo,” I said as I stood up.  “What’s wrong?”     “I’ve… I’ve overstayed my welcome,” she simply told me.  “I need to go.”     “I mean… if you need to be somewhere, tomorrow?”  I frowned.  “But, Raikoo…?”     I smiled, then I walked over to her, kneeling and looking at her face.     “If you’re just leaving because you’re afraid I’m bored of you, or something…”     “I wish you wouldn’t kneel like that…” she sighed.  “It makes me feel awkward.”     “How else am I going to look into your pretty, purple eyes and admire your cute little face up close?” I said, half-teasing.     “Could you not…?”     I blinked again.  The shortness of her answer caught me off guard.     “What’s wrong, Raikoo?” I pressed.  “Tell me.”     Her ears were folded and she wouldn’t look at me.     “Raikoo…?”     I reached to poke her… and she suddenly spun, taking my hand into both of hers.     “Alright,” she said, stiffly.  “You know the old cliché of two friends becoming closer and closer, then eventually becoming more than friends, right?”     I blinked yet again.  “Y… yeah?” I answered.     “Well…”  She bit her lower lip.  “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, lately… and about us.”     I stayed quiet, looking at her muzzle.  She had a serious look on her face.     “I… I…”     She whimpered, her face and ears growing visibly red.  Then, she blurted out…     “I want you to ask me out!  O-on a date!!  O-okay…?”     Guess what?  I blinked.  And then… I simply said one word: “Okay.”

    After I gave my answer, simple as it was, I watched Raikoo go through a bunch of emotions.  She looked stunned, then excited.  She looked happy, then confused.  She looked unsure, then angry.  Finally, after several more shifts in emotion… she let go of my hand… then she scooted over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders, hugging me tightly.     “H… huh…” she whispered, sounding amusing.  “S-sometimes… I guess it really is just that easy… isn’t it?”     “Emotions are never easy,” I whispered back, holding her.  “But sometimes?  They can lead to some pretty fun experiences.”     She smiled.  I did, too.  Then… we totally made out and had pancakes.

    I’m kidding, of course.  Though, we did have pancakes that morning…  Regardless, that’s the tale for this time.  Come back another time if you’d like to hear more!  Adios!

#fan fiction #Little Red Fox #original characters #Joshua Gannon #Raikoo (joshuagannon) #jolikmc #Joseph Lithius #slice of life #drama #romance

[jolienjoyswriting]

Little Red Fox (ft. Raikoo), Ch. I

Chapter 1 of "Little Red Fox," a fan fiction story.

Joseph finds that things are not always what they seem as he comes to the rescue of a little, red fox in the park.

Word count: 3,685 – Character count: 21,196 Drafted / Revised: October 2nd, 2022 –

So, Joshua is a newer acquaintance of mine.  I found him – and his lovely characters – through a commissioned art piece of his character "Red Fox" by one Nova Rain – who is also a newer acquaintance!

Anyways, I commented on it, Josh replied positively, so naturally… I scoured his Twitter for more info on Red.  I found a couple of pieces… and I also found out he had more characters in a similar vein as Red.  That eventually led me to discover a "smol fox" named "Raikoo".  Coincidentally… Raikoo was just what I was looking for in terms of inspiration!  Thus, a new story was written~

And no, there's no real reason this one's written in first-person.  It does, however, re-introduce something I'd given up on: "smart quotes"!  AKA, "curly quotes".  It's a minor thing in writing, but it has a huge impact.  Maybe.  I dunno.  I found a way to smartly do them, though, so dey back. Honestly, though, it makes very little difference on the blog.  My blog theme, "Indy", automatically converts "dumb quotes" to "smart" ones anyway… though it occasionally gets it wrong.  Heh.

Raikoo and related characters and concepts created by © Joshua Gannon Joseph Lithius and related characters and concepts created by and © Jo Li

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    Hey there.  It’s time for another tale of me being a busybody and causing trouble!     For those who don’t know, I’m Joseph Lithius – just your average, olive-gold fox guy.  Average height, average weight…  I have glasses, spiky bangs with white-frosted tips, and I’ve been told the ends of my ears look like chocolate kisses.  Apparently, they also taste like chocolate kisses, too?  But, enough about me.  You’re here for a story, yes?  So, here’s one about a cool girl I met somewhat recently.

    I was at the city park, idly taking in the sights and sounds.  Kids were running around the grassy fields, laughing, cheering, and screaming as kids often do.  Some kids were playing in a jungle gym or a swingset, some were playing basketball or kickball, and some were simply lingering around.  There were a few older teens at the small skate park – which I try to avoid – and several people at the public pool within the park.  As for me?  I was situated on a bench near the park plaza, just people-watching.  It’s a hobby of mine!     Folks of all ages walked by and one-or-two even said “hello” as they passed.  I wasn’t paying as much attention as I could have been since I was eating an ice cream cone at the time, but I greeted the people who greeted me.  At some point, however, I heard a commotion.  When I looked around, I noticed that there was trouble at the nearby fountain.  I looked over, my ears perking, and I noticed that a little, red fox girl was seated at the fountain’s edge, arms crossed with an impatient – yet calm – look on her face.  A taller kid wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and a shorter kid wearing 3D glasses seemed to be harassing her.

    “Hey… that was very rude,” the girl plainly said to the duo.     “Aww, does Red want her book back?” the taller kid asked in a mocking tone, holding a novel over his head.  Was it hers?  She didn’t seem interested in trying to retrieve it.     “Yes, please,” she answered.”     She was trying to negotiate for it, though.  That was… kind of odd.     “What’ll ya give us for it?”     “Yeah!  What?” the shorter bully said in a wet way.  He was in the middle of eating a candied apple, from the look of it.     “Nothing,” the fox girl replied, softly smiling.     “Nothing?!”     The two jerks laughed with each other.  However, the fox girl just continued.     “I was reading that book,” she calmly explained, “and you took it out of my hands.  I think it’s only right if you give it back.  You wouldn’t want your parents to find out you’ve been misbehaving, would you?”     I wasn’t sure, but judging by that threat, the girl seemed to be losing patience.  Even so, the bullies laughed amongst themselves for a second time.     “Girly,” the tall one began, “my folks are in jail and his folks died!  No ‘rents, no rules!”     “Yeah!” the short one added.  “No rules!”     “Without rules,” the girl replied, “there’s only chaos.  Please, return my book.”     “What’ll you give us?”     Her smile finally broke.  “Just give me my book back, alright?”     “Or what?  You gonna cry, girly?”     “Yeah, you gonna cry?”       As the two bullies laughed at the girl, I decided I’d seen enough.  I slowly stood up, then I walked over to the scene and cleared my throat, getting their collective attention.     “Who’s this?” the tall kid asked.  “Is this your daddy?”     “Yeah, are you her daddy?” the short, round punk asked.     “Yes, I’m her dad,” I told them, giving a stern look to the pair.     “What?”  The girl’s fur bristled.  “He’s not my–”     “And I’d appreciate it if you’d give my daughter her book back.”     The bullies looked at each other.  Then… of course… they laughed at me.  Kids…     “What’re you gonna do if we don’t?” the one punk asked.  “You gonna beat us up?”     “Yeah!” the other followed.  “You gonna beat us up?”     “Dude,” the first said, looking at the second.  “Why do you always do that?”     “Yeah!  Why do– huh?”     The shorter one looked up at the taller one.     “You always repeat everything I say,” the tall one said with a scowl.     “Uh, sorry.”  The other bully laughed.  “It makes me feel tough!”     “Yeah, whatever…”  The tall one looked back over at me.  “Anyway!  Bring it, old man!”     I think both me and the tall kid expected the short guy to say “Yeah, bring it!” or something.  He didn’t, so the tall guy gave him a little thump on the arm.     “O-oh!”     And the short one took on a fighting pose.     “Y-yeah?  Bring it?”     That seemed to satisfy his friend.     “I’m not gonna fight a couple of kids,” I told the teenage butt-heads.  “There’s a police officer right over there who probably wouldn’t like that.”     “Hah!”  The tall bully laughed.  “I knew you were a–”     “They probably wouldn’t like you two picking on this little girl, either.”     “Hey…”  The girl frowned at me.  “I’m–”     “You think I give a damn about the police?”     The tall one inhaled.  Then… he said something loud, rude, and very stupid.  It was about time the police officer patrolling the park looked over.  And came over.

    “Alright,” the patrol officer said as she arrived.  “Which one of you screamed ‘blank the police’ at the top of their lungs?”     The tall bully puffed out his chest at the female officer.     “Me!  And it wasn’t ‘blank’, if was ‘f–’”     The officer whipped out a pair of handcuffs before the bully finished that thought.     “Whoa-whoa-whoa!!” the bully screamed, dropping the stolen book.  “T-time out!  You can’t arrest me!  Freedom of speech, bitch!”     “Disturbing the peace, ‘bitch’,” she spat back.  “There are kids in this park.  Hands behind your back.”     The two bullies looked at each other.  And then…     “Cheese it!!”     Then ran like hell.  Typical…       The police officer quietly shook her head, putting her cuffs back onto her belt.     “I swear, the next time I see those two…”     Not long after, she looked at us.     “Is that your book on the ground, Raikoo?”     The vixen nodded before getting up to collect it.  Wait, did those two know each other?     “Thank you, Officer Pamela,” she said with a smile.     “Just ‘Pamela’ works, Rai,” the officer said with a chuckle.     The girl softly giggled.  “Sorry.  I keep forgetting.”     Officer Pamela nodded.  She turned to me, next.     “Move along,” she told me in her “official” voice.     “Uh…”  I didn’t know how to respond to that.     “It’s okay, Off– it’s okay, Pamela.  He was trying to help.”     I looked over at the red fox girl.  She was smiling at me.     “Are you two friends?” Officer Pamela asked with a more relaxed tone.     “We just met,” was the fox’s reply.     “Ah, sorry.”  She tipped her policeman’s cap to us.  “Carry on.”     With that, she left to continue her patrol.

    “Hey.”     I blinked, my ears twitching.  The girl was still smiling at me.     “Thanks for trying to help,” she told me.     “You’re welcome?”     I tilted my head.  Was that all she had to say?     “Well, it was nice to meet you.”     Well, she did have her book back, so…     “Maybe we’ll see each other again, sometime?”     “Uh…”  That was kind of an odd thing for her to say.     “Or not?”  She softly shrugged.  “Enjoy the rest of your day!”     With that, she opened her book and went back to reading.     “W… hang on,” I said before I could stop myself.     She looked over her book.  “Yes?”     Augh.  Why did I say anything?  Honestly, after I failed to fix her situation, myself, I felt kind of dumb.  So, why was I trying to converse with her?     “That, uh, that book…” I began.  “What are you reading?”     “Oh, this?”  She offered another smile before handing the book over.  “It’s a World of Warcraft novel.  ‘Day of the Dragon’?”     I blinked, my ears perking.  “What?”  I looked at the cover.  It was, indeed, the Warcraft novel “Day of the Dragon”.     “Isn’t this a bit advanced for someone your age?” I asked.     Understandably, she did not take my brain-fart of a question well.       “I’m sorry?” she asked, her smile disappearing.  Pretty sure I’d ticked her off…     “W-well, I just mean…”  I handed the book back as I asked her, “Aren’t you a little young for this kind of book?”     “I think I’m in the right ‘age group’ for this sort of thing,” was her answer.     “Er… okay.”     She tilted her head, the slight irritation on her face fading.     “Wait.  Do you think…?”     Slowly, the smile came back… and she started giggling.     “Wh… what?” I asked, befuddled.  “What’s so funny?”     “Sir,” she began.  “I don’t know how young you think I am, but I’m an adult.”     “What?”     “It’s true.”  She nodded.  “I am a full-grown adult woman.  Don’t worry, though – almost everyone makes the same mistake.”     I wasn’t sure I believed her.  She… looked… like a young, teenage fox girl, to me.

    The girl had bright eyes, colored violet, which suited her cheerful complexion well.  Her small body – which was easily two heads shorter than mine when standing and… er, not especially curvy? – was covered in plush, red fur, and what I could see of her belly, her muzzle, inner ears, and tail tip were white.  She also had black ear-tips and black, shoulder-length hair with fluffy, symmetrical bangs that framed her face.  On top of that – literally – she wore a purple crop top T-shirt, teal, denim shorts with rolled cuffs, and black Mary Janes.  Kind of a mix of typical teenage fair and girly cuteness.  Yet, she said she was an adult?

    “You still don’t believe me, do you?”     She had a neutral look on her face, again.  I think she noticed me looking her over.     “Do I have to show you my ID card?”     I started to answer… then trailed off, rubbing my arm.  I hadn’t realized how rude I’d been, up to then.  Assuming her age… her reading ability… all that.     “I’m sorry for making all these assumptions about you,” I said, my ears folded.  “I’m just one of those people who, well… does that.”     I offered a smile.     “If you say you’re an adult, then–”     “Here you go!”     She was rooting around through her mini-purse while I was distracted.  I looked at what she was handing me, then I gently accepted it, quietly reading the little, plastic card to myself.

    “’Raikoo’?” I called.  “That’s your legal name?”     She nodded.  “Yes.”     I looked over the card at her… then looked back at the card.  Man, no one took good ID pictures, did they?  When I found her birth year, my eyes went wide.  I looked at her again and she nodded, seemingly aware of what I’d just noticed.  Well… she may not have looked the part, but Raikoo was, indeed, a young adult.       “I am… so sorry,” I said as I handed the ID card back.     “Well,” she said, putting it back in her purse, “it was a little rude of you to assume I wasn’t ‘mature enough’ to read this World of Warcraft novel…  But, if you’re sorry, then…”     She beamed at me, her tail softly wagging.     “Apology accepted!”     I couldn’t help but smile back and wag my own tail.  I was relieved she wasn’t mad at me.  Plus?  She was kind of cute.  If you’re into short girls.  Which… I was.  And am.

    “Anyway,” she said, setting her things aside, “it was very nice meeting you, Mister…?”     “Oh!  Uh…”     She watched me, head tilted, as I reached for my wallet.  Yeah, I don’t know why I did that, either…  Again, brain-fair.     “Mister ‘Joseph Lithius’?” she read off of the driver’s license I’d handed her.     “Heh…”     The girl hummed, her tail flicking.  “You’re an organ donor?”     “W-well, you never know…” I said with another little chuckle.     She paused to do a little more reading before asking, “Your eyes really are gold, huh?”     “And your eyes really are purple?” I replied.     “Y-you noticed my eyes?”     My response seemed to catch her off guard.     “I mean… yeah?” I answered.  “Hard not to.  They’re pretty distinct!”     She giggled a little, brushing some hair away from her face.  Her ears were curling back and it was hard to tell since she had red fur, but… I think she was blushing a little, too.     “I think it suits your fur well,” I continued, encouraged by her reaction.     “O-oh…?”     Raikoo was definitely blushing, then.  Her ears were all the way back and her tail was wagging pretty fast, too.  The question was… did I dare push my luck further…?

    “So, uh… hey.  If you’re not doing anything…”     Her ears perked as I spoke and she expectantly looked at me, her tail slowing.     “Maybe we could grab a bite for lunch?  My treat?”     Her face lit up…     “I just can’t apologize enough for being such a butt…”     Then, her ears fell back, but in a different way.  Was she… disappointed?     “Okay.”     They perked, again, and she smiled at me.     “I already accepted your apology,” she added with a soft giggle, “but if you’re offering a free meal, then why not?”     I smiled again, offering her a hand.  Her ears flicked and her face flashed as she shyly accepted, standing up with her stuff in her other hand.  This cutie was growing on me, fast.     “So, you’re into Warcraft?”

    It was a short walk from the park to a nearby fast food place.  Once there, we both ordered chicken sandwiches and soft drinks, then we sat outside to enjoy the day.  Once we got our orders, I started with some questions.  Smalltalk, ya know?

    “I used to play World of Warcraft,” she told me, looking up from her sandwich, “but it became too much of a time-sink…”     “Are you familiar with the real-time-strategy games?”     “A little…” was her next answer.  “I was more into the MMO than anything.  Oh, but I know some of the backstories!  Like how Arthas became the Lich King or exactly how and why Medivh went crazy over time!”     “Impressive,” I told her after I took a bite of my sandwich.  “I’m not sure many people are aware of what Medivh went through.  Most people probably think of him as ‘the Black Morass tower defense boss’ or ‘that crazy guy from Karazhan’.”     Raikoo giggled a little more, nodding.     “There’s a lot of lore in the World of Warcraft novels!” she said before sipping her soda.     “If people cared about lore.”     She hummed at my interjection.     “Different people enjoy different things,” she told me.  “I like reading and learning about things and people.  Some people are more interested in gear scores and cool items.”     She took another sip, then she smiled.     “Everyone should have fun the way they want to, don’t you think?”     “I mean… you’re not wrong?”     Her smile brightened.  I smiled, too.  Hard not to.  She wasn’t just cute.  She was positive.

    “So, what do you like, Mister Lithius?”     I looked up from my sandwich as she called my name.     “You can call me ‘Joe’ if you like?”     She twittered slightly, her ears flicking and her eyes down.  She was acting shy, again.     “O-okay!” she quietly exclaimed.  “Um… you can call me ‘Rai’ if you want!”     “Can I call you ‘Rai-Rai’?”     For whatever reason, that got her giggling like crazy and hiding her face.  It also got a lot of unwanted attention drawn our way.  It was fine, though.

    “I… I’d like that,” was her quiet, sweet reply.     “Okay, then,” I told her with another smile.  “To answer your question, Rai-Rai…”     I paused, grinning as she wiggled and avoided my gaze.  She was so cute…     “I’m into a little bit of everything,” I told her.  “Gaming, music, writing…”     “Reading?” she asked, hopeful.     “Mm… not so much reading,” I answered honestly.  “Like, I’ll look into something that interests me, but I rarely read actual stories or books that I haven’t written.  It’s just… I don’t like other people’s writing styles, sometimes.  For example, I find J.R.R. Tolkein’s style kind of boring and maybe a little… pompous?”       “I really like Lord of the Rings,” she said.  “The movies were good, but the book paints a more vivid picture, for me!”     “Books often do.  I mean, when you have to compress a three-hundred-page novel into 100 minutes of screen time, you’re bound to lose a bit of context or content.”     “Mm!”  She nodded.     “Regardless, I do try and read something that isn’t my own writing, occasionally.  I think the last thing I tried to read was the first chapter of George Orwell’s 1984.”     I took another bite of my sandwich, waiting for a reply.  Oddly… she didn’t seem interested.  I decided to move on.

    “Other than Tolkein and Warcraft,” I asked, getting her attention again, “what are you into, Rai-Rai?”     Once again, she giggled at the nickname.  She was starting to get used to it, though.     “Well,” she began, “I’m into a lot of fantasy and sci-fi things.”     “Warhammer?”     “Oh, gosh,” she said with another little laugh.  “How did you know?”     I grinned.  “I had a hunch.”     “W-well, I’m into Warhammer – but mostly the figurines.”  She pressed her index fingers together, folding her ears before admitting. “I’ve never actually… played it…”     “A lot of people collect the figurines and never play the game,” I reassured her.  “My sister used to collect those things in college.  She liked painting them.”     “It’s intricate work!” Raikoo suddenly said, looking excited.  “It’s really hard to paint something so small!”     “I mean… that’s why you use a smaller brush, right?”     She nodded, eating a little more of her sandwich.     “The tiny brushes are key to getting a figurine to look exactly how you want,” she told me.  “Otherwise, you get blobby, splotchy spots and it doesn’t look quite right!”

    “Are you into anything else?” I asked after a second.  “Gaming-wise, I mean.”     “Oh… MMORPGs, tabletop, some board games…”     “I don’t suppose you’ve ever played Dungeons & Dragons?”     “A little!” she chirped.  “I’ve never done a full-on campaign with a bunch of people, but I hope to, someday!”     “Maybe you and I can do some mini-campaigns together, sometime.  Take turns being the Dungeon Master.”  I smiled as I said, “I used to mess around with 2nd Edition.”     “That’s pretty old-school!” she gasped.  “I’ve only tried 3rd Edition AD&D!  Well, and 5th Edition.  I like all the technical stuff for 3rd Edition, though, so…”

    We continued to talk as we ate our sandwiches, though it was somewhat one-sided.  Raikoo seemed more interested in learning about me than answering my questions about her, so I obliged, telling her about my dabbling in digital music or pixel art, mentioning my terrible drawings, and even telling her about my dumb stories.  I mean… I don’t think they’re “dumb”, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s taken an interest in them.  Regardless, she seemed extremely interested in pretty much everything I had to say.  She wasn’t kidding when she said she liked learning…       “Thank you for the sandwich!” she told me after our lunch.  “And the company!”     “Thank you for the company,” I answered, getting her to giggle.     “It was very nice meeting you,” she then told me.  “I hope we can meet up again!”     I chuckled, watching her stand… then I blinked.  “Hey, wait.”     She perked.  “Yes?”     I stood from the table and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”     “Oh!”  She fidgeted, looking at the patio.  “I… I’m not, really!  I don’t have anywhere to be or anything…”     She looked back up with a shy sort of smile.     “I just don’t want to overstay my welcome!” she cheerfully exclaimed.     “Well, if you’re up for it, I’d like to keep hanging out for a while longer?”     The girl’s face grew visibly red even through her red fur.     “Y-y… you want to…?”     “Yeah.”  I grinned as I told her, “And hey, maybe we can go back to my place and I can show you some of those music files I was talking about.”     I was hoping she would get even more flustered.  However…     “I… I appreciate the offer, but…”     She looked up with a sad sort of smile.     “I don’t think that would be a good idea, right now.”     Her smile warmed into a compassionate one.     “I like you.  I do.  But, I think it’s too soon for me to go to your home.  Maybe after a little more time?”  She paused, looking guilty.  “I hope you understand…”     Oof…  I’d made that suggestion as a joke, more than anything, but the way she reacted made me feel like a genuine cad.  I mean, yeah, if we did go back to my apartment, we probably would’ve listened to music, played some games, and then I would have called her a cab to get home before dark.  Even so… she had a point.  We had only just met…

    “I… apologize for my forward offer, Raikoo,” I quietly said with a soft smile.  “You’re right.  We should spend more time getting to know each other before we, uh…”     I wasn’t sure how to word that thought so I just let it drop.     “A-anyway,” I continued, “do you have a Discord username you’d be willing to share?  Maybe we could chat online, a bit…?”     She perked at that, smiling.  The two of us exchanged information, then I nodded.     “On that note… yeah.  Let’s split and meet up online, later.  Alright?”     “That sounds like a good idea,” she answered.  “Yes, I think we can do that!”     “So… see you later?”     The girl smiled, her tail swaying.  “See you later, Joseph!”

    With things settled, we bid our goodbyes and headed our separate ways, for the time.  I was a little sad that I didn’t get to spend more time with her that day, but the way I figured it… we would eventually meet back up and do more conversing.  Maybe I could eventually convince her to come over, too…  No, not for any “nefarious” reason.  I just figured we could play D&D or something fun. Eventually, I figured.  Eventually…

#fan fiction #Little Red Fox #original characters #Joshua Gannon #Raikoo (joshuagannon) #jolikmc #Joseph Lithius #slice of life