I woke up when gentle fingers stroked my head.  “Hmm, what a curious souvenir,” Nathan murmured gently.

Wait.  Fingers.  Nathan.

I stiffened, suddenly realizing that Nathan’s bag was open and he had apparently been looking for something when he had found me.

This was bad.  This was really, really, really bad.

His long, slender fingers stroked my ears, making me forget for just a second what kind of danger I was in.  It felt so nice.

“So I’m not sure if this counts as unintentional kidnapping or as a successful stowaway,” his voice was still quiet and low, low enough only the two of us could hear.

I didn’t dare move.  Did he know who I was?  Probably not.  He shouldn’t have had a picture of my shifted form, I had never shifted in front of him – I knew better.  If I’d have shifted, it would have only hurt worse.  Which meant Nathan probably didn’t know who this random fox was in his bag, but he had probably guessed I was a shifter since a real fox would be acting more, well, wild.

Did he think I was one of the kids from the orphanage?  Or from town?  It didn’t really matter, as long as he didn’t try to give me back.  Wait, oh no – he’d probably do exactly that.  Knowing him, he’d probably feel obligated to make sure this lost kid got back home.

I shrank away from his touch this time, trembling.  I just wanted to get away, I didn’t mean for him to find me.  If he took me back, if he tried to do the “right” thing – I’d end up back in his hands.

I started shaking even more, unable to control myself.  If I’d had anything in my stomach, I’d probably have thrown it up.  I was going to end up back with him, unable to flee this time.

He was going to kill me.

“There, there,” Nathan murmured gently.  “I’m not going to hurt you.  Shh, it’s okay.”  He touched the back of his fingers lightly to my head, and against my better judgment, I found myself instinctively leaning into his touch.

He was so gentle, so warm, so kind.  If he hadn’t been a prey shifter, I’d probably have felt safe, maybe even burst into tears and told him everything, begging him to just help me.

But he was a prey shifter.  The only thing I really had to be afraid of.

I tucked my head under my tail, curled up in the smallest ball I could go, and just tried to pretend this was all a very, very bad dream.  I didn’t know when it would come, but it would come.  Maybe when we got to the next station, he’d turn around and take me back.  Maybe he’d get home, then call someone back in the mountain village.  Either way, someone would realize there was no missing child and that the tiny fox was me.  And they’d turn me over to him without questioning it.

Because when a prey shifter says a predator shifter is violent towards them, especially when the prey shifter is a police officer, everyone believes them, right?  It could never be the other way around.

Nathan didn’t try to pet me again, just gently tucked his clothing in close and closed the top of his bag without latching it.  I could see bits of sunlight peeking in and see him sitting there, his arm around the bag as if he was trying to make sure it wouldn’t move too much.  If he knew the identity of the fox in his bag, I was sure he wouldn’t be trying to be nice.  He’d be scared of me, too, and he’d doubtless call the police immediately.

I couldn’t shift into human form, then.  I didn’t dare.  As long as he didn’t know who I was, maybe I stood a chance.  My original plan had been to slip from his bag on the train and hide somewhere until I just got off, miles and miles from where I’d started.  My small size made hiding easier.  Now, though, the plan had changed.  Since he knew I was there, I couldn’t just escape on the train as planned.  I had to find another way.  I had to stay alert, had to wait for the right opportunity, and then I could slip from the bag and run.  Maybe in the station, with too many people around for him to follow easily.  That would be good.

I had to be alert for the right moment.

I was on edge the entire rest of the ride.  I didn’t know how long I’d slept or how long I was awake after, and I didn’t even know how long the ride was for to begin with.  I was tense, waiting, trying to sense my opportunity.

The train had stopped a couple of times, but Nathan didn’t get off until the third one.  I heard him move and felt him shift the bag around, dismayed when I heard the distinct clink of the bag buckles.

Oh no.  He’d buckled the top down.  That – that would make it a lot harder to escape.  Not impossible, I could still squeeze out, but I’d be struggling for a moment or two and that would probably be all the time he needed to stop me.

I felt bitter bile rise to my mouth.  No, no, I couldn’t panic.  Couldn’t give up.  There had to be a way to escape.  Something.  Anything.  I just couldn’t accept that there was no option but to be handed back to him.

The bag swayed as Nathan walked, and I tried briefly to reach the top of the bag where I might be able to squeeze out, when I discovered, with some alarm, that the bag wasn’t quite filled enough for me to reach the top while standing on the clothes.  I was too short, even stretched fully out while standing on my hind legs, not to mention with the movement of the bag it was hard to hold myself steady.

There was no way out.  No…way…out.

I was stuck, trapped by a kind man trying to do the right thing, on my way to be delivered to a monster.

I curled up in a ball and whimpered, the closest thing I had to crying in shifted form.  I didn’t know how to get out of this.  I – I didn’t know what to do.

I could feel the bag shifting as Nathan set it down on something, then heard the sound of a car.  No point even trying to escape in here – I couldn’t run anywhere in a car.  My last possible chance was wherever his destination was.  My last hope of freedom.

I couldn’t give up, I reminded myself.  Just – maybe there’d be a way to escape there.  It might feel hopeless, but there had to be some chance to escape.

For a while, car movement and sounds, without a word from Nathan.  I’d almost have thought he forgot about me except once when he had to brake suddenly he reached over to stop the bag from falling over and murmured “sorry about that.”  He still remembered, he knew I was there.

Then the car stopped and he picked up his bag again.  A few steps, and he knocked on a door.

Knocked?  Why didn’t he go home?  Oh no – was he already taking me to the police?  I nearly panicked.  There might be no chance for escape?  No, I needed that hope.  Please don’t be the police.  Please.

“Nathan?”  A voice said.  “What are you doing here?  Did you just get back?”

“Yeah, can I come in?  I need your help with something.”

“Sure.”

More noises, the sound of a door closing.  Then Nathan set the bag down on something soft – maybe a couch, based on the height?  That…couldn’t be a police station, right?

“What’s up?”  The unfamiliar male voice said.

Nathan unlatched the bag, reached in, and to my dismay, very gently lifted me out.  “I need your help with him.”

I was in a house, at least.  Not a police station.  That was good.  But there were two men there, looking surprised as Nathan carefully set me down on the couch.

I tensed, trying to figure out what the best strategy was.  I couldn’t open doors in shifted form but I didn’t dare shift back.  Indoors, I was trapped.  What – what to do?

“Nathan,” the smaller of the men said, crossing his arms and giving Nathan a fierce look, “he’s adorable, but did you kidnap someone’s child?”

The taller man, who I was pretty sure was some sort of supernatural but I wasn’t sure what kind, laughed abruptly.  “He’s a fennec fox, babe,” he said.  “He’s full grown.  Not a kid.”

Uh oh.  If – if Nathan realized I was an adult shifted form and not a kid, he might realize who I was.

“Really?”  The shorter man, who I was pretty sure was human and was probably a few inches taller than me in my human form, looked oddly delighted.  “He’s full grown?  Well, at least Nathan didn’t steal a child, then.  And he’s so tiny and cute!”  He came over to the couch and offered me his fingers.  “May I pet you, please?”

I mean, I should have indicated no, but somehow, when I met his silver eyes, I found myself relaxing.  There was something about this human, something that felt safe.  I couldn’t even explain it, but some instinct was telling me that he wouldn’t hurt me, that I could trust him, that he was a friend.

So I found myself nodding stiffly.

When he touched me, I relaxed automatically, his gentle fingers making me feel almost like – well, it reminded me of when I used to be a kit, at home with my family.  The way we were happy and warm and comfortable and safe, before I grew up, before all this happened.  Somehow it reminded me of that.

“You’re so soft,” he murmured.  “So tiny.”

Nathan leaned against the wall, looking oddly relieved as his friend started stroking my ears, rubbing them gently.  It felt like a massage, almost.  Like grooming.  Like…safety.

“So what’s the deal?”  The supernatural asked.  “Why does the fox need help?”

“Ah.”  Nathan looked troubled now.  “He’s a friend of mine, I met him in the mountains while I was doing some – thinking.  He’s got someone after him, a police officer who claims he’s violent and on the verge of going feral and the guy has an arrest warrant for him, but, well, he’s not.  I know feral predators, and he isn’t one.  I don’t know the whole story, but I know something’s wrong with the accusation.”

I froze the moment he started to talk.  Nathan – Nathan knew who I was.  Since when?  Had he known all along?

“But,” Nathan added, his eyes deliberately met mine, “I know they’re lies.  I know he didn’t do what that officer claims.  He’s not like that.”  Then he turned to the supernatural.  “Since there’s some amount of legal stuff going on, though, I was hoping your mom might have some pull with the, uh, Retherwood, I believe?  Town council and could look into it.”

“Sure,” the supernatural agreed easily.  “But it would help if we knew his side of the story.”  He was looking at me now.

I flinched, wanting desperately to hide.  There was probably no point in not shifting back now, since Nathan clearly did know who I was, but what was I supposed to say?  Spit out the whole story?  There was no way they’d believe me.  No one did.

So I stayed frozen in my fox form, pretending I was even smaller than I was, and hoped they’d just…forget about me?  Maybe?  If I stayed very still?

The human sighed abruptly.  “You guys are too demanding,” he grumbled.  “The fox reminds me of me.  I didn’t start trusting you with stuff immediately, did I?”  He asked the supernatural.  “It took time for me to open up!  Don’t expect him to just trust you because you want to know.”

The supernatural now seemed worried that he might have offended the human.  I was pretty sure they were a couple, based on how they were interacting.  “I don’t, babe, it’s just if we’re involving law enforcement, it would be helpful to know what we’re getting into.”

Oh, right, the pet names also helped give a clue about their relationship.  Yep, definitely together.

The human looked at Nathan.  “You think this police officer will show up here any time soon?”

I stiffened at the suggestion.  No, no, no, I didn’t want him anywhere near me.  Maybe they’d let me run before that?  Maybe?

Nathan paused as he watched me, a troubled look on his face.  He hadn’t missed my response to the mention of him.  “I don’t know.  If he realizes he came away with me, then maybe.  Otherwise, I’d say he has no reason to look here.”

“Hmm.  Well, I’d imagine we should at least have a night before the guy comes looking for him, then, and that’ll at least give us that much time to get to know – who’s your friend here?”

“Miles,” Nathan provided.

“That’ll at least give us a night to get to know Miles and let him get to know us.  I’m Riven, by the way,” the human told me, “and the fairy is Ren.”

Riven.  That was the name of – oooh.  Ren was Nathan’s best friend’s younger brother, and he was with a guy named Riven, whom Nathan described as the sweetest guy ever.  That kind of made sense.

Nathan bit his lip, looking worried.  “Riven, couldn’t you just use your unicorn powers and figure out if he’ll be in danger soon?  Like – how long we have?”

Unicorn powers?  What on earth?  Unicorns hadn’t existed in ages!  What – wait, was this guy not actually human?

Riven kind of frowned at Nathan.  “I mean, I can try but it doesn’t exactly work that way.  Vist side says you’re right, he’s not aggressive or feral,” say what again? “and personal experience says he’s really scared,” personal experience?  I was getting more confused the longer he talked.  “But unicorn powers don’t just tell me if someone is in danger.  It’s more subtle than that.”

“Can you at least try?”  Nathan pressed.

Riven sighed.  “Fine.”  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again, I jumped.  If I’d have been human, I’d have gasped.

His irises were purple now, with white pupils.  Totally different from the gray eyes of a moment before.

I take it back.  This guy might look and feel human, but he definitely wasn’t.  Unicorn and Vist, was it?  He was some kind of supernatural, just not something I’d ever encountered before.

He was just looking at me, not blinking, just sort of staring.  His gaze seemed almost unfocused, like he wasn’t really seeing me at all.  Then suddenly he blinked and just like that, his eyes were back to gray.

Weird.  I didn’t know what to make of it.

“There’s…yeah there’s something there,” Riven said quietly.  “Something dark chasing him.  But it’s not lurking nearby yet.  We have time.  I don’t know if I’ll sense it if it gets close enough to be an issue, but I can keep taking a look, I guess.”

I didn’t know what exactly all that meant, but it sounded like he might not be close to closing in on me.  That was good.