Just a lovely piece of art Me and my Fur-mother Tygriss enjoying our first Christmas with our newly fostering family. The two striped furs enjoy their new game while Kerra and Sheliah take a moment from their baking while Dusk comes home after a long day. They enjoy the pleasure of family on Christmas Eve.
T’was the day before Christmas and snow was falling heavily upon the small hamlet of Nest Village, covering it in a heavy blanket. The streets were quiet except for a few people doing their last minute shopping. Each one was bundled up in heavy winter gear, despite their winter furs having come in. On the very edge of the village sat a gorgeous mansion, fully decorated for the holidays. The serene scene surrounding the mansion didn’t reflect the chaos within. “Come on you bugger!” The oldest female but also youngest in demeanor sat a vibrant orange furred tigress, her bright green eyes glued to the tv screen and dark red hair pulled into a low ponytail over one shoulder.
Tygriss and her daughter, an exotic looking halfbreed boasting a mix of mostly fox with a bit of tiger and wolf sprinkled in, had been granted by Sheliah to open one present a day early.
“Damn it!” Tygriss growled as she lost a life. “This new game is brutal!” She exclaimed as they played the newest edition to the Paws of Rage franchise.
“Yeah, but maybe jumping onto hard mode on the first go wasn’t such a good idea.” Tessy said, her own green eyes she’d inherited from her mother stared unblinking at the screen in turn.
The kitchen, on the other paw, was busy with the clatter of pots and dishes as the owner was busy baking all kinds of sweeties for the Yuletide holidays. A black panther stood on a stool in comfortable sweatpants and a hand knit sweater. She was sifting flour at the direction of the wolfess who was busy mixing together a cake mix with a whisk.
“Kerra, would you pass the nutmeg please?” Sheliah asked the little panther as she whisked away, stepping through to look with a fond smile at the two on the sofa, mixing bowl in hand and whisk. “I swear with you two it is already like I have a pair of teens living at home along with my own cub Dawn,” Sheliah chuckled, the female wolf acting as their guardian and protector.
“You know I am older than you right?” Tygriss spoke up with a brief pause in the game before checking around the situation, “but…fair point,” she conceded before their focus returned to the game.
Tessa looked over their shoulder and smiled at the wolfess before a flicker of black in her peripheral vision drew her attention as Kerra scooted up behind the sofa, crouching and looking over the back as they returned to the game. “So how are things going?” Tessa asked as the characters began fighting a new wave of enemies.
“Oh it is all coming along just fine, Kerra has been helping me prepare the Christmas food for the Ball tonight. You know Tess, I’ve seen you cook and you are not half bad, maybe I could teach you some good recipes to help around. Though, I have seen Tygriss so no need to worry,” Sheliah chuckled, remembering the times the tigress had tried, and mostly made a mess.
“I-I mean I try to. I used to do some simple dishes before we got here.” She said as she glanced away from the screen just for a second before a hit to her character brought her back to focus. “I think that would be fun, I can help with dinner tonight, if you want?” Tessa asked before she heard the door click open at the front hall.
A sudden chill wind caused the flames inside the hearth to flicker as a very buxom chested fox stepped through, her usual black and red fur covered mostly by her police uniform, baring the crest of Nest Village on the front of her outfit and coated in a light dusting of snow.
Taking her police cap off and dusting it before undoing her blue uniform top, she slung it over one shoulder and walked into the warm livingroom, standing in just her cream halter top with a look of mock exasperation at the scene. “Oh hey Dusk, we were wanting a third player to help, take a seat!” Tygriss said cheerfully to the dark vixen.
“Yeah, we really could use some help. It’s pretty relentless already.” Tessa spoke out as her tail never really shrinking from her panicked encounter with an explosive barrel.
“Maybe later, the adults need to prepare for tomorrow, our own Christmas along with the Christmas Ball,” she said as she embraced her wife Sheliah before bending down to Kerra. “Hey champ, glad to see you know how to help around here,” she said in mock teasing.
“Hey we help plenty, I already went out on Tygon to deliver the pamphlets for tomorrow!” Tygriss retorted, “and my daughter was ever such a good helper delivering them to the doors wasn’t you?” I say, curling my tail around her own thick, bushy tail.
“I did!” Tessa barked happily and smiled, the tip of her tail twitching. “Everyone I gave them to was excited for the Ball.”
“Hey…do I need to be at this Ball tomorrow?” Tygriss said as she paused the game and stood up to look at her new family for now. “I am not sure I am ready to be in the public eye again after…that time.”
“You will be fine, at least now you don’t have your very nature trying to rip your bodies apart,” Dusk said, “we’ll be there so no worries okay? It will be fun!” The busty vixen then bent down to scoop Tess up. “And how goes the Ninja training under my apprentice scamp?” Dusk chortled, already thinking of Tess as one of hers with them both been herm vixens.
The younger vixen gave a sharp, surprised yip as she was hefted up with ease by the black fox. She curled up and smiled gently at Dusk. “O-Oh not too bad.” She said as she curled up in her strong arms.
“She is doing well. She can move quick and quiet.” Kerra chimed in, still crouched behind the couch, her paws gently kneading against it, a splash of flour still on her cheek, vivid against her black fur. “She has got the idea of not being seen almost down. Even for her bright fur colour. You might have to teach her what to do with a large tail, how-ever.” Kerra said, smiling at Tessa as she was cradled into Dusk’s arms.
“What about a one-piece ninja suit with a built-in tail compartment? That way she is covered,” Tygriss muses aloud. “Dusk at least has it easy with her fur, she could be walking in the buff and still be as a shadow.” Tygriss chuckled as she ducked a swat from the vixen ninja.
“W-When are we going to get to transformation! I-I know I can when my mood is…fractious. But I want to learn how to control it too!” The large tail started wagging madly against the vixen’s stomach as she was held.
“In all due time Tess,” Sheliah said as she bunged in the last of the Christmas sweets into the oven and wiped her furred brow. “For now I need to work on stabilising your spirits so the effort doesn’t drain you, then we can work on your transformation with some help from your mother.”
“You’ll get there daughter, for now let's enjoy this the best we can. After all, when was the last time we could actually enjoy a Christmas on this planet as ourselves huh?” Tygriss said, smiling at her daughter as she grabbed her from Dusk and shifted into her feral form, her daughter riding around on her back with Kerra leaping deftly onto her feral form, parading around the mansion, the house filled with laughter and giggling.
Safe? Not until they found their way home. But for now they were able to enjoy what they had on this planet with their foster family and for once, life felt worth living for.
