Chapter 9: Loneliness

Junipor knew she needed to get up, her stomach was grumbling under the sheets. She had gotten away with sleeping in so far, but the day was dragging on. Her shoulders still ached, but some strength had returned to her legs, and her tail brushed from side to side at the thought of fresh food. Her thoughts were focused on pancakes, and the fresh flour and maple syrup her sister had purchased the previous day. Junipor fluttered her bashful eyelashes, her vibrant blue eyes peered into her room. The smell of burning wood somehow relaxed her, making her feel more at home. She could also smell freshly brewed tea from the kitchen above.

She hated tea, it was too soft…to mellow. Junipor preferred warm milk or perhaps juice from imported oranges whenever they had traders bring them from across the islands. Fruit was a delicacy in Fanfow, especially on the islands of Heightsland, and Junipor was willing to pay a fortune for strawberries when foreign traders came to sell their wares. Now with spring coming, she hoped a new shipment would come soon.

A growl shook her attention. Surprisingly, it didn't come from her stomach. Francesca had leapt alongside her, with a quick glance she pawed at Junipor's cheek and continued making growling noises in between her squeaks. It wasn't enough to stir her owner to attention. Disappointed, the fennec began jumping back and forth with remarkable speed from the sheets to the pillow. Occasionally Francesca paused to poke at Junipor's forehead or try to nip at her nose.

"Quit it Francy, you're being a pain," Junipor growled back at the small fox. She tried to bury her face into her pillow, all the while the fennec continued to pounce on her and occasionally nip her ears.

By the time Junipor was roused to get up, she was close to swatting at Francesca for trying to chew her ears. But she could never do such a thing, and she regretted feeling the temptation. Her room seemed smaller with all the clutter on the floor, spare bandages and torn clothes was littered around the bed. Junipor looked at the collection of herbs and melodies on the nightstand, and then studied the several empty vials scattered next to the bed. Somehow she still felt a chill in the room, the small corner fireplace should've stopped that. Junipor let the blanket flow from her shoulders, her torso was wrapped in layers of gauze.

Carefully testing the strength in her legs, Junipor gently planted her feet on the floor and slowly lifted herself up. She wrapped the blanket around her tightly before leaving her room. Francesca sneaked past her and began doing circles around the main living space. The fennec was brimming with anxiety, it was clear she wanted to get outside as quickly as possible.

Junipor was about to wander upstairs when she tasted a new scent coming from above, her ears perked up to catch two distinct voices on the main floor. She listened silently as she heard a new voice alongside her sisters.

Curious? Junipor thought to herself. She suddenly regretted not putting on any clothes. She took another couple of steps up the stairs to sneak a peek at what was going on. Scarlet a male over.

"Shit," Junipor whispered to herself. Scarlet was wearing a clean kitchen gown underneath a pleasing apron. The skirt she wore only went down to her knees to show off her womanly calves. The male was young, with dark furred ears that were remarkably sharp, and a thick bushy tail that sported a grey tip. He had a handsome round face, with chestnut eyes that seemed warm to look into. Junipor didn't recognize him, at least she hadn't taken notice of him before. In a town this small Junipor knew she had to have seen him before. Junipor risked only a fleeting glance to get a better look at him, that single glance wasn't unnoticed.

The pair were in the middle of a conversation, standing really close to one another, when Scarlet noticed her. "Hey, Juni! Your finally up." Scarlet looked over to the stairway in surprise.

"Shit, shit, shit," Junipor clung to the blanket and rushed downstairs. She ran back into her room and slammed the door. She wanted to cry, it took all her strength to hold back her tears. With a sniffle she sat back down on her bed and let the blanket fall to the floor. Her perky red nipples tingled from the heat of the fireplace. Alone, she looked down at her fragile chest. A tear dripped down her cheek, it leaked down her chin to fall onto her breast. She watched as it strolled against the curve of her mound until reaching the bandages above her stomach.

Who would possibly like this? I'm so flat and pathetic. If only I was as well endowed as my sister, I wouldn't be all alone right now. Junipor couldn't stop thinking like this, she felt so alone and desperate. She feared this would be another year without experiencing a male's love and attention, more tears strolled unbound down her cheeks at the thought.

A squeak lit up the room, stealing her attention. Junipor looked down to see two beady eyes looking up at her. Francesca's ears were back, and she looked up at her as if feeling sorry.

"You didn't do anything girl," Junipor whimpered. She wrapped the blanket around her again and shivered for a bit. A minute went by, and the fire was starting to dim. It wouldn't be long before she would need to find more kindling.

A knocking interrupted her sorrow followed by her sisters voice, "Hey sis, please come out."

Junipor tucked her knees in and remained seating on the bed, it took her a moment to stifle her tears and get back up. "I'm coming," She spoke quietly while wiping the tears from her eyes. She was quick to grab a loose pair of trousers and a tunic from her small closet. When Junipor opened the door, Scarlet was on the other side waiting for her.

Scarlet's ears were tucked back, and her long tail was dragging to the floor. "Are you feeling better? Why dont you come upstairs?"

Junipor wanted to sound in charge, or at least somewhat confident, but found her voice bursting with anxiety. As she spoke her voice stuttered, "I saw that you had company."

"You mean Trent? Nah he's just delivering some—" Scarlet was probably going to say he was delivering milk from the prairies, or mead from the tavern. Either way Junipor knew it was likely a lie, and quickly cut her off.

"I saw the way you too were eyeing each other," Junipor found a tinge of frustration in her voice. In hindsight it was silly for her to be jealous, but seeing her younger sister with a possible mating partner made her to feel deeply upset.

Scarlet noticed this, it was as if she knew exactly how her older sister was feeling. "You really shouldn't be jealous. Its nothing serious." She tried to sound comforting. "Come on, you need to eat or you'll never get better." Scarlet paused to reach out and hold onto Junipor's muscular arm. She leaned forward and whispered into Junipor's ear, "And you know what?"

"What?" Junipor responded with a sigh.

Scarlet couldn't help but chuckle as she spoke, "He has a brother who's single." Scarlet finished her statement with a wink.