A Room of her Own

Stepping into the familiar ground of the courtyard, Ava didn't quite know how to feel. She had been here quite a few times over the past two weeks when she was visiting Lily, but more often than not, they met up in her room, as Lily didn't have much in her own room, and Ava's room, as a luxury guest room was slightly larger, as well as being further away from the other girls, which made Ava a bit more comfortable.

But now that she was back to claim a room of her own as 'one of the foxes, ' Ava didn't quite know what to feel. She also couldn't help but wonder where her room would be. It might seem like an ordinary thing, but it had to be said this was the first time she would ever have a room of her own.

After all, back in Shattered Creek Village, she had a shack, yes, but the shack wasn't technically hers. It was just an abandoned place where she had holed herself up like a stray dog to lick her wounds and nest. And here, although she had a room on the third floor, no matter how she looked at it, it was just a guest room. It was also for that same reason she had asked to find work with the Madam a while back. As a guest, she didn't feel right living off of other people's generosity. Even if Lily didn't mind, she did.

Of course, in a pinch, she would do what she had to in order to survive, but now that she was in a situation where she did have extra funds on hand and she had decided to care for Lily, Ava didn't see a reason to be a cheapskate. Following behind Haley, Ava couldn't help but have a feeling of Déjà vu as she felt the eyes of the various girls curiously trail her as she walked through the courtyard. The only difference was that this time she was following Haley, not Lily, and the girls knew who she was this time around.

As they were walking, Haley smiled at the other girls, and without hiding, it spoke to Ava, "Although you're a Fox now, I'm not quite sure where to put you. There are a couple of free rooms, so I'll bring you around to look later, but for now, how about we stop by my room first?"

After a moment of thought, Ava nodded before asking, "Could we stop by to see Li-"

"AVAAA!!!!!!"

Slightly rolling her eyes but not at all concealing a giant smile, Ava turned around to see Lily running at her. Speak of the devil, there she was.

As she ran over, Lily only started to slow down as she was just a few meters away from Ava, but due to her momentum, she was unable to come to a complete stop. Unwilling to crash into Ava, Lily slightly changed her direction and ended up coming to an almost tumbling stop as she tripped and started falling next to Ava.

Letting out a slight sigh, Ava reached out and caught Lily in her arms.

Blushing slightly, Lily let out a slight cough of embarrassment before quickly recovering and jumping out of Ava's arms and quickly circling around her, trying to see if she was harmed anywhere. Only after confirming with her own two eyes that Ava was completely fine did Lily finally slow down and hug Ava into her embrace. "Silly girl, why are you so impulsive."

With emotion in her eyes, Ava hugged Lily back. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

Letting out a small laugh, Lily nodded, "I guess that is the case."

From the side, Haley let out a small smile before leaning over and whispering to Lily, "In case you didn't hear, the Madam called Ava a fox."

With a startled expression, Lily turned to look at Haley before turning back to Ava with a wide grin. "Hehe, I knew the Madam would see how cute my Ava is."

With an exasperated smile, Ava shook her head. She really didn't know what Lily ate every day to become so obsessed with her. Honestly, looking at herself, Ava didn't know what Lily liked. She wasn't very kind or pretty, and she had plenty of blood and sin on her hands at such a young age. But, no matter what Lily saw, Ava had to admit she quite liked the feeling of Lily's unfaltering love.

Her eye's brightened, and Lily said, "Wait, that means you get to pick out a room, right?"

Lightly nodding, Ava said, "That's what Haley said."

Hugging Ava, Lily squealed, "There's a room next to mine that's free. We can be roommates; we can even install a door between our two rooms so that we can-"

As Lily was raving, Haley let out a small smile and sighed, "Ah, I forgot that Lily had a free room next to her. I suppose you'll have to take that. But I want to throw it out that there is a free room next to me too."

Letting out a slightly embarrassed expression, Ava opened her mouth to explain but was stopped by Haley. Lightly shaking her head, she said with a smile, "Don't worry, I know how close you are with Lily. You should definitely take the room next to her." Her voice taking a playful turn, she said, "You can't blame me for harboring a little hope that my prince charming would stay near me so I could thank them appropriately."

Embarrassed, Ava didn't know what to say.

Laughing, Haley waved her hand to show it didn't matter. "Alright, I'll leave you to Lily, but do come by to visit later, or I'll feel sad!"

Letting out a nod, Ava agreed.

After Haley left, Lily quickly pulled Ava along, "Hehe, this is so great. I get to have my little Ava around all the time."

Letting out a small laugh, Ava couldn't help but say, "As if. I swear you take me as a pet sometimes."

Laughing, Lily smiled and rubbed Ava's hair, "Say woof for me, Ava."

Glaring back, Ava bared her teeth, revealing small, slightly pointed canines, "Bark, bark."