when you're the best of friends [open to all!]

[davin]

Davin is so glad that all that weird weather is over. The cold was making his hand ache in ways that he'd rather not think about. Sometimes when he's sleeping over at James' he'll wake up in the middle of the night and have to look down at his hand to make sure that his fingers aren't mangled, flexing them over and over just so he's fully convinced that they've healed.

He isn't sure what he'll do come winter when it's freezing cold all the time. Hopefully it's something that he'll get used to, and the aching of his hand won't make him vividly remember how he sustained the original injuries in the first place.

But now, the storm is over and the weather is warm again, so Davin heads out to take full advantage of the last lingering days of summer. He's out in the woods, deeper than he usually goes on his runs, but something made him want to push himself. He's moving along barely worn trails and hopping over fallen logs, glistening with sweat and panting.

A sudden squeak and a rustling coming from a nearby bush make him stumble to a stop, and he looks over at the shrubbery with a wary expression. But what pops out of the bush isn't something set on attacking him. It's a little baby fox, and Davin blinks as it fearlessly trots over to sit at his feet.

"Hello," Davin says, and he finds himself unable to look away. He slowly drops to his knees in the grass and the fox approaches with a happy chitter, rubbing itself all over Davin's hand. His fingers sort of spark at the first touch to the fox's downy soft fur, and his magic buzzes delightfully through his entire body. "Oh."

He smooths his hand down the fox's back and then stands up, still blinking in confusion as he takes a few steps back towards the city. The fox yips and chases after him, loping along dutifully beside him. Davin lets out an awed little laugh and pulls out his phone, snapping a photo of the fox.

I'm going to need you to send me everything you have on familiars, he types out, and then sends the text to his grandma, along with the photo. She has a familiar, this grumpy old orange tabby named Flannery, and it never really occurred to Davin that he would find one too. Not every witch has one; not even a lot of witches have one.

But the longer Davin looks down at this happy looking kit, and the more it follows alongside him like it is meant to be there, he just knows. He knows.

This is his familiar, and it's a fox. Hell yes.

They get back to the city and Davin kneels down, scooping up the fox who crawls up to perch on his shoulder, fluffy tail wrapping around his neck. He chuckles and looks over at it, stuck in a sense of wonder as he heads for his apartment. People are watching him as they pass, but Davin doesn't even care. This is his familiar. The fox is exactly where it's supposed to be.

"So, I guess we're bros now," Davin says, and the fox gnaws on his hair in agreement, probably. "What does a fox even eat? Maybe we should go see Coop. D'ya wanna go let a hot vet feel ya up?"

The fox lets out another chittering sound and Davin nods, smoothing his hand down the fox's tail. "I guess ya need a name."

He hums and then lifts the fox up, looking it over before depositing it back onto his shoulder. "A boy name. Yeah, I'll think o' somethin' great. Don't ya worry."


[Spot Davin walking through town with his new familiar, a baby red fox! Or, for people who don't know that Davin is a witch, wonder why this dumbass is wandering around with a wild animal. This is set after the storm has completely passed.]

Comments

[just_another]

This isn't at all what Joel is expecting to see as he heads to pick up some lunch before heading back to the store and he pauses, his hand against the back of Dane's head, holding him steady in his carrier.

There's a fox on Davin's shoulder and Joel heads over to them, shifting Dane gently until he stops protesting. He's nearly three months old now, vocal in a way Joel hadn't expected and although he knows not to be expecting words any time soon, he knows it's the beginning of communication. Dane swivels as best he can to look at Davin, lets out a string of vowel sounds and then waves on little fist.

"Yes," he soothes gently, still looking at Davin. "Do you have a fox on your shoulder?"

[davin]

"Aye!" Davin says with a huge grin, approaching Joel and Dane. "I'm pretty sure he's my familiar, man. Like, for real."

He coos over Dane and reaches out to touch his fuzzy head, and the fox lets out a yip and leans out to sniff at Joel curiously. "I just ran into him out in the woods, an' I just knew. He's mine."

[just_another]

Familiars aren't real.

That's the first thing Joel wants to say, but he restrains himself because Davin looks so happy and he doesn't have any desire to destroy that. The fox sniffs at him and Joel looks at it curiously, wondering how someone can just tell an animal is their familiar. He's been told countless times by his mother and Charlotte that Balto is clearly his familiar and he denies it every time, vehemently opposed to it, though he doesn't know why.

"He's very cute," he settles on saying instead of any of the other things swirling around in his head. That's the truth, too, the little animal is sweet looking, especially perched on Davin's shoulder as he is. "He just climbed up there on his own?"

[davin]

That isn't quite the reaction that Davin was expecting from Joel. Familiars are this kind of rare, super awesome thing, and Joel sort of seems like he doesn't buy it. Davin's brow furrows slightly, but he brightens when Joel comments on the fox's cuteness. That, at least, he seems to appreciate.

"Well, I found 'im out in the woods," Davin says excitedly, reaching up to pet at the fox's tail. "I was out runnin' and suddenly he just popped out o' the brush an' stared at me. An' I just like-- I knew. He was mine. An' he followed me all the way out of the woods and I had 'im climb up here t'be safe, an' he's jus' chillin'. Familiars are awesome, man."

Davin has moved closer to Joel while speaking, and the fox clumsily leans forward to plant his tiny paws on Joel's shoulder, stretching between the two of them to sniff at Joel and the baby curiously. Davin chuckles and palms at the fox's belly, pulling him back against Davin's chest and scratching him behind the ears. "See? Awesome!"

[freefromsin]

First a guy with a cat on his shoulder, and now a different guy with a fox? This is a trick Caleb had never learned. Then again, he's never had a pet. He watches the guy begin to pass him with open curiosity.

"Cute fox," he calls out with a friendly smile.

[davin]

"Thanks! We just met," Davin says with a laugh, turning around slowly and reaching up to keep the fox steady. The kit hooks a back foot around the back of Davin's neck and leans out to sniff at the guy, ears perked up as its tail whacks Davin in the face.

He spits out red fur and holds out a hand towards the guy. "I'm Davin."

[freefromsin]

Caleb laughs quietly and holds out his hand for the little fox to smell, marveling at how adorable he is.

"Hi, I'm Caleb," he says, a little distracted at first, and offers Davin his other hand to shake. "Sorry, you really just found this fox, and he's okay with riding on your shoulder? That's incredible."

[davin]

The fox sniffs curiously at Caleb's hand and Davin watches how it interacts with other people. It doesn't behave like a wild animal, not really, and Davin is sort of in awe. He has a familiar. He can't believe it.

"Good t'meet ya!" Davin tells him, shaking his hand with a smile. At the question, he laughs a little, unsure of how to explain it to someone who doesn't know what he is. "I found this little guy when I was out runnin' in the woods, an' he followed me out. I didn't see any other foxes, so I think maybe he was lonely. Aye, maybe he imprinted on me like some sort o' baby ducklin'."

[astra_inclinant]

"You have a fox."

Mira's not really paying attention to much: she's on lunch break, and she's nominally going to grab food, but her head is full and she's not hungry. Genevieve's still in a coma at the hospital, there's pretty intense water damage in one older part of the planetarium from the storm. The repercussions of Raleigh's soul-draining is still pretty raw throughout the entire friends' group.

So she's walking blankly, but she spots Davin's familiar stride down the street and it makes her feel a little better immediately. And then she sees the furry shape curled on his shoulder.

"Seriously," she adds, crossing to see him. "That is, actually, a fox, right?" Her eyes are wide with combined omgcute and what. "Are we playing Disney Princess? Because I wasn't informed."

[davin]

"As lovely a Disney princess I would make," Davin says with a bright laugh. "What you're lookin' at, my dear, is a real life witch's familiar."

He knows that Mira hasn't been having the easiest time lately, and he's glad to be able to bring her some joy. "Little boy fox, Mira. Mira, little boy fox."

The fox seems to recognize Mira, somehow, and leans over to sniff at her before immediately hopping into her chest. It scrambles to keep its balance on her boobs and noses at her cheek, whiskers twitching as it lets out a chitter. "Aw, see. He loves ya too!"

[astra_inclinant]

"Hey, little boy fox." She giggles as it scrambles onto her, sliding on her breasts. "He must be yours, goes straight for the tits," she jokes, putting a hand under the kit. "Hey, you." It seems appropriate for Davin to have a hopelessly adorable forest creature following him around, and she scrunches her nose, turning in to let him nuzzle her.

"You should name him Robin," she says. "Like Robin Hood. Oh! And that way you can be Batman," she reasons. Tod is the first thing that comes to mind, actually, but that movie is way too depressing for such a cutie.

"A familiar," she echoes, holding her arms out to let him climb back to Davin. "Wow. What does that mean, in real life?"

[davin]

"Yeah, that's me. I jus' love tits," he says with a laugh, watching fondly as she interacts with the fox. It just further cements the fact in Davin's mind that this really is his familiar, and he's grinning when the fox hops back into his arms. He holds the kit against his chest and scratches him behind the ears, laughing a little when it lets out a soft noise almost like a purr. "I'll definitely put that name on the list."

At her question, he tilts his head and looks down at the fox, brow furrowing a bit. "I'm not exactly sure. I texted my gran t'ask for more info, 'cause she has one. But they're supposed t'be companions, an' protectors."

[xoxo_etta]

Etta's only been home a few days, but she's already been witness to a crazy magic-fuelled storm, her sister's girlfriend/sex friend being in a magic-induced coma, and now there's a man walking down the street with a fox on his shoulder. Etta grew up in Siren Cove, so it's not 100% unusual, but she's also spent the last four years away, and she'd forgotten that this sort of shit happened back home.

LA had been blessedly normal. She went to school and she went home to her little apartment and she ate a lot of take out and occasionally got offered an audition. There'd been bars and flings and the normal, everyday life of a twenty-something. In all honesty she hadn't really thought about the magic and everything that comes with it when she'd decided to come home, she was just missing her parents and Mira and the coffee at the Quill. Now though, it's all rushing back.

"That's a fox," she says, because Etta's never been exactly shy around strangers. It takes her a moment to register, but then she realises that this isn't a stranger anyway, this is Davin, the guy her sister never shuts up about. "You're Davin, and that's a fox."

[davin]

"It is a fox," Davin says with a grin, reaching up to stroke the fox's tail before looking back at the girl. She seems familiar, and it's only when she says his name that it comes to him. "I'm Davin, this is a fox, an' you're Etta."

He'd heard from Mira that her little sister was back in town, but he hadn't yet had the pleasure of actually meeting her yet. They've talked on the phone, and on Skype, but it's different than having her in front of him.

"It's good t'actually meet ya," Davin tells her sincerely. The fox lets out a quiet noise and he pats at his side. "He's ridin' up here 'cause it's safer, I think. Otherwise he'd just be runnin' 'round on the ground an' that can't be safe."

[xoxo_etta]

She gives him a bright smile when he remembers her name. She knows it's not the same seeing her on a computer screen in real life, but she's pleased that she made enough of an impression. She hasn't been home in a long time, and she wants Mira's friends to like her. Etta wants everyone to like her, but she knows the people who are important to Mira, and she hopes she can fit in well enough.

"It's good to meet you," she starts with a grin, "and your friend there, I guess. Does he have a name?"

[davin]

"You too," Davin tells her sincerely, and then looks down at the fox as it curls up against his chest, resting in the crook of his arm. "An' he doesn't have a name yet. I jus' found 'im, actually. Or he found me. I'm not quite sure which one."

The fox blinks sleepily and then yawns before tucking his face into Davin's armpit and letting out a huff. Davin grins down at him, hopelessly fond, and then looks back up at Etta. "Are ya on your way t'anywhere in particular?"

[milodumas]

The storm has passed, thankfully, and with it most of the magic that was setting Milo's teeth on edge. It's been a long time since he was around magic that full on, and he'd forgotten what it did to his own, setting everything on the fritz and threatening to turn him into a crazy person. The shakes have stopped, his hands no longer needing to be perfectly controlled, and he feels like he can breathe again.

He's taking advantage of the better weather to be outside, sick of having been cooped up for days, so he lets his feet carry them where they will. It's almost a bit ridiculous when he realises what's happening, and he rolls his eyes at no one. He can feel it just faintly, a small glimmer of magic, nothing compared to what's been raging around the town for the last week but there all the same. He's headed towards it because of course he is, because this is Milo's fucking curse, forever.

When he gets there it's stranger than he was prepared for. There's a man walking around town with a fox perched happily on his shoulder, and maybe it's not the weirdest thing Milo's ever seen, but it's pretty close. The fox is definitely not just a fox though, if the way his feet dragged him here is any indication. "Hey," he calls, before he can stop himself, getting the man's attention. Initiating contact with strangers is not his usual MO, but he's read about familiars, and there's no way he could run the risk of not seeing one up close.

[davin]

Davin stops when someone calls out to him, shoulders drawing up slightly. He spins around on his heel, looking over at the stranger, but he can't help but to smile when the fox gets up and rests his little front paws on the top of Davin's head.

"Hey back," Davin says, watching as the guy approaches. He's hot in a brooding sort of way, and Davin's magic buzzes slightly under his skin once he gets close. Another witch, then. Davin smirks at him, slightly teasing. "What, you're actin' like this isn't an everyday occurrence."

[milodumas]

He realises immediately that he's done something really stupid. Two really stupid things actually, drawing attention to himself and yelling at strangers. He's surprised that the guy turns to him with a smile, in all honesty. Maybe he has a jaded view of Siren Cove, but if he was yelled at by some random guy on the street he's not sure he could offer such a bright grin.

"Hey," he says again, because he doesn't know how to just ask if it's a familiar. What if Davin isn't even a witch? For all Milo knows he's just like... fucking Snow White, or something. He quickly decides that's not the case, however. The remnants of magic lingering around the town after the storm still have Milo's nerves a little on edge, and being around this guy is setting them off all over again. It's kind of like how it was with Sarah, like he's standing on top of a well that hasn't been properly tapped, and is about to explode. "Well, it's not." The words come out blunter than he intended, story of Milo's life. "I mean. Is that what I think it is?" This is a good enough way, he figures. If he's got this wrong (he definitely hasn't got this wrong) and the guy isn't a witch, he can just say it's a fox. If he picks up on what Milo is laying down, maybe he'll get some real answers.

[anddowntothesea]

He's easing into it, trying not to push too hard, but he thinks they might even be friends by now. So, when he sees Davin, sees his friend wandering around town with a wild animal on his shoulder, it gives Gabe a moment's pause. He's maybe never going to get used to this magic thing, even if the town he grew up in is apparently riddled with it. It's never going to not be strange to him.

"Goin' to introduce us?"

[davin]

"Well hello," Davin says as Gabe approaches, grinning brightly at him. He's never not wanted to be Gabe's friend, but he knows that not everyone can separate sex and friendship like he can. Still, he's glad that Gabe seems to be coming around, and he waves with the hand that isn't steadying the fox. "I would, but he doesn't quite have a name yet. I gotta figure that part out."

He looks over at the fox with a pleased little smile. "He just found me."

[anddowntothesea]

"Well, aren't you lucky," says Gabe, hands in pockets, studying the tiny fox with a look of definite bemusement. "He's definitely a cutie. You've got a knack, Davin."

[overdrawing]

"Is..." Gabe keeps thinking that nothing in this town can surprise him and yet it's the strangest things. Not the demonic and impossible storms, not the magic shape shifters, it's the little fox kit on Davin's shoulder that catches him off guard. "Davin, is that a fox?"

He steps around Davin from side to side, trying to verify that he's seeing what he thinks he's seeing.

A tiny, fluttering part suggests that he'll have something exciting to tell Caleb.

[davin]

"Indeed," he says with an astonished little laugh, watching as Gabe moves around. The fox lets out a chitter and leans out to sniff at Gabe, trying to paw at him and nearly slipping off of Davin's shoulder. He reaches up to right him with a soft laugh. "I found him in the woods. I think he was waitin' for me."

[overdrawing]

The fox's chitter surprises Gabe and he transforms a little when he startles. For half a second, his ears acquire a point and his eyes go oil slick black before Gabe remembers himself and suppresses the transformation, a little embarrassed.

"Waiting for you?"