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Cold, hungry and weak. These are the sensations felt by a canine cub before resting its eyes. It seems to have not moved ever since and seemingly has lost its consciousness for so long. The creature thought that maybe it will be it's last as it become numb to every movement nearby be it a small shuffle or a big crash.
"Pa- , -here -uick!!". Days have already passed, the animal had thought it was hallucinating. This should have been a deep part of a forest where only predators feed to each other. Why would a human be here?
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Warm. Has the small animal died at last? Despite thinking so, it still felt the heaviness of its eyelids which the canine had struggled to open.
"Waahh! It's awake!", in front of the animal, a human child beams a smile in its direction. The cub was startled instictively standing up but couldn't. It looked down and saw that paws larger than it's own were wrapped around it's small body. Then, as the small creature looked up, it saw an adult white lioness sleeping above. Has she woken up just to get eaten? Only panic is running through the smaller animal's mind as it yelps while its eyes widen.
"Papa! Papa! The little puppy is scared! C'mon wake up!", The child pushed the lion's fur trying to get it awake but to no avail, lions are very heavy sleepers. The fox could not understand human language but it seems strange for a human treat a large wild animal such as a lion like a guardian.
The lion only grumbled in reply while getting it's paws into a more comfortable position which frightens the fox as it felt that the grip on its body tightened.
The child stubbornly puffed it's cheeks and climbed to the back of the lion and tried to wrap her arms around the lion's neck. Unfortunately, her arms were too short to fully circle the lioness' neck so she just tugged on the white fur. The beast responds by shaking a little.
"Shishiron, you're teasing Nene-chan again!", another presence have entered the room. The fox turned to the direction of the new voice. In contrast to the other occupants, the woman clad in blue had a more gentle and kind aura. You may mistake her for a human at first but if you look carefully, elongated ears are the common differentiating trait of elves from humans.
"Mama!" the child yelled as she looks up to the elf. The lioness finally made a move. It yawned opening it's mouth widely then sat up letting go of the kit. All of the sudden, a puff of smoke surrounded the white lion and the beast-like yawn turned into something more sounding of a human. "Sorry, Nene-chan. Papa, got too comfortable" the "lion" laughed and the smoke eventually unveils revealing that what was previously a huge feline became into a shape of a human. The little fox got even more confused tilting it's head.
The child fumes hugging the black and white clad "human" from behind. "Geez! Papa, only listens when Mama is around. Listen to Nenecchi too!". The lion responded with a cute laugh "Alright, alright". She then turns to the small creature with a grin "Sorry, 'bout earlier. Were you scared?".
Of course it will scare the crap out of me! The little fox thought to itself which could only be sounded in squeaks.
The albino laughed heartily "My bad. The weather's just that good to sleep in". The fox was shocked at the response. It didn't expect to be heard at all. "Hehe. Well, I still am an animal so it just makes sense if I could understand you".
The elf walked closer and knelt down beside the fox putting a plate with pieces of meat beside the creature. "Here, you might be hungry", she smiled at the small creature which stared at her with big eyes before helping itself to the food that was prepared.
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It sure is by chance that the kit was taken in by... a peculiar family. The child with blonde hair, named Nene, believes that she came from another planet and that she also has extraordinary abilities. However, she's clearly human wherever you look at her. Maybe, she thinks so because she has an active imagination.
The white lion which Nene calls "Papa" is Shishiron. Coming from herself, she was named by her partner whom the child calls "Mama". She looks very lazy on the outside but she's very reliable. Shishiron hunts regularly to provide the food for the house. How strange that the fox has not become the lion's snack yet.
Lastly, the snow elf, Yukihana Lamy who appears to be the motherly figure of the household. She may look young but has already lived a few hundred of years. She's very doting especially on Shishiron. It's very much safe to assume that Lamy and Shishiron are a couple at this point.
Each day, the fox got better and better while getting accustomed to the family's environment. Sometimes, she'll play with Nene. Other times, Shishiron teases her. Much rarer, she'll relax next to Lamy.
One day, her bandages didn't need to be replaced nor was she starving for food. The lion spoke up, "Hey. You're all better now". The fox got up into sitting position from lying down listening attentively as it flicked its ears. Ah, so it's time.
"Don't worry. It's gonna be your choice. You can be free out in the wild or-".
"Nooo!", Nene suddenly rushed into the living room hugging the fox. "C-Can't we keep Omarun?" She looked up at Shishiron with pleading eyes.
Omarun? That sounds like a name. The fox thought as her ears flicked.
Shishiron sighs and puts a hand on top of Nene's head. "It's not that. It all depends on the fennec here". She now turns to the fox in Nene's arms. "Well?".
And just like they're giving me a choice... I could just go back to the forest but I don't really have anything waiting for me there. But here? Is it really alright to stay with them? Won't I be a burden if I stay?
"Of course not. Doesn't matter how much you do as long as yer adding a bit of something to the house", the white lion gave a slight smile.
This is too much really... I basically owe them for saving me and they're even letting me choose for myself. I turned towards Nene looking up at her giving a small squeal. The girl only gave a confused look.
The feline chuckled a bit, "Welcome to the family". She then gives a warm smile.
== Omake ==
Nene grumbles in her sleep as the sun's rays from the window hit her face. She rolled to the side resting her arm on top of the fennec-- Eh? The soft fur which was supposed to be next to her was nowhere to be felt. The child slowly opens her eyes checking if the fox might've awoken before her and left the bed. She froze as she processed the scene in front of her.
In front of the child lies a girl with a petite form. She is pale blonde like the fur of the fennec fox and her hair was short and adorned by the same ears the canine had. The sleeping girl wears bright red and blue clothes and her puffy tail can be seen on her lower back.
With her face turning into a big smile, Nene hugged the unfamiliar girl saying "Omarun! You're just like Papa!" out loud.
Omarun stirs awake by Nene's voice and tries to speak. "K-Kon...".