Urban Beasts: Kitsune Bites

Chapter 1 - Shelter and Hunger

"Woah," was the sound that left Eloi's mouth as he gazed at the giant buildings in the distance. It was kinda hard to believe that humans live in places like those. "I wonder if they have struggled to breathe in a place so tall," he mumbled.

He was standing, in human form, on the outskirts of an inhabitation district, where people lived protected by a huge dome that was supplied with oxygen. These houses, though, didn't seem to be of great quality. Would it be unkind to say that they looked ugly? But even so, they would probably be the only type of housing he could afford right now.

How could he afford to rent a house even though he didn't have a job? Well, he took a loan from some guys he found. The concept of money was already strange to him. It was absurd how you could exchange pieces of paper for anything.

Now he was on the mission of finding a "den."

He walked around the district and found some houses with signs with bold red symbols, which he assumed were the so-called "letters" humans use to communicate. Eloi didn't know what exactly was written on them since he was illiterate. Living in the forest never required him to learn how to read, and now he was at a disadvantage.

He stopped in front of one that seemed to be...inhabitable enough. The garden was overgrown and wild with weeds. And some of the windows were broken, so they had wooden boards blocking them with some gaps in between.

Now how would he contact the owner of the house? The sign seemed to have numbers, but he was unable to identify them because he didn't know human numbers. Also, he didn't have a phone, so he couldn't even call the owner.

Maybe they wouldn't be too annoyed if he lived in the house for a while without paying, just until he could acquire the house through legal means.

He walked to the front door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Maybe there would be an unlocked entrance at the back? Eloi went to the house's backyard and found a pet door leading to the house.

The fox, in human form, looked around, watching for any sign of any human that could be nearby. Once he was sure that there was no one near, he shapeshifted into his true form. A cloud of pink smoke formed around him, hiding the process of the transformation.

Eloi shook his fur to dissipate the smoke and stretched his limbs before checking the pet door. His snout sniffed it. It reeked of cats and pushed the door. To his pleasant surprise, it was unlocked.

The house was made of white ceramic floors and painted yellowish-white thin walls with some paint flaking off. As expected from a house for sale or rent, it lacked any type of furniture. There were no lightbulbs around, and Eloi doubted the house had electricity. That would be a pain in the a*s for a common human, but Eloi had night vision and wasn't bothered by that.

The house was far from perfect, but it would be enough for now. Too bad Eloi wouldn't be able to bring any human guests to his temporary home. They would be far too perturbed by his living situation.

A roar echoed through the house. It was his stomach begging for food. Eloi sat on his hind legs and put his paws on his stomach, trying to calm down the thing that seemed to have a mind of its own.

There were two options Eloi could go choose:

- Try to hunt for urban critters

- Buy food like a human

Hunting for critters would probably stain whatever reputation he may have with other animals living in the city, and if they shapeshifted into a human form mid-hunt, Eloi would either be considered a dangerous animal or a criminal. A shiver went down his spine with the thoughts of what the humans may do with an animal that breached into the oxygen dome.

Choosing human food would be a lot tastier anyway. Humans were known for their delicious gastronomy, much better than raw meat and berries.

Eloi was now in the middle of one of the food districts, a place full of food chains and restaurants. He had gotten into this place by going through the domes' connection hallways, which linked one dome to another.

Scents from all kinds of meals invaded Eloi's nose, making his mouth salivate and his stomach rumble. He was in his human form, but if he had a bushy tail, he would be wagging it from side to side.

He entered a burger shop and waited in line. He was kinda smelling the scent of rabbits. Was it one of the hamburger flavours?

"Sir, what's your order?" A kind-looking cashier asked.

"Do you guys have rab-" I looked to the side, and my eyes met with a woman's. She was biting what I could smell as a vegan vegetable burger. I instantly knew that she wasn't human as well.

She reeked of rabbit.