The Fox Guarding the Henhouse: Part 4

After another long shift as security guard, Frederick got another long rest in his bedroom. And when he finally woke up, he stretched his arms over his head and gave a hearty yawn. He looked out the window and grimaced; the sun was up, but nearing setting. He wasn’t quite used to being up and active at night, but he was gradually getting there… or at least Frederick hoped that was the case.

The fox checked his calendar; it was Tuesday, his day off from a guard shift… or was it night off? With a shrug, Frederick changed into some of his non-work clothes; a t-shirt and jeans. He then made his way downstairs to see if the Brown family was having a meal.

Upon entering the kitchen, Buck spotted Evangeline standing at the kitchen table. She was having a quiet conversation with someone that Frederick had somehow not met up until now; the farmer’s wife. She was a rather plain cow, in a conservative dress. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun, and she had the same big ears that Evangeline had. And as soon as she spotted Frederick entering the kitchen, she raised an eyebrow and tapped Evangeline on the shoulder.

“Huh?” Evangeline turned around and gasped. “Oh, hey! Didn’t see ya there, Fred!”

“Err, sorry to pop in unannounced…” Frederick put his hands behind his back. “I was just coming down to start off my time off…” He looked at the older cow nervously. “By the way, uhh…. It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am.”

“Welcome to the barn, Mr. Frederick.” The cow raised her eyebrow again before gesturing with her arm. “I’m Lauren Brown, Buck’s main squeeze. So you just mind your P’s and Q’s, young fox.”

“Ma, quit teasing him.” Evangeline exclaimed.

“Oh, I’m just having a bit of fun…” Lauren chuckled. “But to be serious, Frederick, you be sure to make yourself at home.” She turned to pick up her purse from the counter, and then glanced her daughter. “I’ve got to meet up with your Pa now, Evie. We’ve got stuff to do over by the silo.”

“Okay, Ma.”

“And you just remember to mind YOUR P’s and Q’s.” Lauren playfully pointed a finger at Evangeline’s nose. “I saw the way you lit up when Frederick walked in.”

“I get it, Ma.” The younger cow crossed her arms and pouted indignantly.

Frederick couldn’t help but blush a little. It seemed like it wasn’t a very well kept secret that Evangeline liked having the fox around. Lauren certainly didn’t seem disapproving, at least.

With a skip in her step, Lauren made her way to the back door, leaving Evangeline and Frederick. And once the Farmer’s wife had left, her daughter sighed and sauntered over to the fridge to rummage through it.

“Want some coffee?” Evangeline asked him. “We brewed a pot before you came down.”

“Sure, I…”

Frederick started to stay, before Evangeline pulled a gallon of milk from the fridge. He looked at it, and then at her, and his mind began racing with all sorts of questions. Evangeline was quick to realize what he was thinking, and she quickly balked before putting the jug down on the counter.

“It was made in a completely different farm, pasteurized, and store-bought.” She said as she looked Frederick in the eyes. “Don’t get any weird ideas.”

“Err… sorry…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But yeah, a cup of coffee would be nice, thanks.”

The cow sighed in relief, before turning to get to work pouring him a cup. “Cream and sugar too?”

“Sure, thanks…” The fox nodded as he sat down at the table. “So, uh… regarding the food… is it all vegetables and salads?”

“Well, I mean, it’s healthy and stuff…” Evangeline swished her tail around as she got to work on two cups of coffee. “Sometimes we go and get luncheon meat. Or even a lot of peanut butter and jelly.”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense…” The fox said. “Those are pretty nice…”

“Hey Fred, I’ve been meaning to ask you something…” Evangeline turned around and looked him over. “Do you eat micros?”

Frederick blinked in surprise. Where had that come from? He hadn’t looked at any micros too ravenously, had he? Then again, Evangeline didn’t sound accusing, or even mad… it was just that same, semi-mischievous look she’d give him from time to time…

“Err… not for a good long while.” He said. “And I didn’t plan to do it here, if you thought it would be awkward or something.”

“Oh, no no no.” Evangeline shook her head. “You won’t find anyone with a problem with it, assuming you’re not gobbling up employees.”

“Uh, sure…” The fox rubbed his upper arm. “Though I don’t think Darlene’s going to fit.”

Evangeline gave a laugh before approaching with the cups of coffee. She gave one to Frederick, who blew on it before taking a sip.

“So… would you like to get one?” The cow asked.

“Hmm?” Frederick raised an eyebrow as he moved his cup from his lips. “What do you mean?”

“I was thinking of heading out to the market in town.” Evangeline continued. “They’ve got a selection of micros being sold from all across the countryside. Plus, I figured you might like the chance to get away from the farm for a while, since it’s your night off.”

Just as she said that, Frederick felt his stomach rumbling. The idea of heading out to find a nice micro to eat was feeling more and more enticing by the moment.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind a little trip to town.” The fox said. “Though I’m still waiting for my first paycheck to process, so I’m a little short…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.” The cow laughed again. “I can cover it. It’s the least I can do for the nice, cute fox that’s helping out my Pa.”

Frederick rubbed his arm and blushed. “Th-thanks…”

“Yeah, let’s grab our coats, and well head off to get some micros.” Evangeline patted his shoulder. “Though I’ll bet you want to finish that drink first, yeah?”

“Uh-huh…” Frederick took another sip.

“I’ll leave you to it then.”

Evangeline gave him a playful wink and turned around to march toward the coat rack. As she walked, Frederick couldn’t help but notice a particular sway to the cow’s hips. He gulped, and tried to look away; maybe she was just trying to tease him again.

~~…~~

After the coffee was finished off, Frederick got his coat and followed Evangeline out into the front driveway of the farmhouse. There were two vehicles in the driveway; a small, plain car, and a large pickup truck. Evangeline got into the driver’s seat of the truck, and Frederick hoisted himself up into shotgun side.

“Hell of a ride…” Frederick said as he looked around at it. “Is it yours?”

“Nah, it’s Pa’s.” Evangeline shrugged. “But he lets me drive it most days, so long as I don’t get drunk and go flying into a ditch or something.”

She laughed, and Frederick tried to join in, but he just felt a little nervous.

What followed a brisk, ten-minute drive. Frederick got a nice look around at the countryside. He’d seen a lot of the country before, but there was something about riding in a truck that made looking at it all much more relaxing. It was comforting to know he wouldn’t be stuck wandering through all of that anymore; he could finally just take it all in.

Before long, the truck made its way into big valley area filled with large shops. A ring of trees and fancy houses surrounded the valley, though a few main roads poked through various sides.

Evangeline pulled the truck into the driveway of one of the larger buildings. It was a supermarket with a long, wide roof and a fancy sign that said “Martie-Mart.” Frederick balked; he’d never heard of the chain before. Maybe it was just something they didn’t have back him. Regardless, he stepped out of the truck and followed Evangeline as she did the same.

“My Pa often does business with this place.” Evangeline said as she strode toward the entrance. “We produce the eggs, we sell them to the marketplace, and walk away with a nice profit AND brand recognition.”

“Ah, I guess that makes sense.” Frederick shrugged. “I never really thought much about the business aspects of running a farm.”

“It can take a while to get your head around it, I guess.” Evangeline shrugged.

The pair walked through the automatic doors, where they were greeted by a rather large mouse in a clean uniform. The mouse was nearly twice as tall as either the fox or cow, making Frederick feel just a bit awkward.

“Oh relax.” Evangeline nudged Frederick. “He’s not nearly as big as the black cat guy, remember?”

“Uh, right…” Frederick blushed. “I almost forgot about HIM.”

The cow grasped a shopping cart and wheeled it forward, guiding Frederick toward the row of aisles. She walked off toward the eastern side, where a lot of produce was kept. Frederick couldn’t help but be entranced by the sight of so much food neatly arranged; was that the allure of the market, or simply his growing hunger? He’d nearly taken a step toward a rack of grapes, before Evangeline tugged his shoulder.

“This way, Fred.” She said playfully. “Right down this next aisle…”

The fox almost pouted indignantly as he moved away from the fruit to follow her down the next aisle. But as soon as he saw its contents, he couldn’t look away.

“Welcome to the Micro Aisle.” Evangeline declared smugly as she gestured with an arm in dramatic fashion.

Frederick could hardly believe his eyes. He’d never seen so many micros in one place. There were two shelves, both filled to the brim with little anthros arranged in lines. They were sorted by what species they were; canines, felines, birds, rabbits… even a few lizardy-types. They all looked up at the fox with varying emotions, but they were all pretty quiet. Almost as quiet as he was as he looked at them all in awe and splendor.

“First time you’ve ever seen a micro market, Fred?” Evangeline playfully patted him on the shoulder.

“They definitely weren’t like this back at home…” He shrugged as he looked over the micros again. “So, are they all willing?”

“Of course they’re willing.” Evangeline reached down and patted one of the tiny huskies on the head. “Don’t you think they’d be making a run for it if they didn’t want to be here?”

“I guess that makes sense…” He looked them over yet again. They all looked rather cute, and rather enticing to the eyes. Some of them looked right up at him with smiles. A few of the lady micros even swayed their hips and fluttered their eyes at him; almost begging the fox to pick them. His cheeks flushed red, and he had to cover his muzzle; it was almost too overwhelming to choose.

But then Frederick spotted something out of the corner of his eye; one of the micros at the very back-right of one of the shelves had rather odd behavior. It was a white-furred micro rabbit, who was trying to crouch down at the back of the group and peer around whenever it thought Frederick and Evangeline weren’t looking. This made the big fox curious, so he stepped closer to lean over the tops of the micros. Most of them just looked up in confusion, but the rabbit kept its head low and tried to pretend it didn’t exist.

That only made Frederick even more curious; he reached over the other micros’ heads and plucked the rabbit up gently by the chest. There was a gasp, followed by a bit of flailing arms as the fox lifted the rabbit up. It stayed quiet for a few seconds, until…

“Put me down!” The rabbit yelled; it was a girl.

Frederick gasped and nearly dropped the rabbit. But he shifted to hold her in both hands as she looked up at him fearfully between her moppy head of white hair.

“What was that yelling about?” Evangeline asked, finally looking over at the fox.

“I… don’t know…” He grimaced at he studied the frightened face of the rabbit. “Are you okay?”

The rabbit was momentarily confused, but she still looked very afraid. She covered her mouth and shivered as she waited for Frederick to… he wasn’t even sure what she was expecting, really.

Frederick studied the rabbit’s clothes; they looked to be made of the same material that all the other micros were wearing. She looked to be in rather decent shape, too.

“P-Put me down!” She exclaimed, half angry and half begging. “Let me go!”

“Okay, okay…” The fox nervously sat her down right at the back of the group of micros. But the moment her feet touch down, the others groaned and moved away from her; she was soon left exposed at the edge, where anyone could see her. And when she tried to hide in the group again, they pushed her away.

“Cut that out!” A cat yelled as she pushed the rabbit back. “Pain in the arse!”

The rabbit’s ears drooped, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked around nervously for another place to hide. All in all, it left Frederick very confused.

“Err, excuse me, Miss…” He said as he crouched down to become level with the rabbit. “Aren’t you supposed to be here by choice?”

The rabbit looked up at him nervously. She looked at the other micros, who seemed very annoyed by her presence.

“Oh, please just pick her already!” Cried a different micro rabbit. “She’s ruining the mood!”

A whole bunch of micros voiced their agreement, making the lady rabbit gulp. Frederick couldn’t help but feel bad for her, so he once again picked her up gently. She swung her legs in a panic, so Frederick tried his best to hold her gently with both hands.

“No, no, no!” She yelled.

“Listen, uh… I just want to talk for a bit.” He said calmly as he stepped away from the rows of micros. “Could you maybe, uh, relax please? I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Sheesh, what’s with her?” Evangeline asked as she stepped over.

The rabbit lady looked between the fox and cow, and eventually she groaned in defeat and stopped fighting. Frederick wasn’t sure what he should do, so he held her carefully in one hand and used his free hand to pat her head.

“My name’s Frederick.” He said calmly. “And this is Evangeline. What’s your name, Miss?”

The rabbit looked at him incredulously. “I… uh… I’m called Rosie.”

“You don’t act like a willing prey…” Evangeline said as she raised her eyebrow. “So what are you doing in the willing prey area?”

“Err… m-my job?” She asked cautiously.

“Your job?” Frederick repeated in confusion. “It’s your job to be prey?”

“That’s… kind of how it works, Fred.” Evangeline said. “The micros here are paid to stand here and see if they’ll get eaten.”

Frederick balked. “But how are you supposed to manage funds if you’re digested?”

“They get brought back.”

The fox blinked. “They what?”

“The technology is… complicated.” The cow shrugged. “But to make a long story short, every micro here is given a new body, same as the old one. It’s so that micros can keep coming back to be eaten over and over. Like I said, it’s a job. A dream job, to some.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s fine for them…” The fox shrugged as well, and then looked over at Rosie. “So… is it safe to guess that this is your first day?”

“First week.” The rabbit said with a nervous gulp. “It was… the only job I could qualify for around town. But I, uh…” She shivered in the fox’s grip, and her voice got very squeaky. “I haven’t been eaten before.”

“Ah. Well…” Frederick bit her lower lip. “If it’s alright with you, Miss… I’m going to… uhh…”

He couldn’t quite find the right words. So instead, he simply turned around and gently placed her down in the shopping cart. Rosie looked around worriedly.

“You going to be the first one to eat her, Fred?” Evangeline asked.

“I, uh… don’t really know.” He admitted. “But I figure… if I’m not the one to get her, then odds are likely that someone else will come along to get her. So… I might as well help, uh…” He snapped his fingers to try and find the right words. “Get her to relax?”

“Well, if you say so, Fred.” The cow gave a shrug. She then glanced down at the rabbit. “Consider yourself lucky, bun. You just got picked by the sweetest pred you could have asked for.”

Frederick’s eyes widened, and he flushed with embarrassment. Rosie, meanwhile, simply looked up at the two of them in puzzlement. The fox cleared his throat and strode forward to make his way out of the aisle.

“We should probably hurry up and head back to the farm.” He said nonchalantly. “The sun’s almost done setting, and we probably don’t’ want to be stuck riding around in the darkness.”

“Sure, sure…” Evangeline looked over the line of micros with a hungry smirk. “Just let me… pick my own sweet.”

Frederick just stood waiting as the cow looked over the very many and very eager micros. As that went on, he glanced over at the rabbit, who had sat down and sighed as she waited. The fox couldn’t help but feel bad; he had quite a few questions for her about her predicament, though he wasn’t sure what was fine and what wasn’t. Maybe he’d just have to figure it out during the conversation. Plus, he had to admit; Rosie was very pleasing to the eyes. And her figure was nice and toned…

Gurgle.

The fox put a hand on his stomach, and he scolded himself.