“Okay fine, your cuteness has won me over. Get us something to play with.”
Rafe gives me a foxy little grin, then trots away to grab a tennis ball. He scrambles back to me and drops it in front of my crossed legs. When he sits on his haunches, tail flicking back and forth, I arch a brow at him.
“Are you going to stay like that? Are we going to play fetch?”
Rafe chirp barks again, then lets his tongue flop back out and wiggles his backside.
I snort. “Okay. Fetch it is.”
The second attempt at picking something up goes a lot better, and soon Rafe and I have a pretty great game going. After I manage a few rolls that he hunts down quickly, I move to short tosses. I glance around the room, considering giving him a challenge. Quinn and Yasmin have partnered up, and now that he’s not the center of attention, the ghost vampire is doing a much better job handling that frisbee.
I grin, but it dies on my face when I see Dimple Piercing standing about a foot away from me, hands on her hips. “Something wrong?” I ask.
“That’s a little offensive, don’t you think?”
Completely confused, I glance down at my shirt, then around the room again. “What are you talking about?”
Dimple Piercing gestures to Rafe. “Shifters aren’t animals, they’re supes who can change their shape. Playing fetch is something you do with a pet, not a person.”
I blink at her. “Uh-”
“Look, I know you’re missing your memories, so maybe you just don’t remember, but what you’re doing is extremely condescending.”
Rafe chirp barks again, then comes to my rescue. He trots in between us and flips onto his back with a funny little tilt of his head. It almost looks like he’s rolling his eyes at Dimple Piercing. I swallow a laugh and look back up at my accuser.
“I didn’t ask him to shift. That was his idea. Besides, we were going to be throwing it back and forth anyway, what’s the difference?”
Dimple Piercing — I really need to get her name — glares at me. “That’s probably because shifters have all been treated like animals for so long. He has internalized prejudice against himself. You shouldn’t encourage it.”
Fox Rafe lets out a prolonged round of chirp barks that sound a lot like laughter.
“See? He’s degrading himself because he thinks he has to for our entertainment.”
I turn the ball in my hands. “So, you’re saying he can’t think for himself? Isn’t that condescending?”
Twisting onto his paws again, Rafe trots toward Dimple Piercing and bats at a string hanging off one of the rips in her jeans. Though this is insanely adorable, his antics aren’t exactly helping. I snicker as he starts to weave in and out between her feet.
Dimple Piercing takes a step back, trying to avoid his tail as it twists around her legs. “No, I’m trying to help-”
“So you’re a supe savior?” I ask. “Supe Moses? Leading the poor shifters to the promised land?”
Goading’s not nice, but I can’t help it. If Rafe wants to prance around in fox form so he can chase a ball, that’s his business, I’m not going to tell him what he can and can’t do with his power.
Dimple Piercing’s glare sharpens and in her continued backward pedal accidentally steps on Rafe’s tail. He lets out a little yelp, then wisely scurries out of the way of her shoes. He sits by my knee and scratches behind one of his ears with his back paw.
Ms. Troges approaches from the other side of the room. “Melissa, why aren’t you with your partner?”
The glare vanishes from Dimple Piercing’s face. “I’m sorry, Ms. Troges. I was just helping the new students, but I’ll get back to my mat, they don’t seem to want my advice.”
She hovers off, nose in the air, and Ms. Troges faces me and Rafe. “Is there something you’re stuck on?”
“Think we’re doing okay.” I toss the ball into the air and Rafe catches it before it hits the ground.
“Excellent job. Keep up the good work. You’ll both be headed to combat before you know it. Though I would suggest practicing in human form as well, Mr. Warren.” With a wink, Ms. Troges moves on to the next pair as Rafe drops the ball into my hand again.
Now that Dimple Piercing is gone, I furrow my brow at the ghost fox in front of me. “Is this condescending?”
Rolling his head, Rafe nips at the ball, tail flicking back and forth. Guess I’ll take that as a no. I can ask him about it later when I recruit him to help me figure out what happened to Haya’s former roommate. Because if it doesn’t bother him, a lock picking fox shifter will kind of make the perfect spy.
Chapter Nine
Rafe shifts back into human form as we head toward the Rec, a grin immediately springing onto his face. “Wow, that was wild.”
Fists in my pockets, I scuff the heels of my boots against the floor, calculating the right way to ask my question. In the end, I just spit it out. “Did that bother you though? I mean, she’s right, I don’t remember specifics about my life, but I do remember hearing that some shifters are treated like crap. Was it-”
Hooking an arm around my shoulders, Rafe cuts me off with a gentle hip check. “Don’t worry about it. Yeah, some supes push us around, look down on us, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to shift. Or play fetch.” He bumps me again.
I take a deep breath of his cedar scent, surprised at how strong his arm feels. Though he isn’t exactly scrawny, I hadn’t pegged him right off as particularly strong. Another stupid assumption. Those flannel shirts are hiding a whole lot of muscle. Plus, the hug’s all kinds of nice. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve missed this kind of touch.
Warmth scatters through me like
