Sinister: a black fox fable

[julesmarkham]

hey guys
I've come up with a new fable, let me know what you think

The black fox woke up and yawned. She was curled up at the foot of Jubilee's
bed. Jubilee was still fast asleep, the cat taking up most of the pillow.
The Griffin was snoring loudly, sprawled across the top of the wardrobe,
it's tail twitching. The fox sniffed the air. There was a strange smell,
like compost and syrup, which was probably why she had woken up. She jumped
down from the bed and padded quietly into the kitchen, where the strange
odour was coming from.
 On the kitchen table, amongst the plates and chopsticks of the evenings
Chinese takeaway, stood a small creature, about a foot tall covered in
matted brown fur, longest at the scalp, where it was a gothic shock of
rattails, shortest at the tail, which curled and danced like a snake. In
each paw it held a pair of wriggling koi carp, almost as big as itself,
another fish was rapidly disappearing down its throat.
The fox barked  and jumped onto the table and the creature let out a screech
and dropped the fish, leaping back and bouncing onto the floor. The fox
scooped up the fish and dropped them into the kitchen sink, nosing the cold
water tap until a gush of water poured out and the fish began to swim in
slow circles. The fox, satisfied that they were okay, turned off the tap and
jumped onto the floor, glaring at the little creature, who belched in her
face and cackled loudly.
-Hey Phooka! Not seen you dogga-like before!
The fox growled at the creature
~I am not a Phooka!
-nah, you is! Phooka!
There was a sudden thunk as a large pickle jar dropped over the creature,
trapping it. The fox looked up to see jubilee in her dressing gown, jar in
hand. She scooped up the jar and set it on the table, the creature still
trapped inside. It was hammering on the glass and making rude gestures, the
smell of vinegar was making it feel queasy.
-I heard a noise, so I came out to see what was going on, Jubilee explained.
She pulled up a chair and sat down. The creature continued to gesticulate
and swear.
-What is it, Fox? A boggart or something?
~I think it's a Spriggin. They're like boggarts but nastier.
-What should we do with it? Do we kill it?
~No! Just let it go.
-You said it was a pest, if we let it go it'll only cause more trouble.
The fox sighed and shook her head.
~You cant punish it just for being nasty, that's just the way it is. You
wouldn't punish cat for throwing up furballs, or the Griffin for scratching
the sofa, would you? It's just the way they are.
Jubilee nodded in understanding. She lifted up the jar and the Spriggin
leapt up, grabbing a chopstick and waving it at her.
-Would you like a sandwich? she asked politely.
The Spriggin nodded, a little surprised at the offer. Jubilee fetched a
slice of bread and, after a moments thought, spread it with strawberry
jelly. She folded it in half and handed it to the Spriggin.
It snatched the sandwich off her and bit into it, still waving the chopstick
at her. When it realised what was in the sandwich, it opened the bread up
and buried its face in it, slurping noisily. When it licked the bread clean
it dropped the slice of bread and belched again, it's face smeared with
strawberry pulp. Jubilee stifled a giggle as the Spriggin licked jam from
it's paws.
-He looks like a little Darth Maul!
The Spriggin glared at her, the turned to see the Griffin wandering in,
following the smell of food. The Spriggin shrieked and leaped into the air,
scaling the wall and disappearing through a crack in the plaster, leaving
sugary pawprints behind it. The griffin snatched the bread from the table
and skulked back to bed,
Jubilee and the fox sat in silence for a moment, both a little startled.
Finally Jubilee stood up
-I need a cup of tea.
She picked up the kettle and went to the sink. The fox tried to look as
innocent as possible.
-Fox?
~Hmmm?
-There are fish in here!
The Fox said nothing for a moment.
~Hmmm?

jules x


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