It had seemed like a great idea at the time. The fuzzy balls she had gotten from the charming glowman in the big coat smelled really nice, and when they got wet, they seemed to go fizzy. So it made sense, or so she had thought to take them down to the beach and to try and catch some of what came off them in a nice, relaxing bath. She could even admit, it felt like a weight was falling away from her.

Too late, she realised just what that weight was.

It wasn’t until she was climbing onto the beach, and the breeze cut into her skin that she thought to look back at herself. Bile rose in her throat and she began to twist and scream, gulls taking flight as she spotted her once beautiful tail being dragged out to sea as the next wave formed further out. Her back legs were hairless too, and so were her front. Nothing but her quills stood out along her back and she screamed again, pulling a paw up over her head to find all that fur missing too. She was alternating between dry heaving, screaming and crying. She looked like a MONSTER! and she collapsed into the sand, wailing loudly. Nobody could see her like this! She would DIE from the shame of it!

Modesty had to find somewhere to hide, surely her screaming would have caught someones attention. Maybe if she dragged herself further up the beach she could find a bush to die under.

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

Life was a breath of fresh air for him as of late. His legs had grown longer and so had his canines. With the new addition to his eyes and the crystals that now grew permanently along his back, one might not even recognize him. It was strange at first, but he got used to it quickly. Except, he hadn't seen Modesty since the new developments and wanted to get her opinion. Out of anyone he knew, her's was the only one he cared for. With a bit of a pep in his usual saunter, Gil traveled down Obsidian Beach. Inhaling a deep lungful of salty water, he smiled to himself as his lips still adjusted to the changes. Happy with himself, he was ignorant to the now naked blob flailing about down the beach. Still quite in the distance and maybe a bit more booze in him than he cared to admit, he probably wouldn't have taken care to notice. That would be until an eruption of loud wailing carried over the breeze. Freezing midstep, the hair rose along his spine around the crystals as he peered at the struggling mess of skin. The large shape and structure of the wolf appeared similar but he couldn't believe his eyes. Concern developed in the pit of his stomach as he moved into a run toward the screaming ball that indeed was Modesty. It smelled like her and the eyes were the same, but she was hairless. Hairless? Freezing as he got closer, Gil dropped his muzzle with a frown creasing over his lips. "Modesty?" He questioned as he kept his distance at first. See, Gil wasn't really the comforting type, and even as his stomach curled and his chest tightened with the urge to go comfort her, he wasn't sure what to do. Glancing around quickly to see if anyone was around to help, he realized it was just him. "Are you okay?" He asked sincerely as he stepped closer and lowered himself down to the sand to be as close to her as possible without invading her space. It was obvious that she was feeling some type of peril over the situation, but it was also kind of cute. "I'm sure it will grow back," Gil reassured her in a whisper.

Her worst fears were realised when Gil came down to the beach. She threw her paws dramatically over her face and her wailing increased in volume. “Don’t lookatmeI’mHIDEOUS!” She ran her words together, sobbing and wet, not just with water from the ocean but tears and snot as well.

He was keeping his distance from her, and that only reinforced that she must really be a disgusting monster now. His whispered reassurances that her hair would grow back only made her more anxious. “But what if it doesn’t!?!?” She exclaimed through sniffles and teary eyes. “Nobody will like me anymore if I’m ugly! You won’t even get close to me, do you hate me now?” She started crying harder, throwing her head back beneath her paws as she sprawled out on the sand. This was the worst day of her life!

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

Keeping his distance had been the wrong idea. As her wailing shrieked out across the beach, he could hear the disgruntled squawking of birds taking to the sky around them. Alright, if he didn't want this to turn into a scene, he was going to have to calm her down somehow. Both ears had tuned in to her bubbling mess of worries and the frown creased tighter across his lips. Scooting closer to her as she sprawled out with her face covered, Gil rolled onto his side and placed a paw over her shoulders. Pulling her closer to him and hoping the sand didn't cause too much abrasion, he pressed the bridge of his nose against her cheek. Gil let her cry a few more moments as he mustered up as much courage as he could. What he was going to say next might make or break where their relationship would lead in the future. If she reciprocated poorly, well he would definitely be making an ass out of himself. Either way, he had to say it because it was now or never in his mind. Closing his yellow eyes and inhaling a deep breath, he let out the words he never thought he'd ever say to anyone. "I love you, Modesty," he whispered. His throat tightened as he let it sink in. "Fur, no fur, you're beautiful to me and that will never change. I have fallen for you because of who you are, not how you look," his voice continued on in a strained hush so only her ears could hear. "Friends, best friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, label or not, it doesn't matter. You're the one I see spending the rest of forever with," Gil finally let out a large sigh as he hoped she believed what he meant. It was the most words he'd ever spoken in a short span of time and he almost couldn't handle how his heart thumped against his chest. "You don't have to say anything. Just know, I'll keep you safe and I promise your fur will grow back," he finished his mini-speech with opening eyes to see how she had reacted. Deep down, he wanted nothing more than her to feel the same way, but he also knew she was still young; and he wasn't going to ruin the best years of life being tied down to someone she didn't want to be with.

The desire to pull away when he reached out to wrap a paw around her was strong. He was only doing it because he felt bad surely, and chances were he was only going to walk away and vomit when he was done, poor guy. He deserved prettier friends than she was. When he moved his face in closer to press the bridge of his nose against her cheek she tried to reduce her volume a little. Poor guy didn’t need to go deaf as well as being disgusted.

She almost missed his words with her head buried under her paws, but her soft moaning reduced to stuttered breathing as her brain reeled to catch up. He what?!

Butterflies were building in her belly, and OF COURSE he’d decide to say something like that when she was naked with red ringed crying eyes and a face full of snot. It was almost enough to set her off all over again. Stupid man.

But he was her stupid man.

If they had’ve been standing she might have thrown herself at him, but as it was the best she could manage was to unbury her face and shove into his chest beneath the paw he had thrown over her. “Why’d you have to say that when I look so ugly y’big dummy!” She was still in shock, and her face was struggling to make up its mind whether she wanted to be devastated or happy. “I love you too.” she finally settled on, smiling even though tears still ran down her face.

“Speech.”

We are the jack-o-lanterns in July setting fire to the sky

At first, he only noticed the softening sound of her cries. It was a good start and he hoped his comforting words would quell whatever worries she had succumbed to. His heart still stuttered against his chest when all of a sudden Modesty was burying her face against the fur of his chest. In truth, it felt odd because her fur was gone, but there wasn't any way he was stupid enough to comment on it. Wrapping his paw tighter around her so she could sob more into his fur if she wanted, his eyes popped up when she called him a big dummy. A grumble rose in his throat when he wanted to protest that she wasn't ugly. No matter how red around her eyes got or how naked she was without her fur, she was still his. He had already decided he wasn't going to go anywhere. They'd been through too much together. On the edge of telling her that she was beautiful once more, his words were stopped when she said what he had hoped she would say. I love you too. His throat tightened again as his body froze, unsure of what to do. What had he been expecting? The worst? Of course, because why would anything go his way? Sighing in relief once his brain had processed her words, he lifted his head so that he could get a slightly better look at her face. "I would give you my fur to wear if I could," he mumbled under his breath as he reached out to lick her cheek. Feeling the scratchiness of her skin against his tongue was odd but he had to show some affection. Holding her close, he laid his head back down on the sand until Modesty was calm enough. If she wanted to lay here in his legs and sob for a while, he'd let her. "Whenever you're ready, we can find something to help you feel comfortable," Gil whispered to her. Relishing in the emotion of confessing one's love, he was content. His heart had finally started to calm as the knots in his stomach began to unwind. It's not that he ever dreaded saying it, but he had been waiting for the right moment. There was no sense of rushing with her. He was happy where they were and where life was heading.