Quoted By:
>You reached in and flicked the light switch in the dark bathroom.
>Unlike the thousands of other times you’d done this, your heart jumped.
>An unmoving furry blob on the tiled floor blocked your path.
“The hell are you doing?” You asked Zoroark.
>The pokémon lay on her stomach.
>It looked like she was pressing as much of herself against the floor as possible.
>A messy, unfolded towel was her makeshift pillow.
>You got no response aside from a tired groan.
>You knelt down, jostling the pokémon.
“What’s wrong?”
>”Sssh’too hot.” She mumbled.
“Too hot?”
>”Mmm hmm…” The dark-type trailed off.
>Summer was not treating her well.
>Standing next to the open refrigerator.
>Eating ice.
>Cool showers and baths.
>You’d seen her do everything.
>You sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.
>She stretched a little bit as you fingers dug beneath her coat.
“Look.”
“You sure you don’t want a shave?”
“That fur’s not making this easy.”
>”Nooooooo…!” Zoroark stressed.
>”Ugly.”
“No, you’re not.”
>”But I WOULD be ugly.”
>You sat on the floor next to her head.
>You brought out your phone and launched the web browser.
>’short hair zoroark shave’
>And went to images.
>…
>Okay, yeah…
>…
>You scrolled down.
>…
>”Ugly” Zoroark repeated.
>Her point was valid.
>They all looked oddly skinny and… off…
>Like a shaved meowth.
“For the record, I didn’t mean a haircut.”
>At the mention of it, she hugged a bundle of the long crimson strands to her chest.
>She ran her claws through it like a comb.
“It’s just, I dunno…”
“It’s like you’re wearing a winter coat or something.”
>You reached above to the countertop, feeling for Zoroark’s hairbrush.
>You set to work straightening some of her tangled locks.
“What’d you do when it was hot in the forest?”
>”Sleep.” She answered. ”Come out at dusk.”
>”Can’t do that now, though.”
“Why’s that?”
>”S’not like I need to hunt anymore.”
>”And I won’t see you if I sleep all day.”
>A smile crossed your face.
