it was a little strong, he was glad to have tried it.
That was nearly all he managed to say. The kids and their mother all talked at once, all over each other, and Kory didn’t even try to get a word in edgewise, just listened to the raucous chaos with a smile. It wasn’t until the meal was mostly over that he realized that they hadn’t even said Grace, he was so busy listening and looking at the animated vulpines around the table. It was amusing to see Samaki’s black fur in the middle of all the red foxes. Fox coats were odd things, he mused, but pretty. All the red foxes had black ears and paws with white underbellies; Samaki had only the black and white, as though the other foxes had had their ears and paws just dipped in ink, and he’d been dunked.
Mouth still tingling from the veggies, he thanked Mrs. Roden for the meal. She wouldn’t let him help clean up, instead sending him and Samaki down to the rec room and recruiting Kasim and Ajani to help clear the table.
Samaki took Kory through the door on the opposite side of the kitchen, into a cool, musty, vulpine-scented darkness. He flicked on the light to reveal a worn couch and old gaming table, with an old console television set in one corner. “Feel like playing a game?” Samaki said. “We got checkers, Foxopoly, Careers, and Scrabble. I think it has all the tiles. Kande and I used to play Scrabble and Foxopoly all the time.” He looked down at the boxes. “Foxopoly is missing some houses, but we could still play it. Or we could play checkers. Maybe you’d let me play red? The others never do.”
Kory looked around. “Any video games?”
Samaki grinned, pulling out an old PS 1 from beside the TV and spreading out a pad on the floor. “You wanna try Pounce Pounce Revolution?”
The game looked familiar, but the larger pad had more squares on it, with several strange symbols. “I’ll watch you play first,” he said. “It looks like fun.”
“It is. You should see Kasim play it. He’s better than I am.” The fox fired up the PS 1 and Kory watched an animated fox dressed in shiny purple clothes with gold trim appear on the screen and say, “Pounce Pounce Revolution!” While the instructions came up, Samaki took his shirt off and rubbed his paws together.
“Let’s POUNCE!” the animated fox said. On screen, a mockup of the pad appeared as music started playing, a dance number with a driving beat. A small animated mouse danced out onto the pad on screen; Samaki leapt, coming down with both paws on the pad on the floor, and the mouse squeaked and vanished. Another one came out, then another and another, and soon the black fox was jumping all over the pad, spinning to change direction and pouncing on mouse after mouse. As he did so, the animated fox shouted out encouragement, like “Got ’im!” and “Nice pouncin’!”
The song ended, and the animated fox came back out, dancing a little himself, and said, “Amaaaaaaazin!” Kory clapped.
Samaki turned, panting a bit, and bowed, tail arching behind him. That was an easy level,” he said. “I’ll put on a harder one.”
The otter grinned and settled back into the couch, watching the fox tap some buttons. “I like this song,” he said over his shoulder, and when it came on, Kory couldn’t resist tapping his feet to the infectious beat. The mice were dancing and spinning this time, even leaping in imitation of Samaki himself, and were harder to pin down. The shouts of encouragement now came interspersed with disappointed interjections, like, “Don’t let ’em get away!” and “That mouse is playin’ you!”
Samaki jumped and worked much harder at this level. Even when his thick fur was dry, Kory could see his muscles bunching and releasing. Reflexively, he shied away from thinking about them, then remembered his resolve and deliberately watched, enjoying Samaki’s elegant grace and athleticism.
When the level ended, the animated fox didn’t dance, just told Samaki to keep
That was nearly all he managed to say. The kids and their mother all talked at once, all over each other, and Kory didn’t even try to get a word in edgewise, just listened to the raucous chaos with a smile. It wasn’t until the meal was mostly over that he realized that they hadn’t even said Grace, he was so busy listening and looking at the animated vulpines around the table. It was amusing to see Samaki’s black fur in the middle of all the red foxes. Fox coats were odd things, he mused, but pretty. All the red foxes had black ears and paws with white underbellies; Samaki had only the black and white, as though the other foxes had had their ears and paws just dipped in ink, and he’d been dunked.
Mouth still tingling from the veggies, he thanked Mrs. Roden for the meal. She wouldn’t let him help clean up, instead sending him and Samaki down to the rec room and recruiting Kasim and Ajani to help clear the table.
Samaki took Kory through the door on the opposite side of the kitchen, into a cool, musty, vulpine-scented darkness. He flicked on the light to reveal a worn couch and old gaming table, with an old console television set in one corner. “Feel like playing a game?” Samaki said. “We got checkers, Foxopoly, Careers, and Scrabble. I think it has all the tiles. Kande and I used to play Scrabble and Foxopoly all the time.” He looked down at the boxes. “Foxopoly is missing some houses, but we could still play it. Or we could play checkers. Maybe you’d let me play red? The others never do.”
Kory looked around. “Any video games?”
Samaki grinned, pulling out an old PS 1 from beside the TV and spreading out a pad on the floor. “You wanna try Pounce Pounce Revolution?”
The game looked familiar, but the larger pad had more squares on it, with several strange symbols. “I’ll watch you play first,” he said. “It looks like fun.”
“It is. You should see Kasim play it. He’s better than I am.” The fox fired up the PS 1 and Kory watched an animated fox dressed in shiny purple clothes with gold trim appear on the screen and say, “Pounce Pounce Revolution!” While the instructions came up, Samaki took his shirt off and rubbed his paws together.
“Let’s POUNCE!” the animated fox said. On screen, a mockup of the pad appeared as music started playing, a dance number with a driving beat. A small animated mouse danced out onto the pad on screen; Samaki leapt, coming down with both paws on the pad on the floor, and the mouse squeaked and vanished. Another one came out, then another and another, and soon the black fox was jumping all over the pad, spinning to change direction and pouncing on mouse after mouse. As he did so, the animated fox shouted out encouragement, like “Got ’im!” and “Nice pouncin’!”
The song ended, and the animated fox came back out, dancing a little himself, and said, “Amaaaaaaazin!” Kory clapped.
Samaki turned, panting a bit, and bowed, tail arching behind him. That was an easy level,” he said. “I’ll put on a harder one.”
The otter grinned and settled back into the couch, watching the fox tap some buttons. “I like this song,” he said over his shoulder, and when it came on, Kory couldn’t resist tapping his feet to the infectious beat. The mice were dancing and spinning this time, even leaping in imitation of Samaki himself, and were harder to pin down. The shouts of encouragement now came interspersed with disappointed interjections, like, “Don’t let ’em get away!” and “That mouse is playin’ you!”
Samaki jumped and worked much harder at this level. Even when his thick fur was dry, Kory could see his muscles bunching and releasing. Reflexively, he shied away from thinking about them, then remembered his resolve and deliberately watched, enjoying Samaki’s elegant grace and athleticism.
When the level ended, the animated fox didn’t dance, just told Samaki to keep
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