Karyn Blackpaw waved to Jon as she walked closer. Karyn was an anthropomorphic vixen with wild, curly red hair that matched the colour of most of her fur. According to typical fox patterning, her coat was off-white down her midriff and at the tip of her tail, yet it turned near-black around her hands and feet.
Jon hopped off the wall to greet his approaching friend. Ever the tomboy, Karyn had hidden herself inside loose-fitting denim slacks and her favourite baggy green sweater. Her beautiful bushy tail swished behind her as she walked.
As she arrived she hugged Jon emphatically, and he could feel her cool nose brush the side of his neck. "Hey Jon-boy, I missed you this spring break," she said as she relaxed the hug.
"Yeah," Jon nodded with a sigh. Karyn's fruity scent lingered in his nostrils. "I missed you too. It's been a... a pretty weird break for me."
"Oh Jon," Karyn looked glum. "I'm sorry. What happened?"
"It's..." Jon tailed off, paused, then began again. "Well, this is going to make me sound like a crazy person at first, but you have to hear me out..."
He told Karyn all about the sudden passing of his grandfather and the strange object he'd left to him in his will. He showed her the note that had arrived with the stone. Even then she had a hard time believing it.
"Jon-boy," she said calmly, "you sound like a crazy person."
"I know," he nodded.
"I trust you Jon, but... if this note is to be believed, your grandpa faked his own death but not before leaving you a magic rock that grants wishes. Wishes, Jon!"
"Thing is, Karyn," he said quietly, "I have the stone right here, and I can show you it in action."
"Okay then Jon, show me what you got."
"No, you do it," Jon took the stone from the wooden box and passed it to Karyn. "You choose the wish."
"Wha-?"
"I know what a sceptic you can be, Karyn. This way I can't possibly have fixed the result," Jon shrugged. "This way there's no doubt."
Karyn looked uncertainly at the smooth pebble in her hand.
"Go ahead," Jon said, then added. "I trust you."
"Wishes can't be reversed though, right?" Jon merely nodded in response.
"Okay, I'm going to wish for something harmless then," after scanning her surroundings, Karyn's eyes settled on an old tree across the road from the school. "I wish the bark on that tree was blue."
The stone omitted a bright flash and sure enough, the trunk of the tree instantly turned a dark shade of blue. Karyn gasped, "It happened! It's real!!"
Jon laughed, the reasons behind the gaping smile on Karyn's face were obvious. She was waking up to the possibilities created by an unlimited number of wishes.
"Jon, think of what we could do with this rock!" she said, in an excited whisper. "We could have anything! Do anything! Like, anything!"
"I know, isn't it great?"
"What have you wished for already?" asked Karyn.
Before Jon could answer her question, he was interrupted by an all-too-familiar noise that broadcast across the school yard with irritating efficiency. It was the haughty, self-righteous laugh of Sarah, the head cheerleader.
(Astute readers will probably have noticed I've not specifically mentioned Jon's anthro-species. I left it to be determined later, once it becomes relevant. :) )
