Gift Story for Loilei on Discord, an oil fox that's gonna have to deal with some unwanted guests in her space! Don't they not to barge into someone's home uninvited?

Definetly had a lot of fun making this one, espically considering I get to work with another shapeshifter! Also I used a different front and color scheme to fit it better (It doesn't show up here obviously xwx). Enjoy!

“Cmon, it’s just an abandoned factory.”
“Nope, not going for it.”
“It’ll be fine!”
“How can you be so sure?!”

Kate let out a long sigh. Her feline friend, Camrom, was always such a nervous wreck. He would always be protesting and whatnot.
“We won’t even be there for long, just a quick in and out.” Kate reasoned.
“I’m not gonna convince you otherwise, am I…?” Camrom asked her canine friend.
“Nope!”
“fiiiine. Let’s make it quick though…”

The two had come across an abandoned factory, and a recently abandoned one at that… if 4 months still counted. Still, such a place has been untouched by looters and scavengers due to chilling rumors of a slime monster lurking in the area. Kate didn’t believe it, not even for a second. But Camrom was absolutely convinced, and honestly believed they were both making a terrible mistake.

The place looked rather eerie. Despite being in decent condition, it still gave off these chilling vibes. All of the doors were closed and bolted shut, except for a fire exit on the side that had rusted and was left wide open. A rather ominous invitation.

“Look, there’s an entrance. Let’s head in!” Kate bound for the door, much to the dismay of Camrom. “Hey, wait up!” He called out, but Kate was already gone inside. “Mother help us” he silently commented before taking a long deep breath and heading inside himself.

If the outside looked rather deprecated, the inside was a whole different story. It looked clean. Not really clean, but it looked like someone had performed some maintenance in the paw few days. There was no dust or debris, at least not in large quantities. Camrom couldn’t help but think the place was occupied… but by who…?

Kate headed deeper into the complex, finding her way into the main area. It was a large room filled with all sorts of machinery that looked to be in poor condition. A lot of it had splotches on oil on it though, how it got there was anyone’s guess. There was barely any light coming in from the full moon, but it only added to the unsettling atmosphere.

“Huh, they weren’t kidding when they said this place was untouched… wonder why.” Kate commented casually, pulling out her flashlight and turning it on. A closer inspection revealed that most of the machines were rusted and deprecated, probably beyond what was salvageable to anyone that wasn’t a diehard restoration expert.

“Maybe it’s because the rumors are real Kate, we need to get out of here!” Camron hissed under his breath.
“Oh cool your jets for once, would ya? There’s nothing here!”
“I still don’t like it!”

Kate rolled her eyes and continued her trek forward, with Camron right behind her. They walked directly through the manufacturing floor toward the other end of the building, where a set of double doors stood in their way. Kate put both paws on the door bar and pushed on it, opening one of the doors which led into a long hallway. This time though, the floor was covered in oil.

“Jeez, looks like someone made a mess here.” Kate was hesitant to move forward, she would most certainly slip and fall, getting her fur coated in the stuff.
“All the more reason to get out of here-”
“Oh would you knock it off for once?!” Kate yelled at Camron, enraged. “There is no monster here! None!”

Camron was taken aback by Kate’s rage, and ended up quieting down. Not even a peep came from him. Kate let out a deep sigh and continued. “Let’s find another way through.”

Sadly, there wasn’t much else on the production floor, with the exception of several large barrels filled to the brim with thick oil. Kate walked toward them, intrigued by their presence. Camron kept close to her, despite not wanting to go near them. Kate shined her flashlight at the barrels. Why were they still here?

“Uhhh, Kate?” Camrom’s voice quivered.
“Ugh, what is it?” Kate turned around… only to be utterly stunned by what she saw.

Through the double doors came a massive blob of thick oil, moving all on its own. It seemed alive somehow, but it wasn’t clear how. It stopped and pooled a few feet at the doorway, unmoving.

“What is that…?” Camron asked nervously. He was ready to run at any given moment.
“I… don’t know…”

Suddenly, a large maw formed from the blob and let out a blood-curdling roar. Both Kate and Camron screamed at the top of their lungs, wasting no time to run away from it back to where they came from. The blob went after them, making them even more panicked as they stumbled over themselves out of the production floor, through the hallways, and leaping out the open doorway, vanishing into the night.

The blob had stopped chasing the pair, standing at the doorway to make sure they didn’t come back. It was unlikely they would ever dare step foot in her place ever again… not after the scare she gave them. The blob slowly moved back into the factory, slowly taking shape and forming into a pitch-black goopy oil fox, with soft amber eyes and slick, shiny ‘hair’.

The puddle of oil she formed from followed her nonchalantly as she made her way through the factory… her home. It was the best home an oil fox could ask for: an abandoned oil refining factory with much of its raw material left behind, still waiting to be processed. Only now it was for Loilei, and only Loilei.

She walked through the double doors, making sure to close them behind her as she went back to her resting spot on the second floor. The halls she traversed and the connected rooms were modestly ok, as long as you ignore the oil slathered on the floor and splotched onto the walls. Alas, Loilei wasn’t the cleanest of liquid shifters, but she tried her best. At least the place was still structurally sound and wasn’t at risk of falling apart.

She went up the stairs and into her ‘bedroom’, which was really just a normal room with a barrel in it… her bed. Comfier than any mattress, and will ensure that you stay in one spot, provided it doesn’t fall over.

Loilei climbed into the barrel and slowly melted, the trailing oil puddle following her in, filling the barrel to the brim. Her body and mind slowly succumbed the siren’s call of rest as she fell into a deep slumber once more.