DISCLAIMER: Alpha does not own any of the characters written or referenced in this story. All intellectual properties belong to their respective owners.

Apet’s Backstory

By Alpha Wolfio

In the small town of Littleton, a local attorney and florist were on a date together. Their 

names were Graf and Zeni, and they were both anthropomorphic foxes. Graf, who had dark gray fur, had been a gardener in a town south of Littleton, but he changed his career path and became a florist at the behest of his mother. However, he opened a successful shop in the area and even provided flowers for the mayor’s wedding. Zeni was a hard-working fox, growing up in the projects, taking care of her younger siblings while her parents were absent and neglectful. After graduating college, she went to law school, desiring to become a family lawyer. With support from her siblings, who were now old enough to care for themselves, Zeni passed the bar exam and became a licensed attorney. She was a tan-colored fox and kept her fur smooth since looks were part of what her career entailed. If she did not look qualified, she could not win her cases. Graf and Zeni did not know much about each other, although Littleton was such a small town. However, Graf and Zeni finally met at a block party hosted by the mayor. They had a connection to the outdoors and bonded over that. Over time, they got closer and decided to become a couple. They dated for many months until Graf decided he would propose the next step in their relationship. The whole town got together to celebrate the marriage, and nine months later, Zeni and Graf introduced their daughter, Apet, into the world. She was tan like her mother, with some black accents on her ears and tail like her father. As she grew older, her head hair grew to be dark red. 

At age two, Apet was interested in anything with wheels, including toy cars. However, 

she was most intrigued by bicycles. On her second Christmas, her parents gifted her a tricycle. But, she insisted on having a bike for her birthday or next Christmas. Zeni explained to Apet that she was not old enough to ride a bicycle. Apet pouted but then took a ride on her new tricycle. After that first pedal, she felt like she was having the time of her life. She would try to ride it everywhere in the house, sometimes leaving scuff marks on the floor. Zeni and Graf took it upon them to take Apet out with them as they had their bikes. Apet’s love for bikes did not stop riding them on the neighborhood roads. She wanted to go on the mountain trails when she got her first bike with training wheels at age eight. She loved the view of the mountains, as she and her parents went hiking there from time to time. However, Graf stated her bike was not fit for the mountain and could only be ridden on flat surfaces. Her father’s warning did not stop Apet as she attempted to use her bike on the mountain. However, her training wheels got caught on rocks and fell on them, breaking her wrist. She was not wearing any safety gear and thought she could get away with biking up the mountain with none. A nearby hiker saw Apet crying and holding her wrist, so the hiker called an ambulance. An hour later, Apet was in the hospital and her parents, both rushing to her from their workplaces, came to comfort Apet. Luckily, it was a clean fracture in her wrist. Her recovery time was about 12 weeks. 

Within a few weeks, Zeni noticed Apet was feeling down as she could not bike with a 

fractured wrist. She discussed this with Graf, who was also helping his daughter feel better. Graf had an idea to help Apet feel better. He passed by a bookstore on his way from the flower shop and grabbed magazines about mountain biking and cycling. One day, on his way home, he purchased as many biking magazines as he could. Apet’s eyes gleamed as she saw her father come home with magazines with bikes on them. She took them to her room and looked through the magazines carefully. She saw one particular bike in a catalog that she desired. It was the famed Mongoose mountain bike, which could traverse any terrain. It was 500 dollars, which was a lot for a bike, but to Apet, every penny was worth it. She acted as soon as possible and asked her mother for some lemonade. She had seen other children in the neighborhood raise money running lemonade stands. Zeni laughed at the idea, although it was not a bad one. Instead, she said that Apet should work in a homeless shelter, cooking meals for the homeless. Apet agreed, and every weekend, she would feed the homeless and even discuss biking with them since many homeless people owned a bike. 

Apet enjoyed accumulating information about bikes, such as how they can be fixed or 

how a flat can be repaired. She hoped she could ride her new bike on her next birthday when she recovered from her injury. Though, when her ninth birthday came, she did not receive the bicycle. She was still too short to ride the Mongoose. After a few years, Apet grew in height and maturity and flourished in her ability to ride bikes for miles, and even started a cycling club at school. But her genuine passion was for mountain biking. Finally, at age fifteen, she was tall enough to ride the Mongoose and received it for Christmas. Apet was so thankful to her parents, and they were happy to provide her with something that would make her thrilled. She started practicing with it, self-driven, and her parents sometimes rode the mountain trails with her. She still gave her time at the homeless shelter, and later on, she got accepted to college and took her bike with her. It was an excellent school for athletics enthusiasts, and Apet wanted to go into exercise science. She works part-time as a sales associate at a local bike shop and bikes on the mountain trails when she is not working or studying. She knows that as soon as she graduates, she will train for one of the largest biking races in the country, the Rocky Lake Race!