I don't understand anything about smoking, so I apologize in advance for any misinformation. Happy holidays.
Whistle Birds sing high in the trees, signaling the beginning of a new dawn. Rabbits emerge from their burrows in search of food, always alert with their large ears. Squirrels leap from branch to branch, chasing nuts and fruits. Ducks enjoy a swim in the lake in a clearing, while a herd of deer quench their thirst, protecting their young by leaving them in the center of the group, as regardless of day or night...
heads lift on hearing a
rattle in the bushes. The herd dashes off after the sound repeats, leaping over rocks and fallen logs towards the trees, the sound of their hooves hitting the ground startle birds into the sky. As most of the deer leave the clearing, someone jumps from the top of a tree, and a moment later, a
snap is heard, with the stranger's fall interrupted, and the legs of two deer breaking after tripping over something that rose from the ground.
-
"Shh, it's all right now, the pain will pass," the gentle voice of a teen accompanies the movement of his hand caressing a fallen animal, smoothing its fur slowly, feeling its breath calming down more and more until its heart stops beating, 'an impressive demonstration of your skills,' the teen gets up after closing the animal's eyes, accepting the praise from the voice with a nod, while removing a camouflage made of dry leaves and twigs above something, 'haaa, to think that in the beginning, you needed my help to catch even a rabbit,' the teen smiles at the melodrama, while dragging what looks like a sled by a rope to the two dead deer, "don't be like that, as you saw with the rope, I still have a lot to learn," he adjusts the bodies, tightening them well, and starts pulling them to the sound of a chuckle in his head, 'fufu, yes, when they hit it, I was afraid you'd fly away!'
The teen continues walking in a certain direction, discussing better ways to have set up his trap, 'a rock! "Uh-huh, and how would I take it up the tree?" Details, details,' passing by marked trees, by them as other animals, 'ah, a moment. "Wolf, bear?" wolf, aaand there, I scared it away!' until finally, they arrive at a cabin in the middle of the forest, "Arg, finally, my shoulder is killing me!" 'Hihi, don't forget to drain the blood from the bodies!' "No! The consequences of my success!" he exclaims, kneeling to the sky, 'pff, while you do that, I'll keep an eye out in case the smell attracts any visitors.'
The smell of food being prepared takes the young one out of his focus. He takes one last look at the small garden next to the cabin, grabbing a few more leaves and spices in a basket before removing his gloves, covered in dirt, placing them in their proper place. He slaps his legs as he stands up, passing by the bodies hanging upside down from a tree,
still dripping, maybe another half hour, until he stops in front of the door to his house.
"I didn't notice you coming back," he says upon entering, placing the basket on the table next to textbooks. 'Tu tu tu, I taught you everything you know, dear Alex, not everything
i know,' she remarks,
fair, "want some help?' he asks, approaching the counter. 'Go ahead and make the salad, please.'
The two spend time completing the final preparations for lunch. "When did you catch this rabbit?" he asks, placing the tomato slice's on top of the rest of the salad. 'Just now, while keeping an eye out for visitors,' a piece of wood floats slowly towards the rest as a flash of blue illuminates her from behind, feeding the fire. "You're getting better," he notes. A happy-
bittersweet, laugh accompanying the comment.
Alex puts aside what he was doing for a moment, wiping his hands on a cloth. He goes to the stove, where the one responsible for caring, teaching, and who he
is today is sitting on a bench. He wraps his arms around her furry neck, tucking his head between two tails to rest his chin in the middle of two fluffy orange ears.
'Hey, I'm cooking here...' she protests halfheartedly, his response only a light squeeze in the hug. 'Haa, empaths,' she murmurs. 'I'm fine, very happy actually, just... It's frustrating to have so much progress now, while I would have done anything for it in the past... I did
everything,' her voice trailing in the end.
Alex stays where he is, with his arms around her, his hands smoothing and making small circles on the white fur of her chest until, 'Eeeeek,' he grabs the bench where the fox is sitting and spins it so that he can look into her eyes and say, "Minoru, i love you!" 'Eh?' "I love you!" 'Ah!' "I love youuu!" 'Okay, okay,
I get it!' he waits for her to calm down, then lightly hold her head. "Understand this, you've transformed my life for the better. I don't care what you've done or will do; I'll always love you, okay?" He leans in and
boops his nose against hers. 'I said I'm fine... But thank you, I love you too, my child,' she says smiley, and with that, she returns the
boop.
Sniff sniff "Hum, smell's like-" 'Burned!'
"That laziness spell hit me," he says, sprawled on the table with empty plates around, 'sleep later, help me with the dishes first, and don't forget about homework!' Minoru speaks from outside,
i study at home; every task is homework! He gets up, putting the dishes in a bucket and heading outside. When he sees her in front of the bodies,
dry, he goes towards her, 'we'll have to preserve more than half, I imagine, smoked, maybe I'll have to borrow some salt bags later,' she comments in good humor, despite being considering the idea seriously.
"It's going to be a lot of work, but the good side is that there will be plenty of meat for winter!" He looks around, observing the dry leaves on the ground and feeling the cold breeze when he senses something wrong. Alex turns his gaze to the fox beside him, noticing the discomfort his comment brought her, "what?" he asks, with his only response being more of the same. He puts the bucket aside and sits next to her, waiting. After a few tense moments where both remain silent, one avoiding eye contact at all costs, she finally speaks.
'Alex, listen to me, you probably won't like to hear this,' "I'm not already," 'but it's for your own good,' she waits, when he doesn't interrupt, she sighs and continues, 'I believe, for your future... We're better move to a city,' "no," he gets up, grabbing the bucket and heads towards the lake closeby. His response was so direct and without hesitation that Minoru freezes for a moment, then runs after him, 'Alex, please,' "no," 'just let me give you my reason first!' "I don't need to; I'm happy here, we're happy here!" 'That's not the point! You're missing out on a whole world living in this place!' "I don't need the world; I have
you!" she stops for a second,
happy, but continues right after, 'and I'll go with you; I just want to give you a better life, better food, a better bed, a
bathroom, education, and much more!' He stops and turns, "at what cost?" 'Huh?' "How do you expect to get all of this, stealing? The PRT would be on our but in seconds! People won't accept us because you look like a fox, and if they recognize me, a mu-" 'Stop right there!' afther saying so, she approaches; one of her tails slowly passes over the boy's eyes, wiping away tears that were blurring his vision without him realizing. 'Don't even think that way about yourself, and forgive me,' she speaks gently, hugging her child after he sits down, using her two tails as arms, "... It's okay, it's just that so many things can go wrong; any idiot can own a weapon in this country, not to mention villains may look at you and-" 'I know, I know, let's stop talking about this, and when you feel comfortable, just tell me, okay? Or not, if you want, we can stay here,' "hmm."
A week later, Alex and Minoru sit side by side in front of the cabin, he with a math book in his hands and she practicing with a thread and needle. "I've been thinking," he says, setting the book aside, 'hm,' "I'm willing to give it a chance, living in a city," both objects, previously floating in the air, fall to the ground simultaneously as the blue flame on one of her tails extinguishes. The fox turns, her attention completely hooked, '... Are you sure about this?' she asks slowly,
concerned, looking him in the eyes, "yes, but with one condition, at any moment, if I say we're leaving, we pack our bags and coming back here! In that second!" barely passing a moment, her head starts nodding quickly, her whole being radiating
joy, 'Oh Alex, my child, you won't regret it! Just wait, there are so many things I want to show you!'
With the news given, it didn't take long for the fox to pack everything for the journey, the sled filled with suitcases and belongings, books, clothes, and even cutlery. Alex looks around the place that sheltered him for years, where memories were made, skills learned, good and bad days, he will be saying goodbye for the second time, to a place he considered home, both with an uncertain new destination.
I was lucky the first time, he thinks, holding a doll in his hand, until he walks out the door and towards the fox watching him.
'Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you,' she stands up, raising her front paws to gain a bit more height, reaching his chest, 'come here, give me a
boop,' he leans his head forward and feels her wet nose touch his, 'there you go! We have enough food for a few months, so... Onward!' He takes the sled's rope and begins the long journey, wearing a smile on his face while his heart tightens.
It's not me I worry about.
