Ahri the fox

*Bang*

“Hati! Get the fur rug and the herbs I need!!!”

This is bad. The woman in my arms is cold and pale like a ghost. She has also lost a lot of blood and is growing weaker by the second. He set her down on my bed and quickly run to the medical supplies. Hati got the herbs and went straight to see what she can do about setting up a fire.

With the stuff Kris needs he returns to the room and gets to work immediately. Before Kris began he had a better look at the woman's injuries and to his horror it is bad. Kris is surprised she is still alive with such wounds. They are so bad Kris needs a moment to think about how he will be able to tackle this challenge. Hati just looked at the woman, worried. Kris didn't want Hati to worry more so he asked her, “Hati, I need you to leave the room ok?”

Without hesitation she left, leaving Kris with a dying woman. Knowing how much pain this woman must be in he says, not being sure if she can hear him “I sure hope you won’t feel this.”

-Kris' POV-

The sun is starting to set and the stars are ready to shine but Hati didn’t notice. All she could think about is that woman and why Kris is taking so long. Hati heard a door open and saw Kris walking out with an exhausted and concerned look. His hands are a bloody mess. Realizing I did not give Hati her bath I give her the suggestion.

“Come on Hati. I still owe you that wash.”

This is a surprise for Hati, both in the fact of what Kris said, but also that she still has elk blood in her fur. She wonders how long he would have kept quiet but there’s no point asking.

It is heartbreaking seeing Hati so sad and quiet but I’m not sure how else she is supposed to react. I did what I could for that woman and she looked stable when I left, although she is still in a lot of pain. All I can do is make sure she stays warm and nothing more but thanks to Hati with the fire setup that woman will stay warm. I thought that a bath would do the trick to calm her down, but it didn’t.

“K-Kris is s-she going to be o-ok?” Hati mumbled.

“I don’t know.” A little bit cold and distant I reply.

“What are we going to do now?”

“Wait.”

“What happened to her? Could you tell?” Hati glanced at me.

Keeping quiet for a moment, debating whether or not I should tell her, I pull out a steel crossbow bolt and put it down for her to have a look. Now focusing on washing Hati and my hands I say in an emotionless voice.

“She was shot. Most likely by one of the guys we saw yesterday.”

Hati's fully turned to face me with pure disbelief in her eyes “What!? That can’t be, they said they were looking for a fox. Not a woman.”

“Yes...and we found the fox.”

A terrible silence fell between us and unsure of what else to say both Hati and I kept quiet. Finishing with the wash I tell Hati.

“It’s late. We should get some sleep.”

Hati nods as she says “I’ll stay with the girl to make sure she stays warm.”

With my bed taken, I took a look around for a place to sleep, settling on a makeshift bed using my couch... All I need is a blanket or something to keep me warm. I remember a little compartment under the floorboards that I use to keep supplies. I’m a little taken back by my findings there. A shade wolf fur rug. The very same one that bit my shoulder. Life sure is full of surprises, how could I forget it here.

Now I have my setup for the night or a few to come but it’ll do. Closing my eyes I have nothing to do now but sleep.

An unfamiliar voice screamed throughout the house “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

“WHAT THE F… ow.”

What the hell was that, it woke me up faster than a bucket of water. Why am I on the floor, did I fall off? That scream sounded like it came from my room.

My suspicions were confirmed when Hati called for me. “Kris get in here quick!”

There was a hint of urgency in Hati’s voice. Now fully awake from someone’s scream I rushed over to see what all the commotion was about.

“Ok, what’s going on…”

Both of us are staring at a petrified woman hiding in the opposite corner staring back at us. Shit has a blue orb in one of her hands and it looks like she’s ready to throw it. I’m hoping it’s nothing explosive or flame related.

“Um, miss please don’t use that in here. This house isn’t exactly magic proof.” I said hopefully trying to get her to understand we're friendly.

She responded, “Who are you?”

“I'm Kris and this is Hati.”

“I hope we didn’t scare you?” Hati said.

Then the girl's eyes went wide at Hati with shock, confusion, and disbelief. Sensing the awkward moment we are about to have I excuses me and Hati.“I’ll go get you something to eat.”

"Damn, I was right. That was awkward, mainly because I wasn’t expecting her to recover so soon. Her wound was deep and I’m still not sure how she’s able to stand with it. Well, I should focus on making her something to eat." I thought as I exited the room.

-Ahri POV-

Where am I? That man... said that this is a log house. So... maybe I should get rid of my fireball. This is strange, I remember running away from my home and… nothing else. Men were chasing me and shooting at me. Then the pain hit me like a rogue steam train. My hands went straight to where the bolt was only to find blood-soaked bandages.

“Are you ok?”

Hati is peeking her head through the door, most likely to check up on me. I am still trying to get over the fact that that man Kris is living with this giant wolf, that can talk or… communicate.

I reply with, “Oh no it’s nothing.”

“Well if there is anything you need, please just ask.”

“Th-thanks.”

Did... those two help me? The bandages around my stomach look home-made and were a little itchy. I looked over to the wolf who's name was apparently Hati and saw that she looks sad as if she did something wrong. I’m not sure how I know but her eyes give me that feeling. As Hati leaves I take a proper look at my surroundings. it’s a nice, cozy warm room. Not much for decorations but there’s still a fur rug or two hanging up or on the floor. The bed I jumped out of is surprisingly comfortable being made of straw. How did he make all this? I looked around a bit more but my hand glanced over something warm. Looking down on a chair beside the bed is a set of warm winter clothes. When did he leave them?

A scent of bacon and eggs caught my nose as I sniffed a little bit.

Putting on the clothes Kris put out for me I limp out the room sniffing the air. It smells so good that I completely lose focus on what’s in front of me and… I tripped over something landing face-first into a soft, fluffy pillow. It’s so soft, I could die right now and have no regrets. Keeping my head in the pillow I start feeling the fluff with my hands allowing the fingers to spread through the fluffy. The pillow is also nice and warm but it’s… moving? Turns out the pillow is Hati.

“Ummmm Ahri, what are you doing?”

Pulling my head out of the massive fluff pillow my eyes meet a pair of deep-sea blue eyes staring back with an embarrassed glow in them. Now realizing the pillow Hati I stumble back also extremely embarrassed. We both just awkwardly stared at each other not knowing what to say. Thankfully the silence was broken by Hati.

“Let’s just forget about everything, ok? Come have a seat while I go see how the food is coming.”

Not saying anything else Hati quickly leaves for the kitchen. This must be the main lounge of the house. I thought the room would be smaller but it’s not. The furniture doesn’t have the same style as the bed I woke upon. Everything looks weird and feels weird too. They’re not made of straw and I’m not sure what’s in it but what is on the couch caught my eye. A black wolf rug as big as Hati. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Kris walked into the living room with a tray of food, finding me wrapped in the rug with a satisfied look on my face.

“I see you are enjoying my old friend.”

He caught me off guard and I panicked, “Ah! I’m sorry.”

“Why? You need to get warm and I can assure you that will do the trick.”

"B-but he was your friend?” Admittingly I was a bit confused at what he said.

“Actually it’s a she and no, she was very dangerous. Her kind is probably the most vicious and bloodthirsty animals on the planet. Not to mention the dark power they can use.”

I stared at Kris for a bit then at the fur rug then back at Kris. I knew that he killed it but from the way he described it I wondered how he did it.

“So how di-”

He interrupted me, “Instinct.”

A cold weight hung around that word and I can tell there’s more to this man than one would think. Should I try and find out? It won’t hurt trying.

-Kris POV-

She is looking at me with her curious orange eyes and I know what she is going to ask. Just need to confirm it.

“You wanna ask something?”

“What happened?”

I knew she wanted to know so I might as well tell her. It would also be a good story to tell Hati too. “Alright, but eat while I tell you what happened.”

Without a second thought, Ahri dug into the meal I made. A simple steak with greens and potatoes. I told my story in great detail but speaking of detail, I only now have the chance to see Ahri’s. I never really noticed how beautiful she is. With her smooth skin, her fox-like eyes, and a smile that brought all of them together. can’t say what the rest looks like thanks to the rug. I wonder how long it’s been since I have talked to someone as beautiful as her. Her ears also are to be admired. They are so cute. As the story progresses her ears move to show her emotions. So much time flew by that I didn’t even know that I was done with the story until Ahri asked, “Ummmm. Do you have the scar?”

“Why do you ask?”

Hati butted in, “Because we don’t know if you have some sort of self-healing ability.”

“Well, I wish I did have one. Then this wouldn’t have been so painful.”

I pulled on the side of my collar to reveal the wolf bite. The two of them stared for a while until I put my collar back. They both asked with amazement in their eyes. “How did you survive?”

“That is a story for another time."