Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves (Folk Lore 2)

“Okay.”

The relief in the vet’s smile warmed his heart. She’d do everything in her power to help the fox. The furry body under his hands relaxed as if the fox understood his intentions, and it closed its eyes, whimpering its sadness.

Shit. Yev needed a name for it, didn’t he?

Chapter 7 – Radek

Radek woke to the scent of venison, herbs, and dry wood. He was aware of his arm hurting, but the pain was muted somehow, as if his flesh had gotten numb. The soft cover kept him warm, so he drifted in and out of sleep until heavy footsteps jerked him into attention, and he lifted his drooping eyelids.

He’d had the weirdest dream.

He’d understood foxes at the farm, and then became one himself and got caught in snares. And then… then Yev came to save him. The rest was a blur, but what mattered was that he was awake now, even if sore.

Someone hummed, and metal cutlery clacked against porcelain. Was he home?

It couldn’t be. His home smelled of lavender and wood polish, and his room was so far away from the kitchen even the aroma of cookies baking in the oven didn’t reach him in bed.

He forced himself up, only to yelp and fall on his face when he tried to stand on his right—stump? And his voice didn’t sound human either. He was still dazed, but there was no denying the reality. He didn’t have hands. Just a paw at the front, two at the back, and a tail that wouldn’t stop twitching. He whimpered his fear to the world and crawled out from under the blanket placed in an open cage.

The memory of the vet hit him like a truck, and he searched frantically for Yev. This place did smell like his house had, but everything looked different from the floor, and the orange glow from the fireplace transformed the space further. But the longer he took in his surroundings, the more confident he was that this was in fact the forester’s lodge, even if each piece of furniture was as tall as a tree.

Pain made him shut his eyes. He panted for air when the ache in his right arm grew in intensity. The bandage kept rubbing his flesh raw, and something kept pulling at his neck, as if he were wearing a collar that was a bit too tight. Reality only punched him when he made it out of the cage and something attached to him touched his ears. He blinked away the blur and saw it—a plastic funnel that distorted his side vision and directed it forward, through its cone-like shape.

No. It couldn’t be.

He mewled his complaint, limping forward with the hurt leg pulled to his chest. At least it was warm, but that hardly helped with his situation. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. What happened to him shouldn’t have been possible, yet no matter how much he wanted to deny the existence of magic, there he was—a man trapped in the body of a fox.

He sensed the familiar, musky scent before Yev rose from behind a table on the other side of the room and dashed toward him—tall like a giant, and stomping like one too.

“You’re awake,” he said when he kneeled on the wooden floor but didn’t try to pick Radek up, and slowly reached out his hand to him instead.

In the light of the fire, the scar on Yev’s face and the ripped ear looked primal, like injuries sustained in a brutal predator attack, but Radek was in pain, and Yev had taken care of him, even if he had no love for Radek the human.

Now that Radek was coming to his senses, he fought through the discomfort to focus on his new reality. There was no point contesting the existence of magic if he was living its outcome. What he needed was a way to communicate with his savior, because when he opened his mouth to speak, all he uttered was a pathetic squeak. The cone was driving him crazy already, so he poked it against the floor in hope of Yev understanding that he wanted it off.

Yev sighed, his pale face, relaxing as he slid the back of his index finger from Radek’s nose to the base of the snout. It should have been infuriating, because Radek wasn’t a pet, but it felt good, and Yev’s hand smelled of some delicious stew and potatoes, so Radek licked it, disillusioned when all he tasted was skin.

“I know, but you need to have it on. We can’t have you pick at the bandages.”

Radek huffed in frustration, glaring at the thick dressing on his right paw. Was this the universe punishing for owning a fox farm? He hadn’t known what it really looked like inside, so how was he at fault for the horrid conditions? He barked at Yev, frustrated to no end, when the man smiled until dimples appeared on his stubble-peppered face.