Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves (Folk Lore 2)

But they wouldn’t actually part, would they? They’d work out something long distance. Radek rubbed the metal cuff on his ear. It had Yev’s phone number engraved on it. You didn’t mark someone as yours just to dump them in a month or two. Radek had bite marks to prove it. His heart ached with such intensity he had to distract himself with the stationary phone.

There was barely any cell phone reception in the valley, so he didn’t often have the opportunity to talk with his friends from Cracow. He didn’t remember their numbers, of course, but one look into his phone was enough to get the information he needed, and moments later, he curled up with his head on the armrest and listened to the sound of the vacant line. Then, a creak.

“This is Iga Zawadzka speaking.”

Relief flooded him like cool beer in the summer. “Hey, Iga. It’s me, Radek.”

“The same one who recently ended up butt-naked at a club?” she said, dropping her official persona.

He laughed. “Go ahead, rub it in.”

“I mean… Imagine if you had a smaller boyfriend and had to wear his hoodie.”

“Why do you think I chose Yev? I’m literally wearing his jacket right now. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m just after his wardrobe.”

She gave a stifled chuckle and moved something around. “Wait a sec. I’ll leave the office. You’ll make me embarrass myself. I just can’t with you!”

“Any jobs going there? I could be the handsome receptionist.” It was a joke, but it also… wasn’t. He hated having to think about the future.

She gave a low exhale. “Oh, don’t do this to yourself. You’d shrivel and die on the inside in a place like this.”

“At least you’re earning good money.”

“It’s not bad money,” she told him after a brief pause. “I just thought… this work would be more challenging, more exciting. That maybe I’d get to do something that matters, but it’s all so shallow. My older colleagues tell me to just be happy with what the money lets me afford. And you know what the issue is? I don’t like luxurious clothes, or fancy food, and I actually enjoy backpacking on the cheap.”

“Let’s swap then. Come over and live with my mom in Dybukowo. We have a pool. But also, there’s my mom.”

She laughed. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh? Maybe I could at least dress comfortably. High heels aren’t obligatory here, but they’re preferable, so I kind of have to wear them. And I have to get up super early every day to style my hair and do the whole makeup-no-makeup routine. Ugh. Really starting to think I might have chosen the wrong career. I’m sure marketing could be fun, but—”

“How would you like to manage a fox farm? Any ideas for ethical ways of breeding foxes for their fur?” Radek took a deep breath, staring at the crystal chandelier above. “Sorry, I’m being grim. I just… I’m struggling. I didn’t get to tell you, but I adopted a fox last month, and he’s the cutest thing on the planet. I don’t want kids, but I’d die for him, you know? I never gave the farm much thought, but I have to make some tough decisions now. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I let it continue working like it had, but it’s not even fully mine.”

Iga took her time. “You know, you need to make those decisions yourself. I don’t want to lecture you, but as tempting as your offer is, I couldn’t work for a place that breeds animals for fur. Even if I’d get to move to such a beautiful area.”

The need to shift resurfaced, prickling the inside of Radek’s skin. As Ember, he could leave all the important decisions to Yev, but that wouldn’t have worked as a long-term strategy and wasn’t what he’d actually want in life.

“I miss Cracow. I miss going out to bars with you and not having to deal with all this shit. I have to go, it gets dark here very early now, but you should visit us. Meet my new pet.”

She laughed. “Maybe I’ll take a day off and get myself a long weekend sometime. Have a good day!”

Radek put the phone down and had to spend a good ten minutes fighting the urge to shift. Talking about the farm always got him into a state of agitation, which meant this issue mattered to his heart, even if his brain didn’t want to accept it. Jessika and her dad were growing impatient, and once she had her glorious fox photoshoot, she might not want to deal with the farm anymore.

He’d never felt responsible for anyone the way he did for those foxes. His mom had a caregiver and a lot of savings to tide her over, but the foxes had no one to advocate for their wellbeing. Just him.