Chapter 4: Fruit 2

Ice fruit is delicious.

Its sweetness is something no creature living in the North could be unaware of, so I won’t explain it at length.
The important point is that my ice fruit was stolen by that thief of a fox.

“Hey!! Stop right there?!”

The pure white arctic fox dashes across the snowfield.
It steps down and kicks up the snow.
For a fox, its movements are so nimble, its speed could rival that of a wolf beastkin.
I ran after it.

The sound of pitter-patter running.
The snow flurries.
The cycle repeats where I get closer to the fox, it gets farther away, and when it gets farther away, I chase it again.

“You!”

And a magnificent leap into the sky for an attack!

“Uwaah!”

Failed!

The fox was nowhere to be seen, and only I ended up buried in the snow.
But I couldn’t give up here, so I immediately pulled myself out and shook off the snow.
No matter how many times I failed, I had to protect the ice fruit.

“Hey!”

Again, I run after the fox.
How dare it run away with my ice fruit. When I catch it, I’ll give it a good scolding.

The arctic fox ran and ran with the ice fruit in its mouth and entered a coniferous forest.
Not to be outdone, I also entered the forest.
The trees come towards me.

Left, right, left, then right again.

A leaf brushes past.
Blood flows from what seems to be a cut.
But this is nothing.
Licking it will heal it.
I started running on all fours to get serious.

After running for a long time, what blocked my way was a large log that had fallen on the snowfield.
The fox used its small body to slide through the empty space between the log and the ground to escape, while I couldn’t, so I had to screech to a halt.
Snow powder flew up.

“Stop!! It’s mine!!”

I can’t give up like this.
I hurriedly climbed over the log, worried I’d lose the fox, and presumptuously, the fox was looking at me from beyond and smiling.

Then, the fox turned back and started running away again.

“Hey!”

That annoying fox!

How dare it tease a wolf.
That fox must be a bad person.
This is why foxes are no good.
Foxes only know how to be clever and never do anything properly.

I kicked off the log I was standing on and leaped after the fox.

The chase continues.
Trees flash by at high speed.

I dodge trees left and right, and run here and there.
The fox, as if playing with me, circled a tree to avoid me.
Then it ran forward again.

“You really…!”

The sound of ‘thud-thud-thud’ echoes through the forest.
The fox gets so close it seems I could grab it, but I can’t.

And a high jump into the sky!

“Huh.”

In the dense coniferous forests of the North, securing a clear line of sight is not easy.
So, I often fail to see a rock in front of me and bump into it.

Of course, what’s in front of me now isn’t a rock, but a steep slope that continues far down below.

And, unfortunately, wolves don’t have wings.
Instead, they have high-performance, cool ears and a fluffy, pleasant tail, but for now, they didn’t seem useful.

Time splits into small pieces and stretches out.

“Hmm.”

I should have learned from my sister what to do when there’s a steep slope where I have to land from high in the sky.
It’s too late for regrets.
It’s natural since regrets usually come when it’s too late.

“Kkyaaaeeeng!!!”

I’m falling.
My body tumbles over and over.
I wrapped my body with my tail to reduce the impact, but as a result of becoming so round, I had to roll down the slope like a round snowball.
I couldn’t stop.

“Ugh, ugh! Uwaah!!”

Tumble, tumble, tumble, tumble.

How long have I been rolling?
My body showed no signs of stopping even after rotating dozens of times.
At some point, my whole body was covered in snow, turning me into a complete snowball, and with my vision obscured, I could only realize I was falling through the impact and acceleration on my body.

And then, a strong impact.

Thud!

“Uwaaang!!”

I think I hit the ground.
My back hurt.
My whole body ached.

“Hwaaaaaaaah!!!”

Suddenly, I felt sad.
Everything felt unfair.
I found the ice fruit and I chased the hamster, so why did a fox like that steal my thing?

After rolling for so long, I must have lost the fox.
I must have lost the ice fruit too.
I only got hurt, and gained nothing.
I was angry, and I couldn’t breathe.
Tears came out.

“Hwaaaaaaah….”

Tears stream down my cheeks.
A proud wolf, a grown-up adult, shouldn’t show tears like this, but I just couldn’t stop them.

I kept crying.
After crying like that for a while, I hiccupped and looked around.

“Hiiiing….”

I didn’t realize it when I first saw it, but the place I fell to was an incredibly steep slope.
It looked difficult to climb back up.
As I was wondering what to do, something tapped my back.

“What… huh, you are…!”

“Kkiing.”

Its identity was none other than the arctic fox that stole my ice fruit.

“Gotcha!!”

“Kkyaeng?!”

I immediately grabbed it.
The fox tried to dodge my attack, but the huge tail attached to its butt couldn’t escape my grasp.

“You… I won’t forgive you!”

“Kkyaaaeeeuuuiaeaang!”

I held the fox and shook it again and again and again.
It made me so sad, so it had to pay the price.

The fox, caught in my hands and shaken violently, became dizzy when I let go, its eyes spinning, and it collapsed onto the snowfield.
Its big tail hung limply, looking like it was half-fainted.

Hmph, after teasing me like that.
Serves you right.

I stuck out my tongue and sat down.
After a chase on an empty stomach, the fatigue was too much.

“I’m hungry… huh?”

As I clutched my hungry stomach and struggled for a moment, a sweet scent began to waft around my nose.
A cool, cold sweetness.
It was the smell of ice fruit.

“Ice fruit!”

The ice fruit was lying right next to the fainted fox.
I thought it had hidden it somewhere after stealing it from me, but it seemed it didn’t have the brains for that and brought it along.

Hehe, stupid fox!
This is mine now!

I hurriedly dug a burrow in the snow, lest someone steal the ice fruit.
Like a wolf, I dug ‘paw-paw-paw,’ and in an instant, a cozy burrow was made.
It was a temporary shelter to eat the ice fruit.

If I eat it here, no one will know.

Tears well up at the thought of finally being able to eat the ice fruit.
A foolish smile appears.

Just as I was about to take a big bite of the ice fruit, the fox, having come to its senses, peeked its head into my burrow.

“Kkiing….”

“Go away!”

Hmph.
How dare you pretend to be sad after trying to take my thing.

“Kkiiing….”

“No. It’s mine.”

The fox makes a pitiful face.
It scrunches its eyes and lets out a whimpering sound.

“Kkiiiiing….”

“…No!”

My heart keeps trying to weaken.
But I can’t.
This is the prey I obtained.
I will never give this up.

Now, look.
I’m going to pop this in my mouth in one go!
Heartlessly, like a wolf!

“Whimper, whimper….”

“D-Don’t look at me like that!”

“Kkiiing….”

Ugh, this makes me look like a really bad person.

It has become a situation where a cool, strong wolf is bullying a small, weak fox.
My sister always said I should be a kind-hearted wolf.

“…Just a little.”

With my cheeks puffed out, I broke off a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of the ice fruit and threw it to the fox.
The arctic fox happily ate it and looked at me with sparkling eyes.

I hesitated and ended up giving it half of the ice fruit.

“T-This is really all you’re getting!”

“Pant, pant.”

The fox eats the ice fruit deliciously.
I was hungry too, so I quickly put the ice fruit in my mouth as well.
The sweet taste spreads throughout my mouth.
I feel light and fluffy.

“Kkaeng.”

“Oh….”

The fox, having finished the ice fruit, came over to me who was sitting in the burrow and climbed onto my lap.
As if it were comfortable there, it settled down.

“Hmph… stupid fox.”

Coming to a wolf who was trying to catch it, what would it do if it got hunted?
It was lucky I was nice; this fox must be a real fool.

As I was resting in the burrow like that, I happened to look outside and saw the sky gradually darkening.

Night is coming!

“Wh-What are you going to do… it’s night because of you!”

“Kking?”

“What do you mean, kking! What do we do now….”

I had run too far chasing the fox and didn’t even remember the way back.
Even if I did remember, the slope I fell down was too steep to climb back up.
It was a total mess.

My family will be worried….

I should have listened to my sister when she told me not to wander off.
Suddenly, tears welled up.
The nights in the North are scary.
Dark, cold, and lonely.
If my family doesn’t find me, if I can’t go back home….

I was scared.

“Kkaaeng.”

“It’s because of you….”

The fox licked my tears with an air of not knowing anything.
Well, it wouldn’t know.
It’s a stupid fox.

I hugged the fox tightly in the burrow for no reason.
It felt like touching a soft doll.
Hugging its plump tail, which was comparable to mine, felt warm and good.

I think I understand a little why my family wants to touch my tail.

“Hmph.”

That doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven this fox.
This is a punishment.
It has to endure being hugged tightly for isolating me here.

I leaned against the burrow with the fox in my arms.

It was just a temporary shelter made by digging in the snow, but it was enough to block the wind.
The sound of a strong wind, ‘whoosh-‘, came from outside.

The sky darkened in an instant.
The stars and moon that should have lit up the night sky couldn’t overcome the black clouds that were snowing and were pushed into the darkness.

“The snow is getting heavier….”

“Kkiing.”

The soft, fluffy snow that had been falling in the morning was no more.
All that was left was a rough and scary blizzard.
The night in the North was so dark and eerie.
I hugged the fox tighter.

When I buried my face in its white fur, a nutty smell wafted up.
It was a typical animal smell.
A little, but addictive.

It was warm.

“Seola!”

The next morning, at the sound of the snow-blocked entrance being dug out, I had to open my eyes.

The arctic fox I had been hugging had vanished without a trace.