Chapter 38: Chapter 37

With Samantha stumbling off, Etrius continued on its way. Luckily, there weren't any more distractions. Okay, that was a lie. Walking past Decker’s storage house, Etrius couldn’t help but notice that he was sitting out on a rock bought for him. Not only that but he also had a few more tails then foxes normally did. Etrius, being curious, decided that now was a good time to introduce Abby and Decker. Abby, for her part, followed Etrius’ gaze and too saw Decker. Hearing their footsteps, He turned towards them.

 

“Oh, it's you.” Decker said.

“I have a name you know.” Etrius said.

“!?” Abby looked at Decker with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I forgot it.” He said.

“Call me Washington.” It said.

“Okay.” He said. “So, what’s that thing you got there?”

“This is my daughter.” It said. 

“Cool.” He said.

“Dad!” Abby said, pulling its hair. “The dog talked!”

“Oh you understand him?” It said surprised.

“Oh yeah.” Decker was reminded. “A few days ago people were suddenly able to understand me.”

“That’s probably because the dark age ended.” It explained.

“I don’t know what that means.” He said.

“It’s when magic changes the world and some people gain some bits.” It gave a very simple explanation.

“That explains these.” He said, waving his eleven, possibly twelve, tails.

“Are they soft?” Abby couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, very.” He said.

“Can I touch them?” Abby asked.

“You haven't even introduced yourself.” He said.

“Ah!” Abby said, realizing her fault. “I’m Abigail Washington!”

“That’s nice.” He said. “I’m Decker.”

“Can I touch your tails?” She asked eagerly.

“No.” It said. “As a matter of fact, never speak to me again.”

“Wha-” Abby said, shocked.

“That was a joke.” It said. “Only speak to me once a week.”

“That’s generous.” Etrius said.

“Only because she’s your kid.” He said, putting his head down.

“You ever going to get yourself a family?” It asked.

“Eh- maybe later.” He said. “When I have time.”

“That dog is mean!” Abby complained.

“I’m a fox.” He said.

“He’s mean!” She said.

“Tragic.” It said.

“Well spoken.” He said.

“No bully!” She said, pouted.

 

Resisting the urge to laugh, Etrius lowered Abby to the floor as Decker jumped down from his rock. Still a bit angry, she was engulfed in Decker’s tails. Surprised, she looked at Decker before closing her eyes in bliss.

 

“Warm…” She said. “Hehe…”

“What a troublesome fellow.” Decker said.

“She is what she is.” Etrius shrugged.

After spending some time with this dog, or rather fox, named Decker I unfortunately had to say goodbye. Walking hand in hand with dad, we headed down a familiar dirt road. I hummed as my claws dug into the dirt, a sensation I haven’t felt in a long time. I might be a bit young to say this, but it is the small things in life that make me smile. Well, I’m not actually young, but you get my point. Also, who am I talking to? Oh well! As dad opened the door, I ran inside after shaking off the dirt off my feet.

 

“I’m home!” I yelled out into the cold house.

 

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It felt a bit odd to say that, as my home was at mom’s house, but this was also my home. If anything, felt like my home more than mom’s as I could relax here and as my true self. Though now that I’ve been outed like this, I suppose this was the only place I could relax. Aside from mom and Zen, and maybe Samantha, everyone else looked at me with fear. Not wanting to think about such sad things, I got my bag from dad and headed to my room.

It was much smaller than my room at mom’s and a lot more simple, but it worked for me. Taking in a deep breath, I enjoyed the familiar scent of the woods outside. It was good to be back. Glancing over my room, I remembered my bag and began to put my things away. It wasn’t long as I didn’t bring much with me, so I was free to do as I pleased. Running out of my room, I ran into dad’s and jumped on his bed. I’m not sure why, but it always felt as if someone else's bed was more comfortable than your own. Not only that, but his bed was surprisingly big. It was especially long for some reason. I suppose it doesn’t really matter to me anyways.

Closing my eyes, I wondered what to do next. I was bored. Normally I would be playing, but dad just got back from a long trip and must be tired. Not only that, but I wanted to stay by dad’s side. Not just dads, but mom’s too. Though she was back at her place. I barely even got to talk to mom before I left. Sighing, I turned over and looked at the bedside table. Just like last time, it was mostly empty.

Aside from a jug of water, there was a candle, and some sort of lighter that had a cotton rope like wick. Picking it up, I tried to light it but was unable to. Dad really needed some decorations here. Maybe like a picture or something? What kind of picture would he like? Where would I even get a picture? I could try to make my own, but Samantha once told me that paper was expensive, so I couldn’t make one. A clay figure? No, I left my clay at mom’s. I’ll figure out something.

Sliding off the bed, I wandered into the kitchen to see dad lighting the fireplace. Not wanting to wait to be warm, I hugged dad from behind  as he was quite warm.

 

“Careful now.” Dad said.

“K.” I said, wrapping my hands in his cloak.

 

Removing his cloak, he threw it over me and I wrapped it around me. Finding the comfortable seat, I claimed it as my own and watched dad work. It was fast, familiar work for him. Normally when I arrived, the fire was already going and when I stayed over, Dad would always wake up earlier than me to light or relight the fire. The firewood that dad has was stored in three places. The first was in a neat pile next to the fireplace, and the second was in a covered sort of half shed next to the house and some next to the actual shed. Winters were long so we needed lots of wood. Even now, dad was rebuilding his stock. Some he got himself, but more than half he bought.

Now that I thought about it, how much firewood does the town use? Surely if every household used as much as we did, the forests would be long gone, or at least greatly reduced. Where did we get it from? Not knowing, I decided to ask dad.

 

“Hey dad?” I called out.

“Yes?” He replied.

“Where do we get the firewood?” I asked.

“From the forests.” He said. “Apparently they harvest it on the far side of the town from a couple of acres of private woodland.”

“Don’t they run out?” I asked.

“No, one of the goddesses blessed trees to grow quickly for harvesting.” He explained.

“Goddesses?” I asked.

 

Now that I thought about it, I’ve heard very little of gods and goddesses. How many of them were there and what were they like? Wondering as much, I asked that very question.

 

“Well, there's a few of them but they tend to keep to themselves.” Dad said. “A few of them, like the woodland goddesses, grant blessings to people and lands, but they mostly bless kings and royal families.”

“Have you ever met a god?” I asked.

“Not really, but I saw one beat up a guy for making too much charcoal.” He said.

“Huh?” That didn’t sound very godly.

“Yeah, she had a good right hook. Knocked the guy out cold.” He said it like it was nothing.

“Why?” I asked.

“It was part of the agreement to preserve forest and prevent pollution.” He said. “Sometimes they get people or even get witch hunters to go after the polluters, and poachers, and what not.”

 

Did they really do that? Did gods really just beat up people who harm nature? Wait, did that mean that dad is more important than I thought? I thought he just counted animals, not working for the gods!

 

“You’re so cool!” I exclaimed.

“Oh, thanks.” He said, pretending not to be happy.

 

I’m not sure why he did that, pretending that he didn’t care. Though each time he did, it was obvious to me and was charming in its own way. As if to hide himself from me, he changed the subject.

 

“If you’re feeling up to it, want to go for a walk in the woods tomorrow?” Dad asked.

“Can we!?” I asked.

 

How long has it been since I was outside for a meaningful time? I suppose it was some time ago in spring when we walked in mom’s garden together. It felt like it’s been years, but in reality only a few months. Time felt like it was dragging on, but it’s probably because of everything that I’ve experienced. I sure have gone through a lot, like… I arrived here, got my own personal maid, and had my true form exposed. That wasn’t a lot, but it sure felt like it.

 

“Well, if we're going out we’ll leave early in the morning.” He said. “That means that you’ll need to go to sleep early. Are you up to it?”

“Yes!” I said.

 

Going to sleep and waking up early was easy for me. Whenever I stayed with dad I usually did it anyways as he often took me with him out in the woods. Usually he carried me, but tomorrow I planned on walking on my own. Not only that, but I wanted to climb a few trees and play in the stream. Now that I thought about it, not the stream. It was getting cold and I didn’t want to stay wet in this weather. Thinking about tomorrow, I needed to plan my outfit. My four arms did not work with many shirts, but many of my clothes here were modified by dad, so there shouldn't be any problem with that, but they were clothes for indoor uses, so I’m not sure if they alone will keep me warm. As for shoes, I didn’t really need them. My feet were a lot better than any sort of shoes out there. And my tail was no issue, if it was like mom’s then probably, but not mine.

Why did mom have a tail anyways? Well, dad did say that people did gain some extra bits at the end of the dark age, so I suppose that must have been it. Well, now that my true form is known to everyone, I suppose that I don’t need to worry about that anymore. Rather should I? Some of the servants were talking about monsters and some two headed deer. Could I be mistaken as one? Well dad was walking with me around town, so word about me should soon spread. Though I should be careful around travelers. They might see me as threatening. Maybe I should try some fancy clothes like dad’s friend? Nah, it would be easier to hide myself in a cloak. I do already have a couple of cloaks anyways.

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