Iris woke up by herself, without any alarm clock to blast her awake at six o'clock. For a moment, she just lay quietly, enjoying the warmth and laziness of a good sleep. With eyes still closed, she stretched her legs forward and yawned. What a good rest she had just had.
"Good morning, beautiful," a husky voice said nearby, and her eyes flew open. She jumped to her feet and looked around, catching sight of Kyro's face not ten centimeters away from her. "Did you have a good sleep?"
'Yes…' she murmured in embarrassment. He was way too close and way too happy-looking. Besides, she could still remember how she had made him look for her till midnight yesterday when she had willfully run away from home. It was not a good memory, and she hung her head low in shame.
"Oh, so you do feel guilty, is that it?" he asked while extending his hand to scratch her ear. She whined in answer. It wasn't like she could just go and tell him that she got scared and chose the first option available without thinking it through…
After a taste of what's life alone like and without her emotions interfering, she could clearly tell that it had been one huge mistake. A house pet is meant to live inside, especially one that doesn't even have the right set of instincts. Right now, if he brought her to give away to somebody else, she wouldn't run away. As much as she wanted to stay here, she should think about him, too. Not everyone wanted to surround themselves with twenty pets and what that entailed.
Her selfless thoughts, however, were soon disturbed as she found herself flying in the air. Kyro had picked her up and lifted her up above himself, where she could only flail about like a fool.
'Hey, put me down!' she ordered him, her voice a loud screech.
He laughed at that. "What am I going to do with you, eh?" His expression suddenly darkened, and he landed her on his bare chest. "I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I was being an idiot, treating problems that had little chance to arise as more important than your welfare. Can you forgive me? I should have never brought you out for that twat."
Iris had been midway getting off him when his words caught her attention. She looked over at his face and saw genuine regret there, which puzzled her. It took her a couple moments to place it, and then her eyes went wide.
He was actually faulting himself for what happened? Instead of her being wilful and stupid, he thought it was his mistake?
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It kind of made sense from an owner's point of view, but she was no pet, she couldn't give herself that kind of excuse. There was no other explanation for this than her wanting to take the easy way out.
'I'm sorry, too,' she said.
In a moment of inspiration, she took a couple steps forward and licked his nose. This should be good enough for him to know that she didn't fault him for any of it, right?
He instantly pushed her away, but his lips curled up into a smile. "You little devil, I'm telling you a heartfelt apology and you come over to steal a kiss!"
Iris rolled her eyes at him, even if her cheeks were a little brighter in color. That hadn't been a kiss, just a light peck to say she was sorry for what happened. After all, she was a fox, how else was she to express her regret. It wasn't like she could hug him or say his 'heartfelt' words back.
Satisfied with such logic, she turned around, about to leave, but the phone rang at that moment. Both she and Kyro turned toward it, and he picked it up without moving himself, just extending his right hand.
Wanting to listen in, Iris didn't move, and he used his free hand to stroke her fur while talking.
"Hey."
"Hey, are you going to look for it today, too?" an unfamiliar voice asked.
No, wait. It sounded a bit different, but this had to be the stranger in Kyro's car yesterday. They hadn't talked much, but she could still tell that this was his voice.
"No, I found it late in the evening, so it's all good."
"You did? That's great! How was it?" The stranger sounded actually happy.
Kyro looked down at Iris, his smile widening. "A bit worse for the wear, but nothing too bad. I think it also learned the lesson of not running away. It actually came to me itself at the end."
"Haha, lucky. I won't bother you then, have a nice weekend."
"Thanks. Before you go, what did you learn from those two? I remember not paying too much attention to it yesterday."
"Nothing, really. They have no case. I'm certain that Charlotte planned to intimidate you with her status, thinking to gain a couple thousand from the fox, and that's it. Anything I asked was answered with an air of importance and her trying to 'put me in my right place'," the stranger explained in a voice parents use to their kids when their patience is stretched thin. "You shouldn't see any more of her."
"That's great. And thanks a lot for yesterday. If you need anything, besides what you're about to say, ask me any time."
"Thought so. Bye."
"Bye."
While they were saying their goodbyes, Iris sat still, her mind going through thousands of thoughts at the speed of light. What she heard made no sense and at the same time so much so that it hurt.
Kyro had never planned to give her away. That woman had actually claimed that Iris was her pet originally. Kyro had never planned to give her away. The stranger was some kind of friend that came over to help check if there was any truth to that woman's words. Kyro had never planned to give her away.
One of those thousands of thoughts was a bit repetitive, taking up half of her thinking space. It echoed again and again, distracting her from considering other things.
If he had never thought to let her go, then what was all that she went through for? Wasn't it all without purpose, a misunderstanding on her part?
Her claws extended, scratching a certain somebody's bare chest. 'Next time, don't skip on the details,' she growled out. 'Okay?' Then, before he could catch her, she jumped off and disappeared from his sight with a swish of her tail in his face.