Two pairs of eyes stared at me in disbelief. The men seemed confused and helpless, but their funny expressions only further encouraged me in doing my thing. So I briefly stared back at them while making sure to show them as much disinterest as possible, before yawning and snuggling against that white fox's fluffy body.
The two men saw nothing but two small foxes, one red-brownish, the other pure white. There was nothing to be seen of the girl they had forced into the carriage the day before. In the night, I still had been with them, playing the good girl, but now? There was only Rika the Fox. And I would show them the most normal and boring fox pup there was!
I couldn't possibly be more disinterested or boring as my summon, but I still tried regardless. And using it like this, as a pillow and partner in crime, was only helping me.
My dress was gone. I had just stuffed it into the Itembox to hide it from their eyes, together with anything I had on me before. So here I was, pretending to sleep on the red, padded seats, while they still tried to guess what had happened.
"She... is gone?"
"No, that can't be," the other guard decided. "We were driving at full speed before reaching the city. Who would jump from a carriage like that?"
"Then where she is?"
"Maybe she..." He hesitated. "Turned into a fox?"
«Damn it!»
"There was only the white one before," he continued. "Where else would the red one come from?"
"Are you sure? I never heard of a girl turning into a pet."
"Magicians can do anything."
"She is a magician! So that's it!"
«Can't they be a little more stupid?! Please?!»
The carriage suddenly shook as one of them, possibly both, climbed inside. I tried to keep my eyes closed, to at least keep alive that slight shimmer of hope that they might change their mind, but soon enough even that died away.
When one of their hands suddenly touched me, I could no longer pretend. I opened my eyes, fled into the edge of the carriage and stared at them. The man had a stone in his hand, a cursed tool with even more cursed runes on it. I knew exactly what he was trying to do.
«NO!»
He didn't let himself be discouraged my animal-like behaviors. Instead, he just attacked again, attempting to grab me with his free hand.
Naturally, I shouted at him, half out of panic, half out of despair. I tossed insults and curses at him and even threaten to attack him with magic, but all that left my lips were high-pitched yet cute barks and yelps – sounds that were dangerously close to the 'deactivation code' the vixen had given me for my transformation magic.
"Sorry, my lady."
「Leave me alone,」 I barked at him, 「I will bite you! If you come any nearer, I will bite you!」
My threats didn't work. He just grabbed me by the scarf, as if I was a cat! I tried to struggle, to bite him or scratch him, and barked at him again and again, but nothing of this helped. He just gave me to his comrade, so that he would receive the scratches both of them deserved.
Naturally, I didn't let myself be hindered by that. I bit him, again and again, or rather I buried my teeth into his scarf and pulled at it. I tried to tear it apart while at the same time doing my best to blind out the voice in the back of my head that screamed at me to stop acting cute.
I was no wild animal. At best, I was a pet. And when the identification stone was placed onto my back, they stole from me even that. I was no longer a pet, but rather a girl that behaved like one.
"It is her."
"Why is she like this?! She is eating my scarf!"
"Who knows? Maybe Foxkin are like this."
"We can't present her to his Majesty if she is like this!"
«They can't present me like this...»
It was only a single line, nothing but the word of a guard, but I couldn't help putting all my hope into it. I would stay like this. They couldn't do anything about it! Who cared if they would think of me as crazy? If being crazy brought me back to Ofris, I would be the craziest fox there ever was!
"Let's get going," my new archenemy decided. "We can think of something on our way there."
"Are you sure?"
"He has been waiting for nearly a week and I am sure he has been informed of our arrival by now."
"You are right."
"Go take that other fox, too. Maybe it will be useful in some way."
"Yes!"
«Why can't they just be stupid and leave me be!? Why!?»
⊱————- Extra ————-⊰
Masilla: Aren't those Eric and Tolkin?
Saya: They have returned!
Masilla: They have dogs?
Saya: So cute! They are so cute!
Masilla: Maybe they are for the princess?
Saya: She is so lucky!
Masilla: Look at the red one! It is playing with Eric's scarf!
Rika: 「DIEEE!!」
Saya: So cute!