83 His Friends (16)

Kyro had seemed really tired, so Iris didn't bother to wake him up when the doorbell rang for dinner. She simply closed her eyes and fell back asleep. Or well, tried. She'd spent so much time napping today that sleep seemed behind seven mountains and seven seas which she couldn't care to cross.

Instead, she just lay by Kyro's side, thinking. It wasn't something she did often lately, and she couldn't find a good train of thought. Each one led into a direction she didn't want to follow. Her future wasn't bleak, but when seen from a human perspective, it wasn't that bright, either.

But it wasn't like she had a way to change it. As long as she was a fox, living here was everything she could hope for and more. Life here was entertaining, and she was really cared for by Kyro.

And she had no way to change her form. Unlike in the books she'd read, there was no magical tool whose use she didn't know around her nor some weird elder that everyone secretly called a witch or a warlock. Her current surroundings were as normal as they got, besides the fact that she had somehow ended up in the body of a little fox.

For a moment, she really, really wished to change, imagining how it happened and how she transformed back into a human. Yet when she opened her eyes, she was still a fox lying by Kyro's side. Her strong wish to change didn't seem to have affected anything.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes again. It was worth a try, even if a belated one. There was no difference if you failed earlier or later.

Now, she was out of ideas, which left her feeling both sad and happy at the same time. Fox life had much less control, but it also had much less responsibility. For the first time in her life, she didn't need to spend half the day pretending to be interested in school or her university classes and could just do what she wanted. There were no upcoming tests or exams, no meetings with lecturers that warned you not to slack off else you won't get a job you don't even really want.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Kyro asked in a husky voice, still full of sleep. "You've been glaring at that part of the wall for good ten minutes now."

Iris shifted her head and met eye to eye with his half-lidded stare. His dark brown iris was almost black in the dim light of the room, and she found herself getting lost in it. With someone like him by her side, what did it matter if she couldn't change back? Life here was as good as it got.

He patted her head, and she leaned into his touch, cooing. They stayed like this for a while, until Kyro's stomach grumbled its displeasure. Iris rose to her feet in surprise, while the man himself groaned and pursed his lips. He clearly didn't want to move, but his hunger soon overpowered him.

With another groan, he pushed himself out of bed. His suit was all rumpled up from sleeping in it, but he didn't change out of it, just threw the jacket to the side.

When they reached the living room, Kyro patted Lucifer who was napping on the sofa's backrest, then took out his phone to check the time. His eyes widened in surprise.

He swiftly went outside and picked his now cold dinner. After placing it on the coffee table, he turned to Iris. "You didn't wake me up?" he asked with a voice full of wonder.

'I guess I should have…' It would have fit with her image of a fox that can't stand loud noise, but he probably would have killed her for waking him up again, so 'sleeping' through it sounded like a better choice. She simply jumped on the sofa and ran a few circles there, pretending not to understand what he was saying.

"Thanks… I guess?" He shook his head and brought the food to the microwave after unpacking the plates. "You want something?" he asked her while waiting the couple minutes for everything to be heated.

Iris instantly ran over, eyes fixed on the refrigerator. If he was offering something, then she wanted her cherries back.

Kyro opened the refrigerator, but he had others thoughts regarding what to take out. It wasn't easy to see from the ground below, but Iris was certain he didn't touch the cherries. What then did he pick for her this time?

With dread, she followed him into the bedroom where her bowl resided. Kyro didn't hide his intentions, and she saw him put an egg for her.

'Right… It's probably uncooked, too…' She sat down nearby and looked up at him with a question in her eyes: What do you expect me to do with that?

"Try it, you'll like it."

The microwave beeped then, and he retreated into the kitchen, while she remained in her spot. First it was insects and worms, while now came raw eggs. 'Just how messed up is a fox's diet?!'

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

'Maybe I should change my mind and actually look for a way to become human again…'