129 Seven Days (4)

Outside, the two didn't have a set direction, so they chose to go to the park. They didn't talk much, so Iris mostly looked around, admiring the sights around her. Everything seemed so different as a human. The bushes didn't seem so tall, the trees weren't really towering, and the distances were a lot shorter.

In no time, they reached Kyro's favorite spot and Iris took off her flats to enter the water. It wasn't that warm, so it took her some four attempts before she could walk inside, but it happened.

At that moment, she pulled her dress up a bit and waded in the water, looking below her feet for any interesting stones. As a fox, she would have already been swimming this deep, so her explorations had been quite limited.

A muffled laugh caught her attention, and she raised her eyes to Kyro. He was sitting on the bench as usual, covering his mouth to not laugh.

"What is it?" she asked, looking at him with confusion. She didn't do anything weird, did she?"

"You look just like Lucy, up to your knees in water and looking for something underwater that's clearly not there."

Iris looked down at herself and laughed as well. She could totally imagine Lucifer in her own place, doing the exact same thing. "I've been influenced by that evil cat," she muttered, wading closer to the shore.

"Evil? Wasn't he fluffy and cute?"

"He is that, but also evil," she said with conviction. "He has twice swiped at me with his giant paw, and he was also eating better than me. While I had to be content with insects, he stole chicken from you and didn't share. How's that fair?"

"Is that why you spoiled my food?" he asked, a gleam in his eyes. His voice was deceptively innocent, but she was sure he hadn't yet forgiven her for that, so she once again walked deeper into the lake.

"Partly, there was also a meeting with a vet and being abandoned at the garage that day. You deserved it."

"Deserved it?" he asked, incredulous. "Is that so?"

He took off his shoes and stepped into the water as well. Worst part, with shorts, he could go in way deeper than her. 'Plan B, Plan B! Evacuate!'

Laughing, Iris ran to the side. She wanted to circle him to escape whatever he thought to do, but he was aware of her plans and didn't make it easy for her. They went back and forth for a minute, and Iris swiftly became aware that she wasn't escaping while playing by the rules.

Thus, the moment he got close, she pushed her hand into the water and sent a wave his way. It startled him, and she dashed past, straight for the shore. Quickly putting on her flats, she waved at him. "I'll be going first."

It was just a joke, but she pretended to hurry out before stopping midway out the clearing and turning to Kyro. He was walking slowly, looking at his T-shirt and shorts that were spattered with water.

She came back closer, but not too close. What if he now decided to throw her into the lake? Hopefully he wasn't that evil. "Yo—"

Her words were cut short by a loud barking. It was strangely familiar, and she turned in the direction of the opening to see the mastiff bounding over. Before her brain could even form any thoughts, her legs moved on their own to Kyro's side. Behind him, to be precise.

When she noticed what she was doing, she took a step away, feeling embarrassed. 'Bad habits,' she cursed herself. Kyro's gaze landed on her, and she said softly, "He's like a mountain to me, could crush me and not even notice. And… I haven't had the best of luck with dogs lately…"

Normal dogs were fine, but such giants running at her full speed were not. She couldn't help thinking that their one paw was the size of her. Not to mention that half her injuries were from dogs.

"Habits of the fox?" he asked, motioning with his head where she had run to his side.

She gave him a faint smile. "At that time, your presence seemed to be the safest place in the world."

The words were said without thinking about them, and color washed over her cheeks. She quickly looked away, at the dog that had caught her off-guard. Like before, the mastiff was on a leash, and his owner soon came over, pulling him back.

"Hey!" the middle-aged woman called over, and Iris stepped forward to greet her. 'You're a savior,' she thought, instantly having a good opinion of the woman for having interrupted the awkwardness after her blunder.

"You look better in that shawl than me," the woman complained with good nature, and Iris laughed lightly, realizing that this woman was even more of a hero than she'd thought before.

"Thank you!" She twirled around to show off the beauty of the shawl. "It's really pretty!"

"It suits you, and I'm glad to have helped." The woman's face then became serious. "I hope it's not…" She didn't say it fully, but her gaze landed on Kyro, who was a bit away, looking contemplative.

'Did you come out just to check that out?' This woman certainly had a sense of justice… or was in desperate need of new gossip. 'Should I give it to her then?'

"No, no." She laughed, even waving her hand to emphasize the point. "I'm actually really thankful for him. An… accident happened, and he let me crash at his place for a week or so, until I can get a new place for myself."

"Kyro did that?" the woman asked, her expression one of wonder. The gears inside her head seemed to be working in overdrive, creating scenarios that probably had little to do with reality. "How did you two meet? I don't think I've seen you around here."

"The fox," Iris answered without much thought. It was true enough. The more truth in the lies, the more realistic they were.

At this moment, Kyro came close. He exchanged greetings with the woman, reminding Iris that her name was Rachel, and they soon went their separate ways.

"Why did you tell her that you live at my place?" Kyro asked when the woman had left. He didn't seem angry, but didn't seem to be too happy about it, either.

"Did you hear the whole conversation?" He shook his head, and she breathed a sigh of relief for Rachel. If he had heard what she accused him of… "Right, well, it's not like you're hiding me, right? People will see me coming and going this week, so isn't it better to just say it in the open when anyone asks instead of creating some mystery about the situation?"

He seemed agreeable to such a thought process, so she suggested, "Should we go ahead?"

"What about no?" He pointed at his wet clothes. "You cut your excursion short by yourself."

The droplets on his shorts were not on the best places, so she had to concede and agree to stay around here until his clothes dried up. 'No wonder he suddenly stopped looking for revenge. He knew he could foil my day out with this!'