14 The Chip (1)

There was nothing online. No matter how much Kyro searched, he couldn't find anything about fennecs in NY. Or well, missing ones. All he could see were people with adult foxes, sharing pictures of how cute and playful they were or talking about how to take care of them and warning others that it's not for everyone.

No one mentioned anything about missing their pet, or having received one recently. The little one's owner had to be a real recluse, not sharing such big news online.

A touch disappointed, Kyro found the website of the local pet shelter and called them. One of the staff there answered, but they said there was no report of a missing fennec fox in their database. They then suggested that Kyro bring the pet to them so they can scan it for a chip. He thanked them and promised to come in a bit.

Upon finishing the call, he looked down at the little fox sleeping against his chest, and a sad smile touched his lips. They might have spent just a day together, but he already felt connected to it. He didn't want to let it go.

But he was afraid that with the trip to the shelter, their time together would come to an end. With how valuable fennecs were, it should have been chipped early on. So the moment it was scanned, the owner would be called and take it away.

As if having sensed Kyro's unease, the fox squirmed about and its nose wrinkled. But the eyes did not open. The little fox was still deep asleep.

"You must be dreaming of your family," Kyro murmured, wishing to pet the little one to calm it down, but not daring to disturb its sleep.

He had never planned to get an exotic pet, especially with Lucy still around, but the fennec had already won him over. It had happened so swiftly. The little fox was just so lively and cute, often running around like crazy. One moment it could be running from you and the next jumping at you for attention, and vice verse. With it around, there certainly wouldn't be any boring days.

But the fox wasn't his. And Kyro knew what he had to do. It would be wrong of him to steal someone else's pet, not to mention illegal. Only if the fennec didn't have an owner could he possibly keep it.

'That's as likely as the sun rising in the west. I need to stop thinking about it and just go there.'

Yet he kept sitting. The fox was still sleeping peacefully against him, its body heat warming his hand. He didn't have the heart to wake it up and put it in a cage so they could go to the shelter. The last thing he could give to the little fox was to let it sleep for as long as it wanted.

Four hours later, by the time Kyro's hand was about to fall off, the fox woke up. It yawned widely, then wriggled down to his knees and stretched now that it had more space. Noticing him watching it, the fox cooed in a friendly manner, looking up at him with interest.

It was like a knife to Kyro's heart. The little animal was looking at him with its cute eyes, trusting him to take care of it, and he was going to give it away to the people that had been careless enough to let it escape. He felt like the worst person in existence.

"Don't look at me like that," he told the fox, picking it up to bring it to the kitchen. Might as well feed it and let it visit the toilet before leaving.

'You don't even know if its real owner is that bad. Maybe they're worried sick now and it had been a genuine mistake behind the fennec's escape. Stop vilifying people.'

It wasn't easy, though. He suddenly really didn't want to leave his house today.

Lucy ventured into the kitchen, but upon seeing Kyro's foul mood, he ignored the fox and jumped onto the table to bump Kyro's hand. Kyro looked at the majestic cat and patted its head, thanking it for the support. "You'll always be my favorite, you know that, right?"

The cat meowed in reply, and although Kyro wasn't well-versed in cat language, he was sure it was something along the lines of 'obviously'. He smiled at Lucy and shooed him off the table. Nobody was allowed to walk on tables, neither human nor cat.

There was another loud meow, but Lucy didn't seem angry. He strolled out of the kitchen as if it had been his plan all along.

When Kyro looked to the side at the fox, he found it staring at him with a weird expression. The fennec seemed dissatisfied with something, even stopping to eat.

"Did you taste something wrong?" he asked, though it wasn't likely. He'd given it some of Lucy's cat food, and it was of high quality, so there shouldn't be any problems with it.

The fennec screamed at him, then stepped away from the food. 'I guess it just ate enough.' He then brought the fox to the bathroom where was Lucy's toilet area, hoping the smells would be enough for the fox to figure out it could do its thing here.

The fennec glanced at him a couple times, then sat down by the litter box, watching him intently. He bent down to open the flap so it could enter, but the fox did no pay attention to his actions, it only stared straight at him.

'Does it want me to leave?' He'd heard of pets that didn't want others around while they answered the nature's call. Hoping this was it, he left the bathroom, closing the door behind himself.

No more than a minute later, he heard a scratch at the door. Carefully, he opened it and found the fennec having stepped back to not get hit. Smart. It also lifted its front paws, showing him how white they were from the litter. He smiled and wet a cloth to clean them up.

And then it was time. He picked it up and carried to Lucy's traveling box. The fox resisted with all its might, but it was hand-sized. It had no chance to escape him.

Kyro's heart ached as he listened to the fennec's heart-wrenching screams, but this had to be done. This beautiful fox wasn't his pet, and he needed to get it identified and returned to the real owner. This was the right thing to do, and everyone would be happier for it.

'Everyone but me,' came an unbidden thought.