Chapter 22 - Not a kid pt2

Faun woke up with a smile on his face, sitting up on his knees so that he could scratch both of his ears comfortably.

He could have scratched them normally but instead put his upper body on the bed, his tail up in the air as he half pawed, half scratched.

Habits were hard to break and he didn't see anything wrong with it.

Running around in this form presented risks of its own which was why even though he was deep in the woods, he remained in his fox form, although how he was right now was basically default?

Shifters could alternate between their human and animal forms but you could say they were mostly comfortable in their animal forms, while humans were humans and then hybrids were somewhere in the middle. Literally.

He bathed with his ears and tail out, it was relieving to but drying his tail was much like drying his hair which was why he had held back from doing that.

The last thing he needed before was Declan coming into his room and finding him struggling to dry his tail but now he couldn't care less.

He got to the living room after dressing up to find Declan already lounging on the couch, his long limbs sprawled everywhere.

"Interested in leaving the house to grab something to eat?" Declan asked casually, staring up at his phone.

Faun froze, his ears perking up as he processed Declan's words.

"It's fine if you don't want to, I just figured that you might like to leave the house sometime."

"No… no, it's just… is that really okay?" Faun asked quietly, an earnest look in his big eyes.

Declan looked up from his phone at his tone, dropping his phone. "You'll be with me, don't worry, you'll be fine but your ears and tail have to go though."

"Of course I know that." Faun snapped, his old fire coming back into his eyes. "When are we going?" He prompted with an excited expression, his tail swishing.

"Right now." Declan replied, getting to his feet. "There's not much to do on a Sunday so we're just going to get something to eat."

"Oh." He simply murmured, something like disappointment in his tone.

"We can always go out as often as you want." Declan was quick to tell him, satisfaction sweeping through him as the light came back to his eyes.

He was so expressive, his emotions and how he felt clearly written on his face. It was refreshing for Declan who had to deal with people who never said or did what they really meant his entire life.

"Throw a jacket on, it's cold out." He found himself saying to him, catching a glimpse of his tail as he hurried away. "Don't forget to put your tail away!" He called after him, feeling like a parent.

Faun came out looking quite presentable, a sulky expression on his face. "I got distracted that one time." He pouted, sweeping past Declan to wait impatiently at the door. "Well? Are we going or not?"

Declan stepped forward with a chuckle, reaching out to ruffle Faun's wild hair.

Faun ducked outside the house, protecting his hair with his hands. "I'm not a kid."

"Never said you were." Declan replied with amusement in his voice, his gaze fixed on him.

Faun averted his face, shucking his jacket close. "Are we going to eat or not? I'm hungry." He grumbled.

Declan could clearly see his red face but decided to let up teasing him. They made their way down the path that led from the cottage and the woods.

The town wasn't far from his cottage plus Declan didn't leave his cottage that often so there was no need to get a car or a bike even.

He could always order a cab if he was in a hurry and Faun didn't seem to mind, if anything, he looked happy to be up and about again.

Declan didn't bother to tell Faun to stay close, he had his eyes on him the entire time anyway.

Faun stuck close to him too, constantly asking questions and curiously pointing things out.

"I used to visit human towns sometimes but I couldn't go anywhere or try anything." He said in a lively tone, his soft green eyes taking everything in.

Faun was pure and upbeat, you couldn't be gloomy around him because his excitement was contagious.

"We could stop by the grocery stop on our way back, I'll even let you pick out any ingredient you want." Declan offered, feeling very generous.

Faun latched onto Declan's arm in happiness, much too elated to feel mortified about what he was doing. "Really?" He prompted with wide eyes, staring up at Declan.

Although he knew that Declan wouldn't say it if he didn't mean it. "This trip just got way better." He hmphed importantly to himself, letting go of Declan's arms to continue walking beside him.

Declan felt himself deflate when Faun separated from him but he shook the sensations away.

He wasn't surprised when everyone seated in the quaint little restaurant turned to look at him when he entered but he paid no attention to them.

His entire attention was on Faun who he noticed had ducked behind him, a tentative hand clutching his shirt.

It made Declan frown, had he been too quick to bring Faun to town?

"Are you okay?" He asked with concern when they sat down, their table close to a big window.

Faun touched his ear. "Yeah, it's just a little overwhelming to be in the middle of so many humans." He said honestly.

Declan still studied him intently, ready to get them out of there if the situation called for it.

A waitress brought them menus, her dark brown eyes lingering on Declan that even Faun caught on to it.

"Do you know her?" He asked curiously.

"No." Declan muttered, a tad coldly. "I don't know anyone here."

Faun perked up at this, it was comforting to not be the only one left out. "Oh."

"Need help reading your menu?" Declan teased, already reaching for his menu.

Faun snatched it out of his reach. "Not at all." He grumbled out.

Fortunately, they had read through cookbooks last night so he could read everything on the menu and knew what a whole lot of them meant.

It was nice to fit in somewhere.