The Return (3)

"What do you mean like you?" Kyro asked, his voice cold.

Iris looked up, wondering what was going through his head. Did he not believe that strange man? But there was no other way for him to know that she wasn't just a pet besides…

Besides what? She didn't know if he could change or not. There was nothing about him that screamed that he was more than just a normal human. And it was the same for her fox form.

Then how did he know? How did he guess?

"Why pretend?" The stranger laughed. "She's human, isn't she? Just stuck in her form. But it happens, I know all about that," he said with a wry smile, clearly thinking about something that had happened awhile ago.

Although Iris didn't want to trust him, his words rang a bell. It was obvious that just like her, he had gone through some stuff because of being unable to change back.

A low screech left her mouth, and both men turned to face her. For a moment, she wondered if the stranger would be able to understand her, but his expression remained the same. Somewhat disappointed, she then turned to Kyro, who was frowning openly now.

Their eyes met, and she motioned with her head toward the stranger. Kyro eyed him before returning his eyes to Iris. "You sure?"

Of course she wasn't… How was she to know that it wasn't just a trap? But she really wanted to learn more about why she had changed. If they went to speak with the stranger, she might learn what had happened to her and how to reverse it.

Although turning into a fennec was fun at times, it was a talent she'd be better off not possessing. For the moment, she was in control of it, but what if something bad happened again and she changed on instinct? She didn't want to make the headlines.

Kyro inclined his head, seeming to have guessed her thoughts. Or maybe his own just ran in the same direction. After all, now that they were together, it was both of their problem, not just her own.

At that thought, Iris smiled and then turned back to the stranger. He was watching them with interest, following their exchanges.

"You actually trained him so well, I'm amazed," he said after a moment with a grin. Iris was about to roll her eyes, but the man went on without a pause. "So let's go! I'll introduce you to my family right away!"

"Hold your horses. We can talk just as fine…" Kyro looked around, scanning their surroundings, then pointed at a nearby cafe. "Right there."

"What? Why?" The man scrunched his face like he'd tasted something foul. "My home is right around the corner. It's a five minute walk."

'And you're pushing it way too much,' Iris decided. She wasn't certain what to think of him at first, but her evaluation was starting to fall every time he mentioned his place. Who would be stupid enough to follow a stranger just because they suggested it?

Moments later, the man seemed to realize the problem as well. "Right, right, fine. We can sit there."

It didn't sound like he was happy about it, but he had acquiesced, and it was all Iris wanted. She was somewhat annoyed that she couldn't question him herself, but whatever. She shrugged. It wasn't like she hadn't been faced with such a problem before.

They sat down around a table outside. When a waitress came to ask about their orders, Kyro asked for a cup of simple coffee while the man just shook his head. Once the waitress was gone, he muttered that he wasn't going to waste money on something this pointless.

It somewhat explained his reluctance to visit a cafe, but sill, asking people to come to his home? That was a bit too much no matter how frugal one was. There were a number of parks they could go to sit and talk!

"So what's your name?" the man asked, looking at Iris who was still lounging in Kyro's hands. It was both comfortable, and she had a good view of everything from such a vantage point.

"You have yet to introduce yourself," Kyro said in a cold voice, and Iris looked up at him once more. She didn't trust the person as well, but was there a need to be so unwelcoming? What if he chose to leave and take away her possibly only chance to learn more about who, or what, she was?

She bumped Kyro's hand with her nose, then gave him a pleading look once he looked down. His expression hardened for a moment, then he nodded with obvious reluctance.

'Thank you,' she murmured and relaxed.

"Oh, right! I'm Tyler," the young man said, the smile returning to his face. "Tyler Brown. I've lived here in Bristol all my life. What else…" He scratched his chin, then his eyes landed on Iris and he beamed in her direction. "Right! Everyone in my family has two forms, and I've known that since I was a child. I always dreamed about meeting someone else like us, but I had already given up on it, until I saw you!

"You were napping in the open, as if just waiting for me! At that moment, I knew you were sent to me in answer to all my prayers!"

His adoring look sent a shiver down Iris' back. What sent by god? What answered prayers? 'I was clearly waiting for Kyro and not you! Please don't twist the story!'

She looked up to make sure that Kyro wasn't mistaken, but his eyes were focused on the Tyler fellow and not her. "Is this all you have to say?"

"Oh don't get angry." Tyler laughed, waving his hand in dismissal. "She's too good for you anyway. With the ancient bloodline of fox spirit in her veins, how could she even consider someone like you, a normal human? Just serve her well and don't overstep your boundaries."

Ancient bloodline? Serve? Why was he speaking like he'd run out of an asylum? Or was in middle school. Iris couldn't help but shake her head. It seemed like she'd put her expectations in the wrong person.

When Kyro was about to stand up to leave and Iris didn't try to stop him, Tyler jumped to his feet, hands on the table and shock on his face. "You can't mean you don't know? Could it be that you just changed when you were over twenty and had no one to explain it to you?"

Both Kyro and Iris stilled. What he'd said came way too close to what had really happened for a random guess. No matter how crazy he'd sounded before, he seemed to really know something.

"Oh, wow… I never thought… Wow… Really… No wonder you were acting so distant! I was wondering about that, but wow, that's unexpected." He gave her a scrutinizing look. "What about your family? Can't they change? Why didn't they teach you anything?"

'Because they're dead?' Iris asked with a huff, trying to recall the faces of her parents, but coming up blank. She'd seen some photos, but they weren't the real deal. Those people were nothing but pictures drawn on paper.

"It so happened that they couldn't," Kyro said in her place, his voice perfectly neutral.

Tyler didn't move his gaze away from Iris, watching her every move. "Do you want to know then? Who you really are?" His eyes shone with a bright gleam, promising unbelievable wonders in his tale.

The reality was that Iris didn't really want to know. She was satisfied with her lot and didn't want for it to be threatened. But she knew it couldn't last. If she wanted to have a peaceful life, she had to find out why she had changed and was sent away.

It hadn't been an accident that she had ended up in the states. Someone had purposefully kidnapped her from her lecture and put on a ship. And if they did it once, who could be certain they wouldn't do it again?

"Go ahead then," Kyro said while moving his hand to rest on Iris' head. She took strength from his touch and nodded as well. It was time to start collecting the pieces for the puzzle of what had happened to her.