The little fox stood under Ulfa's feet and let Ulfa rub behind it ear.
“See, it's your friend Luke,” Ulfa said chuckling.
Luke felt embarrassed. So he joined in rubbing the fox's back.
Hi, little buddy . You startled me."
Luke was surprised by the softness of this fox fur. So soft that Luke thought he was touching water. On closer inspection, this fox's fur was as white as a cloud with ruby eyes, and… Wait. There's something strange about this fox. Apart from being too docile, this fox has a thicker tail than most foxes. Thicker and bigger than the size of the body. But on closer inspection, it wasn't a thick tail, but because this fox had many tails.
Yes, Luke's eyes are not mistaken. There were about seven or eight of them on the fox's body. This surprised him again. Luke might not have been very good at Biology, but he knew more or less that in the anatomy of a fox and other furry animals on four legs like this, they only had a tail on one body. Yeah, even if someone has more than one tail, maybe it has imperfections during cell division.
Well, basically this fox is the most unique fox Luke has ever met. Maybe it's one of those endangered species and suddenly he has the crazy idea to sell it to a zoo or to a unique animal collector so Luke can make billions of dollars. But, then Luke realized that it was impossible to do so, because even if it was true that this fox was a rare species, then he could be severely punished for trading rare animals. Oh, no more getting involved with the law and the police.
While her mind was still drifting everywhere with the breeze at four in the morning, Ulfa instead said;
"Oh, looks like it belongs to our neighbor Luke."
"Neighbor?"
"Yes. Belongs to Herr and Frau Hofmann."
“Fauns? You mean Ulfa, Rei's house?”
“Oh, right. He's your schoolmate, right? The one who is small in stature and an asian .”
Luke nodded. “How did Ulfa know?”
"Well, Ulfa met him at the police station when you and your friends were trapped in the forest that time—"
"No. No, Ulfa. I mean, how did you know this fox was the Fauns' pet?”
"Oh, Ulfa visited their house once and saw this fox there."
“I see. But why did he wander all the way here? The Hofmanns' house, isn't it, over there." Luke pointed behind their backs.
"I guess he's out on a walk like us, kid."
"Yeah, maybe he got lost. So how was it, Ulfa?”
"What do you mean by that?"
"He. Shouldn't we return it? Frau Hofmann would have panicked if she had realized that this fox was not in her house."
"Of course we have to return it. Ulfa then spoke to this ruby-eyed white fox, “Hey little fella. Are you lost or are you just taking a walk like us?”
Luke spontaneously chuckled because he found it funny to see Ulfa talking to the fox. Moreover, the fox seemed to buy a response by rolling under his feet.
"Oh, it turns out you want to come with us for a walk, huh. Okay. Come on. Let me carry you, little friend," said Ulfa who then turned to him, "Just now he said that he wanted to come with us for a while, Luke."
“Ulfa, don't be crazy. Animals can't talk." Luke was still giggling.
“Then you need to be more sensitive, Luke. Well, let's take a walk and get you back to the Fauns' house."
they turned towards the Fauns' house. The fox curled up comfortably in Ulfa's arms and kept looking around. Luke, now addicted to the softness of fox fur, couldn't stop rubbing her back.
"ULFA."
"Yes?"
"But where did the Fauns get an animal like this?"
“Would you like one, son? We can look at pet stores. Adopting one pet isn't bad either I guess."
"No, Ulfa. I mean, where are foxes with as many tails as this one, plus their fur is so pure white. Isn't this a rare breed?”
Ulf shrugged. “Maybe someone gave it to them or maybe they found it somewhere. But, yeah, I recently discovered a multi-tailed fox like this one too. Speaking of foxes with many tails, I think I've heard a myth about it. But I forgot. I don't know, kid."
they were silent for a while and after passing their own house Luke spoke again.
“It seems the Fauns have taken good care of this fox, huh. Her fur is so soft and silky.”
"You are right. the Fauns took good care of him.”
“But, Ulfa, is it alright for us to come to their house at this early in the morning? They must be still asleep.”
"We can wait on the terrace, son."
“Oh, that's right .”
Next, they passed another neighboring house. Mr. Hubble's house. He has a German Shepherd and a Pitbull and several other pets in his house. When he was little, Luke had several times come to play with his daughter, Katrina Hubble. But a few years ago, Katrina was found dead in the woods torn to pieces and bitten by a wild animal and since then, Mr. Hubble has rarely been seen outside the house.
Mr. Hubble's two dogs were in the house the owner had built on the front porch. The two dogs barked as they passed and fell silent when Ulfa greeted them.
"Hello Jade. Hello Cat…”
That's right, the muscular Pitbull pup was given the name 'Cat' by his owner. I don't know what was in that person's mind. Yeah, maybe he is
Ulfa said again, "You guys have woken up at this time."
The two dogs looked relieved that it wasn't thieves or drunks about to wreck the front yard. Had barked softly as if responding to Ulfa's words, then returned to their cage and the atmosphere returned to silence. So they started walking again.
100 yards later, they passed another neighbor's house. The Ramirez family home. They are a Latin family whose hobby is holding barbecue parties and inviting their closest neighbors. Occasionally, the smell of the meat would seep into Luke's room and it was delicious.
they saw a car come around the corner and stop in front of the Ramirez house. Someone comes out of the car and Luke recognizes him as the Ramirez' son, Diego. Diego looked surprised when he saw Luke and Ulfa walking out at this dawn.
Hi Diego? Just got back from a party?” said Ulf a little mischievous.
“Oh… H-hello, Mrs. Bright. Hi Luke." He smiled awkwardly. “ Well … yeah, that's how it is. please don't report it to my mother, okay, Mrs. Bright."
Ulfa giggled softly, “Of course not, kid. I was young too." Ulfa winked and allowed Diego to walk to his backyard. It seemed, he was about to sneak in from there.
So, well, they continued walking and soon arrived at Rei's house. there is a simple house that is quite large in size, with a large plantation area on the side to the back and several animal pens in the back. Luke could even hear the horses kicking on the ground and the grunts of the cows. Then Luke remembered again about his sharp hearing after being stuck in the interrogation room.
Damn it. Thinking about it made him uncomfortable. Luke shook his head to make the memory go away, because soon after, they had arrived in front of the Fauns' house.
“So how was it, Ulfa? The house is still quiet."
“Then, we sit here there first. I don't think Herr Fauns would mind having his neighbors sit on their porches."
Luke smiled and nodded. Two seconds after they put their pantan on the bench, suddenly there was a strong wind from the side of the house. It was so loud it gave him a dejavu feeling. Luke seems to have experienced this as well. He was horrified, but Ulfa kept calm by only tightening her jacket and covering her head with a scarf.
Suddenly the little fox jumped from Ulfa's lap and climbed up the house with great speed through the pipe. Luke was about to chase him, but Ulfa held Luke back. Soon the wind died down and he heard footsteps coming from inside the house.
“Oh, it must be one of the Fauns.”
“Ulfa heard that too?” Luke stared in surprise.
"Of course."
Right at that moment, the sound of the key being turned and the door opened. In the doorway, Rei appeared in his white pajamas. She greeted, “Hi, Luke. Please come in."
***