Beyond the Galaxy

Chapter 10 - Descent Into Nightfall

Isabelle's Point of View

A sudden glimpse of orange fur as I stepped out into the break between two houses sent me leaping back behind the wall and out of sight again. Someone was there. Why was someone there? I thought the streets were meant to be empty around this time. For a beat, I lingered behind the wall where I had surrendered to a hiding place from the new and unexpected animal, processing what I had noticed and unsure whether to approach or just keep moving, before I let my curiosity get the best of me and peered around the corner. There was an animal off to the side of the road, standing between the two houses. One of the first things that I was able to catch sight of was that he hadn't realized my presence yet, since his back was to me as he arranged the display on a cart that hadn't been there before. He was an animal that I had never once crossed paths with until now—One with a dark blue apron tied around his waist, vivid orange fur, a fluffy tail and pointed ears. A kitsune. But what was he doing there?

The alarms of suspicion were already flashing through my mind at such an odd sight, but I had to know more. I emerged from my hiding place at last, drifting closer to the kitsune at work and trying to peer around him to see the display he was organizing. From where I stood, I was able to spy a variety of paintings and sculptures set up along the cart, but I wasn't yet at a decent angle to observe them thoroughly. The knowledge of how to successfully sustain a conversation was still something I lacked to this present moment, but as I was already a few yards behind the kitsune and would bring attention to myself if I tried to escape, I saw no other option but to speak.

"Hello," I said hesitantly, skeptical of the fact that making conversation was the best thing to do.

Expectedly, the kitsune seemed to hear my voice as soon as I spoke, promptly turning around to face and address me and revealing the large logo of a ginkgo leaf on his apron. The moment he laid eyes on me, a mischievous smirk grew on his face at the sight of me.

"Oh, hello there!" he greeted me enthusiastically. "You scared me a little, popping out of nowhere like that. Where did you come from?"

"Oh, um..." I stammered through an answer, struggling to grasp the best words to respond with.

Based on the smile on his face and the lighthearted tone he spoke with, I could tell that explaining I had been spying on him was only going to provoke a reason to tease me. Plus, discomfort was already sending painful jabs to my stomach at the way I was being treated by a complete stranger. The way he was looking at me with his first glance was not the most settling.

"Nearby," I decided eventually. "I'm sorry that I scared you."

"Nah, don't worry about that," the kitsune assured me dismissively before allowing another teasing grin slip into sight and shifting the subject. "Can I interest you in any of my sales? Do my low, low prices for priceless one-of-a-kind artwork intrigue you? We've got a special deal on them just for today. What do you think?"

I wasn't carrying any Bells on me to be able to accept this offer in the first place, but I still took a moment to glance past the kitsune at the cart before I could jump into an answer. As I was a bit closer now, I was able to observe a display of paintings and sculptures set up across the surface of the cart, some of which I was not familiar with but some that sparked a flicker of remembrance in my immediate thoughts. A few of the paintings I could examine behind the kitsune were, in fact, very commonly known even by first glance, and although I could not recall the titles right at the moment, it was clear that they were among the most valuable pieces of art in my knowledge.