Not A Pet story

Chapter nine

I don't know why I was acting the way I was. I was free. I lived in a forest far away from the city where Mr. Ashford and Xavier were living. I only encountered living beings when I went to the post office. Forest was my home, I enjoyed the freedom and for some stupid reason, I kept doing it.

I kept sending him bags and bags of my blood. I kept draining myself every day and sending him to the address that I remembered. I was free from everyone who brought me pain, but I couldn't stop feeling guilty for leaving him in that house.

I spent my days taking care of my cave and my garden next to it, I spent days in the sun and running around chasing mice and butterflies. I was so free, I was so happy, but it was always darkened by the thoughts of that vampire. I couldn't go back, the command was still pretty clear for me to not stay near him while he was losing his mind and I had no way of knowing if he was dead or on the verge of dying.

My day started as usual - I woke up in a dark cave and made my bed which was made out of some materials I'd found while travelling. It wasn't a bed, but being free outweighed comfortable things. I didn't miss soft beds, warm showers, or cooked meals. I was absolutely satisfied living the same way I did with my mother - sleeping in a cave, washing up in a creek, and eating whatever the forest provided. I was loving the solitude and as always, spent it enjoying nature.

I don't know if I was ever expecting someone to find me there, but when I heard heavy footsteps, I felt a cold wave shoot down my spine. I can't remember the last time I climbed a tree so fast.

I looked to the ground through the branches and noticed a figure somehow running, somehow limping through the woods. Something was following it and I focused on two figures in dark clothes. "Great, bring hunters to my oasis." I thought, recognizing clothes.

Now he was right under me and I could tell it was a guy. He sounded out of breath and for some reason, I felt bad for him. I quickly came up with a plan and waited for another minute for hunters to appear under me. I got my claws out and jumped, landing straight on one of their backs. Instantly my claws went all the way through their hand muscles and back muscles, and I jumped backwards when his colleague turned a gun in my direction. He was about to shoot when the chased guy did a similar move that I did. Now two hunters were bleeding out without being able to move next to me. Great, super. Just in case he's aggressive, I got my claws ready to defend when our eyes met.

"I thought you were extinct," I exclaimed in surprise.

He frowned and lowered his hands, carefully stepping closer to me. I did the same and now we were looking at each other from a meter away.

"I can't believe I just casually ran into a kitsune." He murmured.

"I mean, technically, you didn't run into me, you were being chased by... oh." My eyes went to the bodies on the ground and I frowned. I guess I was too surprised to meet a male kitsune to notice dying hunters.

"My name is Jasper." He introduced, smiling awkwardly.

"Catherine." I gave him an assuring smile and started walking in the opposite direction from the corpses.

I was glad he took the hint and went with me. We walked in comfortable silence until I stopped by the creek. Of course, I'm not letting a stranger see where I live, it doesn't matter that he's my kind.

"It's a nice place here. So quiet." He said, putting his feet in the water.

"Until you came running with two hunters. What happened?" I asked, wanting to make sure that they were not going to be searched for.

"They captured me but I managed to get free. I have built my immune system from rose, so they didn't use enough to knock me out." Jasper admitted, now being in water up his knees.

"That's quite masochistic." I raised my eyebrows, still standing on the shore.

"Yeah, well, I feel obligated to survive for my kind." He shrugged turning to me.

Inappropriate mind crossed my thoughts and we both chuckled knowing we thought about the same thing. He gestured for me to come with and I dived right into the creek enjoying the water on my skin. I couldn't explain the feeling but I felt safe with him. I haven't seen any kitsunes from that time when we parted ways with Amaria and even she was one of few that I have met. We were dying out or were hunted down, some were in hiding, some were captured and enslaved, so meeting one was very rare. Now I understood why I felt the want to help him.

We talked some more about each other, I asked if he by chance knew Amaria, but he never heard that name before. He was from a city far from here and was brought here only by mere coincidence. Since I was a lousy hunter for food, I mostly ate berries and accidental kills of birds, so when Jasper caught a rabbit, my stomach growled in happiness.

I've decided to trust him and brought him to my little cave. He complimented my humble abode and then we both cooked dinner. He told me stories about his childhood, and how he had to learn hunting to survive as he never stayed in the same place long enough to grow anything.

"I guess I got lucky in that way. My mum was a great gardener and we had such a secure place where no one bothered us. That's what I was hoping to create here for myself." I sighed, looking around nostalgically.

"What happened?" Jasper asked and took a bite of the rabbit.

"I'm not sure. We were out one day, and she was teaching me how to separate poisonous berries from the good ones when out of nowhere hunters came running. She told me to run for my life and she fought them." I cleared my throat, feeling tears coming up. "I don't know what gave me strength to run and not look back. I'm not even sure if she's still alive. I hope she is, but I never heard about her and that was a long time ago. I'm pretty sure I traveled across the country before settling in a small supernatural city. I got friendly with some rogues and they taught me all the basics. But I got careless and some vampires attacked me." I sighed, remembering that awful night. I closed my eyes as shivers ran down my spine, but quickly opened them and shrugged. "Not a very interesting story. What about you?"

Jasper patted my shoulder in consolidation and got comfortable on the ground. I was still staring at the little fire in the pit when he started speaking.

"I was born in a city. Hell, I even went to supers school. My parents were respectable kitsunes and for some reason, no one was after us. That was until I turned 15. My mother disappeared during the night and my dad... well, he sort of lost his mind. He became aggressive towards me. I ran away. Before I left town, I withdrew all the money I had in my bank account and disappeared from the face of the earth for a while." I saw his face change as he remembered the hard times. Feeling sorry for him, I laid next to him and rested my head on his shoulder. Although it may have looked romantic from the outside, I wanted to express friendship. Even though I liked my solitude, Jasper was someone I could count on. Maybe I'm so affected because he's my kind, but still. It's good to know I'm not completely alone in this world. "I lived in hiding, buying expensive amulets from witches hoping to disguise my smell and appearance. I spent all the money in a year. And as I said, my parents were rich." He whispered, hugging my shoulders with one hand. "Video games and take-away food was a good thing. My friend and I used to bleed me, sell it in the market and that's how we got around. He also talked me into developing resistance to rosewater, saying it made my blood taste good to vampires," Jasper paused for a moment and we stayed silent for a while. I didn't rush him to speak, I knew it's not easy to talk about hard times, so I just laid there, looking at the crackling fire and giving him moral support.

"Someone offered my acquaintance a lot of money to betray me. They came at night and attacked me. That's how I ended up here," He finally finished in a quieter voice.

"Idon't want to think about what they would have done to you," I mumbled as a shiver went down my spine. Jasper hugged me tighter and we laid there listening to the silence of the night.