Not A Pet story

Chapter ten

With Jasper, the days went by fast, but at the same time, they were at a complete standstill. He hunted, I worked in my garden, we went to the stream together, ran in the woods, and just enjoyed complete freedom. I taught him to enjoy his wild nature, he taught me the nuances of civilization. Now and then we went to town and Jasper managed to find odd jobs so we could afford to buy things for the cave and some more normal food that we didn't have to process ourselves. I sent Xavier my blood less and less. I didn't tell Jasper anything about him, I couldn't bring myself to speak out loud about that time with the vampire, and my heart still hurt badly when I remembered him. I don't know if it was more of a habit or an atonement; most likely the latter, since the thought that he probably desperately needed that blood crossed my mind less and less. We also hid the bodies of the hunters, buried them far away from where we lived, drove their truck off a cliff, and pretended none of this happened. Jasper was very good at pretending that life was perfect and that no sense of guilt or uncertainty plagued him. I wanted to learn it from him. I wanted to not worry about anything because his ever-smiling face encouraged me to smile more.

"Katie, I have a surprise for you!" Jasper called out while I was weeding my garden.

"I've had enough of your sushi. What a nonsense," I laughed, raising my head. He shook the bag in his hand and pulled out a long green dress with short straps. It took me a moment to understand why that image crossed my mind like that, but I pushed my thoughts away and moved closer to Jasper.

"It is very beautiful, thank you," I told him to put it back in the bag and I took it by the handles into the cave.

Although it was not big, we installed two single beds, a sofa, and an armchair, even a carpet between them, and organized a portable cooler in which we could keep our food fresh for at least a day. We were able to hang a few simple pictures on the walls, so now this place could almost be called home. Well, why almost, this was my home. Mine and Jasper's. Even though we had been inseparable from the moment we met, I couldn't understand why I couldn't feel anything more than brotherly love for him. He was a nice man, he cared about me, but there was nothing between us. And none of us were getting any younger. Although I never thought about children, I wouldn't wish a fate like mine on any kitsune. Jasper's talk about saving the species made me think a bit about it though.

"What are you thinking about so much?" He asked taking out some kind of carbonated drink from the cooler.

"That I don't know the reason why you gave me the dress," I answered placing the bag on my bed.

"Well, eight months have passed since we met. I wanted to mention that day. And anyway, it's not new, don't stress," He laughed as settled down on the sofa.

"Eight?" I raised my eyebrows, unable to believe that so much time had really passed.

"Well, I can tell from your expression that time passes differently for you." "No, just... yes, probably," I squeaked, not knowing if I was happy or not. Jasper studied my expression for a moment before he flopped down next to me and I happily settled in next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. As always, he put his arm around me with one arm, while slowly sipping his drink with the other and began to tell me about what he had done today. I listened to his soothing voice and allowed myself to close my eyes, always responding to his unexpected questions or enthusiastic shouts. Jasper liked to talk, I liked to listen, and I liked this idyll very much. After all, this should be something I've dreamed about all my life, right? There's supposed to be a kitsune I want to have kids with and spend the rest of my life with, so why do I have the thought that something is wrong?

A few more months had passed since the dress present and that was the last time I had poured my blood into a bag and sent it to the usual recipient. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but Jasper kept mentioning the little kids in town and how much fun they were having, and how wonderful it would be to have his own someday. I entertained the idea of being a mother someday, but I didn't force myself to show any initiative towards Jasper. Although we lived together for a year, we fell asleep in each other's arms hundreds of times, but nothing else happened. Light pecks on the cheek to say goodbye or hello, evenings watching the sunset, swimming in the river, all the things that seem like normal couples should do, but that's all we did. I didn't know if it was because he didn't really care for me as a woman or because he realized he wasn't very attractive to me as a man, Jasper didn't try anything. Only those words of his...