🦊 Планета Флерантор, осколки человечества 🦊

The Mage Guild crawled off to sleep. How many posts did I write today? Countless!

The request for tea turned out to be absurd. The girl regularly came across mentions in books of an incomparable brew made from tea leaves, capable not only of quenching thirst but sometimes even healing the soul. She hoped on a whim that the old man might have some hidden reserves he'd be generous enough to share. But alas, the attempt proved futile.

— This is a story about a brave maiden and a lost little fox. — Ida began:

The events described took place in ancient times, when the empire was still flourishing and nothing foreshadowed the troubles to come. The future Viscountess Lorn, but for now merely a young blonde lady Mirabella Geist, dressed warmly and once again slipped away beyond the estate's borders.

Her family's holdings were surrounded by a dense but relatively safe forest, where dangerous predators were rarely encountered. So the girl confidently walked its surroundings, carrying only a small hiking knife and a basket for gathering medicinal plants. A little hobby that wasn't particularly welcomed by her parents.

At the moment, the girl was diligently collecting Valrus variety snowdrops. Their double petals had many uses: improving immunity, sharpening attention, increasing attractiveness — anything you could imagine! The key was to gather them in time and dry them properly.

The clearing, which had lost much of its snow cover, seemed like the calmest and safest place in the world — right up until Mirabella heard something between a cry and a squeaky howl. She flinched and nearly dropped the basket with her gathered materials. However, the girl quickly pulled herself together and began searching for the source of the noise. And soon, not far from the clearing, she found a small snow fox cub whose coloring treacherously blended with its surroundings.

This endlessly yowling little ball of snow-white fur with golden eyes and barely grown claws and fangs looked utterly terrified. And since none of its kin were nearby, Mirabella understood — the little one had somehow strayed from the pack and was looking for its mother.

— There, there, it's alright, — the girl responded tenderly, pulling a piece of jerky the size of half a palm from her shoulder bag.

It wasn't, of course, a juicy hare steak, but it was better than a chicken and cheese sandwich. The little one proved undemanding, yet so greedy that it gave its new acquaintance's hand a slight nip.

And although the fox cub still looked frightened, at least it had stopped crying and even began wagging its bluish little tail. The cub was making it clear — it could be picked up and petted.

— Oh, you're such a sweetheart, — Mirabella gently lifted him up. — But where is your mommy?

The fox cub, who didn't understand a word of human speech, licked his companion in response, as if saying: "I don't know, go look!"

At least, that's what Mirabella wanted to think. Or maybe he had just recognized a mother in her, and this little wonder would now take up residence in her family's home?

No. Baron Vernon Geist would at best chase the little one away, and at worst — take him, raise him, only to send him to slaughter and use his snow-white coat for his own nefarious purposes.

"No, that absolutely cannot happen!" — Mirabella thought, and decided to try to find the mother of her new friend. Or, at the very least, return him to a pack of his kin, where he would have a chance at a happy future.

Time was drawing toward evening, and the initial search yielded no results. Mirabella had to give up and secretly bring him home, to continue the next morning.

— I'll call you Little Cloud, — Mirabella addressed the fox cub, who by that point had already fully come to terms with his new reality.

In the baron's house, Little Cloud ate his fill of chicken meat that Mirabella had procured after dinner. However, the little creature had no intention of hiding quietly as the girl had hoped. Quite the contrary — overnight he not only tore up his new friend's bedding, but also managed to slip into the hallway, where he caused a bit of chaos in the form of a broken vase, a shredded canvas, and chewed-up furniture.

Fortunately, Mirabella noticed the disappearance in time, and early that morning Little Cloud was fast asleep under her bed. That day, the barony decided that a huge rat had moved into the house. Or even an entire family of them.

One would like to say the story ended the next day, but that wasn't the case. For Lady Geist, it became a whole ordeal. By day, she wandered the forest with Little Cloud in fruitless attempts to find his kin, and by night she had to keep a close eye on the little one so he wouldn't go on another romp through the estate.

And although Mirabella wasn't very good at that last task, the little rascal at least had the sense to hide from prying eyes. As if he sensed that only his newfound friend wished him well.

Nearly a week passed this way. Mirabella was beginning to grow accustomed to the idea that the Geist manor was Little Cloud's new home. And that she would have to wage an intra-family war just to protect him. However, everything turned out quite differently.

Once again wandering through the forest, Mirabella and her tiny friend stumbled upon a snow-white polar wolf that had strayed from its pack. Not exactly the member of the canine family one would want to meet. And this formidable-looking fellow seemed extremely hungry.

Mirabella had only her hiking knife and a terrified Little Cloud on hand. Someone else might have tried to throw the fox cub at the predator, hoping it would buy them time to escape. But Lady Geist was not one of those.

She chose to release Little Cloud from her hands so she could stand between him and the fearsome predator. If the plan worked, the wolf would be busy with her for a long time and forget about the fox cub. Better that only one should perish in the commotion than two at once. However, that day, no one was fated to die.

The moment the wolf lunged, seven adult winter foxes pounced on it from cover. Some bit its legs and withers, while others fiercely tore at the rest of its body. And although the predator didn't die from the assault, and even managed to shake off some of its attackers with a furious jerk, it still chose to retreat and leave the battlefield.

And so Mirabella found herself surrounded by snow-white foxes, gradually closing into a tight ring around her. It seemed nothing good would come of this either, but right beside her, Little Cloud was pressing his nose into her palm, as if trying to say: "It's alright, they won't hurt you."

And that was the truth. The foxes, somewhat disheveled from the fight, though they regarded the girl with caution, had no intention of attacking her. They simply needed to make sure the cub was safe and that the human posed no threat to him.

Mirabella didn't know whether Little Cloud's parents were among these animals, or whether this was a completely different pack. The girl understood one thing — he was safe now, and he could be left in capable paws.

The small pack of foxes followed Lady Geist all the way out of the forest. Given the tense atmosphere, it was hard to tell whether they were escorting the girl to protect her, or out of fear that she might snatch the cub and try to make off with him. The important thing was that the girl came to no harm, though at home she did catch an earful for leaving the estate and clashing with the wolf. On the other hand, the Geist family's attitude toward foxes changed after that, for it was they who had saved her from danger. The key was to omit the details of all her adventures with Little Cloud.

From then on, snow foxes were officially recognized as friends of the Geist family. This led not only to the abolition of what had seemed like a traditional snow fox hunting season, but also to a complete ban on clothing made of fox fur. Only real foxes had the legal right to wear that beauty.

As for Mirabella, she didn't recover right away. On one hand, the girl had grown attached to Little Cloud, and now it felt as though something important had been torn from her heart. Her soul kept yearning for the forest, but stern parental control and personal fears after what she'd been through took their toll.

A year later, she finally found the strength to return to the clearing where she had first met Little Cloud. Once again, she had provisions and a basket for snowdrops with her.

While Mirabella was gathering flowers, a fox crept up unnoticed from behind. More precisely, the snow-white creature was scurrying not toward the girl, but toward the open bag lying nearby. Poking its nose inside, it pulled out an appealing piece of jerky, as if it had been waiting just for it.

Hearing the rustle behind her, the young Lady Geist jumped in surprise. But seeing a friendly-looking fox before her, the girl breathed out calmly.

— Hello there, little friend, — she smiled, crouching down in front of him. The golden-eyed rascal reminded her somewhat of Little Cloud, except he was much bigger. — Are you hungry?

The girl instinctively reached her hand toward him:

— You remind me so much of my friend.

In response, the fox, having finished his meal, stretched his snout toward the girl's palm and pressed his nose into it.

— Little Cloud, is that you? — Mirabella suggested naively.

In response, the fox stepped closer and licked her cheek. Perhaps the thought wasn't so naive after all?

That day, the girl cuddled plenty with her fluffy friend, happily stroking him and feeding him the entire contents of her bag. The next day, Mirabella slipped away to the forest again, and the pleasant experience repeated itself. Then she went out again and again. But the fox wasn't always alone on different days. Sometimes there were two of them, and occasionally a whole pack would come. She even got lucky to meet little fox cubs who were even more eager to play than their parents. The forest had practically become her second home.

But all good things have a way of ending. Time passed, Mirabella grew older, and the day came when it was time to leave her father's home and become part of Viscount Lorn's family.

Few knew that on the day of Mirabella's wedding, as she left her homeland, a whole pack of snow foxes gathered at the edge of the forest. The animals were literally seeing off their old friend. A friend who had not only returned a member of their family home, but also restored their faith in the kindness of humans.

So, I'll be very upset if that old geezer ends up falling asleep or says the story is rubbish and Ida wasted his time on childish nonsense.