4. Fruit

4. Fruit

Ice fruit is delicious.

Its sweetness is something that no creature living in the north can be unaware of, so I won’t explain it at length. The important point is that my Ice fruit was stolen by that thieving fox.

“Hey!! Stop right there!!”

A pure white Arctic fox runs across the snowfield. It steps and kicks the snow. For a fox, its movements are so quick that its speed is comparable to that of a wolf suin. I ran after it.

The sound of paws hitting the snow. Snowflakes fly. As I get closer to the fox, it moves further away, and when it moves away, I chase it again. This repeats.

“This!”

And then, I leap into the air with a flourish and attack!

“Euaang!”

I failed!

The fox was nowhere to be seen, and only I was buried in the snow. But I couldn’t give up here, so I immediately pulled myself out and shook off the snow. No matter how many times I failed, I had to protect my Ice fruit.

“Hey!”

Again, I run after the fox. How dare it run away with my Ice fruit? If I catch it, I’ll teach it a serious lesson.

The Arctic fox, with the Ice fruit in its mouth, ran and ran, entering the coniferous forest. I couldn’t afford to lose either, so I also entered the forest. The trees approached me.

Left, right, left, then right again.

Leaves brush past. My skin is scratched, and blood flows. But this is nothing. If I lick it, it heals. I started running on all fours to give it my all.

After running for a long time, what blocked my path was a large fallen log on the snowfield. The fox, using its small body, slid into the gap between the log and the ground and escaped, but I couldn’t do that and had to stop with a screeching brake. Snow dust flew.

“Stop!! It’s mine!!”

I couldn’t give up like this. Fearing I would lose the fox, I quickly climbed over the log, and the presumptuous fox was looking at me from the other side, laughing.

Then, the fox turned around and started running again.

“Hey!”

That annoying fox!

How dare it tease a wolf? That fox must be ill-intentioned. That’s why foxes are no good. Foxes only know how to be cunning and never do anything properly.

I kicked off the log I was standing on and leaped after the fox.

The chase continued. Trees whizzed by at high speed.

I dodged the trees skillfully and ran forward. The fox seemed to be playing with me, circling a tree and avoiding me. Then it ran forward again.

“You really…!”

The sound of paws echoed through the forest. The fox got closer, almost within reach.

And a high jump!

“Huh.”

The coniferous forest of the north, with its dense trees, doesn’t offer good visibility. So, sometimes you might stumble upon a rock in front of you.

Of course, what’s in front of me now isn’t a rock, but a steep slope that continued downwards.

And, unfortunately, wolves don’t have wings. Instead, they have excellent, cool ears and a fluffy, pleasant tail, but right now, they don’t seem useful.

Time seemed to stretch, broken into tiny pieces.

“Hmm.”

I should have learned from my sister how to land when I have to descend a steep slope while airborne. It’s too late to regret it now. Regret is something you do when it’s too late, so it’s only natural.

“Kkaeaaeeng!!!”

I fall. My body rolls. I wrapped my tail around myself to cushion the impact, but as a result, I turned into a round snowball and rolled down the slope. I couldn’t stop.

“Eup-hup, eump! Eu-ang!!”

Roll, roll, roll, roll.

How long was I rolling? My body spun dozens of times and showed no signs of stopping. Before long, my entire body was covered in snow, turning me into a complete snowball. With my vision obscured, I could only realize I was falling through the impact and acceleration.

And then, a powerful impact.

CRASH!

“Euaaeng!!”

I think I hit the ground. My back hurt. My whole body ached.

“Hoooaang!!!”

Suddenly, I felt miserable. Everything felt unfair. I found the Ice fruit and chased the hamster, so why is a fox like that stealing my things?

After rolling for so long, the fox must have gotten away. The Ice fruit must have gotten away too. I only got hurt and gained nothing. I was angry and felt suffocated. Tears welled up.

“Hwaeaaeang….”

Tears flowed down my cheeks. A proud wolf, a grown adult, shouldn’t show tears like this, but I couldn’t stop them.

I continued to cry. After crying for a long time, hiccuping, I looked around.

“Hiiing….”

I didn’t realize it when I first saw it, but the place I fell was a very steep slope. It looked difficult to climb back up. As I was pondering what to do, something tapped my back.

“What is it… Oh, you…!”

“Kkiiing.”

It was the Arctic fox that had stolen my Ice fruit.

“Caught you!!”

“Kkang?!”

I immediately grabbed the fox. The fox tried to evade my attack, but its large, plump tail on its backside couldn’t escape my grasp.

“You… I won’t forgive you!”

“Kkaeaaeuiyaang!”

Holding the fox, I shook it violently, violently, violently. You made me so sad, so you have to pay the price.

The fox, shaking immensely in my hands, became dizzy when I let go and rolled its eyes before collapsing onto the snow. Its large tail drooped, and it looked half-conscious.

Hmph, teasing me like that. Serves you right.

I stuck out my tongue and sat down where I was. After a chase in my hungry state, I was extremely exhausted.

“I’m hungry… Huh?”

After struggling for a moment, clutching my hungry stomach, a sweet scent soon wafted to my nose. A cool, cold sweet scent. It was the smell of Ice fruit.

“Ice fruit!”

The Ice fruit was placed right next to the unconscious fox. I thought it had hidden it somewhere after stealing it from me, but perhaps it didn’t have the brains for that, as it seemed to have brought it along.

Heh heh, silly fox! This is mine now!

I quickly dug a hole in the snow, fearing someone might steal the Ice fruit. As a wolf, I dug through the snow with a “pabapap,” and in an instant, a cozy burrow was created. It was a temporary hideout to eat the Ice fruit.

If I eat it here, no one will know.

Tears welled up as I thought of finally being able to eat the Ice fruit. I couldn’t help but smile foolishly.

Just as I was about to take a big bite of the Ice fruit, the fox, as if regaining consciousness, poked its head into my burrow.

“Kkiiing….”

“Go away!”

Hmph. You tried to steal mine, and now you’re acting sad.

“Kkiiing….”

“No. It’s mine.”

The fox put on a sorrowful expression. It squinted its eyes and whimpered.

“Kkiiiiing….”

“… No!”

My heart was starting to weaken. But no. This is the prey I obtained. I will absolutely not give this up.

Watch this. I’m going to pop this into my mouth in one bite! Ruthlessly, like a wolf!

“Kkiiing….”

“D-don’t look at me like that!”

“Kkiiing….”

Ugh, this makes me look like a terrible person.

It looks like a cool, strong wolf is bullying a small, weak fox. My sister always told me to be a kind wolf.

“… Just a little.”

Puffing out my cheeks, I broke off a tiny, tiny, tiny piece of the Ice fruit and threw it to the fox. The Arctic fox happily took it and looked at me with shining eyes.

I hesitated and ended up giving away half of the Ice fruit.

“Th-this is really the limit, okay!”

“Hek hek.”

The fox ate the Ice fruit deliciously. I was hungry too, so I quickly put the Ice fruit into my mouth. The sweet taste filled my mouth. I felt like I was floating.

“Kkang.”

“Uh….”

After finishing the Ice fruit, the fox came to me, who was sitting in the burrow, and climbed onto my legs. As if it were comfortable there, it settled down.

“Hmph… silly fox.”

Coming to a wolf who tried to catch you. What if you get hunted? It’s fortunate that I’m kind, otherwise, this fox is truly foolish.

As we rested in the burrow, I suddenly looked outside and saw that the sky was gradually darkening.

Night is coming!

“W-what are we going to do… It’s night because of you!”

“Kking?”

“What do you mean, ‘Kking!’ What do we do now….”

I ran too much chasing the fox that I couldn’t remember the way back. Even if I remembered, the slope I fell down was too steep to climb back up. It was a complete disaster.

My family will worry…

I should have listened to my sister when she told me not to stray from the path. Suddenly, tears gushed out. The northern night is scary. It’s dark, cold, and lonely. If my family can’t find me and I can’t go home….

I was scared.

“Kkaeaeng.”

“It’s all your fault….”

The fox, clueless, licked my tears. Well, it wouldn’t know. It’s a foolish fox.

I hugged the fox tightly in the burrow for no reason. It felt like holding a soft doll. Hugging its plump tail, which was comparable to mine, felt warm and good.

I kind of understand why my family wants to touch my tail.

“Hmph.”

That doesn’t mean I forgive this fox. This is punishment. You made me isolated here, so you should endure being hugged tightly.

I leaned my back against the burrow, hugging the fox.

Although it was just a temporary shelter made of snow, it was enough to block the wind. A strong wind howled from outside.

The sky quickly darkened. The stars and moon that should have illuminated the night sky were all pushed into darkness by the black clouds that were snowing.

“It’s snowing more and more….”

“Kkiiing.”

The soft snowflakes that fell in the morning were gone. All that remained was a fierce and terrifying blizzard. The northern night was so dark and eerie. I hugged the fox even tighter.

Burying my face in the white fur, a savory scent wafted out. It was the typical smell of an animal. It was a little addictive.

It was warm.

“Seol-ah!”

The next morning, with the sound of the snow-blocked entrance being dug open, I had to open my eyes.

The Arctic fox I had been hugging was gone without a trace.