I, Liam Renard, was standing in an overgrown meadow near Lord Reineke’s temple in anguish.
So cute... Lune’s just too cute.
I watched her silver tail sway cheerfully against the tall grass. Lord Reineke was nearby, teaching her about medicinal herbs. He was gazing at Lune as affectionately as though she were his daughter.
“This is medicine too? And this?” Lune asked earnestly, concentrating on the fox’s words. She was gathering the herbs into a basket.
“Indeed, they are. Aren’t I useful? More useful than Dakini, right?”
“Of course!” Lune replied with a grin.
Appeased, Lord Reineke rubbed his head against hers. Lune closed her eyes, smiling with unbridled joy. That peaceful expression was a sign of her complete trust in the spirit. Her tail wagged as Lord Reineke patted her head with his paw. He then curled his body around her and rubbed their cheeks together.
Lune is so cute it hurts...
Their silver tails were entwined together, their fur sparkling in the sunlight. It was a beautiful, sacred scene. If someone told me they were a spirit father and daughter, I’d believe them.
There was no room for me there.
I couldn’t take it anymore and turned away, but right then...
“Brother!”
Hearing Lune’s voice, I turned to see her waving her arms in my direction.
She then whispered something into Lord Reineke’s ear. Such a trivial action, yet it made me feel a pang of jealousy.
She began running over to me. Unlike with Lord Reineke, where she’d been calm and peaceful, now her tail was wagging vigorously and her fox ears were perked up as though she wanted to catch my every move. Her violet eyes were fixated on me and only me. Her smile was more dazzling than moonlight, making my head spin.
“Brother? What’s wrong?” Lune asked while running, out of breath. It was so adorable, as if she couldn’t wait until she reached me before asking. “Are you going home? Don’t leave!”
Lune jumped at me, her basket flinging into the air. I caught her but fell on my behind from the impact. As I hit the meadow floor, a burst of dandelion seeds went soaring up.
“I just didn’t want to interrupt you two,” I said.
“You’re not interrupting anything!” Lune said, puffing up her cheeks sulkily.
She wrapped her arms, legs, and tail around me, holding on tightly. Warmth filled me from the very core of my being. Lune’s tail squeezed even tighter.
“Ngh...” I couldn’t stop a quiet noise from coming out from a mix of joy and pain.
Lune gasped, softening her grip on me and casting me a timid glance.
“Are you okay? Did that hurt?”
Her tearful purple eyes reminded me of grapes cloaked in morning dew. Drawn in by the sight, I moved my face closer to hers. Lune smiled innocently.
“You’re not in pain?”
“No.”
“Phew! That’s good!”
She wagged her tail, causing a fuzzy dandelion seed to get caught in her fur. I grabbed her tail and plucked out the seed.
“Eep?!”
Lune looked surprised at first, but then she blushed and glared at me. I showed her the dandelion seed and blew on it to make it float in the breeze.
“It got stuck on you.”
“W-Well, you surprised me!”
I poked her puffed up cheek with my finger.
“Don’t be mad, Lune,” I said.
“Humph!”
“Lune?”
She didn’t answer.
“Luuune?”
Still no response.
“I’m sorry,” I said when she remained silent.
Lune pouted and kept glaring at me. “Next time, say something.”
“All right.”
“You’re special, you know?”
Her words pierced me.
“Special?” I echoed.
“That’s right! Because only you can touch my tail!” she insisted, proudly huffing and puffing through her nose.
I couldn’t help but laugh. Lune was just too cute. She was so adorable it almost made me want to cry.
“You’re so cute, Lune.”
“Ahhh! You’re making fun of me! Why do you have to be like this?!”
Lune pushed me down. A bunch of small forest critters rushed over and climbed on top of me as well. Usually, animals and children were scared of me, but that didn’t happen when Lune was around.
“Now you can’t get away!” Lune said triumphantly.
Her words embarrassed me a bit.
“Humans are such fools,” Lord Reineke remarked with an exasperated smile.
“My brother isn’t a fool!” Lune cried out indignantly, her tail banging against the ground.
A cloud of dandelion seeds rose into the sky, embarking onto a trip toward a new life.