him later. Maybe he was only a dick to other humans?
And yes, he was hungry, so he barked, because what was he to do?
Yev chuckled, tickling Radek behind the ear on the way to a large kitchen that had seen better days. Here, wooden panels that covered every wall and floor Radek had seen in the lodge so far, had been replaced with large white tiles, and while there weren’t many frills to the interior, it seemed cozy. Most importantly of all, it smelled of food.
“What kind of monster deserts a little thing like you?” Yev asked, his voice sweet as if he were talking to a baby. Even his words were like a hug.
Radek showed off his bandaged stump in complaint, still adjusting to… well, everything, but especially to how the world around him seemed so massive. Until he learned to communicate with Yev somehow, he needed to make sure he was endearing enough to be kept.
He thought they’d met in awful circumstances, but this was even more improbable and idiotic.
Yev smiled, petting Radek’s ribs with his thumb while he picked up a bowl full of raw meat and bits of root vegetables. “I know. A real monster. And if I find them, they’re gonna pay, I promise you,” he said in the same cutesy voice on the way back to the living room.
Radek shook his head with a groan. He should be hating Yev, not finding him adorable. How could one man be so cruel and so kind on the same day? Radek hesitated, but then pressed his healthy front paw to the firm chest and licked Yev’s cheek, cackling with glee when Yev pulled away, blinking.
“Oh-kay. You’re even more tamed than I thought, you little furry monster, you,” Yev said, walking past his unfinished meal and taking a seat in an old armchair by the fire.
He adjusted Radek’s position in his lap, making sure the tail wasn’t trapped, and presented him with a brown morsel. It was unquestionably raw.
Radek’s brain said no, but his salivary glands were already hard at work, and his instincts told him there was delicious food in front of him. So he dared to lick it, since there wasn’t much he could lose, and it was indeed tasty. Warmth spread in his chest, not only in anticipation of food, but also at the unexpected tenderness Yev was treating him with. Of course it was because Yev saw him as an injured animal, but the fact that this big guy had the capacity to be this caring in the first place melted Radek's heart, even though he didn’t usually pay much attention to this aspect of people’s personalities.
“Nice, isn’t it? You wouldn’t have tasted deer in the wild, but I’m not gonna skimp on your treats. Do you have a name?” Yev asked, as if Radek could speak. Then again, maybe he could! Did Yev know Morse code? Radek had learned in the scouts.
He chomped on the food, too hungry to test his method yet. Yev might be an enemy of Radek the human, but to Radek the fox he was an unexpected protector.
Ignorant to who he was holding in his lap, Yev went on, “I could call you Carrot, how about that?” He laughed and stroked Radek’s back with those thick fingers that had been wrapped in Radek’s hair just hours ago.
Radek snarled. Carrot? Seriously?
Yev snorted and showed him a piece of the raw vegetable. Radek thoughtlessly took it, biting down on the sweet flesh. “No? That’s how much you hate it? Your previous owner probably called you something fancy. You know, like a book name. Le petit fox. But I’m a simple guy, and you need a name.”
Radek groaned. He didn’t want to end up as Carrot, even if the vegetable itself tasted delicious. He’d been teased at school for being ginger, and it had taken him a long time to embrace his freckled complexion. A sudden pang of pain in the stump made him whimper and he could have cried with embarrassment when the food fell out of his mouth half-chewed and rolled to Yev’s thigh.
Yev stilled, as if he feared he’d been the one to make Radek hurt. “Maybe it’ll be better if you do it in your own time after all,” he said and placed the little bowl of food on the floor before gently lifting Radek and setting him in front of it, as if he were afraid he might crush the fox body with his bare hands.