FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The shrill sound of the alarm pierced through Zèon's thoughts and woke him up from the shallow uneasy sleep he had managed to get after a few hours of nervousness. That was the first time that, without that alarm, he would have kept on sleeping. At least, he comforted himself, that time he had managed to sleep willingly.

The arctic fox rubbed his eyes, still a bit sleepy and with a strong headache. Luca was sitting up at the other side of the room, as fast in waking up as usual, but Vent seemed as dazed as himself. Zèon squirmed under his sheets, uneasy, as the inquiries of the previous night came to his mind as a far echo. He still didn't know how he was going to tell Luca without a word of what he had just discovered. Although he was sure he would find a way, he was afraid that Sophia would have managed to hear him even if he made no sound.

-Do you think you'll be able to move today? -Luca asked then. He had stood up and approached the arctic fox's bed, giving him a worried look.

Zèon thought it for a few seconds.

-I think so -he murmured, in the end -. If you help me stand up.

Luca nodded and reached out to him, quickly putting an arm around his back once he managed to lift him. Zèon repressed a gesture of pain and closed his eyes, trying to gain enough strength in order to walk. Again, each step he took felt like if a million of needles pierced through the skin from his waist to his neck. He wondered how much would it take for the pain to fade.

-Did you manage to sleep anything last night? -Luca asked then.

Zèon gulped, nervously. He had to be cautious answering that, or Sophia...

He shook his head.

-Yes -he answered, finally -. Just a little.

-I'm glad to hear that. In your condition, you should rest as much as possible.

Zèon said nothing for a few seconds, without knowing how to answer to that. It was difficult to make Luca understand what he was thinking about without letting anyone else understand it as well.

Both went out to the corridor and were greeted by some morning conversations. Zèon noticed then that it was the first time he got out of his bedroom so early in the morning, since he was used to waiting a few minutes with Koi, in order to prevent others from watching him while he took a shower. Something inside him rebelled against the idea of being watched, judged and criticized by all those fehlar who still kept some of that crooked mindset that had led them to start the war. And, on the other hand, he didn't want to be an object of pity to any kane who thought his story was a disgrace.

He only wanted to be left alone.

And, however, he could feel clearly the pitying glances or the obvious curiosity of all those who bumped into him.

He shook his head and tried to think again about how he was going to transmit what he knew to Luca without using words. <<_Words are only a mirage, an illusion>>_his Alchemy master had said time ago. But in that lesson, the teacher referred to their fleeting condition and the fact that the only way to tie them to the earthly world was by writing them down. That wouldn't help.

It was then when Luca gave him an inquisitive look, wondering about the reason of that weird silence. Zèon found his eyes and, feeling hopeful, tried to transmit to him that there was something very wrong, something that worried him, but he couldn't talk about it. Luca held his gaze for a few seconds, confused, until he looked away a bit suddenly.

Zèon hoped he had understood.

-Then, are you sure you are alright? -he asked after a while. There was something different in his tone, something that only Zèon could have felt.

It was the answer to his previous gaze, and seemed to say "Give me a clue".

-I think I'm a bit tired -Zèon replied, downplaying its importance; and then, a light appeared in his mind -. Yesterday I couldn't sleep a wink and last night I've only managed to fall asleep at the last minute.

Luca nodded, thoughtful. It seemed that he was carefully analyzing each of his gestures and words, in the way only he could interpret them. <<I can't tell him that it's the food with just a glance>> Zèon told himself, frustrated.

He decided to go for broke.

-Have you slept well, at least? -Zèon asked, giving him a look full of meaning.

<<Come on>> he thought, impatiently <<Come on, Luca. Understand it>>.

The wolf held his gaze for a second. In that brief period of time, the arctic fox felt like an invisible bridge built between them, as if something had connected both of them. He had experienced that feeling of deep understanding several times with Luca; those little moments in which each of them could perfectly know each other, and even sense what they were thinking. They had often been able to share basic ideas with simple glances.

Unfortunately, all that theory of the somniferous food was far from being a basic idea.

-Yes, I have slept well -Luca murmured. He frowned -. I've always slept well here.

<<Yes! That's it!>> Zèon was about to shout, excited. However, he tried to hide his enthusiasm the best way possible and just nodded, suggesting that he had already anticipated that answer. Luca's gaze was filled with curiosity, but Zèon decided he couldn't tell him anymore due to the possibility of Sophia listening.

Finally, both of them arrived to the hall. Like in a dream, Zèon saw Sophia come out to the balcony and do the roll call as calm and serious as always, as if nothing unusual had ever happened in that place. The last time she had called his name, he had dared to hold the woman's gaze, but this time he looked down as a frightened lamb, when it was his turn to answer. The fox could almost feel in the back of his neck the satisfied look that Sophia gave him from behind her glasses.

After that, there was a brief break, as every day, in which most kane and fehlar headed to the playroom. Later, the alarm would ring again and the residents would sit in the table for lunch. The rest of the day was spare and the prisoners were free to wander freely through the Box's rooms... as long as they didn't approach the glass door that lead to Sophia's operations center, obviously.

Zèon, however, remained sat in the table of the hall, with Luca. He didn't want to move and, on the other hand, he preferred not to be with anyone except Luca, after all that had happened two days before. He could have talked with Ike too, but after the argument they had had the previous day, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see him again or just forget about him. He looked around nervously, wondering if the lion would approach him now he was seated in a place.

He didn't found him, but he spotted someone that not long ago he had considered the lion's shadow.

-Oh, it's Shiba -Luca murmured, surprised, when he followed Zèon's gaze and found that the tigress was approaching them.

In just a few seconds, the fehlar had arrived to the place they were sitting. Her steps were elegant, but extremely straightforward, and her fierce gaze looked alternatively at Luca and Zèon. Although it was obvious that she was there in order to talk with them, she hadn't said a word yet.

Zèon couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. Shiba was almost as high as Luca and just as athletic. If she had really been Ike's Sentinel, as he had said the previous day, that made perfect sense. A bodyguard had to be physically prepared to protect her client, Zèon thought. In the case of Shiba, Zèon would have dared that she would have been able to beat anyone of the Box in a fight. Even that pretentious Kainn.

-Good morning, Shiba -Luca greeted her, gently.

She didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed on Zèon and the arctic fox felt a bit uneasy. A disgusting memory was also awaken in the depths of his soul. Making memory, he couldn't say he had had good experiences with tigers.

-Luca -the tigress said then; his voice was deep, but at the same time soft and silky as other fehlar's -, can you leave me alone with Zèon for a while? I have to talk about something with him.

The wolf looked back at her, surprised. Zèon hadn't foreseen that either, but tried not to seem really impressed.

-Er... -the wolf began, not knowing very well how to answer. His gaze drifted to Zèon, interrogating him.

<<I'll be fine>> the arctic fox thought, trying to believe it. Luca, however, seemed to caught these thoughts and nodded, standing up. Just a few seconds after the wolf had gone, Zèon was already feeling his absence.

After all, he was alone with a fehlar Sentinel.

-What's the matter, Shiba? -he asked, trying to break that uncomfortable silence. His words sounded a bit less confident than he would have liked.

The tigress sat by his side, before saying anything.

-I'm surprised that you, so observant you say you are, haven't noticed yet -she replied, with a slight reproach in her tone.

-I don't go boasting about being observant -Zèon defended himself, perplexed.

-Whatever -the other one seethed, with a tired gesture -. Haven't you really noticed?

Zèon felt he was about to lose his patience. There was something in the accusing tone of the tigress that was getting him really nervous.

-What should I have noticed? -he asked, trying to remain calm.

-That Ike has his mind set on you -the tigress answered, sighing.

Zèon blinked a few times, not understanding at all.

-Set his mind on me? What do you mean?

-He's interested in you -the other answered, impatiently -. He likes you, kane.

At first, Zèon received that news skeptically.

The rational part of his mind reminded him that the attraction between the kane and the fehlar had only took place long ago, in situations that could be counted with the fingers one paw, and that were considered absolute exceptions. Among others, hyenas were one of the races that had appeared from those strange unions: that was why they shared canid features in spite of belonging to the feline family. That, in the end, hadn't saved them from Alekai's rage, who hadn't had any mercy when he had invaded their marginal lands.

However, beyond that skeptical little voice in the back of his mind, Zèon reminded himself of the conversation they both had had the previous day. Ike's constant faltering, his efforts to remain by his side for the whole day... He shook his head. He hadn't noticed at the moment, but that story he had told him about the fehlar murmuring that he and Luca wanted to take advantage of the human's presence in their bedroom could have perfectly been an excuse to spend more time with him.

Still, what could have Ike, the son of a king, seen in him? He sure had a weird taste if he had really felt attracted to Zèon. Not because of what they shared, their sex; but for what separated them: their race.

-I didn't know it -Zèon admitted. In fact, that possibility seemed so absurd that he hadn't even imagined it.

-Now you know it -Shiba answered, curtly.

Zèon gave her another critic look. The tigress didn't seem very willing to start a conversation, let alone with a kane. Her roughness, in a way, clearly stated that she felt so uncomfortable talking about that subject that she had to hide under that false mask of relative violence.

-Why are you telling me this, Shiba? -Zèon asked, after a few seconds.

The tigress looked away and fixed her eyes in the table, a bit uneasy. She had put her paws together and twirled her thumbs quickly, as if that could gave her more patience in that situation.

-I thought you should know it -she murmured, finally -. It's not something... easy.

Zèon suddenly understood.

Shiba still had the hope that their confinement wouldn't be forever, that it wouldn't be eternal. She believed that they would eventually go back to Lykans and recover their normal lives. And, although Zèon still couldn't see that possibility as very likely, he didn't dismiss it and he understood perfectly what the tigress meant.

If the fehlar realized that the son of their leader had been flirting with a kane of the enemy ranks, all established order among their army could break down. Treason among those of his race was dearly paid, and the fact that someone of the royal family could have shared a sentimental relationship with a sexual slave... could have erupted like a bomb among the fehlar. Knowing the political intrigues Ike had told him about, someone could have tried to overthrow the king only for that. Or even eliminate all his line of succession.

Of course, those were only theories and hypothesis. Zèon wasn't interested in starting a relation with the prince of the fehlar: he didn't feel attracted to him and, in any case, he still felt too uneasy in his presence in order to decide to do something.

-Has Ike got any sibling? -he asked, pragmaticly. In the case that the lion was banished for his crime against the fehlar, there was still the possibility that his line of succession remained and one of his siblings could be brought to power.

-He has a sister -Shiba answered -. A year younger than him. But believe me if I tell you that it's not in the kane's interest that she gets to the throne. -It seemed she had followed Zèon reasoning and understood what he wanted to know.

-Why? What happens with her? -the fox asked, curiously. But Shiba just shook her head.

-Ike is one in a million -she said, softly -. He is one of the few fehlar that's not under the visceral hatred towards the kane. He believes that his father's war has got out of control and he would like to stop it once he got to the throne. -Zèon understood for the first time the implications that had -. If he was banished...

-I understand -the arctic fox whispered, turning a bit pale -. The only possibility to stop the war would fade away.

Shiba gave him a long look. Her face was inscrutable, but Zèon believed he saw a little shade of mercy.

-Don't misunderstand me -she said, after a while -. In my opinion, the kane don't deserve any particular respect. I'm not like Ike. In fact, if I didn't want to intervene in the fight of the other day was because I was indifferent to what happened to that human -she admitted -. But I must watch over Ike's interests because that's the task I was assigned, and I'll be willing to remove any obstacle that threatens his happiness.

Zèon couldn't contain himself any longer.

-So, you're telling me that I should tell him "no"? That, in the hypothetical case that he dared to ask me out, of course.

But Shiba shook her head.

-You can answer whatever you want and have whatever you want with him. That's not my business. I'm just asking you that... if it happens... just try to be as discrete as possible.

Zèon frowned.

-I think I perfectly understand the meaning of the word "discretion" -he added, curtly.

Shiba understood and gave him another long look that the arctic fox couldn't interpret.

-I saw it -she said, after a while -. You're right: you're discrete. And also...

For a few seconds, it seemed that she was about to complete that sentence at the drop of a hat, but she finally stood up and moved away from him. Zèon saw her go, still wondering what he should exactly think about that conversation and if Shiba had warned him or threatened him.

-What did she want? -Luca asked, when he returned a bit later.

-I don't know -Zèon murmured, a bit perplex -. I think... I think she was just worried and had to share it with someone.

That was the most disgusting lunch Zèon ever had.

He had never precisely liked that sticky yellowish paste they were always served, but the fact that he knew that when he ate it he was poisoning himself was about to make him throw up more than once. Still, he managed to act normally and only looked at Luca in the moments he felt more nauseate, trying desperately to tell him what was happening.

The wolf kept on eating, unaware of what Zèon wanted to transmit him, but feeling that there was something wrong.

-You don't have to force you to eat if you don't feel right -he murmured, after a while.

-It's not that -Zèon answered, but didn't know what else he could say. The wolf tilted his head, confused.

-I believed that Zèon doesn't like the paste -Koi ventured, sitting by the arctic fox's side -. Don't worry, Zèon. I don't like it either, but I've got used to it. If I had been two days without eating, like you, I wouldn't be able to eat again this... this thing! -he exclaimed, sticking his tongue out to the dish.

Zèon was about to smile. The little husky's innocence was like a breath of fresh air in those situations.

-So... you say you've been two days without eating? -Luca asked then, slowly.

The arctic fox was about to answer sincerely when he noticed that wasn't a normal question. There was something in Luca's tone that seemed to want to make sure that Zèon's answer implicated something he had thought about. And then, the arctic fox realized what had just happened.

-Yes, he hadn't eaten anything at all, because he hadn't got out of the bedroom -the little husky replied before he could, nodding vehemently -. I'm sure that was why he couldn't sleep at night, because he was starving. My mother says that it happens when you get hurt or you feel very ill: you can't eat nor sleep. I hope it never happens to me!

<<Oh, Koi, thank you!>> was about to shout Zèon, excited. But instead of that, he just drew him close and gave him a clumsy but warm hug. Koi hugged him back, a bit surprised for that sudden demonstration of affection, but the fox didn't even noticed that. From the other side of the table, Luca gave him a look of understanding, as if he had finally managed to understand what went through his mind. Zèon could only think that, if it hadn't been for Koi's curiosity and unstoppable need to talk, he wouldn't have got anything.

-It makes sense -the wolf said after a few seconds, leaving his spoon gently in the dish and giving a short disgusted look to its content. That was the confirmation that Zèon needed.

-Of course. You have to eat more, Zèon! My mom also says that if you don't eat, you won't grow up. That's what happened to you, isn't it? That's why Luca is so high and you so short?

The arctic fox couldn't help but laugh.

But he had just listened to the sound when he put a paw in his muzzle, afraid of the sound of his own laughter. He wouldn't have been able to say how much time he had been without hearing it and he didn't know if he liked it or worried about it. Immediately after that, he looked around fearing that someone had seen or listened him, but everyone seemed too focused on their paste portion in order to notice him.

He breathed deeply trying to calm down and adopted a neutral expression again, trying to delete any trace of emotion from his face.

He had to confirm it.

-Luca, would you mind going with me to the bathroom? -he asked, looking away to the ground and making an effort to feign physical discomfort. It wasn't very difficult, since the wounds in his back still burnt at the slightest movement -. I'm not feeling very well...

-That's because I hugged you too tight, isn't it? -Koi whined, bending his ears -. I'm sorry, Zèon.

-I don't think that's the reason, little one -the wolf smiled, giving a knowing look to the arctic fox. Unlike Koi, he had immediately understood what he meant -. Don't worry: I'll go with you. Edi, could you take care of Koi while we go to the bathroom? -he asked, addressing a Labrador retriever that sat by his side -. Zèon is not feeling very well.

-Of course.

In spite of the physical effort and the pain that moving supposed, the arctic fox tried to advance as fast as possible together with Luca towards the corridor. The wolf tried to help him walk putting one of Zèon's arms around his shoulders, but the height difference made it difficult, so he finally held him by his waist.

-You know, Zèon. You have to eat if you want to grow up -the wolf reminded him as he gave him a mocking smile.

The arctic fox was about to smile back at him, but a prick of pain caused him to put a painful gesture.

-Don't worry -Luca murmured, looking at him sadly. He couldn't stand seeing him like that -. We'll be there very soon.

However, the way to the bathroom was a lot longer than what any of them could have imagined. It was difficult for Luca to go forward carrying Zèon, who had trouble not only trying to stand up, but also walking in a straight line. Still, none of them said anything and they just kept going, slowly but steadily.

-Do you remember the last time I had to carry you? -Luca asked, after a while.

Zèon remembered it perfectly. After all, that had been one of the few moments he had felt that hope could still be on his side.

It had happened not long after he had escaped his last owner's palace and sheltered in a little forest that grew around it, desperate. His rational mind, which had been asleep for a long time, had awakened painfully and had remembered him that what he was doing, although necessary, had many chances of going wrong. He had hurt his ankle in the fall and now it was swollen, so he couldn't advance as fast as he would have liked. He could hear voices far from him and was conscious that, at that same moment, the men of his previous owner's palace were organizing a hunting party. And, if they found him, they wouldn't just turn him into a vase again; no, Zèon knew that a fugitive only deserved death, and the fehlar wouldn't have mercy at all.

The arctic fox crawled on the muddy ground of the forest and sheltered under a fallen trunk, panting. He gave himself a critic look, half-closing his eyes. He was covered with leaves, mud and oils whose origin he didn't know for sure. Besides, he couldn't run in order to escape and was all alone while a whole court of fehlar would enclose that forest and simply wait until he tried to leave. It was a complicated situation, but if Zèon had learned anything from the problems that his teachers made him solve, it was that everything had a possible solution.

So he closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to calm down.

The aromatic oils could be a problem: their smell could take the fehlar right towards him, if only they had a keen sense of smell. The first he had to do was to look for any substance that could counteract that aroma and prevent them from following his trail. However, that swollen ankle was going to give him more than a problem. Zèon palpated it with his paws and contained a grimace of pain, trying to find the cause of the swelling. After a few seconds, he concluded that it was undoubtedly a sprain. <<Cold, bandage and a good rest>> he told himself, surprised that the long years of captivity hadn't taken those things away from his mind.

But he didn't have nor ice nor time to rest, so for the moment he would have to survive without any of those. He would rest properly when he had escaped from there. Then, he spotted a tree with big long leaves that fell to the ground; he knew that species and thought that its leaves would serve for dressing his ankle.

So he crawled as he could towards the trunk of that tree, leaving his shelter, and managed to tear one of those big leaves. After that, he cleaned his ankle of mud cautiously and started bandaging that part, trying not to tighten it too much and prevent his blood from flowing freely. When he had finished, he looked what he had done with a bit of proud. It wouldn't have won a first aid contest, but it wasn't bad in those circumstances.

That done, he looked around searching for something he could use to disguise the intense smell of those aromatic oils. He frowned when he discovered a pile of feces under the tree, but he knew that he couldn't be very demanding on his situation. After having scattered that stinking substance over his body, he breathed deeply again and tried to inspire himself some courage. He had to escape from there, whatever it took.

The journey through the forest was long and pitiful. Unable to stand on one of his foot paws, he was constantly tripping over roots, branches and puddles, and even then he tried to keep on going forward as quickly as he could, never looking back. His acute sense of hearing had caught some voices in the entrance of the forest and he knew that he was being pursued, but couldn't allow himself a simple moment of doubt. If he did so, everything would have ended for him. And now that he had recovered his identity and tasted the sweet flavor of freedom, he couldn't go back.

It turned out that the forest reached further than he had thought at the beginning. He noticed that when it got dark and he was still surrounded by trees and a lush vegetation blanket. However, he didn't stop even when the sun had disappeared from the sky and the light that seeped through the branches had finally faded. He half-closed his eyes and forced himself to do his best, walking in the dark and not looking back.

It was a miracle that they didn't reach him during the days that his desperate escape lasted. He didn't allow himself to rest more than needed and he ate only what he found on his way and considered necessary to survive. Zèon kept on dragging his feet without stopping, always going forward. Sometimes, he believed he could hear voices behind him and then he hastened his pace, terrified of the possibility that he was found. One of these times that fear took over him, he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. And he didn't stand up again.

He was physically and mentally exhausted after travelling so much time without rest. His swollen ankle hurt more every second. It hadn't healed, not by a long shot, and Zèon was starting to fear that his escape was only worsening the lesion. Besides, he was hungry and sleepy and was unable to keep moving. The arctic fox closed his eyes until they hurt, afraid, when he heard that the footsteps that he had perceived some minutes before in the foliage approached him. Two tears rolled down his cheeks, cleaning on their way the dirt that had accumulated those days on his fur.

-Who are you? -a slightly hoarse voice said behind him.

Zèon hadn't been able to gather enough strength in order to look up.

He had simply remained on the ground until the steps had stopped near his head and someone had tried to sit him up, carefully. The arctic fox let him do whatever he wanted with him, too weak to resist, and maybe because of that he let out an exclamation when he discovered the face of the one that had just helped him sit up.

It was a kane. A grey wolf, way taller than him, whose reddish eyes looked at him mercifully.

Too confused and tired in order to react properly, the first impulse Zèon had was to get away. He did so brusquely, tripped over his feet again and fell to the ground, seated on the mud. From there, he gave a suspicious look to the wolf that watched him, as if he couldn't still believe that he was real.

-Hey, don't be afraid -he had said, squatting down near him -. Whoa, you're really scared. How did you end here? Are the fehlar chasing you?

Zèon had nodded, still with tears in his eyes and too confused in order to say anything.

-Oh... I guessed it -the wolf murmured, with a thin voice.

Zèon had watched him for a few seconds, looking for something that showed him that the image in front of him was real. He was afraid that as soon as he blinked, the illusion of that kane would banish in the air as if it had never existed, as if it had only been a mirage created by his mind to take his reason away.

But after he had blinked several times, the wolf was still there, crouching down by his side and looking at him with that deep compassionate gaze, those eyes that seemed to transmit trust.

-Where... where am I? -Zèon had asked, finally. His voice had sounded rough and broken after so many days in silence.

-Near one of the refugee camps in Hawthorn Woods -the wolf had told him, gently -. A few days from the borderline. You can come with us, if you want -he had said, reaching out for him -. We don't want anything bad to happen to you.

Zèon had felt a little flame of hope burning inside him and couldn't help but burst in a muffled sob, unable to believe that luck smiled on him at least. He hadn't even felt the wolf's paw helping him to stand up and had only been half-conscious of the hug that he gave him. Later, he had left the wolf carried him, holding his head on his chest and allowing him to lead the way. He only reacted when he heard the wolf say:

-By the way, I'm *********. What's your name?

Zèon had told him, feeling relieved. It was the first time that someone asked for his name in four years. Besides, he couldn't help but think that, against the odds, he had managed to get back all that mattered to him.

His identity and his freedom.

When Zèon remembered those days he felt a lump in his throat. He was painfully conscious of how close he had been to lose everything, of how easy it would have been that a fehlar found him instead of Luca.

He came back to reality when both of them crossed the door that lead to the bathroom. At that time, those were completely empty and the silence that could be heard in them was almost worrying. Only the soft buzz of one of those strange electric lights that hanged from the ceiling could be heard intermittently.

Luca went with Zèon to a toilet and closed the door. Then, the arctic fox looked up to him, thoughtful.

Could Sophia have placed any type of vigilance in that place too? Was she able to violate their privacy and go so far? Zèon wanted to think she wasn't, because he could imagine that watching all the kane and the fehlar of that building while they urinated and defecated wasn't one of the major worries of the woman. Luca held his gaze, patiently.

Finally, Zèon took courage and put a paw inside his mouth, a bit hesitantly. He had never done that, but he knew that method thanks to the dinner ladies of his palace. It didn't took him long to find what he was searching and finally, after a silence that seemed too long and expectant, a strong retching shook his whole body and he threw up in the toilet.

After leaving there the little content that his stomach held, he cleaned himself with a piece of paper and then turned to Luca, shivering. The wolf looked at him in silence and in his understanding look Zèon could feel that he comprehended why he had just done that. Then, he approached the toilet too and did exactly what the fox had done, without hesitation. Zèon noticed that Luca did it without doubt, what showed that he trusted completely in him. He couldn't help but feeling touched.

When both of them had finished cleaning them, Luca turned to Zèon and gave him a strong hug. Zèon let him hug him, satisfied and relieved, conscious that now he finally could claim that the wolf had understood what he had been trying to tell him all the day. He let himself fall in his arms and sighed, calmed. Now that he shared that secret with anyone else he felt as if a huge worry had been taken off his shoulders.

The hug also reminded him of the first he had given him, long ago. With that, Luca was able to make his sorrow disappear or seem less important than ever. However, this time there weren't tears in his eyes.

The same day that he had met Luca for the first time had been also the last time he had allowed himself to cry.

A bit later, Zèon asked Luca for help to reach the playroom and, once there, sat him in one of the seats of the rest area. The arctic fox contained a grimace of pain when his bruised back pressed down the seat, but he didn't say anything.

-Do you need anything more? -the wolf asked him, looking him in the eye.

<<Yes>> Zèon thought, unconsciously <<I need you to promise me that we both are getting out of here, in a body>>. However, when he opened his muzzle, he only managed to murmur:

-My... my cube.

It took Luca a few seconds to comprehend, but finally a gleam of understanding shone in his eyes and he went towards the shelf of the cognitive games. Zèon saw him go, with the memory of his first meeting still wandering over his mind. Many years have passed from that moment, but Luca was still the only person he could trust. Koi, for that, was still too little.

Zèon didn't remember if he ever had a friend like both of them. When he had been in the court of Northundra he hadn't needed to make friends and later he had only been able to relate with other slaves, as silent and terrified as him. The only place he could have made some friends in was the camp of Hawthorn Woods, where he have spent a few years with Luca's family... although, by then, he already had problems trying to establish relationships with people, due to the problems of his childhood.

He encircled his knees with his arms and let out a sigh, thoughtful. That was precisely why Luca was better than him convincing and cheering others up.

The wolf soon returned to his side again, holding Zèon's cube with a paw. The arctic fox's face lit when he saw it and closed his paws around it as if it was a life preserver that could keep him afloat.

-Adam sends you greetings -the wolf then said, sitting by his side -. He wants to know how much thought you've given to... something... or whatever.

Zèon nodded, but he didn't say anything. His eyes were fixed on the cube.

-What are we going to do now? -Luca asked, softly.

Zèon understood that he didn't mean if he wanted to do any activity with him in the Box, but with what they had just found out. He frowned.

-I don't know -he admitted, after a few seconds -. Think. Wait. I'd like to talk about it with Ike -he added, suddenly. Not only talk to him, obviously, but also tell him all about the paste.

-With Ike? -Luca repeated -. It will be difficult.

<<Of course it will be difficult>> Zèon thought, frustrated <<I don't trust him as I trust you and I don't know how in the world I'm going to make him understand that we are being drugged with the food>>. His paws starting moving in the colored cube, shifting its rows and columns from one side to another quickly. There had to be a solution.

-Let alone if it's a private conversation -Luca added, cautiously.

Zèon frowned.

-Yeah -he murmured. He didn't say anything else, however. He didn't know what to say either.

Sophia could be listening any of their words; and if it wasn't her, any of her subordinates of that diabolic center. That didn't only cut one important way of communication with Luca, but also prevented him from completely from letting Ike know what he wanted to tell him. Zèon didn't doubt the lion's goodwill, but he was also conscious that he didn't have with him the same connection he had with Luca.

Besides, it would be difficult to tell him anything in a private way or even to let him know with Shiba always behind him, like a shadow. <<I could also try making Shiba understand it>> the arctic fox thought, remembering that the tigress was much more observant than Ike. That didn't seem unreasonable: after all, she was a Sentinel and she was probably more used to pay attention to little details than Ike, who had been raised in the court and thus was likely to never have needed to rely on his observation ability. Zèon had also been raised in the court, of course; but he did remember that Ike hadn't told him about a master or a teacher in their conversation the last day.

The cube grated a bit with another wrist turn.

On the other hand, there was something about the lion that had really intrigued him. Taking into account what was told about Alekai Embertooth, the fehlar who had organized the extermination of a whole race, Zèon couldn't understand how Ike could have developed such an open and compassionate mentality. Shiba had already told him he was special and the arctic fox was starting to believe that she was right. Besides, if all that she had told him was true, then Ike felt attracted to...

At that moment, a terrible idea assaulted him. A dirty vile plan that he would have never thought himself capable of conceiving, but that at that moment seemed the only way out of the crossroad he found himself in.

<<No>> he told himself, turning pale <<I can't do that>>.

And however, in spite of how despicable that idea seemed, he was conscious that it had many chances of turning out right. If the problem was that Sophia could always be listening to them... the solution was to try and convince her that what they were saying wasn't relevant at all. Then, he could use that moment to communicate Ike things that were important.

<<But it's cruel>> he thought, as his heart wrung <<It's so damn cruel. I can't do it... I can't do it...>>.

The cube slipped from his paws and fell to the ground. Zèon didn't even try to stand up and take it again.

-Zèon? -Luca asked, puzzled -. Are you alright?

-Y-yeah... -the arctic fox replied, although it didn't sound very convincing -. I think... I think I've finally thought about a way to talk with Ike.

The wolf gave him a questioning look, but didn't say anything. Zèon didn't talk either, more and more convinced that in the end he would have to perform that plan, in spite of the pain that it could cause to Ike.

After all, what could attract less attention than what would attract it from all the residents in the Box? Why would Sophia be interested in a love relationship between the fehlar throne heir and a common kane refugee?