The Fire Fox lay several dozen meters ahead, its fiery tail slightly dimmer than it seemed from further away.
Jason stared from a good distance.
'It's injured and trying not to make any noise.' He thought. 'The whimper earlier just escaped it.'
Easy prey.
Jason got closer, and the Fire Fox only noticed him once he was a dozen steps away. The pain was almost all it had on its mind.
Its ears perked up at once, and the flames at its tail surged.
Jason continued approaching, strategically remaining near the thick trees' trunks, ready to use them as cover at a moment's notice.
But the Fire Fox didn't attack.
Even when Jason was standing two steps away from it, it didn't attack, simply growling menacingly.
"You're right at the edge, huh?" He whispered before crouching in front of the Fire Fox.
It tried to stand and leap away, but its injuries kept it from creating any significant distance between itself and the Ogre.
"Hm…"
The Fire Fox simply growled while staring him in the face.
"You're not scared at all, are you?" Jason muttered, amused. "That Arigula was shaking like crazy when I got close. Shows the difference in strength, huh?"
Even though it did not presently have the energy to fight or protect itself, the Fire Fox did not fear Ogres. It had the strength to hold its own, usually.
Jason tilted his head as the Fire Fox tried to stand before collapsing again.
He reached forward, and the Fox tensed violently, lowering its head and body to the ground and closing its eyes as the Ogre's hand hovered inches away from its injured body.
"Tsk." Jason clicked his tongue, and the Fire Fox trembled.
Its eyes opened wide as the Ogre's hand gently petted the top of its head.
"I wonder if this is my so-called Humanity coming to bite me in the ass," He muttered. "But killing dogs is kind of where I draw the line."
The thought made Jason chuckle.
"Right now, I would probably find it easier to fight or even kill a Human than something like you." He said. "Well, the Human would attack right away in the first place, so…" Jason scratched his head, slightly annoyed. "If I had found you in a Dungeon, it would've been a different story. But right now…"
In a past life, the Ogre had had, at one point, a dream other than being a Hunter.
"Let's see," Jason looked around. "What we can do about this."
There was a time when his dream was to become a veterinarian. Unfortunately, that dream died alongside his childhood pet. The veterinarian hadn't been able to save it, and that seemingly small incident changed the trajectory of Jason's life.
'I wonder if that's why I'm helping it,' He thought while placing a branch near the Fox's thigh as well as vines. 'A stupid dream from a long forgotten past.' Jason sighed. 'Especially stupid since people keep lizards as pets as well.'
Still, he did not have a lizard as a child.
"This is going to hurt." He warned.
A moment later,
Snap!
Grrrrrowl!
The Fire Fox snarled, opening its mouth wide and showcasing its sharp fangs.
"Calm down, will you?" The Ogre let out a sigh, placed the branch alongside the Fox's thigh, and wrapped a vine around.
Jason tightened the vine carefully, making sure it held the branch firmly against the Fox's thigh.
The Fire Fox's breathing was heavy, teeth still bared, but it didn't attack.
"You should be able to walk a bit now." Jason muttered with a satisfied nod.
As if understanding his words, the Fox immediately tried to test the leg.
Its body trembled as it stood, but it remained standing.
Jason leaned back slightly.
"You're lucky it was just a dislocation," he whispered with another nod.
The Fox's tail flickered faintly.
Jason slowly withdrew his hands and stood up.
"Well…" The Ogre scratched its neck. "See ya." He said, and went on his way.
The Fox remained standing and watched him walk away.
"Oh." Jason stopped and suddenly turned around, causing the Fox to shiver and almost stumble. "I saw a good place for you a couple of minutes ago." He whispered to himself.
Jason scratched his head and looked in the Ogre Village's direction.
[The Ogre Village is currently 1783 meters away.]
He shrugged and decided to take the Fox to an abandoned burrow he had found earlier. Despite putting his whole arm inside earlier, he had found nothing there.
"If you'll follow me, that is."
Jason started walking towards the abandoned burrow. The limping Fox stared for a moment, before following.
"That's a good boy."
After a couple of minutes, Jason pointed at the shallow burrow.
"You can hide in there until you're better." The Ogre said.
The Fox timidly walked closer, somewhat suspicious.
"What do you think, huh?"
The Fox stared at the burrow, then at the Ogre, then back at the burrow.
Jason raised an eyebrow as the Fox turned to stare at him again.
It raised its chin up high, almost arrogantly, then turned around and entered the burrow.
"Now you decide to stand tall?" Jason chuckled.
He remained standing at the burrow's entrance for a moment, a slight smile on his face.
Twenty seconds later, the burrow's entrance was carefully hidden by various branches and leaves.
"That's as much as I can do," Jason muttered as he straightened up. "Good luck."
He dusted his hands, and started walking in the Ogre Village's direction again.
The Fox remained inside the burrow for a couple of seconds before peeking its head through. It did so carefully so as not to disturb the branches and leaves placed by Jason.
'Helped by an Ogre.' The Fox thought. 'What a day, huh?'
It stared at the Ogre's wide back getting further and further.
'I wonder if it's kinder because it's a male Ogre. The females I came across were… The worst.' The Fox let out a sigh. 'Just what did he mean by that? His Humanity coming to bite him in the ass?'
The Fox did not know, but one thing was certain.
'I'll pay back this debt, Ogre.' The Fox went back into the burrow. 'Once I'm better, I will return the favor.' The Fox nodded to itself. 'I, Reika Tsukumo, always repay my debts.'
But for now, all it could do was curl up, and lick its wounds.
That's a good boy.
'Hmph!' The words echoed in Reika's head continually. 'The utter arrogance!'