Candor heard the old man laugh. "What do you think?" he asked good naturedly.

Anthony smiled, but was rudely interrupted before he could respond.

"Anthony!"

Eloise ran out of the house, hugging the boy. Anthony looked rather uncomfortable, patting the girl's back awkwardly. "Haha, hi, Eloise..."

Candor continued to stare at the boy's face. He... didn't really look like the old man at all. For one, his curly hair was dark, nothing like the silver hair on Mistamakay's head. And his face didn't crinkle up when it smiled, not like the old man's did.

Luckily, Anthony managed to escape the hug with Eloise easily enough, smiling down at Candor once more. "...quite the surprise, Grandfather. Is it tame...?" He asked, squatting down in front of Candor. Candor blinked, pulling back slightly as the boy examined him. He suddenly felt quite shy, and finally tore his gaze away from the boy to dart behind the Mistamakay's legs. Eloise was bickering with her brothers in the background, but he wasn't paying attention to what it was about. He continued to watch the boy warily from his safe spot behind the old man...

"Quite tame. I found him in the woods when he was just a wee little thing..." The old man spoke fondly, chuckling softly at the little fox's behavior. "...he'll warm up to you, I'm sure." He said, leaning down to pick up Candor. Candor made a slight sound in protest, pushing against the old man's body with his paws. He squirmed a bit, trying to wiggle free. He didn't want to be held right now... especially not with this 'Anthony' watching!

The boy gave him an amused look as he stood back up. "I didn't know you could just raise up an animal from the wild like that..." He said, staring at Candor with interest as he came a bit closer again.

The old man's chest rumbled warmly with laughter. "Oh? But I've been raising you just fine, all these years..."

Anthony laughed. "Grandfather, are you calling me a wild animal?"

Why did this 'Anthony' keep calling the old man 'Grandfather?' Wasn't his name 'Mistamakay?' That's what everyone else called him... He huffed and stopped squirming for a second, glancing at the old man, who didn't seem to think it was a problem.

"Aren't you one?" Mistamakay asked with a playful smile, a twinkle in his eye.

The boy let out an amused puff of air, shaking his head. "You are so ridiculous sometimes, Grandfather..."

The old man laughed, and Candor used the distraction to finally wiggle free from his grasp, darting a few metres away. He pretended to sniff at the ground for a moment as they continued to talk, but his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't help but glance back at Anthony. He blinked, feeling surprised when their gazes met. He stared intensely into the boy's eyes. His eyes were really the only thing that seemed remotely similar to the old man. Yes... as he examined them, they really were the same. Their shape, the light color, the way they curved when he smiled... They looked a bit brighter than Mistamakay's, but...

The boy finally broke his gaze, turning to the old man and laughing. "He's staring at me." He said with a smile. "Does he always do that?"

Mistamakay looked over to Candor, who met his eye briefly before turning away to sniff at the ground again. The old man chuckled softly, shaking his head. "He's just curious about you. I've been telling him all about you, you know." The old man said with a humorous glint in his eye.

Anthony snorted softly, looking back at Candor and catching the little fox peeking up at him again. "...Does he have a name? I want to try calling him..." He said, squatting down in his place.

The old man huffed out a soft laugh. "He does have a name, but whether he'll listen to it or not is another matter entirely..."

The boy chuckled, and Candor sent an unamused glance toward the old man, who didn't seem to notice it. The boy smiled, looking up at Mistamakay. "What is it, then? I still want to try..." He said, turning a curious gaze back to the little fox.

The old man chuckled, sighing. "He is called 'Candor.'" He said warmly.

The boy blinked. "'Candor?' that's an... interesting name." he said, tilting his head slightly.

The old man smiled. "It means 'honest.' Do you like it?"

Anthony let out a laugh. "Honest? You named a fox after honesty?"

Mistamakay let out a deep chuckle. "Ha... you'll understand soon." He said, smiling warmly at the little fox, who was busy inspecting a very interesting piece of dirt. He sighed, shaking his head softly as he looked back at his grandson. "Well then, go on. Try calling him over."

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Anthony looked back at the little fox. "...Candor...?" He said softly, testing the way the name felt on his tongue.

Candor froze for a moment, side-eyeing the boy slightly.

Anthony smiled. "Candor, hey little guy... Why don't you come over here, so I can say hi to you properly, hm?" He said, patting his knee a few times.

Candor lifted his head, meeting Anthony's eye. He tilted his head slightly, still curious about the boy, but too shy to approach. He took a few hesitant steps toward him, staring at him intently.

The boy laughed, patting his knee again. "Come here, Candor, I won't hurt you... Do you know your name? Is that why you're looking at me like that?" He said with a smile.

The little fox met his eyes, taking in the way they sparkled with amusement. Really... just like the old man. He crept forward, not breaking eye contact. He could hear the way the boy's heart beat excitedly in his chest as he approached, and he sniffed the air, taking in the boy's scent and the way it mingled with its surroundings. He smelled... fresh, like soap. And sweet, like pastries, and cream. And, there was the faintest smell of sweat, probably from the heat that was already starting to penetrate the air wherever the sun hit. But the boy didn't seem to carry any bad intentions, with his outstretched hand. Candor was at most an arm's length away, and he glanced from Anthony's hand to his face a few times.

"Hi, Candor..." The boy said with a wide smile, reaching forward slowly.

Candor's heart jolted out of his chest, pounding quickly from the nerves as he saw Anthony's hand begin to move closer. He pulled his face back slightly before darting back over behind Mistamakay's legs. He continued to stare at the boy from a safe distance, waiting for his thumping heart to quiet back down.

Anthony sighed, smiling. He looked a little disappointed, but he stood up, deciding not to rush it.

The old man laughed slightly. "I think he likes you. He's just being shy, the little thing... It takes him a while to get used to new people."

"Isn't he cute?" Eloise interjected, popping into the conversation quite suddenly. It seemed she had come out victorious in the little spat with her brothers. She was looking quite proud with herself.

Anthony smiled. "Yes, I suppose he is."

She smiled widely at Anthony, grossly cheerful. "He didn't like me at first either, but he loves me now!" She said, turning around and smiling at the little fox where he stood positioned behind Mistamakay's legs.

Candor stared at her distastefully as she giggled. Really, she had no sense for these things. She was not a very smart girl, was she? In no way, shape, or form did he 'love her.' Even 'like' would be a bit of a stretch... He flicked his ears slightly, breaking eye contact with her and looking away to signal his disinterest. But obviously, she ignored it. With a chipper laugh and not a moment's hesitation, she swooped right in next to him, reaching out to pet him. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and the discomfort bubbled up in his chest again. Seriously, why did she always assume he would want her to pat him and get in his space like this? He leaned away from her slightly, peeking up at her disdainfully as she crouched in front of him, her hands extended. He tilted his ears back, staring at her silently to try and will her to stop.

Eloise simply smiled, ignoring his distaste. Just like that, she reached out and buried her fingers in the fur behind his ears, scratching a bit at the thick fur by his scruff. He tensed slightly, extremely uncomfortable, and he tried to back up and away from her. She pouted slightly. "What's wrong, Candor, didn't you like this earlier?" She cooed, giving a hopeful smile, trying to reach around under his front legs to pick him up.

Nope. Nope nope nope. He bunched up slightly, leaping out of from under her arms as they closed in around him, bounding away with his heart pounding in his ears. He darted behind the nearest pair of legs, trying to shake off his discomfort.

He didn't realize who it was, for a moment. Not until he heard a warm chuckle coming from above him. He looked up. Ah. Right. Anthony. He tensed slightly, his shyness returning for a moment as he stared up at the boy. But there wasn't really any time to reconsider his decision before Eloise began heading toward him again.

He broke eye contact with Anthony, peeking out from behind him to look at the girl. Luckily, Anthony seemed to understand his distaste with her. He turned to her, remaining firmly between them.

"Candor, don't you want to play...?" Eloise asked with a disappointed pout.

Anthony interjected before she could lean down to reach for Candor again. "Hey, Eloise... Maybe he's just feeling a bit tired. He didn't even want my Grandfather to hold him earlier..." he said, trying to comfort her. Candor blinked up at Anthony's turned back, calming down slightly. He felt quite reassured by the way Eloise actually seemed to listen to the boy's words, and he relaxed.

Mistamakay's voice cut through the conversation. "Yes, I would expect that he should be quite tired. He was up all night chasing who-knows-what around the house." He said with an affectionate chuckle.

Candor whipped his head around to stare at the old man. So he knew??? And he still made him get up early???? The tricky old fellow...

Mistamakay continued, smiling politely at the girl. "We should probably be headed back about now anyway, my dear. And, Mrs. Presley," he turned to the woman, who was now standing by the doorway, "Thank you again for taking care of Candor. Your family's help has been greatly appreciated. I got some bread for you as thanks while we were in town."

Mrs. Presley stared at the package as he tried to hand it to her. "Oh—! You didn't have to—" She began, shaking her head as the fresh loaf was presented to her.

"Nonsense, it was the least I could do for the favor." He said, politely forcing the bread into her grasp.

"Well... Thank you, then, Mr. Mckay..." She said, accepting it hesitantly, though she did look grateful.

"Of course. We'll be on our way now. Thank your boys for me, for their help." He said with a smile. Eloise was ushered back inside by her mother as Mistamakay turned, gesturing for Anthony to follow.

Candor perked up, trotting alongside them happily as they began their journey home. Finally. He would be happy to see home again. Nothing against Mrs. Presley, but Eloise was a lot. Plus... this 'Anthony' didn't seem too bad after all. Perhaps he wouldn't mind sharing Mistamakay too much... or 'Grandfather,' as Anthony called him. Maybe... this would be a good change. He really hoped so, anyway.