The Conditions for a Mommy

"So, the Fox Deity told you to live with me for a while?"

"Yeah, she said she'd be away for about a week to ten days and told me to stay with you."

"You've been glued to her this whole time, so why all of a sudden? Did she write down why in the note?"

"She said it was for my safety. She didn't really write down any details."

As I answered while noisily chomping down on the chicken we'd ordered for a late-night snack, he seemed to think for a moment, set down his chicken, and nodded.

"About ten days... I could do that if I took a somewhat long vacation."

"Would you be okay with that? Can you really use your vacation days for something like this?"

When I asked with a tilt of my head, he emptied his beer can and sighed.

"Would you expect me to sit around when my one and only friend says he's in danger? Besides, I'd been thinking about taking a break soon anyway. I've been working way too much lately."

My childhood friend looked exhausted as he ate a wing, then smacked his lips while eyeing my lush, fluffy tail...