A winter in Yetinburg ch.4

	"...astian..... gry.... ke up...."
	I start to be roused from my sleep by a gentle pushing and a voice nearby, calling my name. I come out of my slumber slowly to see a sharp toothed thing with blood dried around it's mouth, glowing yellow eyes staring down at me in the dim light.
	"I'm hungry Sebastian... wake up..."
	I panic for a minute as my half awake mind plays a trick on me, making me swing my arm at the 'threat' due to the murderous image it sees. A clonk from the bottle in my hand and a cry of pain make it go away, and I start waking up fully as I sit up against the headboard with eyes wide open. Once reality hits me I see Sonia sitting and holding the side of her head in the corner with wide eyes, confused and scared by the sudden strike. The blood from the liver the night before is still on her face, though she seems to have forgotten about it or doesn't realize it's there.
	"Shit... sorry, I just. Right, you're hungry." I exhale, swinging my legs out of bed and frowning in my guilt. "Go have a shower, I'll start cooking something for you."
	Sonia nods, avoiding me a little as she slinks out fast and rushes to the bathroom. I stand up and curse a bit at myself under my breath as I head downstairs to begin cooking something up, opening the fridge to see if I can just warm up leftovers. They're gone. A quick check and I find the containers they were in are cleaned empty. Anything that only needed the microwave to cook is eaten. Did Sonia really eat all this already? How could she be hungry now after eating all of that? I see no other choice and get to making pancakes and sausages, even though it's past noon by now.
	By the time I've cooked up a large stack of pancakes, Sonia comes downstairs in some more of Tava's loose clothing and peeks into the kitchen carefully. Seems the knock to the head lost me some of her trust, but at least she doesn't have any blood on her now. I can't help but notice the dark rings under her eyes are gone now, and her cheeks are filling out again. About time that started to happen.
	"Sorry about that, you startled me. The blood and... last night scared me a bit. Come get some pancakes." I apologize, frowning out of guilt again even if the jumpiness seemed a bit justified. Sonia takes a moment before heading inside and sitting at the table, ears drooping a bit as she puts some pancakes on her plate to pour on the blueberry syrup.
	"That's alright, I didn't realize that... my mouth. And I thought last night might have been a dream, but I guess not. It's a bit hazy." Sonia admits with a solemn tone. I sigh and put the last pancake on the stack before finishing with the sausages. I put a large helping of the pork sausages on her plate for Sonia as she begins eating quick to get the food in as fast as possible. She really is hungry.
	"You ate all the leftovers, and you're still starving?" I ask, raising a brow while I put the remaining breakfast sausages on the pancake plate.
	"Is that weird? I think it is, I've never eaten so much before but I can't eat enough to feel full." Sonia admits.
	"Yes, it's weird. I haven't heard about anything quite like it." I admit, getting myself one of my bottles from the fridge to open and take a drink from.
	I hear a knock at the door. Seems like a good distraction from the awkward conversation, so I head on over as Sonia takes her second helping of pancakes from the stack. She already ate three.
	Reaching the door I open it up and flinch from the cold, letting Catherine in to spare us both the biting chill in the air. Winter is coming in hard this year. The Kikimora is bundled up tight and carrying a large pot with lots of plastic bags on her arms, sighing in relief when she's inside and the door is closed. Only now do I realize that Sonia has started the fire and kept it going.
	"Sorry to intrude, I just thought you two would like some of our leftover chili. I tried a different recipe and Charles doesn't like it too much." Catherine smiles up at me under her scarf, before seeing my eyes looking at the bags next to the pot. "Oh, those are some of my daugh-uhm... my old clothes, that don't fit so well anymore. I figured Sonia could use them more, as we're about the same size. Can't let her wear Tava's stuff forever, right?" Catherine asks. I know she almost mentioned her own daughter, but I don't mention it.
	"Thought that you'd take longer to come back after the fit Sonia threw. Let alone bring her clothes. The food is welcome though, some... medicine I gave her last night seems to have brought back her appetite." I state, picking up the heavy pot. How she got it here over the icy sidewalks I don't know, but I carry it the rest of the way to the kitchen to put it on the stove and begin re-heating the day old meal. Sonia looks confused until Catherine walks in without her winter clothes on, shrinking down a bit as she keeps eating.
	"She's just grouchy from her condition. She's still recovering after all." Catherine says as she walks in, pausing when she sees Sonia looking at her apologetically. She waits and looks at the fox, waiting for her to speak.
	"Uhm... sorry for snapping at you before." Sonia apologizes, Catherine giggling at her.
	"Don't worry about it. How much did Sonia eat so far anyways?" Catherine asks, looking to me as I check through the fridge and freezer. Going to need to restock on food, she even ate the frozen meat I was keeping. Might not have even thawed them.
	"Anything that she couldn't cook. And the frozen stuff. I gotta go to town and pick up some things to replace all that, can you feed and keep her occupied till I get back?" I ask Catherine, the middle aged woman nodding with a big grin.
	"Of course! Never met someone so hungry, but if she is recovering it must be good for her." Catherine responded, moving over and adjusting the heat on the pot before looking through the cupboards to find what things could be cooked. "I'll teach her cooking if she gets through my chili. If she doesn't, we'll go back to the vacuum first."
	"I'm right here you know..." Sonia muttered, not seeming to like how the conversation was ignoring her presence in the room. I take a drink and move towards the door to head outside.
	"Don't get grouchy Sonia, she's teaching you to do a good job. You're not freeloading when you're healthy!" I call back as I get to the door, suiting up against the cold weather. I don't hear much in detail from there as the two converse, but can tell that Sonia is worried and Catherine is on my side but reassuring her. Once suited up and after I make sure I have my wallet I head out the door, wondering just how much I'll need to buy to feed a hungry kumiho coming out of starvation.
	I start to calculate it in my head and decide something heavy in meat may save me money. By the time I arrive at the usual butcher I pick the pig livers for the day I decide that I'll just get a whole pig worth of meat and see how long it lasts. Worst case scenario I eat pork for a while. As I walk in I get the usual hearty holler from the red oni butcher, apron mostly clean besides the odd spot of blood from some earlier cutting.
	"Yo, liver man! Got you a real nice one today, this was a big hog! Hope whatever you're using it for is getting results!" The big, jolly red woman grinned. "Anything else for ya?"
	"Well, I'm in need of a lot of meat. Got a hungry fox at home that can't fill her belly." I explain, the oni looking a bit more interested at the mention of a fox.
	"Fox you say? When I was chattin' with some other folks they joked you were feedin' a kumiho or something! Actually a fox there?" She asks, leaning on the counter.
	"She just likes pork, and liver. Don't know about her being a kumiho." I partially lie. Nobody cares about the prattle of shopping housewives much, just more rumors. "Could call her one when she's hungry though."
	This gets a hearty laugh out of the oni, who seems to think it was rather hilarious. Should get the housewives in the area something to chat about. "Alright, how much meat you thinkin of gettin? We take cards now!"
	Didn't they always? I don't bring that up, and think about it for a moment. "All the good parts of a hog. Don't need the ears, snout, that stuff. Can be a bit bloody. Eats more like a wolf than a fox. Fresh would be nice, I'll take that second liver with it."
	The oni is surprised but obliges me, telling me to come back in a few hours. I head off and pick up some other things in the area while I wait, starting with more drinks. After browsing the local stores, I head back and pack the huge load of meat into my truck to take home.
	When I get home I find my cupboards nearly bare, and the pair vacuuming the living room. Catherine is surprised when Sonia can  lift up one side of the couch with one arm. I'm not so much, and unpack the food into the freezers and fridge. My neighbor starts teaching Sonia about art of cooking with some of the meat once the living room is clean, and I start hoping I can get some of the food  she is teaching Sonia to prepare.
	The next day I sit in my chair as Catherine and Sonia cook more food, all of it meat. Sonia is eager due to hunger driving her. She's at least picking up lessons, and the smell of well cooked meat has me getting up to get some of the food when it's ready each time. Catherine is a good cook. I call boss and head into work again, I can't live off savings till spring.
	The day after, Sonia eats less as her sunken cheeks disappear and she starts returning to a healthy weight overnight. I have no idea how she does it, but she did eat a fifth of a pig the day before. Catherine takes the chance to teach her about laundry and dusting, while I drink in my chair and watch my dvds between naps. It's a bit hard to ignore the movement and chattering in the house though.
	The following three days go nearly the same, with less food being devoured by Sonia as any sign she was starving once disappear. Her thin frame gains back it's slight curves and her hair becomes healthier. She needs to vacuum everyday as her tails shed to finally get a winter coat that grows in fast, but she's got her energy back.
	The last two days have her eating only a bit more than me, still mostly meat. Catherine teaches her about all the other smaller jobs and chores in the house, along with all the tricks to getting them done fast but well. Sonia has made a habit of going to bed when I head off for work now.
	On the seventh day there is nothing to clean or any chores to do. Sonia is trying to cook a ham on her own, and doing rather well without fussing too much over it. I'm getting a bit sick of pork, and wonder if the butcher has any good game animals before Sonia asks me for a checkup, to my surprise. I set up a chair from the kitchen across from the couch with the coffee table in between and get my old doctor supplies out to do it right, sitting her down on the couch. I was right, she's fully recovered. No sign of emaciation left, and no trouble breathing like when I found her.
	"You've grown back all the missing teeth. Except that one canine in the bottom right here. Looks like the root died, won't be coming back. May need to put a false tooth in." I diagnose, letting Sonia close her mouth as I take out the medical stick and drop it in the waste basket nearby. "Gums have recovered too."
	"It's that weird?" Sonia asks. I nod and agree.
	"Might have been that liver. Seems less for sustenance and more for regulating your body somehow. That's my theory at least." I mention, frowning when the mention of the liver makes the fox's ears droop as she looks down at the coffee table between us in guilt. "Don't feel bad about it. The guy was already gone and not connected to us. I just took the liver to see what would happen."
	Sonia still looks guilty, frowning as she looks down. "Well... I guess that's fine, but I'm still feeling guilty about it. Doesn't it make me a monster to eat something that comes from humans?" Sonia asks, looking up at me for an answer. I'm not sure I have one and deflect the question.
	"I'd still like to have your blood looked at. If you're really something different, and we can prove your liver dependence I can get legal donors for you. You'll be able to live a decent life. It may take years though." I explain, taking a drink from my bottle before setting it back down on the coffee table.
	"Weren't you going to ask other questions?..." Sonia asks, frowning and drooping her head a bit. Guess she needs to warm up to the idea.
	"Suppose so. What led you to nearly dying in the snow? Don't need too much detail for the life story."
	"Not much to say. Just grew up like a normal kitsune with my single mother in the capital. At least until I graduated... she exposed to me what she'd been doing. So I ran. I took all the money I could, but it didn't last. You can guess the rest..." She explains, seeming troubled by talking about her mother.
	"And she fed you livers? How didn't you know?" I ask.
	She takes a moment to respond, hesitating. "She called them pig livers. I really thought they were."
	I take a moment to think about the odd irony of it. I don't want to ask too much more about that mother, as I start to worry that she may be into the same sort of trade I had found myself in.
	"So, it was about four years you were on the run and homeless. How many livers did you eat in that time?" I ask, trying to get a sense how often she needed them. The fox frowns and looks up at me, looking a bit upset but answering anyways.
	"None... I was desperate when I broke into the morgue. As disgusted as I was, my body wasn't letting me think. I was having trouble controlling myself."
	Four years it is then. Less until they start emaciation. I didn't really have anything else to ask at the time, so I reach into the file I had prepared and take out a form. Sonia looks confused as she stays seated on the couch, taking it before I speak.
	"If you want me to test a blood sample, just sign that. I don't want to pressure you, but if you want to live a normal life, I believe it'll go a long way to helping."
	Sonia is hesitant, but some random thought seems to push her indecision over the edge. She takes the pen off the table and signs the paper after reading it, handing it back to me. I take the paper and bring a blood testing kit out, preparing her arm as she looks away even before the needle is put into it.
	"I'm only doing this so I don't turn out like mom." She comments. It seems out of the blue, but it seems to carry a lot of weight to her. I don't say anything, and begin taking the blood. After getting a decent sized sample I seal the bottle and tape a cotton swab to her arm. She didn't even seem to feel it.
	"Did you do it yet?" She asks.
	"All done. I'll take it to the blood lab downtown. It'll take some weeks to have it fully examined, including the dna." I explain, sealing the envelope it goes into before getting the information put on the outside of it.
	"Alright... hey, what's that burning sme-shoot!" Sonia bounces up, darting off to the kitchen as the smoke alarm goes off. Seems that she forgot about the ham. Well, that has lots of fat. Won't be burned too bad. I put away my medical supplies as the fox in the kitchen takes care of the smoke and gets the meal under control. I take a quick trip out to drop the sample off in the meantime, and return to find dinner being put on the table.
	The meal is decent, she needs practice but soaked up Catherine's lessons rather well for the blitz they were. Better than I could have done. We don't talk a lot while we eat however, not that I want to. A bit too lost in thoughts for it, and Sonia seems to be thinking about something too. After the large meal I retire to my chair with another of my dvds to watch. Sonia takes my laptop to browse the net to waste time. It had become usual for her to take the couch at night before bed by now.
	Somehow, the video footage wasn't holding my attention as much as it used to. The warmth in the home around me made the screen seem cold and worn in comparison. My mind began to wander even as I watched the video of Tava on our tropical honeymoon, trying to chase down a crab without getting pinched. I look towards the fire when I see Sonia move over to it. She likes jabbing the burning coals to shatter them before putting more wood in the open fireplace. The clothes Catherine brought fit her much better than Tava's clothes, showing her thin form off much better. The glow of the fire passing by her makes the thick, shiny fur of her tails and the long hair on her head seem to shimmer and shine. When she notices me watching she looks back at me curiously, tilting her head as she smiles. I don't know why I'm staring when she asks me why.