Kalidonia POV

  Slowly opening my eyes, I could see the ceiling of the house, almost like home. My whole body ached and ached, but the thirst for another sip of milk hadn't gone away. I urgently needed to stretch, or my limbs would completely numb.

  I looked around with my left eye and realized I seemed to tower over everything in the house. I could clearly see what was on the table, what was in the kitchen, and the shelf with the small squares no longer seemed so far away.

  Lowering my head, I saw an unfamiliar floor. Dark... And hot. Where am I?

  I tried to get up from my cozy spot, sluggishly moving my numb limbs. Sitting down and looking at my spot, I realized I was right there on the stove.

  How?

  I remember dying on the floor, and now I'm here. Did the fox really save me again?

  At this thought, I felt a warmth inside, and it had nothing to do with the fact that I was lying on the stove. A small smile appeared on my face. I'll definitely have to thank the fox for that.

  Still looking myself up and down, something began to obscure my view. I reached in and grabbed a thick red hair. It was about neck-length and incredibly soft to the touch.

  Frightened by my ignorance, I remembered the woman; she had hair too, but much longer. Even like this, she was irresistible. I wish I had hair that long, too.

  After looking at my hair a little longer, I finally had to climb down from my "nest." I tried to carefully slide off my grip and succeeded. To my surprise, although my whole body was aching and throbbing, it felt much better. And I had grown taller. Now I could easily sit on the bed or at the table, for example. Unfortunately, I couldn't measure my height, but I think I've really grown much taller. (4 feet)

  My left eye fixed on the sword, which now felt less like a two-handed katana and more like a slightly larger sword. I tried to grasp it by the hilt, and yes, it was a bit too big for me. It was incredibly difficult to lift it with one hand, but by gripping the hilt with both hands tightly, I was able to swing it.

  My half-bent arms rose up, holding the sword, and then abruptly fell. My arms straightened, and the sword fell to the floor, unable to hold on. A tremor ran through my arms, and a pain near my elbows. And this pain was very sharp. Apparently, it was because I let go of the sword too quickly.

  Putting the sword back in its place, my gaze fell on empty milk cans. My eyes lit up with a desire I couldn't satisfy. I approached them, searching for even a drop. But I couldn't find even a sign that anything had been there.

  My body ached from the lack of such a delicacy, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do. It felt like some part of me had been ripped out, leaving a void. I could only resign myself to this desire.

  Looking at my left hand, I saw small cuts and remembered that while I was tirelessly scratching my hands, I felt better and the desire subsided. I decided to try something.

  Approaching the sword, I grabbed its hilt with my right hand and brought my left palm to the blade. I pressed it lightly, and I felt pain... and indescribable pleasure. Blood began to flow slowly down my arm, and my body was in ecstasy. The very part that had been ripped out seemed to reappear, filling me even more.

  The withdrawal from the lack of milk had subsided, and now there was only pain and pleasure. Putting the sword down, I watched as a small stream of blood flowed down my arm. Even though I felt great, I doubted I'd be okay if I bled too much. Fragments of the fox's appearance after the battle with that girl flashed through my mind.

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  I quickly looked around and found a shirt that was clearly too big for me. I picked it up and started pulling at the sleeve to bandage it, but it didn't work. Apparently, even though I'd become much stronger, it still wasn't strong enough to tear the fabric so easily.

  Returning for my now bloody blade and starting to cut the shirt, I managed to cut off the sleeve. I quickly and improvised a bandage for the wound. Even though the bandages were very loose, I was happy with the arrangement.

  Why hadn't I put this shirt on yet? That thought crossed my mind. The room was warm, but all that warmth was coming from where I stood. And perhaps it would stop warming me. So I put this shirt on and, noticing the pants nearby, I walked over and quickly put them on.

  The pants dragged on the ground; the leg was twice as big as my leg, but at least it was warm. And the shirt, with its torn right sleeve, felt like it was twice as big. But now it was much, much warmer, which I really liked.

  Rolling up my pants at the bottom, shortening them almost by half, I also rolled up the sleeves of my shirt so I could at least see my hands.

  Now my attention was focused on my awakening. Why was it so hot?

  I approached a door identical to the one on those boxes. My left hand reached for the handle on its own.

  -Ouch...

  Quickly pulling my hand back, I began waving it relentlessly, trying to cool it down.

  It hurt. It really hurt. And it was really, really hot. I don't understand why it's so cold! My hand was now throbbing twice as hard. From the burn and the wound on it.

  Although I can't say it was terrible. This pain even gave me a small bit of pleasure because it was pain, and it pushed my addiction to milk into the background.

  Anyway, becoming addicted to pain wasn't my plan, so I pulled back the sleeve on my right arm and grabbed the handle with my cloth-wrapped hand. The door gave way surprisingly easily, and I had to gasp.

  So beautiful. Myriad flames danced across the wood, creating an orange ball. The wood, now reduced to embers and ash, created a black-gray dance floor for them. The black roof of this stove looked like a dark night sky, and some cracked areas resembled small constellations, making this small room a masterpiece.

  I stared blankly at the fire, continuing to imagine various images from the flames as they flared. It literally hypnotized me, and I couldn't help myself. It was too enchanting. My non-existent list of the most beautiful things I've seen in my life has now been updated, and I can say that this is a well-deserved first place.

  My eyes began to burn with warmth, and not just my eyes; my whole body was practically on fire from all this heat. And unfortunately for me, I had to tear myself away to avoid falling completely into this beautiful orange abyss.

  I slowly closed the door and immediately felt a little colder, gloomier, and sadder. Standing and looking at the dark oven door, a rumble began in my stomach. Only now did it dawn on me how hungry I was.

  A fleeting thought flashed through my mind, one I didn't even want to say out loud.

  Where is my savior, the fox, when I need her so much? You've saved me every time, so help me now.

  I heard the door to the house open, and there stood the fox, with a huge piece of meat in her mouth. She raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised that I'd woken up and approached me with this meat. She placed it next to me and pointed at it with her nose.

  You want me to eat this? Mmm... I certainly wanted to eat something, but this...

  The fox pointed at it with her nose again.

  Resigned to my fate, I moved closer and was about to bite when I felt teeth nip at my collar, draining me of that huge piece of meat.

  She looked at me with displeasure, and her dagger flew up to the meat and began cutting it into smaller pieces. But the parts it cut were covered in frost and completely frozen. The fox first pointed to her dagger, then to the sword lying soaked in blood. Her gaze grew more serious when she saw the blood on the blade. All her daggers appeared and began flying around her, her gaze searching for the intruder.

  Understanding her motive, I pointed my finger at the sword, then at myself, and finally at my bandaged hand. The fox followed my movements and, apparently understanding what I was getting at, dispelled her daggers. Then she pointed at me and the sword, and then at the meat.

  Hm? Do you want me to cut it?

  Here's a new chapter! So far, three chapters in two days! Cool. Maybe there'll be another chapter today. I'm not promising anything. My plan of one chapter a day for a week is going well!

  I'd also be really happy if, after reading my story and this chapter, you'd start following my work. It would be a huge inspiration. And I think it would really help my story get more exposure. What does that mean for you? It would mean more chapters, heh :)

  And thank you so much for the 358 views! Although I wanted to reach 300 views today, it ended up being even more! Imagine my face when I woke up and saw 300 views. ^^