The kitsune I had served a triple scoop cone of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry was back already. She said nothing, staring up at me with puffed cheeks and an angry-sad expression on her face, of which I replied with a bored expression. Our little staring match had begun. Time slowed, our surroundings bled away. I was no longer in the ice cream truck, and she no longer at the window of it on a sunny sunday in a quiet neighborhood I picked to sell my frozen delicacies in. Staring deeply into her brown eyes, I saw their wetness, as if she had fought back tears.
"Okay, okay. What is it?" I had relented, and she had won. We were returned to the world around us, our little impromptu staring contest forgotten.
"I spilled my ice creams." Her voice was very small. "I trieds to be careful, but you know what happeneds..."
She seemed to have some kind of verbal addition to it that made talking to her interesting, so I had that. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the window of the truck. "You spilled that ice cream I just gave you, didn't you?"
The little fox lowered her head in shame and nodded, as if she had just admitted to something huge. If I didn't know better, I would have assumed the girl cheated on an exam, or worse. Kitsune were not known for being honest by nature, but obviously, dishonesty and clumsiness come out the same for these little fox-eared beings.
"And now you're back, because...?" She looked up at me with those adorable, big eyes as I spoke. "You're going to ask me to make you another triple scoop of ice cream?"
"Wells...yes?" She paused for a moment before pointing toward my chest. "Or I'll cry, and it'll break your heart. You don't wants to see me cry, do you?"
She had a point there; I hated it when someone cried, especially cute things. I sucked in a breath and stared down at the little kitten-like fox girl in deep consternation. If I just gave everyone free ice cream, I'd be out of money before too long. Yet I did want to see her smile once more. Somewhere between rejecting her wish and giving free handouts would be necessary.
"Alright, I'll make you a new triple scoop ice cream..." She began to jump in place, her tail swishing like a dog given a bone. "—BUT! You have to work for it. We can run the ice cream truck together. I'll prepare the scoops, you hand them to the customer and handle payment. Can you handle that?"
She puffed out her chest, wide-eyed and smiling. "I cans!"
Sure, that's close enough to a yes. I opened the side door of the truck, letting her hop in and look around in amazement at the admittedly predictable behind-the-scenes area. She peered into every nook and cranny, looking especially intrigued by the little holders for different types of cones, and the freezer where different flavors of all colors stayed fresh until we were ready to scoop them out.
"This is so cools! Oh yeahs, my name is Peaches." The kitsune stated proudly.
"Peaches?"
"Yep!" she chirped back to me.