This staring contest isn't going to get them anywhere. From the looks of it, Xi P, the fox-person, is just as clueless as Min is. He quickly comes up with another idea. First, he points at himself, then at the house behind Xi P — indicating that he lives there. Finally, he points at Xi P and waits for a response.

  "%￥&#&#￥#!"

  Xi P responds by pointing upwards, followed by a flurry of wild, uncoordinated gestures accompanied by sounds that are impossible to decipher as words or mere imitations of explosions and screeches. Perhaps it's trying to convey that it fell from the sky. Min glances upwards at the clear, azure expanse — no sign of UFOs.

  This is not the most meaningful "conversation" he has hoped for. Fortunately, they are not stranded on an island and do not have to communicate like cavemen. His house is right behind Xi P and he has a better idea.

  Ready to defend himself at any moment, he walks forward again. Xi P, who has relaxed slightly, raises its hands in fear once more. Min clasps his hands behind his back to show that he meant no harm.

  As he draws near, he gently raises his hands and places them on Xi P's sleeves, attempting to slowly lower its arms. Xi P complies, though its posture remains tense, as if poised to strike back at any moment.

  Although Xi P's outfit looks somewhat sci-fi, it feels ordinary to the touch. Min gently takes hold of its wrists and tugs it towards his house. Xi P resists a little, but after a few tugs follows along.

  Opening the door, he invites the fox-person inside. Xi P shows no sign of relaxing at being welcomed, its gaze is fixed intently on Min the entire time. Min can't really say anything since he is doing the same. Releasing its wrist, he pulls out some paper and a pen and sketches a few simple strokes to demonstrate, before handing the pen to Xi P.

  It understands immediately, picking the pen up and beginning to draw. Whether due to nervousness or lack of skill, Min watches the pen drop to the floor every few strokes, only for Xi P to bend down and retrieve it. It makes him want to laugh slightly — but he dares not, fearing it might misinterpret his reaction.

  The drawing itself is highly abstract. First, an irregular circle is sketched in the lower right corner, and then several lines resembling coastlines are added. After setting the pen down, Xi P points one finger at the circle and gestures towards the ground with the other hand. Min guesses that this is meant to represent Earth.

  Next, it draws a shape composed of several squares in the top left corner and places a tiny circle within one of the squares. It then points at itself and the circle, looking at Min as if asking for confirmation.

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  Min nods subconsciously, and Xi P's left ear twitches. It glances at him again before turning back to continue drawing.

  Now he is certain that this creature is truly an alien. Those squares must represent its spacecraft — but where has that spacecraft gone? Min doesn't recall seeing a fiery orb streaking across the sky during his walk.

  Xi P draws a smaller cylinder beside the spacecraft, and sketches a tiny circle inside it. It crosses out the original spacecraft, but the pen slips from its grasp again. Before it can bend down to pick it up, Min does so. Seemingly embarrassed by its repeated mishaps, its ears flop limply downwards.

  Min has to say that the flattened-ear gesture is utterly adorable. He has to force himself not to let his imagination run wild, striving to correct his impression of Xi P toward the grey alien image, not some cute animal...

  'It's a grey alien, not a furry. A grey alien, not a furry...'

  Finally, Xi P draws a line connecting the cylinder to Earth and adds a '>>' symbol midway along it. Now Min is thoroughly confused. What is this cylinder? Considering the crossed-out spaceship, he tentatively interprets it as some kind of escape pod. Had an escape pod landed on Earth? Then where is it at now?

  Xi P seems to have finished drawing. Nothing else to say, the two of them simply stand, stare and study each other. With ample time and both sides now still, he takes his time to observe Xi P's physical features. At first glance, its face resembles an oversized red fox, but its large ears and less prominent snout give it proportions closer to a fennec fox. Closer inspection reveals a skull noticeably rounder than canids, likely accommodating a more developed brain. Its eyes occupy a larger proportion of its head than those of a red fox, and the eyeballs, as seen earlier, are almost entirely black. Though subtle, its head is slightly broader than a fox's, giving it an overall appearance more... endearing than a true fox. The only let-down is the messy, dusty, orange-red fur caked with grass clippings on its face.

  Shifting his gaze downward, Min notices that Xi P's clothing shows clear scrapes from branches, with half a leaf tangled in a thread of the fabric — which, judging by the texture, seems more like a lightweight plastic-based bodysuit, or at worst, some kind of non-woven fabric. Turning to its hands, it wears no gloves. Perhaps because of this, its hands bear injuries — a dark orange liquid, possibly blood, has congealed on them, though the wound doesn't appear severe. As expected, its fingers aren't anything like a fox's paws, but slender, multi-jointed digits that are dexterous enough to wield tools.

  Further down, the trousers are an extension of the bodysuit. They have a bright silver base colour, dotted with black hook-like functional protrusions. Min even spots what looks like a USB port and wonders what high-tech features this suit might conceal. Its leg structure differs significantly from humans, seemingly possessing two knees. No tail is visible. The more Min examines it, the more certain he becomes that Xi P is indeed an alien. No laboratory on Earth, no matter how advanced, could possibly create such an entity...

  Just as the ancient saying about gazing into the abyss goes, while Min scrutinises Xi P, Xi P scrutinises him in return. What thoughts churn within its mind remain unknown...