Life fell back into the routine it had before. Zanixa stayed in the fire, safely hidden away from the cold, while I patrolled the pack borders to ensure Emio didn't sneak up on us once again. My frequent hunting kept the beast inside under control.

The cold of winter was soon replaced by the warmer southern winds of spring, melting away the thick blanket of snow that had covered the ground for months. The little fox sat at the entrance of the mineshaft, tail wagging excitedly as she watched the last snow vanish before her eyes.

Sensing her thoughts, I said, "Don't run off just yet. The odd snowstorm can still come in, if Bleoles feels like it. Let's take the next days slow, as we discussed."

She looked at me and attempted to convince me otherwise by flattening her ears slightly and her enlarging her eyes like a puppy. It merely earned her a chuckle. "Your attempts to look cute have no effect on someone as old as me."

Her thoughts filtered into my mind as she gave a sad whine. My cutest look always works.

"Not always. It didn't work on me a second ago. Now, I have a surprise for you. You are a kit, and young creatures like playing, right?" I asked, waiting on her nod of confirmation before continuing. "The pups of the pack don't say no to a chance to play, either. They're in the town right now. Would you like to go to them?"

'What if they don't like me because I'm a fox...?' She seemed hesitant, and understandably so.

For her sake, I made myself appear as confident as I could as I reassured her. "I'm sure they won't mind."

Looking at me for a few moments, she nodded. I set into motion and led us towards the packhouse, following the familiar roads. When Nix wasn't avoiding puddles of molten ice, she was staring at her surroundings with wide eyes, seeing everything for the first time. She had probably never seen a town before in her life. My heart would've melted a little at the sight of her, had it still been beating.

Soon enough, we reached the grass field in front of the packhouse that also functioned as a playground for the pups. I glanced at our surroundings, satisfied to see at least a dozen adults loosely watching the ten youngsters.

Zanixa sat down next to me, watching them as well. I stayed at her side, waiting for her to take the initiative. When she still hadn't moved several minutes later, I gave her a small push. "Go on. It'll be okay."

The fox turned into a young girl as she walked over to the pups. Her hands tugged at her clothing nervously. She had most likely never talked to any sentient creature her age before, and it showed.

Ten wolf pups turned into humanoid children, watching warily as Zanixa approached them. One of them tilted his head and asked, "Who's she?"

"She doesn't smell like Sharion," another one called out.

"She doesn't even smell like wolf!"

"It's that Vixen."

My eyebrows furrowed at their words. This was not how they were supposed to react. Still, I remained where I was, hoping they'd find some decency before they hurt Zanixa too badly.

Nix came to a stop a few metres away from the pack of pups, giving them a rather awkward little wave. "Hi. I'm Zanixa."

"Wolves only here. We don't want the likes of you."

She stood there in stunned silence. My fingers curled into a fist. They had no right to treat her this way simply because she was different. Shaking my head, I forced myself to calm down and watch. The adult wolves were watching the interaction closely as well. If things truly took a turn for the worse, they would interfere.

"Let's go find another spot to play," one of the pups eventually decided before spitting on the ground in front of her feet and turning around. One by one, they changed back to their wolf forms. The young girl did little more than look as they ran off.

This was too much. I walked over to Zanixa to comfort her. "It's okay," I told her with a soft voice.

She turned to look at me, absolutely heartbroken, tears in her pained eyes. 'No, it's not okay! They don't want me.' She almost spat the last sentence out, venom in her mental voice.

Her hurt tone and warring emotions made me hesitate. After a moment, I asked, "Do you want to go back home?"

The girl silently stared ahead, not answering me. I sensed her emotions escalate further, her sadness and pain turning into something far more dangerous. 'I'm going to give them a reason to not want me,' she told me, eyes as hard as stone. Then, she changed back into her fox form and darted away from me, into the town..

Unsure how to react, I stood in stunned silence. Was I supposed to let her be so she could cool off? She wasn't truly capable of harming another, was she? The last glimpse of her emotions spelt murder, but it didn't seem like the little firefox was actually capable of it.

I looked in the direction she went, watching dark smoke rise into the air. Frowning, I looked again. As far as I remembered, there was no chimney or fireplace in that location. My eyes widened as I realized that Zanixa could and would cause a fire.

Following her scent, I dashed after her at full speed. Several buildings already had flames licking at their walls, with panicked wolves trying to extinguish it. I turned a corner just in time to see her light up another home. I scowled in displeasure as I called, "Zanixa! Stop!" Other werewolves were rapidly closing in, weapons already drawn in case this was an attack from Emio.

Her eyes widened as she backed up a step. Then, she turned and ran.