"Kitsune Types and What to Do if You Discover That You are One," Iris read out loud. She sighed. She had read this pamphlet about a million times, and it was forever branded in her memory. She was certain she could recite it verbatim for as long as she lived. Still, with almost no other books or stories around since the Great Division, this would have to do. She curled her tail around her dark chocolate paws, letting herself be consumed by the words.

A kitsune, as you should know, is a fox born with magical power. This could be anyone, your neighbor, your best friend, your arch-enemy, and even YOU! Despite the inane rumors being passed around about kitsunes gaining an extra eight tails when they embrace their power, kitsunes will only always have one tail. Those rumors are ridiculous. If you are indeed a kitsune, you will instead gain a special power that is uniquely yours when you turn twelve.

Do not be upset if you are not one. Kitsunes were always rare, and they have become even more so ever since the Great Division. If you are not a kitsune, you can help your community in other ways. To do so, see the Helping the Community pamphlet at your local pamphletion.

If you are one, congratulations! Now you can help the Den Council, your friends, and many others! You will become a Guardian of the Den and Border after special training. To help the Den, if you discover that you or anyone else is a kitsune, tell the Den Council immediately so that the kitsune can help the community.

Iris sighed. Help the community? More like becoming mindless zombies that attack anyone leaving the Dens. She had seen what had happened to Rose. She would never want to do that. She wouldn't even want to be a kitsune, especially since they were taken from their homes to be a mindless guard.

Of course, she would never tell anyone what she thought. She would keep that secret bundled up in the back of her head, where it belonged, so no one would ever know about it, and she could keep on living a normal life. She would always be the Good Fox, the Scroll Nerd.

She glanced at the babbling stream next to the pale gray, speckled rock she sat on. This was her favorite reading nook, where she relaxed and hid her snout in a scroll. She loved the way the scent of rare flowers perfumed the air, the way the brook helped her to relax, the way the sun on her russet pelt calmed her tense muscles. She loved this place, just not the boring pamphlets issued by the Den Council that she always brought here to read.

She flicked her paw, sending the scroll flying into a bed of wildflowers. Every time she came here, she always ended up daydreaming about stories instead of reading the trite pamphlets about dangerous things, like wolves and kitsunes. Except these stories she dreamed of were different from the ones she used to read before the Great Division. These were about her.

Iris the Brave, she was called. The beloved princess. The heroic slayer of demons or wolves. The fox everyone admired. The legend that was told about in stories and songs. The friend to all except her enemies. The one everyone loved.

Alas, these were just stories. Iris would never actually do anything heroic or brave, even if she wanted to. She would make a plan to do something, going through every step in her head, then never finish the task. Still, or maybe because of that, she loved her stories.

They made her feel powerful, strong, kind, outgoing, and especially brave - essentially whatever skills she was lacking in real life. She could be brave enough to face an evil dragon, smart enough (even though everyone already called her Nerdy Birdy and Scroll Nerd) to outwit it, strong enough to win the fight, and kind enough to be willing to give the dragon another chance. That's why she loved this place. Whenever she left, she was in the real world again, full of pesky problems, but here, she could relax, and be whoever she wanted to be. Iris felt happy and peaceful inside, as if she had warm rays of sunshine inside of her. Iris felt a calm, peaceful smile form on her snout.

Unfortunately, it all ended too soon. "Iris!" her mother's voice called from somewhere in the distance. "IRIS! You're reading again, aren't you," the voice continued. "Come back home! It's time for dinner! Have you eaten anything all day? Catch a bird or something, and I expect you to be home in five minutes."

Iris eyed her stomach, hearing a large groooowl. Her mother was right. She'd lost track of time and hadn't eaten a single thing all day. I guess I'd better get going, she thought wearily, getting to her paws and stumbling back through the flowering trees towards her home.

She knew she wouldn't catch a bird like her mother would've wanted. Every living thing besides her and the other foxes in the radius of five miles could've heard her stomping through the forest with her clumsy paws. Most Red foxes like her were naturally athletic, but not her. Ah, well.

She instead spent her time admiring the scenery around her. She walked this path many times every day, and had lived in Vine Den for a whole two years, but she still appreciated the lovely scenery. A cascading rainbow of various colors splattered across the trees she walked past, the blooms coming in all different shapes and sizes. Even the flowers that were naturally stinky had been enchanted by the Oracle to have a lovely aroma.

Iris finally found herself in a small clearing with many different dens in a circle, along with an amazing, exquisite statue made of a golden substance depicting two foxes standing together. They were the two Den leaders of Vine Den, Honeysuckle and Moonflower. The statue was extremely lifelike, perfect down to the last detail. Every time Iris saw it, she could've almost sworn that it was breathing.

There were different flowering vines wound across the two foxes, binding them together - honeysuckle and moonflowers, for which the two leaders were named after. The maroon tube-like honeysuckles and pale white moonflowers made the perfect combination. Although normal moonflowers were poisonous, these were enchanted by the Oracle so that they wouldn't be. After all, the Oracle had given this place as a safe-haven for foxes before the Great Division.

Iris couldn't help but feel disgusted at the sight of the statue, no matter how pretty it was. Those two leaders had taken her best friend, Rose, away from her! They knew her brother had been captured two year ago and didn't care! She understood the risks, but they could've sent a small rescue party, and possibly ferry out a few foxes at a time. Half of the fox population was being enslaved! She wished she could be the Iris in her stories then. Brave Iris, who could defy the Den Council and sneak away, someone who would cross the Rapids of No Looking Back (the gaps the foxes dug out during the Great Division to escape the wolves) and save the imprisoned foxes. No matter how hard she wished, she would still be Plain, Obedient, Keeping Her Mouth Shut, Shy Iris.

"Iris! Hurry up!" she heard her mother call from inside the closest den, the hole that they had called their home the last two years.

"Coming, mother," she replied, heading into the narrow tunnel. It had no lights and seemed gloomy, but all foxes had night vision, so lights weren't really necessary anyway. Iris emerged into the main room and settled into a scraggly nest.

"Iris! You didn't eat anything," her mother reprimanded, somehow seeing right through her. Her mother was a small silver Red fox, with light silver fur and lovely hazelnut eyes, just like Cobra Lily, Iris's sister. Of course, her parents would look like her siblings, but it still made her voice waver.

"N... No, Mother," she replied, heading towards the next room - the one where they kept the food.

Her mother sighed, "Okay. Your father is in there."

"Hello, Father," Iris recognized, bowing her head as she slipped into the small room.

"Hi, Flower!" her father greeted. "I was out harvesting basil again..."

"That's... nice," her mother said with a strained smile as she came into the room. She sat down and started to tap her paws anxiously.

Iris looked at the floor nervously, her gut twisting. She put down the small vole she picked up, not hungry anymore. She shuffled her paws. Her older brother, Basil, had been gone for two years, but by the order of the Den Council, no one could go find the captured foxes. They weren't even allowed to leave the borders of their Den. She knew that her father and mother would run towards the bay by the Rapids of No Looking Back if those rules would be lifted, but since no one could do anything about it, (not that Iris was brave enough to anyways) Basil would be gone for... possibly forever. The loss was felt deeply every day, for two years.

Not only that, but her brave, graceful sister, Cobra Lily, had left to join the rebel group, the Lupin Destroyers, to "get our brother back." She missed both of them, the way that Basil could make anyone laugh, the way that Cobra Lily could be both elegant and willing to get her paws dirty. Cobra Lily had left a year ago. The only one left for their parents was the most useless of the three - Iris.

She stood up, not wanting to think about it. "I'm finished," Iris announced, moving to leave the room.

"Take your vole with you," her mother deplored, meeting Iris's gaze understandingly. "Come back in the morning."

"Thank you, Mother. Goodnight," she told her parents, before turning and running, running, running, as fast as she could, trying to reach her little reading nook. The sky had started to darken, and by the time she got there, night had come. She curled on her special speckled rock, settled her tail over her nose, and closed her eyes. Even though she knew that it was silly, she tried to send a telepathic message to her siblings - 'Goodnight, Basil. Goodnight, Cobra Lily. I hope that you two are safe.'