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10

Out in the middle of the night, walking the streets with a thick winter hood over her head and a lantern dangling from her hand she felt absurdly like a prowler in the moonlight. Even though she's walked this very road hundreds of times during the day, for some reason it now felt like she didn't belong here, like she was trespassing. Perhaps it wasn't the location, but the task she was embarking on that made her feel this way, like she was doing something she shouldn't. Maybe it was the possibility of seeing Kadai again, or even just Andrew. It all had this terrifying undercurrent to it, a feeling like she was doing something absolutely forbidden. She could almost hear her father's voice screaming at her from every shadow, telling her that to spare the rod was to spoil the child. His heavy footsteps were in the tall grass, sending crickets hopping through the fences, screeching their high-pitched songs. She could almost feel him running up behind her, waving that terrible rod over his head, ready to swing -

No.

Sarah clenched her fists and said it again in her head, loud and clear, pushing all other thoughts aside: NO.

She was tired of jumping at the shadows of a dead Fox. She was tired of skittering her way through life like a frightened little mouse. She was tired of wearing this damn yoke around her neck. Her father was the one who had built it, yes, diligently carving it out of anger and jealousy and paranoia and slowly bolting it to her Soul with his authority, but he was long dead, and she was one who had chosen to wear it for so many years after the fact. She could have taken it off at any time, but it was as if his shadow was always hovering right behind her, looking over her shoulder, watching everything she did, whispering his disapproval, and she was sick of it! Nay, she was angry. She was furious! The old Sarah would have gone home and curled up in bed and cried the night away, but she didn't want to be that Sarah anymore! She defied her father once before, back when she was young, back when she was a stronger woman. She went through Hell to save her baby boy. It was the most painful night of her life, but that was the vixen she wanted to be again, the one who would go through any hardship to protect the one she loved.

Maybe... maybe she never stopped being that vixen. Maybe she's been inside, all along, just waiting for someone to open the door and let her out again.

Andrew was the one who had opened her door.

It was never locked.

The old Sarah had simply been holding it shut.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

She banged her fist against the door hard enough to make the knob rattle. "Paul! Open up! It's Sarah!"

Michael came sidling up beside her. "I must say, love, there is something rather fetching about you, taking charge like this. I quite like it."

"Thank you, Michael, but now is not the time."

"Quite, quite, let me help." He cleared his throat and gave the door another good, hard bang. "Oy, Paul! Wanna join a mob? Honour of first recruit is all yours, buddy!"

"These people will be furious," Sarah said, oddly unaffected by the idea. She'd gone her whole life constantly trying not to accidentally anger anyone, going out of her way to be overly polite and courteous, but now the idea of a few grumpy Foxes didn't hold much terror for her.

"You vastly underestimate my people skills, darling," Michael said and gave the door one last rap with his knuckles.

A small, flickering light suddenly came on in Paul's bedroom window, followed by a sound not unlike the bellowing of a sick cow. "Ooooorgh, waffr... wassa time is it? Michael, is that you out there? What in blazes is going on?"

"Ah good, he's up. Next house!"

"It'll go faster if we split up, dear. You take the other side."

"Righto!" Michael hopped the garden fence and dashed across the road like a teenager, his lantern bobbing up and down while Sarah hurried around to the next house in line. There were lights coming on all over now.

He banged his fist against the door opposite and shouted: "Hey Gabe! Wake up! Stuff's happening!"

A window flew open and a very disgruntled-looking Gabriel poked his head out. "Michael? Izzat you? What in the gods' names are you doing!?"

"Forming a mob. Wanna join?"

"A mob? The hell're you forming a mob fer!?"

"Well, it's more of a search party thing, really. But feel free to grab a pitchfork on your way out. Can never have too many pitchforks. Ooh! And torches! Be sure to bring a torch. Right dark out here. You might also want to bring a sword if you have one. That would probably be a good idea. Lots of swords. As many as you can carry."

Sarah was just about to knock on Stanley's door, but her hand froze in mid-air at the mention of pitchforks and swords. Her breath caught in her throat and her heartbeat suddenly trebled as she realized just what, exactly, she was asking of her husband. This wasn't like asking him to accompany her to the market so he could carry the heavy bags, this wasn't like asking him to hike up to Jonathan's mill to barter eggs for flour. This wasn't some menial errand, this was serious business. She was just so caught up with finally taking action, so desperate to save her son's life, she never realized...

People might die.

"Michael?" she yelled across the street. "I'm not so sure about this anymore. Maybe I should just go by myself. I know the way, so -"

He cupped his hands around his muzzle and shouted back: "If you think I'm going to let you wander through the woods and up the mountain and down the mountain again and into the woods again and through a river and into even more woods again and into a village filled with all manner of gigantic Wolves whose heads are all filled to bursting with dirty great teeth, all by yourself, then you are quite loony."

"But Michael, I don't want you or anyone else to get hurt! I shouldn't have asked this of you. I don't even have a plan!"

"Seeing you in pain is what's hurting me, love. And a plan? Don't worry about a silly little trifle like that. We'll just make it up as we go along, like we're doing right now."

A door banged open and Paul came stumbling out into the road, half dressed and half asleep. "Michael? What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Something most certainly did, but I'd rather wait till we have more people before I explain. Help a fellow out, would you?"

"Help? And I suppose by 'help' you mean banging on every door in the 'Glen in the middle of the godsdamned night?"

"What else would I mean?"

More and more Foxes were starting to peek through their curtains and poke their heads out their doors, some still in their night clothes, others hastily dressed, some with candles and lanterns and others with swords at the ready. Most just looked confused and worried, but a fair few were shooting sparks from their eyes. Sarah didn't like the way they were staring at her. She hated being the centre of attention, and she hated causing a fuss. And why even bother asking for help? There's no way any of these people would want to risk their lives for a Wolf they've only glimpsed from afar. To them, he was nothing more than an oddity. They were just wasting time here, and every second that slipped by was another step Andrew was getting closer and closer to his village, and who knew what would happen after that? These Foxes had no connection to him. He was a perfect stranger, so why would they choose to leave their homes and their families behind just to help her get her son back? The very thought seemed ludicrous.

"Hey wait a second!" Gabriel said, hanging halfway out his window. "This has something to do with that Ander feller, doesn't it? The one who saved Kiana?"

"That it does!" Michael said. "Get out here and help me rouse some rabble! We got Foxes to wake and torches to light and hell to raise and -"

"RUUUUFIIOOO!!!!"

That shout came from out of nowhere, so loud and piercing that everybody stopped what they were doing and turned their heads as one. Even the crickets had gone silent.

Sarah tentatively touched her lips and whispered: "I think that came from Bethany and Rufio's house..."

"WAKE UP!! WAKE UP, DAMMIT! THEY'RE GONE, RUFIO! THEY'RE GONE!!"

"Wow, that woman's got quite a set of lungs," Michael said, not without admiration.

"WHO DO YOU THINK!? THE GIRLS!! THEY'RE NOT IN THEIR BEDS AND THEY - BY MY OATH THEY STOLE MY BAG!! THAT'S IT!! NO, DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, JUST GET DRESSED!!"

*

"Your mother yelled so loud, Kiana, I think she woke the entire valley," Sarah said.

"Saved us quite a bit of time, actually," Michael added, sneakily reaching for one of the sausage links protruding from the basket.

"Hey, no!" Sarah pulled the basket out of reach. "This is for Andrew, not you."

"Aw, come on! I don't care how big he is, Andrew can't possibly eat all that."

"He's still mending, he needs all the nourishment he can get."

"Maybe so, but I doubt Kiana can lug all that. She's not a pack mule. She's a dainty little lady who can't possibly carry this much weight all the way up that hill with her limp little beansprout arms, and therefore it is my gentlemanly duty to lighten her load as much as I can. Isn't that right, Kiana?"

Kiana sat back in her chair and just laughed. It was such a wonderful feeling, just being able to laugh without worry. "I'm just glad I wasn't around to hear Mother blow her stack like that."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't be surprised if her voice had carried all the way to the other side of the mountain. Let me tell you, we were waaaay over at the far end of the road, but when your mother kicked open that door and burst out into the streets in that frilly pink night gown of hers, I swear I felt the breeze on my face."

Kiana sniggered and helped Sarah sort through the spices. "It couldn't have been that bad."

Sarah and Michael exchanged an odd little glance.

"What?"

"Weeell..." Sarah said, kind of looking up at the ceiling as she did so. "She did threaten you with all sorts of bodily harm. You and your sister."

"Mother did? Really?"

"Quite so," Michael weighed in. "If memory serves, she raved something about skinning you alive and then stitching you back together. Handy with a needle and thread they say, so I'm quite sure she could do it."

"She also said something about locking you in your room and having your father smelt a set of bars for your window and a little hole in your door to pass meals through."

"Would have been much more poignant if she wasn't crying through the whole thing, though."

"Oh," Kiana's hands stopped mid-sort. "She was crying? Mother never told me about that."

"Well, what do you expect?" Sarah said. "She wakes up in the middle of the night to find you gone without a trace, again, 'cept this time you took your sister along."

"And she stole her Mum's bag, don't forget that."

"Yes, thank you, Michael. The point is, it started out just being the two of us, but then after we went around banging on every door and Bethany came outside with the screaming meemies, the whole place turned into a madhouse in a matter of minutes. It felt like half the valley was out on that road, pushing and shoving, demanding to know -

*

"What the hell is going on?" someone shouted.

"Kiana and Layla have gone missing!"

"Again!?"

Sarah felt like she was being suffocated, suffocated by the hordes of bodies bumping into her, suffocated by the shouts and screams, suffocated by the flashing torches and lanterns and the sweeping shadows, and worst of all, suffocated by the seconds ticking by, piling on top of each other.

"It's not just them! My boys never came back from Othello's!"

"Your boys are probably drunk in a ditch somewheres!"

"People! Please calm down!" Rufio shouted above the noise. He had dressed in haste, but had forgotten to take off his nightcap, and the bobble was constantly bouncing over his eye and landing in the bowl of his pipe. "Standing around screaming at each other's not gonna accomplish anything! We have to -"

Bethany elbowed him out of the way so hard his scorched bobble spun around his head and she screamed: "WE HAVE TO FIND THE GIRLS BEFORE THEY GET THEMSELVES KILLED!!"

"I know where they are!" Sarah said, but her voice was being completely drowned out by the cacophony all around her.

"What about my boys!?" Lonin yelled. "It can't be coincidence! Gods help me, Rufio, if your daughters get my sons hurt, I won't forgive you!"

Tempers were starting to flare, and more Foxes were crowding in. More torches, more pitchforks and swords, more shouts, more of everything. "Cool it!" someone chimed in. "We don't even know if they're really gone yet! Two of his, two of hers, maybe they just snuck off for some hanky-panky in the dar- Ooow!!"

"Now's not the time, Monty!"

"I'm just sayin'!"

"I know where they are!" Sarah tried again, but it was like trying to speak to a swarm of bees. Everyone was so panicked, their attention so divided, it was impossible to get their attention. That's when she felt the hand on her shoulder and looked up into Michael's smiling face. He gave her a nod, and she knew what she had to do.

She took a deep breath, sucking as much air into her lungs as they could hold, and she shouted: "SHUT UP!! Everyone just SHUT! THE HELL! UUUUUPP!! I know where they are!!"

Everyone shut up, all right. Hell, they did more than that. They stepped away from her, regarding the way she stood in the middle of the road with her fists balled up and clouds of mist pluming from her nostrils as if she might explode at any second. Oddly enough, Sarah didn't care half as much as she thought she would have. She had something to say, and by the gods, she was going to say it, no matter how many odd looks she got for it. "I know what the girls are trying to do," she said, speaking more calmly now. "Maybe it's impossible, but they're doing it anyway! They're not just sitting around being miserable, and neither am I! I refuse to!" She scanned the crowd and quickly found the Fox she was looking for. "Jon!"

He jumped to attention. "Yes'm?"

"We'll need rope. Lots of it."

"Aye!" he elbowed his son in the ribs. "Oy, Jonah, run to the mill and fetch as much rope as you can carry. And be quick about it!"

"Er..."

"Now, boy!"

"Right!" The crowd squeezed together to let him through and soon he was a mere speck dashing across the fields and into the dark.

"They're going after Ander, aren't they?" Rufio said, the bobble at the end of his night cap smoking merrily in the breeze.

Bethany covered her mouth and sobbed into the palm of her hand. Seeing this, Rufio put a reassuring hand across her shoulders and whispered something in her ear.

Sarah didn't mean to eavesdrop, but with everyone suddenly being so quiet, it was impossible for her not to hear Rufio's words, because they were the same words her own husband had told her not so long ago.

"It's not your fault."

*

"I really caused a lot of trouble, didn't I?" Kiana said, realizing for the first time what a terrible ordeal her parents must have gone through on that night. At the time, all her thoughts were with Ander and whatever horrors he was fighting against, not her loving mother and father. They were safe and sound in bed, after all, with no worries to torment them, no monsters coming for them in the dead hours of the night.

She was such a fool. The whole time, they were suffering just as much as she was, praying that the ones they love would not be swallowed by the dark.

"And a good thing you did, otherwise who knows how things might have ended up?" Sarah said. "Never regret a single decision you made that night, Kiana. Although you were an utter fool, it was that very foolishness that touched so many hearts. Mine included."

Kiana's never been praised for being foolish before. It made her feel slightly embarrassed, so she fidgeted in her seat and looked down at the knots in the table, at the swirling patterns they made in the grain, but she couldn't keep from smiling. She had felt so alone on that cold, dark night two months ago, clawing her way through the pass until her fingers bled and her calves screamed in agony. Even with Layla panting right by her side and Bartholomew and Nickolas and Devin following right behind, she had felt alone, stuck inside the private hell raging in her mind, filled with all the worst visions she could possibly imagine. It was a constant fight to keep her hope alive and burning, and yet the whole time, the whole time, she was surrounded by friends, some within arm's length, some just out of sight, but still there, willing to go so far for her and her sister. And for Ander.

"That's how you were so quick to come to our aid," she said. "The whole time, you were following only a few hours behind."

"You don't know the half of it girl," Michael said and took a great big bite from the sausage he had sneaked from Ander's basket. "You should have seen her leading all those Foxes down the road, like a general leading an army, she was!"

"Oh Michael, stop it."

"Nay!" Michael sprang up, and before Sarah knew what was happening, he had one arm around her shoulder and the other held out before him, slowly sweeping from left to right. "There she was," he said, his cheek right up against hers, his eyes focussed on some far-off fantasy, "walking with determination in her step and lightning in her eyes! A river of a thousand torches at her back!"

"Oh please, Michael, it was more like twenty."

"As I was saying, with two thousand torches at her back and an aura of authority radiating from her brow like a golden halo, she rallied the Foxes and led them to the woods with the vim and vigour of a -"

"Terrified woman who didn't know what on earth she was getting all her friends into," Sarah said, killing her husband's energetic, although probably wildly inaccurate, retelling. His face fell.

"Feeling all right, love? I didn't mean to make fun, I was just so proud, is all. The way you stood up and took charge. It was like I was finally seeing the vixen I had only glimpsed before."

"I know, Michael, it's just... You don't know how it felt, coming up to those woods in the dead of night, so close to where I grew up. The last time I went in there was..." She swallowed hard, and Kiana could see her hand tremble, just itching to grab the neckline of her dress and squeeze and twist, as was her habit, but she fought against it, willing herself to go on just as she must have willed herself to take those terrifying steps into her past. "It was the night I had lost Andrew."

Michael rubbed his hand up and down her arm and gave her an affectionate little squeeze, letting her know he was there for her. It was such a little thing, really, but Kiana could see clearly how much that little touch meant to her. Sarah put her hand over Michael's and continued her story.

"After everything that happened in there it just seemed so... terrifying. Almost forbidden. But I knew if I wanted to make a difference, I would have to make a decision, just like you did, Kiana. Looking back on it now, it was an easy decision to make. Go forward, or go back. But at the time it was so daunting, so real. It was as if I were a stupid young girl again, running across the grass with blood dripping from my dress. I was so scared I didn't even dare turn around. I was sure that somewhere inside the crowd I would see my father, holding that horrible rod, looking at me in that awful disappointed way of his, shaking his head. But then somebody gave me a torch and I just started walking, putting one foot ahead of the other, not stopping for anything lest my courage fail me. And then, before I was ready, I was there. Right there. You know what it feels like when you're out in the open, and suddenly you step through that first line of trees at the edge of a forest? It feels like something's suddenly squeezing you too tight, even if nothing's touching you but the ground. Even if you can't see anything to the left or right, it still feels like you're inside a room that's too small for you, and there's something in there with you, something that doesn't want you to be there."

Kiana nodded. She definitely knew what that felt like.

"And I thought to myself, if I can't handle a bunch of trees, then what hope do I have of tackling that pass? And you know what I did then?"

"What?"

"I imagined how much harder it must have been for Andrew to walk that exact same path, and that made it easier. But it was so dark, and the torch only shone so far. I would walk for a bit and the firelight would glance off the edges of the trees, and there were so many other Foxes with torches of their own, some close, some far away, and the woods were so thick in places. The lights would vanish entirely and then wink back through the gaps like giant fireflies, and I was scared. But even through the dark and the twisting trees I knew the way. I had walked that path so many times, it was branded into my memory. Up past the twin oaks, still there, even after all these years, and then North, until you find the crack in the stone. It was almost morning by the time we reached it, and as I stood by that tear, looking in at the sheer stone walls, I knew that what I was doing was unfair to the others. I really did want to find you and Layla and the boys, but I also wanted to find Andrew. I stopped at the mouth of the Cora's Pass, and when I turned around and there were so many Foxes, dozens of them. The sun was just starting to throw the first slivers of light through the treetops, and I could see all the familiar faces staring back at me, waiting for me to lead the way. And I told them..."

Sarah's gaze shifted to the window, and Kiana knew exactly what she was looking at. She was looking at the mountain, reliving that moment like she was still there.

*

Sarah froze in place, chills running up and down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold weather. She could see the jagged shadowlines of the pass, a gaping cut in the mountain, its edges catching the first silver rays of the morning sun, beckoning to her. She looked up and saw the moon, fading away against the brightening sky, but it was still there, staring down at her like a blind eye.

She could hear the Foxes whispering behind her and she could see their pointy-eared shadows flickering across the earth.

What was she leading them into?

She turned around and looked at all the faces staring back at her, faces of friends and family and strangers all, waiting for her to lead the way. Their torches crackled and the leaves whispered overhead, but those were the only sounds to be heard. Everything was so deathly quiet. Not even the birds had awakened in their nests yet. It felt like she was caught somewhere between the end of the previous day and the start of the next, a gap not unlike the one in the mountain she was about to pass through for the first time in twenty-three years. She could see the worry in their eyes. They were afraid of what lay beyond the mountain, and she could not blame them in the least. They had their imaginations, but she had cold, hard memories steeped in reality. She knew exactly what was waiting for them, and it was for that reason she could not let this go any further than was absolutely necessary.

"None of you know what lies through this pass, but I do," she said. "Kiana and Layla have acted rashly, but they also acted out of love. They are daughters of Grovenglen, and it is our duty to see them safely back home. But Andrew... he..."

Sarah clutched at the hem of her dress, but even though she could feel the reality of the cloth rubbing against her fingers, she still felt naked. This was the deepest, darkest secret of her life, locked away for so long. Could she really just blurt it out? Most of them already knew, that much was evident just from the snippets of conversation she had overheard on their way here, but to actually say it out loud, to drag it out into the cold hard light of day where anyone could scoff and scorn and ridicule and trample all over it with muddy feet...

That was when she felt Michael's fingers intertwine with her own. If he was right by her side, supporting her through thick and thin, then what was there to be afraid of? Scandal? Shame?

Why?

Was it scandalous to show love for her son? Was it shameful to do everything in her power to get him back?

She squeezed his hand tightly and said: "Ander is my son."

Eyes widened and gasps mingled with the sighing wind, but other than that the reaction was much tamer than she had anticipated. Maybe the rumour had spread even faster than she had given it credit for, rendering her 'shocking revelation' moot, but none of that mattered anymore. "Yes, he is my son. You all know it. There's no need to hide it. He is my son, and even though I only knew him for the first and maybe the last day of his life, I... I love him very much..."

Her eyes started to swim, breaking the hazy rays of sunlight shining through the forest canopy and the dancing torchlights into white and orange starbursts. She felt the warmth trickle down her cheeks and knew she was crying, but she did not reach for her handkerchief or made any move to wipe the tears away. Her father was not here, and these tears were nothing to be ashamed of. She didn't have to feel ashamed of anything anymore.

"I love him. That's why, even when we find the girls, I can't go back. Not until I find my son. I owe him too much. I..." Sarah swallowed and squeezed Michael's hand even tighter. "When we find the girls, take them back home, where they belong. Drag them back kicking and screaming if you have to. But I... I have to go on. I have to keep going. I have to find Andrew, even if I must do it alone. There are things beyond this mountain. Cruel, wicked things. I don't mind dying for my family, but I don't expect my friends to die for a stranger. That is why -"

It was Rufio who stepped up first, still puffing away on that pipe of his. "Stranger?" he said. "What stranger? Ander is family!" And then Beth, she stood up straight and crossed her arms and nodded her head; once, hard. And then... and then everyone...

Jon stepped up, puffed out his chest and said: "He fixed my wagon, and that makes him my family, too!"

Esther came next, holding her torch up high. "He made my son smile, and that makes him _my_family!"

Henry: "He saved Kiana, and that makes him family in my book!"

Darius: "Hell, we all know what's really going on. Somebody who'll stick his own neck out for a bunch of ingrates like us, well... that's more than just family. It's high time we return the favour! We'll find the girls, and we'll save Ander to boot! Who's with me!?"

There couldn't have been more than forty or fifty Foxes standing before the mountain's wound, but the cheer that rang up was enough to scare the birds from their nests and echo throughout the pass like the mighty roar of ten times that number. They raised their torches and swords and pitchforks and stomped their feet and pumped their fists in the air, and Sarah watched the tumult with such wonder and amazement she didn't even realize she had begun crying for a completely different reason.

Michael tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned her head to look at him, he was smiling so broadly. "Andrew woke you up," he said, "something I've been trying to do for many years. And for succeeding where I have failed, that makes him my family, too."

*

"We went inside, but as time passed on it didn't get any lighter. It's so cold in that place, and the shadows grow long, and the deeper we went, the thicker the mist became. It appeared out of nowhere, and it was the same slate grey as the rest of that horrible place, so it felt like you were literally walking inside_the mist, with nothing to hold you up, and I kept imagining myself taking one wrong step and falling forever and ever, just falling... I was still thinking that when I heard someone running, not from behind or to the side, but from the front, and I was so sure a Wolf would burst out of the mist that I actually _saw him coming for me, not a kind, gentle one like Andrew, but a mean one, like that 'Wardo'." Kiana tensed up, but thankfully Sarah was too caught up in her memories to notice. "I saw this dark shadow running towards me, and it looked huge, and I was certain I was about to die, but the closer it came, the more it shrunk, and instead of a bloodthirsty Wolf, it was Devin that came bursting out of the mist, just about dead on his feet, panting like a lunatic. He saw us and froze dead in his tracks, and so did we. I remember asking him what he was doing out in this cold without a shirt, and he just started laughing."

Kiana giggled. "Poor Devin."

"He led us back to where you and the others were huddled at the foot of that great big pile of rocks, and let me tell you, Kiana, when I saw you were all alive and well, and that you had Andrew with you, I was so..." She looked down at her hands and tried to sniffle discreetly, but without much success. "I was so happy. It felt like I would burst. But then I saw how still he was. So still. Even in the mist, I could tell there was something wrong. I just-"

"There there, love," Michael said. "No need to dwell on the hard parts. The girl was there, she knows what happened after that."

Sarah nodded, said "Okay," and wiped her eyes. "Michael, would you mind checking on Mateo for me? Make sure he hasn't swallowed his tongue or anything?"

"Sure thing." He stood up and tipped an imaginary hat Kiana's way. "Little Missy."

Kiana waved and watched him disappear down the hallway, amazed at just how much this little household had changed since last she was here, especially Sarah. Although, she wouldn't really begin to understand the depth of the change until about a minute later.

"Well, I think I've kept you long enough," Sarah said with a smile. "I can see you're practically jumping in your seat to go and see Andrew. Just one last thing I want to give you and then you can go on your way."

Kiana held up her hands. "No Sarah, really, you don't have to."

"I insist!" She rummaged in her pocket a bit and came out with a small bottle of light green liquid.

"What's that?"

"This, my dear girl, is Aloe vera oil," she said, holding it out to her with a grin so sly it was rather confusing.

"Oh, thank you very much," Kiana said and carefully took the little bottle. "Mother's always going on about how good Aloe vera is for every little thing, I'm sure she'll love this."

"No, deary, this isn't for your mother." Sarah reached out and closed Kiana's fingers over the bottle. "This is for you."

"For me? What am I to do with Aloe vera oil?"

"Weeelll..." Sarah smiled, shrugged her shoulders, and tilted her head in the teasy sing-song way of little children. "Based on personal experience, if you're going to be with a Wolf, then you'll know what to use it for when the time comes."

It took a few seconds for Sarah's meaning to sink in, and when it did, Kiana could only gasp and clap a hand to her mouth. "Sarah!"

The vixen fell back in her chair and she laughed until tears streamed for eyes, watching as Kiana regarded the innocent-looking bottle as if it had suddenly turned into a live coal sizzling in the palm of her hand.

"Well..." Kiana quickly sequestered the little bottle in her deepest pocket. "This certainly would have been useful two months ago, I can tell you that."

They both froze for a second, then burst out laughing anew, the both of them, just sitting at the kitchen table laughing and laughing, and by the gods did it feel good!

Michael suddenly stuck his head in through the door, a rather confused look on his face, and enquired: "And what are you two hens clucking about this fine afternoon? Come on, don't leave the cock out."

If ever there was a time Kiana seriously wondered if it were possible to laugh yourself to death, this was it. She laughed until her stomach muscles began to ache and she could barely breathe, while Sarah simply flopped down onto the table in utter surrender, banging her fist against the table as the laughter surged through her. And all the while poor, clueless Michael stood in the doorway, watching the spectacle with his eyebrows raised and a small smile spreading across his face.

---

This conversation was starting to run a little long, so I figured I'd upload the rest in one shot. Also, I was totally going to delete that dirty joke at the end, but a certain furry by the name of Helios Phi asked me to keep it in. xD

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Donation Progress $100 / $300 (Unlock Sunday update)

How and Why: The Story behind "Ander" (Journal): https://www.sofurry.com/view/517234" style="color:rgb(102,30,36);text-decoration:none;">https://www.sofurry.com/view/517234

Special thanks go out to the following furs for helping me keep this project afloat with their generous donations. I couldn't do it without your support.

1. Mystery fur
2. PyrePup
3. KmlRock
4. Faan
5. Sunny-Fox
6. Mystery fur #2
7. Sky Star
8. Claybrook

Thank you! You guys are the best! ^_^