Blaze in the Darkness | ✔

Three

I waited patiently for Esna to return with the two. The two mates had made themselves scarce already, not daring to face the pack's leaders, even if they meant no harm. Some days, I wondered if the Omegas were too sensitive for this world. It was a good thing they had a pack to protect them.

At last, Oscen's heavy and confident footsteps came closer, followed by the more graceful set that belonged to his mate, with Esna's quiet ones following as last. The pair came through the doorway, looking around the room before their eyes settled on Zanixa's bottle. Her hackles raised as she growled faintly at the Ira.

Ignoring her, I greeted the duo. "Alpha, Ira, thank you for coming."

Oscen nodded in return, though he was distracted by the little fox kit. "No problem. It's about the illusion in a bottle, is it not?" he asked.

"That's the thing," I started. "She is not an illusion. She is a living being, and has been trapped in there for a long time."

Switching to telepathy, I added, 'She's been in there for roughly two and a half centuries. I'm uncertain what she has faced in that time, or what separation for so long at such a young age has done to her psyche. It'll take me longer than a few minutes to find that out.'

'Two and a half centuries?' Oscen echoed, eyes widening slightly in shock. He had seen this coming about as much as we had. 'That's far longer than any pup - or kit, for that matter - should be in such a small cage.'

When I broke the connection and remained silent for a few moments, he returned to speaking out loud. "I see... And how do we get her out?"

"It seems to be as easy as pulling the cork off the bottle," I replied. "However, she will grow in size, and I didn't want to attempt that in here. We would have to do it outside, and the pack would notice if there was a commotion like that. You'd have heard about it sooner or later had we gone through with that."

Oscen huffed at the last part, although I knew it was in jest. "That's right. You better be glad you told me first, vampire."

"We all know you can't do without me, Oscen." I bared my fangs in a grin that doubled as an empty threat. I pledged allegiance so long ago, and I wasn't about to cross that now.

The Alpha shook his head, a clear sign he was dismissing our banter and turning serious once more. He gestured at the bottle in front of the fire with his hand. "Considering how long she has been in there, we should get her out as soon as possible. I know next to nothing about taking care of a firefox, though. Do you remember any lore or myths about them, perhaps?"

"It might be better to ask Zanixa herself," I said. Normally, I'd readily pull up some tales or useful information from my memory, but with the creature in question in the same room, that was needless waste of time and energy.

The little fox kit immediately stood to attention at the mention of her name. Her focus had drifted off sometime during our conversation. 'Yes?'

Mentally going through a list of necessary information, I asked, 'We need to know how you live before we can let you out. What do you eat or drink? Where do you like to sleep? Are there things firefoxes absolutely cannot touch, like werewolves cannot touch silver?'

Her frustration at the delay was palpable. However, I knew this was needed, and so did she.

'Generally, I don't drink, but molten metal isn't all that bad at times. Hot coals is what I usually eat. You should try it sometime, it's delicious. Cold coal does too, but it's not as good. As for where I sleep, that fire looks great.' Standing on her haunches, she pawed at the fire, held back by the glass.

Her words and actions made me smile ever so slightly. 'You really do like fire, don't you? Eating fire, sleeping in fire, a tail made of flames.'

'Yes. Fire is great. Water, however, is not great. Snow is awful. Snow is like water, but even colder! Can you believe it? Something more miserable than water...' The kit shuddered, horrified by the idea.

'Then it's best you don't go outside for too long,' I said. 'Winter has just started, and the first snow has fallen.'

Her groan of annoyance was quickly cut short by a surge of panic. 'Wait, do we have enough wood to keep the fire going all winter? We need to have a safe cave, stuffed full of wood to keep our nest heated. We can't get through the winter with nothing.'

Using my magic to influence her once more, I swiftly put an end to the baseless fear. It only took seconds for her to relax again. Satisfied with the outcome, I reassured her, 'Don't worry, Zanixa. We have got plenty of wood to keep the fires going.'

'Then it's okay. As long as we have a lot of fire. Then the winter is bearable.' She nodded to herself, mollified.

Returning back to the topic at hand, I asked, 'So you dislike water and snow, and you eat coals?'

When she nodded once more, I turned to the still waiting pair of leaders. "It is as one would expect from a creature of fire. She sleeps in fire, she eats its coals, and she dislikes water and snow. She may appreciate it if we give her some molten metal as well."

"We could build a fire in one of the depleted mines. That way, she wouldn't have to brave the snow," Sila suggested. "Someone will have to look after her, however."

"Ira, may I suggest something?" Esna asked, speaking for the first time since she had settled in the room's corner without a sound. I eyed her up warily, already sensing where her thoughts were starting to go. From what I could tell, I wouldn't like her suggestion one bit.