Blaze in the Darkness | ✔

Ten

Darkness receded from my vision as my feet solidified on wooden floors. The scent of countless werewolves hung thick in the air, drowning out any other scents. I shook my head and moved through the hallway. My gaze swept across the many decorations for the winter celebration. I couldn't help but smile a little as I climbed the stairs to a higher floor, remembering the time of cheer and happiness the colorful runes stood for.

My eyes settled on one of the many doors in this hallway. Its sign boldly proclaimed 'Alpha Oscen' in Common Afreiton. I halted in front of the door and listened closely. Two powerful but steady heartbeats thudded inside, along with calm breathing. I didn't need to look inside with magic to know they were Oscen and his Beta.

After waiting in silence for several seconds, I rapped on the door in a familiar pattern. Their heartbeat spiked, only to calm down when they recognized the sound as me. Guess I had startled them. Oops.

"Thoysal, come in," Oscen called from inside. I entered, closing the door behind me. The Alpha looked at me from behind his ancient desk. A rock with colorful runes and designs rested on top of it, emitting a far different feel than the man's furrowed eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Zanixa has told me something I figured you should know. Both of you, most likely." My eyes locked onto the Beta's amber ones, matching her gaze in intensity. I was tempted to make my eyes turn crimson, but now was not the time for intimidation.

After a short pause, I continued, "It looks like the Vesmai mages are planning on capturing the Moon God. Apparently, they have gloated quite a lot about it in Zanixa's presence. They seem to still be in the planning stage, as far as I know, but I figured you should be aware."

The two werewolves sat in shocked silence, processing my words. I watched their reaction silently, keeping tabs on their heartbeat and breathing out of curiosity. My magic subtly invaded the Beta's mind and allowed me to read her thoughts.

They can't possibly be considering this! It's madness. And when they lose, Daskil will lash out at the entire Afreiton, possibly the entire world. But they're too powerful, we can't go up against those cursed mages. Could telling the god or his priests work? Would that earn us his favor? Or would he still kill us regardless?

On the other side of the window, snow started drifting down. My eyes tracked the pristine white flakes. The gentle, slow tufts were a stark contrast to the woman's raging thoughts. I idly wondered what the Snow God, Bleoles, would think of this development, though I knew he was most likely unaware. He would be busy preparing for his celebration.

At last, Oscen broke the silence. "Do you have any other information about this?"

"No, I do not. But I could start cautiously poking around."

"Don't," he immediately ordered. "The chances that they'll find out are too high, and we're not risking you."

I nodded. Finding out what the Dark Order of Vesmait did to whoever asked too many questions about them was not something particularly high on my list of priorities.

"I do have one unrelated question." My gaze moved away from the window, settling on Oscen. He nodded, giving me permission to continue. "Is there any extra clothing that fits a girl in her early teens?"

This time, the Beta was the one to reply. "Is it for the firefox?"

"Yes. Apparently, she and her mother are used to going through life without clothing, but it's too cold for Zanixa, and it's simply not appropriate if she were to go outside."

"They were nude...?" The woman blinked a few times before shaking her head. "Nevermind. There should be some in the general storage for clothing, you should go look there first."

"Will do, thank you." With a curt nod, I turned around and walked out. As I closed the door behind me, a hushed but rather fiery conversation sprung to life. I tried to ignore them the best I could as I moved to the basement of the packhouse, giving the occasional werewolf I passed a curt nod and a stone-like expression.

Searching the various crates in the storeroom didn't take long. Within mere minutes, I had compiled two outfits for the little vixen, ones that should keep her warm enough for now. I initiated the teleport back to our home, curious to see if she'd show any preference in color at all.

Zanixa's goose-bump covered body was the first thing I noticed when I walked in. With a sigh, I walked over to her and gave her the bundle of clothing. "I truly cannot allow you to do this any longer. You might only be in human form for mere seconds, but your lips are already turning blue. Take these."

She held it up to her nose and sniffed it. Frowning in confusion, she held the bundle up, letting it fall apart into the various pieces of apparel. She nudged a sock with her foot and asked, "What is this?"

"Socks. They keep your feet warm. There is also a shirt, tunic, pants, and a jacket. That should keep you warm enough while you're in human form." I watched her reaction to my words closely, gauging if she'd fight against being clothed. Some beings felt like it was wrong to cover themselves up when fur was perfectly fine in their other form.

The young fox eyed the woollen sock up, eyes narrowed in mistrust. Shaking my head, I kneeled in front of her and offered her my hand. "Give me your foot. I'll show you."

Her body was so cold she could barely keep her balance. Even I could feel that her foot barely had any warmth left in it. Sighing inwardly, I picked up the sock and held it up for her.

"This is how you use it." I put her foot in the sock, careful and gentle to avoid hurting her. Although she seemed mystified by the foreign object now covering her skin, she didn't object. After, I proceeded to show her how to put on the other clothes.

Today marks the day that Blaze in the Darkness is officially one year old on Wattpad. I never thought I'd actually complete it, or that it would get this far. Thank you for staying with me this entire time!