Feeling tired from spending so long awake talking about his life, Niphru fell asleep. He had long siten over feeling at risk around Morris, as they had ofteime with Dawn during the teag sessions they had.

  Waking up in the dark, he looked around and didn’t see any traorris or Kel, though the windoen, giving him a way out. After hopping through the window, he headed towards the easily visible gate, spotting watchtowers around it, meaning this was the one on the side of the forest. As he approached, he o the guards and flicked his foxfire into a quick illusion to greet them before ref it.

  He passed through the gates, heading for the forest, listening as the guards shut them again behind him. During the time he had been learning from Dawn, he had beuch more experie expl the forest, thanks to tricks she told him that the hunters used. He had also learned more of the nature of the mutations and how they occurred. His goal for now was to e enough mana-infused meat to iionally cause himself to mutate again.

  The first time he mutated, he barely even noticed, yet it caused him to be able to see may adjusted to the local density. This had allowed him to see his own mana when he projected it into a link. However, he was still uo sense some things such as Dawn’s link, which had been expio him as a form of emotion sharing that humans still did not uand, and could rarely use. What he was attempting this time was to gain true night vision rather than the weak form he was born with.

  Upon reag the forest, he quickly began looking for small animals he could hunt, using his illusion to hide himself. As he explored, he kept his mana in a loose sphere around himself, using it to feel for any es that may form from animals being nearby. After a while of searg, he found a squirrel he couldn’t reach, followed by a rabbit he could. Instead of risking being fought back against like st time, he simply moved his foxfire into the den with the io burn. As he waited, a burning rabbit hopped out of the burrht into his mouth as he anded his foxfire to extinguish it.

  As he had expected, he felt a sense of danger when he sidered eating it, which, after eating mostly meat for several days now, he had gotteo. Ign the feeling, he ate the entire rabbit and resumed his hunt. Eventually he found another rabbit, this oside its den, which he was able to ambush using his illusion to remain unseen. ing it as well, he felt the feeling of danger spiking before diminishing as his eyes began to burn, mind slowing, and memory being more foggy. After this, he would have to be careful as to his diet again, until he became more intelligent once more.

  As he headed towards his den, he sidered what he should do . He was curious about the school Dawn had told him about, but that required being able to write, which he was not capable of. They had tried, but he couldn’t use a pencil with his mouth without extreme strain and difficulty watg it, nor could he grab it with his paws as he cked the thumbs humans had. Perhaps he could do something with his foxfire, as it could burn things which could leave marks. He would just have to try to focus it down to a very fine point.

  Arriving at his home, he curled up in his den, then practiced densing his foxfire even smaller, trying to shape it into a pointed der simir to the pencils he had seen. After a while he became tired and finally faded into sleep, letting his foxfire flow over his head, soothing his sore eyes.

  Niphru awoke again in the dark, certain it was near m, but his eyes picked out details he reviously uo spot in the gloom. Leaving his den, he marveled at how much more he could make out in the darkness pared to before. He headed towards the vilge, wanting to be able to meet Dawn as she headed out in the m.

  Thinking as he ran, he decided to try to figure out which dire things were in when he made it there. He knew what dires were now, but for some reason had fotten to ask which dire was whibsp; As he arrived at the forest-fag gate, he asked the guard which dire the forest was, being told it was to the east. This meant his den was south, the farms (those odd fields he had seeo the north, and where the children pyed was to the west.

  Satisfied with knowing where things were, he thahe guard before entering the vilge. Walking through the vilge towards the western gate, he noticed a ck of people, curious for a moment before he remembered that humans were not fond of the night and stayed up all day instead. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he ought to try to ge his schedule to match them. But that would make his newly ged eyes far less useful, so he would have to think about it for a while.

  Niphru sat by the western gate for a while as he pohis situation. Eventually as the sun rose, he finally decided that how he was currently was best, sleeping through both day and night and instead awake iween them. As Dawn arrived with the other children, he ran up to her with his tail wagging iement. “Dawn, I did it!” he excimed, “I mao get good night vision on purpose as a mutation! Now I be much safer by being able to see better!”

  Dawn smiled and rubbed his head, replying, “I’m gd to hear that you be safer, I always worry about you, Niphru.”

  “Oh, I almost fot, I think I know how I write, I just need more practibsp; I will let you know if it works,” Niphru said.

  “That is great news, I hope it works out, I know you wao learn that so you could try going to school with me. I would enjoy having you there with me too!” Dawn replied.

  As they spoke, they exited the western gate together, heading with the other kids to where they typically pyed in the m. As usual, they split off and headed to the hill nearby. Today, they simply sat and talked about how they wao grow up and what they wao do.

  “I want to be a mage like my mother, but she doesn’t like animals much, while I have always wao be around them. I’m gd to have met you since you are a niimal and talk baow,” Dawn said.

  “Gd to have met you as well, Dawn. I never really thought much about the future. I don’t even know how long my future will be. Will someohink I’m a normal fox and hunt me down? Would I kill them if they did? What would happen to me then?” Niphru remarked.

  “Don’t worry about that for now, what would you like to end up as?” Dawioned him.

  “I guess I would like to help people. Monti helped you and it meant a lot to me. What if I could help others like he does? I’ve tested it on myself and my foxfire heal, although a bit slowly. What if I had more or it healed faster? I think I would like that,” Niphru replied.

  “I think that is a lovely goal,” Dawn stated, hugging Niphru.

  Dawopped a moment before speaking again, “I alsot but we o find you a p the vilge to live, you ’t just live in a hole in the ground in the forest, you are one of us now!”

  “I like my den, it is nid peaceful. But maybe I could stay with you. I was just thinking today about my sleeping times pared to yours though, and it would be difficult since I’d need a way to enter and leave without help,” Niphru said.

  “We should go talk with my mother then and see what she thinks!” Dawn excimed, getting to her feet as she put Niphru back down.

  The two of them headed back to the western gate, leaving behind the other children to py. As they approached, the guards opehe gate for them, shutting it again as they passed through. Dawn took the lead, quickly heading towards the ter of the vilge, entering one of the rger houses, holding the door for Niphru to enter with her.

  “Mom, are you here?” Dawn shouted, hearing a response from another room.

  As they walked into the other room, a man walked out, leaving the house, nodding at them as he passed. Amilya sat in a chair within the room, waving them in.

  “What brings you back before school?” Amilya questioned Dawn.

  “I was w if Niphru could stay here with us!” Dawn replied, boung from foot to foot, “He said he needs a way in and out on his own though.”

  “I will have to think about it, but we might be able to do that iure,” Amilya stated, with a smile.