Friday 7:47 PM - A half-finished construction site in a shopping center not far from the Meteor Festival.

R: Hey Snow-chan.

P: Ash-chan. What's up?

R: I spotted u at the park with ur fluffyboy. How's ur date going?

P: amazing tell you more later, leaving rite now

R: 🙀!

R: U2 aren't going to 🔥 the candles 2nite?

P: No. I got something else in mind.

R: "Color'" me surprised!

R: 😹

P: _

R: Last pun swear😹

P: 😾 You still there?

R: Nah we played our set, meeting some old friends now.

P: How is the lil one?

P: Giving u any trouble?

R: Nope.

R: Being good so far.

P: Cool.

P: Call me l8r

R: Use protection Snow-chan ;)

P: 😾 Fk u!

R: 😽

Raira sported a broad grin as she put her phone away. Her sister getting so defensive about her little experiment just tickled her soul. Amazing huh? She thought and sighed. I hope she doesn't lose control fawning over that brat.

She and Lùn were double checking their gear on the table when a plump gray field mouse clambered up. The mouse was middle aged wearing a dark green coverall suit complete with a scaled tool belt. He was the security expert on this operation.

"What?" She asked acknowledging him, but not really looking down at him. She was more concerned with her partner, Lùn, who looked to be spacing out again. "Hold on." She told him before she administered a quick rap to the table. The mouse barely managed to keep his balance from to him felt like a light earthquake. The silver fox got her message to 'get back to work' effectively across as the little fox hastily stopped dawdling and started putting on her gloves and began screwing the suppressor on her .22 pistol right after.

"Trace?" She asked looking back down to him.

"Violet-sama" He said referring to her alias. "I just killed the alarm, and cut the phones lines. Gears has the flash bombs secured in the vents to cover our escape."

"And the safe? How is Pick coming?" She asked.

"That's uh. Well..." He started to say as his body tensed up.

As the fox became concerned, she tilted her relatively massive head at him, a lump formed in his throat as her mouth opened and closed, revealing those sharp teeth that could bifurcate him easily if they snapped down around him. From his perspective he was conversing with a giant. Her large blue eyes fixed squarely on him; he had her full attention.

"There's been a change in plan. The safe in question; It's not digital like we were told." He rapidly spewed out.

Raira clicked her tongue frustrated. "Are you for real? You can still crack it right? She asked, her voice booming as she leaned down to look him in the eye.

"It's a Combination type. Mechanical."

"So what? Are we dead in the water now?" She inquired with a hint of panic in her tone.

"Not to worry! It ain't a big problem, Pick is hard at work on it now." The mouse quickly assured her. "He can crack mechanical too, don't forget these ears pick up a lot." The mouse boasted rubbing the edge of one his large ears.

Raira scratched behind her own furry black ears both puzzled and cautious. "Then what's the deal?"

"I just want to ask, how about... a bigger cut? Mechanical should be extra." The mouse fear evaporated into avarice as he tried to renegotiate a better fee. "Pick's services with mechanical are a bit higher y'know."

The fox just raised one of her bushy brows and stared down at him stone-faced. "Trace... all shares are final." She said very bluntly as she stooped down to his level, her snout and muzzle close enough to snatch him right off the table in one bite. "However, if you want to increase shares, I could just... y'know." She said peeling back her lips revealing her canines and stealthily pinching his meaty tail between her fingers, holding him in place with no way of scampering off. "Then we'd have more to go around for your brother." He got exactly what she meant, the middle-aged mouse was tense with fear and knew he there would be no bargaining with her.

"Well?" She said in sinister fashion, edging ever so closer till he could feel hot air from her breathing on his face.

"Ha ha ha ha. N-no need, just a crazy suggestion. We don't need to negotiate anything." The mouse nervously chuckled as he yanked his tail clear and cradled it. "No, outfoxing a fox eh?" He said nervously trying to play it off as a bad joke.

"Nope." Raira enunciated rather smugly as she shook her head.

"Well...any word yet from your guy?" He asked scratching his head.

"No, not yet, he's probably waiting for the place to completely clear out. Less liabilities the better." She said referring to their inside guy.

They were hitting a fancy jewelry store tonight, the Crystal Mansion. The guy on the inside tipped them off to the score, valuable off-market stuff stored in the manager's safe and at least 130,000,000 Yen worth in jewelry on display just there for the taking. She and Lùn had visited earlier in their disguises to scope out the place and covertly dropped off the smaller members of the team so they could do their end of the job. Trace the Mouse, leader of three brothers she had hired, originally worked for the firm that did the security systems in the building, so he knew the layout pretty well.

He and his other brothers had the skills needed to bypass the CCTV suite, the safe security, and emergency response fail safes. Pick, the youngest brother was a qualified safecracker and already inside in the manager's office hard at work while Gears, his engineer brother had actually been inserted a month prior to burrow in, creating a series of collapsible tunnels the mice could use to gain access the security hardware while also setting up countermeasures to aid in their escape on demand should shit hit the fan. The unfinished building, the two foxes were prepping in was sandwiched right next door so they could respond as soon as the time was right.

The names Trace, Gears, and Pick weren't even real names just like Violet and Vespa, as everyone wanted to stay anonymous in case anyone was caught. Only thing the two parties knew about each other was that they traveled in the same burglary circles and that the foxes were in the Inarigumi. They didn't even know what the inside guy looked like, only that he would make himself known once inside and that his only initial was G. That part of the plan really didn't sit well with Raira, going in blind like that. It was bad enough having to deal with a mouse as crooked as Trace and have to factor in that unknown.

With nothing else to report, Trace hopped off the table and head back down the tunnel into the store next door. "I'm going to go check in with Gears with the stun countermeasures." Trace chirped as he headed back towards their tunnel. "Inflexible bitch..."

"Hmph." She actually heard him with her own keen hearing, but paid him no mind. She'd been called similar terms by much bigger people; one little mouse wasn't going to offend her. "And that, Vespa-chan, is why you always stay wary of a con. Just a little intimidation is usually all you need to see through bullshit."

Vespa or Lùn oddly enough didn't respond to her lesson. Raira looked across the table to see her still fiddling around loading her pistol magazine. Lùn wasn't a stranger to firearms, but she looked like she was having trouble loading a round.

"You hear me?" She asked a bit louder, but again she was ignored.

"You alive over there, killer? You spacing out on me again?" A closer look revealed the shortstop looking rather miserable and aimless. That just wouldn't do.

Lùn typically didn't get on Rai's nerves like she did Pris. In fact, out of all the girls in the clan, Rai' actually admired that Lùn felt like a next gen version of herself. Obviously minus the whole pygmy thing, she seemed to possessed every bit of that fiery attitude that she had back when she was cracking heads for Priscilla's rise. Maybe when Fa got her own crew, Lùn would be her right hand. However ever since she got beat up by that stupid rabbit earlier this year, she's been really a mopey handful. And right now? It was beginning to tax the dark vixen's patience especially now of all times.

After a few inspecting sniffs, Raira was certain Trace wasn't still in the area and took off her headset. She was going to get to the bottom of this now. She didn't need some mopey crybaby; she needed a cunning vixen.

"Okay Loony, what now?" Raira snarled at the pint sized red vulpes.

"Nothing." Lùn finally answered very dismissively.

"Oh, fuck outta here with nothing. Don't insult me!"

"It's nothing." Lùn insisted.

"You think that I can't tell when someone is hiding something? Not that you're doing a good job anyway." She said as she got up and paced around, trying to grill the little pipsqueak.

"Only people who mope like that are looking for attention or really bad at hiding." The silver fox growled with a raised voice. "So, which is it?" Raira didn't even give Lùn the chance as she remembered the incident earlier. "Oh! Don't tell me. This is about that 'useless' talk on the train."

"Wha?" The brat exclaimed with shock, looking down ashamed. "So, I was talking in my sleep too, huh?"

"Nah' not really. I mean only caught a few words like useless or pipsqueak, but thank you, you just proved that something is eating at you. Spill it." Raira said leaning on top of the table right next to her, her tail wagging excited to get to the bottom of this.

"Shit." Lùn clicked her tongue and groaned, tugging her sharp ears down over her face trying to hide her shame. "I just feel like I'm not cut out for this."

"Excuse you?" Raira was suddenly beside herself as she pushed off of the table. "You mean to tell me... after Fa went through all that trouble trying to get you accepted, you just want out?"

"I just feel like I'm a burden."

Raira closed her eyes and rubbed the top of her snout. Ugh... This girl. Without warning, the dark furred vixen suddenly exploded forward and gripped Lùn's shoulders very tightly. "Whattaya mean you're not cut out for this?! You can't just leave!" She snarled baring her teeth as she shook the little fox's shoulder's vigorously, her nails digging into the fabric of her black turtleneck.

"Well, I..in my dream...it...was pretty...clear-" Lùn could barely speak as the older fox continued shaking her to and fro.

"Stop stammering and speak to me like a real carnivore!" Raira growled at the young girl.

"Well, stop shaking me!" Lùn snarled back in her high-pitched voice.

Raira relented and backed away calm. "Alright... speak." The older fox propped herself atop of the desk, her bushy grey tail repeatedly slapping the wood, betraying her attempts to stifle her anger.

"I'm just a useless bother, too weak to even beat her in my dreams." The little fox said with her head drooping depressed.

Raira wasn't surprised in the least. "Of course, this is about that, look girl no one in the clan looks down on you because you got beat up alright? We all have taken our lumps now and then. That rabbit you're sweating over just got lucky is all."

"No, she has this aura about her. Like she becomes some sort of beast. One I'm too weak to defeat."

"Well it just a fucking dream!" Raira shouted exasperated. "Dreams are just fantasies. Sometimes I dream about becoming the queen of some tropical island with handsome studs..and alusciousvixen."

Lùn didn't really catch that last part was a bit puzzled. "Huh?"

Raira immediately tried to swerve. "Y'know what? It doesn't matter! Dreams are just your mind playing off your aspirations or in your case worst fears."

"I know what dreams are Raira!" The pygmy fox snapped back at her. "It's not the only one either. I've been having them for months! I-I never beat her, not one time!" She looked away dejected, looking like she was about to cry. "The dream on the train was the closest one I had so far."

"Well you only fought her for real that one time you little moron, you're probably just doubting yourself because your anxious to get even. You don't know what's going to happen!" The silver fox fired back, before she composed herself. God, I wish I could have a drag right about now. This girl is stressing me the hell out.

"It's natural to be scared when you're unsure. When me and Pris had our first turf wars, we were scared. We knew about how some girls came back scarred or dead. We used to have fears about all that back then, but you know what? None of that shit came true though, we made it through with some bruises and scrapes, but we made it. They were just dreams and nightmares playing off our fear of the unknown. Don't stress yourself out over dreams."

"Well, I still feel like a weak link though." She said sinking back in her seat.

"Wea-" Raira just paused and gave her a questioning look. "If you were weak or useless, would you be here right now?"

"This is differ-" Lùn began to say, but Raira didn't like that answer.

The grey and black vixen snarled her question again. "Would you be here right now?" The vixen bared her teeth when she spoke, agitated.

Lùn a bit fearful already knew the answer. "...No."

"Would I give a shit about your problem?" Rai' didn't even give her a chance to say anything this time. "No. No, I wouldn't. I'd just let you stew over there like a little cry baby and ditch you at the first chance."

Raira was beginning to sound similar to Baraki the Raccoon shutting her down. The silver furred fox however cupped Lùn's jaw in her hand and made her look up into her eye. Her cerulean blue eyes staring down in her emerald ones. Lùn could tell the brash vixen was trying to help her, rather than discourage, even if she was being rough about it.

"You know why I give a shit? Because you're Inarigumi. You took that oath same as me, and now you're my sister, no matter what you look like. You're exactly what you need to be. A strong carnivore. If you were weak or useless, we would have cast you aside a long time ago. So, stop doubting yourself! You know what you really are? You are TNT."

"What?"

"Y'know small package, big explosion." The silver fox drove home her point by closing her fist and opening it wide to mimic an explosion.

"Yea, but Pris-"A tear managed to slide down little red fox's cheek. "But she hates me, though right?"

Raira massaged the white splotches of fur above her eyebrows and let out a deep sigh. "She doesn't hate you. She's just..." She waved her hands in front of her to emphasize her point. "Listen, she's just hard to please. Even still as long as you got me, Fa, and Loba. You're good kid. We got your back and well, we're all proud of you. Especially after all the tail you kicked in the arena."

Lùn began to smile, but paused as a thought puzzled her. "Hold up...Ferro doesn't like me either?"

"Oh, um forgot about her... though with that girl, who can tell really?" She said deliberately low with a aimless stare trying to mimic the Tibetan mix's inexpressive nature. "She probably likes you too. Hehehehe."

Lùn couldn't hold of smiling anymore and giggled at the silver fox's antics. Raira formed a smile of her own because she was at least getting somewhere with this cry baby.

"Seriously, I don't think Pris "hates" you, doesn't care for you...now, most likely. I mean you're fresh and it'll just take her some time to adjust to you. Regardless, let me put things in perspective. The Wox (Loba) had a harder time than you coming up, especially with rumors of her old man running with Okamigumi. Like it took years before she got any sense of trust out of ol' Snow Queen. You? You're just short and you lash out. And you know what, that's fine when you put it to good use. It's clearly part of your Kitsune spirit."

Kitsune spirit was just a mantra the Inarigumi preached, similar to the Shishigumi and their so called "King of Beasts" title, it really just touched on things most associated with their species. Much like other animals, foxes had an image they strive to portray, they were sharp-witted, creative, swift, and guileful creatures. Lùn despite her height disadvantage, made up for it by being creative. She knew she was short so in turn to work around that she utilized tethered kukris tied to a long cord to reach out and snare people.

"So, what if you don't hit as hard as a full-sized girl, you still are smart enough to turn what you call a weakness into a strength. Like how you took that Doberman bitch apart the other week." Raira snickered as she thought back on that scrap. "Hehehe like watching her clumsily get tangled up like that and then you tuckered her out trying to shake you off when you bit and clamped down on her neck was so fuckin' hilarious. Like you're small so you can get away with it. But full-sized vixens don't think of shit like that!"

Deep within her, Lùn actually started to feel a warm fuzzy feeling. It really meant a lot to her, hearing some encouragement.

"Shit if it would get you out of this funk, I wish Pris would just say to hell with profits and just let you beat the snot out of that little rabbit bitch already..."

*Bzzzt bzzzzt*

"Hang on." Raira said as she felt a vibration in her pocket. She motioned for Lùn to get ready as she pulled her phone and checked her messages. It was the contact.

G: Violet, We're practically empty.

Raira quickly texted back.

R: Green Light

G: Standing by

The silver fox placed the headset back on her ear. "Trace. We are go. We're coming down now." She said as she loaded her silenced Beretta and pulled back the slide. Both foxes were ready and slid full view canine gas masks over faces.

"Come on TNT, let's get this work and just try to knock off the 'woe is me' crap from now on. It's not fitting at all for a cunning fox." Raira said as she patted Lùn on the back of the head.