Chapter 20: Hiking with Your Nemesis

Fox moved his tool high and low against the wall. Its soft head spun on an axle. Gentle vibrations ran down the handle into Fox's palms as the roller painted over the wall's blemished surface. A light cream spread over the initial white.

Although many Cerinian tools were dated hundreds of years behind most civilisations, painting utensils were much the same here as Fox knew from back home. Sheets of scrap cloth laid across the cleared floor to catch any stray droplets. A pan of paint stood at Fox's feet, which he rubbed the roller into before returning it to the wall. Slowly, the living room was beginning to resemble his childhood home. Fox could already feel his heart warming with nostalgia.

"I've finished this side," Krystal called. Fox glanced over to the completed kitchen wall. He stopped his work to inspect hers closely. There were spaces above the bench where they'd need to paint over with a smaller brush, but she had done well overall.

"Great work," he said. "Help me finish this last one and will move on to upstairs."

Fox appreciated Krystal lending him a hand with decorating his new house. The place was so big, it would have taken him ages to do the work by himself. He also enjoyed simply having her around. They spent a lot less time together now that they were no longer living under the same roof. Fox missed them always being able to talk with each other.

There was more paint in Fox's tray than Krystal's, so she used his as opposed to moving her own. Unfortunately, poor timing brought Fox's leg in the way of her roller after she wet it. Its head bumped against his shin, leaving a large splotch of cream on his fur. "Hey!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Looking at the mess she'd made, Krystal began to grin. "That colour looks good on you," she giggled.

Fox smirked. "Really? Let's see how it looks on you then." Krystal shrieked as he jabbed his roller into her bare front. A thick line of paint soaked across her belly. She looked down in shock. "Ah, yes. Quite lovely, actually."

A glare twisted Krystal's face. "Why you…!"

She thrusted her roller at Fox, staining his shirt. He got her back in the leg. Krystal then aimed high, catching him on the arm. Fox slipped under and struck the brush of her tail. They laughed as they continued to mark each other. Krystal then crossed their handles together like they were sparring with spears. A challenge burned in her eyes.

"I'm still better than you in a fight," she growled playfully. "Don't test me."

Fox held up one hand in surrender, grinning. "Okay. Okay. Let's not spill paint everywhere." He glanced to find that a few splashes had landed on some exposed floorboards. 'Whoops…' Fox wiped it clean with a damp rag before the paint could stain too badly.

They were almost finished with the fourth wall when the door knocked. Fox left Krystal to keep working while he answered it. Outside, he was surprised to find Andross there alone.

"You're back," Fox remarked. Andross stared wordlessly at the mess on Fox's chest. "I've been renovating."

"I see," Andross replied dubiously.

"Did you find anything while you were gone?"

"A possible lead. But to investigate it, I require your help."

Fox's interest piqued. "Where?"

"A place called Cabbot Valley, south of here. There's a folktale that claims that the Sky God's tears fell there 100 years ago. I've interpreted it to mean that something fell from Cerinia's orbit and landed in that area."

"Like a meteor?"

"Possibly. But I have a hunch it could also be a cluster of pure sky dust."

Fox wanted to believe it was true. He couldn't help but frown though. "Is this information reliable?"

Andross grunted. "It's a folktale, so I can't take it as fact. However, people in the city nearby insist that their grandparents witnessed the event. Therefore, I can't dismiss the story either."

"If you were already in the region, why did you come back here for me?" Fox asked evenly. "Couldn't you and your assistant have searched by yourselves?"

"We planned to," Andross sighed. "Unfortunately, there's a flower called imiccila that grows abundantly in the valley. The plants are pollenating at this time of year."

"What? You mean you couldn't go because of hay fever?" Fox raised his brow incredulously.

"Thene is allergic, yes. She had a violent reaction when we passed a florist in Galthumarata. We returned to Kezamat as soon as she recovered. I'd rather not risk her health again with this task."

Fox thought he saw something in Andross's eye. He doubted it, but it almost looked like concern. "I didn't think you cared so much about her wellbeing."

"Her talents are invaluable to me," Andross glared firmly.

Footsteps from behind drew Fox's attention to Krystal. "I've finished the last wall." She glanced briefly to Andross. "What's going on here?"

"Andross thinks he's found more of the dust we need," Fox explained. "The problem is that it's in a place that Thene can't go."

"I see that your Cerinian has improved," Andross remarked. Fox shrugged dismissively. "Then we can continue our conversation this way."

Andross switched into Krystal's language, allowing her to understand. "Venturing through the Cabbot Valley by myself would be foolish. I need McCloud to accompany me in Thene's place."

"How long would this take?" Fox asked.

"Given the size of the valley, it could take us weeks to search every inch with just the two of us." Andross eyed Krystal for a moment. "Maybe less time if we had more volunteers."

Fox didn't need Krystal's telepathy to tell that Andross was suggesting that she join them. Whether she noticed or not, a look of hesitance morphed Krystal's expression. She turned remorsefully to Fox. "I'd go with you, but I can't be away from the shrine that long."

Fox smiled to put her at ease. "Don't worry about it." He turned back to Andross. "How soon until we leave?"

"We'll spend a few days preparing for the trip. I would like to set out by the end of the week."

Fox nodded. "I'll check that Thalse is okay with me leaving the guard for a while."

"If he has any issues with that, let me know," Andross said. He turned his body halfway from the door. "I have a favour I can call on to release you from duty."

As Andross walked away, Fox closed the door and met Krystal's troubled gaze. "I'm sorry that I can't help," she said. Her tail curled around her leg.

"It'll be fine," Fox shrugged his shoulders. "I've scoured through bigger places than a valley before. I'm sure that it won't take that long."

Krystal hugged her chest. She shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like the thought of you going off alone with Andross. After all the things he's done to you in the past, I…"

When she couldn't finish, Fox held her shoulder. He squeezed it gently. "Don't worry," he smiled. "I can handle Andross if he tries anything. Back then, he had an army under his command. Here, he's got nothing."

Krystal bit her lip. "Are you sure that you'll be okay?"

"Of course, I will," Fox chuckled. "All I'm going to do is hike through the wilderness with Lylat's most notorious warlord; searching for a rare and magical rock that might not even be there. What could possibly go wrong?"

Sadly, his attempt at humour only made her grimace in more worry. "I'm joking, Krystal. Seriously, I'll be okay. Andross and I will just check out this valley for a little while and come back if we don't find anything."

For a moment, Krystal looked him deep into his eyes. Fox lost himself in hers. Soon her shoulders relaxed, though the worry in her gaze remained. "Promise me that you'll come back safely."

Fox pulled her against his chest. He regretted it slightly as the wet paint squished between their fronts. "I promise," Fox said as he tightened the hug. "I'll be back before you know it."

Slowly, Fox felt Krystal's arms squeeze him back. "Okay…"

Her soft voice in Fox's ear relayed the concern that she still had for him. Fox stroked Krystal's back, keeping her close. He didn't like making her worry. That left him with no other choice but to keep his word.

Break

Throughout his time on Cerinia, Fox never ventured far from Kezamat. Even on his hunting trips, he only ever walked half a day into the forests. The five-day journey to Galthumarata was Fox's first time seeing another major Cerinian city. Just as its name suggested, the city was galthu marata, meaning that it sat right next to a vast desert. Fox stared across the dusty terrain surrounding the outskirts and thought of Papetoon. A fresh pang of homesickness struck Fox.

He and Andross visited the city's markets to top up on supplies. Some of the locals recognised Andross, either through previous encounter or reputation. Even strangers greeted him like an old friend. Two merchants who Andross approached offered him an exorbitant amount of goods for free, yammering on about gifts to the flat-faced messenger of the gods. The experience took Fox for a spin. These people were actually treating Andross with… reverence? That was new to him.

"You're popular around here," Fox commented as they walked away with a large gift of dried fruits.

"After meeting the temple's high priestess, people here seem to have gossiped that I came from the gods' domain," Andross explained. "Now they're treating me like some sort of saint."

Fox frowned. That was a sentence he could have gone his whole life without hearing. "If you wanted people to adore you again, you should have just come here instead of starting a war."

"I was regarded on Corneria for my accomplishments. The only thing I've done to impress these fools was fall out of the sky! Their praises mean nothing to me."

'What a picky, little egotist.' Fox chose not to voice the thought. He threw his hands behind his head. "Yeah… I guess I can understand that. People back in Kezamat have been calling me an angel for a while now. It was flattering at first… But after they've asked me to bless their babies, their sick grandmas, and then their harvests, it started getting uncomfortable."

"My condolences for your hardships," Andross muttered sarcastically.

"Kind of liked it better when I became a war hero," Fox mused. "At least then I did something that people loved me for."

Andross finally eyed him with a glare. "I'm glad that killing me brought you so much success in life."

"Thank you. I'm glad too," Fox said with a grin that annoyed Andross further. They didn't speak again that day except for when they needed to.

The next morning, Fox and Andross made their way to Cabbot Valley on foot. Green fields softened the landscape as it smoothed towards the first cliffs. The sight took Fox's breath away. Cabbot Valley was vast. He could barely see the other side. Forests and rivers stretched far across the base. Small, rocky hills broke up the terrain, giving the valley an appearance as its own world. It was beautiful. Fox cupped his hands to his muzzle.

"Coo-wee!" he cried.

"What the hell are you doing, boy?" Andross frowned.

Fox's grin fell in disappointment. "I thought there'd be an echo."

"You're an idiot." Andross turned his back to walk along the cliff. Fox stood and sighed for a moment before following.

"So, how do we get down there?"

"There should be a natural path somewhere along here." They walked for approximately 20 minutes until Andross perked up. "Ah! There it is."

The path was barely more than a couple of feet wide. Fox glanced at the drop below them. Being a pilot, he had a good head for heights. This was pushing Fox's appetite though. "How stable do you think it is?"

Andross checked that his pack was secure. "Only one way to find out."

Fox elected to go first. The leader in him felt responsible for checking that the path was safe. He walked close to the valley's wall. The stone felt firm underneath his sandals. Andross followed Fox's movements precisely. Monkey see, monkey do. Fox smirked at his own wit. Then discipline brought his focus back onto the task at hand.

Progress over the next hour depended entirely on the ridge. Fox walked confidently where it was wider. However, two thirds of the way down, the path became so narrow that they would have to cross side-on. Small rocks tumbled off the side as Fox brushed them with his foot. They bounced down the cliff several times until the impacts faded from Fox's hearing. He looked to Andross.

"Be careful. There's not a lot of room over here." Fox gripped the wall with both hands. He began to shimmy across the ledge.

"We may need to use a safer route back up once we've found the dust," Andross said.

Fox would have agreed if his mind weren't so focused on where he was going. His foot dragged across the stone. He kicked any loose debris off the side. Fox tried not to think about the drop beneath them. He focused on the process. Sweep ridge clear. Grab the next handhold. Take another step. That was all he needed to do.

However, Fox misjudged the integrity of one section of the ledge. It broke under his weight. His foot went through the crumbled stone. Alarmed, Fox tightened his grip on his handholds. The sudden downward force tore the rock under his right hand from the wall as well. A scream tore from his lips.

A hand snatched Fox's wrist, halting his fall. "Hang on!" Andross cried. Groaning, he pulled up, helping Fox back onto the ledge.

Once he had stable rock under both feet and in both hands, Fox stopped to get his panicked breath under control. For a second there, he thought he was going to die. He turned wide-eyed to Andross. "You saved me…"

"I need you alive," Andross stated simply. "Now keep moving before this whole cliff gives way."

He was right. They still weren't out of danger. Careful of the damaged part of the ledge, Fox and Andross pushed past. They breathed sighs of relief when the path widened again. Giving themselves a five-minute rest, they continued down to the bottom of the valley without further incident.

The first thing that Fox found waiting for them was a sea of violet. Flowers standing as tall as his waist swayed on slender stalks. Their petals wove together in the shape of wine glasses. Fox picked up a subtle, sweet scent. Sadly, he wasn't enough of a gardener to compare it to anything. These must be the imiccila flowers that kept Thene at bay.

Andross unfolded a map of the valley. He shunned Fox's attempt to read over his shoulder. All that Fox saw were several crosses marked over the paper. "If an object did crash here from orbit, we should start by checking places where the earth trenches."

"Like a crater?" Fox scratched his ear. "Does that map have that sort of information?"

"It's not a topographical map, but the cartographer I bought this from assured me that the shape of the land is accurate." Andross studied the chart for another moment.

"I suggest that we start from this location." He tapped at a cross near the south-eastern fringe of the valley. "After that, we'll circle through the other possible sites."

"And if we don't find anything there?"

Andross closed the map. "Then we check the forests and lakes. Any place where the environment might have buried the crash site over the years."

Fox frowned uncertainly. "I really hope this doesn't turn out to be a wild goose chase."

"We won't find the dust at all if we don't explore every possibility. Fortune favours the bold, they say." Andross removed his pack and opened it. He pulled out a pair of strange devices. Extending the handle of one, he handed it to Fox. It had a hand crank at one end and a light bulb on the other.

"What's this?"

"Our way of finding the dust. Turn the crank to light the globe. It will fail to turn on if we're standing over a deposit."

Fox grimaced. That meant they would both need to wind the machines frequently until they found the dust. "I'm going to have very sore arms by the end of this, aren't I?"

"As well as a very sore tongue if you keep waggling it," Andross grumbled. "Now shut up and get to work."

Break

Their first hunting spot became an unpleasant starting point. A shallow pit had filled with rainwater collected from uphill over the past few weeks. The resulting pool was ankle-deep and thick brown with mud. Fox could feel the silt between his toes while he and Andross waded across every inch of it. Every time Fox turned the hand crank, the little lightbulb on his dust detector shone over the water. It had been too much to hope that they'd find something on their first try.

They marched for half an hour to the next location with mud drying on their feet. It made Fox's fur stiff and itchy, already gnawing on his patience. Fortunately, Andross didn't make them search the second spot for long. The rocky ground was too hard and seamless. If a meteor had fallen a century ago, there ought to still be cracks in the earth.

Halfway towards their next site, they passed a grove near a small stream. Andross decided to stop and set up camp. Fox was exhausted from the climb down and the fruitless searching so far, so he didn't complain. Any excuse to wash and lift his feet was welcome.

Fox and Andross each carried their own tent. After cleaning up, they stood them at opposite sides in front of a flowering tree. Fox raised his tent so that the entrance faced the other, only so he could keep an eye on Andross through the night. A part of Fox argued that he was being paranoid. If Andross were up to something, he wouldn't have saved Fox from falling down the cliff.

The heart-stopping memory still didn't click in Fox's mind. It couldn't compute. He had killed Andross once already. At the time, Andross had tried to kill him as well. The man could have easily watched Fox die today. Yet he didn't. Even if the reason was only because he needed Fox for this task, that didn't erase the inconceivable fact. Fox now owed Andross his life.

'I don't know what worries me more,' he thought as he hammered the last peg into the soil. 'That I'm now in debt with Andross, or that Krystal's going to freak if she finds out I almost turned myself into floor pizza.'

An unfortunate shift in thought made Fox's stomach growl. It had been so long since he had last eaten a proper pizza. Now he was reminded of how hungry he currently was. Fox sat in front of his completed tent. He reached into his pack for a handful of rations. The dried fruits would do for the moment. Andross sat across from Fox, picking out a light snack as well.

Fox chewed slowly on a piece of kechen fruit. It tasted tart like an apple., though the softer texture always made his brain slip a gear. He longed for the familiar foods of Corneria. At least Cerinia had plenty of substitutes that were similar. With them, Fox used his new kitchen to recreate some of his favourite meals. He tried his hand at burgers, pizza, and even a good, old, pub-style parmigiana. Sadly, Fox had yet to find a suitable stand-in for cheese. That left his dishes sorely lacking from what he aimed for. It made Fox miss the real thing more. It made him miss home.

He looked across to Andross. Here they were eating together, camped alone in the wilderness, stranded millions of kilometres from the nearest space-faring world. They were forced to consume strange food, learn an alien language, and adapt to living without the technologies that they once took for granted. They were Lylat's star hero and her most hated villain. Yet neither of their pasts meant a thing to the people of Cerinia. It was quite depressing when Fox thought about it.

Andross caught him staring. "Something on your mind?"

"A few things," Fox admitted. "I keep thinking about how long we've been on this planet. It's almost been a whole year for me now."

"In Cornerian time, it would be more than that." A soft frown turned Andross's lips. "And from what you've told me, this year will be my eighth."

Fox hung his head. "Makes me wonder what's going on back in Lylat. Are they trying to find us? Do they think we're still alive? Do they even care?"

"None of that matters to me," Andross scoffed. "As far as the public knows, I died during the war. My soldiers won't have the means to rescue us, and the Cornerian Army wouldn't feel the need to do anything about my situation. The only people I can rely on are the ones living on this planet and myself."

The dried fruits clattered against each other as Fox rolled the bag in his grasp. "Say we do find the dust here… How long do you think it would take us to make it off-world?"

Andross sighed. "It's too difficult to say for certain. There are still too many hurdles to overcome. And more are bound to reveal themselves as we go."

"And that won't help us if we don't find a way through the dust layer. Just think… We could find an entire mountain of dust and we could still die old on Cerinia." Fox's voice fell quiet.

"Yes," Andross nodded sullenly. "That could be what happens."

They were both quiet for several minutes. "I've been thinking about my friends a lot lately. And my mom. I miss them. I miss home," Fox said. His mouth moved without his brain's direction. He looked up to face Andross. "What about you?"

Andross frowned deeply. He didn't answer. The fact that he opened his mouth moments later surprised Fox. "I haven't felt at home anywhere for many years. Not even Venom, my seat of power, was ever truly home for me."

He bowed his head until Fox could no longer see his eyes. "Only my family gave me that sense of belonging. By now though, everyone I'm related to is either dead or rejects my very existence."

Fox shifted uncomfortably. "If nothing else, you still have your nephew, Andrew."

"Bah!" Andross tossed his hand in a banishing motion. "That boy is nothing but an incompetent fool. I barely had him in my army for a month before he destroyed almost an entire hangar's-worth of Invaders. Couldn't tell the difference between his ship's bomb launcher and the air conditioner! He caused me so many headaches that I had to palm Andrew off to Star Wolf just to keep him out of the way! I'd have thrown him out long ago if it weren't for his mother's memory."

A smirk pulled Fox's lip. He would've loved to have seen that disaster at the time. "Yeah, I did notice that the genius didn't reach his side of the family." Andross snarled. "Bet you haven't heard that Wolf gave Andrew the boot a few years back."

"Why doesn't that fucking surprise me?!"

Fox threw back his head and laughed. He couldn't help it. Something about him and Andross sharing distaste for the same person came off as hilarious. It certainly lifted Fox's mood.

All other conversation ended there. Fox took the opportunity to survey the area while there was still daylight. He set up a few snares away from the campsite. Judging from the footprints that Fox found, there was decent game in the valley. They wouldn't need to worry about running out of food.

When darkness fell, Fox and Andross had to decide who would take first watch. The long nights and hard days would wreak havoc on them both. They needed to strike a balance between achieving their goal quickly and getting the sleep required to sustain them. Andross volunteered for the first watch. He would keep watch for three hours then wake Fox to take the next three. They'd alternate through the night so that neither became too likely to nod off on the job. Neither of them was entirely happy with the arrangement. Fox remembered one of his field exercises while at the Academy. That had only lasted three days, and he still hated thinking about it. This expedition was going to be rough.

For his own protection, Andross loaded a crossbow while he sat by the fire. Fox would have liked to leave his bow strung next to his bedroll. However, his spear and knife would both suffice if trouble woke him. He also had his blaster holstered on his hip just in case. So, Fox relieved the strain from the bowstring.

As he settled into his tent, Fox cast a final look towards Andross. The ape had his back turned. His eyes trained onto the dark surrounding them. Fox thought back to their earlier conversation. What Andross had said about never feeling at home struck a chord in Fox. After his father died and he fell out with his mother, Fox spent a long time disconnected from the universe. Neither Papetoon nor Corneria called to Fox like they used to. It was only when he reformed Star Fox with Peppy and his friends that the word 'home' finally meant something to Fox again. They gave him his sense of belonging.

He had discovered his second home after losing the first, though Fox became lost again when he crashed on Cerinia. It had taken him nine months to feel close to a semblance of what Star Fox gave him. Yet, Andross never found another place like that. He was still as lost as the day Corneria wrongfully banished him to Venom.

As Fox rolled over and pulled the blankets over him, a part of his heart panged for the sad, lonely man sitting outside.

Break

The hour was late, yet Krystal could not sleep. She tossed and turned before giving up on the effort and threw the blankets off her. The room was dark, and not another sound could be heard throughout the house. Her parents were both asleep. The spare room lacked another soul for Krystal to talk to. She was on her own to deal with this struggle.

A short walk might tire her, she thought. Fetching her staff, Krystal willed its jewel to glow. Its light guided her through the house and out the front door. A cool breeze kissed Krystal's face.

She followed the lamps along the lonely streets. Almost everyone in the city would be in bed now. Krystal only felt muffled dreams from the minds around her. Still, hers could not find rest. Krystal lifted her gaze to the black sky. She wondered once again what Cerinia's moons would look like if Arethan's clouds parted. Fox's memories of staring up at the stars were beautiful and varied.

Her feet led Krystal through a lap around her clan's neighbourhood. Before she became aware of it, Krystal turned her eyes to one side and stopped. She stood outside of Fox's house. Not a trace of conscious life emanated from it.

Compulsion drew Krystal through the front yard. She knelt to lift a rock beside the front door. A key sat in the hiding place that Fox had told her about. She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

The house felt cold and empty. Only the glow from Krystal's staff banished the darkness. She quickly found the light crystal that Fox kept for the room. It shone dimly in her palm. Krystal made a note to charge it and all of Fox's other stones with mana before he returned.

Thinking of Fox picked at something tender in her chest. She wandered around the living room. The ache deepened, becoming more pronounced. It tied back to the reason that Krystal could not sleep. She worried about Fox.

Was he alright? Did he make it to the valley okay? Was he safe there? Was he getting along with Andross? Were they fighting? Were they injured? What would they do if they were? What would Andross do if something bad happened to Fox?

He had told her not to worry. Yet she could not sit still in peace. Her earliest memories of Fox, unconscious and bleeding with broken bones, haunted Krystal. They fuelled the fretful thoughts that plagued her. She could not hear his mind from so far away. That left Krystal with no way to know his condition.

Fox was out there in the wilds with only Andross to watch over him. The idea of it made Krystal's tail curl. Without telepathy to keep Andross in check, he'd be free to act on any manner of schemes. Krystal's imagination ran rampant. It warred against the rationale that Andross would lose everything if he ever harmed Fox. Kezamat would brand him as the criminal that he was. Then Krystal would hunt the ape down until the day that Yul claimed both of their souls.

Gods… If only she had gone with them…

"Halt, trespasser!"

Krystal screamed. Shock drove her instincts. Spinning on one heel, she swung her staff at the source of the voice. Its head collided with the shaft of a spear. The owner cursed in alarm. "Gods above, Krystal!"

The light wafted over the man's face. Krystal's fright morphed into anger as she lowered her weapon. "What in Ilis's name are you doing here, Sabre!"

Her cousin kept his spear raised as though she might strike him again. "I could ask you the same thing!" Sabre snapped.

"I asked first!"

"Well, I was on patrol when I saw someone walk into my friend's house in the middle of the night while he's not around!" Sabre slammed the butt of his spear onto the floorboards, making the airs of being a guardsman. "Now this is the part of my official investigation where you tell me why you're here."

"For your information," Krystal bared her fangs. "Fox asked me to look after this place while he's away. So, I'm not 'trespassing,' as you called it."

To his credit, Sabre dropped the stringent soldier act. "That still doesn't tell me why you're out this late, Krystal," he said softly. "It's almost midnight. Shouldn't you be home in bed?"

Krystal sighed. "Couldn't sleep. So, I went for a walk."

"And so, you ended up breaking into Fox's house on the way." He threw up his hands the second she glared at him. "Okay! Okay! Not 'breaking in.' 'Sneaking in' is more like it."

She was too tired to argue about what to call this situation. "I've just been thinking…" Krystal murmured.

"About Fox." Sabre spoke with such certainty that it surprised her. "I saw it in your thoughts. You're worried about him.

Annoyed, Krystal shook her head. She couldn't believe that she hadn't felt him intrude it. As foolish and immature as Sabre could be, he was a gifted telepath just like his father. Most foxes needed to practice years to master the fine skills that came naturally to him. It was a shame that Sabre never cared to study the teachings of the Lythan Jad. Randorn eventually gave up trying to persuade him. He sombrely accepted that his son was happier serving their people as a city guard.

"Maybe," Krystal said, crossing her arms without wanting to give Sabre a definitive answer.

He smirked. "It felt like a little more than just 'maybe.'" Sabre flourished his hand to his brow theatrically. "Oh, is Fox okay? Oh, is Fox safe? Oh, I do hope that mean, old Doctor Andross doesn't hurt him."

Thank the gods the dim lighting hid Krystal's angry blush. "Shut up!"

Sabre snickered. "Admit it. You can't stop thinking about Fox. It's certainly enough to keep you up at night and lead you to his house." His finger tapped against his chin. "Why, it almost makes me believe that you…"

He quickly brought his spear up. Krystal's staff didn't give him the chance to finish as she pulled back to swing at his head again. "I said shut up!"

She struck again and again. Sabre's grin quickly faded. He realised that he might have accidentally pushed Krystal a little too far this time. Their shafts clacked loudly together. Each strike shook through Sabre's arms. He blocked her hits, but the lighting was poor, and Krystal's thoughts burned with senseless aggression. She rarely ever lost her temper. Though when Krystal did, boy did she lose it. If he didn't do something the stop this now, Sabre feared he'd walk away with bruises dark enough to show through his fur.

Aiming to get in close and hinder Krystal's movements, Sabre parried the staff to one side. It slid towards the kitchen counter, where it struck a small houseplant. The pot fell to its side and rolled. As soon as it crashed onto the floor, the feuding foxes both froze in alarm. They glanced down at the scattered mess of soil and clay fragments.

Sabre gasped. "Krystal…! What did you do…?"

She snarled at him. "Oh, don't you start! You're the one who knocked my staff into it!"

"Only because you were attacking me! I was defending myself!"

Krystal's blood boiled once more. She threw herself into a heated row with Sabre. They argued back and forth, casting blame. Neither of them cared about how loud their shouts were. Before they knew it, a third voice cut between them. "What is going on here?!"

Their wide eyes turned to an old tod standing in the open doorway. He was dressed in his nightwear, gripping a broomstick in one hand. Sabre quickly stepped forward. An easy grin formed on his face as he lifted his palms innocently.

"Oh hey, Uncle Tyret! Lovely night, isn't it?"

The man huffed. "From all that ruckus, I thought some vandal had broken in next door. Of course, I should have known it'd be you two roughhousing again. Do either of you have any idea how late it is?"

And like that, both Krystal and Sabre shrunk as though they were kits. "Sorry, Uncle…" they mumbled with flattened ears.

Tyret huffed. "I'll be talking to your parents in the morning about this. You should both be ashamed of such behaviour. For Meen's sake, this house doesn't even belong to either of you!" He pointed the end of his broom to the broken pot. "Now clean that up and get out!"

"Yes, sir," Sabre answered meekly. Behind him, Krystal crouched to scoop the little plant off the floor. She could feel its distress. It had suffered a hard fall and now its roots were exposed. Krystal repurposed one of Fox's mugs for a new pot. By the time she moved the plant securely into its new home, Tyret had left, and Sabre retrieved a dustpan from the closet. He swept up the leftover dirt, leaving the shards.

"Fox will be okay," Sabre said suddenly. Krystal looked to him. Gone was the trickster gleam in his eyes. They were serious. "He's not like us. He can't do a lot of the things that we can. But he's tough enough that it doesn't matter. I know that whatever happens where he's gone, Fox can handle it easily."

"Are you a soothsayer now?" Krystal scoffed. She was still a bit mad at him.

"No. I just know the guy. I trust that he can look after himself." Brushing the pot pieces together, Sabre held his hands over them. He closed his eyes. Mana surged from his core through his palms. Krystal watched the clay shards tremble and rise. They rearranged themselves into their former shape. The clay then melted back together, restored into a seamless whole. Krystal's eyes widened. That was advanced earth magic!

"I thought you didn't want to study magic?" she accused.

"No, I said that I didn't want to be a lythan. I still read my dad's books from time to time." Either way, the pot was fixed. Sabre helped Krystal move the plant back into it. "There! That's better. Now let's scram and hope that Old Man Tyret turns senile by morning."

Krystal agreed. The last thing that she wanted was to face her parents' anger and disappointment. She didn't expect anything too harsh from them, but the fact that she was an adult would only make the pending lecture feel worse. However…

"Sabre, wait!" He stopped and turned to her. Krystal wrapped her arms across her chest, looking downwards. "Thank you… And… sorry for lashing out at you."

He smiled. "Mookun. If nothing else, you made tonight's patrol more interesting than usual." Sabre walked off towards the door. "And don't worry about Fox so much. Your precious foreigner will be back before you know it."

Krystal opened her mouth to protest but stopped. She smiled instead. Sabre was an insufferable pain in the ass at times, yet he tried to help in his own strange way. Hanging around a little longer to check that everything was in order, Krystal returned home and crawled into her bed. She fell fast asleep within minutes.

Author's note:

It's all fun and games until someone throttles an annoying, little, shit-stirrer.