The Astral Express hummed gently in orbit above the Xianzhou Yaoqing, bathed in the golden glow of celestial engines and sword-forged starlight. Inside the parlor car, Stelle, the one and only Trailblazer, trash can connoisseur, and chaos enthusiast, paced back and forth with a manic grin plastered across her face.

"March, this is it," she declared, hands on her hips. "The mission of a lifetime. No more Warp Trotters. No more trash bins—well, temporarily. I've found a new calling."

March 7th looked up from her camera with a wary expression. "Please don't say what I think you're about to say."

"I'm gonna pet Feixiao," Stelle said triumphantly, jabbing a finger upward as if she were declaring war on the stars themselves. "I'm gonna touch those fox ears. I bet they're soft. Like… cloud marshmallows."

Dan Heng, reading quietly in the corner, slowly turned a page and muttered without looking up, "You do remember she's one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Xianzhou Alliance? The one with a kill count longer than Kafka's to-do list?"

Stelle waved dismissively. "Semantics. She can't be that scary if she has floofy ears."

Xianzhou Yaoqing

Stelle stealthily crept through the halls of the Golden Edge Citadel, the headquarters of Merlin's Claw. She was in full "sneaky" mode—her definition of sneaky being "loudly humming the Astral Express theme while crouching behind decorative vases."

Security was tight. Foxian sentinels in ceremonial armor patrolled the silver-and-gold corridors. Every time she peeked out, Stelle whispered, "Dang, more floofies," and ducked back behind cover.

Then she saw her.

Feixiao.

Tall.

Strong.

And...so floofy.

Especially those ears.

"She's so… majestic," Stelle whispered.

Her target was within reach.

"Commencing Operation Floof," Stelle muttered, donning a fake mustache she had stolen from Himeko's drawer for no reason whatsoever. She took a deep breath, stepped into the hall, and marched right up to Feixiao with all the confidence of someone about to either succeed gloriously or explode. "Hi there, General Fox Lady. I am an ambassador from the Trash Can Appreciation Society. I bring gifts and come in peace."

Feixiao turned, eyes narrowing as she looked down at Stelle.

"…I have never heard of this society."

Stelle held up a fruit basket filled with assorted oddities—half a Warp Trotter plush, three Star Rail train tickets (expired), and a mysterious glowing rubber duck.

"It's very exclusive," she said proudly. "But enough about trash cans. Can I pet your ears?"

Silence.

A deadly silence.

Even the foxian guards froze.

Feixiao's ears flicked once.

"You… wish to touch my ears?" she asked slowly, as though testing to see if she heard correctly or if this naïve girl had just declared the dumbest duel challenge in Alliance history.

"Yes," Stelle nodded, beaming. "For science. Also because they look really, really soft."

Feixiao stared. Her eyes flicked over Stelle—her posture, her ridiculous mustache, her utter lack of fear.

Then, something unexpected happened.

She smirked.

"You are either the bravest soul I have met…" Feixiao began, her voice laced with amusement, "or the most foolish."

"Why not both?" Stelle chirped.

"…Very well," Feixiao said at last, her eyes gleaming. "If you can best me in a duel of wits, I will allow you… one pat."

The room collectively gasped.

Stelle froze. "Wait. A duel of wits? Not fists?"

Feixiao raised an eyebrow. "Would you prefer combat?"

"No no no," Stelle said quickly. "Wits are great. Love wits. I have so many wits."

Two Minutes Later

They sat at a table.

In front of them: a Go board.

Feixiao took the first move, placing her stone with divine precision. "Your move, Trailblazer."

Stelle stared at the board. She knew two things:

She had no idea how Go worked.

She really, really wanted to touch those ears.

Sweating, she made a bold play—placing a stone randomly and smiling like she meant it.

Five moves in, Feixiao leaned in.

"You are… not skilled in this game."

"Correct," Stelle said proudly.

Feixiao blinked, taken aback. "Then why challenge me?"

"Because if I lose, I'll still ask nicely." And then, with big hopeful eyes, Stelle clasped her hands together. "Please? Just one headpat? I'll give you this mystery drink I found on a Luofu vendor cart. It glows."

Feixiao eyed the bottle. "…That's probably toxic."

"I drank half already and only grew an extra eyelash."

A pause.

Then, Feixiao laughed.

Actually laughed.

The guards flinched, unaccustomed to hearing it.

"Very well," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You are strange, Trailblazer. But… sincere."

She bent slightly, lowering herself just a bit.

"You may pat. Once."

With reverence, Stelle reached up, hand trembling like a devout pilgrim touching a divine relic, and gently—gently—patted Feixiao's left ear.

"…Totally worth the intergalactic war threat," she whispered.

Feixiao stood straight again in amusement. "You're lucky I'm in a generous mood. Do not make this a habit."

"Noted," Stelle said. "But just so you know—this is going in my diary and March's photo album."

From the corridor, March 7th waved her camera. "Got the shot! Also, you owe me five credits, Dan Heng!"

Dan Heng sighed from his commlink. "Knew she'd succeed…"

Back aboard the Astral Express, Stelle lay sprawled across the couch like a dramatic stage performer post-opera, staring at the ceiling with a dreamy sigh.

"She let me touch her ear," she whispered, fingers still tingling from memory. "So soft… like petting a royal dumpling blessed by Aeons…"

March 7th snapped a photo of Stelle's starry-eyed expression. "Okay, that's enough. You got your one pat. Feixiao didn't smite you, which honestly defied all universal logic."

"But… what if I touched the other ear?" Stelle said, sitting up suddenly, a dangerous spark of ambition lighting in her eyes.

Dan Heng looked up slowly from his book. "You're joking."

Stelle, completely serious: "Never been more serious in my life. I got the left one. Now I need to complete the set."

March groaned, flopping face-first onto the table. "You sound like you're collecting action figures. You're going to get vaporized."

Back on the Xianzhou Yaoqing again...

Feixiao was sipping tea in her private garden, tails calmly flowing like slow rivers of light. The wind carried the faint scent of plum blossoms, serenity echoing through the marble courtyard.

Then she heard the footsteps.

"Hello again!" Stelle said brightly, holding up… a pineapple?

Feixiao blinked slowly. "...You again."

"Yes," Stelle nodded solemnly, stepping forward. "I have returned… to humbly request access to The Other Ear."

Feixiao set her teacup down with the grace of someone who could break planets in half but chose not to. "I allowed one pat. That was already bending protocol and several laws of foxian dignity. You want another?"

Stelle held up a finger. "I'm prepared to negotiate."

Feixiao sighed. "Very well. What do you offer this time?"

And that was her mistake.

Stelle began listing.

"Okay okay okay—Option A: I perform an interpretive dance of your greatest battle. It involves a lot of spinning. Some dramatic shouting. One backflip. Maybe two."

Feixiao stared.

March 7th, watching from the comm screen, groaned. "No. Stelle, no."

"Option B!" Stelle continued. "I name a planet after you. I find one, I name it Feixiao-Prime. It'll be the fluffiest planet in the system. Maybe it glows."

Dan Heng sighed. "That's not how celestial naming rights work."

"Option C," Stelle said, voice dropping dramatically, "I trade you a collector's edition bobblehead of Herta. It jiggles. Very satisfying."

Feixiao blinked. "You want to exchange access to my other ear for a jiggling toy?"

Stelle looked her dead in the eyes. "Yes. And this one is ultra rare. Comes with a little smug face."

Feixiao massaged her temples. Her ears twitched in what could only be described as existential bafflement. Her guards, once again frozen, were starting to consider taking a break. Maybe for a decade.

"And if I say no?"

"Then I offer... Option D." Stelle reached into her coat and pulled out—somehow—a glowing cube of unknown origin. "I found this in a trash can on the Luofu. It hums when you poke it. Probably cursed. Maybe blessed."

March screamed through the comms, "STELLE, WHY WOULD YOU OFFER A POSSIBLE COSMIC ARTIFACT TO TOUCH AN EAR?!"

Stelle grinned. "Because it's a really nice ear."

Feixiao's composure broke for just a moment—her lips twitching into something dangerously close to laughter. "You are… consistently absurd."

"Is that a yes?" Stelle asked, eyes sparkling like a child about to pet a legendary beast again.