"Where are you taking us, Vira?" Kai asked, walking after the tiny red ball of light down the busy street.
"Eh… I am not allowed to be this far away from home," Bella said, following close behind him.
"She is right. Mr. Isaacson said not to take her out of the coastal district, and even though the market district is pretty close, we should head back. If he finds out I—"
"He won't find out," the fairy promised. "Not unless you tell him. And we are nearly there, so stop worrying."
"Where is there?" the Oathless asked. "Where are you taking us?"
"Ah-ah," the fairy wagged her finger, "all in good time, my dear godchild. You'll see soon enough, and then you will marvel at my—"
"There! Over there!" Bella burst into a run, pointing up at the rooftops, bumping into people and shoving past them.
Kai looked, but couldn't see anything. "What are you—" she was already disappearing among the masses. "Damn dog, if anything happens to her, Vira—" he started as he sprinted after her. "I blame you."
"You can't blame me, nobody knows I exist. Now hurry and catch up to her before she ruins everything."
"What do you mean, 'ruins everything?'"
"I should have known this would happen, based on last time—but you wouldn't leave the house without her."
"Ah, so now it's my fault somehow?"
"Just hurry up!"
He ran after the dog-girl, passing by clothing stores, fashion shops, and nightclubs, then turned into the alleyway… an oddly familiar alleyway, with a chain-link fence at the end and pipes climbing the sides of buildings.
"You won't get away this time," the dog-girl spread herself wide at the alleyway entrance and pointed at a furry little creature sitting on a windowsill.
The fox dangled its fluffy tail nonchalantly, taunting the dog-girl with a yawn.
Bella growled, her legs bending, preparing to pounce.
"Bella, stop!" Vira darted in front of her.
"Step aside, Vira. This fox is up to no good. I know it!"
"A fox?" Kai leaned on his knees, catching his breath. "They usually stay in the park. I've never seen one this deep into the city… except… right, of course." It dawned on him as he spotted the familiar tail.
"The only thing she is up to is helping us. Now, please calm down."
"How is a fox supposed to help us?" the Oathless asked.
"Well, with Vermallelia helping you take care of the house, and Bella getting you in shape, the only thing that was left was someone to teach you how to improve your style," she explained. "That's where Felicia comes in. Your hair is a mess, your skin could use some lotion, and half of your clothes have holes in them. You are in desperate need of a makeover."
Kai ran his hand through his rugged hair. It was getting rather long, he hadn't cut it in years.
"I disagree," Bella crossed her arms. "I think he looks fine just the way he is."
He blushed. "You… you do?"
"Oh, don't listen to her. She is a dog, she likes everybody."
"No, I don't! There are people I dislike."
"Like who?"
"Well…" she cupped her chin, thinking, struggling to come up with examples. "The mailman has always struck me as a bit suspicious, and-and—" She turned around. "That guy, over there, with the hat," she pointed at a man across the street. "He is definitely up to something, in fact—hey, you! Stop right there!"
The Oathless grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the alley. "Don't bark at random people."
"I'm not, he was suspicious, and so is she." She turned her attention back to the fox. "You don't need her help, Mr. Holloway. Believe me, she can't be trusted—I have a sense about these things."
"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this," Vira said. "But based on the examples you just gave, your senses don't come across as particularly reliable."
"What? How can you say that?" Her ears drooped.
"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to agree with Vira this time."
"Mr. Holloway…"
"Ah, look, it won't hurt to at least listen to her advice if she can help me improve… I have to give it a shot."
The dog-girl lowered her head, accepting defeat, and stood aside.
The fox smirked triumphantly, then leapt from the window, changing her form in a flash of light midway, landing on the ground in human-form, crouched like a beast.
She stood up with feral grace, sliding a mane of thick red hair back between her fluffy, pointed ears and revealing an angular, narrow face with fierce, piercing golden eyes. A robe was tied with a red sash around her narrow waist, its top end loose and revealing, exposing her cleavage, and its bottom was a skirt with two slits, allowing her fine-toned legs and her tail to move freely.
"Felicia, this is Kai, my godchild."
"I see," the fox-girl narrowed her eyes. "I am truly sorry, Ms. Vira, but it seems I cannot help your godson after all."
"What? Why?" Vira crossed her arms. "We had a deal."
"Had I known poor Mr. Holloway was such a lost cause… I wouldn't have made that deal," she said, her voice smooth.
Kai frowned.
"It isn't personal, child; some people were just not made for glamour—we can't all be beautiful, now can we? If we could, beauty and grace would lose their value."
Kai bit his lip, the truth in her words striking him straight to his core.
"Come on, Bella, let's go home."
"No, Kai," Vira zipped in front of him. "You can't give up. And don't listen to her, either. She is wrong—if you give me a chance, I'm sure I could—"
"I know she is wrong," he said.
The fox-girl's ear twitched.
"You… you do?" the fairy asked.
"Had I heard her say those things a few days ago, I might have accepted defeat and given up, but…" He scowled. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to see this through, no matter how difficult it might be. I'd rather die than give up now."
Vira's eyes went wide and starry. That conviction, that confidence, that courage—it was the foundation of every hero—the origin of Chivalry. Orchestrating his meeting with Lance was definitely the right move, she congratulated herself.
"So…" he continued. "If you think I need to improve my style, that's what I'll do. And if she can't help me, then I guess I'll just have to find someone who can."
"My, my, I think you misunderstood," Felicia smirked. "Or maybe I had put things too delicately for you to fully comprehend the nature of your situation." She leered at him with her piercing golden eyes. "You are flawed. Broken beyond repair. A turd, and like all turds, you cannot be polished. I'm sure you have plenty of other admirable qualities, so save yourself the trouble and just focus on those instead."
"Maybe you are right…" He nodded. "Or maybe you are just not up to the task."
Felicia scoffed. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," he scoffed back at her. "Maybe you are not as good as you think you are. I mean, you are just a fox; what do you know?"
"What do I know?!" she snarled, her hands arching back, extending her claws. "I grew up on these streets. Do you even know where we are? This is the fashion hub of the city!"
"Okay, then maybe you do know a few things, but what's the point of all that if you turn tail and run at the first opportunity to prove it?"
"I don't need to prove anything to you!"
"I suppose not…" He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Not as long as you are willing to concede one thing: you are all bark and no bite."
She growled, baring her fangs, then lunged at him.
Kai startled back instinctively, bringing his hands up to cover his face, bracing himself for impact, when a gust of wind brushed past him.
She was a blur of blonde hair, pinning the fox-girl to the wall and pressing an arm to her throat.
Felicia hissed, swinging a claw, but Bella caught her wrist and twisted, drawing a choked squeal from the pinned fox-girl.
"Want to fight, vermin-eater?" the dog-girl growled.
"Bella!" Vira yelled.
"You solitary predators are pathetic, always picking on those weaker than you."
Felicia whimpered, trying to wiggle out of the dog-girl's chokehold, but to no avail.
"Kai, do something! Make her stop! She is going to kill her!"
"Even the exterminators won't show up for you—you are not worth the trouble."
"Ah… Bella, it's fine… I think you can let her go now."
She glanced over her shoulder at the Oathless. "I will let you go," she whispered in the fox-girl's ear. "But if you try to hurt me or my pack ever again, I will hunt you down, little fox, and I will end you." She backed away then, letting the fox fall to the ground, coughing and gasping for breath.
"Are you alright, Mr. Holloway?" Bella turned to him. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"
"No, no, I'm fine. You got her in time."
"Did you have to be this rough with her?" Vira asked.
"She tried to attack Mr. Holloway," she answered harshly. "As far as I am concerned… I went easy on her."
Kai smiled. "Thank you, Bella." He patted her head. "Good girl."
Her face lit up, and her tail started wagging.
"You two should head back. I'll speak to Felicia," Vira said.
"Why?" the dog-girl asked. "She doesn't want to help us, and we don't need her help anyway, especially not after—"
"That's for me to decide," the fairy godmother cut her off. "Now go."
The two shuffled off, making their way back home, leaving the fairy alone with the fox-girl. Vira hovered over her.
"Felicia—"
"Leave me be…" she said, wiping away her tears.
"What's going on with you? We had an agreement; you even seemed excited about it, and then—"
"I—" her voice cracked. "I can't help him. You should just find a human instead."
"Is that what all this was about?" She shook her head. "You are just like him, you know? A whole lot of pride but no confidence."
The fox-girl pursed her lips. "I've never done this before. I'm just a fox, I really don't…" She curled up with her tail, hugging her knees. "I'm all bark and no bite."
"You don't know that—not until you try."
"Spare me the platitudes. Dreams don't come true just because you try really hard."
"They definitely don't come true if you don't try at all."
Felicia buried her head in her thighs.
"I'm giving you a chance to make your dream come true. I can't guarantee it will work, but the way I see it, you owe it to yourself to try, because you'll never get another chance; and whether you succeed or fail, once I leave this world… you'll return to being a fox forever."
Felicia curled deeper into herself, and the two remained quiet for a long time. Then the fairy sighed and turned to leave.
"Wait," the fox-girl said, and the fairy godmother stopped. "I… I'll do as we agreed."
Vira smiled. "I promise you, no matter how it turns out—you won't regret it."