Cassis couldn't believe it. He was following a monster—willingly—into unknown territory. Every survival instinct screamed that this was foolish. Every lesson carved into him through blood, sweat, and death in his first life shouted that this was a trap. And yet… here he was.

He couldn't believe no one else seemed concerned. The others, even Arianna who'd seen the cruelty those creatures were capable of, moved forward with curious eyes and relaxed shoulders, as if this fox wasn't still a monster. As if it hadn't shown intelligence, tactics, and a surprising amount of self-control. It had watched them skin the bear with unnerving attentiveness. It had defended them. It hadn't tried to run. Had even brought them to its cub. All good signs, sure, but monsters could lie. He'd learned that painfully well the first time.

What bothered him most was that he remembered that baby fox from the other timeline. Now that he was able to examine it closer, he was sure it had grown to be the toughest opponent he had faced during his time in this forest. It had been fast, clever, and infuriatingly evasive. But now… that same cub had looked up at Felicia with sleepy, trusting eyes as its mother licked its fur clean. It had whimpered when separated and wagged its enormous tail when reunited. It looked like a big ball of fluff now—not the terrifying assassin-type beast he remembered. This was something he had never experienced before with monsters. Cassis clenched his jaw. He didn't like unknowns.

Still, the real reason he hadn't refused to follow the fox was much smaller. She had long curly hair and watery, hopeful eyes. Felicia hadn't made a sound—just trembled and looked at him with her big round eyes, trusting him with her tiny hope. The words had gotten stuck in his throat. He'd seen so much fear and grief on her face before… he couldn't put more there. Not if he could help it. He couldn't dowse the light he'd seen in her eyes. This had been the first time she'd taken the initiative to do anything. Every other time Matteo had towed her behind him, bringing her along. Cassis hoped this would help her deal with her own trauma. And if he had to follow a fox monster into a trap for that to happen, then that was what he would do.

He glanced ahead at the fox, her two bushy tails high as she trotted confidently along a mossy path. Her cub followed close to her side. Cassis scanned the trees, the undergrowth, the rocks, anywhere an ambush might come from. If this was a trap, he would be ready. He had to be ready.

I'll protect them all this time. No matter what it takes. The thought made him circle back to Arianna. She'd barely looked at him since the fight. She was walking ahead of him now, talking to Camden in low, measured tones. Her back was straight, her steps purposeful, but he knew her well enough to see the tension. The short, clipped movements. The set of her jaw. She was still angry. And he didn't understand why. It wasn't like he'd planned to die. Taking that earth spike—well, it had been calculated. He'd judged the angle, the force, and his healing options. It wasn't like he'd stood there inviting death. He just hadn't flinched away from pain if it meant ending the fight faster.

Why didn't she understand that? She was the best healer he'd ever met. She would have been able to save him. So where was the problem? He looked down at his hands. They were calloused from his training, steady. The same hands that had killed too many monsters and people to count. Hands that had saved as well, but not always. He'd failed too many times in his last life. This time, he would make different choices.

But not if she hates me for them. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. They'd have to talk tonight. Properly. No more dodging. No more brush-offs. She was more than his patron now. She was his partner. And this life… this second chance… it wasn't worth living without her at his side. But right now, they were still following a fox monster through the woods. And that was a problem all on its own.

Cassis remained tense the entire hour-long walk through the forest, his senses on high alert, every rustling leaf a possible threat. But nothing happened. No ambush. No monsters. Just the sound of the forest and the steady pace of the group trailing the fox mother and her cub.

Eventually, the fox stopped near a clearing. Sunlight filtered gently through the trees above, dappled across the grass in gold and shadow. A small stream glimmered just beyond, winding lazily through the undergrowth. She turned her head toward them and, with a very dog-like motion, gestured with her snout at the space ahead.

Cassis narrowed his eyes. On closer inspection, he spotted the dark opening of a den tucked beneath the thick roots of a tree at the edge of the clearing. So that was it, their home. The place the fox had brought them to. It was… perfect. Too perfect. The clearing was flat, dry, and sheltered. The nearby stream provided water. It would be an ideal place to rest and camp for the night. Which only made Cassis more uneasy.

Why would the mother fox bring them here? Why reveal her home, her den, her cub's safe place? What did she want? His eyes snapped to her as he realized she was watching him again. Their gazes locked. She held his stare for a few heartbeats, then… snorted. She actually snorted at him. Like he was the fool in this situation.

Before he could process the insult, he heard muffled laughter behind him. He turned and found Arianna doing a terrible job of hiding her amusement. She had both hands over her mouth, but snorts kept escaping, making her shoulders shake. Her blue eyes sparkled, sapphire bright, just like her necklace. She looked beautiful. Infuriating, but beautiful. Though he would have appreciated the sight more if he weren't pretty sure she was laughing at him, not with him.

He looked back at the fox. She and her cub had settled just in front of the den, near Felicia, Matteo, and his parents. The kids sat cross-legged in the grass, clearly fascinated. Of course, they couldn't touch the monsters—not with the system's protections still in place—but the foxes sniffed at them, sometimes yipped and seemed to communicate with Felicia. It was strange. All the other monsters they had encountered had ignored children completely. But these two foxes? They were clearly aware of the kids' presence, watching them, even responding to Felicia's soft gestures and looks.

Cassis still didn't trust it. He watched his family begin to unpack and set up camp as if nothing were wrong. Tents appeared, laughter returned, and the sun dipped low in the sky. Arianna had declared it late enough to settle in for the evening, and everyone seemed eager to rest. Everyone except him. He stayed silent, not voicing the tension that continued to twist in his chest. He wouldn't relax. Someone had to stay alert.

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The tents appeared from their inventories and went up quickly, each a two-person setup. He and Arianna shared one, of course. His parents took another. Liam and Camden would take one. Helen claimed the last with the kids.

While working with her to make the campfire, he heard Helen grumbling about the "stealth bushes" again, mumbling under her breath about how badly she wanted to study them. On impulse—half annoyed, half joking—Cassis muttered, "Why don't you ask the fox for help?"

Helen grinned at him like he'd handed her a treasure map. "Genius," she said brightly, and strode off toward the fox before he could stop her. He groaned. That hadn't been serious. Why was she so comfortable with a monster? He would've expected her, of all people, to share his caution. But no, apparently, he was the weird one now, for still thinking a monster dangerous.

With the tents and campfire ready, they turned their attention to dinner. Arianna pulled out the chunks of bear meat they'd salvaged, and Cassis' father, ever the grill enthusiast, lit up at the challenge. Despite missing an arm, he was still a pro with heat and fire. He gave his carving knife to Cassis. He couldn't use it properly anymore, and he had taught Cassis how to handle it when he was young. Carving had been their shared hobby. Cassis had continued practicing in the other timeline, had even gotten a profession called carver because of it.

He and Liam took on the prep work while his father and Arianna worked on the fire. Liam went off to collect some straight, sturdy sticks. Cassis sat cross-legged near the flames and began carefully shaving down the bark, revealing smooth wood underneath. He shaped the ends into points for the meat and handed them off as he finished. Soon, they had a makeshift grill going, bear meat skewered on sticks, sizzling slowly over the flame, sending mouthwatering scents into the air.

The foxes didn't leave. They sat nearby, just at the edge of the firelight, watching. The mother's amber-coloured eyes reflected the flames, while the cub had curled up beside her, yawning, clearly tired but relaxed. Cassis didn't relax.

Felicia took her meat and went to the fox. When his mother stopped her, he thought that she finally understood the dangers, but no. His mother gave Felicia a still raw piece of meat, telling her that the fox would probably prefer that. Felicia nodded, then held the meat out to the fox, hand-feeding it. The mother fox brought her teeth very close to Felicia's hands, but didn't hurt her, couldn't hurt her. Still, Cassis' hand twitched towards his sword, anyway.

Arianna noticed and sighed. Then she put her hand over his lightly. That hold wouldn't keep him from drawing his sword, but he understood her gesture. She was trying to soothe him. Wasn't she still angry with him? Reluctantly, he turned his gaze away from the fox and towards Arianna. She wasn't smiling, but she also wasn't frowning at him. It was more like she was studying him. What was going on in her head? Then her hand squeezed his and she got back to eating her meat skewer.

Then, a sudden sound from his parents, soft gasps of surprise, pulled his attention. They were staring ahead, eyes unfocused, reading a system message. Cassis turned back toward Felicia and froze. She was petting the fox. How?

The fox, who had been friendly but still somewhat cautious and wary, now seemed completely at ease, almost serene. A strange light burned in her eyes—not wild or feral, but something else. Sentience. Awareness. She was… more.

"Wow," his mother murmured. "I didn't know that was possible."

Cassis blinked and turned toward her. "What's going on?"

His mother didn't look at him, still staring at what had to be a system message. But she answered him. "The system just told me that my dependent has gained two companions: an E-rank fox and an F-rank fox cub."

Companions? That was new. He hadn't heard of that classification before. He frowned. "What does that mean?"

But before his mother could answer, Felicia did. Her voice was quiet, unused. He'd only heard it once before, when she screamed during the bear fight. It seemed like she had finally found her voice again.

"They want to stay with us," she said. Then she took out her notebook and pen and wrote the rest of the explanation down. It seemed she was still more comfortable writing than speaking. "The mother fox says she wants to protect me. Even though I already have two strong protectors, she says it's better for cubs to have more. But she also wants us to protect her cub. She says she wants to become a family group with us."

Cassis was stunned. A family group… with a monster? Just what was going on?

Arianna pulled him out of his spiral. "So, she became your companion? What does that mean for you… and her?"

Felicia stared at the empty space in front of her, reading, then scribbled out: "It says a companion is a sentient being that, out of its own free will, chooses to stay with an awakener. The awakener and the companion can communicate telepathically over some distance, always know where the other is, and promise to protect and care for each other. It says the companion bond has benefits for both sides and can be ended at any time, but the other party will be notified."

Cassis looked directly at the mother fox. She was watching him again. She knew. Knew he was the one still unsure, the one who hadn't accepted her. The one who would kill her without hesitation or remorse if she proved to be a danger to his family. But the system didn't lie. The fox promised to protect Felicia. This wasn't like the beast tamers he knew about from the other timeline. Those awakeners subdued monsters and bent them to their will, leashing them with magic and control.

This was… mutual. Voluntary. That made it better—and more dangerous. This fox had autonomy. She could still pose a threat. Not to Felicia, probably not to their group, but to others. To strangers. Cassis exhaled sharply. Another problem. Another question mark.

Arianna, though, was clearly intrigued. "Can you talk to her in your head?" she asked. Felicia nodded. "Before, it was only pictures and feelings. Now, I can hear her voice."

Liam perked up. "Does she have a name?"

Felicia paused, looking at the fox. Then she shook her head and held up a written question. "She's asking what a name is." Of course she didn't know. She'd been a wild animal. And now, a monster. Arianna was about to explain, but his father spoke first. He addressed the fox directly. "A name is a word we use to call someone in our group. We're all humans, but when we want to talk to one specific person, we use their name. I'm Marcus." He pointed around the campfire. "This is my wife, Danielle. That's our friend Helen who is like family. That's our son Liam, and his partner, Camden. The tense one is our other son, Cassis, and his partner, Arianna. Your bonded is called Felicia, and the boy next to her is her brother, Matteo."

The whole thing felt surreal—introducing themselves to a monster.

Camden chuckled lightly. "So… does she have a name?"

Felicia watched the fox again for a moment, then shook her head. "She doesn't have one. But she wants a name, too. She says she'll give herself one when she's ready."

His father nodded like it made perfect sense. None of it made sense to Cassis. Everything was spinning, just a little. Too much, too fast. His mind was still catching up. Maybe he just needed to sleep. Maybe tomorrow the world would make sense again. That's when he felt Arianna's hand squeeze his again. He looked at her, confused. Without saying anything, she gave him a piece of wood, took away her hand and put the carving knife he'd set down next to him into his hand. Then she smiled at him.

Right, he needed to think. And he did his best thinking while carving. She'd often told him that he seemed refreshed after carving. So he'd do that. Arianna would keep watch while he worked through everything that had happened, while he tried to make sense of this world, that he had lived in before, but not known enough about. This time everything was different. Had his despair blinded him in the other timeline or had something changed?

He took the carving knife to the piece of wood and lost himself in his work.

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