Finishing breakfast and getting in some running clothes, Sora giggled as Emilia pulled White and Tola into her room. Unfortunately, Wendy and Mofupsi were also pulled into her daughter’s web; they’d be stuck for at least an hour or two, going through hundreds of clothing styles. Sora had her own experience with the fashion walk on a previous Saturday.

She met Kari downstairs, waiting in the hallway against the wall, studying the many pictures Emi had magically taken and transferred to paintings.

“Em’s become an artist, huh?”

Sora shrugged, crossing her arms and settling in beside her. “It’s a part of their lessons with White—homework, I guess. Heh. I’d kill to have homework like this back in school.”

“Meh. I loved the curriculum,” Kari muttered. “It was structured, and a path to success… I’d like to go back and have a normal school year. It’s better than the random aimlessness I tend to have otherwise.”

A frown touched Sora’s mouth as she pondered her friend’s words; she hadn’t considered it like that before. In a way, her aunt had given her a purpose in Emilia. Kari was somewhat floating since overcoming the self-hatred that her brother had given her.

Aiden had Liz now, pulling him away, leaving her to sit off to the side, watching everyone else find their own forms of joy. Kari was extremely competitive and loved to be in an environment that tested her skill, which she provided in this power struggle to get more powerful, but there was probably something missing that she was trying to find.

“Hmm. How are things going with confronting your dad?”

Kari gave her a sly smirk, nudging her head to the door as her fluffy tail flicked to the left. “Let’s go for a run first; I want to see how far your weak body can get now.”

Sora groaned, stretching her arms over her head. “Don’t I need to loosen up first? Also, I don’t actually have muscles to work… I think? I simulate them, but they don’t build by running.”

Kari leaned over to jab her with her elbow. “Oh? How would you know that?”

“Eh… I guess I don’t. Heh. It’s just a guess.”

“Let’s experiment! Also, if you’re sweating, and huffing and puffing, then that’s your body simulating it, too, huh?” she winked.

Sora scratched the back of her left ear as it twitched. “Okay, that is a bit weird, I’ll admit. No flying?”

“No flying, disk girl,” Kari chuckled, taking her to the door. “Hit it hard off the bat, and it will feel terrible the first thirty miles, but then the kick hits, and everything just feels… right!”

“Yeah, no,” Sora mused, shaking her head while closing the door behind them. “As you said, I’m a floating disk; I let gravity do all the work for me and just roll down the hill!”

“Weak! C’mon, show me what you got.”

Knowing Kari just wanted to make her suffer for the short term, Sora sighed and gave in, which was ironic, considering their past; she rotated her neck, preparing for the crucible, but another thought struck her.

She glanced over at Kari as she stretched out her calves, wearing a soft smile while enjoying the burn; Sora could sense the anticipation from her. Did Kari just want someone to join her in something she loved to do? Wolves were pack animals, and she’d lost the makeshift group of girls she’d gathered. Now, Sora was all she had, and she’d been pulled in every direction with people fighting for her attention.

When was the last time we just did friend stuff—training excluded… I can’t remember. Our Shadow match doesn’t count, either, or fishing, since that was with everyone. Yeah… Maybe I should spend the day with…

Sora’s mind froze as White came jogging out of the house, drawing their attention.

“Oh! I’m glad I caught you,” he laughed.

Eyes opening wider, Sora nodded. “Right! I need to reapply the… Oof. Five minutes, Kari?”

“Take your time,” Kari yawned, throwing her arms above her head to arch her back and put pressure against her wrists. “I’ll, mmm… be here. Try not to stress those rings too much.”

“Haha. Yeah…”

Catching White’s apologetic look as Tola’s blue locks poked out of the door, Sora extended one of her chakrams to bring them to a safer location. It didn’t take long to reapply the Null-Void seals and drain anything that managed to slip by her prison. It was great practice, if she was being honest, and helped her become more accustomed to dealing with larger quantities of energy than she could typically handle.

The whole process took ten minutes, and while she did feel it, Sora was only performing maintenance rather than the full operation; she found it easier, discovering new holes she could fix in her catch-all net.

Waving them off as they returned to Emilia’s fashion walk, Sora met Kari outside the house; some of the kids in the city found her and were seeing how many times the wolf could keep their ball in the air—she was still going with the kids now reaching the hundred count.

“One hundred and five!”

“One hundred and six!”

“One hundred and—aww.!”

Kari caught it once she saw her, offering the disappointed human kids an apologetic smile. “Sorry, guys. Next time we can all practice.”

“Awesome!”

“Yeah, can we do it later today?”

“I can’t! My, eh, my m-mom… I think—is that what they’re called?”

Another boy swiftly nodded. “Yeah! Yeah! Lady Loral taught us that’s what you call the woman that creates you! Isn’t that crazy? She created us!”

“Yeah, how?”

Sora tried not to see them looking at her, edging away; she didn’t quite need to have this conversation with Emi, apparently, and she wasn’t going to have it with another parent’s children. “Ask your mom…”

“We can, can’t we?”

“Thanks, Lady Sora! We’ll let her know you told us.”

“Ack… You don’t… and they’re gone…”

Kari chuckled. “I don’t understand the whole human awkwardness around sex; it’s a part of nature. My mother taught me it’s one of the times most prey are least on guard.”

“Eww… What did Alva teach you?” Sora mumbled, twisting her nose. “There’s no way.”

“On my life,” Kari returned. “Of course, I’ve never actually killed anything… Heh. You could say I’m a wolf virgin in that, huh?”

“Language,” Sora huffed, but it brought on a smile. “You can’t be saying such sensitive words when Emi could hear; she’ll totally shut down.”

“Like I said,” Kari shrugged. “I don’t get the fixation; it’s nature. Well… I mean, I can see the aversion due to my uncles, but…”

“Yeah, no! No! No!” Sora protested. “We are not going there!”

“Eh-heh. Probably shouldn’t…”

Sora’s mouth became a line as Kari pulled them into a light jog instead of a breakneck run, yet her comment drew her thoughts in directions she didn’t want to process. Kari was dealing with a ton of traumas that stemmed from her family; it was no wonder she was so messed up. Yet, in a way, she had her head on more straight than Sora did herself.

“What’s new?” Kari suddenly asked, pulling Sora out of her internal reverie.

“Uh. Well, like always, Emi.”

Brow drawing in, Kari glanced at her, tails weaving in sync with their rhythm. “Wasn’t there something about White and Tola this week? He asked if he could crash at my place, so I let him take the couch—he literally shed all over it.”

“Right! Wait, really?” Sora drew around one of her chakrams to expand, connecting to the one she always kept with Emilia; they were still locked in the fashion show. “Oh! Mmh. I might need to tweak my seal then, but I guess without the magic…”

Sora slowed to a stop, connecting the dots and causing Kari to join her.

“What’s up?”

“Umm, vulpes don’t live beyond two thousand years, generally… It’s Tola’s council piece and White’s connection to my aunt, I think… maybe he’s strong enough to be immortal himself—probably—but I’m blocking all of that.”

“Mmh. So, he’s getting older by the day, huh? No wonder he’s losing hair. Think he’ll get a bald spot—heh, maybe on his tails?”

“Kari!”

“Legit question,” she mused. “Haven’t you gotten your mom’s side back?”

“Eh… Not exactly. I’m close!”

“Cool.” Kari worked around her jaw, hands on her hips as she glanced back at Sora’s house. “We need to go back to tweak some things?”

“No… It should be fine for now. I’ll figure it out.”

“Sounds good.”

Getting back into their jog, Sora did notice the wolf increasing her stride little by little, drawing her up gears as they went.

“No lingering effects?” Kari asked.

It didn’t click at first, but after a second, Sora realized she was talking about when she’d been sick. “Uh… Nope. I’ve been totally good… Well, other than either my mom or Moppy that totally ratted me out to Emi!”

“Oh?”

Sora huffed, shaking her head and starting to adjust to Kari’s flow. “Yeah! What mom doesn’t read their daughter’s diary? How else are we supposed to get in their minds?”

“Uh… ask them?”

She shot a really look at Kari. “You think she’d tell me? Of course not! You should hear the little sappy poems and notes she makes on some of the drama characters she’s pissed at or loves—she’s got this crush on this actor!”

“Wow…” Kari dully returned. “Yup, you’ve got it bad.”

Puffing up a little, Sora creased an eye. “Got what?”

“The mom virus; once you’re infected, apparently it’s over, from what Heather told me one time; you’ll be plotting play dates and reading how to connect with your daughter-help books…”

“Shut up! I don’t do any of that; Emi sets up her own sleepovers with her friends,” Sora pointed out with pride. “She’s becoming pretty independent… Which I hate! Where’s the girl that wanted to snuggle with me at night?” she cried. “At least I’m still in the cool zone since I can blow up solar systems.”

Kari nodded. “Mom virus… Okay. Let’s pick up the pace!”

“I do not—and what if I do… Oof. There’s the stitch… Kari!”

“Push through the pain!” Kari shouted, drawing eyes from the early morning travelers they passed. “When was the last time you felt it? Take it in! Savor it!”

“You’re not supposed to like pain—you masochist—just… slow down a little?”

“The pain is failure leaving your body!” Kari roared, probably mimicking some motivational workout propaganda.

“I’m not a workout cultist; I don’t believe that crap!” Sora panted, trying not to slow down if anything to avoid looking weak; she had to make Kari ease up first. “Why is my throat so dry when I don’t even have blood?! Ahhh!”

Kari wouldn’t let up for another five minutes, pushing her until she was bent over, gasping; the tyrannical wolf was right about one thing, she was totally out of shape, which made no sense since she had a designer body to fit her own desires.

“Kill me!”

“I could run that pace for literally ever,” Kari laughed, standing nearby as Sora used a public faucet to dump water over her head, keeping the bulk of her ponytail out of the spray.

“And I could fly literally forever!”

“Keeps you humble,” Kari returned. “It’s good to do things you’re not accustomed to—push out of your comfort zone.”

“Huu-haaa. Sure. Sure. Whatever… Ugh. My calves are killing me, and my side…”

Kari glanced around the park they’d stopped at, seeing kids, families, and individuals, all engaged in their own little world. “You really aren’t feeling sick anymore?”

“Huh? No… I told you, I’m fine—except for this stupid knife jabbing my hip! Gah! I should punch you in the gut with my chakram.”

“First,” Kari laughed, “I don’t think that’s where your hip is. Second, if you do, make it count because I bite back—literally!” she grinned, flashing her teeth.

“I know! Wendy tells me you’re able to chew a bit on her pages… Heh. Wait, I just realized you made her your chew toy! I’m totally making fun of her when we get home! Haha!”

“I will say she tastes better than you,” Kari hummed, making Sora’s left eye narrow.

“Come again?”

“Yeah. Null-Void has its own… flavor, I guess. You’re too… texturey.”

“Is that even a word?”

Kari bent down to drink from the faucet she’d been using. “I said it, so it must be… Mmm. Cold water is the best.”

Breathing in deeply, a sudden thought came to her. “Hey.”

“Hmm?”

Pointing up at the green planet high above them, Sora asked, “Want to go fishing?”

“Now?”

Shrugging, Sora nudged her head to return to the house. “Emi can spend time with Moppy and Wendy today since White’s off romancing Tola. Let’s have a good friend-bonding trip. What do you say; got anything planned?”

A little taken aback, judging from her expression, Kari rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t want to get in the way of your diary-reading time.”

“Oh, shut up!” Sora hissed, sending a chakram to hit her in the face, only to feel her wet teeth clap down on it. “Y-You freaking dog! Ack—that’s my butt,” she yipped, feeling the sharp points of her canines digging into her rump.

“Hehe. You started it,” she snickered, slobbering all over her chakram while working her way to a new spot. “Mmm. Well, this tastes better…”

Three tails standing on end, she hissed, diving forward to tackle her as she felt the teeth close around the appendages. “Off limits!”

Laughing as they went to the grass and Kari put her in a hold, easily outplaying her, she finally let her go, and Sora rolled to the side, chest huffing.

“I’d love to have a friend trip with you, Sora,” Kari whispered.

Her wagging tail made Sora happy. “Fishing?”

“That’s cool. I could also beat you at a game of tennis.”

“Uh-huh… Let’s stick with fishing.”

“Haha. Okay. Wow. Well, let’s go get the poles from my place. Ready for round two?”

“Ugh… Can’t we teleport?”

“No can do, big butt.”

“That is not my nickname!”

Holding her hands behind her head, Kari’s smiling amber eyes shifted to her. “You can call me pooch if it makes you feel better? Chihuahua? Doggy girl?”

“It doesn’t have the same sting if you offer it; I’ll get one when you least expect it!”

“Haha. Can’t wait. Okay. Let’s go fishing; hopefully, they aren’t biting butts, too, or you may have a problem.”

A wry grin moved Sora’s mouth as she fell into step with her friend; she did deserve to have some quality time with Kari, and Emi would love some time away from her ‘tyrannical’ mom.

A day of fishing… What if they do bite tails? They could have adapted over hundreds of thousands of years with vulpes being around… Please don’t bite tails.

Spoiler, they bit tails.

Unfortunately, the end of Draft 1.