Onyx and the others walked until they reached the riverbank, then followed it on their way to Riverveil. They had to keep an eye out, as it wouldn’t be unusual to run into other travelers headed to the city. Dyle, meanwhile, jumped straight into the river and swam his way alongside them.

  Right. Alligator. Onyx mused.

  They continued their march until afternoon, when the mix of exhaustion and inability to resist the river water overcame them. Mainly, it overcame Lily, and the infection spread from her.

  “Careful, Lily,” Onyx said as Lily prepared to hop into the river. “These are gator-infested waters.”

  Dyle poked his head out of the water, looking unamused, then stuck his tongue out at Onyx.

  Lily giggled. “Noted!” She took off her shoes, knotted her dress midway over her thighs and slipped only knees-deep into the water with a flinch and a shiver. “COLD!”

  Onyx chuckled, an evil idea popping into his head. He unfurled his wings, unched himself high into the air, then dove straight into the water. As he dove, he could hear Lily’s loud gasp as the cold water drenched her. However, he realized she was correct; the water was indeed cold.

  Standing up in the water, Onyx felt something pointy under his foot, and heard Dyle screaming from behind him. He quickly stepped off it and turned around to find Dyle holding his own tail.

  “Watch where you dive!” Dyle scolded.

  With a sheepish smile, Onyx raised his hands defensively. “Sorry!” He was then spshed in the face by Lily, who was completely drenched and frowning with puffed cheeks.

  “You will pay!” Lily hissed.

  Onyx smirked, unfurling his wing as if to showcase his weaponry.

  “Not fair!” Lily said before spshing him again; he ughed.

  Raksha was prepared to join, before turning around to look at Ulva. “Won’t you join us?”

  Ulva scratched her head. “I…don’t know how to swim.”

  Raksha smiled softly. “No worries, I can teach you.” She walked back to Ulva and held her paws.

  Ulva appeared apprehensive, taking a step back. The sight of the mayhem happening in the water in front of her probably didn’t help. “I-I don’t know. I’ll be fine just watching, really.”

  “Nonsense!” Raksha pushed, pulling Ulva along. “You will do just fine. Trust me.”

  Despite Ulva’s protests, she was pulled into the water, gasping as its coldness stung her. Once she was deep enough to not be able to stand, she started filing.

  “Rex!” Raksha instructed. The water spshing from Ulva’s panicked moves was making it hard for her to keep her eyes open.

  Onyx took notice of it and, leaving his water battle with Lily and Dyle, waded over to the two she-wolves. “There, I got you.” He said, holding Ulva by the waist but keeping her body submerged. “Mom is right; you have to rex. Catch your breath, then when you’re ready I’ll let go.”

  Ulva’s filing slowly stopped and she spat water, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. “Th-Thank you.” She said without looking at him.

  Raksha wiped her face, then took hold of Ulva again. “Ready?”

  Once Ulva nodded, Onyx let go of her, and Raksha took it from there.

  “Onyx! Help!” Lily screamed.

  Onyx’s attention quickly turned to the filing, spshing girl, confused. “You were swimming just fine moments ago!” He shot Dyle a gre as he waded back to them.

  Dyle raised his hands. “I didn’t do anything! She’s lying!”

  Lily stopped filing for a moment, just to spit water and say “How dare you!”, then went back to filing.

  While supporting Ulva, Raksha looked back at the shore where Rolo was standing. “Are you not interested in the water?”

  Rolo opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by Dyle. “Of course he’s not. He’s a cat! They hate water!” He snickered to himself.

  Rolo rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to. My magic would freeze the river. I can’t control it.”

  Onyx turned his attention to Rolo while holding Lily by the arm, who was suddenly able to swim again. “Really?”

  Rolo crossed his arms, his expression and tone unchanged. “That was a joke.”

  It’s kind of hard to tell! Onyx smiled sheepishly.

  “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor. You’re always more ft than a board!” Dyle commented.

  “He’s still funnier than you,” Lily retorted.

  Dyle’s attention quickly snapped to her, mouth agape. “How dare you! Fight me right now!”

  Onyx stood between them and faced Dyle, chuckling. “Hold on, now. You’re joking, right?”

  Dyle growled. “I’m not! We will settle this with a duel!”

  “I’ll gdly fight him!” Lily yelled from behind Onyx.

  “I will not be mocked by a scrawny human such as yourself!”

  Lily gasped loudly, her expression darkening. “That’s it, say goodbye to your face!” She lifted her hands above the water, acid dripping from her palms.

  In panic, Onyx quickly shifted his attention to Lily. “Lily, no!”

  “Lily, yes!” Raksha cheered from afar.

  “Mom!”

  Somehow, Onyx managed to convince them to settle it with a water fight, and all went well.

  Mostly.

  By the time night fell and they settled around the campfire once more, Lily started showing signs of cold, sitting on a log, shivering and sneezing.

  “You should’ve been careful,” Rolo…scolded? It was hard to tell from his tone. “Our journey is dangerous as is. Can’t add illness to it.”

  Lily scowled at him. “A ‘get well soon’ would’ve been enough.”

  Dyle approached Lily from behind, emitting fire from his hands and positioning them at a safe distance from her. She turned to face him, a puzzled look on her face.

  Dyle averted his gaze, his expression indifferent. “Sorry for the ‘scrawny’ comment.”

  Lily sneezed, then sniffled. “It’s…fine.”

  “So…” Dyle slowly shifted his gaze back to Lily, a smirk tugging at his snout. “Are you married, too?” He flinched upon receiving a snarl for a response. As Dyle’s gaze wandered around the campfire, they fell on Ulva, who was sitting next to Onyx. He smiled and waved a fming hand.

  Ulva stuck herself to Onyx, embracing his arm.

  Onyx chuckled, then froze as he felt the warmth and softness of Ulva’s body against him. She…She’s too close! What should I do?! Can I politely tell her to let go? …SOULD I even do that?!

  “...Oy! Onyx!” Dyle snapped the dragon out of his panicked thoughts. “What’s wrong with your face? Are you breathing properly?” Dyle widened his eyes slightly, no doubt in realization, then shot Onyx a knowing, smug smirk.

  Onyx blushed, his eyes wide, his fist clenched. Don’t you dare say anything! He arched his eyebrows repeatedly in an attempt to deter Dyle.

  Dyle wiggled his eyebrows in response. Surprisingly, he said nothing, but instead sent Onyx a wink, which further enraged him and reddened his face.

  “Judging by the distance left, we should arrive at Riverveil in a day,” Rolo said as he settled down, gaining everyone’s attention. “We must be careful when we get near. I’m talking mainly about you, Onyx. You must remain hidden as we approach the city.”

  Onyx nodded.

  “Don’t worry–” Lily coughed, stirring a vial in her hand. “I will cook you the shapeshifting potion, right after I’m done with–” she sniffled. “–cold medicine.”

  Dyle chuckled, earning a frown from Lily.

  “I will have to turn into a wolf again…” Onyx mumbled. He didn’t dislike the idea, but he remembered the discomfort that accompanied the transformation. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Uva’s ears twitching.

  “You know, there are plenty of humans in Riverveil,” Lily said with a sniffle. “You can turn into a human instead and you’ll still blend in.”

  Onyx tapped his chin, intrigued by the idea. He could’ve sworn he saw Ulva’s ears dip for a second.

  “All sorts of people meet at Riverveil!” Dyle chimed in loudly. “It doesn’t matter what form you take, as long as it’s not a dragon. Turn into an alligator!”

  “Reminder that we don’t want him to attract attention,” Raksha said to Dyle, fshing him an unamused look.

  “You can always try a snow leopard,” Rolo suggested pinly. “Not that it matters, anyway.”

  Onyx squinted his eyes, then shook his head. “Don’t give me so many options! I won’t be able to decide!”

  Lily let out a faint giggle that soon turned into a cough.

  “What do you think, Ul–” Onyx spoke and turned his head to the right, falling silent as he saw Ulva asleep against his arm. “Oh…” He whispered, feeling his face heat up.

  Raksha giggled. “She did work herself up trying to swim.”

  “HOLD ON right there!” Dyle pointed at Onyx, his voice loud at first but then lowered to a whisper. “Does anyone have any paper or parchment?”

  Rolo raised his paw.

  Dyle hopped over to the Yeager, taking a piece of parchment from him and producing a pencil from his own pocket. He faced Onyx and stuck his tongue from the side of his snout. “Stay still.”

  “You can draw?!” Lily excimed, her eyes bulging at Dyle.

  Dyle raised an eyebrow at her. “Uh, yes? Why not?”

  Onyx smiled sheepishly. “It’s just…hard to imagine. I thought you only cared about fighting, gold and–”

  Dyle snorted. “I can have hobbies, you know! Now stay still!”

  “I…already am.”

  Onyx sat in his pce for what felt like an eternity, while Dyle worked non-stop at the parchment, the others making small, quiet talks. The situation was already embarrassing as it was, but knowing everyone was aware of his predicament and that Dyle was trying to capture that moment on paper made things even worse. However, he couldn’t deny that there was a certain serenity to the moment. Ulva looked so peaceful in her sleep, she radiated so much heat, and the rhythm of her breathing was weirdly calming. Having to sit still for so long meant that Onyx couldn’t help but focus on such details, which further intensified his self-awareness of the situation.

  “Done!” Dyle finally announced, a wide grin on his face, and hopped over to Onyx.

  Onyx sighed, finally putting his tensed muscles to rest. However, now he had to brace himself for whatever abomination Dyle was about to show him. When he looked at the drawing, his eyes shot wide in pleasant surprise. The drawing was detailed and pleasant to look at. Despite it being colorless, it truly captured the moment.

  “Wow, Dyle…” Onyx whispered, taking the parchment from the alligator. “This is…actually really good!”

  Dyle scoffed and stuck his snout high in the air. “Of course it is! And you had no faith in me!”

  Onyx motioned for Dyle to stay quiet.

  “Show me! Show me!” Raksha demanded in a hushed but excited tone.

  Lily shrugged and rolled her eyes.

  Onyx handed the parchment to Dyle, who in turn handed it to Raksha. She stared at it for a good while, while Lily stole a few gnces, then Raksha folded it and tucked it under her clothes.

  “I’m definitely keeping this,” Raksha said. “Thanks, Dyle.”

  Dyle froze for a moment, then turned around, arms crossed and the widest grin ever pstered on his face. “Anytime!”

  Onyx groaned. He just knew that the drawing would be a source of embarrassment for times to come.

  As everyone settled for the night, Onyx managed to slip away from Ulva and tuck her in without waking her, then retired to his own sleeping spot.

  The next day, the group continued their journey. Lily was starting to feel better thanks to her hand-made medicine, but she was still more tired than usual. While they marched on, Raksha pulled out the drawing and showed it to Ulva.

  Onyx blushed and let out a quiet “Mom!”

  Ulva was taken aback, but she still took the photo and inspected it. “When…how…Who did this?”

  Dyle, who was following them from a distance, pounded his chest. “Yours truly!”

  Ulva flinched and looked back at him. “Really? Th-That’s impressive.” She paused for a moment to inspect the paper again. “I…like to draw, too. Although I’m not good at it.” She chuckled faintly.

  “I can teach you! For the right price,” Dyle wiggled his eyebrows.

  Ulva let out a forced chuckle. “I’ll think about it.”

  Once Ulva’s gaze met Onyx, he tensed up and quickly faced forward again.

  The rest of the day went as usual, with training, food, and campfire, and Riverveil becoming bigger and bigger in their sight. By the dawn of the next day, the city was finally fully, clearly visible. They could see the small cottages and horse stables outside the city walls. And the city wall itself, which stood high and proud and stretched so wide, with the river’s stream disappearing into it.

  The group settled between the trees on a safe distance as they prepared to enter the city. It was time for Onyx to change.

  “Have you decided what you want to look like yet?” Lily asked as she handed him the potion.

  Onyx hummed, scratching his head. “I guess I should try a human form this time.”

  “Alright then,” Lily handed him one of her hairs with a smile. “Don’t forget the pants!”

  Onyx rolled his eyes. He came prepared. He took the potion and the pants and disappeared behind a tree, only to emerge as…the same wolf form he had taken so many times before.

  Lily looked at him quizzically. “What?! How?!”

  Onyx shook his head. “I have no idea! I used your hair, I imagined my human form, and I still ended up like this!”

  “This can’t be! Did I make a mistake while brewing the potion?”

  Rolo shook his head. “It doesn’t matter now. Let us head into the city.”

  Raksha walked up to Onyx and cupped his cheeks in her paws. “Oh my! You look absolutely dashing!”

  Onyx averted his gaze, feeling his ears heat up. “Thanks, mom.” He caught a glimpse of Ulva, who was looking somewhere in the distance, her tail wagging.

  “Don’t forget this!” Onyx heard Lily say and turned to face her, only to have his face covered by a straw hat.

  “Right,” Onyx muttered, pcing the hat on top of his head.

  Dyle wrapped his arm around Onyx’s neck and pulled him under his arm. “Oy! You’re much shorter now! I bet I could beat you in a fight like this!” He released his grip on him. “But that wouldn’t be fun, now, would it?”

  Onyx groaned, readjusting the neckerchief after Dyle had dispced it.

  “Shall we move now?” Rolo inquired.

  After a few more preparations, the group was ready, and marched towards Riverveil. Onyx inhaled deeply, thoughts racing in his mind, about what he would see there, if everything would go smoothly or anything would go wrong and throw their journey into chaos. But more than anything, he wondered how much closer this step would bring him to that fox, if at all.