Feeling tired from spending so long awake talking about his life, Niphru fell asleep. He had long since gotten over feeling at risk around Morris, as they had often spent time with Dawn during the teaching sessions they had.
Waking up in the dark, he looked around and didn’t see any trace of Morris or Kel, though the window was open, giving him a way out. After hopping through the window, he headed towards the easily visible gate, spotting watchtowers around it, meaning this was the one on the side of the forest. As he approached, he nodded to the guards and flicked his foxfire into a quick illusion to greet them before reforming it.
He passed through the gates, heading for the forest, listening as the guards shut them again behind him. During the time he had been learning from Dawn, he had become much more experienced at exploring the forest, thanks to tricks she told him that the hunters used. He had also learned more of the nature of the mutations and how they occurred. His goal for now was to consume enough mana-infused meat to intentionally cause himself to mutate again.
The first time he mutated, he barely even noticed, yet it caused him to be able to see mana density adjusted to the local density. This had allowed him to see his own mana when he projected it into a link. However, he was still unable to sense some things such as Dawn’s link, which had been explained to him as a form of emotion sharing that humans still did not understand, and could rarely use. What he was attempting this time was to gain true night vision rather than the weak form he was born with.
Upon reaching the forest, he quickly began looking for small animals he could hunt, using his illusion to hide himself. As he explored, he kept his mana in a loose sphere around himself, using it to feel for any connections that may form from animals being nearby. After a while of searching, he found a squirrel he couldn’t reach, followed by a rabbit he could. Instead of risking being fought back against like last time, he simply moved his foxfire into the den with the intent to burn. As he waited, a burning rabbit hopped out of the burrow right into his mouth as he commanded his foxfire to extinguish it.
As he had expected, he felt a sense of danger when he considered eating it, which, after eating mostly meat for several days now, he had gotten used to. Ignoring the feeling, he ate the entire rabbit and resumed his hunt. Eventually he found another rabbit, this one outside its den, which he was able to ambush using his illusion to remain unseen. Consuming it as well, he felt the feeling of danger spiking before diminishing as his eyes began to burn, mind slowing, and memory becoming more foggy. After this, he would have to be careful as to his diet again, until he became more intelligent once more.
As he headed towards his den, he considered what he should do next. He was curious about the school Dawn had told him about, but that required being able to write, which he was not capable of. They had tried, but he couldn’t use a pencil with his mouth without extreme strain and difficulty watching it, nor could he grab it with his paws as he lacked the thumbs humans had. Perhaps he could do something with his foxfire, as it could burn things which could leave marks. He would just have to try to focus it down to a very fine point.
Arriving at his home, he curled up in his den, then practiced condensing his foxfire even smaller, trying to shape it into a pointed cylinder similar to the pencils he had seen. After a while he became tired and finally faded into sleep, letting his foxfire flow over his head, soothing his sore eyes.
Niphru awoke again in the dark, certain it was near morning, but his eyes picked out details he was previously unable to spot in the gloom. Leaving his den, he marveled at how much more he could make out in the darkness compared to before. He headed towards the village, wanting to be able to meet Dawn as she headed out in the morning.
Thinking as he ran, he decided to try to figure out which direction things were in when he made it there. He knew what directions were now, but for some reason had forgotten to ask which direction was which. As he arrived at the forest-facing gate, he asked the guard which direction the forest was, being told it was to the east. This meant his den was south, the farms (those odd fields he had seen) were to the north, and where the children played was to the west.
Satisfied with knowing where things were, he thanked the guard before entering the village. Walking through the village towards the western gate, he noticed a lack of people, curious for a moment before he remembered that humans were not fond of the night and stayed up all day instead. Perhaps, he thought to himself, he ought to try to change his schedule to match them. But that would make his newly changed eyes far less useful, so he would have to think about it for a while.
Niphru sat by the western gate for a while as he pondered this situation. Eventually as the sun rose, he finally decided that how he was currently was best, sleeping through both day and night and instead awake in between them. As Dawn arrived with the other children, he ran up to her with his tail wagging in excitement. “Dawn, I did it!” he exclaimed, “I managed to get good night vision on purpose as a mutation! Now I can be much safer by being able to see better!”
Dawn smiled and rubbed his head, replying, “I’m glad to hear that you can be safer, I always worry about you, Niphru.”
“Oh, I almost forgot, I think I know how I can write, I just need more practice. I will let you know if it works,” Niphru said.
“That is great news, I hope it works out, I know you wanted to learn that so you could try going to school with me. I would enjoy having you there with me too!” Dawn replied.
As they spoke, they exited the western gate together, heading with the other kids to where they typically played in the morning. As usual, they split off and headed to the hill nearby. Today, they simply sat and talked about how they wanted to grow up and what they wanted to do.
“I want to be a mage like my mother, but she doesn’t like animals much, while I have always wanted to be around them. I’m glad to have met you since you are a nice animal and can talk back now,” Dawn said.
“Glad to have met you as well, Dawn. I never really thought much about the future. I don’t even know how long my future will be. Will someone think I’m a normal fox and hunt me down? Would I kill them if they did? What would happen to me then?” Niphru remarked.
“Don’t worry about that for now, what would you like to end up as?” Dawn questioned him.
“I guess I would like to help people. Monti helped you and it meant a lot to me. What if I could help others like he does? I’ve tested it on myself and my foxfire can heal, although a bit slowly. What if I had more or it healed faster? I think I would like that,” Niphru replied.
“I think that is a lovely goal,” Dawn stated, hugging Niphru.
Dawn then stopped a moment before speaking again, “I also forgot but we need to find you a place in the village to live, you can’t just live in a hole in the ground in the forest, you are one of us now!”
“I like my den, it is nice and peaceful. But maybe I could stay with you. I was just thinking today about my sleeping times compared to yours though, and it would be difficult since I’d need a way to enter and leave without help,” Niphru said.
“We should go talk with my mother then and see what she thinks!” Dawn exclaimed, getting to her feet as she put Niphru back down.
The two of them headed back to the western gate, leaving behind the other children to play. As they approached, the guards opened the gate for them, shutting it again as they passed through. Dawn took the lead, quickly heading towards the center of the village, entering one of the larger houses, holding the door for Niphru to enter with her.
“Mom, are you here?” Dawn shouted, hearing a response from another room.
As they walked into the other room, a man walked out, leaving the house, nodding at them as he passed. Amilya sat in a chair within the room, waving them in.
“What brings you back before school?” Amilya questioned Dawn.
“I was wondering if Niphru could stay here with us!” Dawn replied, bouncing from foot to foot, “He said he needs a way in and out on his own though.”
“I will have to think about it, but we might be able to do that in the future,” Amilya stated, with a smile.