#floriali

Flurries danced in the air, swirling down to earth gently as if they were figure skaters locked in a dance. They joined the already gathered snow laying on the hardened cold ground and would remain there for what would feel like an eternity.

This was nothing new to Alice who stood in the middle of this winter wonderland, but what did take her by surprise was the sight of a fox staring back at her from the shadows of a few trees. It wouldn’t have been too strange a sight if it hadn’t been for the fact that Alice was on her way to a museum that was just up ahead.

The path leading up to the museum was somewhat condensed with trees, so it shouldn't have been that unusual to see a fox here. Yet, Alice had couldn't recall ever hearing about foxes being in this area. Not to mention, it was a fox that appeared to be badly injured as half of its face appeared to be burnt away which in itself was cause for alarm for another reason:

Fire simply didn’t exist in this world. 

Long ago, it may have existed, but the witches and warlocks who studied magic had sought to eradicate such a destructive force in a world where ice and snow reigned. Ice and fire simply didn’t mix and everyone had agreed it would be better to be rid of the infernal power before it truly burnt their icy world into a flood that would wipe them out.

Alice had never seen fire herself as they had achieved their goal many years ago. Yet, she had read plenty of books about it with some showing her images that captured the fiery phenomenon that seemed to not only be a source of heat, but provide a warmth she had never experienced, and a source of light that electricity could easily replace...and yet, she felt it wouldn't feel the same.

Still, Alice couldn’t even imagine fire being a need in their world because even though they were cast in a neverending winter, it didn’t bother any of them. It never felt cold per se, it was just…comfortable and familiar. 

It was all she had ever known but Alice’s curiosity was never satiated and she always had wondered if it had been right to destroy the very existence of such an important element such as fire.

And now, something that shouldn’t exist was staring right at her and was now walking up to her gently. Its paws treaded lightly across the snow and she caught her breath as she realized with a start that it left tiny sparks of flame with each step it took, melting the snow slightly as it did so.

Then it reached her and almost as if by magic, she suddenly noticed in its mouth, an envelope sealed by a symbol that was vaguely familiar to her. 

Despite being captivated by such a creature and possibly seeing what appeared to be fire for the first time ever in her life, Alice still couldn’t help but speak up:

“Hello, is this for me?” the fox allowed her to take the letter from its mouth and let her read who the addressee was. “Ah, I suppose not, but I’ll deliver it to her because I’m actually on my way there now.”

Alice was never one to overstep others’ personal boundaries but this was such a surreal encounter, she wanted to be sure this moment, this fox was real.

And so, she reached out and decided to see how the melted snow felt like. Yet, she wasn’t sure if it was by her own miscalculation or if the fox misunderstood her intentions as it shifted its position at the same time, but her hand ended up mistakenly grazing one of its paws.

Still, that was enough for her hand to draw back in surprise. The warmth that had zapped her upon touching its paws caused her to gasp and step back a bit. 

It was a heat that she had never felt before and coursed through her veins in a way that made her body temperature rise. Even if it was just by a degree, it was enough for her to feel that difference between her cold body and this fox’s fiery essence. 

The fox, for its part, seemed slightly concerned which Alice found a little funny because she had never before encountered such an expressive animal before but for some reason she found it touching all the same.

“I'm alright, but I must go now. Thank you, I’ve never experienced anything like that and may never again. Oh, that’s right!” how could she possibly forget about her camera.  Given such an incredible experience she nearly forgot about her trusty companion. 

She brought it out and despite feeling a little silly, still asked, “May I take your picture? I want to remember this moment.”

To her shock, the fox seemed to understand as it seemed to nod its head. It then sat a bit more properly, its tail curling around it making it look completely at ease. Alice couldn't help but wonder if she was a fox whisperer because she never took herself to be good with animals like this.

For the fox's part, it didn’t seem to care which side she captured though it seemed to be aware of Alice staring at it’s injured side in a moment when her better judgement faltered. It tilted its head, its ears twitching almost as if it was a little amused by her hesitation. 

Seeing this, Alice decided not to dillydally any longer and after adjusting the camera to her preferred settings for the shot, she took a couple of pictures. 

And when she looked back up from her camera to thank the fox, it had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Even when Alice glanced around for it, all traces of the fox had gone including the melted snow that had already been replaced with freshly fallen flurries. No, wait…there was one thing the fox had left behind. 

Alice looked down at her gloved fingers and saw scorch marks left behind from the fox’s hot touch. While it had hurt in the moment, the lingering touch of the fox almost felt comforting in a weird way. It suddenly reminded her of the sun, an entity in the sky that was rarely seen in the ever grey skies of this world. The fox’s touch was like the briefest kiss from the sun’s rays before the world became hushed to the tones of snow and ice.

⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊⁺₊⋆ ☀︎ ⋆⁺₊

“A fox you say?” the museum owner, a rather stout woman with tiny glasses, was saying as she pushed them up to squint at the envelope Alice had delivered to her. 

“Yes, it was a rather intuitive little creature,” Alice was about to say more about the fire and flames and everything but realized it may not be wise especially when it came to a woman like Miss Keigan Keogh. Instead, she adjusted the spare glove she had thankfully brought with her that had replaced her scorched one. It never hurt to be overly prepared.

“Hmph, I’ve heard rumors about a fox delivering calling cards such as this from that thief,” Miss Keogh told Alice matter-of-factly.

“Thief?” Alice repeated curiously. 

Keigan looked over at Alice a bit disapprovingly. “Have you not heard of that thief, Spirit Fox? I thought your paper had reported on his latest crime. Are you not in the know?”

Alice felt a slight flush of embarrassment that she didn’t let show on her face. She had just recently joined her paper so she was still a newbie but that was still no excuse to be ignorant. Though, she thought somewhat tersely, her colleagues were all men who didn’t believe a female journalist would make it in such a field so there were some things they kept from her. 

The reason she was here at this museum in the first place was because it was a rather easy interview assignment, or really supposed to have been if it wasn’t for this new development.

“Well, I suppose that thief isn’t worth wasting words on. The papers don’t want to give him the attention he craves so he sends these calling cards to announce when he’ll strike next,” Keigan was saying. 

“And he does so by sending a fox?” Alice pressed. She desperately wanted to know more about this thief and his fox, but did her best not to give away her anticipation.

Keigan scoffed and responded, “His so-called fox must be a demon from another world then as it is said to spew flame which is a power that hasn’t existed for centuries, as you very well must know, Miss DeRoss…”

She looked over at Alice pointedly who nodded her head. Best not to argue or debate the facts, Alice thought to herself as she gripped her camera, thinking about the picture she had just taken of the fox. 

With their conversation hitting an impasse, the museum owner turned back to the envelope and opened it after obtaining a letter opener on her desk. After perusing it, she harrumphed and tore it into pieces before throwing it into the garbage bin. 

“May I ask what it said?” Alice couldn’t help herself and had felt a bit of herself be torn apart as well. 

“Just some nonsense about stealing one of the museum’s most prized possessions, a grimoire we obtained from a generous anonymous donor about a month ago. I couldn’t help but read a bit of it before putting it on display and I must say, it was very enlightening,” Keigan thought over her words a bit in a brief moment of clarity. “Perhaps we should reinforce our security a bit.”

“When is a planning on stealing the grimoire?”

“Tonight,” was the curt answer back.

“Tonight?!” was the shocked answer back.

And so it was. Alice followed Keigan around in a bid to at least accomplish her purpose of coming to the museum to interview her as the museum owner went around enforcing strict measures and gathering her security. While it was hard to interview in this way, Alice was still able to accomplish her mission. 

But at the end of the day, naturally, her curiosity got the better of her and she decided to spend a night in the museum because a bigger scoop at landed in her lap.

But how to do that was a bit of a challenge because Alice was no thief nor was she used to staying illegally in public places but here she was, using her recently gained knowledge of how the security works at the museum to find a space she could take refuge in until the time came.

Fortunately, after saying her goodbyes to Keigan and feigning leave from the museum, Alice was able to recall a handy supply area that held inventory of museum collections either yet to be displayed or taken down from being exhibited. Not many wandered here and Alice could only hope this wasn’t the one instance someone would come by to check. And what was more, it was near the room where the grimoire was held.

Unfortunately, while Alice had taken notes of where the security cameras were, there was still a huge chance she’d be caught. Perhaps as she sat here and waited, she could come up with ways to figure out how to knock out the cameras if need be…

Oh dear…maybe she was in a slight predicament. But anything for the truth, right?

Time passed and Alice stayed alert, keeping an ear out for any movement or signs of noises of forced entry. Yet, nothing came for the longest time. Thus in order to tamper her patience, Alice cracked open her notebook and started writing down all she knew about this thief:

Had a very clever fox delivering his calling cards

Goes by the name “Spirit Thief” (for reasons Alice had yet to know)

Was still not too known yet but reaching prominence

Seemed to have no set motive in what he takes

Despite how unimpressed Keigan was, this thief has been successful in all his operations thus far…

Seems to act alone besides his trusty companion fox but rumors abound that he is seeking companions

And most importantly, he is tied to an element that no longer exists. Does that mean fire is

Alice stopped writing and looked up from her notebook sensing a shift in the air despite all remaining quiet. She stood up, for she had been sitting down by some paintings, and perked up her ears and listened closely.

It took a few moments of only hearing her own breathing, but there! It was a soft pitter patter sound that one could mistake for the fallen snow which usually got heavier at night, but this sounded like footsteps. Yet, Alice was perplexed. This sounded more like a fox’s footfalls than a human’s…

At this, her heart beat a little faster and she quickly gathered herself and her belongings to pursue the noise. She just had to first get herself out of this room which was locked. No problem, as she had learned how to pick locks because in her line of work it came in handy for…reasons. Certainly for honest reasons, of course.

Regardless, she was soon out of the room and carefully made her way to the room where the grimoire lay in wait to be captured or not to be. The museum was dark and naught a peep was heard as she tiptoed to her target. Alice remained calm and while the sound of footsteps had ceased, she knew her thief was somewhere nearby. 

Alice remained so focus that she nearly missed her turn, but upon seeing a light suddenly flood the hallway that she was in, made her snap back into reality. Oh yes, one of the security guards should be passing by right now and while she had been keeping track of their timing, her thoughts made her miss her cue.

She was about to be found and she barely had time to hide herself before the flashlight swivelled in her direction.  

But providence was on her side as a sudden commotion, not from the grimoire room as one would suspect, but from the nearby gallery caused the flashlight’s owner to swivel away from her to the new disturbance. Alice didn’t hesitate and took her chance to head into the grimoire’s room. 

Once inside, she could let out a sigh of relief before looking around swiftly to see if anything was out of place, including the grimoire. But, it appeared it was still safe and sound. Actually, this room looked as if it had remained untouched since she was in here earlier with Miss Keogh.

Alice cautiously approached the grimoire and peered at it closely. It did seem as if it was the real one for you never knew if the thief had already been here and replaced it. Yet, it seemed the same as ever as it rested within its glass case, humming with a dark energy that made Alice slightly cringe back a little.

She had heard rumors that the grimoire promised to grant one’s deepest desires but on the caveat that one must sign a contract with the devil. Alice found the thought a tad amusing though. Only because the devil was traditionally tied to fire which didn’t exist in this world. Which made her wonder about this thief…

Yet, when she thought about that fox from earlier, she hadn’t sense such malice or devilry but it had brought fire and thus, Alice had to get to the heart of this or she’d never forgive herself.

“Pardon me, am I intruding?” a sudden cheerful voice pierced her ears and with a start she jumped back a bit.

Her eyes met the fiery eyes of a face that was half burnt away as if fire had marked this individual as its own. At first, she had the briefest thought that this was her fox from earlier, but then she realized it was a human face she was looking at except…one of his eyes didn’t look like his at all, but that of a fox’s. That, and he was upside down.

This new stranger was outfitted all in white with splashes of orange reminiscent of the flames that seemed to be wavering behind him.

No, wait, as Alice’s eyes adjusted to this man’s appearance, for it was rather flamboyant (to put it nicely), she realized with a start that those flames were tails. Even the orange covering wrapped around his neck, covering a part of his chest wasn’t a scarf like she had thought but a fox that looked almost exactly like the one she had met this morning. Except it's burnt mark was on the other side of its face. Was it real? 

Her eyes must’ve betrayed her dismay for the stranger glanced down at the fox then looked back at her. “Are you worried this is real? Don’t be. Think of it as my guardian spirit.”

“You’re the thief,” Alice stated, for once her brain was racing to keep up with everything was happening. 

Spirit Fox nodded, a wide grin emerging on his face. Alice noted that he had rather sharp canines similar to an actual fox and this intrigued her further because as she took an even more careful look over of him, he appeared as if he was more of a fox turned human than an actual human being.

But what really got her was the fact that, “You’re on fire,” she couldn’t help but blurt out. “But fire doesn’t exist anymore.”

Spirit Fox’s grin became a bit more mysterious as he finally flipped himself down onto the ground and landed in a way where his pose resembled a predator about to pounce on his prey. Thankfully, he seemed more good-natured than that as he stared at her more closely as he stood up properly. 

“It is difficult to destroy something that should naturally exist in this world,” he said sounding neither bitter about it nor upset. He turned his eyes to the grimoire. “But this. This does not belong in this world and must face conflagration to reveal its truth.”

Conflagration? As in a huge fire? Alice frowned wondering what he was saying would even be possible but she quickly perished the thought. Just being in such close proximity to him made her sense a burning heat that radiated from his very being. She worried he would combust right then and there.

Seeing her expression, his tails shook in delight as he took a step toward the grimoire. “You don’t believe me?”

“I…” Alice hesitated, taking in this strange thief again. When she locked eyes with him, a sudden familiarity overtook her as she was reminded of this morning. “Is your little fox going to help you?”

She gestured towards the faux fox wrapped around his shoulders that resembled him in a way. 

The thief tilted his head in another familiar gesture and then broke into laughter that was almost infectious if Alice didn’t feel a bit slighted. 

“Apologies,” the thief quickly discerned that he had upset her and reached out his hand to her. “Why don’t I show you?”

Alice hesitated once again. Should she really trust this weird fire-wielding strangely dressed fox-like man? Still, his two eyes—one fox-like, the other human—peered almost pleadingly into hers and she rather quickly gave in to her curiosity.

Alice gingerly reached out and felt her fingertips brush against his. And almost instantly, the same zapping sensation she felt from this morning alighted in her, except it felt more controlled and spread throughout her like a blanket of warmth filling her with a sense that she would be okay. She would be alright and she whole-heartedly believed it.  

She almost stumbled from the sudden sensation of what she could only assume was the power of fire, but the thief drew himself away as soon as he saw her become unstable. 

“I’m sorry, I’m not used to showing this power in front of humans. I still am not sure how much I can share that would not cause you harm,” he confessed looking both concerned and apologetic.

“You’re not human?” Alice questioned, noticing his choice of words.

He gave her a soft uncertain smile. “Perhaps.”

It was the only answer he was willing to give as he glanced at his wrist, “Ah, I have enjoyed our conversation so much that I nearly forgot the time. I must go.”

At this, Alice couldn’t help but look over at the glass case and was shocked to see the grimoire was missing. Since when—

“But before I leave, I want to remember this moment.”

Alice was even more flabbergasted when he pulled at her camera—HER CAMERA, since when did he—and swiftly took a picture of the two of them together. But his words and gestures still sunk into her like a distant memory.

This morning truly felt like a world away now and in a sense it was, because she could never go back to being the Alice she had been when she had woken up this morning. Not after the encounters she had had today.

Meanwhile, Sprit Fox was apologizing to her (again) and handed back her camera. Certainly, he wasn’t called a thief for nothing. 

“Until we meet again, miss~” he turned to leave, but Alice who was looking down at one of her gloved hands, now scorched in a similar manner like this morning, couldn’t help but speak up.

“Don’t you want your picture?” she asked. 

“No need. I did it more for show than anything,” he responded back with a sort of cheekiness that seemed on par with her vision of a phantom thief. “And besides, I sear every memory in my mind for even fire cannot erase my most precious memories.”

She wasn’t sure how’d he escape this room but if how the fox disappeared earlier this morning was anything to go on, she feared this would be the last she saw of him.

“No,” she called out before he melted into the shadows. At this point, she could only see his tails, all aflame, swishing back and forth. But they had stopped and before he could say anything Alice continued, “Once they’re developed, I’ll give them to you. Just promise to meet me again in the snow..." she couldn't help but pause for effect to emphasize her point, "just like this morning.”

The tails pricked up a bit as if she had actually surprised him. Then they settled down again as he partially turned to look back at her. It was his fox eye burning with an emotion she couldn’t place from where she stood that met her gaze again.

At first, it just stared at her, taking her very essence in before seemingly glancing down at her slightly scorched fingertips. 

“I promise.” 

(Note: A little clumsy especially with Alice sneaking around the museum but don't worry Florian helped her intentionally and unintentionally as the staff will find out that their cameras have mysterious stopped functioning entirely as if the very footage had been wiped from existence. Fire magic mayhaps?

Absolutely aggravating. Just positively aggravating.

That was the word that kept spinning in Alice’s mind as she took the bus ride home from work. Today had been dreadfully…well, aggravating. Simply because she was still regulated to doing petty work, work she should have been done with over a month ago when she was still a fresh newbie in the office.

Yet, it was somehow worse than before as she was mostly stuck in the office sorting out files, answering and making phone calls, and editing clips and pieces that she honestly felt were inadequate in their writing. Alice was never one to toot her own horn but even she believed some of her male colleagues would find more suitable work elsewhere when she compared her own writing to theirs.

Still, despite doing journalism work that was equivalent to a firefighter regulated to rescuing kittens stuck in trees all day long, it was Alice’s own fault. About a month ago she had gotten in trouble with her day out to the museum. The interview she got from it was fine, but it was the fact that a left behind glove of hers had made some suspicious that she had overstayed her welcome. Not to mention the fact that the glove had been found in a room next to the gallery that held the grimoire which had been stolen the same night.

Alice became a suspect in abetting a criminal and while it looked dicey for a while, her clean record and surprisingly, a testimony from Miss Keogh got her off the hook. Honestly, she should be happy she still even had a job but it was perhaps her status as the “new girl” that had saved her. As much as that title had become a symbol of the patriarchal hierarchy of her job, she begrudgingly had to admit it saved her this time.

She sighed as she leaned her head against the windows of the bus, absent-mindedly watching the heavy snowfall falling urgently passed her as if it was on its own little mission. Seeing such a sight reminded her of her thief. He had promised her that they’d meet again in the snow but it had been a month since then and nothing had come of it.

Well, that actually wasn’t technically true. Just this evening, one of the last articles Alice had to edit was one written about Mr. Spirit Fox who had quickly risen to infamousness. It was actually because he had kept his word and had burned the grimoire in front of a large audience that brought him his infamy. Not to mention, there were claims from a news competitor that he had sent a calling card asking one of their reporters to come witness his grand conflagration. 

He certainly did live for the attention, didn’t he? The cheeky thing.

But it also brought attention to the fact that fire did indeed continue to exist in this world and it seemed to be wielded by a self-righteous thief who seemed to be doing what he was doing just for the heck of it. Simply put, he was no Robin Hood, but one who worked for his own selfish desires.

Alice frowned. Yes, it was chaotic in those first few days after the fire reveal. The government had convened and quickly came to the conclusion that they wanted that thief captured, but strangely they wanted him alive, not dead as Alice had thought they would have wanted. Surely, their predecessors would’ve wanted that, no?

And yet, due to her having rather petty work for the last month, Alice had found ample opportunity to learn more about the history of fire in this world and its disappearance. While digging deep deep and even deeper to find the buried truths behind fire had been a tiring thing to do, Alice’s eyes had slowly opened up to a new reality that seemed to have been within the very fringes of her peripherals this whole time.

Fire truly did still exist in this world of ice and snow, but only when it was convenient.

As in, it was only allowed to be when it was convenient to the select few that held power in this world. A monopoly over an element that shouldn’t exist in this world. Alice could only shake her head over how unfortunately unoriginal it was to history.

But all this made her wonder about her thief even more. What was he exactly? A rogue variable they hadn’t anticipated? Or an anomoly? Perhaps he was a remnant of some magical stragglers who had smuggled away their knowledge and power of fire through the generations.

“You’re not human?” Alice heard her own voice from the past ring in her ears.

“Perhaps.” Had been his answer back that still mystified her to this day.

As she got off the bus and walked within the wintry darkness of the night, Alice continued to go around and around in her head the thief who could use fire and transform into a fox and wasn’t quite human for it.

So lost in thought was she that she failed to notice as she reached the door to her humble abode that a little package was waiting for her on the welcome mat.

It was only when her foot bumped against something soft, but firm that made a sort of small yelping sound that Alice, startled, looked down at her feet. 

Instantly, she felt bad as she knelt down and beheld a bundle of orange and white fur shivering on the ground. When Alice got closer to it, it moved and lifted up its head to reveal a face half burnt by fire with the other side left untouched. It was clear that something was wrong with the fox (as that's what it was) though Alice couldn’t see what the issue was and that worried her.

“My apologies for hurting you, but Mr. Spirit Fox...it is you, right?” Alice felt a little stupid asking the obvious but it always seemed to be human nature to confirm verbally what the eyes couldn’t believe. 

In response, the fox’s head titled down slightly as if even moving was a bit of a challenge for him at the moment. But sensing that was confirmation, Alice frowned. She glanced up at the night, the snow still falling just as heavily as before. She quickly looked back down at her fox whose fur was matted with snow as well and looked as if he couldn’t move.

This wouldn’t do at all and she had to be quick about it. 

So, Alice opened her front door and then, rather resolutely, Alice gently wrapped her arms around the fox and picked him up. He didn’t seem to have anticipated this as he started to squirm a little at her touch. 

“Please hold still or I may drop you,” she warned sternly. 

While being in such close proximity to her fox was causing tingles to zoom up and down her body as heat began to flow through her veins yet again, Alice ignored it as she somehow shut the door behind her and carried him inside.

Finally, she placed him on her bed for she deemed it was more comfortably than whatever her dingy couch could provide (yes, she wasn’t the best at furniture as she bought only what her little salary could afford and cheap things weren’t always the comfiest). But naturally, the bed had to be well budgeted for as it was the one respite she had in her busy life.

And now, a still shivering fox was resting on it, tail curled up around himself protectively as he stared up at Alice with one eye that appeared exhausted and weary, the other still burned with a passion that seemed less fiery than before.

But what was she to do? She was almost at a loss but gathering herself, she got out a towel and brush. Asking permission and seeing it granted, Alice got to work quickly but carefully brushing and removing the snow out of the fox’s fur.

After she had done this, Alice got out a blanket she reserved for the comfiest of nights and carefully draped it over her fox. Then, she sat down next to him.

“Are you hurt? Sick? Please, how can I help you?” Alice asked, slowly, gently, hoping at the very least her voice could be a soothing remedy for the time being. Perhaps she was also trying to calm herself in this way as she knew the power a single voice can carry in reassuring someone in their darkest of times.

The fox’s ears twitched languidly as he tried to lift up his head to say something but only a soft whimper came out. For whatever reason, that shifted something in Alice’s heart because she couldn’t help but reach out and gingerly pet him on the head. This was a direct touch, similar to their first meeting and yet, despite the initial discomfort of that fiery feeling zapping into her, Alice allowed her hand to remain where it was—comforting him.

Alice didn’t know it, but her touch had affected him each time as well. It was more of a chilling sensation that ran through his bones and brought a shiver that ran through his spine. It was equally uncomfortable and painful at first, though he had hidden it well, but slowly he had gotten used to it. Her cold touch would linger each time like snowflakes melting into his skin. 

While the snow had become something he had grown used to, even grew slightly bored with, in this pallid world of greys and whites, the thief found her touch pleasant. Too pleasant as he felt himself lean into her touch, eyes closed in a sign that he was finally relaxing. 

When Alice saw this, and realized he was looking a bit drowsy, she would have loved to let him rest but she had to find out what was wrong with him.

‘Mr…oh, I still don’t even know your name properly,” Alice frowned, looking almost pouty as she realized this with a start. “The papers only refer to you as Spirit Fox but surely that isn’t your real name, is it?”

Spirit Fox opened his eyes and looked up at her with an expression of sheepish guilt. He shifted a bit in place but after exerting some effort, relaxed again rather begrudgingly it looked.

Alice paused for a moment to look him over thoroughly before speaking up again, “You can’t transform right now I’m assuming…?”

He nodded his head looking even more embarrassed and a tad upset.

Alice wasn’t sure how he became a fox in one moment and a man in the next but for now, it seemed like he didn't have the power to change. So she’d do her best to figure out what she could do and not linger on what she couldn’t do. 

Thus, she promised she would be back and went out to find something that could help. Water and food were necessities, of course. Ah, but would the water be too cold for him? Tea would perhaps be better. Alice knew a herbal tea that would soothe and warm him up. 

As she prepared the tea and food (she had decided on some easily digestible biscuits (English kind), Alice couldn’t help but wonder how he had found out where she lived. While she was glad to be able to help him during his hour of need, how had he come to be upon her doorstep in the first place? 

Stalker. Was her first thought but she quickly pushed it aside…

… … …actually the more she thought about it, maybe he was a stalker. She had thought it was her imagination that she had felt eyes on her on her way back home here and there over the last month. Was it him…?

Regardless, she would question him later. Right now, he needed attending to. When Alice returned to her bedroom with her tray of goodies, she saw he was still curled up underneath her blanket just as she left him. Still, he needed some nourishment so after she put down her tray, Alice cautiously lifted up the blanket to wake him up and instantly took a step back at what she saw.

It was him in human form, a sight that greeted her with some surprise as he remained curled up just as he had been in fox form. Even his tails were wrapped around him in an extra protective layer of warmth.

Speaking of, it looked as if the heat coming off of him was visible as he seemed to shimmer with an orange light that was all his own. His eyes was closed however, which meant that Alice still had to wake him up.

Hesitantly, Alice carefully reached out and touched his shoulder calling softly, “Mr. Spirit Fox…?”

To her surprise, he woke up instantly as unbeknownst to Alice, her very touch was enough to shock him out of his slumber. He sat up and stared at her a bit bleary eyed as a soft “Hmmm?” hummed its way out of him.

Well, at least she would be able to understand him now. “I brought you some tea and biscuits. I thought they would help you feel better.”

He stared at her a bit more, his brain seemingly trying to register what she had just told him but as Alice gestured to the tray of goodies and handed him a tea cup, Spirit Fox obliged and took a sip.

They sat in silence as they both partook in indulging in the simple snacks. Alice couldn’t help but notice with much amusement that her thief nibbled on the biscuits much like she felt he would if he was still a fox. Yet, he drank his tea normally. Truly, he was a strange one.

When she saw he was mostly finished, she asked, “May I finally know what your name is? I would hate to continue calling you by your title.”

He paused mid-sip of his tea and put the cup down as his toothy grin returned. “My name? I’ve almost forgotten it…”

“What? How is that possible?” Alice asked perplexed.

His smile became a bit softer. “I don’t have family or friends really. I only have allies who only know me by the name Spirit Fox and that’s it. I’ve not had a need to tell anyone my real name until now.” He paused as if he had momentarily forgotten it again and perhaps he had because he slightly frowned as he said, “My name is Florian…Florian Brand.”

Truth be told, Florian couldn’t remember the last time he had said his name out loud like this so it felt foreign on his tongue, but it sounded right so he went with it. 

“Brand? As in fire?” Alice repeated, and explained when she saw his blank look. “Brand can mean fire or conflagration in some languages, so quite fitting I’d say.”

His tails twitched as that amused tilt of his head that she had become so familiar with returned as he murmured, “That would explain a few things…”

Unfortunately, he didn’t elaborate and Alice suspected he wouldn’t so instead, upon realizing she also hadn’t properly introduced herself, said, “Apologies, I haven’t properly gave you my name either. My name is Alice DeRoss.”

Florian grinned and said, “I already knew that~”

Alice blinked, and stared at him suspiciously.

“How did you know? And on that matter, how did you find me?” she decided to ask one of her most burning questions. She gave him a slightly sly look. “You weren’t stalking me, were you?”

“Oh, I was actually,” Florian admitted unabashedly.

“What?” Alice’s eyes grew wide in shock which nearly caused Florian to double over with laughter.

“I’m joking. Partially anyway…” he took a sip of his tea before explaining, “I actually meant to meet you again sooner than this and managed to find out where you worked. When I went to confirm this, I learned your name but not where you lived, of course. As I was leaving, I saw you getting off work. I followed, hoping to possibly catch up but…” and here he paused looking a bit sheepish. “But you took the bus and I couldn’t keep up.”

“You still managed to find my house however…” Alice pointed out. Clearly, she believed he was still holding some information from her.

Florian picked up on this and looking a little defeated, gave her a small smile and confessed, “I learned the route of the bus and it was simply a matter of…following your scent that led me to your doorstep tonight.”

Yet again, Alice was reminded of how perfectly inhuman he could be at times. As she glanced at the faux fox wrapped around his shoulders she had to wonder if it was the fox possessing the man or the man possessing the fox.

“But why now? What was wrong with you earlier?” Alice continued to press on with her seemingly neverending questions.

Thankfully, Florian didn’t seem to mind though he took a few moments to answer as he turned his head to look out the window at the falling snow. “In a world of ice and snow, my presence is an affront to the natural order of this world. Since this world rejects me, I sometimes get…” he paused, searching for the right word, his eyes moving around as if the word would appear in thin air right in front of him. “sick, I guess you could say.”

Sick? That was rather an underestimate as Alice had been worried he was nearing death’s door when she had found him outside her home. The warm healthy glow that surrounded him now was a far cry from the shivering cold fox she had held in her arms just a little while ago. Even now, she was worried he was putting up a front as some subtleties in his gestures and actions still hinted at signs of fatigue.

He noticed her staring at him and asked, “Are you worried about me? Don’t be. I’ve been through this for as long as I can remember so I’ve gotten used to it.” 

Florian even gave her a reassuring smile but Alice remained unconvinced. For as long as he could remember…for some reason the thought of a little Florian shivering out there all alone in the snow twisted her heart greatly. He had said before he had no friends or real family so had he been alone like this is whole life?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Florian moved to get up as he said, “It’s getting late. I apologize for intruding, but I thank you for—“

He stopped abruptly when a spasm of pain shot through his body as if a knife had been plunged right through his chest. At the same time, Alice had also moved to stop him from leaving but managed to catch him in her arms as he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground in the process.

“You’re not going anywhere,” her voice left no room for argument despite Florian looking for once quite upset through his pain.

He allowed her to gently help him back onto the bed before once again being covered by the blanket that was too fluffy and comfortable for its own good. Florian could already feel himself slipping again into the realm of dreams but he wanted to stay up a little longer because he enjoyed talking to Alice.

But despite perhaps having the most fun he had had in ages, he was bothered by something.

“Are you not afraid of me?” it was perhaps a rather silly thing to ask at this point, but it had been nagging him since they had first met. “There’s not many people who would have a conversation with someone like me. To harbour me is also a crime, but you know that.”

Alice gazed steadily at him as she weighed her next words in her mind. Not quite finding them, however, she decided it would be best to show him. She excused herself from the room and went over to her study, picked up a few items and returned promptly back to a waiting Florian. Then, she proceeded to neatly lay what she collected on the bed in front of him without a word.

And when he looked, Florian was partially astonished to see it was news clippings of his most recent exploits. Not just from the paper she worked at either, but from competitors who had their own unique voice and style.

One clipping was about how he had stolen a traditional umbrella said to house restless souls (he hadn’t burned that one but traded it off to someone he hoped could help release them). Another detailed how he had stolen a painting that was said to be created from the mentally disturbed mind of an artist who had mysteriously disappeared.

Then, of course, there were bigger prints of his ultimate heist to date—the devilish grimoire and its proceeding conflagration which exposed to the whole world that fire still existed. It also started a manhunt for Florian who still remained as elusive as ever somehow. 

He picked up one of the clippings of the grimoire and after scanning it quickly, mumbled, “I actually wanted you to write about this one.”

At this Alice perked up, “You did?”

Florian nodded and put down the paper to look at her. “You must have heard I sent a calling card to a few newspapers but only one sent a reporter to cover the event. No doubt they didn’t believe me. I was hoping your paper would, but I was unfortunately wrong.”

This made Alice’s earlier aggravation well up inside her all over again. The thought of quitting passed like a soft whisper through her thoughts. At first, she didn’t entertain it, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized how appealing be an independent investigative journalist would be more rewarding. It would be extremely tough at first, but she was confident she’d pull through somehow.

“I wanted to learn more about you and what you stood for, but your pattern doesn’t make sense. The items you steal have no real connections to each other besides being tied to rumors and unsolved mysteries.”

She frowned as a sudden thought occurred to her. “Wait, is it the thrill of chasing such ghosts that appealing to you?”

Florian couldn’t help but laugh, it was warm and light and once again was quite infectious and a fuzzy feeling started to blossom in Alice’s chest. 

“Ghosts is a good way to describe it,” he nodded thoughtfully, once he had settled down. “But you could say that. In a world that treated me like a ghost, I suppose finding out the truth about others like me is a goal of mine as well~”

Florian said this rather light-heartedly but the heaviness of the reality of his words weighed on Alice’s mind long after he had said them. Considering what he had said before about companionship, it only just occurred to her how alone he must be. A ghost, huh? And now this ghost was being hunted for what purpose exactly Alice didn’t know but it couldn’t be good.

“Stay here for as long as you need to,” Alice said as she packed her things from the bed to put back in the study. When it looked as if Florian was about to argue, she gave him a look that said “don’t you even dare.” 

Alice took the papers and the now empty tray back to their proper places before popping back into her bedroom to inform Florian she was going to sleep on the couch.

At this, Florian heavily opposed and said that he wouldn’t mind taking the couch—he was the guest after all. It was his turn to leave no room for argument but they still proceeded to get into a heated exchange of words. No, literally, as Florian got a bit too passionate over his concern for Alice’s comfort, actual flames started to spark off of him like little fireworks that distracted her.

In the end, the settled in sharing the bed but agreed that he wouldn’t mind returning to being a fox to make it less…weird. That, and they’d put a pillow between them since Florian still held the fear he’d accidentally burn her in his sleep. 

And thus, it was so. after saying their good nights and turning off the lights, they got comfortable. It didn’t take long for Alice to hear Florian fall asleep. As a fox, he truly was as quiet as a ghost, but he’d make the tiniest of sounds here and there that indicated to her that he was not only asleep but still in pain. 

Alice could leave and sneak away to the couch, but when she heard him shift uncomfortably, whimpering as he did so, she couldn’t bring herself to. Instead, she reached out again to give him a reassuring touch until she realized that may wake him, so instead she used her voice.

“I’m here, Florian. I see you, so sleep well,” she reassured him, thinking once again how he must have done this alone up until now. 

To her relief, it seemed to have worked as he calmed down a bit. Truly, one’s voice could be just as powerful as physical touch. After feeling like she could finally be at ease, Alice allowed herself to slip into sleep as well.

The morning brought the rare kisses of warmth from the sun’s rays which seemed to seep into Alice’s very core and fill her with an indescribable heat from her head to her toes. Wasn’t this a bit much though? The sun’s warmth never felt this hot. 

She blinked her eyes open and the first thing she noticed was a mound of grey ashes in front of her. Alice found herself fully awaking now as she took in the scene around her…

The pillow that had separated her from Florian was now burnt to nothing but ashes, yet everything else—her bed, herself, even the blankets somehow—remained untouched. In the pillow’s place was Florian himself, now back in his human form but still curled up like a fox against her. One of his tails had curled around her waist while another was playfully waving itself in front of her face as if wishing her a good morning in place of its owner who was still sound asleep.

Alice took a moment to freeze, finally waking up fully to realize her predicament. Yet, as she looked at Florian who was resting peacefully now with a soft smile on his face, Alice couldn’t bring herself to move just yet.

“And you were so adamant about not wanting to be near me last night, you liar,” Alice said quietly in order not to wake him.

He didn’t respond as he still continued to be trapped in lalaland but his tail around her waist released her and went back to his side as if to say he wasn’t a complete liar.

Alice stayed like that for a bit longer before getting up carefully and slowly with precision. It was time for breakfast and she wanted to make sure they were both well nourished. She knew a good place that sold nutritious breakfasts with some nice baked goods on the side as a treat. 

And then, after that, she’d officially quit her job at the paper, become independent, and make sure her fox would have a safe refuge to have for whenever he may need it. Because even though she was basically becoming his partner in crime, Alice didn’t mind as long as this search for the truth was something they could do together.