The Harvest Moon Ceremony - (Story) (Patreon)

I don't like running reprints, but the last week and a half has been exceedingly hectic. I do though have a lot of stories that haven't got a lot of exposure, so when I have to I go looking for rarities in my collection. I was working on novel edits in the middle part of the month, and when I wanted to work on Patreon content, I got slammed by some life stuff. I also don't want to delay the post since I did that two times in a row, and I need to get my monthly schedule back on track.

This is longer than than the usual stuff I've been posting, and while it's appeared in two anthologies before, it's still one of the more obscure things I wrote. Thus, I'm happy to share the revised edition of this story with with you.

Maleekie crouched down next to the small pile of kindling, his white fur illuminated like a ghost in the night. The harvest moon had finally cleared the trees, bathing the clearing in bright light. The September air was cool as the white fox waited, eyes fixed up on the moon just above the trees.

Satisfied that the time had come, he pulled his eyes off the moon to focus on the task of starting the fire. He struck his flint and steel together, sending sparks flying into the kindling. It took a few tries, but the sparks caught on the dried twigs. The fox quickly fed the flames another twig, letting them grow and spread. He nurtured the fire until it caught on a branch and then looked back up toward the moon.

“It is time, Aki,” he spoke up to the sky. The edges of his muzzle quirked up in a smile. “Guide me tonight so that I might see the stars.” He then dropped his muzzle and closed his eyes to pray. He mumbled arcane words under his breath as the fire crackled softly, not caring about the fox’s strange ways.

The minutes passed, and the small fire started to fade, consuming all of its meager fuel. Maleekie kept praying. With his eyes closed, Maleekie reached for the pouch on the side of his body and pulled out some dried herbs. He tossed them into the fire, and the flames sparked, flickering blue. Maleekie opened his eyes. He threw dried sage onto the fire and then another branch. The fox reached out, pulling the smoke toward himself with his paws, bathing his face and neck in the smoke.

Suddenly, he stood up, the feathers he had weaved into his fur shifting. He stepped away from the fire, grabbed a log, and tossed it onto the flames. Cinders and ash floated up, rising into the air. The fire was almost smothered, but it took hold on the log. As the fire started to grow again, the fox went to where his pack rested, and fetched the hand drum placed on top. Maleekie grasped the drum in one hand, holding it from the back, and held the drum stick in the other. He then returned to the fire and looked up to the moon.

“Oh hear me, goddess! Please accept this offering of song!” he shouted up to the sky. He started to beat on the drum and chant, his tail becoming animated. The fire cast rich oranges into his white fur as the fox stamped his feet. He threw his head back and danced around the fire.

***

If Maleekie was a ghost, then Rata was a shadow. The fox’s obsidian fur blended into the dark as he crouched at the edge of the clearing, watching the curious behavior of the white fox.

Rata had camped for the night just off the road through the forest. He could have made it to the next village, but tonight he wanted to be alone with his thoughts. Low on supplies and hungry, he had decided to try his luck at hunting. Equipped with his spear, he had scoured the area near the road without luck through dusk and into the early evening. He was starting to think he should have kept on traveling to the next village, but when his ears had picked up the drumming sound, he had felt his despair lift. Hoping to trade for food, he had followed the sound.

Just watching the white fox, he could tell there was something curious about him. It had been many years since he’d seen someone perform magic, and though he couldn’t see it, he could feel it. Even where he crouched in the shadows on the edge of the clearing, he felt a tingling in the whiskers on his muzzle as he watched the white fox dancing.

He felt a deep chill in his chest around his heart. This wasn’t just magic; it was White Moon Tribe magic. It would be best if he left before the white fox sensed he had an observer. Rata growled so softly to himself it was almost inaudible to his own ears. He stood and slowly started to back away from the clearing. He was so focused on the dancing fox that he didn’t pay attention to where his paws were going, and one of them stepped on a rotten log. It snapped under his weight, and he stumbled, letting out a soft curse.

The drumbeat ceased as the fox in the clearing paused and looked in Rata’s direction. It was then, when Rata saw the face full on, that he recognized the white fox.

***

She was beautiful with her white fur shrouded in blue cloth. Rata watched from a distance as she made herself busy, helping her parents in the village market. Whenever her family came to the market to trade, he tried to spend as much time in her company as he could. In his eyes, her beauty surpassed that of all the girls in the village. However, since Aki was a member of the White Moon Tribe, it wasn’t always easy for them to be alone.

The villagers gossiped about the secrets of the White Moon Tribe and how it was best to keep your distance from them. They lived further up in the foothills of the mountains in small family groups and only came to the village to trade. Normally, tribe members were aloof and distant to the villagers. However, when Rata had first meet Aki years ago, he was taken by how gentle and kind she was. She was different from the other tribe members, and as he’d gotten to know her, he’d come to find her company immensely enjoyable.

Rata lifted the two benches he had been carrying before he stopped to rest, and headed off toward where he was helping set up for tonight. He would talk to Aki later, after her family packed up their trade goods. Tonight was special, and he had work to finish. The two communities came together once a year to celebrate the fall harvest under the full moon. The local members of the White Moon Tribe would perform a special blessing for the harvest feast with their magic, and the villagers would share their bounty with the tribe. The tradition was old, but remained a revered event for both communities.

In the center of the village, by the chief’s house, the villagers were setting up for the feast. He put the benches down. All of the trestles, boards, and benches for the feast had been brought out. Now, it was just a matter of arranging them.

“This is the last of it,” said Rata to his friend Tishmaw, who was already beginning the process of laying out the tables.

“I hope we have enough seating for everyone,” said Tishmaw. “Let’s get this spread out.”

They worked together to arrange the tables evenly, leaving an aisle in the center. They set out trestles and then laid boards on top of them to form the tables. Benches were placed under them. On one end of the space, they set up a dais with the largest table. They left a large gap between the dais and the other tables for dancing and a fire pit.

“This should do nicely for Aki to perform the blessing,” remarked Tishmaw, when they were done. He elbowed Rata. “Now, try not to stare at her too much when she does it.”

Rata grinned. “I can’t help it.”

Tishmaw shook his head. “Did she tell you what type of magic they use for the blessing?”

Rata shook his head, lying. “No.”

It was well-known that the White Moon Tribe worshiped the moon, but the details of what that actually entailed they never shared. Some said that the blessing contained great religious importance to the tribe. Aki had told him a little about the ceremony. She said she was to offer herself to the goddess of the moon, who would be with her as she then offered the feast in celebration to the goddess and blessed the food. Rata had inquired how this worked, but she had refused to say more.

He felt special knowing just a sliver of what she would be doing, but he had promised not to share this information with anyone else. He was going to keep his word to her.

***

A sound coming from the woods startled Maleekie, breaking his concentration on the spell he was slowly weaving with his dancing. Someone was watching him. He focused his senses in the direction the sound came from and paused in his drumming. The shadows were too deep for him to see anyone, but he caught a hint of eye shine for a brief moment.

Next to the fire, he could only smell wood smoke. The rich herbs he had been burning clouded his nose. He stepped away from the fire to scent the air.

On the wind, there was a faint yet familiar scent. At first, he thought he must be mistaken, and he sniffed again, but there could be no mistaking it. After so many years, to finally run into him again on this night, it was a sign. The goddess had blessed him with this opportunity to finally get his revenge.

He spoke then, not to the moon or the fire, but to the one unseen. “I know you’re here, Rata, show yourself!” He stepped in the direction of the watcher, summoning his magic. A cruel smile came to his lips as he walked toward the woods.

***

Rata had closed his eyes in an attempt to evade the other fox’s sight, but it had been in vain. He felt his tail go limp when he heard Maleekie speak his name. When he opened his eyes, the white fox was slowly walking toward the edge of the clearing.

He could see the menace in Maleekie’s eyes. He turned to flee in blind panic, but it was too late. There was a shout behind him, and the way in front of him exploded in blue flames. Maleekie had cast a spell, and Rata backed up, unsure if he could run through it.

This pause was all Maleekie needed to close the distance between them. He pounced on top of Rata and knocked him down from behind. Rata lost hold of the spear he was carrying when the white fox collided with him. On the ground, he tried to roll the white fox off of him.

“So many years,” Maleekie snarled in Rata’s ears, hanging onto the black fox. “The goddess has blessed me tonight.”

Rata tried to break away, but the other fox would not let go. He struggled until he saw a quick flash of something silvery before it was pressed up against his throat.

“This will be so much easier if you die willingly,” Maleekie whispered coldly into Rata’s ear.

The black fox closed his eyes and gulped.

***

“You will do fine tonight sis,” said Maleekie, as he gently brushed his sister’s fur. He normally didn’t dote on her like this, but tonight was special. She would perform the sacred spirit dance and offer the feast to the goddess by being her vehicle on the earthly plane.

“I’m not sure the goddess will come,” Aki said.

“Nonsense. You have practiced the ritual. You know the incantation. She will visit us tonight. You just have to be ready to offer yourself to her.”

Aki nodded.

“Remember, you must be focused totally as you perform the spirit dance. Only if you are totally focused will you be able to complete the ceremony.”

“I know that already,” she said softly, “but I’m scared I’ll get it wrong, and the goddess will take me.”

“The goddess will not take you so long as you offer yourself completely. Don’t get distracted, and stay focused on performing the spirit dance,” instructed Maleekie, as he brushed his sister’s tail.

She nodded. The youngest female of age in the tribe always performed the ceremony at the harvest moon, and it was a great honor to do this. Maleekie himself envied his sister that she could become so close to the goddess. As a male, he was forbidden from summoning her like this and could only worship her from afar.

Already, Aki’s white fur had lost most of its natural markings. Tonight’s ceremony would strengthen her even more. Maleekie himself still had black streaks on his chest and arms, but they would fade with time. The strength and purity of one’s magic was a badge of honor among the White Moon Tribe, and their fur would change to the purest white as their magical abilities grew stronger.

“Do you ever think about what life is like here in the village?”

“Is this about that village boy again, Rata?” He shook his head. “Our kind is too pure for us to be close to them. They do not possess what we do.”

“I know that,” she said. “Yet we still come here to trade and do the ceremony.”

He paused from trying to get a tangle out of her tail to shrug. “It’s tradition. Nothing more.”

“So you don’t ever think about what it is like to not have gifts like we have?”

Maleekie paused. Had he ever thought about what life was like for the villagers? They had no magical abilities of their own. They could not feel the world like he could.

“No,” he said. “I have always known our gifts make us special, and I would not want to live without them.”

“I wonder,” she whispered.

“Do not worry about it. They are cursed for not feeling the power in every living object and blessed without the responsibilities we have.”

They lapsed into silence, and he finished brushing her tail and walked around her as she sat. “You look ready,” he said.

She bobbed her head. “I am.”

“Good. I will be back in a bit,” he said. “Rest for now, and save your strength. You will need every ounce of it for the ceremony.”

***

Rata slipped into the tent. He was sure nobody wanted him to disturb Aki, but a brief visit before the feast would cheer her up. She startled when he came in, but slowly relaxed when she saw who it was.

“Rata, you shouldn’t be here right now,” she scolded.

“I can leave if you want,” he said with a smirk.

“No,” she said.

Rata felt his tail wag as he sat next to her. “Are you nervous about tonight?”

She was silent. He could tell this weighed heavily on her. “A little,” she said finally.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She smiled softly. “Thank you.”

“Have you thought about what I proposed last time you visited?” he inquired.

She sighed a little and looked away from him. “You aren’t one of the tribe, Rata.”

“I know,” he said, “but you are of age now. It is up to you to make your own decisions.”

“I can’t just turn my back on my family.”

“Will they be upset if we marry?”

She thought for a moment. “Maleekie will be. He will be very angry. Our parents will be too, but I think they might come to understand eventually.”

Rata shifted, trying to keep his tail still. “You’ve told me that magic is addicting. The power it brings intoxicating. Has it become too much for you?”

She turned and looked back at him and reached up to touch his muzzle. “It is addicting, but it does not tell you how beautiful your blue eyes are or how much it loves you.”

Rata smiled. “You are too kind.”

“I do love you, Rata. I just don’t know how to tell my family I want to marry a non-magic user. Tribal law forbids it, but if I give up my magic, they won’t try and stop me.”

“You can do this?” he asked, surprised. “You can just give up your magic?”

“Yes,” she said. “I know there is a way to give it back to the goddess, but I would be dead to the tribe if I did.”

Rata was shocked. “You would do this for me?”

She flicked her eyes away. “It is not an easy thing, but I think I could give up the power. It would leave a hole in me though—I’m not sure I would ever feel complete afterward.”

Rata reached out and squeezed one of her hands. “There has to be another way. We just need to find it.”

She looked back at him, smiling, and leaned forward to kiss him gently on the cheek. “You are always an optimist.”

He smiled again and felt his tail wagging. “Yes. We will find a way for us to marry. I am sure of it.”

There was movement outside of the tent, and they both broke away from their embrace. As much as they loved each other, they were afraid to let anyone discover it.

As soon as they separated, Maleekie entered the tent. He took one look at Rata, and his expression became dark.

“You again?” said Maleekie. “Leave her alone.”

Rata rolled his eyes. “I’m just visiting.”

“I don’t care that you’re the village chief’s son,” hissed Maleekie. “You will leave this moment, or I will kick you out myself.”

Rata stood up, walked over to Maleekie, and looked him in the eye. “Are you threatening me in my own village?” Maleekie was a season older then Rata, but the black fox was taller than the white fox.

Both of them drew their muzzles back into snarls, but Aki intervened.

“They don’t understand our customs, brother. Rata, it is a pleasure to see you as always, but now isn’t the best of times. Later, after the ceremony.”

Rata turned and bowed to Aki. “Very well.” With that, he left quietly, leaving Maleekie and Aki alone.

Maleekie gave his sister a stern look. “I really wish you wouldn’t talk to him.”

She just shook her head at him. “Apparently, you just don’t understand.”

***

Maleekie bound Rata’s hands and feet together behind Rata’s back. He left his captive lying there, facing the fire, as he fetched things from his pack. He returned with a small ceremonial knife, setting it down next to Rata.

“Why do this, Maleekie?” Rata asked, a knot growing in his stomach as the white fox prepared for the ceremony.

“Because, by spilling your blood, I can revenge the wrong you did to me so long ago. Sacrificing you to the moon seems like a fitting end to the story.”

“Does that make it better? Does that change what happened?” Rata asked.

“Shut up before I cut your tongue out,” spat Maleekie. He grabbed Rata and looped rope around Rata’s muzzle so he couldn’t talk.

He left Rata there to lie and wait. Rata stared at the dirt. He didn’t like to think about home and growing up. He still remembered Aki fondly, but the White Moon Tribe was one of those things he longed to forget.

He sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand why Maleekie wanted his revenge; Rata just wasn’t ready to die for it yet.

***

The villagers had assembled, and were milling about waiting, mingling with members of the tribe around the fire pit. The weather for the ceremony was perfect; the early autumn air was still warm, and the sky was clear. The moon had risen up from the east, behind the mountains, and was climbing into the sky.

The cooks brought out legs of lamb and roast vegetables. They set everything down on a large side table. The smell of the rich food wafted over the assembled crowd. Rata stood off to the side drinking spiced cider with Tishmaw while waiting for the feast began. The tantalizing scent of rich spices and roast meat made his stomach rumble.

Finally, everything was prepared, and the call came that the ceremony was about to begin. Mouth watering, Rata grabbed a seat. While his father and the village elders sat at the dais with the elders of the White Moon Tribe, Rata and Tishmaw took seats across from each other adjacent to the main aisle. Rata wanted a good seat so he could watch Aki as she came down the aisle and performed the blessing. Surprisingly, Maleekie chose to join them at their table and seated himself next to Rata.

“I figured you would have sat with someone else,” Rata remarked to the white fox.

“I’m trying to figure out what my sister sees in you,” said Maleekie.

Tishmaw leaned over the table. “It’s his natural, magical fox charm,” he said with a flourish of his hands.

Maleekie just snorted and shook his head, not appreciating the joke.

Rata shrugged and talked to Tishmaw, knowing that Maleekie was listening to his every word. The white fox was always so serious, so controlled. Rata wondered if he ever let himself have fun. Many of the White Moon Tribe members were like this. When he tried to include Maleekie in the conversation, the black fox only nodded or gave brief responses. Instead, he just sat and listened.

Thankfully, they didn’t have long to wait before the guests were all seated and the drums sounded, marking the beginning of the blessing ceremony. First, Rata’s father stood up on the dais and spoke about the blessing of this year’s harvest and the bounty they were about to enjoy. Then, one of the elders of the White Moon Tribe stood up and gave a speech about the beauty of the special friendship the tribe enjoyed with the villagers. Both of the speakers always gave the same speech each year, so Rata’s attention drifted while they spoke.

Finally, the elder from the White Moon Tribe finished talking, and a hush fell. He held up his hands. The gathering turned its attention toward the back and waited. All eyes fixed on the chief’s house. They waited for a minute; then the door opened, and Aki stepped outside.

She glowed with a luminous blue light that shimmered over her white-furred body. Her fur had become radiant inside this blue glow. She stepped forward and approached the gathering. Both of her hands were outstretched and held out low as she deliberately put each foot forward, letting her hands drag through the air behind her.

Everyone was silent, watching her. She walked looking straight ahead. As she approached Rata, he instinctively reached out toward her. For a brief moment, her attention focused on him, and they made eye contact. Then, she stepped forward and passed him. Her hand brushed his outstretched hand, and he could feel the pull of powerful magic. It caused his body to tingle.

Seated next to him, Maleekie grabbed him and pulled him back. “Do not touch her!” he hissed into the black fox’s ear.

Rata sat and watched in awe of the magical power Aki possessed right now. She walked forward and chanted in a language only the White Moon Tribe spoke. The elders bowed to her. She turned and walked to the sideboard where the food was placed. The blue magic radiating away from her made everyone’s fur tingle. She spoke again and raised her arms toward the heavens.

When the blessing was complete, she stepped back from the sideboard, and the blue light left her. She crumpled to the ground, but she didn’t catch herself or try to get up. Her body was still. For a moment, there was just silence.

“No!” screamed Maleekie as he got up and rushed to his sister’s side. His parents bolted toward Aki with him. Together, they tried to wake her, but she would not come to. The elders of the White Moon Tribe came over from the dais and tried to comfort Aki’s parents, leaving Maleekie cradling in his arms the lifeless form of his sister.

Rata tried not to watch, but he felt frozen, unable to turn away. A cold chill settled in his heart. Maleekie looked up from holding his sister, and the rage in his eyes was plain for Rata to see. They bore directly into the black fox, forcing him to finally turn away.

Maleekie laid down Aki, got up, and walked toward Rata.

“You killed her,” said Maleekie, grabbing Rata and snarling in his face. “You forced her to disrespect the goddess, and now the goddess has claimed her.”

Rata was stiff, horror dawning on him. Maleekie hauled off and hit Rata, raking the side of his head, knocking him back against the table. Plates crashed off the table, and the boards slipped off the trestle. The white fox pounced on Rata, snarling. Before Maleekie could seriously hurt Rata, one of the members of the White Moon Tribe grabbed the white fox and pulled him away from Rata.

“Murderer!” shrieked Maleekie.

Rata tried to stand but keeled over. A cold stabbing sensation blossomed like he’d just taken a knife in the chest. He had caused the goddess to claim his love.

***

Maleekie stood over the bound Rata and spoke words in the magical language of the tribe. The black fox felt dread gripping his chest. After a few moments, Maleekie reached down and ripped open Rata’s shirt. He continued to chant for a bit and then pulled out his blade.

Rata could only struggle weakly with his hands and feet bound together. His muzzle was strapped shut. Around him, he felt the impending sense of doom, and the strong feeling of magic. The fur all over his body stood on end.

“For you, Aki,” Maleekie said, opening his eyes, tears welling in them He held out the blade and looked down at the black fox, ready at last to drive the blade into his chest.

Rata closed his eyes, not wanting to see the final blow. His heart pounded fanatically, but he was bound tight. There was nothing he could do but wait for the blade to pierce his chest. Instead, he felt a hand brush over his chest fur.

“How long have you had this marking?”

Rata opened his eyes and looked up at Maleekie.

The white fox grabbed him. “How long?” he asked again. “Only those who worship the goddess like us are gifted with magic like this.”

“Mmph,” was all Rata could say.

With urgency, Maleekie reached under the rope around Rata’s muzzle and pulled it off, ripping at the fur. “How long?” he repeated.

“Since the ceremony,” coughed Rata.

Maleekie sat back on his haunches and dropped the knife into the dirt. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” said Rata.

Maleekie knelt next to him and pressed his hand into the spot of white fur over Rata’s heart. The white fox bowed his head for a moment. He spoke to himself, and Rata could feel the pull of magic again.

“There is a piece of her inside of you. A fragment.”

Rata was silent.

“How?” Maleekie asked, confused.

“I noticed it the morning after the ceremony. It’s never faded, never changed.”

Maleekie’s eyes were wide. “Only those who worship the goddess like us are gifted with magic like this. You don’t control it, but you have a piece of it. You can only become a member of the tribe, if you are not born into it, by having great magical abilities and marrying into it.”

“Aki and I were looking for a way to marry before she died.”

“What?” said Maleekie. He reached up as if to strike Rata and rake his claws across his face, but he stopped himself. “You possess no magic at all. Why would you try to do something so foolish and forbidden?”

Rata looked up at his captor. He deserved to know. “I loved her, Maleekie. I loved her then, and I still love her now, even though she’s gone.”

“No…” said Maleekie in horror. He shoulders slumped, but Rata said nothing else. He didn’t know what else he could tell the other fox that would make him understand.

“The ceremony is performed by the youngest maiden of age in the tribe because it demands one pure of heart, untouched by the desires of lust. Someone who is able to welcome the goddess in totally. Men are forbidden from performing the ceremony due to the belief they can’t empty themselves completely of desire. The goddess requires absolute devotion and attention.”

Maleekie sat back, putting his head in his hands and sobbed. “Aki knew all of this, yet she still tried to perform the dance.”

Rata tried to gently loosen his bonds while the other fox was distracted, but to no avail. “She succeeded.”

“Yes, but you broke her concentration, and for this affront, the goddess took her.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, Maleekie. I’ve lived a long time with this, but they never told us growing up what your tribe’s ceremony really meant. I had no idea there was such risk being undertaken.”

“The tribe does not share the secrets of its magic with the uninitiated.” He picked up the knife and rolled Rata onto his side. He then cut the ropes binding Rata’s hands and feet, freeing the other fox. “Aki forgave you. That’s why a part of her has become a part of you. Killing you would disgrace her forgiveness.”

“Thank you,” said the black fox as he got to his feet. He turned toward the edge of the clearing and then back to Maleekie. “Why are you out here anyway? I’ve never encountered any members of the White Moon Tribe so far from the Mystic Mountains in my journeys.”

The white fox was silent for a moment and then looked up at Rata. “I left the tribe.”

“I thought members of the White Moon Tribe were forbidden to leave.”

“They are,” said the white fox. “They would not let me kill you, so I looked hard for a way to do it without them ever finding out I had. In my quest to find out such secretive techniques, I found things that made me question the tribal elders’ wisdom.”

“Ways to kill me?” asked Rata, his fur suddenly itching.

“Yes. There are more magics in the world than the one the tribe practiced. Ours is a magic based on illusion. Far to the south, there is a tribe of wolves who practice a form of magic based on the earth. There are other groups, but nobody was ever willing to tell me more about them. The tribe fears anyone ever learning too much about these other groups. I decided to defy the elders and seek my own path.”

“I take it since I’m still alive, you never found these other magic users.”

“Oh I did,” said the fox, “but what they showed me was a more complex world than I had been taught. I returned to find myself an outcast, banished form the tribe. They did not want to hear what I could teach them.”

“There was no place to go then, so I’ve wandered. I heard rumors of great secrets out in the forest here. With nothing better to do, I journeyed out here. Alas, all I’ve found are small villages and plain, simple people.”

Rata nodded. “The Forest of Eldnor is not enchanted. The people are untouched by such things.”

“Why are you here?” asked Maleekie, now curious.

Rata flicked his tail. “I could never shake what happened. It has haunted me, and I could tell people treated me differently because of it. I eventually felt I would never get beyond what happened by staying in the village. I became a traveling bard. I tell stories from the mountains to the people of the forest. I also sing songs about Aki so that she can live on in the music I perform.”

“It seems we are both outcasts from the mountains because of what befell Aki,” said Maleekie.

“It appears so.”

The white fox was silent. “You know that this is the same moon cycle that she died under?”

Rata looked up toward the moon. “Yes, the harvest moon.”

“I always take this time to do a remembrance ceremony for her. To let the goddess know I haven’t forgotten her.” Maleekie choked up a little. “I would like you to join me in it tonight.”

“To remember her together?” Rata asked, narrowing his eyes at the other fox.

Maleekie nodded. “Yes, together.”

The black fox reached out a hand to the white fox. “I would be honored.”