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“Of course. Tell your parents I said hi.”

I had no idea what her name was, and I didn’t bother looking at her name tag before I headed out of the pharmacy to get back home and have breakfast with my family.

To my luck, Nia wasn’t outside, so I made my way back home and pushed the thought of her making fun of me off my mind.

When I entered the house, Papa was sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his lap and a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Hey, sweetheart. Where have you been so early?”

“I went on a walk. I was up early and couldn’t fall back asleep,” I lied.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I slept well and didn’t need any more hours,” I told him, sitting down next to him.

“Where’s Mama and Fennec?”

“Out back, talking to the neighbors.”

I leaned against him, letting out one more sigh which was about my tenth since I walked back from the pharmacy.

“How are you? Do you miss camp?”

“Of course I miss camp. I can’t wait to go back, but Mama’s happy and I don’t wanna ruin Christmas for her. She’s also very excited to have you back for your nineteenth. It’s always strange to have you and Fen be the same age,” he said.

I smiled up at him and nodded. “It’s strange for me as well. But it’s fun too.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked back down at the newspaper on his lap, but I didn’t feel like reading the article on it.

“Papa?”

“Yes, Vespyr?”

“Was it true what Fennec told me about the fox he brought back to camp? That it was hurt?”

He didn’t respond right away, and when he shrugged, I looked up to see his face.

“I don’t know. He came back with it already dead.”

I observed him for a moment, and when he noticed that wasn’t a good enough answer for me, he sighed heavily.

“I heard a gunshot minutes before he came back, it wasn’t far away, and hunters never come this close to camp.”

A knot tightened in my throat and I tried to think of anything other than Fennec killing the fox without it being hurt already.

“Do you think he might’ve killed it?” I asked.

“I don’t know, Vespyr. We promised you to never shoot one, and so far, I’ve been keeping my promise.”

“I know you have.”

When the back door opened and Fennec walked in with Mama, I sat up and looked at him with a deep frown.

His eyes met mine, and when he shot a questioning look in my direction, I nodded to answer his silent question if I had gone and taken the pill.

He wouldn’t have to worry about that, but the thing about the fox was bugging me.

“Morning, sweetie. Where were you this morning?” Mama asked when I got up from the couch.

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