Ava Alice interrupted, “Oh,nowshe's willing.”
Kitsune Kitty sneered. “Before she was too good for it.”
Sage shook her head. “Not too good. I just think we should be workingwiththevod, not spying on them.”
“Tell that to thevod,” Ava Alice said.
“After they throw you in jail for existing,” Kitsune Kitty added.
Sage dropped her eyes to the rocks again, nodding. “I'll do whatever you say. I was wrong to refuse you. I’ll take the dispatcher job.”
“Pshh. We put someone in that position already,” Ava Alice said. “You're going to work at Mugshots, that way yourpredilectionscan be put to good use.”
AA and KK laughed nastily. Inside, Sage was horrified; outside she hardened her will and stared at the face of the fox statue, ignoring AA and KK. She’d gone to school with those two and they’d always thought they were better than anyoneelse,especiallySage, andespeciallyafter they’d discovered her innocent crush on thevodvodCanyon Wheeling.
If AA and KK knew what Sage had done years ago… Sage blanked her mind, not thinking about it. No one knew, and if anyone ever found out, she’d be ostracized by her own kind. Silence spun on. Sage couldfeeltheir stares, like they were mentally clawing at her. Finally, after what felt like hours, someone spoke.
“Reynard,” Ava Alice snapped.
A fox came forward with a pouch around its neck. It was Reynard Van Crimson, shifted into his perfect red fox, with his vibrant flagrenquamoving fluidly on his left shoulder, white fur set into orange fur. Sage smiled and knelt to open the pouch. Inside was a driver’s license with Sage’s picture on it and the name ‘Sage Greene’ with an address at Fox Valley Apartments, downtown.
Internally, Sage panicked about the last name. “Thanks,” she whispered, holding the license tightly in her hand.
Reynard cackled wildly and flipped his tail in the air, then ran off.
Ava Alice turned into a fox, shrugged her way carefully out of her clothes, and hopped down the ravine wall. She sniffed all around Sage, then ran back up the ravine wall to her spot. She nosed her way back inside her clothes, then twisted and shifted in an expert move.
“She doesn't need to cover her scent,” Ava Alice said.
Kitsune Kitty laughed. “Because she smells just like a human.”
Sage flushed hotly and dropped her eyes, feeling like she was back in school, shuffling her feet, heat burning up her throat and into her head. A small, cool hand crept into her left hand, and someone else grasped her right hand—Paisley and Frannie. She smiled at them, her cheeks cooling. Mina came close as a foxand crowded around her feet, and Aunt Bristol also, until most of her family were gathered close. Sage swallowed a lump in her throat.
Kitsune Kitty rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Ava Alice slumped and looked away. “Whatever.”
Rosenvelt Van Boesen stood and looked up at the others. “All vote,” he called out. “Kitsune Kitty and Ava Alice vote yes. I vote yes.”
“Yes,” Slinger said.
The hoodedfoxenat the top inclined their head.
Rosenvelt turned to Sage with a kind smile. “Unanimous approval. I’ll coordinate the team to protect Paisley, and I’ll lead them myself each month. I’ll also be your contact with the Vvyndicate.”
Sage’s shoulders unknotted and she smiled at him. She didn’t know Rosenvelt well, but his support was welcome.
Kitsune Kitty caught Sage’s eye. KK put her claws out and showed her teeth. Sage looked away. What in the hell was KKs problem?
Behind her, the chant started, signifying they were to walk back.
“Uruh oo
Uruh ee
Uruh oo
Uruh ee”
