Third adjusted the mask to make sure it was secure and his eyes were completely covered. This part was going to be trickier than usual. Third and his brothers normally lived and worked in the forest; they knew how to come and go silently there and not be seen. This desert environment, with the dry air and the hot sun and the endless miles of sand, made it hard for black fur to hide from watchful eyes. There was no where to hide. Trees and bushes had been replaced by dunes and blank spaces, spotted with only the occasional hardy plant.

It seemed like a small difference, but because of it Second and Third had not been able to keep a close watch when Prime entered the village and interacted with the wolves for the first time. He only had a quick rundown from his brother of what to expect and the uncertain shield of being new to protect him. The mask was not going to help.

Third found their room without issue and inspected it for traps or bugs that might have been left when Black Fox was gone. Prime wasn’t as good at spotting them as Third was, but it looked like they had been spared that indignity. The rookie dorms weren’t being spied on, either in the room or in the hall. And, as Prime and Second had said, they were much too crowded for two additional fox ninja to secretly be living amongst them. They would have to make due in their desert den.

When he opened the door to the hallway two wolves darted past, rushing as they tripped over pulling on shoes and arranging shirts. Third kept his pace more dignified as he followed them. As he hoped, they led him to the cafeteria where breakfast was being served.

The wolves in the room ignored him, chatting loudly as everyone tried to speak over everyone else. A far group waved to another, bouncing in their seats; a girl shrieked as one of the boys tried to get too close and got a good smack for his trouble; one small child sat in a pile of blankets and seemed to be very content right where he was, snoring away.

When Third picked up a tray and slid down the line to have the lump of gray mush piled on, the man on the other side of the counter gave a very deliberate sniff and a hard look at both the mask and the ears on Third’s head. “Who’re you?”

“Black Fox,” Third said.

The cook cocked his head sideways, as if a different angle would give him a different answer. “You sure you’re in the right place?”

Third shrugged. “This is where I get breakfast, right?” Prime had said so, and the two wolves he’d followed had gone the same way as Prime’s directions, but sometimes they got a bit muddled.

“Aye,” the wolf answered. “If you’re the fox, I guess it is.”

That was an odd answer, but Third didn’t question it. Instead he slid his plate down and got a few charred pieces of bacon, a biscuit, and a glass of milk added to his tray. It was easy to balance and carry the load in his human skin, eyes glancing for an empty spot to eat in relative peace, but he wished he could be in his fur. It was easier that way since no one in the room would actually expect him to talk and respond then.

Someone waved to him, beckoning, and Third followed the urgent signals to an already overcrowded table. Of course Prime would make friends with these wolves. They were bouncing in their seats, full of energy, and seemed like eager, cheery morning people.

“Are you in the close combat training today?” one of the wolves said as Third sat down. He poked a fork at the lump on his plate to try and determine if it was edible. He wasn’t quite sure what it was. “I heard teach is going to start letting us use the stars.”

Third shrugged. Second had warned him about the class assignments before switching, and the reasons he’d wanted to switch. “I’m on theory today, actually. Pretty sure they’re trying to bore me to death.” Prime and Second would be bored out of their mind; Third didn’t much care one way or the other.

“So have you figured it out yet?” another wolf asked. Names were hard when all of them seemed to look the same. Third could see the differences between them, but the vague descriptions he had to identify them from wasn’t enough.

“Figured what out?”

“Why the captain scented you twice!” the first boy hissed, eyes darting around the room. “It’s totally all over the compound now. He never scents anyone twice.”

“It’s probably because he’s a fox,” a girl sighed as she plopped her tray on the table and shoved her way between the boys to get a seat. “Haven’t you noticed? His scent gets all funny sometimes.”

Suddenly the first boy was very close and his nose was twitching as he tried to figure out just what the girl meant. “He smells like breakfast,” he decided.

The girl threw her napkin at him. “That’s because you think with your stomach, dumbass. The captain probably wants to know if it’s a fox thing or something. Do you know?”

Third shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never noticed my scent changing, but I can’t exactly scent myself.”

“True,” the girl nodded. The others around her nodded as if this was some sage wisdom she had imparted. “Aren’t you eating?”

Third poked the mass of something on his plate again and thought about putting a bite of it in his mouth. His stomach thought the idea was pretty stupid. Instead he grabbed the biscuit and tore a bite off to slowly chew. It was dry and stale, but at least it still tasted like a biscuit. “Sorry, feeling a bit off this morning,” he said to excuse his behavior. Prime didn’t care what he shoved in his mouth as long as it was food. Third was a bit more particular, and ‘feeling off’ was the standard excuse for both his touchy stomach and the mask. It would come in handy if he actually ate the blob of barely edible, wobbly, breakfast and then had to throw it up later when his stomach took protests to the next level.

“That why you have the mask on today?” the girl asked, echoing his thoughts slightly. “You wore it the first day, but you seemed okay leaving it off after that.”

Third shrugged. “I’m not used to the same things you are, here,” he said. “I’m hoping it will help when your entire village is just too damn bright.” And every single bit of that was the truth.

The boy hummed. “You’re from the forest, right? Your dad made an arrangement for you to train at the academy?”

Third nodded.

“So, is it like, dark there?”

Third huffed out a laugh and almost choked on the too-dry bread. “At night the whole world is dark,” he said. “You’re going to have to be more specific if you want an answer to that.”

Suddenly Third froze. He could feel a nose behind his ear, brushing the edges of the shell, and hot breath on the nape of his neck. One of the more advanced ninja was scenting him, and Third took a deep interest in the wood grain of the table to distract himself from the very sharp teeth so close to his throat like a threat. The swirls reminded him of the forest, of safety, and the need to keep up the role so the three of them weren’t discovered. The mask wobbled a bit, and Third’s hands immediately flew up to hold it steady and make sure it didn’t fall. What was it with wolves and scenting the back of the neck anyways? It wasn’t like there was anything particularly smelly there. If he wanted smelly, Third would give the wolf his armpit. At least then he could keep an eye on the nosy bastard.

It took a minute, but in the silence the cafeteria emptied. Third wanted to follow the other rookies out and head to his training. The hand on his shoulder said that he wasn’t yet welcome to leave.

“You’re wearing a mask,” the captain said. It had to be the captain, or someone else very high level. No one else scented the rookies who came in. “Any reason why?”

Third kept his voice steady even as he wanted to tremble. He wasn’t sure if it was anger or nerves or something else intangible, but he wrestled the feeling down until all that was left was determination to play the role. To be the face of Black Fox. “Most people wear masks so others can’t see their faces. Do you always sneak up on people from behind?”

“It’s the ninja way,” the other said. He didn’t sound sorry.

“To sneak up on enemies. You aren’t supposed to be an enemy, as far as I’m aware.”

“No, I’m not.” He walked around and sat in the seat opposite Third. “I’m your captain, not a threat.”

Third shrugged. “Is there something you needed from me, sir?”

There was silence for a moment that dragged on for too long. The captain’s face was a blank slate, as hard to read as the sandstone these wolves seemed to make for everything. “Why wear a mask today?”

Third tried to give a casual shrug. “Maybe I didn’t want anyone to see my eyes.” True enough.

“And why would that be so bad?”

To give himself a moment, Third took a deliberate look around the cafeteria. They weren’t alone, but all the rookies were gone. The cook had carted off the large pot of mush, and the part on Third’s tray was congealing itself into an unappetizing rock. There were a few other ninja in the room, but they were hanging back. High level, but keeping their distance, meant they were likely guards. “Sometimes it’s better not to show weakness. Isn’t that what you teach us?”

“Your eyes show your weakness?” He was startled.

It was not at all what Third wanted to talk about. His eyes - it was the one feature they couldn’t figure out how to change. His brothers both had blue eyes to go with their black fur, but Third’s were the color of warm, melted honey with a dark outer ring, and his brothers often called them ‘ghost eyes’. As a kid that had been terrifying. Right now, though, he had to deal with the captain. “Is it hard to imagine that a new rookie, in a new village, hardly a week from his family, might get homesick?”

A sound of distress came from somewhere. Third had to blink away his surprise. Surely that hadn’t come from the captain, who looked as unforgiving as ever, but that strangled noise hadn’t come from Third.

“It’s been more than a week,” the captain said. Third imagined it sounded a bit strained, but that wasn’t really possible. It had to be his imagination.

“And in that short time I’m already tardy for lessons,” Third complained. “Think they’ll let me use you as an excuse?” He was probably being disrespectful to the captain. Prime was going to have kittens over this conversation and pace a trench in their already thin floor. Black Fox should have just rolled over and bared his throat like a good little puppy and not raised any suspicions. But it was like his mouth had started talking without permission from his brain, and someone had set it to ‘act like a brat’.

“I think we can come to an understanding. Let me walk you. I’ll talk to them. You have history now, right?”

“Theory, actually,” Third corrected.

“You’ll do better in history today. Professor Mikal.”

Third frowned at him. “How do you know where I’ll do better and on which days? I didn’t think wolves had diviners.”

“Just a feeling.”

Which wasn’t really an answer at all. Damn the man. He was right, though. Third did prefer history to evasive and infiltration theory. Smug bastard.