Hours had gone by, and right before sunrise they started to leave the village. The whole group gathered with everything they had taken or traded for, and they had little baskets, buckets and bags to bring everything home in. Vaeril and another male had turned their shapes into men, to help them organize quickly. And as they packed everything down so they could carry it home, he could suddenly hear the sound of footsteps.
  A low growl, a warning, left a white kitsune, and those bags and baskets which were already filled were picked up as some of the group ran away with the loot. The one who had helped Vaeril pack turned back to his fox-like shape. A regular white adult with nine tails. Even he growled and showed his teeth to the stranger who came walking towards them.
  Vaeril could tell from the scent that the stranger was an Elven female. She came walking slowly with her hands out for him to see, and her eyes straight at his. And there he stood, waiting, naked in the first light of day. He knew Elves dressed in clothing, and if he had planned to meet one he would have brought something to wear with him. His own people had stopped caring about clothes, as their fur kept them warm in the forest.
  “Don’t worry, I mean no harm”, she said in the Elven tongue. “I came to warn you, someone saw one of you. A white one. And we never see kitsune around here, so the rumor will soon start to spread. I know why you came, and I don’t blame you. But I think we both know what can happen, so I hope you will stay away and be careful.” She walked closer, went down on her knees to start picking up the food from the ground and put it in a basket.
  “Would they tell on us? I can move the pack far away if I have to, but would your village sell us out to snatchers?” Vaeril almost barked at her, anger in his voice as he realized what she told him.
  He knew that kitsune had been stolen from their packs ever since the war, that they had been sold off as slaves around the world or been killed for their tails. It had happen to his pack long before he had become their leader, and it was his duty to keep them safe. Every little kit was the future for all of kitsune, and he could not risk their lives. If some Elves were trying to sell them he would move them far away in the forest. Vaeril would rather let the pack starve in freedom than have them all killed and tortured for some short-lived magic.
  “I don’t know. Some farmers worry about money, as the crops are failing. The village won’t starve, but some people only care for themselves. And the snatchers might come just by hearing the rumor of a seen kitsune.” As she had filled the basket, she then gave it to him.