“Okay…” Fox relented. Sunshine smiled in a pleased-with-herself way and adjusted her sitting position, crossing her legs and pressing her toes against the other end of the doorframe.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked. Fox frowned a little, not quite expecting such a light unimportant question.

“It’s green,” he said, with truth.

“Mine is blue, because it reminds me of calm waters, like ocean waves on a beach or an undisturbed spring,” Sunshine replied. “Why do you like green?”

Fox carefully stitched another line through his shirt, “Someone told me once that it’s the color of life. And when I look at green, I think of life. Like trees, and moss, and grass. Green means life and freedom.”

Sunshine nodded, legitimately listening to his reason. “That’s a beautiful way to look at green,” she said, and her tone sounded sincere. This caught Fox’s attention. “How old are you?” she asked next.

“Twenty five,” Fox replied.

“I’m twenty seven. Leyra is twenty eight,” Sunshine said. Fox worried that her next question would inquire about the age he’d been when a terrible tragedy struck his life, but she didn’t ask anything like that.

“Do you have a favorite animal?” she asked.

“I like owls,” Fox told her. “I think it’s neat that you can’t hear their wing beat and they can swivel their heads so far around. I used to collect their pellets when I was younger. It was a little morbid, but I liked picking apart the fur and bones to try and see if I could guess what the owl ate.”

Sunshine listened, still smiling and unperturbed by his remark. “Owls are quite majestic. Personally I’m a turtle fan,” she responded. “They can live for so long and there’s so many varieties. I used to have a pet turtle when I was a child, but it died. I was so young I can’t remember what it died from. I’ve been too afraid to get another one, like I might unintentionally kill that one too, no matter how hard I try to keep it alive.”

Fox found himself genuinely listening, too. It wasn’t often that he got asked small personal questions like this, and it was even less often the recipient actually seemed interested in his answers. 

“You’re older now, though, and you have resources to properly care for one. Why not give it a shot?” Fox suggested. Sunshine shrugged rather elegantly.

“My plants and my job take up enough of my time and energy. Maybe when I retire from therapy I’ll get one,” she said. “I’m surprised your favorite animal isn’t foxes.”

Fox shifted his gaze to the floor, his mood taking a downward turn. “I do like foxes, but I like owls more,” was all he offered. Sunshine must’ve caught his shift in expression and tone, because her face grew concerned. Fox waited for her to press for more, but she didn’t. 

“I see. Do you have a favorite food?” she asked. Fox finished up stitching the holes in the chest area of his shirt and moved on to the ripped sleeve. 

Food was a bit of a touchy subject for Fox. There were times he yearned for something specific from his childhood, but no one would be able to replicate the food his mother had made, nor the environment in which he had enjoyed said food. Some food served only as a reminder of his unreachable past, an unattainable period in life where things had still been good, and he hadn’t been alone. Food also served as a strange punishment-reward system, where if he managed to obtain food it meant he’d done something right, and if he went without and fell asleep gritting his teeth against hunger pains, it meant he’d messed up. Food had often been so scarce that Fox had been forced to eat something nasty, and rarely did he get to eat something warm and fresh.

“Not really,” Fox admitted. “I consider myself lucky when I get to eat anything at all.”

Sunshine’s lighthearted demeanor fell more. “I’m sorry. That question was a bit insensitive, wasn’t it?”

“It’s fine,” Fox assured her. Sunshine smoothed her hands over her skirt, not too happy with herself, it seemed. A long moment passed where she pondered something, and Fox continued to fix up his shirt. 

“Being a lone wolf is hard, isn’t it?” Sunshine asked at length. 

Fox heaved a sigh. “Yes. It is.”

“How long have you been a loner?” she followed up. Now this was a question Fox had been expecting.

“A long time,” Fox told her. He didn’t want to tell her anything specific just yet, not until he got to know her better.

“I’m sorry. I’m glad you get to have a decent bed for a while, though,” she responded. 

“Me too. I’m very grateful I get to have shelter and warmth while I’m here. You have no idea how much I appreciate it,” Fox agreed. Sunshine smiled again, but there was less radiance and more sadness to it. 

“How are you liking your first couple days here?” she queried.

Fox gave his response some thought. Part of him didn’t want to be rude, but he wanted to be honest with her at the same time. “There are some things I don’t understand, and there are things I don’t like. But I know nothing I say will change anything or make anything better. I’m happy for access to food, shelter, and a shower. Everything else I just have to deal with.”

Sunshine mulled his words over. The timer finished for his clothes and Fox set aside his sewing task to move the washed clothes into the dryer. He put it on a setting that would have his clothes dried in another half hour. When he sat back down and picked up his shirt and sewing tools, he could see that Sunshine was still thinking, and still had a somber look on her face. She didn’t seem remotely offended that Fox was using their laundry machines.

“I want to say that I feel bad for you loners. But we’ve had so many come through that were just terrible people, some that I would say deserved the harsh treatment. There are others who are better, though, who I believe have just experienced a bad hand at life, and I wish they could be treated better. You, Fox, are one of the nicest loners I’ve met. I do wish you could have better. In fact, I hope that in time, you will,” Sunshine told him. 

Fox didn’t know what to say. He agreed with her, on the fact that there were some lone wolves who were downright awful and others who weren’t all that bad. He fidgeted with his sewing thread, feeling his face heat up a little at her kindness. She barely knew him, and yet she was willing to wish good things for him. He was beginning to feel bad for sneaking into her house.

“Thank you… I’m… I’m sorry for sneaking in,” he murmured. Sunshine smiled again, but there was more lightheartedness to it, and it made Fox feel better.

“Why did you sneak in?” she asked.

Fox still didn’t want to admit that he had found Anodyne, still uncertain about how big of a secret he was supposed to be. “I went into the cemetery,” Fox told her, “I thought that I would get into trouble if the Alphas smelled that I had been in there, so I snuck in to shower and wash my clothes.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, and to his relief, Sunshine seemed to accept that excuse with hardly any skepticism. “Ah, I see. They definitely wouldn’t have approved of that, since it’s a sacred place for our pack. But don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise. I won’t tell anyone, so long as you promise not to go back in there.”

Fox nodded. “I promise, ma’am. Thank you.”

Sunshine nodded. Whatever sadness had brought her mood down appeared to dissipate as quickly as it had come. “Do you feel a little more comfortable talking with me?” she asked.

Fox thought about it. Sunshine’s friendliness had caught him off guard when he first met her, and sometimes continued to do so, but he was feeling more safe with her. Of course, it had only been a couple days, so he couldn’t know who exactly Sunshine was. But she seemed kind enough to hear him out, and that was something Fox appreciated.

“If I did agree to therapy, you would have to tell the Alphas about certain things, wouldn’t you? Probably everything, actually. Right?” Fox asked her.

“You are entitled to privacy, and even more so with doctor-patient confidentiality. I’m not required to tell the Alphas everything, but I would have to tell them about conversations that hinted you were a danger to yourself or to others,” Sunshine told him.

Fox figured that the Alphas would want to know everything he told Sunshine. He wasn’t sure if he would actually get any privacy concerning his past if his therapist was a mate to one of the Alphas. He wasn’t entirely sure he could trust her to not share the details of his life. Too many times had he been taken advantage of when he tried being vulnerable, or tried sharing his secrets. 

Fox drew his eyebrows together. “I try not to remember my past. I don’t know if I would be ready to talk about it with anyone, let alone someone I barely know.”

“Remember how I said that I care about your story? I also believe that stories deserve to be told. You don’t have to tell me everything all at once, but… if anything is on your mind that you need to vent about, or if you just need someone to complain to about a bad day, I would like to be that person for you. I could help you resolve any conflicts you might encounter, or if you have questions about yourself, I can help you understand the answers. I’m here to help, Fox. I’m not here to take your story and run to the nearest broadcast station with it. And I’m not here to use it against you,” Sunshine said.

Fox met her eyes and held her gaze. Her brown eyes were so gentle and understanding, so patient and kind. Fox didn’t get to meet many people like this. It had always been fleeting, meeting someone who cared. He wanted to give it a try, but he had learned his lesson too many times.

“Is it okay if we don’t set anything up officially? Not yet, at least. I just… I just need…” Fox struggled to explain it to her without shutting her down. Sunshine smiled again, though.

“I understand. I need to earn your trust first. We don’t have to set up scheduled sessions at my office, but I am here if you ever need to talk,” she replied. “I hope I can show you that I’m not here to make your life worse.”

Fox blinked and looked away. He didn’t expect a phrase like that to hit him so hard, so suddenly. He swallowed down a rush of tumultuous emotions. He didn’t realize how many enemies he’d encountered in his life, how many bad people he’d met versus how many good ones. It had been enough that Fox truly believed he was not meant to have a family or a pack. He was meant to be alone. 

But he couldn’t be alone here. The Alphas wouldn’t allow it. He had to maintain good terms with as many people as he could in order to guarantee a smooth life here. If Sunshine was offering to help him do so, he couldn’t really brush her off. 

“You’re too kind to someone like me,” Fox whispered.

“You haven’t done anything to make me not be kind to you,” Sunshine replied. “I can tell you want to be left alone now, though.”

Fox watched as she stood and brushed dust off the back of her skirt. “Dinner time is in a couple hours, just to let you know.”

“Thanks,” Fox replied. Sunshine turned and let him have his space. Fox sat by himself for a while, thinking about her offer again as he finished fixing up his shirt.