But damn.
I get she was trying to advise, but why so blunt?
Also, why advise me to go the solo path?
And then it clicked.
Of course.
It was because of what she was...a fox.
That may not be what was behind her sudden push for me to give up, to walk a more solitary road, but...unlike wild beasts like wolves or lions, foxes weren't known to be pack animals.
They didn't thrive in groups.
They were solitary by nature—creatures that hunted, lived, and survived alone.
So to her, being surrounded by a horde of noisy goblins, having to watch me try to shape them into something greater, felt wrong. Unnatural.
I let out a slow breath, my chest tightening with the realization, before finally meeting her molten gaze.
"Thanks for the advice," I said evenly, "but I'm their leader. And I'll continue to be their leader."
Even if I wasn't perfect at it. Even if I sucked at it half the time.
It was who I was now. And no fox, no matter how smug, was going to shake me from that.
