Fox Life

When they reached the villa once more, Iris was welcomed by a group of people already sitting outside and enjoying their time. They stood up to greet them, and to her joy, Iris saw no lingering weirdness from what had happened last time. The group seemed to have decided to pretend it never happened, and Iris was thankful to them for that.

While they chatted about inconsequential things, a sports car whizzed in. It was bright yellow and just screamed 'My driver is super rich'. There was no question who drove it.

Elise stepped out from the passenger's side, and Iris squealed in delight. She'd hoped for it to happen, but hadn't thought it possible. In her mind, Gale would try to keep Elise away from anything too personal.

Feeling happy to have been proven wrong, Iris ran off to envelop her friend in a hug and congratulated her in a whisper. Elise was as bit surprised by the joyous welcome, but relaxed upon noticing that it was Iris.

While the other people were walking over to them, she asked in a quiet voice, "Do I look okay? Do you think they'll like me?"

"They'll love you!" Iris whispered back, laughing. "You'll never manage to embarrass yourself to the level I did, and they forgave me, so have no worries."

Elise gave her a weird look, but the others were already upon them. Since Iris was the one who knew both parties, she took up the introductions. She named Elise and her relationship with Gale, then spoke a couple words to her about everyone else.

However, the moment she reached Marge, her hand was seized. "I knew it! I thought I was seeing things, but look!" the amazon shouted out, her voice deafening. She held out Iris' hand for Kyro to see. "You little rascal, when were you planning to tell us?"

"When I gave you a wedding invitation?" Kyro suggested, then avoided a stab in his chest from Marge's free hand.

"You-you-you!"

While she was sputtering at him, Emily smile shyly at Iris and said, "Congratulations, you two look good together."

"Thanks!"

The conversation then devolved into when it happened, how it happened, and when was the wedding. Men soon grew bored of speeches about dresses, and Marge grinned. "Now tell the real story, not the short hand version! I want the details!"

At first Iris found it a bit weird since she wasn't too familiar with everyone, but their enthusiasm and genuine interest won her over. She shared how she didn't want to go since it was cold and dark, how she didn't even sense anything, how he popped the question, and how the next moment Elise called.

"And when I asked her with annoyance what is it? She said, I got proposed to too!"

"Seriously?" Marge hollered, and they all laughed. Elise then shared what had happened at the party and how a random dude just fell in front of all the cameras on one knee to propose to her while she was walking with Gale.

"So how did you two meet?" Elise asked sometime later. "I've never heard the story."

"Oh, it's a story," Marge said, giving Kyro a look.

He smiled, ready to say something, but Iris tugged at his hand. When he looked over, she whispered, "Do you think we should tell them the real story?"

His eyebrows rose, and for a good reason, since her transformation was an important secret. It had caused her a ton of problems, and if someone shared it with the wrong people, her life might devolve into a miserable mess once more.

Yet Iris didn't want to lie for the rest of her life. It was possible, but what life would that be? These people were Kyro's most trusted friends, and most of them had been with him through thick and thin. If she couldn't trust them, then who could she?

"Friendships built on lies don't last," she answered his silent question.

"Oh, now this is going to be a good show," Gale said, leaning back into his chair.

"What show? What are they talking about?" Elise asked, her head moving from the pair to him and back again. "What am I missing?"

Gale smiled. "Just watch."

Everyone else was just as confused, but it was normal. Iris wasn't happy that he was taunting them like that, but it was Gale, so what else could she expect.

"All right," Kyro said and straightened out. He turned to the group staring at them. "Well then, it seems like we've got a lot to talk about today. For now, just watch. I'll answer questions after. Iris?"

She nodded, smiled shakily, and stood up. She had no idea how everyone would react, but it was the right choice. It had to be. The next moment, she caught the spark, and with a barely there light, changed into a fennec.

Screams were the first things that reached her ears. They twitched from the loud noise, and she poked her head out from her clothes. The group looked like giants from the ground, and she ran to hide behind Kyro's legs.

He didn't let her stay there, though. Picking her up, he placed her on her knees so everyone could take a good look at her.

"What trick are you pulling now?" Marge demanded, her voice cold. "I know this fox…"

"I thought you might," Kyro agreed. He caressed Iris' head as he added, "So as to how we met, I might have embellished it a bit last time. Iris was the owner of the fennec in a sense that she was the fennec itself."

"Are you freaking kidding me? Who would believe that?" she demanded, even rising from her chair.

Kyro gave her a look. "Which is why I didn't tell you the whole truth."

It didn't seem to be going well. Iris looked at the other faces, but they were all frozen in shock or disbelief. Not one of them seemed understanding.

"Just enjoy the show, why the anger?" Gale asked, hands behind his head. "His girlfriend turns into a fox, so what? He's lucky she's not a donkey."

"What?!"

Gale looked up then, as if just having thought of something. "Oh, and their adopted daughter is a weasel. Life's gone a bit crazy, hasn't it?"

At that moment, all the fight seemed to go out of Marge. "What adopted daughter? What weasel?" she repeated, having gone numb from the overload of information.

"Turn back then," Ted said. "I want to see it again."

A burst of laughter left Gale's lips, and Kyro turned a freezing glare at Ted. The man looked around, made a bit uncomfortable by their reaction. "What did I do?"

"Dude…" Gale could barely hold back his laughter. "You just asked to see his fiancee nude. You're lucky you're not on the ground with a fist mark on your face."

"Uhm…"

Gale teased him for a bit more, and the atmosphere returned to what it was before. When Iris returned all dressed up, everyone started asking lots of questions and demanding explanations.

In turns, Kyro and Iris shared their tale. It took them almost till morning to finish, but no one wanted to go to sleep. They all remembered how they had marveled at her smartness the time they had gotten together at Kyro's place. Gale also promised he no longer held a grudge for the spilled beer, and Iris breathed a sigh of relief.

When the sun finally rose and most people left, Iris was left alone with Gale for a moment. Elise had already went to rest with the others while Kyro had excused himself for a few moments to the bathroom.

"Thanks," Iris said, and meant it. If not for him, her spontaneous idea to confess might have fouled the whole get together.

"For what?" Gale asked, finishing the beer can in his hand. He'd been drinking, but he wasn't drunk. Unlike last time, he didn't try to drink himself under the table and had moderated himself.

Iris glanced at the rising sun, then returned her gaze to him. "You know what. Don't act coy. You're good at controlling the mood in a group."

"Maybe." He stood up and threw the can next to the others.

As he was leaving, Iris also stood up. "I think you're not the bad guy you're so eager to be named."

That brought a smile to his face as he left into the house. Iris turned to face the rising sun then. It looked gorgeous lifting itself from the sea while painting the whole sky in various shades of orange and pink.

"What was that about?" Kyro asked as he came to stand beside her. He wrapped a hand around her shoulders, and she leaned into him.

"Nothing. I like your friends."

Kyro lowered his gaze at her. "I'm sure they like you too."

"Good then, since I'm here to stay."