~ Christmas at the Vaight Cottage 2031~

"Can we visit them?" Darius asked faintly.

Darien nodded fervently without looking from the compass or road. "Of course! It's no great distance."

This point was underlined by a sign for the reserve, half a mile away.

"Really Darius, hon, they'll be happier there." Diana said reassuring him.

Darius merely nodded and stayed silent.

Daisy nudged his master's hand again. We will come and say hi, won't we Mumma?

If you want, Darling. His mother sighed.

Darien veered to the left, driving up a slope towards the reserve. "This...looks like the place."

Darius peered out the window. Well it certainly was big.

Darien parked the car and hopped out. "Alright guys. Let's set them free." He muttered, rather less happily than he wanted.

Daisy squinted out of the window. Wow. The wild.

It was...big.

Darius sighed and carried the cage. "Come on guys."

Diana hopped out of the car as well and opened the door for Darius, who slowly crawled out.

Daisy shrank back against his mother, who resisted the urge to break the cage and soar off into the great free space.

Ah...such things she had been promised...

So long ago.

Darien spun around as a faint roar of sorts echoed across the grounds, but neither fox had made a noise. He shrugged it away, and put a hand on Darius' shoulder.

"Looks nice." He announced, to no one in particular.

Darius nodded and remained quiet.

Diana bit her lip. Well at least he stopped crying. She was going to make sure nothing like this happened again.

Darien felt like a villain. A gargantuan, pantomime villain, stealing away the prized possessions of the young, helpless hero.

And he disliked that feeling immensely.

"...So, do we just...let them go?" He asked hesitantly. "Or...Do we fill out a form?"

As if on cue, a scruffy looking fellow appeared wearing a large safari hat. "Hello there folks!" He greeted an enormous grin on his face. "And what are you all doing here, this fine Christmas Day. Merry Chirstmas by the way!"

Darien blinked in mild surprise. "Uh...And you. Merry Christmas."

"We're here...to drop off some flying foxes." He gestured to the cage, which rattled slightly.

"Merry Christmas." Diana replied. Darius remained silent.

"Foxing foxes eh?" The man replied. "Oh where are my manners? I'm Clarence Rook the third."

Darien struggled not raise an eyebrow. "They're...in the cage. A shrinking charm." Hee explained briefly, desperate not to prolong the act of separation.


It hurt to see his little boy so listless and sad.

"An impractical Christmas present." He muttered to Clarence Rook III, too quietly for Darius to hear.

"Ah yes, quite." Clarence said nodding. "Very impractical in indeed." He whispered back.

"Well then let's let the little cridders go, they'll be most happy here. Lots of free space for flying..."

Darien turned to Darius. "Darius?"

Daisy peered out, wondering what on earth this place could be.

Darius sighed miserably and handed the cage to Clarence.

"Thank you little man." Clarence replied. He peered into the cage. "Hello..." He said and opened the cage.

Daisy shrank back, and his mother shoved her way out of the cage, carrying Daisy on her back.

A slight baring of her fangs showed her slight anxiety in the situation, and Daisy stared at the new man with wide eyes.

"They seem to be an aggressive bunch..." Clarence commented. "The mother in particular."

"Did you hurt these poor animals?" Clarence asked suspicious.

"No! I swear!" Darien objected at once. "We went back to the shop to buy the mother since the little one was crying!" He glanced at Diana for help.

Daisy squeaked quietly, and sought Darius' hand. It always smelt nice. He jumped from his mother's back and sniffed at Darius' ankle. Master, master...

"We didn't but we suspect the shopkeeper has." Diana perked up.

Darius looked down to where Daisy was. He bended down so he could pet him.

"Keep your hair on," Clarence said to Darien's outburst. "I believe you. You lot don't look like the type."

Reassured, Darien looked down to see the little pup nuzzling against Darius.

The mother puffed a small amount of air at Daisy. Come along Daisy, say goodbye.

She watched the man in the hat carefully, sniffing at him from afar with a very suspicious expression on her face. Human, what do you have in store for us... She wondered quietly.

"Good-bye Daisy." Darius said just above a whisper. "I'll miss you..."

Clarences laughed at the mother fox. "Don't worry girl, I'm not going to hurt you. You're going to like it here, no one will hurt you here."

I'll miss you too master. Squeaked the small fox, although he knew Darius couldn't understand him. So he licked his finger, then went to stand by his mother.

The mother fox merely gave him another calculating stare. Humans were not to be trusted. Well, not immediately anyway.

"So...Do you have any other mythological magical animals in here?" Darien asked out of curiousity.

"Of course." Clarence Rook the third said proudly. "Unicorns, Dragons, Salamanders... you name it, at least a pair of them would be here... though, I don't have Sphinxes."

Darius started to tear up again.

"Oh don't cry now little man!" Clarence said. "Here." He took out a handkerchief with suspicious stains all over it and offered it to Darius.