Nyara closed her eyes and prayed. The other two imitated her, leaving Sahar alone in his confusion. Sahar decided to imitate them, although he didn't know what to say in his head. When they had finished praying, Nyara picked up the ladle filled with peas, carrots and eggplants and let out a…

- Have a good meaaaal!!!

She poured all the food onto her silver plate and licked her lips. She had only one thing on her mind: to eat all that good food prepared by Creel! The girl had no intention of wasting a single crumb from her plate! She poured herself three more ladles and passed them to Sahar, so that he too could enjoy the meal.

Nyara was excited and everyone knew it just by looking into her eyes. They looked at each other and laughed. They were all enjoying this rare dish: Creel rarely cooked. Most of the time, Nyara prepared the meals. Since Az wasn't so good at cooking, he hardly ever enjoyed himself. On the rare occasions when he did cook, it was to make pancakes or Wallazz. Sahar rubbed his belly and smiled. It was delicious. Nyara, seeing that the boy had just finished his plate, jerked up from her chair. The slamming of the chair against the floor startled Az: he didn't appreciate the sound. Creel, one eye closed, became ‘annoyed’.

- Don't damage the floor, idiot,” he says.

Nyara shook her hand and apologized. She didn't feel like fighting her brother when she was so... excited! The girl took Sahar's hand and forced him to stand up before leaving the room with him. Creel and Az looked at each other and sighed together. This girl couldn't contain her emotions... They knew her very well, and yet this still surprised them. A real kid.

Nyara left the hotel accompanied by Sahar with a smile up to her ears. She looked at the boy and almost jumped with excitement.

- She said. You haven't told me what you think of this town!

Sahar scratched his cheek and stood next to her. The air was rather chilly... so that's why Nyara had given him that jacket. He looked up at the sky. It was dark, but tons of sparkling sequins painted the vault. Each more brilliant than the last, despite their infinite number, they all seemed to have their own glow, one different from the next. In this starry tableau was Blanra, the moon of this world, in semi-entire form. On Earth, Sahar had never had the opportunity to observe such a starry night... It was beautiful to behold. This world was fascinating. If he could find landscapes as sublime as this night, then he didn't care if he had to tire himself out to discover them.

Sahar gazed at Nyara, thinking that here too lay the sublime of this world... He finally chuckled and shook his head, surprising the girl next to him.

- What am I thinking...?” thought the boy. If the others heard me, they'd laugh at me, ahah!

Sahar raised his head and stared at the girl, smiling. He hadn't answered her yet.

- It's a beautiful city," he confessed. Imäa still impresses me, and even though the capital is cradled in the shadows of these foliage, I think... it's a pretty bright place!

Sahar's response delighted her. She nudged him gently and raised her arms to the sky.

- This capital... I feel like it's HERE, my home! she tells him. I love it so much, you can't imagine...! This magnificent night... I wonder again and again how the stars can pass through the foliage of Imäa, it's a mystery that has no answer, it seems.

She looked happy and peaceful. Her eyes were filled with the stars in the sky. Sahar hadn't thought about it: how were they visible? If even Nyara didn't know, then there was no way he could find out. He preferred to let the question fade from his mind and return to it some day in the future. He looked around and marveled at the city at night. The buildings shone with an inexplicable glow. Fireflies flew all around them, adding something superb to the atmosphere. The few poles planted here and there emitted a faint blue light. The ambient sounds came only from a calm, civilized crowd. They talked among themselves: some laughed, others just chatted. Not a shout, not a cry... Just a calm, soothing background noise. The cool wind died down and gently caressed the human faces. After a rather sunny day, the World had decided to soften its surface. It, too, deserved its break.

Sahar wanted to observe the hotel, but Nyara took his hand again and he almost stumbled. The girl was fast...! He ran after her, enjoying the softness of the wind against his face. Unable to run at the same pace as Nyara, he had to give all his energy to stay within a few meters of her. He didn't have her speed! He wanted to tell her, but when he saw the delighted look on her face, he fell silent and his lips formed a crescent moon. And anyway, he couldn't speak! Sahar didn't know why visiting the city at night excited him so much, but at the same time, he partially understood her.

Nyara had been running for 10 minutes without running out of breath. Sahar was beginning to sweat when she stopped. He was relieved to see her finally calm down. He was glad she was happy to be here, but he didn't feel like just doing sport... Well, he'd promised himself he'd do a lot of it, so maybe he should enjoy it... Anyway, if all they did was run, they were never going to enjoy the view!!! Sahar was looking at the houses in front of him when he noticed something strange: behind them a light source was shining brighter than the rest. Nyara pointed to this very spot.

- You haven't seen this place yet, have you?!

He nodded. Even in daylight, he didn't seem to have come this way. Nyara beckoned him to follow her, and Sahar followed. The girl passed over the fences and entered the garden of this private estate. The houses here looked richer than those throughout the capital. They were probably in a more luxurious neighborhood than the rest. Sahar straddled the fence, wondering if they had the right to do such a thing. Breaking into a garden, he was sure, was illegal even here — and he was also certain that Nyara was not of a rank that would allow her to enter private property. Nevertheless, he followed her without flinching, keeping his fears to himself. Sahar knew he could trust her. Nyara passed between the two houses and looked at the high gate in front of her. Sahar wondered how they were going to get through it: it was most likely locked and stood three, maybe four meters high. What's more, there were spikes

above that gate. Nyara motioned for him to step back and he did so. He prayed she wouldn't run into the gate…

She took three steps back and started to run. Sahar bit her fingers off. She was really going to do it! Wasn't she completely nuts?!!! What if we heard them?! No, it wasn't that late, and even if they were asleep, a noise like that would wake up the owners of the house! And even the one next door!

However, Nyara didn't run into the gate. Instead, she jumped onto the wall of the house and soared into the air. The girl was upside down as she looked with a smile at the boy below her. Nyara... was at least six meters off the ground!!!! She passed over the spikes and landed on the other side without any problems. She let out a small laugh, leaving Sahar on the other side.

- Will you join me?!

- I CAN'T DO THAT!!!” screamed Sahar.

- You want me to break the door down so you can get through?

Sahar rubbed his eyes. As much as he liked her, she was too crazy. Wasn't she afraid of anything...? Whether she was powerful or not…

- N—

- Well, I'll do it no matter what you say.

- Whaaa??!!!

Sahar wanted to shout at her to stop the joke when he heard her running. She was totally nuts, that one!! She was going to get them into trouble, that was for sure! He tensed when the sound of her running suddenly stopped. Sahar opened one eye and heard another sound: that of the door opening... gently... calmly... The girl's smiling face appeared through the opening. Her smile was mocking.

- Did you believe it? I scared you, Saaaahaaaar???

- Shut up…

He sighed with relief. Nyara laughed and struck Sahar in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. She chuckled apologetically and helped him to his feet. Although Sahar wasn't entirely amused, he couldn't help smiling. In the end, he went ahead, although the girl stole the lead instantly. Her speed was to be feared... Did possessing a power increase one's speed? He had the impression that anyone with power could move fast... It didn't make sense.

After passing the garden, the two "outlaws" came to a large bush. Behind it shone the light source the girl was trying to reach. Sahar asked her why they were passing this way. She replied briefly.

- There must be too many people at the other entrances.

She winked at him for a reason that was beyond Sahar. So this was a busy place... He couldn't wait to see what this thing was. Nyara crossed the bush, but Sahar remained on the other side. He was happy to spend time with the girl... He really wanted to become... her friend. A hand came out of the bush and closed. It reopened instantly and Sahar knew he had to take it. He did so and was pulled into the bush. He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, only reopening them when he reached the girl. She told him to look at the spectacle before him.

Sahar couldn't look away from the beauty before him.

A multicolored lake nestled there. Fireflies danced around the water, putting on a marvelous show for the people. A tree with green leaves floated in the middle of the expanse, glowing neon red. On the surface of the lake, purple frogs hopped. They... could walk on water! From the bottom of the lake emanated a diffuse light. All these things formed an extraordinary spectacle that stunned the boy. A hundred people had also come to see this lake... No, many more!

Sahar's mouth dropped open at the sight of it all. It was so colorful, so beautiful, so…

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So magical.

Nyara was enjoying the view too. When was the last time she'd been here...? She had so little free time, when she came to the capital... To be able to visit again, it did her so much good. Besides... She turned to the boy beside her. His astonished expression almost made her laugh. It was the first time... she'd visited the capital with someone. Creel didn't mind, and Az... He didn't say no when it was daytime, but unfortunately, that wasn't his cup of tea. At night... He had to do it. He just had to. Nyara was so happy, so content, so joyful to have someone by her side... She knew it was naive and she didn't know what to say. It was stupid of her, but this someone…

She wanted to trust him now. She wanted to be his friend now.

She wanted to see him... as her friend from now on. She was tired of spending her life alone.

Despite Creel and Az at her side, she…

- I'm alone, even when I'm surrounded.

The two people with her didn't stop her feeling lonely. She had been waiting so long for someone to come along... for someone to become her friend. Nyara had always wanted someone to stand by her side, but that had always been impossible.

Trusting others was complicated. What's more, since she was often on a mission, making a friend was almost mission impossible. People sometimes tried to trick her, to lure her into their net so they could use her. How could she believe them? They didn't want to be friends with Nyara. They wanted her strength. They wanted Az. They wanted... to use Nyara. Everyone she ever believed in ended up perishing. Either at her hands, or at Creel's, or at Azgoria's. Before the day before, she'd never shown her fox ears to anyone - except her brother and Az. When she'd met Sahar, she'd felt... a kind of bond between them. As if they were made for each other. Obviously, this was an absurd thought, it had only been an impression... but she had dared to show her true self.

She had dared to show her fox ears.

When people who wanted to befriend Nyara found out she was a Fox, they... always died. Because they wanted to take advantage of Nyara. Because they wanted to use Nyara.

Because people only thought of themselves.

Humans were like that…

Yet Sahar didn't react like them. Despite the incident, there was no malice in his eyes... or in his heart. He had truly forgiven himself and his apology had been sincere. When they laughed immediately after forgiving each other, Nyara felt something… she thought she'd forgotten forever. Something she'd only felt once before…

The warmth of a real friendship.

She knew it was too fast. She knew it was naive. She knew her emotions were getting the better of her and that she wasn't thinking things through. Nyara knew all this.

But she couldn't help seeing Sahar, even now, as a friend. She still had to wait, going too fast wasn't a good idea, but she already saw him that way, it wasn't something you could change. Her mind, her heart…

Nyara saw Sahar as a friend and wanted to spend more time with him. They hadn't said much to each other and had spent less than a day together, so why... Why did she feel this way? She had an idea, but in the moment, watching Sahar marvel at the spectacle before him, she didn't think about it.

Nyara was pretty sure that feeling so alone and finally having someone around made her far too happy. She knew that she and Sahar would become friends, so she already saw it as such. Nyara was impatient by nature. She could wait for some things, but not for this. The boy turned to the girl and smiled.

- It's so... beautiful!!!

Nyara let her thoughts drift away in the cool wind and smiled back.

- Right? This lake lights up like this every four days. On my mission today, some people were talking about it on the way here. I'm not that impatient when I visit Provinäh, but to see such a spectacle…

- I understand you!!!” he shouted. Besides, you can see really well from here!

They were alone there. Nyara didn't dare tell Sahar that it was basically forbidden to be there and that they'd probably run away in a hurry when they were noticed, but she wanted to spend time with him. If she wanted to be his friend, then she wasn't going to wait to be by his side. She turned towards the lake.

- The lake of a thousand colors," she said. A magical moment not to be missed…

Sahar wished he had his phone to take pictures of it. He would have received so many likes on Twitter for such a show...! Nyara continued talking.

- Every four days, these little creatures known as "Lumias" gather near the lake and, strangely enough, the water begins to take on different colors throughout the night. Each time, the number of colors and the colors themselves change. Sometimes there's yellow, sometimes not. Here, we're lucky to see so much diversity. The last time I was here, there was only dark blue and green. It was still beautiful, but nothing incredible... Not like this time.

Sahar was lucky to be able to see such a beautiful sight and he was grateful for it. He wanted to see the beautiful side of Duzmog first — the dark side could wait. Nyara watched the people around the lake and noted with delight that nobody had unmasked them yet. They were sitting on fresh grass above the fences that prevented people from entering the intimacy of the lake. If anyone dared to enter, there would be consequences that would frighten anyone. Judges dared to be cruel, in Provinäh...... From here, the fence didn't spoil the view. Even from below, the view was magnificent, but from where Nyara and Sahar stood, it was much more pleasant. It wasn't difficult to reach the top, but for some reason it was forbidden. Luckily, Nyara was fast, even when carrying someone on her back! She was even faster when she wasn't hiding her Kitsune attributes, but she certainly wasn't going to reveal them in broad daylight, even to save Sahar. Friend or not, she had her priorities. She chuckled at the thought: she was too tough! If she had to save Sahar in front of everyone, would she dare show that she was a fox-girl in front of a crowd...?

She didn't have time to answer this question: she felt a gaze pierce them. Nyara nimbly stood up and forced Sahar to her feet. He questioned her with his eyes.

- We've had enough, let's get moving.

She hadn't told Sahar it was forbidden to be there, and she didn't intend to tell him: with a modicum of brains, he'd understand. Sahar followed her and they ran for another five minutes. They came to a completely empty street. Nyara recognized this place. She turned to the tired Sahar. He wasn't out of breath, but he was sweating. He needed to... exercise more.

- We're close to the only forest in Provinäh, and I rarely come here..." said Nyara. We could take a walk there, I know a good spot where you can climb trees! The view is really pleasant, but you have to know how to climb trees.

Sahar wasn't sure if he could do it, but he did. He WANTED to do it. He wasn't going to lie to the girl about it, but he wasn't really confident of his abilities.

- I can always try," he says.

- You don't have hylophobia, do you?

- Nope.

Sahar had studied over two hundred phobias with his friends on Earth for fun. That was two years ago, but the boy had always enjoyed having more vocabulary. But why? To be a scientist, of course. Besides, he was seriously interested in the French language and phobias, so studying them was no problem. Despite appearances, Sahar could be quite intellectual. Although he spoke colloquially, he could also hold sustained discussions. He knew very well that hylophobia was the fear of forests. In reality, Sahar had no particular phobia. As a child, he had ophidiophobia: fear of snakes. From then on, his only phobia was what we called "angrophobia": the fear of getting angry. It was understandable, given his emotional problems... Even if he wasn't sure it was really a phobia in his case, he didn't have a better term.

He followed Nyara and they talked along the way. It took a good twenty minutes to reach the alleyway that led to the forest. From where they stood, he could see the border between the forest and the city. Sahar pointed to the horizon.

- You can see the edge of the forest!

- Shall we? Do you want me to hold your hand if you're afraid of the dark?

- I'm not a little child!

They laughed as they went along. Sahar didn't dare say he'd like to hold her hand, really... Not because he was scared or anything, just... It’s just like that.

As the two made their way into the forest, a woman watched them from afar. She squinted as she touched the golden button on her garment. She licked her upper lip and then her lower, smiling. Her gaze kept returning to two of them. The boy looked so pitiful and weak. No aura came out of his body. The girl had almost nothing either. She had to hide her "real" ability, but she couldn't be powerful. The thief leapt from the roof and landed smoothly on the cobblestones of the alleyway. Her smile reached her ears. It showed no sympathy.

- If I kill t’em and tak’ their h’arts, mayb’…

She licked her dagger.

- ... will I get a good sum out’of it!