Sophia and the other went to visit the former elven village because the tiger really wanted to see the place already. Arriving there, they quickly ran into Chloe, a pink-haired fox-girl, and it seemed like the couple was becoming friends with her already. After the wolves left them alone, the duo had her guide them through the village.

“It’s so cozy here!” Sophia was looking at all the wooden buildings that blended in perfectly with the nature around them with sparkling eyes.

“Yes, I like it a lot, too.” The fox-girl felt the same.

“Still not sure about a treehouse, but it is true. It’s a great place.” Maya also enjoyed it.

“Speaking of comfy… or the lack of it…” The blonde looked at Chloe. “Your sweater is fine… all fluffy and warm looking… though maybe a bit breezy around the neck and collarbone…” She noticed the neckline of her shirt was a little deeper than usual. “But… no jacket whatsoever, a short skirt with bare thighs, and your overknees look rather thin, too. I get cold just looking at you! Aren’t you freezing?!”

“It’s not cold at all, though?” She only tilted her head in response.

“It super is!” Sophia got loud. “It’s already at a point where I want to hide under my blanket in my bed till spring!”

“You are such a cat…”

"Of course I am! Look at me!" The tiger pointed at her striped hair, tail, and then her ears.

“Do tigers also get cold easily?”

“It’s all the same, anyway!” Save for some more pronounced instincts, she always behaved like any other cat, after all. The same also goes for the other tigers and jaguars she knew. "Wait, aren't foxes also just basically cats with some dog extras?"

“I don’t think it’s that easy…” Chloe scratched her cheek. “I have eyes like the two of you, odd color aside, and cat-like fangs, too, but does my tail look similar?”

“It looks glorious, that’s for sure!” Sophia got a little side-tracked. “Not very cat-like, though, yes.”

"Thank you…" She started smiling. "Okay, some of my instincts are cat-like as well, so… Anyway, no, I'm not cold at all. If anything, I feel way too warm at the moment. I love the winter, so I can't wait for it to get even colder! I’m always close to dying during summer, after all…”

“This friendship may have some obstacles…” The blonde wasn’t so sure about her loving winter to such a degree. “Are you an arctic fox or what? That would also explain your huge tail and how fluffy it… you are!”

“Hehe.” Chloe let out a small chuckle. "I don't have any proof, but I am pretty sure that I am one, yes."

“Interesting. Well, it makes sense for you to prefer winter, then.” Sophia nodded a few times. “I can’t say that I support it, though. I don't mean being an arctic fox. That part is awesome! Still, loving the winter, that’s a big no-no!”

“No, loving the summer is much worse~.” The two decided to disagree on the topic.

“Err…” Maya looked at the duo with a confused expression. "A what fox now?”

"Arctic fox," Sophia repeated herself.

“Never heard that word before…” She shook her head. “Sounds really weird…”

“It mostly refers to the area around the northern pole. Much snow and very cold.” Chloe explained the name to her. "That's why being fluffy is advantageous if you go or live there.”

“Ohhh!” The cat-girl raised her voice. “An arctic fox, I see! Yeah, it would make a lot of sense if you were one. Why didn’t you say that the first time, Sophia?” She looked at her tiger. “Is your pronunciation thing acting up again?”

“Ehh…?” She looked back at her. “That’s literally what I said, though? Arctic fox, that is.”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Nonono.” Maya shook her head. “Now you are, but earlier, that was something else! I’m sure of it! It was so weird that I don’t even know how to repeat it.”

“Nope, it was exactly the same as yours.” The blonde sounded very confident about her claim. “Should I clean your ears when we take a bath?”

“My ears are clean!” She got loud. “You said something else!”

“Uhm…” Chloe eventually spoke up. “Sophia really did say arctic fox. I mean, I understood what she meant on the first try, after all.”

“See?!”

“Now that you mention it…” Maya sounded slightly confused. “It was definitely something else when I heard it, though.”

“Soo…” The tiger was still looking at her cat. “Some ear-cleaning later?”

"They are clean!" As ear hygiene was important to Maya, she was sure of it. "Well, I also won't say no. It's a great idea, after all!"

“Are the two of you always so flirty?”

“Sorry…” The couple quickly apologized.

“Oh, no! I wasn’t complaining. It’s really adorable!"

“Ehehe.” Sophia liked her reply.

“Because I travel a lot and rarely stay in one place for too long, I haven't had any chance for romance myself yet, so it's a lot of fun to see others being flirty with each other.”

“You’ll probably get sick of it soon enough.” Maya awkwardly scratched her cheek. “We have a talent to overdo it…”

"I think that's great! There's no such thing as overdoing it when it comes to flirting!" She thought otherwise. "I think, at least… Not that I have any proof. Or experience…"

“Okay, I can excuse the winter thingy now!" Sophia smiled at her. "I like you!" Everyone who accepts them being flirty idiots is a friend in her eyes.

“I am happy to hear that!” Chloe was glad the tiger liked her.

“I’m still sure you’ll get tired of it.” Maya knew how annoying the two can get, after all. “Just ask Fen about how much he had to deal with us in that regard."

“You two can’t be any sappier than Fenfen is! He was so adorable when he told me about his relationship with Aura the other day in the bar.”

“And I missed that?!” Sophia got loud. “I need to question him some more when he’s drunk later!”

“You didn’t know about the two?”

“Well… We saw them getting together, but they only confirmed it and told us today… Isn’t that unfair? You basically knew about it before us even though we're traveling together with them for a long time already!" The tiger started pouting.

“Super unfair!” Chloe agreed with her. "I'll gladly help you get more information out of Fenfen later!"

“Yay!” The blonde was a big fan of the idea.

“Poor Fen.” Maya felt sorry for him.

“Don’t you want to know the details, too?”

“That, and feeling sorry for him are two very different things.” In the end, she wasn’t on his side, either.

“Hehe.” Sophia let out a chuckle before concentrating on the fox-girl again. “For now, let’s keep exploring the village, though!”

“Okay.” Chloe gave her a nod. “Is there anything specific you want to see?”

“Hmm…” She tilted her head. “It’s still okay, but I’m slowly getting a little cold. Would it be possible to look inside one of the elven treehouses?”

“It’s not cold at all!”

“Easy to say as an arctic fox! Me tiger, me likes warm!” She started complaining.

“Aren’t there a lot of tigers who live in cold climates, as well?”

“Me cat, me likes warm!” The blonde had very little dignity when it came to some topics. “The types of cats who like the cold are very few, so don’t be smart on me for that now!”

“She reeeally isn’t a fan of the cold, huh?” Chloe glanced at Maya.

“We aren’t.”

“Right… You’re both cats… Well. Your tights look pretty warm, and the jacket on top of the uniform should help, too, right?" It was hard for her to sympathize with them. "Speaking of, is that the uniform of the magic academy? I often saw it on some girls when I visited the capital. Are you students there?”

“Hmm…?” Sophia looked down at herself. "A-Ah… We forgot to change, huh? I forgot that I'm still wearing it after we returned from the castle after chatting with the princess and Ari…”

“Well, it is really comfy, so there’s no harm in wearing it~. Answering your question, no, we aren’t students there. We’re actually more like teachers, I would say? We’re just wearing the uniform to stand out less. While we are older than the students, we look about the same age, so it would be weird to wear different clothes."

“Castle… princess… Well, you are a tiger, after all…” Chloe needed a moment to get over that part. “Wait… You’re older than the students there? It certainly doesn’t look like it.”

“Yep!” The blonde nodded. “I’m 22, and Maya's 23." She sounded rather smug when she mentioned her own age.

“You really like that part, huh?” Maya glared at her younger girlfriend. “Also, I just turned 23 last week.” She somehow had to add this bit of information.

“Really? Must be because of their mag…” The fox-girl looked at the two for another moment while mumbling something to herself. “Also, happy late birthday!”

“Thanks!”

“Did I mention my age already? I’m 19.”

“Oh!” Sophia also had a curious reaction. “You also look younger!”

“Thank you.” Chloe took it as a compliment.

“Alrighty, back to the topic! Do you think it’s possible to look at a treehouse?”

“Hmm…” She thought about the tiger’s request for a moment. “I think you’d have to ask Alex to look at them… We could go to my place, though. I had him give me my own treehouse, after all. There was no way I’d live anywhere else here!”

“Really?! That's the spirit!" Sophia liked the sound of that. "I'd love to visit your place if that's okay!"

“I don’t mind. After all, you seem like nice girls. I don't see a reason to distrust you.”

"Yay!" The blonde was looking forward to it already.

Afterward, the fox-girl guided them to her home in the village to have Sophia take a look at the inside of an elven treehouse.