Winter had totally taken over. Like—everything was white. The ground, the trees, the rooftops... all buried under thick layers of snow. Pretty? Yeah. Cold? Freezing.

Ivan shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat, scarf wrapped tight around his neck. His boots crunched against the snow as he walked through the quiet little neighborhood. “Ugh, it’s way too cold today,” he muttered, breath fogging in the air. He was just about to head home when— He heard something. Laughing? But not, like… human laughter. It was higher-pitched, weirdly giggly. Kinda creepy, kinda cute? It came from somewhere near the pine trees, just off the path.

Curious, Ivan squinted through the branches—and there. He saw a bunch of red foxes all gathered around something, making those weird giggly noises like they were in on a joke. “…Huh?” he hummed, eyebrows scrunching. He walked over, brushing some snow off his coat as he stepped closer. The foxes didn’t run—they just scooted back a little, still letting out that squeaky, laughing sound. Then he saw it. Someone was lying there in the snow, face down, like they just… collapsed. Totally still. Was it—wait. Ears?? Fluffy fox ears poked out from their head, twitching ever so slightly. Oh. Oh no. A fox hybrid.

“What the—?” Ivan blinked and dropped to a crouch. “Yo—are you okay??” He reached out and gently poked their shoulder. The foxes stepped back but didn’t leave. No response. “…Hey” Ivan tried again, nudging a little more. Oh They Ear twitch. He blinked. “Can you hear me?”

“…Hmmmn.” A soft sound came from the hybrid.