“ You are the best, ” Merindale kissed her mother and her father on their cheeks. 
She had been protesting about going back to school but the moment she heard that they were sending Akata with her, she jumped up with joy. 
This time around the Royal Carriage brought them back. 
Akata looked around the place. He could feel the air, tingling with magic and cultivation. 
“ What is this place? ” he looked lost like a little child, when he entered the huge campus and watched all the students, practicing their skills on the ground. 
“ This is school. We learn how to use our powers and train with other kids from other tribes. ” she explained. Akata's head turned as they passed a huge statue in the middle of the ground. A fox girl and a wolf boy, entangled in a chained pendant. 
Merindale followed Akata's gaze and smiled as she saw him admiring them. 
“ That's the fox prince Jin, one of my ancestors and that's the fox princess Nanako. They had a very tragic love story. My family erected this in their memory, when they rebuilt this school. This was the place where they had first met each other, ” Merindale narrated as she touched the base of the sculpture. 
Suddenly, they were both shoved here and there as a group of students ran excitedly past them. 
Akata was about to pounce on the offensive but Merindale held his arm. 
“ What's going on? ” she demanded, grabbing another student who was running past them. 
“ They are taking submissions. We will be competing for the Ride Amongst Stars. The first one after decades. ” she chirped, super excited. 
“ What was that about? ” Akata asked, a little confused. Merindale smiled and explained all about the much coveted event. 
“Is it that special? ”Akata asked. It was clear that he had no interest in the matter but since it held special meaning for Merindale, it was an opportunity for him to pay her back. 
On the day they gathered on the ground, Akata stood with full attention at the front. 
Merindale was taken by surprise. 
“ You didn't tell me that you were registering huh? Are you a sly fox? ” she nudged him with his soldier, he simply nodded and acknowledged her gesture. 
The competition was rigorous, encompassing trials that pushed the boundaries of their skills. From shape-shifting races across elemental terrains to mind-bending puzzles requiring the adaptation of their animal forms, each test was designed to assess their adaptability and finesse in transformation.
Akata was prominently struggling because he had no idea about his own powers. 
For the next round, the students paired up and scattered. It was time for them to show their skill on the battle ground. Each pair was to beat the others and only the top five pairs got to clear the level and move up. 
Merindale and Akata were pushed to the southern part of the ground, which stretched into the mountains. Akata was natural with swords but they were put against the best of the bests. They found themselves hiding in a cave after both of them were unarmed. 
“ We should just surrender. There is no point in hiding. Anybody can defeat us at this point. ” Merindale exclaimed, disappointed. 
And sure to the claim, they were cornered by, not one but three teams, within a few moments. 
“ This is so embarrassing. We should have surrendered earlier.” Merindale was murmuring under her breath when suddenly Akata grabbed her by the waist and both of them vanished in thin air accompanied by a dazzling lightning bolt. 
Both fell on the ground, one on top of the other, back in their empty classroom( since everybody was still at the grounds). 
“ So, you are actually a fox, ” Merindale exclaimed, brushing the dirt off her skirt with her hand. “ Not just any fox, a fox royal. That's interesting. ”
“Are you alright? I'm sorry. I have no idea what I was doing. I just wanted to get you out of there. ” Akata exclaimed looking at Merindale, worried. 
He tried to get the dirt off her shoulder but his advance made her take a step back. However, she was obstructed by the presence of a wall. She was sandwiched between the wall and Akata. 
She gulped as he came closer, his hands all over her shirt, meticulously getting rid of each and every dust particle. 
“ Leo, ” her voice was hushed but it came across as a yell. 
He had her pinned against the wall and his lower body was leaning over her. Merindale’s hands were on his chest but she could not find the strength to push him back. 
He was staring straight at her lips, without beating around the bush, he asked for her permission, “ May I? ”
All Merindale could do was close her eyes and nod. 
Her fingers grabbed tighter onto his shirt as his breath fell all over her face. Her own breathing became irregular. 
Akata's lips brushed against her as Merindale shook with the rush of adrenaline, across her veins. Akata's touch had unleashed something inside her. She pulled him closer. Her hands snaked around his neck and waist. Her claws digging in his flesh. 
But before they could go any further down that forbidden path, footsteps coming towards the classroom, made them both pull away. Akata ran his hands through his disheveled hair and Merindale straightened her shirt and her posture. 
“ Leo, Merindale… What are you two doing here… the competition is still on. They have been calling for you. ” It was one of their classmates. 
Both of them followed her hurriedly behind. 
They fought side by side for the rest of the evening but eventually they had to step down. 
“ It doesn't matter. At least we tried. ” Merindale cheered Akata. But he silently sat down. Once the winner was announced and the crowd dispersed, Meridale walked up to Akata. But he wouldn't talk. 
“ I will have to go back, Leo. You know where to find me if you want to talk.” She said before she left. 
*****
Merindale was lying in her bed. Neither awake, nor sleeping, lost and daydreaming about the recent past. 
She could do nothing except think about Akata. And the way he made her feel.
As a wolf, she could feel her heart telling her something. Wolves mated for life. It was different for them whenever their fated mate walked into their lives. Every wolf could inevitably feel it. Though Merindale wasn't quite sure if that was the exact case with her and Akata. 
But there was something. 
“ You couldn't sleep either, huh? ” Merindale was about to let out a scream but Akata clasped her mouth with his fist. 
“ Relax. It's me. I couldn't sleep either. I thought I would come talk to you. ”
Merindale looked here and there and jumped to the door and locked it from the inside. 
“ Did you come from the window? ” she asked, looking down from the top. Her chamber was at the top most floor in the girls’ tower, because her father knew she loved the view. 
“Yeah.They wouldn't let me in through the gates. ” He exclaimed innocently. 
“ Of course they wouldn't. This is the girls dormitory. Boys aren't allowed in here. But I guess you don't know the rulers… ummm, in our society, boys and girls are not always like you and me. They maintain a respectable distance, you know. Segregation of the sexes. ”
Akata watched her face, dumbfounded as the light of the moon, made her siren skin shimmer and glow. 
Akata touched her with his finger, running it up and down. 
“ It's from my mother's side. ” She smiled. 
He said nothing. But he continued running his finger up and down. 
“ I think I have seen this before… somewhere… but… but I can't really remember. ”
“ It's alright. We will get your memories back with due time. ” She touched his cheek. 
Akata caught her hand. 
“ You make me want to do things with you. Is that normal? Should I continue where we left earlier or is there a problem with that? ”
There was no satire or rhetoric in his question. He was still learning the rulers around the society , which he had long shunned. 
Merindale’s eyes opened wider at his straightforward request. 
“ I… I mean… yes… I mean no… not now… not like this… I mean I like you… but this is not the way… ”
Akata looked a little offended. 
“ Okay. I should be leaving then. ”
Akata stood up, about to leap out of the window when suddenly there was a knock at the door. 
Before Merindale could say anything, Akata went ahead and opened it for her. 
It was Lily, a fox and Merindale's friend. She was stunned to see the handsome boy at that hour of night. She quickly locked the door behind her. 
“ You didn't tell me you were having someone over! ” she chirped. 
“ It's not like that! ” Merindale tried to protest but Akata went ahead and described the purpose of his visit, explicitly, leaving Merindale flushed. 
“ Oh my heart! Merindale, can I have him, if you are not interested. He is stunning. Nothing less than those Celestial God's! ”
Something rang inside Akata at the mention of the Gods but when Merindale tried to bodily cover him from her friend, he was again distracted. 
“ Who said I wasn't interested? ”
Akata pulled her around, “ You are? Then why did you stop me? ” He demanded. 
Lily came in between. 
“ She is probably too scared because she is a princess. She has a reputation. I'm a commoner. I don't mind. ” Merindale gaped as the girl bared her all. 
But Akata only frowned. 
“ Your naked body doesn't have any effect on me like she does even with her clothes on. You said it's a boy and a girl thing, Merindale. But it seems like it is not the same for everyone. What about you? Do you feel the same around all male? ”
“ Hell no! ” Merindale cringed. 
“ Hhhhmmmm, ” Lily buttoned up and sat down beside Merindale. 
“ I heard adults talking about mates. But that's not very common these days. It's a telltale. But that's exactly what happens to our bodies when we are around them. Not sure. My pheromones are still developing. But that's all I know. ”
*****
That night Akata and Merindale went to sleep with their thoughts, somewhere in the stars. 
They both had the same dream. 
They saw themselves in a mystical and otherworldly place, a realm bathed in ethereal beauty and cosmic wonder.
As they floated, they found themselves floating over a landscape that looked covered with crystalline trees that hummed an ancient chant. They saw rivers of liquid gold flowing all around the fields that looked covered in grass, resembling gemstones. 
They saw themselves in their primordial forms,in nothing other than their skin and their soul. 
There was light spread across the landscape, that made them almost translucent and weightless. 
They stirred in their sleep as their bodies collided into a passionate embrace. 
Merindale's form touched Akata's bare chest with a shyness she had never known before. 
The movements started slowly, taking his consciousness with each ascend and descend. 
The heat around his member reached his neck, he grabbed Merindale tighter. He was about to tell her something but he lost his voice and his eyes closed at the sensuous sensation. 
He almost moaned when he could bear it no more, an intense outpour of pleasure was taking over his soul. 
Sheets tangled around Merindale’s legs as she murmured in her sleep, her brow creased as she pressed her legs together, trying to restrain the surging between them. 
There was a knot in Akata's stomach that refused to unravel, a persistent unease that wrapped around his thoughts like a creeping vine. 
It wasn't a tangible thing he could grasp; instead, it settled within him like an unwelcome guest. His chest tightened, breaths becoming shallow as though the air around him had thickened, resisting entry into his lungs.
And just like that,suddenly, Merindale woke up, gasping for air as her heart thundered against her ribcage. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as the remnants of the dream lingered. 
Akata sat up on his bed, clasping his head between his hands, trying to shake off the residual energy, hovering around him. 
They both ran to the washroom, staring at their flushed faces in front of the mirror.