correct. I have only the implications which you have given me by your actions and avoidances. But that is not evidence, in and of itself. So, I will let you be as you are. Go on, then. You’ll find the path out easy enough to follow.” The white fox turned and trotted off into the snarled juniper trunks, soon lost in the snow and darkness.

                “Weird…” Kodi shook his head and started down the path the way he had come. It was, indeed, easy to find his way out of the tangled juniper mass and into the clear moonlit night. He looked back at the dark grove one last time, then ran straight for the town, too tired and angry to go back to his father’s boat and try to resolve anything with more promises he had no intention of keeping.

                He dashed through the quiet town, running for a familiar place, a warm and comforting place. A place he loved. And hated. The boiler room. It was so warm and welcoming. But to his delight and sorrow, HE was in there. Always.

                He nosed his way into the room, trying not to wake the others. The rest of the former mail team was sprawled out within, in their accustomed spots. Dusty and Ralph pushed close together after a long night of wanton sex, the other two, a fairly uninteresting and generic pair sleeping separately. And him. The love of his life. Kirby, the bulky, powerful, handsome, muscular, smooth, charming, witty love of his life. And for whatever reason, the canine Adonis favored him with the warmth of love as well. But it was torture being unable to be with him, cuddled close in front of the boiler, spooning.

                Ralph and Dusty had it easy. They could dally all day and night, and no one noticed. But Kodi had to be careful what he did with Kirby. Every move, every action, every word. Or else someone might talk. Kodi wanted nothing more than to press against the handsome dog’s fur and sleep. But he couldn’t be sure that he’d wake up early enough to move to a new spot before anyone else saw them.

                He did all that he could, trotting cautiously up to Kirby’s sleeping form, admiring the big lump of loveliness. He leaned his head down, close to the sleeping dog, his gaze casting about for prying eyes. His lips pressed a feather-light kiss on Kirby’s cheek, and another right on his nose. It was enough, for the time being. He left Kirby there, the other sled puller smiling faintly as his dreams turned more beautiful, and found a spot for himself on the floor. Had he looked up at the window, however, he would have seen a smiling albino fox, with a camera.

                “I’ll keep you my dirty little Kirby…” The next day, Kodi was happy again. He and Kirby had ditched the others separately and lost them in the snow, meeting at a pre-designated spot. On first meeting they had kissed and licked for a total of nearly five minutes, hungry mouths seemingly impossible to satisfy. Finally, however, they had kissed enough, and strolled through the snow together, with Kodi telling his love that he would keep their secret, in a most original way.”

                “And I’ll keep you my dirty little Kodi. Forever.”

                “Isn’t that sweet? I could just cry.” The voice was familiar to one of them. The form that popped up from the loose snow, too, was familiar to one of the two males. Glistening fur of purest white, eyes red as sunset, and something rolled into a tube held in his jaws, set down on the snow once it had been brought up from the hole.

                “You again! Why can’t you leave me alone? I told you not to bother me.” Kodi bared his teeth, stepping forward slowly towards the seated fox.

                “Kodi? You know this guy?” Kirby tilted his head a little bit, looking at the unfamiliar and very unusual fox with great concentration.

                “I met him last night.”

                “Kodi!”

                “It wasn’t like that! I had another fight with my mother. I ran out to that creepy grove of junipers that they never managed to clear a regular path through and found this guy. He did a lot of talking about things that were none of his business. Then I came back to the boiler room. I didn’t expect to see him again.”

                “Yes, it’s true. All of it. Even the part about the boiler room. He went right there. I can see why.” Virgil bowed his head and favored Kirby with a bright grin. “Pleased to meet you. My name is Mr. Virgil White, or any portion thereof as you wish to call me.” He nodded his head over at Kodi. “I finally have what you asked for, so I can say what I desire.”

                Kodi left his threatening posture, and straightened back up, his face a mask of confusion. “What are you talking about? What did I ask for?”

                Virgil unrolled the item he had with him, almost with a flourish. It was a photograph. Sharp black and white. Of Kodi giving Kirby a kiss on the nose. There was no question that it was a kiss of love. Not a comedic act, nor anything coerced. It was real. “What else? Evidence. You wanted me to have it before I spoke. Now I have it.”

                Kodi gave a small yelp, staggering back. It was as though the picture repelled him, pushed him back with a physical force. It seemed to have the opposite effect on Kirby. He started approaching, teeth bared and lips curled. “You! Give me that! You’re not going to ruin his life with that thing! I’ll tear you and that thing to pieces.”

                There was ease in Virgil’s bearing and postures. He kept the photo out in front of him, and casually polished his claws on his chest. He barely looked aside as he began to speak, in a calm, measured tone. “Once, when you were a small pup, you told your uptight, conservative, traditional, stolid, hard-hearted father that you wanted to someday be pretty, just like mommy was. He beat you so badly that the mere fact that you were later able to walk was considered surprising. Your mail running career, no less than a miracle.”

                Kirby was utterly gob smacked, his snarling features dropping into a shocked mask of utter disbelief. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move, he could only stare at the casual fox. He was so calm and cool and collected, after dropping a secret of gravest personal pain. He didn’t look at all guilty, or worried about retaliation. That was worst of all. He didn’t look like he thought of the canines as a threat, merely an audience he could play. “How did you..?”

                “Secrets are no secrets. You need to only ask the right people, see the right things or know the right places to be. I could tell you what happened to Kodi’s wolfling sister if you wanted.”

                “We all know what happened to Aleu. Dad told us about how she crossed the Bering Strait with a wolf pack and is now far away in Russia, where Uncle Boris comes from.”

                “Of course he told you. After all he was there.” There was a smug smirk in the fox’s voice, a knowing tone that faded when he started speaking again. “I believe that the people who hold secrets should be the ones to reveal them. It’s not my place to disclose secrets. Usually. However, secrets hurt folks, just as much as they help them. They obfuscate the true facts of a person’s life. You may be unaware of the full richness of a person’s being if all you know is the shell they crafted out of their own secrets and lies. It’s the same with groups as with individuals. No one ever says what happened to Steele, who was driven from the town in shame and froze to death after breaking his leg in a snow storm. Because they want to keep their paws clean. Individually they are blameless. No one canine was responsible for his death, but they collectively were. If a group bites someone to death, they’re individually blameless  but collectively guilty. You can’t determine which bite was fatal but it’s clear that all the bites together were.”

                Kodi had one leg over Kirby, who was shaking against his slender, fey lover. The red wolf’s-son glared hot daggers at the prideful fox, each careless assertion making his hackles rise more and more. “So what does