And so, she was back again at the farmlands due to the request that has been made by Farmer Jim, under the blistering heat of the empty fields that had her sweating bullets. Heat licked at her sunburned faces and coiled around her limbs like a great hot-blooded serpent. The ground smouldered and sent up a disorientating haze, even the birds were silent and the grass stood still as if they were too hot to move. Despite how she had grown slightly more accustomed to the temperatures due to the metallic features of her body, the remaining human parts were still hated the heat, which was why was reluctant to leave her room for the quest.

”Ugh. I wish Farmer Jim wouldn’t demand to see me in this heat.”

Dirt and small pebbles that were scattered on the ground collected around her feet as her heels kicked up puffs of dust in the air. Waving her hand back and forth beside her face, she attempted to cool down the heat that was rising upon her cheeks with her hands, but all in vain. Her feet was heavy as she dragged them against the hard ground and the heat that blared down upon the land was causing her to become exhausted, more to be asleep. Meanwhile, Vysella, her companion appeared to be struggling with the harsh weather as well, seeing how she had been dragging herself their entire way to the farmlands. Snowflake had been too bothered by the heat herself that she had almost forgotten that she had brought Vysella along.

”Oh, poor girl. Come here.”

The soft fur of the little fox brushed against her arms as Snowflake picked her up and felt that her body might be perhaps too warm for the creature. With the thick fur on top of its body, Vysella must have been burning hot, she thought. Her fellow companion originated from the colder regions where summer was not even half as hot as how it is in the country and thus, Vysella still had not adapted to such high temperatures. Heck, even Snowflake was not acquainted with the heat herself. At this moment, a swim in the pool or perhaps a long strode by the sea shore would be extremely rewarding for her.

In her hand, the paper request would fold and crinkle, the words now a jumble of objectives that she stapled into her prior. The reason she had travelled to the farmlands was because of the information that a white wolf has been stealing sheep from the farm and Farmer Jim, who she is acquainted with, is not able to deal with his sheep being taken anymore and wants him dead. However, considering old Jim’s age and his unhealthy body, he has hired her to do the dirty work for him, which of course, she wouldn’t have minded if it was not for this horrible weather. Mayhap, she might just stay home and hole out herself in her room the entire season.

Upon reaching her destination, Snowflake was greeted by her client, Jim, who was busy sweeping the dry leaves of his porch in front of his little cottage. The first thing she asked of him was a cup of water in which she gulped the liquid down her throat within a few seconds. The cool water soothed her chest and for a brief moment, the cold water made her feel slightly better in the heat. After she was done, they would immediately move onto the subject of the quest, which was only the purpose she was here from the beginning. Farmer Jim led her to the farm where sheep was kept and grown. She could see there were only a few animals left and it was mostly because of the so-called wolf that has been making Jim unable to sleep with his sheep stolen.

The first thing that was on her plan was to clothe herself as one of the sheep as a bait. By doing so, she figured she would be able to catch the wolf. If she had decided to go into the fields without any cover, she would be discovered quickly and it was of high possibility that the mission will fail. Fortunately, Jim had some wool stored in the barn that he had shaved off his animals and she was able to use them as a clothing to use herself as a bait. It was a rather risky situation that she had put herself through but it’s not necessarily bad to be up for a little bit of risk every now and then. Throwing the sheep fur over her entire body, she clothed herself before bending over to walk on four of her limbs to pretend as a sheep. Vysell on the other hand, did not require such baits since she was already a fox herself.

Slowly, Snowflake and her companion preceded towards the middle of the fields where she could be seen in plain sight, for the predators to hunt the prey. Of course, she was the prey at the moment but soon, the positions will be switched once she had laid her eyes on the wolf. In the shadows of the trees over the distance, she could see a white figure peering down at the field as if it was searching for something. Once it had her eyes laid on her, the wolf began approaching, fast then slowed down when it came closer to her. She pretended to be busy eating the grass while she was actually just knelt down on the ground.

The wolf was nimble and smart, his footsteps barely audible even with twigs and branches scattered all over the ground. With a swift movement, the wolf leaped onto her body. Snowflake would quickly slide out of the bait and threw herself on top of the wolf. The animal was large and although it might have been a powerful leader in his pack, her strength was stronger than his and she could easily overwhelm him with her attacks. While Vysella pinned him down on the ground despite her small body, Snow stabbed in the most crucial areas of the wolf with her sharp hands and landed a final blow in its neck before it could strike a counterattack against her.

Blood trailed all the way in its path back to the cottages and she would return with a defeated wolf thrown over her shoulder. The farmer hopped in joy, clapping his hands together and rewarded her with an ample number of jewels. She bid farewell to the farmer before he disappeared into his cottage to skin the wolf and wear the fur as a coat for himself.