Victor kept Felicity close, a hand always hovering just at her back. Whenever a moment allowed, he judged her readiness with small, secret touches testing her balance with a heavy palm, bracing her elbow as they climbed, lending stability and, occasionally, warmth.
She noticed every touch.
Not in a scary way. In a comforting way. Like when you forget where your feet are and someone gently reminds you that gravity still exists. He does this a lot, she thought, fondly. Like a very serious backpack.
They camped midday in what was left of a park, shattered playground equipment tangled together, an old spiral slide crushed and rusted under the weight of a fallen tree. Felicity stared at it for a second too long, wondering if kids used to race down it and whether they'd screamed the fun kind or the scared kind.
She shook her head. Focus. The men worked through the lunch hour, each beastman flexing his skills. Finch fashioned tripwires from old guitar strings, humming to himself. Giddy cleared sightlines with prodigious kicks, sending debris flying with cheerful enthusiasm.
Voss snapped the neck of a zombie with one hand and turned, blood mouthed, to leer at Felicity. "See that?" he called, loud enough for the group and loudest for her. "That's how you handle a pest where I'm from." Felicity blinked.
Oh, she thought. He's showing off.
That was… nice. Probably. Victor didn't answer. He just wiped his blade clean and turned his attention to Felicity instead, expression unreadable, as if asking whether she had any commentary on the matter. She did. Just not out loud.
Her magic fizzed in her chest, a bright, restless pressure like soda shaken too hard. It wanted out. Wanted to do something. She bounced slightly on her heels before remembering she was supposed to be calm and grounded and responsible. Okay. Don't explode. Or do explode. But in a helpful way. She'd spent all night watching how the others ran their little performances. Rose with her vines. Finch with his traps. Even Voss with his… neck snapping.
If she wanted to prove she belonged, this was her moment. While the group's attention was elsewhere, she spotted movement beyond the monkey bars. Smaller shapes darting through the brush. Quick. Low. Almost cute, if you ignored the wrongness of their eyes.
Oh no. Zombie raccoons, she thought, horrified and fascinated. That feels unfair to raccoons. She focused the way Rose had shown her. Picture the target. Hold it steady. Let the magic spool up from her belly instead of her chest or head because that apparently mattered a lot.
The world slowed. Sound stretched thin. The air hummed against her skin like she was a live wire. She licked her lips, suddenly very aware of her own hands. Okay okay okay, she thought. Please work. Please don't blow up the playground. Please don't trip. Golden light flared from her palms, clean and brilliant. Lightning arced outward, dazzling and precise.
The raccoon monsters shrieked as the charge hit them, their movements dragging into something almost cinematic. Half of them locked up mid leap, stunned and twitching, and Victor was already moving, fire roaring as he finished them before they could recover.
Silence snapped back into place. Every head turned. Felicity froze. Oh no. Was that too much? Too little? Did I steal someone's thing?
Voss barked out a laugh, sharp and delighted. "See? That's what I'm talking about. The fox has teeth." Her ears burned. Victor's pride was quieter but stronger. Every line of his body hummed with it as he stepped close, cupping the back of her neck and massaging warmth into her skin.
"Nice slow and stun, Fel," he said softly.
Her chest did a happy little flip. He used my nickname, she thought, absurdly pleased. Rose whistled, lips pursed. Even Giddy paused mid destruction, tail flicking with something that looked suspiciously like respect.
Felicity smiled, bright and unguarded. See, she thought, relieved. Everyone's nice.
And completely missed the way several of them started rearranging their understanding of her place in the world. The rest of the day blurred together in a haze of motion and noise.
Felicity stayed close to the team, heart hammering against her ribs with every step. She tried very hard to remember the rules, even as they stacked up faster than she could organize them. Never ignore the perimeter. Never approach a sleeping male from behind unless you wanted your throat ripped out. Never stand between two males measuring each other unless you wanted to become the problem.
And always, always, accept praise with downcast eyes and visible humility.
That one confused her the most. Victor moved like a force of nature at the center of it all, sweeping his hand through the air as weapons and supplies vanished into his personal space pocket. To Felicity, it looked effortless.
To everyone else, it was a reminder. Snow Team numbered ten in total. Eleven, if you counted Giddy, who stuck close to Rose and made absolutely no secret of it.
The others watched Felicity.
Not constantly. Not openly. But often enough that she felt it, like standing too close to a fire.
I think I did something wrong, she thought immediately. Was the lightning rude? Did I smile too much again?
At one point, as they paused to regroup, Victor stepped close without breaking stride. He tilted her face up with two fingers and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.
Casual.
Unshowy.
Grounding.
Her thoughts short circuited. "Oh," she said softly, blinking. That helped. Why did that help so much? Victor didn't comment. He just rested his hand at her back again and kept moving.
A few minutes later, Voss drifted close from the opposite side. He loomed for a second, then reached out and gave her head a gentle pat. She startled, ears flicking. "Sorry," he rumbled, unapologetic. "Good work." She smiled up at him, bright and immediate. "Thank you."
Victor's hand tightened slightly at her back.
Voss withdrew his hand. Then, five minutes later, tried again. Another pat. Rose saw it.
She said nothing. Just filed it away.
When the adrenaline finally ebbed, Felicity's thoughts spilled out all at once.
"Oh my god," she blurted, spinning back toward Victor. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess up the formation earlier, I just saw the raccoon things and I thought if I waited it
would be bad and also I think I shocked Finch a little and I really didn't mean to." She cut herself off, breathless, hands fisting in her sleeves. Victor turned fully toward her. "Fel," he said calmly.
She froze.
"You did fine," he continued. "You followed instruction. You didn't overextend. You didn't freeze." "But I interrupted," she said quickly. "And I might've gone early and I know I'm not supposed to draw attention and Rose looked at me like I kicked her favorite knife and"
"That look," Victor said evenly, "means you impressed her."
She blinked. "It does?"
"Yes."
"Oh." She frowned. Why does everyone have a different face language? Voss, who had been listening, reached out and patted her head again. Slower this time. Almost thoughtful. "Strong fox," he said.
Victor shot him a look. Voss smirked and removed his hand. For now. Rose finally turned. "Fox," she said. "You're going to get yourself killed if you keep assuming everything is your fault." Felicity's ears flattened. "I just don't want anyone mad at me."
Rose sighed. "Yeah. That's what worries me."
She glanced at Victor's hand at Felicity's back. At Voss hovering just within arm's reach. "You think everyone's your friend," Rose continued. "You apologize first. You trust fast."
"That's good," Felicity said hopefully.
Rose snorted. "It's sweet. It's also dangerous." Voss patted Felicity's head again, as if to punctuate the point. Rose shot him a look that could strip paint.
"Hands," Rose said flatly.
Voss raised both palms. "Instinct." Victor leaned down and pressed another brief kiss to Felicity's hairline. A clear, quiet line drawn. "She's learning," he said.
Felicity nodded eagerly. "I am. I think."
Rose studied her for a long second, then looked away.
"Stay close," Rose said. "To him. And to me."
Giddy bounded past, grinning at Rose like she was the sun. Rose rolled her eyes but didn't stop him. Victor's hand remained steady at Felicity's back.
Voss hovered, clearly fighting the urge to pat her head again. Felicity walked between them, cheeks warm, heart full, completely unaware that half the team had already decided she was something to guard. Everyone's being so nice, she thought, relieved.
Rose glanced back once more, jaw tight.
She really thinks the world is kind, Rose thought. And that, more than the magic or the lightning or the way Victor and Voss touched her like something precious, was what made Felicity dangerous. And worth protecting.