My eyes settled on the thick dust coating the floor. I may sleep in a tree most of the time, but if this was going to be my home for most of the winter, it had better match my standards. And dust so thick you could see footprints in it was not up there.

"I suppose I should get a broom," I commented before teleporting away. My body dissolved into pure mana. A second later, it reformed, and I stood in one of the Omegas' supply closets. Taking one of the handful of brooms, I closed my eyes and returned to the abandoned mine.

Zanixa stared at me in undisguised surprise as I swept the floor, humming to myself. Her expression accompanied by the emotion she exuded made it hard for me to keep my face straight. 'You will have to get used to me doing that. Teleporting is faster than running or walking. It saves time.'

'Dubren said you don't die. Doesn't that mean you have plenty of time?' The fox kit blinked, seemingly confused my words.

I chuckled at her innocence and naivety, earning me a questioning look from Sila. 'Even then, why waste time? I can still be killed. You never know.'

'If you can be killed, then how do you not die?'

'I can take a lot of injuries before I 'die'. Technically, I'm just unconscious for a long time while my body heals, but most call it 'death'. The only way to truly kill me, my so-called 'final death', is to burn me while I am 'dead'.'

'That is why you don't like fire,' she stated as she tilted her head.

'Was it that obvious?' I asked. 'Yes. As fire is the only way to kill me, I am more careful around it.'

Zanixa nodded and fell silent. I calmly continued sweeping the dust into the corner while Sila leaned against the wall, eyes glazed over as she spoke to someone telepathically. Her duties as Ira never ended, be it day or night.

I paused as two Gammas walked in, logs stacked into their arms. Their faces were permanently stained with dirt from their hard work in the mines. Sila finished whatever conversation she may have had and stepped forward to greet the two pack members.

"Ah, Osmen, Shana, thank you for coming."

"No problem, Ira. We are happy to help." Gratefulness to be out in daylight sounding through Osmen's voice. The two put the logs in the corner that wasn't used as rock or dust pile. When they finished, he commented, "We have more outside and will be bringing it in."

The pile of wood grew steadily larger as more and more dust was moved and spiderwebs destroyed. It would be enough to keep a hearth going for weeks, if I had actually had a home to warm up. When they were all done, the duo nodded at the Ira respectfully.

"That'll be all. Just let us know if you need any more, Ira."

"Will do. May the goddess be with you."

"Goddess be with you," they echoed near immediately.

Zanixa turned to me, ears half lowered in confusion. 'What goddess do they mean? There're a lot of them.'

She wasn't wrong to be confused. Roughly half of the twenty gods were female, and the two most important ones were both women as well. That said, as a shifter, she was supposed to know better.

I explained, 'They mean Esnain, goddess of the hunt, rainbows, healing, and the wild. She once created the shifters, as you should know. Although they technically belong to Daskil, they are about as fond of him as we vampires are, and pray to Esnain instead. The title 'Ira' means 'Rainbow'. It means that she is the pack's rainbow, that she will take care of them, cheer them up when their morale is down, and protect them when needed.'

'Is she actually a rainbow?'

Her naive reply elicited a chuckle from me once again. 'No, she is not.'

Sila looked up from her place near the wall. "What did she say?"

"She wondered if you are actually a rainbow, given your title." A small smile tugged at my lips. The fox kit was too innocent for this world.

The Ira turned to Zanixa with a friendly smile. "Ah, I see. No, I am not a rainbow, but I am the closest to the Rainbow - our goddess. It's what makes me one of the two leaders of the pack. I ensure everyone inside the pack is happy, as well as the goddess. My mate is the one who ensures everything outside the pack is running smoothly. He works on relations with other packs or important groups and carefully watches our borders. That way, we keep everyone secure and the pack will prosper."

'Oh. I see.' She blinked a few times, letting me know that she did not really 'see' at all.

Voicing her reply, I said, "She somewhat understands. It's hard for her to comprehend, as firefoxes live alone, unless they have a mate or kit. The entire concept of a pack is new to her."

"That's okay. She'll understand in time." Sila gave the little fox another friendly smile before looking at the somewhat-clean room. "Now, most of the dust and cobwebs are gone. It's about time we start building a fire."

I rested my broom against the wall and headed outside to find smaller twigs and grass to use for kindling. The time of the year made it hard to find anything dry, but with magic at my side, it did not matter. Soon, I had an armful of twigs in various sizes, frozen cold. My touch didn't warm them up any.

Returning to the abandoned mine, I built a small pyramid, casting two spells. After the first, the kindle dried, reacting to the mana flowing through the wood. The second caused them to ignite, a faint light illuminating the room. Instinctively, I wanted to back away, but I remained where I was and continued to feed the flames.

Finally allowing myself to create some distance between me and the fire, I commented, "It's about time to let her out, wouldn't you say?"

Sila nodded. "Let's pull that cork off."