A/N – Just as an FYI, any conversation within the [ ] symbols will be in the fox language.

***

"Are you sure about this?" Vanessa asked Pepper. They were both nervous about meeting the foxes but were hoping that this was the first step towards a future where the two species could live together as equals.

"Extremely sure." Pepper stood up from the controls of their ship, which had a nice sized group on it. "We're ready. I think ever since we got here, I have been looking forward to this day, even if I'm still nervous about their reactions."

Everyone stared back at her, including the two little girls in front. "We're meeting aliens?" Rosie asked. "Furry ones?"

"We're meeting some new friends. Friends that talk in the language you learned, and hopefully we can be very good neighbors together. We want them to like us, and I think you being with us will help that, okay?" Pepper crouched down at the two girls and hoped that the little peanut inside her would turn out just as precious as they were. "You two are great friends, and I think they'll like that."

"Yes!" said Bree quickly. "Can we play with them?"

"We'll see. They may have children too, and then you could play. But at first, we just want to make sure they know that we want to be their friends and neighbors."

The two girls looked at each other excitedly, then nodded back. "We'll be their best friends," Rosie promised. It was cute, but all the adults realized that it might be very necessary that Bree and Rosie win over the foxes until they could talk more openly.

"They might not be friendly at first, so stay with your parents, okay? We might look scary to them." Vanessa reminded them. "And don't feel bad if they are scared, or don't want to meet us right away."

"It's okay," assured Bree. "Sometimes Finn isn't friendly too, but then the next day he is. We will still be nice."

"Perfect!" Pepper stood up, taking the girls by the hand. "Are you ready for a little walk then? Zay, you stay by the controls, we'll let you know if we need you."

"You got it," Zay replied with a smile. "Check in either way, so I know you're safe."

"Will do. Let's go, everyone!"

Miles led the way, with Lena, Pepper, and Vanessa by his side. Lily was on the ship with Zay just because she didn't want to stay too far away, and they might need a doctor. Emma carried Bree on her shoulders, flanked by both Lexi and Viv, and Rosie's mom Macey was carrying her too. The last person along with them was Aubree, a Social Anthropologist from Canada who was in her 50s but had almost begged to come on the trip just because she wanted to meet and help figure out the foxes. Pepper and Vanessa felt good about the team and hoped that they would have the chance to interact with their neighbors.

They had landed the ship on the coast of the shallow channel that was the boundary between the island and the mainland. There was a river here that led inland, and they knew that the fox town was next to the river, a little over a mile upstream. Right on the coast though, was a set of ruins that were similar to the ones that were found near their own town, though they hadn't explored them yet, as they didn't want to desecrate anything in case the foxes had beliefs about them.

Even after a few months, the moon was still a marvel to them, and being here on the mainland just offered new wonders. Yes, seeing the bulk of the blue gas giant in the sky would always be one of the highlights, but the trees here were already something to stare at too. From a distance, they looked just like towering spruce trees in shape, but as they got closer, they could see that the pine needles that they would have expected were actually more like the fronds of a delicate fern.

Even more surprising was that there were Squirts in the trees too, but these were green with black stripes and spots. Were they like chameleons? Were they distant cousins? Nobody was sure, but they knew that these discoveries were just two more to tempt the different scientists that had journeyed with them with. Not that there weren't so many things to explore that it would take decades to finish, of course.

Some of the discoveries had already borne fruit. For instance, on their original journey to Uranus, they had found several creatures that looked similar to a capybara, and another similar to a baby cow, frozen and floating through a large chamber meant to hold them on the colony ship. The herd animals that were across the river from the settlement were like those cows, while the capybara types ran wild through the underbrush in the red tree forest. After analysis, both species were found to be edible to humans, and had become an abundant source of protein. The capybara in particular had become a favorite, as people said it tasted like wild boar, and several people wanted to try to make smokers and barbecue them.

Food would always win.

The ground along the river was worn down into a smooth path, no doubt from foot traffic down to either the ruins or the ocean, though nobody was sure. Either way though, it made for easy travelling, which was much appreciated for those carrying the kids.

"We're getting close," Miles said while sniffing the air. "They're good cooks too."

["From Now on we speak only in their language,"] replied Pepper. ["Let's try to get them comfortable."]

From the photos that had been taken during the scans, they knew that the village had a stout wooden wall, and many buildings made of a mix of stone and wood within it. They weren't sure how big the population was, but it could easily be 500 or more. As they got closer, they could see several smaller buildings with pens that had both the cows and capybara in them, which was a good thing. There were also some with some sort of ugly birds in pens, which might be used for egg laying. Pepper wondered if perhaps they could start trading to make a nice economic friendship too? At a minimum they could offer them gifts to make them happy. That didn't even include the vast amount of their history they could help them with.

She mentally kicked herself for not having thought of that sooner, but it was certainly something that they could do in the future. It would take time, but Pepper was sure that they could make a good alliance with the foxes, because she just didn't see an alternative. This moon was perfect for what they needed, and the foxes seemed much more peaceful than the humans from the Atlantis had been. If that remained the case, then this could work. She hoped.

The group slowed down as they got closer, not wanting to be thought of as threatening, and they took a good look at the walls when they came into sight. They weren't high, maybe six feet tall, but were made of heavy timber and had a worn wooden gate that seemed sturdy.

["I wonder what the wall is for,"] Miles said softly. ["Should we get the rest of our spare containers into a higher wall around our own town?"]

["We'll worry about that later,"] Pepper replied, though she had a feeling it was a good idea. They were close enough that if there was a threat to the fox town, then that threat might affect them as well. 

There was no sign of movement, which was hardly surprising. ["I have a feeling we scared them,"] Vanessa commented. ["Bree and Rosie, do you think you could call them, and see if they want to come be your friends?"]

["Hello!"] Rosie didn't even answer her, she just started shouting. ["Is anyone there? Do you want to be our friends?"]

["We're really nice!"] Bree added.

Pepper couldn't help but smile widely and try not to giggle. If this was the opening salvo in interplanetary communication, then the girls may be the most adorable ambassadors ever. ["Good job girls!"] she whispered to them, which made them both beam in pride.

There was no response though, which wasn't unexpected. ["Okay people let's have a meal."] suggested Emma. ["If they can cook, so can we."]. She took off her backpack and pulled out a haunch of meat from one of the capybara creatures while Miles got started in heating up one of the portable infrared grills they brought. It wasn't long before the meat was sizzling, and the whole area smelled wonderful. They'd brought a lot of food, but they weren't sure how much they'd need.

["I wonder what they use for spices,"] Viv pondered. ["I guess that is something else we can get from them. We're used to a lot of spices from Earth that we don't have here. Maybe they have new ones too?"] The most they had so far was salt that they extracted from the ocean water, but there were so many other original spices and herbs that they'd lost and they would want to find suitable replacements for them. They had found that the yellow berries from the red trees were edible, tasted like miniature lemons without the rind, and they had already been made into a variety of things, including jams, pie filling and fermented into a liqueur. The juice also made a great marinade and glaze on the meat.

Using that juice, Miles and Emma carefully grilled the capybara loin, and the smell grew even better. While they cooked everyone else kept an eye on the wall, trying to be quiet so as to not scare anyone away. The only ones talking were Rosie and Bree who were already squealing happily at the smell of the food.

["Is it almost ready, mama?"] Bree asked Emma, who pulled her onto her lap and hugged her tightly. She still wasn't used to being called mom yet, and every time Bree did it, it made her happy.

["Almost, princess. Does it smell good?"]

["So good! Now I'm hungry!"]

["Then tell Uncle Miles to hurry up!"] Emma said as she threw a little twig at the bulky man. If Emma was unused to being called mom, Miles had been thrilled to know he was an uncle to the tiny Bree, and he loved to spoil her with little treats whenever he could. It was great practice for when Lena gave birth, as she was indeed already showing her bump, and he couldn't wait to greet his little one too.

["It's almost ready, little one. I promise."] Miles told the hungry girl. ["You can even have the first piece."]

But he was wrong. Because at that precise moment, their first alien fox scampered over the wall, and ran towards them with a big smile. ["That smells delicious!"]