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Hello there, dear readers! I'm happy and SUPER excited to bring to you the new chapter of The Fox's Path! I actually had a bit of a rough couple of weeks, and sitting down to work on my stories was a big help and a great mood-lifter. I hope that you enjoy the new chapter!

"Alrighty, Tay-Tay! I have the perfect outfit for your date today!" Lily said, surprising Taylor as the vixen exited the bathroom, wrapped in a white towel, having just showered.

"Lily, I've told you three times already, it's not a date!" Taylor huffed, not entirely sure who she was trying to convince more, her "older" wolf sister, or herself. From the way Lily rolled her eyes, she didn't seem to have succeeded in either attempt.

"Sure thing, Tay-Tay. Anyways, c'mon!" Lily grabbed Taylor by the paw and began to drag her into the bedroom they were currently sharing while Molly was still in town. Lily shut the door behind them as Taylor gazed upon what lay on the bed. Right there lay a bright white sleeveless sundress; Taylor guessed its hem would stop just above her knees.

"Uh, actually, Lily, I was thinking of just a T-shirt and some jeans," Taylor said, hoping to get Lily to simply drop the matter. She had no such luck.

"Oh puh-lease. When you're not in your cute little school uniform, all you ever wear are jeans and shirts! Well, I promised myself that I was going to help you get more properly in touch with your feminine side," Lily said. "I swear, sometimes you act just like a boy. Now, I'll give you some privacy, so hop to it quickly. Jeremy'll be here soon!" And with that, Lily left the room. Now it was Taylor's turn to roll her eyes before examining the dress warily.

I could just put on what I was planning to wear and go in that... but knowing Lily, she'd probably double up on her efforts to "properly" girlify me... Taylor thought to herself, not wanting to admit that, now that she was looking right at it, she wondered what it would feel like to wear a dress.

I guess that it wouldn't be too different than wearing the skirts for school... or a night gown... the thought crept into Taylor's mind as she reached out and touched the soft fabric, memories of her former sex rearing up with a surge of emotions attempting to forcefully shout down the idea of wearing the dress. But they were stifled. Taylor knew that staying in this body and on this world was changing who she was internally, perhaps as much or even more so than she had changed externally.

She had come to realize, with a start, that she had stopped thinking of herself as a male, not too long ago. It had been when she was practicing on her rune stones that the vixen's thoughts had drifted. And it was when she had been looking at her nails and wondering how some of the different polishes that Lily was making her try would look with various outfits that she had suddenly realized just what she was pondering. Perhaps it was hormones, magic, or something else, but Taylor knew then and there that she was changing in her way of thinking. She was adjusting to being a teenage vixen.

And now I'm about to put on a dress for a... not-date... Taylor thought resolutely.

The vixen, after making sure that the door was locked this time, dropped the towel and grabbed a furbrush. Taylor chose to think about the upcoming alchemy test that she was starting to feel confident about, thanks to the cram sessions Shaun and even Lily had been helping her with, and let herself brush away on autopilot. It was quick work, and soon Taylor was standing before the drawer that Lily had cleared for Taylor's own... underwear. Unfortunately for Taylor, that drawer was presently located just beneath Humphrey's tank. His beady little eyes stared at her balefully as she cautiously reached out to the drawer. She opened it ever so slowly, inch by inch, and reached in with her other paw, grabbing a pair of light pink panties with a matching bra, closing the drawer as quietly as she could.

Taylor backed away as Humphrey gave an audible and displeased hiss, and ducked his head and blue serpentine body under the water of the tank, turning to face away from Taylor.

Oh yeah, Lily, he's definitely warmed up to me, Taylor thought with, as Laura would put it, an unladylike snort. Ever since she had revealed to the older wolf her true origins and original form, Laura had seemed to have joined in with Lily in helping the vixen get more in touch with her feminine side. The difference was that Laura was not nearly as forceful as Lily. Taylor's new adopted, soon to be officially, mother's method was more along the lines of telling Taylor how pretty she was and to gently encourage her to try on some pieces of jewelry. She looked down at the lacy fabrics in her paws, and sighed. She first slipped on the panties, having already grown accustomed to wearing them, but outright refusing to wear some of the more risqué options Lily seemed to enjoy suggesting, probably for the sake of Taylor's reaction. Then, with expertise, Taylor put on the bra. She looked at herself in the mirror, her tail giving a slight wag despite how much she was trying to will herself to dislike this.

Back when she was male, Taylor had never once considered the idea of wearing women's clothes. Back then, Taylor had of course heard of trans people, and of a couple of fellow classmates who were. While part of her had come to accept this body and this new life, another part of the vixen felt that something about what she was looking at in the mirror was off. She briefly wondered if that was what it felt like to be trans. Taylor gave a jump when the door handle jiggled ineffectively before there was a pounding.

"Tay-Tay," Lily's voice called out, "hurry up already! Jeremy's gunna be here soon!"

"Alright!" Taylor called back, turning to face the dress once more. With a sigh, she reached out and picked it up. She did what she felt was normal, and pulled it on over her head. It was a little tight, but not terribly so, though she did have to shimmy a little. Then she had to thread her big bushy tail through the hole in the back, and give it a quick brush to take care of the mussed up fur. She then turned to look at her reflection in the mirror, turning from side to side. Once more, her fluffy new appendage gave away her inner feelings as it wagged a little. Taylor then unlocked the door, nearly being bowled over by an excited and energetic Lily, whose own tail was a happy blur.

"Your new little boyfriend's here, Tay-Tay!" Lily said. Before Taylor could remind her that Jeremy was not her boyfriend and that this was not a date, Lily opened her muzzle and let out a gasp.

"Oh... my... Azcore..." Lily said, taking in the vixen, who was surprised by the wolf actually using her name and not the nickname she had been given, "you're beautiful!"

Taylor was stunned by this announcement, before she was pulled into a near-bonecrushing hug.

"Uhm... th-thanks, Lily," Taylor said as she blushed. She wasn't sure just what she was supposed to say or even think in that moment. She was sure that, after the initial shock, she found that she... liked being called pretty. Taylor reflected on this before she was yanked out of her thoughts and out into the hall by the paw.

"I have no problem telling my little sister that she's beautiful when she totally is, although I do wish that you hadn't dawdled. We didn't even have time to do your nails!" Lily playfully chastised as she led Taylor to the top of the stairs. Taylor rolled her eyes as she made her way down. She heard the deep rumbling voice of Abe, and came upon the sight of Abe sitting in an easychair that had been placed right across from the couch where Jeremy was sitting, looking rather uncomfortable.

He was wearing a blazer with a white polo shirt on underneath, with a pair of jeans. His wings were exposed, there apparently being a proper slit for them in the back of his shirt and coat, and Taylor had a chance to look them over. The last time she had seen them, Jeremy had embarrassedly run off in a hurry, so the vixen hadn't had the opportunity to get a good look. Now though, she could see them properly. They were a deep black. Their interior looked to be leathery, but Taylor only briefly saw that, before they wrapped themselves around the bat's shoulders and front, tucking underneath each other in the front. There didn't seem to be any fur on either the interior of the wings nor the exterior. Instead, glossy midnight black flesh. Jeremy looked up and his eyes went wide at the sight of Taylor.

Taylor smiled back as Abe turned his head to see her entering the room. He smiled as well, before turning his attention back to the nervous-looking bat before him.

"What I was getting at, Jeremy, is that I know that you're a good kid. And I know that you wouldn't let anything happen to my little girl, correct?" the bear asked, leaning forward a bit, his size practically dwarfing Jeremy.

"Y-Y-Yes sir, Mr. Spring, uh, s-sir!" Jeremy said, making Abe chuckle.

"Please, Jeremy, call me Abe," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"Dad always does this," Lily startled Taylor by whispering into her ear. Taylor cocked her head as her ears swiveled in Lily's direction. "He always insists on speaking to any boy who I'm going to be going out with, just so that he can let them know that there's a big papa bear who's very protective of his daughters. I went through it, and so did Molly."

That thought brought some comfort to the vixen, who, while embarrassed, was also touched that Abe had also come to accept her as his daughter. Although she wasn't entirely sure about how she felt about being called his little girl, and she felt that Jeremy wasn't the kind of guy who would try anything.

"Well then, you two have fun," Abe said, clapping his massive paws together and making Jeremy jump. Abe then got up and strode over to Taylor, pulling her into a hug.

"You look beautiful, sweetie," Abe said as he let her go and looked her up and down.

"Uhm, th-thanks...D-Dad," Taylor said, touched. Back in her old life, as she was starting to think of it, Taylor's parents were not the type to show as much affection as the Springs did. They were always constantly pushing Taylor to do better in school, always making grades their top priority with him. If he met the goals that they would set out for him, they just always seemed to be mildly pleased. If he didn't or only managed to fall short of those expectations, they were sure to let him know their disappointment. Taylor was brought out of this reverie by a nudge from Lily. She looked up to see Jeremy standing before her, a goofy grin plastered onto his face.

"Y-You look really great," Jeremy stuttered, a blush forming beneath the fur on his cheeks, which matched Taylor's own.

"Th-Thanks," she said, both liking and unsure how to handle all these compliments.

"Sh-Shall we go?" Jeremy asked, motioning to the door. Taylor nodded, before something was pushed into her arms by Lily. Taylor looked at it, and saw that it was a white leather purse, with a thin spaghetti strap. Taylor shot a look at Lily, who simply rolled her eyes in response.

"Since you decided to be a girly girl today, and you don't have any pockets, you're gunna need something to carry your stuff in," Lily explained. Taylor momentarily thought this over and gave a slight nod.

"Thanks, Lily," Taylor grumbled as she and Jeremy exited, and started walking down the sidewalk of the suburbs. They made their way to the front gate in silence, as they were both looked over from the narrowed and suspicious eyes of the red dragon guard, who let them pass without a word, glowering at the pair the entire time. They didn't strike up a conversation until they were a block away from the gates.

"S-So, uhm..." Jeremy started before he took a deep breath and visibly relaxed, "I was thinking about where we could go today, and I thought that maybe you would like to visit the art museum," Jeremy said, puffing out his chest a little as he did his best to try and sound confident. Taylor could hear the slight worry in his voice, and smiled.

"That sounds like it could be fun," Taylor said. In truth, she had never been to an art museum before, and so had no idea what the experience would be like.

"Great!" Jeremy said, excited as his wings unfurled and flapped once. He looked at Taylor with wide and scared eyes, looking away contritely.

"Jeremy?" Taylor asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, where Jeremy's wings folded themselves around his front again.

"Y-Y-Yes?" he asked as they walked. The path he was guiding them on took them by a park where the happy and excited shouts of playing children wafted over on the cool breeze.

"Uh... don't think that you have to answer this question if it makes you uncomfortable," Taylor started before continuing, "but are you ashamed of your wings?"

Jeremy was quiet as they walked, passing by several other people who were busy going about their day to day lives, before he finally answered. "W-Well... yeah... I mean, look at them," Jeremy said, consciously extending them out for emphasis, and almost knocking over a cheetah woman who was jogging.

"Hey, watch it!" she called out as she swerved around the bat.

"S-Sorry..." he called back, but she had already turned her back on him and was continuing on her way. "See?" he asked, his confidence having faded from his voice.

"No, not really," Taylor said, "I think that they're pretty cool."

Jeremy looked up in surprise, his blush returning. "Th-Thanks for saying that, Taylor, but it's okay, I get how dorky they make me look."

"I mean it, Jeremy. I haven't met anyone with wings before, but even so, being able to fly would be amazing!" Taylor insisted.

"R-Really?" Jeremy asked, his voice hopeful.

"Really. Your wings are pretty cool," Taylor said.

"Thanks!" Jeremy said, excitement once more lacing his voice. Taylor looked over to see his wings extending out again, making several more people grumble as they had to shift out of the bat's way. Taylor smiled, and then noticed an almost dreamy look on Jeremy's face as he stared at her, a wide grin visible.

"No problem," Taylor said.

Okay... maybe for Jeremy this actually is a date... oh boy, Taylor thought to herself as the pair walked along. Jeremy didn't seem to notice her self reflection as he led her from one street to the next before bringing them to a stop on the sidewalk. Taylor looked up, her mouth suddenly agape as she looked at the single most ornate building she had even seen. The structure was massive, easily three times the size of their school. The polished obsidian steps leading up to the building were flecked with what looked to Taylor to be gold. They led to a massive pair of also polished obsidian double doors. The building was built like a traditional museum, at least in Taylor's mind, complete with the Greek-style pillars, but all of it was black obsidian with gold flecks.

As they made their way up to the colossal obsidian doors, she became aware of the ornate carvings on them. At first, when she looked at them from the sidewalk, the carving depicted a lion in a robe, standing with his arms extended, a paintbrush in each paw as he was framed by thorny roses. However, as they got closer, the carving seemed to change to a battle between two bears with battle axes and a giant serpent, and then again to a single rose growing from a crack in a sidewalk.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Jeremy asked. Taylor looked at the bat, who was grinning again.

"Y-Yeah..." Taylor said as she moved her head to look at the door from different angles, seeing the different images and a few others in rapid succession change with the angle.

"It's an Anomolous Carving," Jeremy said, explaining further when he noticed the look of confusion on Taylor's face, "it's carved in a way to show a different image at a different angle, like an anamorph. Except it was done so, with some magical influence, that it has fifty distinct images. All of which can only be viewed at the proper angle, and some only at certain times. I've been coming here since I was six, and I still haven't been able to find all of them."

"How many have you found?" Taylor asked, starting to feel excited.

If this is just the front door, then this place is going to be amazing! Taylor thought as her tail started to wag.

"Twenty-two," Jeremy said, looking bashful.

"So I take it that you really like art, huh?" Taylor asked.

"Y-Yeah," Jeremy said, wringing his clawed hands together, "my dad really got me into it when I was little. My mom wants me to study forensics like she does, but art is just so much more..." Jeremy seemed to struggle to find the right words for a moment before he started to blush again and look away.

"A-Anyways, there's a lot more amazing pieces inside," Jeremy said, pushing open the mysterious door with ease, holding it open for Taylor, who also blushed and thanked the bat as she entered. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, and then nearly bulged out of her skull. The interior was nothing that she had been expecting as she stepped forward into a field of multicolored wildflowers. She was standing in a picturesque forest clearing, with great pine trees on all sides. Before her was a pond, where several small winged pixies zipped about. Taylor turned to see Jeremy smiling as he stepped through an open doorway that was just hanging there, suspended in the air.

"Like it? This is Delilah's Daydream, created by Olaf Mestrol, the undisputed master light sculptor," Jeremy explained. Taylor looked around, examining the clearing. She reached out to a flower and felt its petal on the back of her paw; then there was a tingling sensation, and then the petal passed through her paw.

"So it's a hologram?" Taylor asked, pulling her paw back.

"Not exactly," Jeremy said, gently taking Taylor's paw as he guided it towards the water of the pond. Her paw felt the cool moisture of the liquid. And then, the tingling sensation reappeared, followed by her paw passing through the water, no longer feeling it, aside from the residual moisture on her paw.

"Holograms generally shape light to create illusory images, yes, but they all pale in comparison to light sculpting. Whereas they just make three dimensional images, a light sculptor turns light into a physical object. Granted one that doesn't usually retain physical permanence when living things push up against them."

"Wow...so wait, the pixies?" Taylor asked as she watched a few droplets of water phase through her paw and fall back into the pond.

"Oh no, those are just regular pixies. Unlike other living beings, they can interact with the plant life here without phasing through it, so they were brought on to tend to it," Jeremy said.

"Wow... Jeremy... this is just so... WOW!" was all that Taylor could think to say. She noticed the goofy grin had returned to Jeremy's face.

And there you have it, folks! I sure do hope that you enjoyed yourselves!