“Let’s stop here, it’s getting dark and we need to set up camp.” Announced the caravan leader as the group arrived at a clearing in the forest.

The group made camp, and people who could work did their best to help out.

“Bliz and I, will go hunt for some food.” Leon said with finality. The wolf leading the human into the forest.

“Good thanks, anyone willing to help me carve out a few replacement parts are welcome to come with me. Everyone else can work to get a campfire going and gather edible herbs and berries.” The caravan leader stated.

As Leon left to hunt, Kyrion found himself alone with Asela, and the blue-haired creep, who seemed to be setting up some large tent, which seemed capable of fitting everyone. Kyrion decided to go wood gathering with Asela. As he found some dry branches, he looked at Asela.

“Watch out for that blue guy, he’s been staring at us, I don’t know him and he gives me the chills.” Kyrion said conspiratorially.

Asela looked at him and then at the blue-haired man and ran off. “I need to introduce you two. He’s a friend. I’ll go get him, wait here!” Asela dashed off towards the camp.

“Asela wait! Don’t run off.” Kyrion tried to chase after her as a fog rolled over him.

“Asela where are you?” He yelled and got no response.

He tried to call her four more times, but still, there was no response. Kyrion wandered around, trying to get back to camp, but his path to get here was gone. Trees shrouded in mist. In the distance, he saw a flame flicker, and he gave chase. The more he ran, the further away the flame seemed to go.

He called out to the fire. “Wait! I’m right here!”

The flame then winked out in the distance.

“Rustling. Shifting. Blowing. Changing. I am what moves as it wishes, untethered and unrestrained. What am I?” A voice echoes from the trees moving trees.

“Crazy, which I’m not, since I don’t hear any voices.” Kyrion turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Tripping over his own feet. Before falling on his stomach.

Kyrion coughed, and blood came from his mouth. He tried to stand up, but his legs and arms burned from strain. He then just froze, waiting for the pain to stop.

“Not fun little human. Not fun. I thought you, human cubs love games. Oh well.” The voice came from the bushes.

“What did you do to me?” Kyrion grunted in rage, eyes bloodshot.

“Me? Nothing. You however are running out of time, so close to the finish line, or so they say. This pain could stop soon if you’d like.” The creature waits.

“Just help me already!” Kyrion pleaded.

A small white and black fox stared at him, waiting for something to happen. After a few seconds of waiting, the fox opened its mouth in a yawn before speaking. “Young Spirit user, I have come for my payment. Which will require tons of mana on your end and a spirit contract.”

Kyrion looked at the fox in surprise. He felt the pain as he blurted out, “Foxes can talk?!”

The fox approached him and looked down at his face. “A contract human child. Do you understand what that means?”

“Nope, what’s a contract? Also, can you hurry? I feel like I’m gonna explode.” Kyrion was beginning to sweat profusely.

It means I give you a way to use your power. My child lives on as one of your spirits and gets a chance to grow stronger much faster. My race is a relatively rare one, so I would like to give them the best chance possible.” The fox said.

“So…are you the thing mom told me about? If so...”

“Then let’s get started. Turn ar… oh wait you’re on your stomach. I’ll start the ritual now then. Repeat after me, I swear that I, Kyrion Mosely, will protect Jala, until she reaches maturity, that I will care for her, feed her and grow stronger alongside her. Should my path come to an end early I swear to release her binds. On my soul, I make this oath.” The fox spoke, and Kyrion repeated.

Afterward, Kyrion began to feel a burning sensation on his back as a fox paw branded his skin, turning black and then silver. Soon after, he felt something cold and spherical slip into his body, along with a sleeping mind. Kyrion momentarily sighed as the pain began to lessen slightly, as the creature seemed to absorb some of the excess mana in his body.

“Human cub I will help you this one last time. Don’t move, this will be uncomfortable at first.”

The paw print on his back began to glow as Kyrion felt the mana in his body all but vanish. Flowing into the ball, Kyrion could feel it shifting in his core. The ball began to expand, growing slightly bigger and taking on distinguishing characteristics. It now resembled a tiny silvery fox. Kyrion, despite feeling drained, felt more lucid than he had ever felt in his life, like a constant headache that he had ignored his entire life was gone, but now that it was gone, he felt a few other odd things. Walking felt different. He was lighter and leaner, but something was off, and he knew it instinctively.

The creature looked at him and answered as though she had read his mind. “You’re unbalanced. While before you may not have been able to notice the irregularities in your body, now it’s obvious. Trust Jala to find your next two spirits as well, it’s in her best intrest to balance you out. Above all, good luck.”

The fox began to dissolve into smoke leaving behind a necklace, much too girly and small for him. It resembled a collar. He placed it in his bag and began to look for a way back when he heard his sister crying.

“I’ve been abandoned! How can he just run off in the forest? What if he fell asleep and a bear ate him. I told dad this would happen one day and it did!”

She continues to whine as Kyrion tries to make his way back. Oddly enough, when he notices that beside her is the blue-haired guy, his sense of worry towards him is now gone. But he was up to something Kyrion had been around for eight and a half years. People just don’t have hair that blue. As he made his way back, his stomach growled louder than ever before as Kyrion clutched at his stomach.

“A monster!” said one of the travelers.

“And it’s hungry!.” said another.

“Food!” Kyrion groaned, passing through some bushes, into the clearing, battered and bloody, yet no visible marks were on his body.

“Oh it’s the lost child, came back only ten minutes after we started searching.” Said the caravan leader.

“I felt like I was lost longer.” Kyrion rubbed his eyes and made it to where they were roasting a wild boar. “May I?” Kyrion asked.

Leon looked at him and said. “Help yourself.”

After putting on a spectacle involving food that shouldn’t fit in such a small body, Kyrion was full and able to train. He focused on the fox and tried to make it manifest, giving it mana from his refilling reserves. It eventually took shape after a few hours of practice. Both he and the fox were tired. Now the trouble was making her vanish, and he was too tired for that. He noticed that the majority of the people were sleeping in the giant tent, so he gave in and joined them.

Kyrion awoke before everyone else in the tent, more well-rested than before. On his chest was the tiny fox Jala who had also woken up in response to his movement. He carried her outside and found a sturdy tree he could climb, and upon doing so. He decided to try and bring out Jala’s power. He could feel the wind and some odd cloudy magic in his core, and when he wanted to bring it out, only the pink mist came with ease, while the wind seemed to want to run wild.

Soon everyone else had woken up and, with the daylight, began repairs on the carriages, one of which Leon seemed to summon as though it was magic. Asela came looking for him and the blue-haired guy who seemed genuinely worried.

Kyrion had no intention of approaching them while he was practicing, maybe later. He had some work to do.

So the day went, Kyrion tried to draw out more power, but it seemed greatly hampered as only the mist would react to orders. After a while, Kyrion noticed that Leon was grooming his wolf. He then decided to come down from his perch and speak with him.

“Leon sir, how do you use your magic with your spirit?” He asked, with Jala on his soldier.

Leon looked at them both and shrugged. “Bliz gave descent control over ice from the get go and it got stronger as I did. Using a few ice cores also helped make the ice stronger.Why do you ask?”

Kyrion pointed to Jala sitting on his shoulder.

“A baby? Interesting, what are the nature of its abilities?”

“Uhhh? Use smaller words.” Kyrion said, holding his head.

“What can it do?” Leon rephrased.

“I can make this smoke….” Leon cut him off.

“Not what you can do. What can the fox do on its own.”

“Huh? Uh… sir all she does is eat and sleep. I don’t think she can do much else. I think she was just born.” Kyrion explains.

“False, you just don’t know what her talents are, try playing with her, observe her carefully, she may surprise you yet. Also it’s fine for you to play with magic a little but know it is not a toy, and not everything is as straightforward as it seems. I wish you well, young Kyrion.” Leon continues walking with Bliz.

“I see… What games do foxes play, other than tricks.” Kyrion muttered to himself while placing Jala on a log. She seemed to have fallen asleep again. “Guess I can make her someplace softer to sleep..”

Kyrion began to put together a bed with his seed pouch and a bed of soft grass. He began working on it. Unlike his sisters, who were taught how to sew, the only sowing Kyrion understood involved putting seeds in the earth. So after pricking himself a few times, Kyrion decided to give up his pride and find his brainwashed little sister.

Sadly for him, the duo had already spotted him and begun to approach. As Kyrion stood up and headed back to camp, he felt a sticky handgrip onto his shoulder.

“Master Kyrion, we need to talk.” Spoke an unfamiliar voice.

“Stranger! Creep!” Kyrion tried to run but found his feet were unable to touch the ground.

“Master Kyrion, I assure you this is just a misunderstanding.” Said his kidnapper.

“I understand. You can let me go now.” Kyrion said defeatedly.

“Ok, now we can...” He began to say more, but Asela cut him off.

“It’s a trap he’s gonna run again!” She said matter of factly.

Kyrion clicked his tongue as his last chance for escape had vanished. “Fine, get it over with. But you better sleep with one eye open when I’m free.”

“I see… He’s much feistier than I imagined.” The guy said.

“He’s been weird ever since he awakened. I think it has something to do with him napping less than usual.” Asela said. “I think he’s loopy.”

“I see. Well let’s get this over with. My name is Charles, and I’m a butler who works under your grandfather. Your parents asked me to look after you, while we were on this trip. I have a signed letter as proof. Look at it.” He hands Kyrion a letter.

Kyrion looked at the letter, understanding two or three words, and the squiggly mess mom called a signature.

“So… what’s it say?” Kyrion asked, confused.

“You can’t read it?” Charles said bluntly.

“Most kids can’t read. Nothing I can do about it other than learning now. It’s not a big deal, dad said he didn’t learn how to read until he was twenty.” Kyrion reapplied with a proud expression.

Charles shook his head. “I’ll be sure to help you when we get to the city. Now isn’t the time. I’m a friend, not an enemy.”

“Fine. Can you let me go now, and help me with something?” Kyrion asked defeatedly.

“Sure what is it?” Charles said, almost shocked.

Kyrion raised Jala to the sky. “I need to make a soft pouch for her to sleep in. But sewing and sowing are completely different tasks, believe it or not.”

“It’s a baby fox! Can I hold it?” Asela screamed.

“Yeah… not right now she’s a bit fragile.” Kyrion said, holding her to his chest. “I’m still mad about Sir Issac. You destroyed him.”

“That was forever ago, and besides you didn’t even play with him.” Asela said, exhausted.

“He was my best friend, and it was a year ago!”

“Uh… kids… Let’s calm down… Who was. Sir Issac?” Charles asked.

“A stuffed meerkat.” Said Asela.

“My best friend!” Said Kyrion.

The two looked at each other. Invisible sparks flying.

“I see...So it was like a handmade bear.” Charles said.

“No. Our big sister Curella is into taxidermy. It was a full on meerkat. She even caught it herself, I’ve had it since I was three .”

“Oh. oh…Well let’s get to working on the bed, and I’m sure Asela won’t willingly harm your new friend. Right?” Charles spoke to them, eyes squinted.

“Of course not. I’d never hurt a baby fox!.” Answered Asela.

“Kyrion, do you have any cotton for pillow fluff?” Charles looked at the boy.

Kyrion nodded and ran to get his pillow.

“Asela, since you’re also a girl, why don’t you come up with a design she would like.”

The three of them worked on the pouch as the sun began to rise. They spent their morning working on the bag. Getting it perfect before placing Jala inside.

Kyrion then placed the pouch around his neck like a necklace.

The small fox poked her head out to look around.

“What do you want to do now?” Kyrion asked the creature.

The creature just made some odd noises that Kyrion could not understand.

“This is going to take some work.” Kyrion said to himself as he realized the fox couldn’t communicate with him.

As the caravan finished its repairs and packed up. The group made it to the last stretch of their travels.