Kai sat back and relaxed. Or attempted to. His body remained tense. Everything he was experiencing was new and exciting, but also nerve-racking. It was as if he was back in the Jungle Myr, exploring the dark unknowns for the very first time.

With everything that had happened in the last few days, he felt exhausted, both mentally and physically. His entire world had changed so drastically. Just the knowledge he possessed now, weighed heavily on his mind. The Kitsune and his home. Their secrets…

He stealthily gazed down at his new companion, Asteria. She inquisitively sniffed the material that they sat on and suddenly reeled back. Clearly, she didn’t like what she smelled. The two of them were seated in a small sectional compartment with eight total seats, four of which faced the other. Between the seating was a sturdy rectangular wooden table. Above the back of the seats, a glass wall separated each compartment from the next, along with a sliding door of glass. Upon entering the small room, the glass had been clear, but once they closed the door, the glass immediately turned blurry. A small hum could be heard once the doors had closed, alerting that some kind of enchantments may be active. Kai assumed they were meant for privacy.

Asteria jumped onto the table and began sniffing it. Kai smiled lightly. He was proud to have been chosen to share his fate with the daughter of Akane, and princess to the Kitsune. Still, the weight of such a responsibility compounded his nervousness. His eyes roamed the cabin in which they sat, looking for threats. Thankfully, there seemed to be none at the moment.

The cabin in which they traveled was just one section of many in a multi-compartment transportation vehicle, called a “train” that moved by a feat of enchantments and tamed monsters. The large cabin was roomy, with sectional seating and plenty of space around. Some seats even seemed to cater to being with tails, which was an odd sight.

They were traveling down what was called a “lane.” An empty space through a city and territory, specifically designated for transport with trains only. There would be multiple stops in the region of Elderward until eventually, it reached the station where the academy was located.

The ride was smooth. Incredibly so. If it wasn’t for the fact that the scenery was a blur outside the windows, he would have assumed the train wasn’t moving.

After investigating the seats, Asteria now stood on her hind legs and pressed against the window, taking in the scenery. With nothing else to do at the moment, Kai took the time to examine his distracted companion.

[Forest Fox – Foundation Level 65]

Asteria’s identify tagged had changed since he had first met her. Part of him wondered if the illusion was an effortless task or one that required some concentration.

Asteria looked so much like Akane, except where Akane had black fur on her tail, Asteria only had some on each of her paws, giving the appearance that she was wearing socks. The crimson fur was a match for her mother. Kai wondered what magic the young kitsune possessed. There was a lot to figure out and plan.

Eventually, Asteria let out a growl, that truthfully sounded more adorable than fearsome. “Everything is too fast. I can’t see anything.”

Kai chuckled at the irritated kitsune which prompted her to turn on him. “Don’t make fun of me. I bet you can’t even see anything either.”

Kai turned his head to the outside. All he could see was a green blur outside. “I can see a tree,” he joked.

Instead of a verbal response, Asteria sent an emotion of annoyance to his mind.

They watched the blurring scenery for a few minutes. However, every so often, Asteria would take a peek at him before turning back to the view.

“What?” he asked after the tenth time she peeked.

Eventually, she spoke to him again. “What’s my mother like?”

“Aka- Andromeda?” Kai was startled. “Don’t you know?”

“No... she didn’t spend much time with me and then she left.” Asteria’s ears drooped. Her small figure seemed to deflate, making her appear even smaller than before.

Kai felt a pang of sadness and guilt on behalf of his new partner. Her mother had spent the last year watching over and judging him, instead of being with her only daughter. And now, only a day after Andromeda’s return to the village, Asteria had been essentially kicked out. Not for anything she had done, but to grow and prove herself. If he had rejected traveling with Asteria, would Andromeda have kept her in the village or pushed her onto someone else, or perhaps made her go alone?

“Andromeda is... one of the most special beings I’ve ever met. Lazy, spiteful, gluttonous. She is a troublemaker.” He couldn’t help but smile, thinking of all the trouble she had gotten him into. In retrospect, he could laugh about it now, but at the time he was stressed.

“Liar!” she shouted into his mind. The sudden loud noise caused Kai to bounce in his seat like he had been shocked. The action did not go unnoticed. A few beings turned to look at him. Most turned away, uninterested, but some continued to stare. “Papa says mama is the embod... embodiment of all that is Kitsune. She is the most cunning, beautiful, and strongest being and no one is stronger.”

“I’m sorry Asteria. I didn’t mean to imply your mother is weak or of a bad nature. From what I know of your mother she is a being of great respect and strength. She has protected and helped me during the last year, probably more than I know.” Kai tried to run a hand down Asteria’s back, but she bristled at his touch. He decided to look back out the window. “I was trying to be funny, I guess. For as much help as your mother gave me, she also liked to challenge and prank me. I am still trying to come to grips with the absence of her company. I’m truly going to miss her.”

Asteria seemed to settle down after listening to Kai’s explanation. “Because I am a kind and thoughtful princess of the Kitsune I have decided to forgive you. But! You must tell me stories of my mother.” Her tone left no room for argument.

Princess huh? I hope she isn’t as spoiled as Akane, he thought to himself.

Kai spent the next hour recalling the stories and events that he had gone through with Akane. Though he kept silent about her most troublesome pranks in case the young Kitsune was impressionable and decided to imitate her mother.

“... And so, she burned the Crodilion out of existence, saving the city and its people.” Only after she let thousands die. But he didn’t say that part.

“Amazing!” Her crimson-slitted eyes glittered with hopes and dreams. “Tell me more. Tell me more,” she demanded. Asteria hopped up and down on her seat like a jumping child.

Realizing he was beginning to run out of appropriate stories, Kai decided to switch up the target. “How about you tell me a story about you? I would love to hear about your life. You were a secret to everyone in the village.”

Instantly the energetic fox wilted. “I was born. Mother left. Papa taught me. The end.”

He wanted to groan. There was obviously a lot to unpack there in that short statement. It was obvious, Asteria missed her home and family. She wasn’t like Kai, who had already spent a year away from his family. “Surely that wasn’t all that happened.”

“I ate.”

Kai felt his stomach twist. Seeing her moping fox face, made him want to do anything to cheer her up. “What was your favorite food to eat?”

“Boar.”

Kai watched the crestfallen Kitsune grow increasingly sadder by the second. After a few seconds, he couldn’t take the sight of the pitiful fox anymore. He scooped Asteria up into his arms and held her tightly against his chest.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, though he was certain he already knew.

“I... I miss papa,” she wailed into his mind. At the same time, she burrowed her head into the crook of his elbow. “I miss home.”

Kai’s heart tightened. This poor small kitsune was nothing more than a child. Ripped away suddenly from all she knew too soon. His thoughts floated to his own parents in his first life. Their lives had been stolen abruptly. He had been saved from his loneliness and sorrow by his new family. Perhaps he could help spare Asteria some of that pain and suffering.

“I understand you miss home. Think of it this way. In a few years, we can return home. You’ll be able to tell your family about all the interesting things you did, and the food you ate.”

Asteria’s ears perked up. Still, she kept her head against his sleeve. Just a little more, he thought.

“Perhaps, we can be family Asteria. After all, we will be companions for the next few years. I can be your uncle or something.”

“What? Why uncle?” she looked up, genuinely mystified.

“What do you mean? You’re only a year and a half old and I’m nearly 17.”

“Yea?” she tilted her head. A familiar sight. It was the one Akane had given him many times when she was playing stupid or believed him to be stupid.

“There is a large gap between one and 17,” he pointed out.

“I know my numbers dummy!” Asteria stomped her front paws onto his chest. The impact did nothing. “I’ll have you know; I am considered an adult among the Kitsune already. I’ve had my magic for half a year, only a little less than you.”

Kai gave his companion a critical eye. The fur beneath her eyes was darker and still slightly wet. A little snot dripped down her nose. He wanted to bark a laugh, but he kept his cool. The last thing he wanted was to upset the little kitsune again.

In the end, he shrugged. “Ok. No to uncle then. How about... kin?”

She appeared to give it some consideration before nodding. “That is acceptable. You may be this princess’ kin.”

“I’m honored,” he gave Asteria a small smile. I’d say that’s a step up from food servant for a particular spoiled fox.

After their fourth stop, Kai quickly grew bored of looking outside. The sunless light still shined down just as strong as it had half a day ago across the region. He turned his attention to the glass door and the passing figures beyond. He made a game in his head, guessing the species based on the skin color and size of the blurred beings that passed by. Identify did not work beyond the glass, so there was no way to tell if he was right or wrong.

Eventually, he stopped his game when a loud growling echoed in their compartment. Kai blinked and looked down at the fox, who sat flat on the table whimpering. The sound reminded him of his own hungry. Neither of them had eaten in the last half day. If it had been Akane present, he was certain, the wooden table would have been half eaten by now.

“Hungry?” he asked. Their mental connection remained despite not having talked in the last hour.

All he received was a pitiful whimper in response.

“I’ll go see if they have a vendor that sells some food on this train.” As he made to stand up, he placed his hand on the table and then paused. On his finger was a ring of storage. Can’t believe I forgot about this. The day’s excitement had led him to forget about the new ring he had been given not even a day ago. Might be food in there.

Kai connected his mana to the ring like he would his enchanted sword. Feeding the ring mana, it gave life to the enchantments as they activated from their dormant state. Connection established; a three-dimensional cube formed in his mind. His armor floated in place, unmoving near the top right of the cube, while his sword lay across the floor sheathed, nearly spanning the length of the entire floor. It wasn’t much space, but it was plenty for what he currently possessed.

When his father had asked for all of his belongings, which he was bringing the day before, he assumed they had been stored inside his ring for the travels. Now he realized that his father must have worked with Akane to pack the ring for him to prepare him for his journey.

He easily found what he was looking for next. A series of wooden boxes of plain design with an apparent removable top, on which was a note was laying on top of, that he read as “food.”

Holding out his palms face up; he willed one of the boxes to summon into his hands. Instead of appearing in his hands, like he had seen many weapons over the last year, the box appeared under them, which promptly fell onto the table with a clap. Kai blinked. Going to take some practice.

Grasping the tightly sealed lid, he slipped it off the box. At once, a wonderful smell enveloped the room. He recognized the dish. Orange sauce dosed heavily in cinnamon that covered tender boar meat. Cinnamon Chunk Stew. It was the same his mother always made every birthday. The sight of it warmed him.

Asteria was on her feet, completely mesmerized by the spawning food. She was in daze, shifting back and forth. “Help yourself,” Kai said.

While he was finding a spoon in his ring, Asteria was tearing through the food. Just as he was about to take a bite, the glass unblurred. Kai blinked and turned his head to the outside. The train had began deaccelerating. An ancient stone wall blocked his vision. They had arrived.