Chapter 22: CHAPTER 22: MY SECOND HALF

A few days have passed since the start of our search for the mages with the triple moon. I have given my retainers the task to keep an eye out for a navy blue cloak with metallic gold trimming in our last meeting that Tuesday evening. I have thoroughly checked through each and every folder and binder that contained even the smallest of information on mages in the city. I had Delic send his wolf spirit pack to patrol the city at night. I had Xander and Alex train as much as they could with me in the evening. Everything was in full motion. Someone explain to me why we haven't been able to find a single crumb on these female mages.

Am I missing something? Is there a document I overlooked? Could it actually be male mages who are doing this using women as a cover?

Question after question after question. It never ends! Nothing has answers, and answers are nowhere.

"I'm going out for a walk," I mention as I abruptly stand up from my chair in my room. "Alex, come with me."

"Yes, my Lady," responds Alex, guiding me to the door.

"Why does he get to go with you?!" Delic and Xander simultaneously ask, jumping from their respective spot in the room.

"I need some time to think about things, and Alex is the quietest one out of the three of you," I sharply reply.

Delic and Xander loudly whimper as the door behind me closes. Alex throws the smuggest look at the two before he disappears.

"Let's head over to the warehouse."

"That's a far walk, my Lady. May I ask why?"

"There is something I want to check out."

The Winter Warehouse is the main hub for our agriculture business. Among the mage research, school, and my obligatory duties; I have been visiting the warehouse for inspection to check for equipment upgrades and structural renovations. I want to have it running by the time this ordeal is over with.

The reason behind why I want to go there is to find the place where my mother and father met. There has been a constant thought in the back of my head that I never actually took the time to think about since I was so busy.

Can I turn into a fox like my mother? If not, then can getting closer to where they met give me any ideas on finding snow?

Yeah, that second question is a pretty weird thought. Why would going to the spot where they met help me find snow? Well, my father said that the snow would appear if I'm really looking for it. I haven't really quite been looking for it as I have just been waiting for it to randomly appear.

Maybe the snow isn't really snow. Maybe the snow is an instinctive feeling. Arctic wolves tend to live in areas where there is an abundance of snow in order to camouflage better. The more snow, the better it is for them to catch prey. Plus, the footsteps and pawprints that get left behind are great for knowing if the area they are in is safe or not. If they notice that the snow is getting lower, they will instinctually move to where there is more snow. Maybe the snow that my father is talking about is my instinct telling me that 'prey', meaning the thing that I'm searching for, is nearby.

After a thirty minute walk, the two of us arrive at the front of the warehouse. I walk around the back to find an entrance to the forest. Standing on the edge, I peer inside to see if I can find anything. Nothing really happens for a while until a silver fox pops up from behind a bush in the distance. It waddles over to me and sits at my feet. I crouch down, and we just stare at each other for a few seconds.

"Are you my sister?"

Stunned by the sudden voice, I look around to see where the voice came from.

"Did you hear that, Alex?"

"Hear what, my Lady?"

"Hey, I asked you a question, tall lady."

I scan the area, but I don't see anyone nearby. I glance back over to the fox who is scratching its ear.

"Tall lady, are you my sister?"

"Are you the one talking?" I ask the silver fox in front of me.

"That's right! So are you my sister or not?"

"Why are you asking me that? How could I be your sister? I'm a human, and you're a fox."

The fox walks two circles around me and stops again at my feet.

"Mmmm... this can't be right. You smell like my sister, but you also smell like a wolf. Who are you, tall lady?"

"I'm Viola Winter," I hesitantly answer. "Who might you be?"

"My name is Gabriel. I am the leader of the fox tribe in the forest," responds the fox as it stands on its hind legs placing its front paws on my knee. "Do you know my sister, Viola?"

"And who might your sister be?"

"Ariel Dugre! She was the rare magical fox. Do you know her? You do! Don't you!"

"Ariel Dugre… is my mother," I awkwardly chuckle.

The fox hops up onto my chest, so I catch it and hold it in my arms.

"So you are Ariel's daughter. I couldn't tell. Then again, I haven't seen her in so long that it is getting harder to remember her human face. Ever since she found that wolf, she barely came home until one day she stopped coming all together."

The fox pauses for a moment then looks up at the moon.

"Walk into the forest," the fox commands.

"Can I ask why?"

"A fox that has stayed away from the magical energy in the forest will eventually die sooner than wanted. You are part fox and part human, so you might not need the magical energy, but it can't hurt to soak it in while you are here."

I peek over at Alex who is standing confused at the one-sided conversation that I was having by myself.

"Alex, we are going into the forest. This fox here is the leader of the fox tribe in the forest and would like for me to absorb the magical energy since I am part fox." I stop for a moment and side glance over at the fox in my arms. "He's apparently also my uncle, so I kind of have to listen to him," I mutter.

"Ah... yes, my Lady," Alex weakly answers, still confused by the whole situation.

The forest is completely dark except for a few areas of light where the moon slips through. The trek into the forest wasn't a very long one before little specks of light begin sprinkling down from the trees.

"The lights that you're seeing are magical energy," Gabriel the fox mentions. "As you can see, it's quite small so soaking in enough of the energy is time consuming for someone of your size. I will take you where there is an abundance in order to cut the time short. I won't be able to enter with you, though, since an overload of magical energy is bad for my small fox body."

"Can I ask you why you are doing this?" I whisper, looking around at the marvelous different colors of light.

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"Like I said, it wouldn't hurt to soak in the energy while you're here. However, you seemed to be looking for something when I spotted you at the edge of the forest. Maybe an extra boost with the forest's magical energy will help you find what you are looking for."

Will I really be able to find the snow with this energy?

The three of us keep walking deeper and deeper into the woods until the fox tells me to stop in front of a small cave.

"This is as far as I can take you. You will have to walk inside without me."

"How will I know where to go?" I ask Gabriel, setting him down on the ground.

"The light inside will guide you. It may look dark now, but once you enter, the light will judge whether you can continue or not. This is to keep the animals who live in the forest safe from magical energy overload. For a person your size, though, you should have no problem getting through."

Gabriel points over to where Alex is standing behind me and adds, "It would be best to leave him here with me. I don't know why, but something in me is telling me that it would be best for him not to enter."

I turn around and look over at Alex. "You have to stay here. From this point on, I will go by myself."

"But my Lady, it could be dangerous," Alex defends.

"That's right. It could be, but I'm not going to waste this chance to potentially find answers." I notice Alex starting to pout a little. "I will be just fine," I reassure him, petting his soft silver hair. "I promise that if it starts to look bad, I will turn around and head back. Okay?"

"Okay," Alex murmurs under his breath.

I make my way over to the entrance of the small cave. I peek over behind me and see Alex desperately trying to hold himself back from following. This dude is just a loyal puppy. It's going to be sad watching him go.

Upon entering the cave, the darkness swallows me entirely until a singular speck of light manifests in front of me. It seems to be silently judging me. After a minute or two, more specks of light glow, forming a trail that leads deeper into the cave. I follow the light into a dead end. I scan the area and notice a makeshift chair in the center.

It wouldn't hurt to sit in an inconspicuous chair that rests in a cave's dead end surrounded by flickers of light. Right?

Reluctantly, I head over to the chair and sit down hoping that it won't trap me inside or anything. Nothing happens, just an ever-growing amount of light sprinkling into the cave. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by light. I can feel the magical energy surging into me. It felt nice and comforting, kind of like a mother's hug.

I relax into the chair and let the magical energy pour into me.

"Hi, snowball. I see you found my little brother." The familiar voice reverberates throughout the cave’s dead end.

Not fazed by voices appearing out of nowhere anymore, I get comfortable and close my eyes. 'Mother? Is that you?'

"Of course it is! Who else would be your mother?"

'How is this possible? You're dead?'

"The magical energy you're taking in is letting us talk to each other. I'm just a ball of magical energy now that I'm dead."

'Are you saying that the light I'm taking in is the spirits of the dead?'

"That's correct. Those born with magical energy inside them will die and become magical energy to nourish the next magical creature. It is the circle of life for those like us. However, we don't just randomly insert ourselves. We choose the magical being we want to nourish. The magical energy that is seeping inside you is spirits that deem you worthy of their magic essence. Some spirits have more magical energy than others which is why magical creatures like me are born while others are born into a normal forest animal."

'So it wasn't random that you were born as the magical fox?'

"Well, it was and wasn't random. It was random because I was an unborn pup, so they didn't know what I would grow up into. However, to other spirits, it was because I was an unborn pup that they had hopes that I could do something great if they gave me their magic essence."

'So does that mean that I can talk to you again every day?!'

"No, sadly. I can only speak to you from inside the cave. You see, this cave was specially built by magical creatures centuries ago in order to contain their spirit when they die. It was designed so that they can give guidance to those who came after them. But only in this cave can they actually speak to others."

'Then I promise to come to the cave every time I do my rounds at the warehouse.'

"That's a good girl. Hey, snowball, I heard from your father that you became the new leader of the Winter Family and that you got yourself some new members. Is that true?"

'You can talk to Father?'

"Well, duh! Spirits talk to spirits the same way that people talk to each other. It's just a little more difficult."

'Oh, okay. Yes, I did become the new leader. It looks like you two did produce an heir that is the Winter Vessel. I was just undercover, I guess.'

"That's probably what happens when two different races that contain different energies meet. My magical energy must have been too much and given you the chance to be the Winter Vessel. Regardless, I always knew that you were destined for greatness."

'Why do you say that?'

"You are the product of the love between a magical fox and a Winter Vessel. The most unorthodox pairing. Of course, you weren't going to be like other kids. That was pretty much a given."

'Oh, Mother! I have a question.'

"What is it, snowball?"

'Can I turn into a fox like you?'

The voice pauses for a moment. "Well, that's a good question. It's unheard of to have another magical fox right after the previous one dies. Normally, it takes another two to three generations before another one is born, but it doesn't hurt to try."

'Really? How do I do it?'

"Let's see. First, you have to accept the fact that you are both human and fox. Those two internal beings are what makes you whole, so if you can't accept that, then there will be constant battling within you. One will try to take over the other. Second, to turn into a fox, you must imagine life as one. You must imagine yourself walking on four feet. You must imagine seeing the world at a lower level than you're used to. Lastly, you must never forget the other half. If you stay as a fox for too long, you will eventually forget that you were ever human. If you stay as a human for too long, the memories of being a fox will fade. Always keep in mind that you are both human and fox."

'Okay. Got it. I'll give it a try.'

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