Fox Ball

I learned a lot after the incident with Peter in the clearing. I learned that Guide’s wards were not perfect and he had found some way to get past them without us realizing it. He blames himself for not being foolproof. He has been working on honing his own skills in ward making to ensure that the incident does not occur again. I don’t blame him. I found out that Rose is a kitsune, a celestial kitsune to be precise. That was how she was able to teleport all of us to the Ruins. She blames herself for not getting to us in time and not being able to save my brother. I didn’t blame her either. And apparently Talia is…something magical. Who would have thought it? Guide and her have been working nonstop on figuring out just what she is and what she can do. She blames herself for not having the power to stop him. I don’t blame her. The only person that I blame for Tyler’s death is myself. If only I had been faster, better, or in more control, I could have prevented it.

I’m using the anger and blame to focus on what I really need to focus on; getting my revenge on Peter. I have been honing my abilities. Rose has been teaching me how to teleport. She explained that the thing that Peter does is not teleportation, but rather a change in spiritual pressure. That’s why there is always a plume of smoke, it’s the spiritual particles shifting in time and space. She has been working with me on picking specific places I want to go and teleporting there. I have been getting better in placing myself exactly where I needed to go, but I’m still several feet off and it’s never in the same direction. I had almost teleported myself into the sea on more than one occasion. I have the ability now to change the space and time of objects and use them as weapons such as through the earth, water, or electricity. I can create storms, tornadoes, and tsunamis.

Guide has been working with me on communicating magically with other creatures in this world and speaking with the demon world, which apparently is a thing. And something that I can do. So far, I’ve been able to summon a Grendate, but I was unable to control it long enough for it to do anything but try to attack all my companions. So far, I haven’t been able to speak with the daemon world, but I am still working on that.

We found ourselves teleported to the Ruins in Rose’s haste to remove us from the incident at the clearing. The Ruins are your typical ruins to be quite honest. Crumbling stone, metal frames that have been rusted with age and overgrown with vines and weeds. A large utopia of absolutely nothing. Rose has to teleport out of Calvanaire to bring us food and necessities. Just a sea of crumble and debris; making it a perfect spot to hide from the enemy and work on delving deeper into my abilities.

I have been training for a couple months, learning to hone in my skills and abilities, working on delving deeper into the harder skills to master, and working through the trauma of watching my brother be murdered right in front of me. I have been working for a long time, each day full of new skills, old skills, and exhaustion. One of the only things that I am thankful for is the exhaustion. It helps me sleep better at night and most of the time, those are dreamless nights. I wake up, train, and go to sleep. There has been no variation in my day so far. Today shouldn’t be any different.

______________________________________________________________________

“I thought today we would do something a little different,” were the first words out of Guide’s mouth when I came up from the rocks at the beach.

I could only sigh. I thought today was going to be easy, was the only thing going through my mind. If only it were that easy. I know I still have a lot to learn, but dang, can he give me a break already?

“Yeah. And what’s that?”

“Don’t you dare use that tone of voice with me young lady.” He pulled his cane up, threatening to smack me on the head with it, but after so many migraines, I finally learned his tricks. I easily dodged out of the way. He gave me a playful glare before placing his cane back on the ground. “I want you to predict the future. You’ve learned how to stop and slow down time to work to your advantage, but a time kitsune can also predict the future if they are trained enough. I think you’re ready to learn.”

Of course kitsunes could read the future. Because why wouldn’t they be able to. “I’m starting to think that being a kitsune makes you super overpowered. Just saying.”

“You aren’t just a kitsune, you are a hybrid. A well of untapped power and potential. That makes you incredibly ‘overpowered’ was it?” At my eye roll, he lifted his cane up again, but I easily dodged.

“Gonna have to be faster than that old man if you think that you’re gonna smack me with that thing.” We had started building a relationship that was built on constant sarcasm and vague bullying.

“We are simply testing today if you are capable. Don’t get wise with me child. I could still kick your ass into next month.” He said it so matter-of-factually that I almost believed him.

“Oh yeah. I’d like to see you try,” was my indignant reply.

Within seconds, I was laying flat on the ground with a cane pressed to my chest and a smirking old man glancing over me. “You wanna try that again?”

Instead of admitting defeat, I simply shrugged it off and stood, all while changing the subject entirely. I refuse to admit he could easily kick my ass. I refuse! “So, predicting the future. How do I do it?”

I wasn’t as coy as I thought I was because he looked straight at me with a blank face, rolled his eyes so hard that I’m surprised they weren’t rolling on the ground beneath us, and then sighed. “This takes a lot of meditative practice which we have been working on for quite some time now, yes?” At my nod, he continued. “So sit with your knees bent and legs crossed.”

I complied, though couldn’t help but remark, “you know they call this criss-cross applesauce where I’m from, right?” A small smile covering my face.

“Do you want me to teach you the damn skill or not?”

I mimicked zipping my lips together and throwing away the key, though I couldn’t help a small laugh that crept out of my ‘sealed’ lips.

“So you sit criss-cross applesauce,” he mocked, “close your eyes and focus. Focus on the person that you are trying to predict the future on. Bring them into your mind, visualize them, think of any and all memories that you have with this person.” He waited a couple of moments before continuing. “Do you have your person? Remember, you have to have a strong connection to this person for it to work how we want it to.”

At my nod, he took a deep breath and stood directly in front of me, brushing the grimy locks of hair from out of my face. “You should be able to keep this meditative state without any distractions. Offense, defense, anything. That’s how focused you need to be.”

I nodded once more, focusing on Rose with all my might. I decided to choose Rose for this exercise because I don’t know her nearly as well as I know Talia so I can’t predict the outcome as easily. Distantly, I felt a thud against my head and a reverberating pain resonate throughout my temples. I know that old man didn’t just hit me with his damn stick. But I kept my focus, the pain dissipating into the back of my mind, the memory fading of what I knew just happened.

“Now, you’ll feel a strange pull. It should feel like magenta.” We had figured out that that burst of energy I feel and the pulls that go along with them, all had a color associated with them; fire being red, water being blue, time being white, and earth being tan. “Do you feel this tug?”

I sorted through the rainbow of choices that were pulling me every which way and found the strand painted a bright, yet deep purple. I would argue that it was violet, almost like Guide’s eyes, but I couldn’t break my focus. And it wasn’t worth getting beat over the head for the thousandth time.

“When you’re ready, pull it into you.”

I took a deep breath and pulled.