At the Northern Fort

Chapter 23

The mountain was covered in a layer of snow and the lands below around the Northern Fort had melted. Welcoming a late spring. Three years had passed in a blink of an eye since I've come to this world. I had wondered into that Fort when I was one. When I was two I had finally gotten a humanoid figure. All throughout this time my growth… Isn't very obvious, honestly speaking…

Although normal cats and dogs are already considered adults as of three years of age, my fox form is as round as ever with my large head. My limbs are short, I can't accept it! I want to be more like Mother! She is beautiful who is beautiful and bountiful!

"Milfria, it's time to get up."

Inside a cave on top of the mountain, I was asleep in our home as Mother gently woke me up. But I didn't want to wake up yet. "I don't wanna." I reply in my mind, but being lazy, I only huffed at Mother through my nose. Despite being a doting mother, she was strict with her education. She rolled me over with her nose.

"Well, lets do some special tree climbing training today."

"What..?"

I stared absentmindedly at mother like she was a slaver. She really believes pushing her child down a cliff will raise a strong child! I don't really want to be strong. Since I've been reborn as a precious fox-spirit, I want to live by eating, playing, and sleeping. I tried to crawl away on the ground, but my mother caught me by my neck. I tried to protest by barking and digging my nails into the ground… She just ended up dragging me out of the cave as my nails dragged across the cave's floor with a "Zuzzzzzle!"

"Mother, today's weather is really nice! how about we don't climb trees today?"

Mother only shook murmur "This child can't be helped" while still pulling me. It was terrible, I felt like a prisoner being taken to the gallows!

What exactly would I need to climb trees anyways? I have nothing to do up there. I wanted to complain. I would just end up scolded though. Mother stopped walking, then dropped me into the snow and I let out a surprised yelp.

"These training sessions are for strengthening you so I don't have to worry about you forever. You're so adorable but small and weak… I want you to be able to care for yourself when I am no longer around in the future…" Tears began to pool in Mother's eyes. No, I can worry about those things in the future, I have decades for it. I'm still growing and I won't be here forever. I'm glad Mother was thinking of me so much, but… she's such a worrywart…

A sudden strong gust of wind blew. With it was a light-brown paper and it fell at our feet. Mother turned into her human form. A spirit with white skin like snow, long silver hair appeared. My mother was wary of it since nothing of the like would be able to make it up here. Even I alert of this rather thick piece of paper. I wondered how it managed to make it up here. While I had these thoughts, the Mother picked up the paper and opened it up.

It was a letter?

I couldn't see what was in it, but it appeared to have something written on it. After Mother read it, she crumpled the paper angrily and ripped it apart.

"Mother, what's wrong…?"

She let go of the remnants of the poor letter, letting it blow away in the wind.

"What was written in it?"

"Nothing…"

Mother replied in a low, angry voice while looking up at the sky. She said nothing, but it seemed like something angered mother. Who though? As far as I knew, humans couldn't do something like that.

"Are you okay…?"

I was worried about what she read. Mother paced around for a moment while fidgeting. She then stopped and looked down at me while smiling.

"It's okay, you don't have to worry…"

Even though she said that she took a deep breath.

"Indeed, Hiruga has no passion…"

Hiruga was the name of the Spirit of Fire, my father. Perhaps it was a love letter form Hiruga-papa. It didn't go as far as say, human love. It did seem though he did like Mother and would on occasion visit in the summer. Though the combination of summer and the Fire-Spirit's aura is the worst, so Mother is always chasing them out.

"It's always hot and stuffy in the summer, why do you always come in the summer!?"

"Because the mountain is too cold to play in winter!"

"Why should I have to apologize ?! You're the one that wanted to come to visit!"

"I thought you were lonely!"

"Don't say such foolish things!"

That was the interaction last summer when Hiruga-papa came over. Mother was angry. Hiruga-papa was noisy and loud so Mother would shout at him in anger. Then she would chase him out and be breathing heavily with anger. I didn't really think it was that impossible for them to get along, but Mother was always refusing to do so.

In that respect, Kugargu is relatively safe since they are young. Since they're young, their aura isn't too strong and because Kugargu if often with me, I can help adjust their power because I'm more aware of it. I'm not sure if he's doing on purpose or not, but he seems to hold a lot of his aura in. He's a child that can handle a lot it seems.