Three chapters so soon?! You betcha! I hope that you enjoy this one as well!

 

The Fox's Path (Chapter 3)

by

Elite Shade

 

 

"Taylor hurry up!" Lily yelled as Taylor snapped her head forward to see the gate to the small suburban island was starting to slowly close. The trio rushed forward and made it through, with Taylor's tail just barely avoiding being caught in the closing gate.

"HEY!" the three teen furs jumped as a large Red Dragon security guard stomped over to them, looking very annoyed.

"Lily and Shaun Spring! How many more times do I have to tell you two not to rush through the gate when it closes! You both know the time for lockdown!"

"Sorry Mr. McHale," the twins said simultaneously, looking at their feet. The dragon, satisfied that the usual suspects had been chastened, then turned his still annoyed gaze upon Taylor, who gulped loudly.

"And Mrs. Spring informed us about you earlier, Taylor was it?" he said, narrowing his eyes as she nodded.

"I want you to know that I've got my eye on you!" he said leaning over her. "So if you get up to ANY mischief, I WILL haul you out to the holding cells and contact the proper authorities. That also goes for if I catch you using magic without a license, understood?"

"Y-y-yes sir," Taylor stammered out.

"Now, get on home all of you!" he said before turning on his heel and storming off. Lily stuck her tongue out at his back, and as if sensing what she was doing, he whipped around and glared as Lily nonchalantly pretended to be examining her nails, her tongue put away just as he was turning. He snorted, a few sparks coming out of his nose, and he continued to stomp off.

"Come on Taylor," Lily said as she and Shaun started to head back home. Taylor started, and then followed them.

What the hell was that all about?! Taylor wondered.

"Sorry you got caught up in that Taylor," Shaun said as they turned on the sidewalk of their street. "That was Jonah McHale, someone who was too stupid to make it as a real cop and had to settle with being an over-glorified rent-a-cop. For some reason, he's got it out for me and Lily."

"Wow, any idea why?" Taylor asked, thinking that what just happened was really intense.

"It may have something to do with Lily using her magic to turn his scales Hot Pink last year," he said with a slight smirk while Taylor laughed at the thought.

"Hey, allegedly! It was never proven who actually did it!" Lily said indignantly. "Besides, he was totally abusing his 'authority' to confiscate everyone's fireworks for himself!" she said making air quotes at the word authority.

"Yeah, you never really explained why you had those fireworks in the first place," Shaun said as they walked up the driveway.

"It was going to be for a surprise, but old pinky went and blew that," Lily said sourly. Taylor laughed some more, making Shaun smile. They continued to chat amicably as they walked up to the front door. Taylor noticed a car in the driveway, and figured that it was the twins' Dad's car.

Why didn't he park it in the garage? she wondered briefly, as the trio made it to the front door, with Shaun unlocking it. The sun had just dipped halfway under the horizon.

When Shaun opened the front door, the three heard the sound of Laura's laughter and a male voice. This voice didn't belong to the twins' father, but it was a voice they were all too familiar with. They excitedly hurried Taylor through the door and headed towards the living room. Sitting on the couch was a white tiger, who was chatting with the still laughing Laura. He was wearing a black leather jacket, with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of faded and well worn jeans.

"Uncle Ben!" the twins exclaimed excitedly as they dropped the shopping bags and ran over to give him a hug/tackle.

"Oof! Hey you two!" he said as he hugged them both tightly. "It's sure been a while!" he said as he released them to look them over. "So, how've things been with you two since the last time I was here?"

"Okay," they both said simultaneously, their tails wagging.

"We didn't think that you'd be back for another couple of months!" Lily said.

"Well, when I heard about the troubles happening in the city, I cut my trip short to come and help where I can," he said. Then, the tiger looked up at Taylor, just now noticing her.

"Oh, hello there. I'm Benjamin Hollowcreek," he said as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Hi... I'm Taylor," she said nervously. Taylor suddenly felt pressure on her entire body. She also felt as though she were being examined under a microscope. The sensation made her feel nervous as well as a little nauseous.

"Benjamin! Stop that at once!" Laura yelled while yanking hard on his ear.

"OW! Okay-YOWCH! OKAY I said!" Ben said as Laura released him and gently took Taylor by the paw and led her over to the couch, sitting her down next to Shaun while Lily had already claimed the big squishy armchair. They were both stunned by what they had just witnessed.

"I was just making sure she wasn't a Voider," he said while gingerly rubbing his ear. It was at this point that Taylor noticed Ben's eyes glowing a bright green, before the light faded and they became yellow.

Voider?

"I don't care what you think you were doing, you do not pull that on poor Taylor here, the girl has clearly already been through enough!" she huffed.

"Yes big sister," Ben said as he smoothed his long blond hair back. "Taylor, was it?" he asked while looking at her. Taylor nodded, and then looked down to realize that she was tightly holding onto Shaun's paw, which she immediately released.

"I'm very sorry. I've actually been really worried about my niece and nephew," he said while gesturing to both of them, "what with all these reports of monster attacks within the city itself. That doesn't excuse my behavior, I just feel that in addition to the apology, I owe you an explanation for subjecting you to the True Gaze." He said all of this, while looking and sounding truly remorseful. Taylor didn't know what a True Gaze was, but it certainly wasn't pleasant.

"It's okay. I'm not hurt, so no foul," she said. Ben's mood brightened.

"Well Shaun, aren't you going to introduce your little girlfriend here to your favorite uncle?" he said with a smile.

"Oh, sure. Taylor, this is my uncle-GIRLFRIEND?!" Shaun reeled as it just dawned on him what his uncle had said. Taylor was dumbstruck. Lily giggled and made kissing noises at them. Laura just sighed.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" he asked.

"W-w-w-w-we," Shaun stammered before he was cut off by Lily.

"Not long, but they are clearly both very much into each other! What with all the handholding and the kissing, and Shaun constantly chasing off every male that so much as looks at her," Lily said with a wide grin.

"LILY!" both Taylor and Shaun shouted, while she laughed.

"Lilypad," Laura said sternly.

"I was just kidding," she mumbled defensively. "Besides, I wasn't lying about Shaun chasing off males. He was totally going to fight Barry, who was being really aggressive with Taylor."

Laura looked at Shaun curiously. "Is that true sweetie?" she asked.

Shaun looked at Taylor and blushed. "Y-yes. He forced her to sit in his lap, and was about to literally drag her off somewhere against her will. So I helped her out." Lily made more kissy noises, making both Shaun and Taylor blush deeply.

"I'm sorry that happened to you Taylor!" Laura said as she sat down next to her and immediately started to inspect her for injuries, just like Shaun had earlier.

"I'm alright, really! Shaun made him leave me alone."

Laura sighed at that. "Looks like I need to have another talk with Barry's mother about his behavior." Then she turned to Shaun. "I'm very proud of you for sticking up for Taylor like that!"

She said while reaching over and squeezing his shoulder. Shaun smiled at that.

"My nephew, rescuing the damsel in distress!" Ben said, making Lily burst out laughing as Taylor and Shaun both started to blush. Laura shot him a withering glare, and he held his paws up defensively.

Then she started to explain to Ben the situation.

"Shaun found her just inside the gate yesterday, on his way home from school. She was passed out and her clothes had been slashed to ribbons! He carried her here, and after Abe looked her over and gave her a clean bill of health, I put her to bed."

I don't remember that part.

Taylor mulled this new information over while Laura then went on to explain that she wanted to wait for her to wake up and see if she was in trouble before calling the police, and that when Taylor claimed to be homeless and an orphan... 

"I just couldn't stand the thought of her going through the Child Protection Department, what with all these news reports about the scandals and how all those poor children have been treated!" she then pulled Taylor into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry Taylor! Your parents, I mean what with the attacks, were they... " Ben's voice trailed off as he received a look from Laura who continued to hug her.

"No, she escaped from one of those Lescht compounds!" Lily said excitedly.

"What?" Laura and Ben asked in a manner similar to the twins.

"Yeah! She's never seen magic before today!"

The two adults looked at her curiously, before Laura hugged her tighter.

"Oh Taylor, is this true? You poor thing! Don't worry, you're safe now!" Laura talked so fast that Taylor couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"I-I never actually said-" Taylor tried to explain before being cut off by Laura.

"Wait a minute! Lily, how did you find out that Taylor here has never seen magic before?" Laura said suddenly looking at her suspiciously. Lily started to squirm in her seat again. "Uh... well, there was a guy, who was, I mean uhh..."

"O-ho! And so little Lily is still getting up to her usual mischief!" Ben said. Lily continued to squirm uncomfortably.

"Lily!" Laura said in a voice that hinted at a stern lecture in the near future.

"It was just a little spark!"

"You were casting fire spells out in public!"

"Just at the food court of the mall! And it was just a tiny flame."

"I don't care how tiny it was! If I even so much as suspect that you've used magic one more time outside of school grounds, then you will be grounded for a month! Do you understand!"

"Yes ma'am," Lily said sullenly, her ears laid back flat and her tail tucked between her legs.

"I just remembered, that I left a few gifts in the car, I'll go get them," Ben quickly made his way to the door, beating a hasty retreat from the awkward atmosphere of the room.

"Well, I guess I better call Olivia now," she said as she stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

Lily immediately made a ball of white flames dance in front of Taylor's face, making her jump and fall off the couch. The flame was gone from sight when Lily closed her paw.

"Damnit Lily! Taylor, are you okay?" Shaun asked as he leaned over with his paw out to help her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Taylor said as she grasped his paw, and noticed his shocked expression, and blush. Looking where he was, she noticed that her skirt had flipped up completely. Once more giving Shaun a full view of her bright blue panties.

"Not again!" she said blushing herself. She was about to flip the skirt down, when there was a quick flash. Taylor and Shaun snapped their attention to Lily, who had her phone out and pointed at them.

"OOOOOOH! Dirty Pervy Shaun strikes again! Aaaaaaaaand, saved!" she said barely containing her laughter.

"LILY!" Taylor and Shaun both yelled at the hysterically laughing wolf. It was then that Ben walked back in carrying a bunch of brown paper wrapped boxes. Luckily, Taylor had enough time to flip her skirt back down and climb back up onto the couch, with her and Shaun's faces both bright red. Lily was now just casually chuckling to her self. Ben, being completely oblivious, handed one of his packages to Lily, one to Shaun, and Taylor was surprised to find the she had been handed one as well.

"What'd you bring us uncle Ben?" Lily said excitedly wagging her tail.

"A few special little somethings I picked up during my little trip up north," he said.

Lily quickly ripped the paper off the box and opened it to reveal a series of bottles of assorted liquids and powders of all different colors, the labels written in some foreign looking language. A language that Lily was apparently very familiar with.

"Lunar Sugars? Vorential Flower Nectar?! Lisulanum?!?! Uncle Ben, these are all EXTREMELY rare ingredients! Where did you find them?!" Lily exclaimed awestruck while Shaun looked at the jars in her paws, speechless, and Taylor just looked thoroughly confused.

Ben chuckled. "I found a specialty shop and thought of you little Lilypad," Lily blushed at the nickname but continued to rummage excitedly through the rest of the mysterious ingredients, before looking up and giving Ben an excited thanks. Shaun excitedly ripped open his box, and inhaled when he saw what was inside. He pulled out several small stone figurines, all carved from a blue stone with veins of bright turquois running through them. They all had a strange intricate little symbol carved at the base of each one. There were several ones that looked like knights, with tails, some of those carries spears, bows, swords, and a few axes. Other figurines looked like serpents with wings, one was just a sword, another a shield, and one looked like a large seed. Taylor was amazed at how detailed and life-like they all appeared. Shaun was amazed for another reason.

"Uncle Ben... are these Pocket Golems?!"

Pocket Golems? Taylor thought, curious.

"You bet bud! Just set one down and recite it's true name, and it becomes a life sized animated version of itself, that will do only as you instruct it!"

"Whoa! Thank you!" he said excitedly.

"You're quite welcome!" Ben said happily.

Taylor then looked at her own present, then looked up to Ben. "Wait, how could you have a gift for me?"

"Oh, well, I had picked up some items for myself as well as a few friends of mine. Consider this a further apology for my earlier actions."

"But I already said that I forgave you. You don't have to give me a gift, especially if it was meant for someone else," Taylor said while looking at the floor.

Please don't let him be insulted! She thought worriedly.

Whatever Taylor had been expecting from Ben, she was completely caught off guard as he heartily laughed while pushing the gift back towards her.

"Taylor, in addition to all of the other items I brought back with me as gifts for others, I have many more amazing ones that I kept as gifts to myself. I'll just give one of those to Megan. And, it's not just an apology. Since you're from one of those Lescht groups, you must have little to no experience in regards to magic. Therefore, this little gift will definitely help get you up to speed for school, which I am almost positive my sister has more than likely already enrolled you in." Taylor noticed Ben rolling his eyes at the last bit.

Taylor looked her surprise gift over once more, and then carefully ripped off the paper, and opened the brown box. Inside, she found a green leather bound book. It had nothing written or drawn on the front or back. When she opened the book, the pages were all written in a language similar to the one on the bottles Lily got. Just as Taylor was about to point out that she couldn't read it, the words glowed and slowly changed to become perfect English.

Hello! And welcome to your own personal Encyclopedia Arcana, the sorcerer's number one guide to all things magical! Welcome... Taylor!

Taylor closed the book nervously.

How did it know my name?

Then she heard Ben chuckle. "It personalizes itself to the person who owns it, which since I gave it to you as a gift, means you."

"I-I-I-I've never been given anything as amazing as this! Thank you Mr. Hollowcreek!"

Ben chuckled some more. "Please Taylor, just call me Ben."

"Okay... Ben," she said nervously. Then she thought about what he said, and decided to explain that she never actually came from some cult. But, just as she was about to start, Laura walked in.

"Well, Olivia apologized over and over again, and said that she was going to have yet another discussion with Barry about his behavior towards women! Oh, I see that you all got some interesting little gifts. Ben, that was very nice of you!"

"I've still got two more here, one for you, the other for Abe," he said while holding up two more presents. Laura took them, and then set the one that had Abe's name on it down on the coffee table. After opening hers, she pulled out a beautiful clear heart shaped jewel.

"Oh Ben! Is this a Heartstone?!" Laura exclaimed, sounding an awful lot like Lily for a moment.

"Yup! That's a genuine heartstone! Go ahead, try it out!"

Laura then started to chant while staring into the center of the stone, and suddenly Taylor felt like all eyes in the room were upon her. She looked around, but everyone was looking at Laura and her new mysterious stone. Then, Laura looked up at her and smiled, and the sensation went away. Laura noticed the girl's emotions, and sat down next to her.

"Sweetie, a Heartstone is a magic gemstone, that let's the user find anyone that they care about, no matter where they may be, as well as show them what that person is doing."

"That's incredible!" Taylor said.

Just then everyone heard the sound of the front door opening, and a large black bear in a pair of blue scrubs walked in.

"Hey everybody," he said as he stretched.

"Hi Abe," Laura and Ben said simultaneously as the twins said "Hi Dad!", also simultaneously.

Then he looked straight at Taylor.

"It's nice to see that our new houseguest is up and about!" he said with a big smile as he started walking towards her.

Oh no. Please don't get the urge to give me a literal bear hug! she thought.