The next stop for Marcus’s route was a little under a day away, assuming that they rode the horses at a gallop. Additionally, it was in a snow covered area, making it extremely cold. As such, it was unwise to continue as none of them wanted to have to camp out in the wilderness. They also didn’t want to use the secret home as they were uncomfortable coming back, potentially in a dangerous situation. The sunset was only a few hours away, so they opted to camp within the towers.

For dinner, they selected fresh fish. Of course, they would use their bows, and Marcus was no stranger to bow fishing. Eventually, Marcus sat down at the riverside, exhausted. The amount of physical exertion required for the day’s activities was quite intense for a nine-year-old boy, even if he was physically fit beyond his age. Marcus brought up the System to check the stats and found that he had a penalty to his overall stamina. For the penalty to go away, he would need sufficient rest.

Eventually, the scent of roasted fish wafted in the area. At that moment, the rushing of water and crackle of the fire was interrupted by a loud growl. The three turned to look at the little girl who had her face buried in Mother’s chest from embarrassment. Eventually, Shiro couldn’t resist temptation and stood up at the skewered fish.

Marcus chuckled as he took the fish and added a bit of seasoning before he handed it to Shiro. “Here, eat up. I caught extra as I figured you would be hungry.”

Shiro snatched the fish from his hand with speed so fast that it seemed out of trained reflex. She was about to take a bite but suddenly stopped before she sent an apologetic look towards Marcus. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“Not that. Shiro is sorry about your arm.”

Marcus was surprised but eventually reached out his arm to comfort. “I told you, it’s fine.” He replied as he began to stroke her head, something he could no longer hold back from doing. “So fluffy.” He mumbled to himself.

“Shiro is not fluffy.” She replied with her mouth full of fish. “Stop touching her ears! She doesn’t like it.”

“Then why did you start purring?”

“She… She didn’t start purring! That’s just her stomach rumbling because she is hungry.”

“Sure thing, Fluffy.”

“Her name is Shiro, not Fluffy!”

The parents chuckled as they sent each other a relieved glance. They were worried that Marcus wouldn’t associate with his peers, given their reclusive lifestyle. This worry furthered when they went to Ivarstead. Marcus was always far more interested in learning than playing with others around his age, so he appeared antisocial. Thankfully, however, it seemed that he was neither antisocial nor social but capable of adapting to his circumstances.

Eventually, the four finished their meal.

“So, what’s the plan?” Mother asked. “It sounds like the next place you want to go may be dangerous, and it not be a good idea to bring her.”

“Shiro is not weak. She can take care of herself.” Shiro protested vehemently. The implication of her being weak struck a sore spot.

Marcus pondered for a few seconds. “Assuming we utilize the horses to the fullest, we have another option. The mountain mansion is not far from here. I can send us to the mansion, and we can reach our destination before evening tomorrow, clear it out, and then I’ll send us back.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Mother replied.

“She’s telling you she can fight! Her mother taught her!” Shiro protested again, clearly disgruntled.

“What weapons do you know how to use?” Marcus asked.

“She will doesn’t use those clumsy weapons. She uses her claws.” She replied as she made a scratching gesture with her hand to look fearsome but only look cute.

Noting that Shiro seemed to be insistent on the matter, Marcus set up and went to the side. “Show me.”

“Show you?”

“Let’s spar.”

“Spar?” Shiro said before she quickly shook her head. “Shiro doesn’t want to hurt you again.”

“It’s okay. If you hurt me, we will stop. If you don’t, you can’t come with us.”

Perhaps because of the repeated inclination that she was weak or the worry of being left alone, Shiro didn’t protest again. Instead, she immediately attacked. Her movements were stiff and slightly clumsy, but the structure underneath was undeniable.

Marcus could not help but be slightly surprised. He knew the Khajiit were well known for the martial arts, but such complexity couldn’t manifest itself in a game. Her movements were surprisingly swift and seemed inherently deceptive. However, her mastery was not enough for Marcus to fall for her faints.

“It seems she was serious,” Father said as he watched the spar. “Though it is still a bit clumsy, it is a Claw-Dance, though I know not which. I didn’t pay enough attention to the Khajiit during the war. “

“I’m seeing a problem.” Mother replied.

“Indeed. Even I can tell her fighting is too patterned, and it’s like she’s repeating drills. She  does not have the capacity for a real fight currently.”

Mother shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about. Who taught Marcus martial arts?”

Father couldn’t help but blink twice in surprise.

Eventually, Shiro stamped her feet. “Enough! Why can’t she hit you? She is not weak.” She said with a pout.

Marcus came up and stroked her head. “It’s okay. You are stronger than I thought, Fluffy.”

“Her name is Shiro, not fluffy!” She replied as she stomped off.

Marcus could not help but chuckle as he saw Shiro storm away. For some reason, he just wanted to tease her. Marcus was a little surprised at how well she had fought. It would’ve been dangerous if not for his basic martial arts training from his previous life. His level of martial arts was not particularly high. At most, it would only catch others off guard, and he likely wouldn’t win a fight with a seasoned warrior.

Eventually, they began to pack their camp, much to the confusion of Shiro. “It’s getting late. Why are we packing camp?” She finally asked once they were prepared to leave.

Mother smiled at her gently. “Shiro, do you want to see a magic trick?”

“Magic trick?” She asked with confusion, though her eyes peaked with interest.

“Go hold Marcus’s hand and close your eyes.

As Marcus took Shiro’s hand, he gave his mother a blank look. Though he understood why she wanted Shiro to close her eyes, the handholding was unnecessary. However, he could guess by the look in his mother’s eyes that she was using this as an opportunity to get over Shiro’s ‘anger.’ Marcus didn’t reply as magic power began to form his free hand. He began to cast the teleport spell to the mountain mansion targeting everyone, including the horses.

“Is the trick ready yet?” Shiro replied, clearly getting impatient.

“Just a few more seconds, be patient.” Mother replied gently. “Just remember, if you feel something pull you, let it.”

Shiro frowned but neither replied nor opened her eyes. However, a few seconds later, she felt a strange pull as if to draw her away. She was instinctually frightened and began to resist but stopped when she remembered Mother’s words. The moment she stopped resisting, everything changed. The air suddenly became significantly colder, and the sound of birds and running water ceased.

“You can open your eyes now.” Mother said.

Shiro opened her eyes, and they suddenly snapped wide open along with her mouth as she stood, frozen from shock. Though it was nighttime, the area she was standing in was well lit by magic lanterns. She glanced around in wonder as her cat eyes focused on the sight. She could tell she was fairly high up on the side of the mountain on a large plateau. There was a large mansion in front of her, and behind her was an assortment of facilities. In the distance, she could see a gated wall that blocked the road that came up to the mansion. Near the wall was a building that seemed like it could house many people with an adjacent stable. Closer, there was an assortment of targets and dummies for practice. Nearby, there appeared to be a fully functional smithy and a few other facilities designed for item creation. Nearby was a large fire pit surrounded by tables that seemed to be used for outdoor gatherings.

“How was the magic trick?” Mother asked with a smile.

“Amazing.” She replied, still coming to terms with the sudden location change.

“That’s right, but you have to keep it a secret, or it won’t work again.

Shiro began to nod enthusiastically, which prompted the others to chuckle.

Eventually, three led Shiro into the mansion.

“This is amazing! Shiro has never seen such a big house!” Shiro said before she quickly scampered through the house. “There’s another smithy in here with lots and lots of rocks! There’s also lots of magic stuff and potions. What a big kitchen! There are so many bedrooms! What a huge bath!”

“Speaking of baths, I’m going to take a shower,” Marcus said as he made his way towards the bathing room.

“We should too.” Mother replied. “Shiro, would you like to take a shower first, and then we can go in the bath?”

“Yes!”

Thankfully, there were several segregated showers, so they did not have to shower together.

“This shower is so strange. How does it work? How is there warm water?” Shiro asked mother as the two of them had showered together.

“We don’t know all the specifics, but we know that it was designed with some advanced technology. It taps into the magical leyline that runs into this mountain for power, so there are many magical effects.”

“She sees… She thinks.” Shiro replied. “Hey, the house is so big, but there’s no one here. Does anyone else live here? Do you have more family?”

“No, we don’t have more family.”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro replied with a sad tone, thinking of her situation.

“It’s fine. I’m grateful we have each other. You see, Father and I are both orphans, and I only have brief memories of my parents while he has none of his. He grew up in Riften while I grew up in Whiterun. He started traveling and eventually made his way to Whiterun. We met when he was trying to buy potions. Both of us being wood elves, a rare sight, we hit it off and eventually went traveling and have been together ever since. Eventually, Marcus was born, and we became a happy family of three. Well, I suppose now we are a family of four.”

“Four? You mean, Shiro too?”

“If you’d like.”

“She… Shiro would be happy.” She replied with a trembling voice.

“Then welcome to the family.”

A complex expression came across Marcus’s face as he overheard the ladies’ conversation. The expression was not related to Shiro, but because of the story that Mother had recanted. When he modded this reality, he didn’t just indiscriminately add mods. He could modify something on his own, within limits. For example, he could modify certain past events so long as the result did not deviate too far. He could change things that would not cause the butterfly effect to exceed Fate’s reach; change the micro so long as the macro wasn’t affected. However, these seemed to be unintended consequences.

Marcus had spent what felt like days in his room making tweaks to the world, one of which was his parents’ backstories. He hadn’t been as specific to say they were both orphans but had mentioned that they were culturally independent of their ancestral roots. This was because he couldn’t stomach some of the wood elves’ traditions. He noted that this was an unintended consequence of modifying the setting and had to be careful when interacting with other people and locations he modified. He began to keep a mental note of his changes and how they could affect the world around him, but his thoughts soon became muddled.

Marcus turned off the shower as the day’s events finally caught up with his young body. He dried himself off until he made his way to his bed. His parents had claimed the master bedroom, so he made his way to a unique lofted bedroom. The steps seemed particularly daunting this evening, but he persevered until he made his way to his bed and fell asleep.

Marcus fully expected to sleep soundly but was groggily awakened as someone slipped into his bed. “Shiro? What are you doing?” He asked, still half asleep.

“She… Nothing… She was worried, yes? She was worried you were cold and lonely, so she wanted to keep you company.”

“Okay,” Marcus replied, too tired to protest.

Shiro gingerly made her way into the bed and lay down next to him. Marcus subconsciously reached for the source of warmth next to him in his sleep and loosely hugged her. She froze up in shock but soon relaxed. Her eyes, well-attuned for the dark, focused on his young face as the day’s events plaid back to her mind. The fear and despair that plagued her heart had so quickly disappeared. Skyr*m was a cold and unforgiving place, but she had found a place of warmth and safety that she cherished now more than ever. As she slowly fell asleep, a single thought filled her mind. She wanted to become stronger so she could protect her family.