We have now arrived in the forest, a safe walk away from prying eyes, here no one will disturb us.

All I can see around me is green, trees everywhere, birds chirping, the summer breeze rustling the leaves. Moss grows here and there. Ah, this is so relaxing. 

 

I take a deep breath and take in the many scents of the forest. 

 

Then mother Ima says "alright, it is time. Let's switch into our ancient fox form now, and we will have a little history lesson, then we can go home."

 

Mother Miyako puts me back on my feet, holding my hand as my legs are a bit wobbly from being carried all the time.

 

Then, one after the other, we change our forms. Three lady foxes and a little lady fox are now slowly taking in the view from our new perspectives. 

 

"How are you holding up, Mizuki?" Mother Miyako asks.

 

"I feel great, mother. Really, really happy!" 

 

Both my moms smile at her happiness.

 

It is time for me to play the little one again. Kids can't always be well-behaved, now can they? 

I said "wanna go home," amplified by my most convincing disappointed expression. 

 

Then mother Miyako comes to me, pushes me on my back with her paws and gives me a tickle attack. 

"Who is a little fluffy foxy? yes,you are, yes you are."  

 

I started to laugh, well, I guess the outside world only heard a young fox make some strange noises like "arf arf!"

 

Then she continued "can you be a good foxy from now on?" She continues to tickle me.

 

"Yes, yes, mommy!" 

 

She stopped her attack, while smiling smugly at the other ladies.

 

Then mother Ima added, "when you are done laughing, here is a first lesson for you. Where did your plushie go?"

 

I stopped laughing, then stood back on my four paws, my tail swaying and my head tilted "plushie? where?"

 

Then she smiled at my inability to make proper sentences, "it will be back in your hands when you transform back. That is the first thing to remember, this is divine magic, your clothing, everything will be replaced by this form, then be restored in the way it was before, unless there is a divine intervention."

 

Somehow it made me happy to realise that I hadn't lost my plushie...but I didn't like the divine intervention part...who knows what she is up to?

 

Then she continues, while we follow her walking further into the forest, "in this form you can telepathically communicate to other mammals, trees, spirits, and even have a better chance to reach your deity. Living in this form for a while deepens your bond with nature around you, as well as with the people who accompany you, just as we are doing now. You are free to give in to your ancient feelings, like chasing animals. But remember, all of this must be in balance. Don't hunt for fun. I think you get my point."

 

We all nodded at our teacher. I looked around, good, nobody just saw three foxes nod at another fox.

 

Ima then continues "I will explain more in a minute. First some exercise. It will do you all some good.

When you are in this form you will have a better sense of smell, touch, hearing, taste, everything is enhanced. 

Good, we will now run a bit, Greya, try to keep up, we won't go too fast. Just a minute of running will be enough, I will wait for you all at the end of this trail. While running, look from the perspective of a real fox, hear, breathe, just BE a fox, try to experience your ancient legacy. It is where we all came from."

 

We all nod again, and then mother Ima starts running, she only shows one tail now. Maybe she doesn't want to scare the wildlife here....what? Where is everyone? Great, they just ran away without me.

 

I start running, but my little legs are too short, I am already out of breath after half a minute, so I must stop. 

Where are they? I can't see my family yet. I continue to walk, trying to smell their scent, but I am still new to this. I want to jump over a tree stump, but then hear some sounds coming out of the bushes behind me. 

 

I turn around to focus on the sounds, then..wait? Mom? No....It is a fox, but no, I don't know this one. I walk backwards, but am blocked by the tree stump. 

 

Then the fox says, in a warm female voice "ah Rinna, there you are honey. Your daddy and mommy have been looking for days for you! Come, you must be hungry!" 

 

I want to reply that she is mistaken, but don't have the chance to do so, as she carefully grabs my neck between her teeth and takes me along with her. 

  

She says, "Rinna! I am so happy that I found you! Don't run away like this!"

 

She must speak telepathically, as she is still carrying me in her mouth. So that is how I can understand other mammals. 

 

I want to reply, but again don't have the time as I see her running towards a hole in the ground, a fox's den.

She crawled inside and released me.

 

She then starts to licks me, yuck! But she finished in a minute. I then said "wait, I...."

 

I was immediately interrupted "no, sweetie, no talking, mommy told you that you must be silent until you are clean and your little tummy is full again. You can talk later. Now come and drink!" 

The lady fox, obviously a mother, pushes me closer to her, and wraps her tail around me so I don't get cold.

 

She wants me to do what? No way. I will not go along with that. I say, necessarily playing along,  "mommy, am too old." 

 

She is shocked for a second, then says "Ah sorry Rinna, you are right, you are a big girl, mommy forgot. There are nuts and berries here. I am going to hunt some mice, you need to eat some proper meat."

 

I don't have the time to reply as the mother runs away. This is my chance to leave the den. I think this lady is a bit confused. She is a fox, she must smell that I am not her little one, right?

 

When I am about to leave the den, she reappears. No, another fox! A male.

 

"Whose are you, little one?" He says warmly. "You are not ours."

 

I bow my head and reply "no, I was running, following my mother, when this lady took me by my neck and dragged me here." Apparently it is getting easier to make normal sentences again.

 

"I see little one, the lady you speak about is my mate. I hope you understand what I say, as you seem to be so young still. Just tell me if you don't understand, okay?"

 

I nodded

 

He continued "we lost our little one a few days ago, it was an accident. I won't tell you what happened, but know that we both are very sad. We loved her very much. Her name was Rinna. My mate has been searching everywhere, not believing that our little one was gone forever. She hasn't slept in days, nor has she eaten, I am afraid that she will collapse."

 

I nodded, looking sad, then I said "I am sorry for what happened."

 

He then nuzzled me, and said "thank you little one. There is nothing you could do about this. My mate must be so exhausted that she mistook you for our own. For that I apologise."

 

My tail started swaying, indicating that I was relaxed. "I don't mind. She didn't mean any harm."

 

He continues "I will get you back to your family soon, they must be so worried. My mate must have tried to forget what happened. And now she found you....this is not good. What should I tell her? If you only could stay for one night, maybe after a good night's rest she can think clearly again. She hasn't slept in days."

 

"Really, well, I....I....I don't mind for one night, If I can really help you both."

 

"Really? you don't mind? Can you call me daddy and her mommy then. Just for this night?"

His tail showed that he was very happy at the moment. Well, I cannot possibly say no to these two kind souls, now could I?

 

"Of course. But I need to go home tomorrow, is that good?"

 

"Yes, but your family, won't they be looking for you?"

 

"No, I promise you that they know I am safe. Trust me. It is no problem. They will come for me tomorrow. Is that good?"

 

"Yes, sweetie" he nuzzles me. "Thank you little one. So happy to have a complete family again. Even for only one night."

 

I quickly sent a message to mother Ima to tell her what had happened.

 

She replied in my mind "Ah, Greya! Well done. I could feel you were talking, so I released your toddler speech while you are in this form. This is amazing. Such a rare experience, just like in ancient times. Fate must be with you! Be safe and we will see you tomorrow. Enjoy this opportunity!"

 

The lady fox then enters the den, carrying some, some, let's call it food.

 

I quickly turn around, and eat some berries, wow, they really taste amazing. Are these really blueberries? They taste so much sweeter...    No, I am avoiding the meat at all costs.

 

Then from the corner of my eye, I see the two foxes greeting each other, nuzzling and making some cute sounds. Well, some things are lost in translation it seems, but I get the point.

 

She tells him "look dear, Rinna has returned! I found her!"

 

He looks at me, smiles and says "yes dear, I am so happy. I already welcomed her back home."

 

I try not to look at the meat, let's try to distract her,  "Mommy, why can't we understand birds?"

 

She replies "because we can only understand mammals, I taught you that before."

 

"Really? Sorry, I thought we could understand all animals. That is what those mice once said to me." I said.

 

She looks at me like I am beyond repair "Rinna, why would you talk to food? Nevermind, here, eat!"

 

No....    

 

I replied "I don't want to eat the meat!"

 

"Rinna, we had this discussion before. You need to eat meat. Or you are back to my milk. You choose." 

 

Oh dear. Tough choice. I remember from the history lesson that the deities don't mind if I eat the meat. I only need to be respectful. So no unnecessary waste, no hunting for fun. 

 

I think a little prayer, not to the deities, but to the spirits in general. "I honour the spirits that gave their bodies so I can eat."  Then I eat. This tastes amazing, I eat a lot, all of it. 

 

I am ashamed of myself, but the lady seems to be happy. So is he. Both of them cuddle around me, making sure I am comfortable and warm. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep.

It is early morning when I hear a panicked fox asking who I am. It is the mother fox.

 

I am still sleepy, then I realise the situation I am in. "Good morning. Thank you for taking care of me tonight.

I hope I was no burden to you both?" I said this with my most innocent sounding voice ever.

 

He then nuzzles his mate and says "this little one stayed here last night, so you could have a good rest. You thought she was our Rinna. But she is gone. How are you feeling now, honey?"

 

Then she replied "Well, I feel better now that I have had some proper sleep, but still. Now I really miss her. 

Oh little one, please forgive me. I was so tired, I thought you were....."

 

I then interrupted her, and nuzzled her, making sure my emotions were warm and sincere. I said "thank you for being my mother last night. You both are amazing parents." 

 

Then she started to cry, realising that her Rinna was gone. 

 

Her mate tried to comfort her, but did not succeed.

 

"Well.." I said, "...if you want I can stay a bit longer?"

 

"Really? You would do that?" The mother fox said. Her mate looked grateful, smiling that I would be willing to spend more time with them.

 

I let mother Ima know that I would like to be picked up this evening and asked her for a little miracle. 

After all, this is not my country as a goddess, but hers. Let's say she agreed to my request.

She also understood the situation and would cover for me, if anything should happen in Acria today.

Being welcomed by real foxes is a special occasion, something you won't be able to experience everyday. She reminded me to take in everything as a valuable lesson, something that I could share with the others.

 

The two foxes took me along for the day, and showed me how to hunt for prey. But also how to recognise which berries and nuts are safe to eat. As we had to run a few times, I lost my balance. My temporary parents taught me how to use my tail to balance myself when running and jumping. I learned to use all my senses today, in a way I never thought possible. Every insignificant detail seemed now important: how do I follow prey animals, where can I find berries, all my senses were focused on survival. 

 

When evening came, mother Ima appeared right before us, in her ancient fox form, smiling warmly, then bowing respectfully. "Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for taking care of my precious little one."

 

"It was nothing, really, we are the ones who are grateful. Thank you little one too, it was fun to have a family again. Even though it has to end now," the male fox said.

 

I replied "I know you both are sad. And I cannot be your daughter, but I have some news for you!

This is my mother, she is a goddess. And she has a surprise for you!"

 

They both stared at me.  "Surprise?" the mother fox said.

 

"Indeed," Ima said, looking at the mother fox, "I really am a goddess, and to show my appreciation to include her in your family for a day, I have blessed you. Soon, you will have a little one again. May you give your newborn little girl all the love that you gave my little one."

 

The two foxes were beyond happy, bowing to Ima, their tails showed their honest gratitude. The two nuzzled for a short while, then nuzzled me as a goodby.

 

"Goodbye little one," they both said.

 

I replied "Goodbye, you two were so kind to me, I felt so warm and loved by you. I am sure that your daughter will love you both very much. Bye!"

 

They both smile and....FLASH.

 

...And we are back in the palace.