Dimokre Chronicles Book 1: Crossed Paths

Chapter 13 - To Have Hazel Eyes

"Kael? Kit, you up?" His mother's hand rapped on his bedroom's closed, wooden door.

He looked down at the bed he just woke up from, yawning sleepily and rubbing his eyes. "Yeah, Mom! I'm up!" He grinned, even though she couldn't see it. "And you can come in!" He chimed.

The door creaked open. A thick, spicy aroma flooded in from the kitchen outside. Kael melted at the smell wafting to his nose, his tongue almost able to taste the food.

"Okay, good. Mind if I sit?" Kael's mother stood in the doorway, pointing to the bed. Bags had formed under her bright blue, happy eyes. Her long, brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun. Loose strands curled around her cheeks, framing her slender face.

She wore a sweatshirt and a pair of poofy pants. This outfit was only worn for cooking and cleaning. She had an apron on, already with a few splotches of sauces on it. Also, there were two distorted, white spots of handprints where she wiped flour off her hands a few times. Being a fox, Kael's mother hardly ever wore shoes, especially just around the house, so her bare feet peeked out from under her pants' cuffs. Kael thought that his mother was the prettiest woman in the world, even when she was just cooking. His mom was definitely the kindest too - there wasn't a single doubt about that.

Kael smiled, nodding his head quickly. "Of course!" He scooted to the side to make room.

She dramatically groaned as she sat down on her son's bed and laid back, rubbing her forehead, her elbows pointed to the ceiling. "Cooking is so time-consuming!" She flung her arms down and closed her eyes like she had passed out, making sure her arms were in as much of Kael's way as possible.

Kael giggled, flinging her arms away. "Can I help you next time?" He grinned, turning fox and scrambling over his mother's arms to sit on her stomach.

She chuckled softly, scratching behind his fox ear in the way only the most wonderful mother could. "That sounds like an excellent idea." She sat up, letting her son tumble in her lap. She swooped him up and cuddled him close. Then plopped him down on the bed next to her.

Kael knew what this meant and turned anim-latic again, looking up at her to await his orders.

"Time for a pow-wow!" she said, grinning. "So, today's Day of the Fire." She glanced around. "And excellent, you remembered to clean your room before going to bed last night." She tickled under his chin. "Very proud mother, here."

She stood up, hands on her hips. "So, here's the game plan. Some of Daddy's old friends are coming by to pay their respects and celebrate the holiday with us."

Kael nodded, offering, "Should I get the decorations?"

She grinned, lowering her tone to make a funny voice, "That, my dear boy, would be loverly."

Kael grinned, nodding, and stood up to do that.

"Thank you, kit. Make sure you make your bed," she reminded him knowingly on her way out. "Breakfast'll be in a few."

Kael stopped in his tracks and turned back to the bed. Once his pillow was fluffed and covers were pulled up, he took a step back to scan his room. He made a few adjustments and nodded at his bedroom, now complete in a mom-approved cleanliness state.

He shrank into his fox form as he hopped outside the window on the wooden crate outside. He sniffed the air, looking over the field of tall grasses and weeds surrounding their little cottage. Beyond the field was the forest of leafless, old, gnarly trees.

Kael closed his eyes, enjoying the breeze, his fox ears twitching happily as the wind blew into them. He glanced down and watched some ants crawling around on the box. He watched eagerly, ready to pounce, but the ants looked ready to march in and invade his room.