Foxfey

<•> Chapter 5 <•>

They walked down the hill toward a stream where they washed up and drank fresh water. Ciaran also advised to soak the moss which she did. She took her time washing and grooming her fur while Ciaran stood on the side giving her weird looks.

"What?" She asked.

"I've never seen a fox wash so much, do you take that long every time?" He asked almost jokingly.

"Duh. Besides your fur looks matted." She retorted.

He suddenly grinned, "Good to know you have a sense of humor."

Despite herself she smiled, then they started walking and he started to tell her as they went along her struggling to keep up with his pace inside the thick forest. She felt clumsy and unsure in the forest she was so used to the cities streets and sidewalks and alleys, not the uneven ground with plants.

"Have you ever heard of Foxfey?" He asked.

"No." She answered.

"Foxfey is magic. It is magic that foxes use." He said.

She looked at him a memory forming in her mind. When he suddenly appeared out of shadows under the lamplight and the alleyway and the illusion he used to look like her mom.

"When you were under the lamplight, you almost seemed to be part of the shadows. Was that Foxfey?" She wondered.

"Yes," He said honestly, "I used Shadow Weaving, so I can blend into the shadows or look like one."

"Why?" She asked.

"I couldn't exactly walk up to you and drag you to the forest like that." He pointed out.

"Yeah..." She said slowly, ducking under a thorny bush to avoid getting scratched.

"Anyway, all foxes can learn Foxfey, some however never learn of Foxfey. Like a house-cat wouldn't nor would any animal living in the city their entire life," He glanced at her.

"Can another animal learn Foxfey?" Starla asked.

"No," He said briskly, "Foxfey is unique to us foxes. However different animals have other sorts of magic."

"Like what?" She asked curiously.

"Like wolves, they can't use Foxfey. But their magic is called Wolfspirit." He explained.

"Do all animals have some sort of magic?" She asked.

He pushed away some low hanging branches that were in his way they snapped back behind him. "In a way I guess, however there are animals that don't have magic nearly as strong as us. Wolves are strong like us." He answered.

"Are we stronger?" Starla said flicking her ear.

"I like to think so. But in reality we are pretty even. Besides there are others who have magic like us." Ciaran said.

"Can I learn Foxfey?" Starla suddenly asked.

He stopped and looked at her in surprise, "I-I-I mean yeah. If you want, I mean I knew you would have to learn but if you want me to teach you...?"

"When?" She asked impatiently.

She liked the sound of Foxfey. The image of Ciaran appearing from shadows stayed planted in her mind, and the sound of it intrigued her greatly. Her parents were always serious about teaching their children skills. Like teaching them to throw their voices, they said it was useful and very important to survival. She wondered if her parents tried to teach her and Pyke Foxfey without them ever realizing it, it made sense after all. But why she couldn't figure out.