Fox Magic

Chapter 13

Aurora's pov

I followed close behind Blaze, trying to figure out how I made the ice appear. I didn't try to because I didn't even know I could. It just happened.

Blaze has been unusually quiet. I can tell he's sad, even though he's trying to hide it. I have no idea where we're going, either.

It's been a few hours since the run in with those horrid badgers, we should be out of their territory by now. I just hope there's no more.

The sky is beginning to change colors as the sun starts to set. The sky is clear, a gentle breeze blows, the birds are singing their final song before bed. It's really quite peaceful and beautiful out.

Blaze stops at a large tree with long, green tendrils hanging from the branches and almost touching the ground. As we enter between the tendrils, I notice the inside is almost like a den, hollow and surrounded by tendrils on all sides. There was a hole halfway up the trunk that looked big enough for us to sleep in, but neither of us really felt like climbing that night. So we found a semi comfortable spot between the roots by the trunk.

I curled up in a mossy spot to sleep while Blaze laid down on the other side of the root. So much for having each other. But I was too tired to argue and quickly fell asleep.

I had a hard time staying asleep, and I woke twice in the middle of the night, frightened by the strange sounds that I should be getting used to by now. I eventually fell back asleep. The third time I woke up because I felt something bump me. I was really scared that time. But as I looked around, I realized it was just Blaze.

He was pushed up against me in a tight ball, shivering. He must be cold. The temperature feels comfortable to me, but I'm used to living where everything is frozen, Blaze isn't. He didn't seem to notice I was awake, so I just laid my head down and went back to sleep again. I didn't wake up again for the rest of the night.

I was awoken early the next morning by a loud sound. Blaze must have heard it, too, because he was up as soon as I was.

"What's that noise?" he asked, startled but still half asleep.

"I don't know," I answered, "It sounds like wind."

"It's getting louder," Blaze exclaimed.

We both glance at each other with worried yet curious expressions, then make our way to the edge of the tree tendrils to see what was making the noise.

The wind was much stronger out in the open. All of the trees around us were swaying violently. A few yards away, above the trees, I could clearly see the source of the loud noise. A huge grey mass of dust, leaves, and whatever else was picked up was swirling together in the strong wind.

We quickly turned and ran back into the cover of the tree. Blaze climbed straight up to the hole in the trunk, while I copied his every move on the way up. There wasn't as much space as I thought, but at least we were safe from the swirling wind.

Or so I thought.

The tree began to shake like the others as it's tendrils blew in the wind, revealing the swirling mass quickly getting closer! Blaze and I braced ourselves, waiting for our tree to be knocked over or ripped out of the ground.

But as soon as it reached the boundary of the tree, it stopped. It didn't die down gradually either, it just suddenly stopped.

"That was weird," I said.

"At least it stopped," Blaze pointed out. "What even was that thing?"

I had never seen anything like it, so of course I couldn't answer.

"I think . . . that was . . . a tornado," a voice said between breaths.

Whoever it was sounded close. Like they were right under our tree, actually. I dared a peek out to see if it was safe and my breath was taken away at what I saw.

It was Twister. He looked pretty ruffled, his fur was a mess, and he looked completely exhausted and out of breath. But we was back.

"Twister!" Blaze exclaimed, joyfully.

He nearly jumped right out of the tree as soon as he saw his lost friend. I followed more carefully then rushed over to greet Twister. As I got close, I noticed he had a scratch on his head and some dried blood on his sides.

"How did you get away?" Blaze asked.

"Well, it certainly wasn't easy," Twister said. It was clear he needed to rest before anything else.

"You rest, we'll catch you some food," I told him.

"Thanks," Twister said, gratefully.

Blaze led him to the mossy spot we had slept in and he flopped down. I made sure he was comfortable before leaving him to rest.

As I stepped between the tendrils of the tree, I noticed there was no wind at all, not even a gentle breeze. Blaze came up behind me and stopped next to me with a look of confusion. We looked at each, shrugged it off, and continued on our task.

We returned a few minutes later donning a young rabbit which Blaze carried proudly. Twister had already fallen asleep, so we buried the rabbit in leaves so he could eat it when he woke up.

Twister slept for half the day, and when he finally woke up, he looked well rested and ready to go. Even his eyes were brighter. Blaze dug up the rabbit and Twister had it gone in seconds.

"How did you get away from the hawk?" Blaze asked again, "Did you chew it's legs off."

Twister laughed at his friend's question, then relied, "No. But I'll explain everything."