Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

    Simon yawned and opened his eyes.
    “I had the weirdest dream,” he muttered, still half asleep. But instead of seeing the walls of his uncle’s cabin, or the furs on the walls, or even his uncle sitting there beside him, he saw giant trees and leaves crumpled underneath him as he got up.
    “Wha…?” Maybe he was still in a dream.
    Simon looked up and a magpie took flight above him. Everything seemed… huge! He looked down, but instead of feet….
    Simon yelled in surprise, but it sounded more like a yelp. This must be a dream! This has to be a dream! He turned around, looking all around.
    “What? I….?” He was confused. He looked up in the trees as a squirrel threw a branch at him, chattering all the while. Missing him, the twig splashed down next to him in a puddle.
    Simon instinctively leapt back, as the squirrel ran off through the treetops, chattering and swearing at him until he couldn‘t hear it anymore. Simon leaned over the puddle, to see what the squirrel had thrown at him, but instead he saw himself … but it wasn’t him! Simon gaped.
    “I can’t be,” he said, looking back at his feet. But they weren’t feet or hands, they were paws. Blue-black paws, with long black claws. He dared to look back into the puddle, but staring out at him, like before, was the face of a fox. Blue-black fur and yellow eyes.
    Simon panicked a little then; this had to be a dream, what else would it be? He backed away from the puddle. He was scared, but he was also fascinated. He could hear better, and smell things better.
    “So Liru couldn’t change his mind.”
    Simon swung around, heart thumping.
    A yellowish tan fox sat behind him, watching him calmly with pale yellow eyes.
    “Who?  What? Where am I?!” Simon asked, ears flattening.
    “Shush. You’re name is Simon, am I right? I’m Kira.”
    “How did you-,” he asked, but was cut off.
    “I will explain,” The fox said. “But right now you must eat.” The fox motioned to two dead mice by her paws.
    “What?! I’m not eating that!” Simon said in disgust.
    “You’ll go hungry then,” Kira said, picking up one of the mice and flipping it into her mouth, eating it whole.
    Simon had to try and not vomit. “Please just tell me what is going on,” he gasped.
    “Eat the mouse.” Kira said, licking her chops. “It’s not really that bad.”
    Simon stepped forward, and took a small bite of the mouse, chewing it carefully.
    “It’s kinda gamey… and stringy… and furry!” he said with disgust.
    “You get used to it. It’s about the only thing you can catch out here as a fox. Aside from the occasional rabbit or sparrow, but they’re much more furry.” Kira mused.
    “Just tell me where I am, what I am and why, please!” Simon begged, almost gagging as he tried to swallow his bite of mouse.
    “Well, where and what is easy. Why -- not so much,” Kira said. “Eat the rest of that mouse and I’ll try to explain.
    “First of all, your in a  forest and you’re a fox. A kit could have guessed that.” Kira paused as Simon glared at her angrily while chewing unhappily on the mouse.     “But, why? That’s harder. Well, Daien, the fox god, had a brother who was killed while living in the mortal realms. His brother was, in fact, killed by your uncle. Daien mourned his brother and wanted revenge; he decided not to kill Quill but to kill you, but Liru protested, and Starig said it was unjust and unfair. So Daien got an even better plan, to curse you to be a fox. The curse would only break once Daien wanted it to -- which would be never -- or when you where killed. His hope was that your uncle would shoot you. Either way, Quill would mourn as his favorite nephew was either lost in the woods or killed by his own gun.”
    “Wait, what!? Slow down!” Simon protested, “Starig, Liru, Gods, Daien, Killed, Curse? What?”
    Kira let out an impatient sigh, “There are five gods that rule the woods -  Daien, the black-furred fox god, Liru, the golden-furred lynx goddess, Starig, the oak-furred elk god, Rinna, the black-and-white feathered magpie goddess, and Cela, the grey furred rabbit goddess. Daien’s brother, a demi-god, was foolish and often spent time in the mortal realms, but he wasn‘t careful enough of the dangers. Quill shot him; you’ve no doubt seen Ragen’s pelt hanging on your uncle’s walls.”
    “He, he showed it to me, he was proud of it,” Simon said, eyes wide, forgetting his fear and displeasure for a moment. “But, why me? And who are you?”
    “Daien wanted Quill to suffer, he wanted to kill you, but Liru and Starig forbade it -- you had done no wrong, and you are only a pup. Liru sent me to help you, not wanting Quill to kill you but not being able to convince Daien to change his mind. And that is it.” Kira said.
    “So you’re a demi-god then?” Simon asked.
    “No, I am a guardian. Weaker than a demi-god, stronger than a mortal.”
    “And… I’m stuck like this forever?”
    “Unless there is another way to break the curse, yes,” she said gravely as Simon tried to make sense of it all.