Morning sunlight spilled through the dense trees, dappling the forest floor in gold. Lena adjusted her cloak and stepped carefully over a gnarled root, listening to the fox spirit beside her hum a cheery tune that sounded suspiciously like birdsong and thunder rolled into one.
Ashikai trotted ahead, tail swaying in rhythmic confidence, ears twitching at every sound. "You walk like a scared squirrel," the spirit commented with a dramatic sigh. "All stiff. You know, if something wanted to eat you, it would've done so three trees ago."
Lena arched an eyebrow. "That's reassuring."
"I try." Ashikai paused mid-step, sniffed the air, then turned to grin at her — if foxes could grin. "Besides, I'd never let anything eat you. I'm bound to you now. If something eats you, I vanish. Tragic, right?"
Lena smirked. "Tragic for *you*."
"Exactly! Self-preservation is why I'm loyal. Ancient spirit logic."Lena shook her head and kept walking. The road had narrowed to more of a trail, winding through moss-covered boulders and whispering trees that leaned in like eavesdroppers. Though the path was lonely, it never felt *quiet* — the forest buzzed with life.
Ashikai darted between trees, climbing rocks, leaping from one root to the next, talking the entire time.
"I once watched a volcano eat an entire kingdom, you know? Boom. Gone. The people were lovely, but they never listened to their spirit guides. I tried to warn them. They threw lettuce at me."
"You really *are* thousands of years old," Lena muttered.
"Try older. I once gave advice to a seer who tried to flirt with a star. Didn't go well. Stars are hot. She burned her eyebrows."
Lena snorted unexpectedly, then quickly masked it. "You're a strange spirit."
Ashikai beamed. "Thank you. I've had time to perfect it."
They passed a patch of strange blue flowers that shimmered in the light. Ashikai paused, pawing at one. "These only bloom when fate shifts. Ominous, hmm?"
Lena froze. "Wait. What?"
"Oh, relax." Ashikai flicked a paw dismissively. "Just means your future just wiggled a little. It doesn't mean doom. Probably."
Lena sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead. "You're going to drive me insane.""Not before we get to the city," the fox chirped, resuming his prance.
They walked for a while in companionable silence — or, rather, Lena was silent and Ashikai continued his one-sided conversation about the "complex politics of fairy dragons" and how "marsh spirits are terrible at poker."
Eventually, Lena broke in. "So why me?"
"Hm?" Ashikai perked up.
"Why did you bind yourself to me? You said it wasn't just because I saved you."
Ashikai stopped walking and looked at her with unnerving stillness. For a moment, the playful fox vanished, and something ancient peered through the eyes of fur and flame.
"Because your soul… hums," he said softly. "Like a song that's been lost for a long time. Something in you doesn't belong here, but also fits too well. That's… rare. It's dangerous. And it's *important*."
Lena's breath caught.
Ashikai blinked, then the moment passed. "Also, I was bored. Being stuck under a tree really cramps my style."
Lena laughed — genuinely this time. "You're impossible."
"And yet, you like me."
She did.
More than she expected.
Ashikai wasn't just company. He was a tether — strange and chaotic, yes — but comforting in a way this world hadn't been yet. As if he'd seen all its horrors and joys and still chose to laugh.They crested a hill, and far in the distance, the stone towers of Velmira glinted beneath the sun. The city was closer now.
Lena stared at it, heart tightening. "That's where the king is, isn't it?"
Ashikai didn't answer right away. "Most likely."
"Will he know I'm there?"
Ashikai padded close, brushing against her leg. "He'll *feel* you. Eventually. But I'll be with you. Besides, the necklace Winter gave you helps."
She touched it. It had grown warm again.
"Do you trust her?" she asked.
The fox's eyes gleamed. "Winter is older than even I am. If she gave you protection, it's not a small thing. That one doesn't waste magic."
They stood in silence a moment longer, the wind carrying the faint scent of the city — stone, fire, and something darker.
Lena took a breath. "Let's keep going."
"As you command, mystical squirrel," Ashikai declared and bounded forward.
And though the road ahead was filled with shadows, Lena smiled.
Because with a sarcastic fox spirit by her side and the memory of stars in her blood… she didn't feel so alone anymore.
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