The Fox in the Dandelion Sea

( This has the first 5 Volumes , again I wrote it without thinking I'll try to write it lesser next time )

"Dandelion, Dandelion, ride the wind to a faraway land," the Fox chants.

An unforgettable Mondstadt fairytale about a hunter and a fox. The Fox in the Dandelion Sea, an 11-part story, begins here.

"Dandelion, dandelion, ride the wind to a faraway land."

The little fox chanted.

He blew the dandelion flower and sent the seeds flying. He then spoke in a more serious tone.

"May my teacher's wishes ride the wind and reach the Anemo Archon."

A wind blew past us and swept away the dandelion seeds.

Did they fly to a better place, carrying my hopes and dreams there with them?

When did this happen?

Some time ago, behind the village, there grew a forest of countless lush trees. At the center of this forest was a small lake.

The lake was like the stained glass windows of the Mondstadt Cathedral: crystal clear and shimmering in the sunlight.

The sun shone through the treetops and glistened on the water's surface like fragments of gemstones. It was really something.

The weather was cool that day. I was hunting in the forest when I arrived at the lake's edge. The shimmering water somehow reminded me of a girl I loved a long time ago.

I couldn't remember much about her, but I felt that her eyes must have looked like the lake, glittering as if harboring fragments of gemstones within.

I became lost in thought as I stared at the glistening water. Walking transfixed along the lakeside, I had forgotten entirely that I was out for a hunt.

I came to when I heard the sound of something freezing up. It was a Mist Flower growing by the lake, having just frozen the water around it. Next to it was a white fox, its tail frozen in the ice. Poor critter.

"It must have had its tail in the water by the Mist Flower while it was drinking."

Mist Flowers are dangerous plants and can cause frostbite if handled without care.

Extreme caution must be taken when handling them.

As it saw me approach, the fox struggled in fear, but its still-frozen tail kept it rooted to the spot. The fox whimpered in pain.

"Oh no, this won't do."

I thought to myself.

"Poor critter. It's gonna die anyway if I don't save it, so I might as well end its pain by bringing it home as my game for the day."

I imagined what a delicious fox stew I could cook with the carrots I grew. Just thinking of the hot stew gave me energy and brought a smile to my face.

So I took out my hunting bow and slowly walked toward it.

"Be good and stay put."

"Be good and stay put."

That's what my father's father had taught me. When I went fox hunting, I always chanted his words silently, so that my hands wouldn't shake when pulling the bowstring.

But just as I was about to release the arrow, the fox lifted its head and looked me straight in the eyes. It had eyes like the lake, glistening as if harboring fragments of gemstone within.

My head began spinning, as if a strong wind were blowing inside it. My arrow missed its target and instead smashed the ice, releasing the fox's tail. The fox raised its tail and looked at me once more before running off into the forest.

I came to my senses and began the chase — but who in this world can run faster than a fox?

Gradually, the fox began to shrink into the distance, eventually turning into a white spot.

"Hey! Don't go!"

I shouted, barely catching my breath.

After hearing my words, the spot seemed to slow.

"Is it waiting for me?"

I pondered.

"If running for its life, a fox is able to shake off anyone in no time."

Foxes are strange animals. Even when running on a flat plain like at Windrise, where one can see clearly for miles ahead, they somehow still seem to disappear from view.

It's almost as if they run into another world.

This led me to my conclusion:

"The fox must be waiting for me!"

Convinced of this fact, I chased the glittering white spot for hours on end. Suddenly, a chilling wind began to blow.

I stood there, shivering, and what I saw next astounded me.

"How can this be?"

Suddenly, instead of one, there were now two white spots in view.

More appeared. Three, four, five... They seemed to grow in number as the winds blew. Eventually, I lost track.

Suddenly, with a stinging sensation, one of them flew directly into my eye. Upon inspection, I discovered that the spots were in fact nothing more than dandelion seeds floating in the wind. The fox had disappeared.

I laughed at my own foolishness and went home.

For supper, I had carrot fox stew — though without fox, or any other meat for that matter. The gods know how much I hate boiled carrots without meat! I felt starving, and in time fell asleep.

I awoke in the middle of the night to something stirring outside my door.

Having failed to catch the fox, I went to sleep with only tasteless boiled carrots in my stomach. If not for what happened next, I would have forgotten about the fox by now.

I awoke with a start to strange noises coming from outside my door.

"Perhaps boars have come to eat my carrots?"

I hopped out of bed and opened my door. To my surprise, there stood a tiny little white fox. Its fur was so white that it glowed in the dark, not unlike the way the sunlight sparkles on the water after filtering through the treetops.

"It must be that fox from earlier today!"

I thought again of those eyes that looked like gemstones in the water, gazing at me as if from the depths of my heart.

And so I walked over to the fox, unarmed and with tired eyes.

This time it stayed still and waited for me in silence.

The closer I drew, the greater in stature it became.

By the time I stood before it, it had magically transformed into a human.

She was a tall and slender woman, with a swan-like neck and pearly skin. Her eyes sparkled like gemstone fragments in pools of water — in the darkness they seemed to shine like rays of sunlight on water after filtering through the treetops.

"What a beauty. She looks a lot like the girl I fell in love with long ago, though I barely remember her name. Those eyes tell me she must be her."

I thought to myself.

"This can't be. Must be some type of fox magic."

Stranger still, the idea of "fox magic" had only occurred to me in that instant. You'd believe anything after you'd seen those eyes.

For all the magic and transformation I had witnessed, nothing amazed me quite as much as the gemstone lakes of her eyes. For a while, we stood silently in the dead of night.

And at last she spoke. Though not in our common tongue, I could somehow understand her. Some other magic, perhaps.

"I would have died by the lake, if you had not come in my hour of need."

She paused and continued:

"Although to die by that gemstone lake is no bad thing,"

"We foxes are grateful beings, so you must let me return the favor."

She bowed to me, and her long silky black hair flowed down her shoulders like streams.

or the next few days after that night, the fox never came again.

But in those few days, prey in the forest became gradually more abundant.

Everything from small finches, long-legged cranes, and even scurrying boars...

Maybe it was due to the change in season, or maybe it was some sort of reparation from the fox. In any case, real stew had been served on the table these last few days.

But the fox never came again.

As strange as it may seem, it had honestly been easier to sleep hungry. Even with a full, satisfied stomach, I couldn't help but think about the day we met, and the woman that the fox had turned into...

When would I gaze upon her eyes again, glittering... like water in a lake.

Lying half-asleep with a heart full of turmoil, I heard a faint sound outside my door.

I hopped from the bed and swung open the door, eager to see a small white silhouette awaiting me.

But there were no lake-blue eyes, and there was no fluffy white foxtail. Instead, all I could see was dandelion seeds drifting in the white moonlight, floating like snowflakes in the air.

Suddenly, something got caught in my nostrils.

"Ah-Ahchooo!!!"

Immediately, the fluffy white dandelion seeds began to swirl, filling the sky like a snowstorm.

Amidst the flurry of dandelion seeds, a pair of jewel-like eyes were looking at me, staring straight into my heart.

Waving away the dandelions swirling about, I started walking towards the small fox.

The fox raised its ears and its furry tail flitted across the grass as it turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

I hurried and followed closely behind.

In amongst the darkness of the trees, soft patches of white could be seen weaving between the shadows.

Their silhouettes tip-toed like moonlight cast among the tree leaves, or like the hesitant strides of a crafty Seelie.

With unfaltering trust, I followed the fox round and about, soon emerging from the dark forest in a seemingly faraway land.

There, in the moonlight, a sea of dandelions lay before me, stretching as far as my eyes could see.

Stunned by the sight, I then noticed a rustling noise coming from just behind me.

It was a light, delicate sound. Like that of a girl walking barefoot across pine needles and leaves on the ground.

The fox approached me from behind. The night air ferried her presence, cool and damp, whisked together with the slightly bitter fragrance of dandelion flowers.

Two hands with long, ice-cold fingers rested upon my shoulders.

Then, she leaned close to my ear and her long hair draped down over my shoulder.

I could feel the pulse of her heartbeat and the soft rhythm her faint breathe. It made me feel calm and at ease.

"Only the foxes know the way to this place. It is the homeland of the dandelions.

It is my desire that you would tarry here, and teach my child human language...

In return, I will teach you the magic of foxes."

There was a tickle in my ear, as if one of the dandelion seeds grazed my ear as it was carried off in the warm night breeze.

Strange. I had clearly never mentioned anything about "fox magic" to her before. How could she have known?

With no reply, she took my hand and led me into the plush depths of the sea of dandelions.

The night breeze from the south, as well as the breeze from the north, both carried the bitter fragrance of dandelion flowers and faded memories...

She led me to gently frolic through the velvety white fields of dandelions, until the moon rose high in the starry sky.

In a boundless sea of dandelions that existed in the middle of nowhere, I watched as the dandelion seeds took off at the softest touch of a breeze. Suddenly, I knew the answer to that question that had been lingering on my mind for years.

"So all the foxes that disappear during the hunt, this is where they hide away."

I thought to myself.

"What a beautiful place."

But when I began teaching the little fox to speak our common tongue, my heart always felt empty, like a wind was blowing inside of me.

When we talked, I would look into her gemstone-lake eyes. In those moments I felt like I was speaking not to the fox, but to a girl I used to love many years ago.

And so, when she was around me, it was as if I were in the presence of the child of someone I had once loved: We had an enjoyable time together, but the experience was somehow tinged with sadness.

But the thought of her promise — if I succeeded in teaching her child to speak the common tongue...

"I shall impart the magic of transformation to you when the time comes."

Remembering the way she made that solemn promise to me... I knew she was serious, and that gave me determination.

Could I transform into a flying bird once I'd mastered the magic? How high would I be able to fly? Maybe I could transform into a fish, and finally have the chance to go to Musk Reef.

"I could even use magic to hunt!" I couldn't contain my excitement. "No more meatless carrot stews for me..."

I lost track of how long I stayed in the dandelion sea, where everything sways gently with the wind.

One reason was that the little one was such a fast learner! I taught him not only our language, but everything I knew in one package, including how to count, how to grow carrots, how to change window panes, and how to sharpen knives.

When it came to rest, we would talk idly.

"Why must you learn human speach?"

He answered swiftly:

"So that when I transform into a human, I can befriend them!"

I continued:

"Why would you want to befriend the humans?"

He dropped his gaze.