Family Matters

My appetite is gone. That was so incredibly unnerving that I don't think I want to eat today. Madam Odette even seems off-put about it. I watch as she almost stomps off across the main hall to her office. The door shuts rattling everyone with the sound it made as it slams shut. Everyone, and I do mean everyone looked in that direction. Only one followed, her most loyal attendant who is tasked with standing before the door to the room she is in. He disappears for a moment before returning to stand at his post.

I walk by just looking, keeping my distance. He never moves unless addressed. Never! That's what he does yet as I look on at him he gives me the slightest of a headshake. That tells me all I need to know. That I need to steer clear for a while.

Uncle Thomas… He always seemed uppity to me. Like he always tried hard to be better than everyone else bragging about his son's accomplishments as his own. Then he at any minor advancement in his life. I don't know how his wife stands him but she has the same mindset as him too. Reed is just… Reed. He was raised to think he could do no wrong. Blech, I don't need this right now. I just wanted a snack from the kitchen and instead, I got a stomach illness.

Nothing puts a damper on your mood like family I guess. Of course, I do miss my family. Not Thomas but mom and dad back home. Great, now I'm homesick again. As long as I keep my mind busy I'm alright. I send a ping through the place just to see what's going on. The garden is getting cleared up. The house is being cleaned like always. Thomas is astounded by everything in his room. Madam Odette's office is… dark? It's just a blur that I can't see. Is she able to block me? I look back in the direction of the house confused. Is it that bad for her?

Maybe if I catch her alone she may open up. I have a few questions myself.

"Poor Madam Odette."

My little cabin feels lonely now. Just two shelves of books, a chair, and a lonely desk across from a bed, with a dim fireplace. I guess I could get more firewood. Get my mind off of things for a bit. Stepping back outside I find a decent tree. It takes me back to when I first started here. Madam Odette had me cut down 14 of these monsters by hand. Should I go find the ax and see if that muscle is still there? There is a spell I also wanted to try. This might be the time for it.

The principle is to turn wind into a razer blade. I've been playing with it to cut the grass around the cabin to keep it neat. Something harder might be a good test to see what it and I can do. "Wood isn't as dense but this is thick so…" I try and put it together in my head how much I'll need to use to cut through. This may be a guess and check equation. With my mind focused I take a swing. I hear the hard thunk as though something heavy hit the tree. The bark splinters as a small, thin cut is made near the base. I was nowhere close to where it needed to be.

"Ok, another try." I give it more and the noise is heavier but I can see that it's much deeper. Still not enough. "Going to play rough huh?" One more try, I give it one more go and there is no sound. It cuts clean through splintering the bark around the ring of the slice. It's angled slightly down so the tree will fall away. I listen as it hits the branches of the others before shaking the ground as it lands. I even hear a few people clamber about the sound before I yell back, "That's me! Sorry for no warning!"

OK, the tree is down, now to split it up. How can I do that? Sections? Yea, I'd better make it smaller then split it up. Now that I know what it will take to cut through it I should be able to repeat all the way down. I clean-cut the bottom where the slanted cut is to give me a good starting point. From there, half step sideways and one cut straight down. The tree cuts like butter. By the time I get to the lower branches, I have it so smooth the bark no longer falls, flies, or splinters, as though it is being cut by a razor.

The large sections will need to be broken down to a usable size. That will be the problem for me. These sections are huge. The razor will only cut in one direction. At least for now. I need to get a good handle on it before I get fancy with it. I have cut myself a few times trying something like this so I would rather not risk it. If I was more versed in sounds I could probably shake them into the pieces I need. Maybe using a medium would help like a sledgehammer. Vibrate it upon impact and shake the wood into pieces. I'll just get a wedge and an ax. Make this simple.

Most of the tools I need are stored in my old shed. It seems to be where old tools go to die and be forgotten yet I manage to find what I need easily. A little sharpening and a quick clean get most of them back to a usable state. The ax is still good. I can still see the sweat stains from when I first used it after I arrived. The wood is worn down to where I'll be surprised if the handle doesn't break at some point. There's a wedge around here somewhere. Just a chunk of metal with a flat top on it with a star pattern to a point. Where did it go?

It's not in the best of shape yet it'll do. It's still a hunk of metal that will split wood. Walking back I toss it around in my paws with the ax over my shoulder. I drop it in the center giving it a light tap with the back of the ax. It settles in the small groove where it should be easier to have everything split. The ax rears back over my head coming down missing the metal sending an odd shock up my arms. "Could you please not stand right behind me while I'm working?"

The last thing I want to do is hurt someone because they're deciding to be creepy. "I just wanted to see the great nine-tailed fox in action but you use tools just like the rest of us." The ax head gets thrown into the wood so it stands up. It will be easier to grab when I return when I'm done dealing with this distraction. "Yes, I do. Magic is not a 'cure all' for everything and shouldn't be overused anyway." He walks around the area almost pacing as he looks at me, "Unlimited power at your fingertips, and here you are slaving away like the common animal. You should be out there using your title!"

I'm done with this. He's passed odd and moved straight on to unsettling. I've never spent time with him or his part of the family to where I believe he can be this friendly. His uncommon fascination is slowly showing that it's an obsession that is quickly becoming a problem for me. "Thomas, I appreciate your visit. I'm glad you came to check up on me. But I think you should leave."

"But I just got here! I wouldn't want to miss this rare chance to spend some quality time with my nephew."

He steps in putting his arm around my shoulder to pull me close. It feels like mites crawling on my skin as my fur stands up on end. It's sickening and immediately off-putting. I shuffle his arm off as I put an arm's length distance between us again. "What's the matter Red? Not happy that I'm the only family that bothers to come see you?"

What is he playing at? He's trying to poke at something. He's trying to touch a nerve and it's working. "OK, Thomas, what are you getting at? Because you came here uninvited. You've done nothing but make yourself at home in a place that is not your home. The worst offense of all is that you just seem to be here to be a nuisance." ...Or that's what I want to convey. For now, I'll bite my tongue at what I want to say, "Listen, I'm just busy. We can talk later." He nods his head stepping back, "I get you, I get you. Super secret stuff that I can't see. I get it."

"I'm chopping firewood. It's nothing exciting."

He just nods as he watches me while he walks backward. I have a feeling that he's going to be back much sooner than I would like. I ready the metal splitter bringing the flat head of the ax down. A few more swings and the wood splits easily where I want it to. I can break it up into smaller pieces after that and move on to the next piece. It takes me back to when I first showed up again. Busting my ass trying to knock these trees down. Here I am again but different this time. This time it's because I know I need to.

A few hours go by before I call it a day. I have a decent stack but I'll have to do more tomorrow. I don't know how harsh winter gets out here. I'll just have to be prepared for it. Magic can't solve all my problems. Heading back inside my little cabin I sit down before I hear a knock at my door. It's probably Thomas being nosey again. Madam Odette has taught me to be a gracious host by being one herself. "Come in."

The scent hits my nose bringing a small smile to my face. "Madam Odette, what a wonderful and welcomed surprise." Her demanding presence is no longer as suffocating now that she's in "my domain". It's still present so I will have to watch my step. Her heels click on the wood floor as she makes her way over taking a seat behind me on my bed. I turn my chair around to face her with a smile, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

We sit in a short silence while I watch her mull over what's on her mind. I can already guess so there's no reason for her to stress over it anymore. "It's Thomas. There is no reason to sugarcoat it so just say what you need to."

"He weirds me out!"

Woah! Just right with it. "He just gets on my nerves! He annoyed me right when he walked in! And I just want him gone!"

"Why not ask him to leave?"

"Because!" She seems to struggle a bit, "Because… I can't."

Hmm, this woman, who has so much power and influence in the world, is stuck on something she cannot control. It echoes in her eyes that she seems to be helpless here and against my better judgment, I'm going to try and probe a bit deeper into it. "I'll ask the dangerous question of 'why is that?' but I don't expect an answer." She shifts on the edge of the bed sitting herself up a bit more. She rolls her neck trying to relax or trying not to be angry and the minor stab I took at her. "Red, you kind of already know. My family is indebted to yours so we are required to help. You are here to learn and practice your magic but the reality is that we have to help your whole family as needed. Thomas was expecting his son to take up the nine-tailed line so he is the one I was most in contact with as his son grew up."

I lean back as best as this wooden chair will let me. "And how did this come about to be me instead?"

"We don't know. You don't get to choose and neither does your family. Call it luck, fate, whatever you will. You are the next nine-tailed fox."

"How did anyone know it was going to be me?"

"While you are the next nine-tailed fox your whole family has some magical affinity. They can sense it, use it, and utilize it."

"And even so I was oblivious to it the entire time."

She shifts again, this time moving further back taking her paws up off the floor, getting her knees to the edge of the bed with a slight forward lean. "That may be because they were expecting Reed, or that they sensed no magical affinity with you until just one day."

"Is that when you were notified or called?"

She hemmed and hawed a moment, "Well, almost. Your father had his suspicions when you were 15. You started giving off a magical energy of sorts. He called me, asked me about it, and I worked quietly to avoid you but I could tell then that you were going to inherit this power. Then, one day, it manifested itself in you."

That may explain the blistering headache for a few days. Then this random woman swept me away to some town in nowhere. And here I am now! Living oddly well kind of on my own. "Red, if it weren't for this, what do you think you would be doing?"

"Instead of being here? I probably would have taken a year off from school to relax and figure out a few things. Then probably college for some scientific study. I was never really sure what I wanted to do."

"But now you've had the great hand of destiny forced upon you and it's been decided."

"That's one way of putting it."

With it not being my choice it does feel like a lot of my life has been derailed. Even so, it also feels like a new world has been opened up and is ready for me to take advantage of it. I keep being told that I'm a big figure in this new world. "If you can't tell him to leave because of this debt, can I tell him to leave?" I meant it more of a joke than a serious inquiry. Her face lights up at the thought, "You should be able to do that. While you haven't officially taken over as the head of your family you do have some authority."

I may have just opened up a can of worms. To confront Thomas, who is just obsessed with what I am becoming, to leave what he desires sounds like a bad idea. It may be for the best though. If he is creating an atmosphere where Madam Odette is uncomfortable and I feel so uneasy with him around it may be best to just have him leave. If I have to pay for his transportation, hotel stays, or whatever he may need then so be it. It's clear he needs to be gone.