(co-written by O)
The group continued traveling the next day after their rest. Abolith didn't want to admit it, but it had been a pleasure for her to show Mason how to use his sword and train him more, she could almost see what her husband saw in him. Their small army was making their way through the mountain path that Tatsu had laid out for them, when they came across something Abolith hadn't expected, a mountain slide.
"You have got to be kidding." Abolith groaned.
"I bet one of those tremors caused this to happen." Kari said to Haley while they were in the back.
The way was completely blocked, rocks and debris at least 10 feet high and 50 feet deep. "Daichi, Eichi," she called, the three and four tail kitsune stepping forward. "Take three scouts and begin searching for an alternate route. I'll send word to the capital and advise them of the situation. Worse case, we clear the rubble, but it will cost time."
While Abolith was organizing her troops, the Harris siblings, and O'Toole-Kirkman siblings were in the back talking with each other about what they would do. As they all talked with one another, Mason found something tickling his hand.
"Hey, cut it....out?" Mason said as he looked to see a fox below him.
"Anjelica, look, is this that same fox from back at my house?" Mason said turning towards Anjelica.
"It certainly looks like it, I can tell because of her ears." Anjelica pointed out.
"How can you tell it's a female?" Mason asked Anjelica looked at Mason with a raised eyebrow as he got what she was implying.
"But, how did it get all the way up here?" Mason asked as the fox ran over to a hole that looked big enough for a fox to get through, but not a human. Mason went over to it and moved some rocks that had fallen over it, and realized that the hole was actually bigger than it looked, it actually could fit a human inside of it. The hole actually led to a cave inside of the mountain.
"Great going Mason, we should tell Abolith, this could lead us back onto the path." Anjelica said congratulating Mason.
Mason and Anjelica now went up to Abolith who looked like she was still trying to think, until the two of them came up to her.
"Abolith, we found a cave entrance, it could lead us around." Mason said as Abolith looked at Mason and Anjelica and they guided her back to the entrance. Abolith looked at it while nodding her head.
"A cave?" she asked, examining the entrance. The elf now held her hand in front of the entrance, feeling no air moving throughout it. "I do not think it would be wise to explore this. We could be lost for days in the darkness."
"Let me try," Mason asked. "Give me 30 minutes. If I don't find anything I'll come back."
"Twenty," Abolith countered, reaching into her pocket and handing the teenager some rope. "Take your siblings and tie this to the front. You are to take no chances. At the first sign of trouble you are to return. Is that understood?"
Mason nodded, calling to Kari and Haley who approached to look at the cave with Mason standing before it with a smile.
"Nice find little brother, but how did you find it? We passed this way only a moment ago and didn't see it." Haley asked.
"It was a fox that guided me over here, Anjelica and I think it was the same one that led us to find my sword." Mason explained.
"Well let's hope that fox is your guardian angel or something Mason, because we certainly need a miracle to get through this now." Kari said placing her hand on her brother's shoulder.
Kari now conjured a flame, peering into the darkness before turning to Abolith. Kitsune and elf exchanging a nod before Kari and the others ventured inside.
They didn't realize at first how dark it was, but that was again where Stephanie and Anjelica were helpful with their mother having packed them two flashlights just in case. The group walked their way down through the cave hoping to find their way out and a path that would lead them back mission. Eventually they came to a path that led to two caves.
"Any idea which way?" Kari asked.
"I think we should go the other way." Mason called out as she walked alongside Stephanie who had been holding the light for her.
"Mason, we cannot rely on the direction of some random animal." Kari said shaking her head. "And we're running short of time. We can't aimlessly wander this cave."
"But this fox led me to my sword, and to this cave, it may be leading us somewhere we need to go." Mason reasoned. Kari took a deep breath and realized that the boy did have a point and nodded allowing the group to follow Mason and the fox down through the other cave.
Eventually they came to what looked like a dead end, with nothing but what appeared to be a large rock in the center of the cave. Anjelica went over to examine the rock closely.
"I...I don't understand. I'm sorry Kari, I thought the fox was leading us somewhere." Mason apologized.
"Mason, I told you we can't rely on some random animals to make choices for us in life, now we've lost valuable time on our little detour." Kari sighed.
As Kari was scolding Mason, Anjelica looked at the rock closely to see that it had what appeared to be hair on it. She brushed her hand against the hair, and it felt warm, and the rock seemed to move almost as if it were breathing.
"Uh...guys?" Anjelica said nervously.
"Mason, I know you feel like you need to prove yourself, but this isn't helping. This was a wild goose chase. We could be helping to clear the path or helping the others find a different route. The entire kitsune realm is relying on us and instead we're sitting in a dark cave!" Kari lectured, annoyed by her brothers insistence.
"BY THE GODS, WILL YOU SHUT UP!" A new voice suddenly said as they all looked around and now saw the rock formation moving. It wasn't a rock at all, it was an animal, what looked to be a wolf or a large dog. The group saw it stand up in the cave and it stood at least 30 ft in height compared to them. They also noticed a gold chain that was bound on his legs and tied to a nearby rock.
"I manage to get a nap in and it's interrupted by some shrieking female." The wolf said as they all looked shocked at the large animal before them.
"What's the matter? Dog got your tongue? Haven't you ever seen the likes of me before?" The dog asked them.
"Well, yeah, but only....uh...a lot smaller. Especially puppy sized, those are the most adorable ones." Haley said as the beast glared at her.
"So...who comes to be in the company of the mighty Fenrir? Three small humans, a fox woman, and a tiger woman." The beast, Fenrir, said.
Kari now pushed her siblings backwards, unsheathing her blades as she fearfully gazed up at the massive wolf. "Stay behind me," she whispered before glaring at Fenrir. "If you try to hurt my family, don't think I won't attack."
"I doubt you could hurt me fox," Fenrir chuckled. "Much...larger creatures have tried and failed. Those blades would do little more than tickle."
"Wait a minute, you said your name was Fenrir? Like the wolf or dog or whatever from Norse mythology?" Anjelica asked as Fenrir leaned down towards Anjelica.
"Do I look like a myth to you, little one?" Fenrir asked almost sarcastically.
"Oh, no, not at all. But what are you doing here in the kitsune realm?" Anjelica asked slightly nervously as Stephanie went to stand by her little sister to protect her.
"You seem familiar with my story, but as the others seem unaware I'll tell you. I originally lived in what was called Ironwood, the forest of Jötunheimr, with my siblings. My sister, Hel, a girl who was born with half of her body looking fair and beautiful, while the other side looked like it was a corpse. My brother, Jormungandr, is a serpent. If that confuses you, we inherited shapeshifting abilities from our father, the god, Loki. For several years we lived in the forest with our mother. But the god, Odin, had a vision that one day, we might bring forth the end of the world. He took us from our mother and we were separated. Jormungandr was always the most difficult to deal with, so he was cast into the ocean, where he grew so large in size that he encircled the very Earth itself. He can also travel between realms, that's why some say they have seen a great beast in the sea, only to see nothing a moment later." Fenrir explained as the group listened to the great wolf explain his tale more.
"My sister and I were taken to Asgard, the home of the gods. But Hel wanted more from the god for taking us from our mother. Odin offered her a rule the domain of the underworld and all who died there that didn't die in battle. I was left alone, they kept me under watch and I had free reign, but eventually I grew and they became scared of me and that I might do them harm. They tried to tie me up and bound me, but I broke free every time. One day they made a game out of it. They told me I would be going somewhere, so they took me here to this cave, and told me that they wanted to test my strength and see if I could break the chain they placed on me. I would do it, only if one of them, would place their hand in my mouth as a show of good faith. If I found any treachery, I would bite down on the hand." The group was shocked as the beast continued to explain his tale to them. Anjelica and Mason couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor animal.
"It was Tyr, the god of war who placed his hand into my mouth. I had come to think of him as my friend. So when they had me try and break free of the rope, I realized I couldn't and bit down on Tyr's hand, biting it off. Odin himself told me that bound to my feet was Gleipnir, a magical rope used to bind me. He also hid me away in this cave in this realm, so no one would ever find me again. I have been here for years. My only companion is this fox with you who has brought me food from time to time." Fenrir said as he finished explaining his story.
"So, have you been the one who's been making the tremors?" Mason now asked.
"Indeed. Although I have been trapped in here, I have very good hearing, I can hear all the battles and cries throughout the land. I wish I could be out there, and helping turn the tide of battle. I was never cruel to anyone in life, I was merely feared for what I could become." Fenrir said.
"We could use your help then, let's set you free." Mason said as he took out his sword.
"Mason, wait," said Stephanie, holding Mason back from doing anything rash. "Can we really trust this beast and what he says?"
"I would ask you the same thing, human. I learned long ago that I was taken to the kitsune realm, so why do you fight for a realm you do not belong in either?" Fenrir asked.
"Because my friends call this home," Stephanie replied. "It's important to them so it's important to me."
"Sounds like the delusions of a dreamer," Fenrir scoffed, causing Stephanie to scowl at the massive wolf.
"Let's get out of here," she grumbled. "Leave the flea bag here if he's going to be rude."
"Wait, he didn't mean anything by it." Mason said as he and Kari stopped Stephanie from leaving. Sighing in annoyance, she eventually calmed down yet still glared at the massive wolf. Slowly Mason now approached, undoing the binds that held Fenrir in place.
"I am in your debt now, young one." Fenrir said with a bow.
"Mason, my name's Mason Harris." Mason said as he pet Fenrir on his snout.
"As am I, young Mason." A female voice suddenly said as they all turned to see the fox had spoken and watched as it shifted into a woman with long brown hair and she wore what appeared to be clothes from that of old viking times.
"Who are you?" Haley asked.
"Sigyn, my stepmother." Fenrir answered.
"Indeed, I am. Fenrir's father was also my husband. His birth mother is....well, she is somewhere out there. But after Loki committed a crime, he was punished for it, and our children were punished with him. He was....chained to a stone where venom of a snake slowly drips over his face. I was there to catch it, for many years in a bowl to keep him from suffering in more pain than he already was. After years of being by his side, he asked me to go look after Fenrir, his last son who was left all alone. I didn't realize at the time, Odin had put a curse on me, should I leave Loki's side. I turned into a fox, and traveled to the kitsune realm to feed and nourish Fenrir when I could. But I knew Fenrir, didn't deserve this fate." Sigyn explained to them.
"But why did you lead Mason to the sword, and how did you know he could pull it out?" Anjelica now asked as Sigyn held her hand out for Mason to hand the sword to her.
"I had observed your family for some time as I traveled between realms. You and your siblings belong to two worlds Mason, and I have watched you in your struggles. I have seen you at your best and worst days. Some times, all it takes is the kindest heart. The sword Gram, is an old Norse word meaning king or warrior. I know you can be a great warrior Mason, I can see it in your eyes." Sigyn said.
"What about the runes? What do they say?" Mason asked.
"My wielder gains my strength. His heart guides my strike." Sigyn said as she handed the sword back to him.
"Now, are we all ready to go?" Fenrir asked them.
"Go? We certainly don't mind you helping us, but what will you do after? I'm not sure any of us can keep you as a pet." Kari said.
"As I said, I am related to Loki, a shapeshifter. I choose to remain in the form of a dog, because I like it. I can also choose my size." Fenrir said as she shifted in that of a little puppy.
"Oh, he's so cute. We are definitely bringing him back home with us." Haley said as she picked Fenrir up and he licked her on her face.
"Alright, Fenrir, can you help guide us out of here?" Anjelica asked as Fenrir now shifted form to an average size dog.
"Aw, I like puppy size Fenrir." Haley said sadly.
"Hey, when we take him back home, we can convince our moms to take him in if he shape shifts into a puppy." Mason said to Haley as she got excited.
The group now followed Fenrir as he helped lead them to an opening that would lead back to Abolith's small army, where they introduced Abolith to Fenrir and he was able to clear the rubble in his larger form allowing them to continue on their original path.