ATM Rewrite: B2 — 24. Stranger Therapy (Patreon)

PoV:

1. Kari (Our Twisted Up Wolf Girl!)

2. Sora Moore (Our Protagonist Fox Girl)

ATM Rewrite Index

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Bursting through the door with her name on it, Kari slowed to a stop in the middle of a vast meadow dotted with seven rivers that snaked through the slightly uneven field.  In the distance was the expansive view of a purple-colored ocean, and behind her were solid green stone mountains covered in jagged spikes.

A lump formed in her throat, finally getting away from the oppressive family atmosphere that Sora brought.  Hot air leaving her lungs, she sniffed, clearing her throat and trying to fight back the chaotic rush of emotion that came with everything that was her life.

Ears pulling back, not finding anything to do in the empty area, Kari dropped to her back in the grass, releasing the tension knotted around her chest.  Staring up at the yellow sky, brisk tingles shot down her spine to the tip of her tail; her mother could come back.  Why wouldn’t Eric tell her that?

Teeth tightened together, her fingers curled into fists.  He knew.  Why did she have to learn about it from a Vulpes Founder?  Why was she even in this situation to begin with?  A sudden desire bubbled up, dispersing her anger and making her throat catch.  She wanted to talk to Mary about it.

Rolling to her side and curling in, she stared across the evenly cut grass, battling the contradictions punching her heart.  Mary had been the first person she’d told everything she felt.  She hadn’t told Sora everything that cut her up inside, despite what she said when breaking down.  Now, just like everyone else she got close to, Mary was in trouble, and her brother was involved.

A deep voice came from a short distance away.  “Ahem.  Should I come back another time?”

Kari shifted to her back to look over at the elderly moon wizard, sitting in a wooden chair with his pipe in his hand.  “I’m guessing this is about the whole training thing?”

Pynerius stroked his long beard, aged eyes appraising her.  “To be candid, I am unsure how I should deal with you.  Lady Mia obviously has her own plans with the Occult World Order’s Black Queen regarding her two daughters, but you are not included in such plans.  Therefore, I wanted to get to know what you required.  So, perhaps we should talk.”

“Humph.  I thought you were supposed to help me learn to kill or some shit like that,” she dully responded, not wanting to show any more weakness.

A short silence stretched between them before the annoying blonde Guardian of Foxes opened the door a few meters away, drawing their attention.

“Hmm…  What is this laziness that I am seeing?” the blonde huffed, putting her hands on her hips as she glowered down at her.  “I am here to poke your tail and get you into fighting shape!  You must be prepared to fight your brother to the death.”

Kari couldn’t help a quake running through her bones just thinking about her last match against her invincible big brother.  “Piss off,” she growled, turning away.  “I don’t need your help, Primordial.  Apparently, we did well enough against your kind.”

“The tongue on you, Wolf!”  Eyia snapped, no doubt summoning her weapon by the chilly pulse that shot through the zone.  “You are the one that tells others to bite you, so perhaps my spear will!”

“Lady Eyia,” Pynerius interjected, pulling their agitated gaze, “might you give the wolf to me for a short while?  I can prepare something for you to hone your edge against that you might find enjoyable.”  He waved his hand for another door to appear out of a swirl of blue smoke.  “I will inform you when we are ready for you.”

The Valkyrie’s illuminated, sapphire eyes were like the blizzard she brought as they slid to her before the warrior grunted and spun her spear to her back, proceeding through the gateway.  “I have been charged to see to your training, Wolf, and I will see you ready for combat!”

Suppressing a shiver as the arctic chill left, blanketing a short trail of ice to where the doorway had vanished, Kari puffed out a tired sigh.  “What do you want, Wizard?”

Pynerius responded by drawing in a long stream from his pipe to blow out the mist in a cloud that circled them.  When it cleared, Kari’s ears shot up; they’d changed locations to a neatly maintained, magical forest where unique-colored deer-like creatures grazed.

“Perhaps you are misunderstanding my intentions, Lady Kari.  Why I am here is not to incite but to better understand your own goals.  Walk with me while I ramble, and maybe we will be able to find a way forward.”

Unsure what to do herself, Kari was content to let someone else do all the talking; plus, she didn’t know what to do either.  Before the news about her mother, her whole life was almost entirely purposeless, without others projecting their own desires onto her.

Kari forced herself up and held her elbow as the elder slowly rose to his feet, summoning a mystical staff to walk with.  He moved to one of the two-meter-tall deer, stroking its side before turning to walk down a stone path that magically materialized as he went.

The pace was slow, allowing her to casually keep parallel with the wizard while they observed the rich life of the area, and it took a minute for the elder to speak his first words.

“…I created many of these pocket dimensions, yet I’ve seemed to have lost the reason for it since whatever Sora did to free my son from his curse, or… at least that is what Sora convinced me had happened.  It is still hard to wrap my head around that kind of magic.”

He held up a hand for a four-winged, orange bird to land on it, taking a tiny seed that appeared on his palm before flying away.

“I suspect it was a way to give my son a new place to enjoy his temporary freedom…  Since Sora took Zen away from my realm, I’ve been doing much contemplation as to my own path forward, and I find it clouded in a murky mist… much like you, I am sure.”

Pynerius pointed his staff forward, opening up a portal that brought them to a giant mountain cliff overlooking a vibrant jungle valley teeming with life.  “I saved as many creatures from my world as possible when the destroyer came…  I’m not sure that is how it was, though, or if many of these animals should still exist.  I have forgotten so much heartache.”

The wizard sighed and brought two comfortable chairs into being for them to sit to observe the valley landscape, reigniting his pipe once situated.  Kari indulged the elderly man, legs tightening together as her nose twisted.

“I wish I could forget all the terrible things in—never mind,” she mumbled, arms folding against her tight belly.  “Everyone just expects me to do whatever they want… like a trained puppy.”

“Hmm.”  Pynerius leaned against the side of his chair, sorrowful, deep-set eyes peering at things beyond her sight.  “You may think me crazy, but there is pain in losing one’s terrible memories, especially those of the heart…  I feel as if I have lost a piece of what made me who I was, and the more I contemplate my surviving bodies of works, the more I see myself lacking.”

He held up the stem of his pipe to stare at the teeth marks impressed into it, showing how frequently the wizard had bit the polished wood.

“Hardship and adversity are the things that mold and shape us… while the infrequent spikes of joy and companionship uplift us to carry on to the next dawn of potential fulfillment…  I know I was grateful for the horrors I had overcome.  I only wish I knew what they were.”

Tail pressing against her thighs, Kari puffed out a sharp breath, recalling all the motivational speeches she’d listened to that acted like a guide up until now.  However, through it all, there was one thing that she couldn’t shake, and it was eating her up inside.

Swallowing the lump that formed in her throat, Kari coughed and mumbled, “…I know my brother isn’t being controlled by HAREM…  It’s impossible.  Sora is so stupid, and Mia…  I don’t know if I can trust her.”

Pynerius’ gaze drifted to her.  “I had questioned that myself.  One reason why I am hesitant to form any kind of construct for you to combat is due to your incredible resilience to all forms of magic.  I have to change the environment itself and create gateways for you to travel through since it is challenging for my magic to have any effect on you personally.”

He spun an illusion of her brother, hovering above the cliff.  The sight of her brother’s smug face and dominating cadence made Kari’s gut twist, her tail instinctively curling in as the wizard continued.

“I do not grasp the relationship you have with your brother, but I can see it is a contentious one…  Sora said I had a brother who harmed my family, and I do not know if I should be happy to lose that memory or not.”

A depressed tone came to the elder’s cadence.  “Alas, I cannot remember him.  For me, it was my wife who was tricked into opening the abyssal entity that devoured our realm, and I question if reality spun that design in counter to Sora’s manipulation in order to make sense of the timeline of events.”

Kari grunted.  “That’s vulpes for you, always causing trouble…”

The sound of nature came into the foreground as Pynerius studied the illusion of her brother.  “Mmm…  It is a bittersweet sensation that I have been reconciling with.  It goes without saying that I am overjoyed for my son’s freedom and the ability he has to experience life as a teenager.  Yet… the framing of my wife within my mind, the confusion of purpose, and maddening uncertainty of my past leave me stumbling.”

A small smile came to the elder’s lips as his focus drifted to her.  “Despite it all, I welcome the gift of a new day to find my feet and meet the challenges it brings.  You will not be able to move forward unless you address what weight is shackling your heels.  I can see that it is not only your brother that causes you hesitation.”

Kari’s fingers found her elbows as Mia’s illusion appeared beside her brother.  “Why didn’t she check?”

“Mia?”  the wizard asked.

Shaking her head and pulling up her foot to slide under her thigh, Kari pressed against the back of her chair with an uncomfortable growl.  “No…  Why didn’t Sora check where my brother went when he was at her place with HAREM and Aiden?  Their scent was the first thing I pursued!”

“Hmm.  Interesting question,” Pynerius whispered, adding Sora to the mix with HAREM to provide a visual aid.  “One obvious answer was that she was too overwhelmed to consider it.  HAREM is a very devious entity that has been corrupted by the wild fantasies of modern humanity.  She used her incredible intellect to draw in many powerful organizations, pitting them against each other to give herself room to work in the background.”

A short snarl came from her throat that tempered into a groan.  “Do you have… a toothpick or something?  I need something to play with in my mouth,” she mumbled.  “It helps with my nerves.”

The man waved his hand.  “Stolen from Sora’s purse.  I do not think she would mind.”

She took the item that appeared in front of her and bit down on it, shifting it around her tongue to get between her teeth; her anxiety started to settle the more she talked with the elder.

“…Thank you.”

He nodded, sitting back and waiting for her to continue down her train of thought.  It was hard for her to come to terms with, though.  There was something weird going on that no one else seemed to see or want to acknowledge; it was like they were playing to Mia’s dancing strings, guiding them down this path.

The fox mother was more than just some awkward, cute woman who was trying to get close to her estranged daughter.  Mia was a feared and extremely old 2nd Generation Founder who had literally taken part in a war that went beyond any concept of the word.  She was a tactician and had one thing on her mind—her daughter.  Everything else might as well just be tacked on for flavor, so she wasn’t buying this ‘nice’ mom routine.

Watching her tail flick restlessly on her lap, Kari’s thumping heart came to a more appropriate tempo as she vocalized her thoughts, working through what she’d discovered with the wizard since Mary wasn’t there.

“Are you a spy that she sent to get me to, I don’t know, drop all of this?”

A short chuckle came from the elder.  “If I was, would either of us know it?  I can assume Lady Mia is capable of manipulating people into believing their actions are their own by her reputation that I have gathered from others.  I do wonder if even Lady Mia is caught off-guard by many of the events that have come Sora’s way.  As I understand it, we are playing on a board so far above either of our comprehension that it is almost folly and a waste of time to try and fathom.  What did you discover?”

“I guess it is stupid to try and figure it out,” Kari sighed, moving the pick to her molars and being careful not to snap the floss, as she often did.  “I’m just… scared,” she begrudgingly admitted to the stranger.  “HAREM could have stolen Sora’s mother and father…  Eric was right outside their room when he paused and stood there for at least a few minutes…  What do you make of that?”

Pynerius inserted his pipe, puffing on it a few times before releasing the smoke in a tired stream.  “…It makes me believe that they were talking or that they somehow had some contact.  Would your brother be frightened to go after Lady Mia or her husband?  Is that not a reasonable conclusion if, as you say, Eric is in control of himself?”

“See!”  Kari barked, pulling out the pick to nibble at the end as her eyes darted to random places in the valley.  “Apparently, Ylva, one of my stronger cousins, threatened Eric not to anger the Vulpes Founders, or she would make it her mission to torture him for all eternity.  HAREM wouldn’t know or care much about that, but Eric is big into pack dynamics, and if a bigger, badder Alpha, like Ylva, says something, he’ll listen… just like he did with my mom.”

The wizard leaned against the opposite side of his chair, staring at the smiling, nine-tailed fox mom above them.  “If that is the case… why would he go against them, unless…”

Kari held up a hand, eyes opening wide.  “Exactly!  Unless the damn fox herself told him to do it, or something like that.  Shit!  I hate these mind games.  Everyone is playing them, trying to get ahead of each other, when… when all I want is to have my mom back, and that damn fox told me I could have it… but it basically only comes by helping her daughter,” she snarled, fighting back tears.  “Why does everyone expect so much from me?!  Why am I not good enough as I am—for anyone?”

Pynerius glanced at her as she breathed hard, nose flaring and trying to restrain the heat in her chest.  “Hmm.  I suppose the real question is… what do you expect from yourself?”

“Pfft!  Hah.  Thanks, Doctor Wizard,” she snapped, running her fingers through her hair and laughing off her frustration.  “Real insightful!  What do I expect from myself?  I…  I don’t know,” she finished, voice lowering as she pulled in again.  “I guess… I want…”  trailing off, she held her fists against her chest, lungs starved for air as she looked back to when she felt normal.

The last time she could remember a sense of normality—of peace—was when she was a child with her family in their isolated realm.  It was obvious that she wanted her mother… but why did she want her mother?

“I want to feel… loved again,” she whispered, whipping at the corner of her eyes and sniffing before a cough bubbled out.  “Not for what I can do for people… but just… be loved because they love me…  I want my mom, and now she’s beyond this… this impossible wall.”

The man’s arm moved across his stomach, leaning back to stare up at the foxes, Wendy now joining the group of illusions, along with the Valkyrie.  “…Do you think Sora would try and trick you into friendship?  Do you think her aid is contingent on you accomplishing something for her, or do you think she would help you regardless?”

Kari choked off a snort, still rubbing her wet cheeks.  “Sora’s an idiot!  Hah.  She likes to think she’s a trickster, but she’s the most reverse vulpes I think you could possibly get…  Her mother would do anything to cater to her wants, though… and Mia is terrifying.”

“I see,” Pynerius mumbled, wiping away the illusions to only focus on Sora and Mia.  “It is good to hear that you believe Sora to be sincere; I have the same thought.  She is trying to navigate the muddy waters of the pond she has been submerged inside, and I will agree that a mother like Mia may stack a mountain of corpses to allow her daughter to breathe fresh air… but I think you are also forgetting Sora’s own desires play a role in Mia’s actions, as well.”

Gradually getting her tears under control, Kari gulped while looking at the unassuming Vulpes Founders.  “…You think I should trust them?”

“Haha.  Lady Kari,” Pynerius whispered, scratching his cheek and examining the two foxes, “I am as hesitant as you of Founders, having dealt with one in the past, one who was helpful and harmful in her own right.  At the very least, I can be certain that Sora is sincere and will do everything within her power to help my son become a great man… who will hopefully be able to return and take his rightful place on his throne as Wizard King when I am ready to take back what the Abyss Lord took.”

“Humph-hehe.  Lofty dreams for a guy who is usually a bunny,” she mumbled.  “Maybe I have been a little too distrusting…  I mean, I expected Sora to throw me out when I threw her into that river canal… but she just played along with it.  Haaa.”

Brushing out her tail with a soft smile, she thought about how often her little sister would prank her like that.  “Yeah, I’m an asshole…  Maybe that would be a good place to start.  It’s just… hard to trust people… but I guess I do owe Sora the chance to stab me in the heart after everything I allowed to happen to her.  Dammit…  Life sucks,” she growled, collapsing against her chair to glare at the rocky cliff they were on.  “Thanks for letting me talk it out, Dr. Moon Wizard.”

The man chortled and made a gesture with his pipe.  “It is not only you that found clarity through the thoughts of a stranger, Young Lady.  I, too, am skeptical of what is to come regarding Lady Mia, and this possible connection you revealed regarding your brother and HAREM is one to ponder, yet at the end of the day, this Aiden fellow you are attached to, and my son need rescuing.  What do you think is an appropriate course of action in that regard?”

Biting on the floss pick, the string snapped as she pulled her tail up to her chest, focusing on her lap.  “Aiden went to bat for me against Eric… which I didn’t think he could do.  I thought he was only doing it so I’d release him since Sora put that in my hands, but… I’m starting to think maybe he does care…  It’s confusing.  I don’t know.  The human societies did have an impact on him like it did me… especially his trip to Africa.  Eric became… worse.”

She felt somehow lighter as she turned her sight on the two illusionary foxes above them.  “I need to get more confident if I’m going to fight Eric and get answers…  I… have a request.  It involves, ugh… the Valkyrie,” she groaned, rubbing her temples.

“Go on,” Pynerius invited, shifting his chair to face her.  “If you have an idea of what training you require, I’ll do everything within my power to help, but do understand that my participation in this is for something in return.”

Kari laughed, rising to her feet and stretching out her tail and arms.  “I don’t mind if people want to make trades.  I just hate it when they try to act like they’re doing it out of the charity of their heart when they obviously want something in return.  Whatever comes, help me, and I’ll be on Zen’s side whatever comes.”

“Then we’re in alignment,” Pynerius said with a smile, getting up with an aged grunt to shake her hand.  “What can I do?”

Forcing a toothy grin, she locked her fingers behind her back to press down on the base of her tail to apply counter pressure, feeling the enjoyable hot burn it left.  “The blonde isn’t going to like it, I bet, but she did offer to be my stick.  Sora already did something similar for me, only… this will be the opposite.”

The moon wizard leaned against his staff.  “Consider me enthralled.  What magic do I need to weave, Lady Wolf?”

* — * — *

Sora crept out of Wendy’s training room with her sister, sound barrier and illusion keeping them hidden while she peeked down the hallway to spot if Cora and her mother were still engaged with the soon-to-be-dinner; it smelled like beef stroganoff, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

“We’re in the clear!”  she giggled, spotting her mother chopping up the seasoned beef to be fried as the little fairy helper used magic to place the sprouts on a baking sheet.  “Mom’s jealous-cooking again.  Do you think she’ll cut her finger again, and I’ll have to heal her?”

“Probably,” Wendy muttered, taking one last look at the seven-pointed amulet she left on a table.  “Mmmgm.  It still feels so uncomfortable without wearing it.  And you said we wouldn’t sneak in on Kari…  I don’t want to get chewed out for invading her privacy.”

Sora waved a hand.  “We’re going to knock, but do you really think she’s going to answer?”

“Not if you knock,” Wendy mumbled in return.  “Here, let me…”

A little disappointed, Sora let her do it.  “Fine.  I still want to know what Eyia is so tight-lipped about.  Why is this such a big secret?”

“I’m not even a little curious,” the brunette said, drawing back her fist and making Sora wince as she pounded on the door.  Not a sound left her dampening bubble to her mother, though.  “There!  That should be loud enough… unless your magic is stopping it.  I think you just want drama.”

“No!”  Sora huffed back, tail flicking to the left and crossing her arms as they waited.  “I’m just worried she’s pulling away again.  Every time I think she’s cool with becoming more friendly, she twists my tail!  It’s like, I get it, but c’mon!  How many times do I need to show her I’m not trying to trick her?”

Wendy gave a smirk and pointed at their tails.  “I think it comes with the territory, Sis.”

“That’s racist,” she returned, turning up her nose.  “I’m not mean or malicious like a certain three-tailed vulpes I know.  We’re not all lumped into the same tail, ya know.”

“Uh-huh.  Preach, Sister,” Wendy giggled, pounding on the door again.  “I thought there was a projection spell on it to let them know when someone was knocking.  It always sounded like a gong going off in my head whenever you’d knock.”

“And I did it pretty softly, too.  Maybe—”  Sora cut off as it opened to Pynerius, the elderly wizard offering her a welcoming smile.  “Wha?”

Wendy peered inside, where a fierce blizzard raged.  “Uh… why is it Christmas?”

Sora swiftly spun a temperature regulator and blocked the wind as the chill threatened to sweep down the hall to her oblivious parents, yet one scent on the breeze made her gut cramp.

“Sora?!”  Wendy cried out as she shot past Pynerius, using her magic to skate across the snowy plain.

“Why do I smell Eric?!”  she shouted back, yet she didn’t make it seven meters before she saw the shirtless, grinning man streak through the air, leaving a trail of blue light.  “Huh?”

The man held a spear, battling a 4-meter-tall black wolf, fighting icy chains that sought to pin her to the ground.  Pynerius’ magic soon filtered past, and she snorted as the blizzard spontaneously vanished with a clap of the moon wizard’s hands.

Kari shook her body, shrugging off the sticky snow that was now rapidly melting, and Eric, or who she believed was Eric, vanished in an explosion of cosmic color to reveal the red-faced Eyia.

Wendy walked in to stand beside her, leaving Pynerius to close the door.  “Oh.  So, Eyia’s been pretending to be Eric to fight Kari…  I don’t get it.  Why the secrecy?”

The wolf reverted back to her human form, sports bra and shorts showing decent damage as she shook out her thick locks before delivering a glare in their direction.

Sora’s ears pricked when the wolf grumbled, “I knew you couldn’t help yourself.  I win the bet, Eyia.  Curiosity killed the fox.”

“Elf Toes!”  the blonde groaned, running her fingers through her hair to pull out the hair tie.  “Sister, I was sure you would be respectful of our wishes…  I look like a fool.  You only had several more hours before my faith in you was proven correct.”

Shoulders sinking at the sudden revelation, Sora glanced at Wendy, now also giving her a judgmental look as if she tried to warn her, arms crossed and shaking her head.

“What?  No!  I, umm, I was just…”

“Mhm?”  Kari laughed, snatching a water bottle out of the air that Eyia tossed her, who had grabbed it from a table Pynerius had summoned.  “Had to come check my leash, huh?”

Sora glowered at the tall, black-haired teen.  “Okay.  I’m not going to stand for that.  You know I’m not trying to be your master, Kari.  I was curious what you were hiding, and I’ll own it,” she said, keeping her head high.  “Sorry, Eyia, but if Wendy would have gone along with it, I would have snuck in and spied on you because I’m that kind of fox friend.  Sue me!”

She was a little taken aback when the wolf passed by her and smacked her shoulder with the back of her hand in passing.  “Lighten up, Big Ears, the blonde and I actually have a lot in common…  A hell of a lot more than that wimpy tail of yours that can’t even handle a game of basketball.”

Mouth dropping open when Kari held up a fist for Wendy to bump with a questioning look on her way to the door, and she couldn’t believe her eyes when Eyia gave her a thumbs up and jogged up to them.

“Indeed.  The wolf has quite the ethic of work, as you call it.  I believe she has beaten your training score by twenty hours and fourteen minutes.”

“I… didn’t know we were timing it,” she whispered, seeing Pynerius and her shake hands.  “What the hell happened in the last two weeks?!  I’m totally lost here!  Hello?  Am I invisible?”

“Thanks for providing the meals for us to cook, Pine.  Hunting’s surprisingly fun when you’ve got someone with you.  I can see why Tiri was always pestering me about it.  Catch you later.”

Wendy stood beside her, Eyia finishing off a big cup of water and showing a beaming aura that said all her hatred for the Fenris Wolf was gone.

The brunette snickered, big tail knocking against hers.  “I think she’s ignoring you on purpose.  You’re really cool with her, Eyia?”

Eyia’s head bobbed up and down.  “The wolf and I have come to an agreement that we share an enemy: her uncles.  Her tongue has shown less venom than Jin’s this last week, and it is fun to have someone who is good at the sports to test my skills against.  I am happy to announce that I am currently the majority winner.”

Stress leaving her lungs, Sora put a hand on her hip and turned to scan the giant field.  She was a little disappointed about missing out on this critical step in their bonding moments, but it was great to see Kari not so depressed.

Reality soon hit her in the face as she realized something, making her tail fur stand up.  Wendy and Eyia jogged after her when she shot past the observing moon wizard and into the hallway.

“Hold up.  Why can you and Eyia be friends, but we can’t?!  I am so confused—and a little pissed!”

Kari held her hands in her pocket, half-turning and rolling her eyes.  “Who said I wasn’t open to being friends, Drama Fox?  Quit being so clingy; it’s gross.  I’m not sold on your whole family, power of friendship thing, but I’ll see where this goes…  I don’t trust your mom.”

Her cheeks reddened at the insult, yet she saw an understanding smile on her parents’ faces as the wolf went on like she hadn’t just said her mom sucked and casually walked right back into their lives as if the last two weeks away didn’t mean a thing.

Wendy and Eyia joined her, staring after the nonchalant fleabag, but Sora’s frustration soon dissipated as she considered all the betrayal Kari had experienced.  Maybe this was for the best.  Kari was taking steps, and she figured Mary would be proud and prompt her to try to be accommodating.

Letting it go, she went to the table to catch up with everyone.  Tonight was the last meal before they started their rescue operation, and she wanted to make the most of it.

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