A Holiday's End

It's another month before the next family gathering. This time it'll be Christmas. In the meantime, I spend my time continuing my readings while my parents are away. When they come home, we relax together like we used to. Talk, watch TV, and have dinner. I've been having a good time taking them out to new places they've always wanted to try but never had the chance to do it. I've got the funds to do it. Why not spoil them?

It's not just going out though. I'm more than happy to help with the grocery bill. It also gives me a chance to give back. I don't cook often but I feel it's a good thing to bring to the table now and again. While living at Madam Odette's it wasn't my job to cook even for myself. There was a staff dedicated to feeding everyone. If I was tasked with taking care of myself, I would have had to pick that up along the way. I might have had to push for a small kitchen in my cabin.

It's nothing fancy, but it's good. Dad carries the list of things mom can't eat around while I'm cooking. He's very cautious about it to where it gets in the way. Mom has dealt with this. He'll hover for a while and stutter when I grab something he can't see. After a few times, she'll step in and drag him away by the ear to let me work.

The weather turned into a sharp cold. The coat I brought with me was perfect for this weather. It keeps the wind off me while keeping the heat in. The only thing that could make it better was if it was a heating element in it. I have my magic to help with that though.

Dad drove once again to this family gathering. It's much further out this time around. We've had a fair bit of snow this year but nothing too heavy. The main roads are cleared but some of the side ones are a bit rough. We know we're getting close when the road becomes plowed. Uncle Samwise uses his equipment to plow the snow out of the way to let the odd traffic come through as unhindered as possible.

His place isn't small by any means but with everyone there, it sure is cozy. The entryway leads right into the kitchen past an extension that works like a sunroom. With the heat coming from all the cooking, there is no need to have the heat on inside. Everyone seems to have moved through and gone into the main living room where they have the two couches, extra chairs, and a standing room. I look over the faces that I've seen before and it just feels good to be home.

Food is called shortly after 5 pm. Everyone heads to the dining room where the table is barely able to handle everyone. It's a repeat of Thanksgiving where everything is passed around. Everything smells good, it all looks amazing. The clatter of silverware against plates echoed through the room as everyone began partaking in their enjoyment. Dinner was quick. The kids were rather pushy to get people to finish as they wanted to get to their favorite part.

I hung back in the kitchen for a spell grabbing some dessert while helping clean things up. While everyone is in the living room exchanging gifts, I hang out in the kitchen near the addition where some of the adults are just chatting. There are a few chairs available but I've been sitting the whole ride here. Something does catch my eye though.

The sun has gone down so the headlights of the car pulling into the driveway catch my eye. Who's showing up that's not already here and this late at that? I ping out to see if I can recognize a face but nothing jogs my memory. There are two of them, a man and a woman making their way to the house. The front door opens, catching the attention of the others in the kitchen. Aunt DeeDee goes into her host mode to greet them at the door. "Tanya! Reed! It's so good to see you! We were hoping you would be able to make it."

Tanya and Reed? Uncle Thomas's wife and kid? Well, I guess she's a widow now. The two come around the corner following Aunt DeeDee. She's dressed in an unfestive black coat while he's dressed in a hoodie and jeans. It's about as casual as you can get. I take the moment to duck out of the kitchen into the side room.

They walk by heading into the living room where they are greeted with a wave of "Hey"s and "how are you"s. One of my greatest fears at the moment is that someone knows what happened to Uncle Thomas. I was never told what the official story was but I can't imagine that it was very specific when it came to the details of his… passing. This fear started to creep up as I heard Tanya engage my dad in conversation. That sent a cold chill down my spine.

I can feel her walking back through the kitchen to the side room. I look over and boom! There she is. She's looking at me with her arms crossed ready to start something. I can only wait for her to make the first move here. I let out a ping of the house to see where Reed is. He's not too far off. I'm not looking forward to this.

She just stands there shifting her weight back and forth as though she is waiting for something. I cannot make the first move here. I have to see what her intentions are before I respond. I have not mastered the skill of reading others. I can only see where they are and what they are doing.

Badger gave me a good lesson while I was training with him. He told me that if you are on the offensive then going for the first strike is the best practice but know that it gives your enemy full right to come back at you with full force. If you wait for your enemy to strike then you are at a disadvantage while you wait but that then gives you the same right. I can feel the hostile vibes coming from Tanya but there is nothing I can do about it until then. She starts tapping her toe as she grows impatient. But she made the first move, "Well?"

I push myself off the wall to stand up straight. It's not to show that there's a size difference but rather to show respect. I would rather not be seen as a person who just laid back and was lazy. I need to address her as an equal or at least treat her as such. "I'm sorry to hear about your husband Thomas. I know it must be rough."

Bad move on my part.

"You heard about it? You were there!" That little outburst caught the attention of the others in the room. "I keep being told it was an accident in the snow but I know he went there to see you. Specifically you. Then he just never came home." She started getting up in my face. "What did you do to my husband?"

It all comes back in a flash. The glint of the knife, the chase through the snow, the numb feeling from the winter cold as he grasped the tail he so longed for. I can't tell her what happened. It would kill her. Or she would try to kill me. I don't want to fight. More so here. No one needs to see that and I would just rather not overall. I don't like it. But I also can't say anything, "Tanya, I'm sorry. I really don't know. I was caught in the storm that was going through and almost died."

I still feel as though I said too much. My mother would have had a heart attack if she heard those words come out of me. Dad wouldn't have been much better. They trust Madam Odette to take care of me.

My answer didn't seem to please Tanya in the slightest. She seemed to see through something and started trying to poke holes, "You don't even know what they told me, do you?"

"Well, I wasn't told anything to start with. I only found out about his passing."

Keep it generic. Don't let on too much. Don't mention that you were the reason Uncle Thomas died as he tried to cut off your tails in a power-hungry rage. Her eyes locked with mine as a deep rage was boiling underneath. She didn't bare her teeth yet it was obvious they were clenched behind her lips. She took a deep breath to calm herself as best she could. Her voice was a whisper as her sharp words came at me, "I know you did it. I can't prove it, but I know it was you who took him from us. And Reed knows it too. I can't tell you what he'll do about it."

That sounded more like a threat than a warning. She took her leave shortly thereafter with Reed in tow. He did what he could to avoid looking at me but there was a split second before he went around the corner where he did. Behind those eyes was a fit of anger that his mother had built up in him. That will be dangerous. I can feel it already.

That put enough of a harsh on my good time that I think it would just be best if we left. I'd hate to be the one to make this call. Both of my parents understood. They had already made their announcement to the family that they were expecting. A few had guessed it around Thanksgiving but the announcement wasn't any less enjoyable. They used it as an excuse to head out.

The car ride home was rather quiet. We had such a good conversation going up but coming back was just quiet. I sat in the back with my arms crossed thinking over the situation. If there was a way I could have handled it better. It kept nagging at me. I kept looking at the back of dad's head as he drove wondering if I should tell him. Thomas was his brother. He may have a right to know yet I don't want him to. I have no idea if it would spread and how that would affect the family. This may be a secret I keep to myself.

We get home pretty late. The sun set hours ago but in the middle of winter, that doesn't mean anything. I get back into comfortable clothes before I fall into the bed in the basement. I just can't at the moment. I just keep living in that moment over and over. I hate it. I wish that it would have gone differently or that I could go change it. What has happened has happened. There's nothing that can change that.

I can't tell how much time has gone by but there's a knock at the open door. I "murph" into the sheet for them to come in. One body sits next to my arm while the other sits near the end of the bed. I roll my head over to see both my parents sitting on the edge of the bed, both looking back at me. "Uh oh, what's going on?"

My dad puts his paw on my back, "You are clearly troubled by what happened with Tanya and her son. Do you want to talk about it?" Some things never change. Going through school… Hell, going through life my parents have had a keen sense of knowing when something is wrong. They have a really good feeling about that. It's always helped though, even if it was something I didn't want to discuss. "I do, but I don't know if I should."

"Does it have to do with your Uncle Thomas?"

"Yea, it does."

Dad took a deep breath as he adjusted himself, "Odette told us. She didn't feed us the generic version of it either. We know what happened, entirely."

This is a strange feeling. There is a feeling of high tension expecting something bad to happen but underneath that is a feeling of impending relief that I have an outlet for what happened. I roll over to my side so I can sit up to look at both of them. "Then you know…" Mom put her paw on my shin, "We do, and we're sorry."

They're sorry? For what? Dad nodded as he looked deep in thought, "Tom was always… rather forward about things. He worked hard for what he wanted and when he didn't get it he was very violent about getting those things. Even growing up he would lash out if something didn't work in his favor and either it would change or he would move on to something bigger that would allow him to have the initial thing he wanted."

It sure sounds like what happened at Madam Odette's estate wasn't just a one-time thing. Dad continued with a hefty sigh, "He was adamant that when we had heard about the death of Royale, the nine-tailed fox before you, his son that was due in a few days would be the one to inherit the power. It was years before we learned that Royale had died months before we were told. So it became a guess as to who would be the inheritor. It could have been you, Reed, or a third cousin you haven't met. But because it had been so long it was just believed that Reed would have that power until you were about 15. I began to notice that you were radiating a power that I could not explain. We talked to Madam Odette who was able to visit briefly and confirm that you were the inheritor of the nine-tailed fox power."

They knew… They knew for so long and they kept it from me. I didn't even know that magic was a thing until Madam Odette showed up. I was in the dark about everything!

But I'm not mad.

With how Uncle Thomas was, the way he would react to this news would have been explosive. He may have tried to kill me much sooner in life or tried to groom me to be his pet or something. That thought made me sick. I guess I can confront this with someone who will be understanding. "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't want to harm him."

"I know. It's not you. We got most of the story from Odette, but I would like to, if you want to, hear it from you."

I can't deny him. He needs closure for himself. He was his brother and he grew up with him. Asshole or not, Thomas was a person with a family. I go back to when he showed up, and how he acted at the start. Dad just seemed to nod. It followed along with what he expected. The days leading up to the event were nothing. The storm rolled in and that's when everything went to hell. He broke into my cabin, attacked me, chased me through the snow, cut off my tail, and died attempting to take the other from my magic. By my hands.

I got to the end as best I could, letting him know the details that I could remember up until I woke up many days later. Dad had a tear in his eye but not once was he mad at me. "Red, I'm not upset with you. You did what you had to. I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Being family, I'm sure only made it worse." Mom tapped on my leg as she scooted behind dad. She gave me a rather large hug trying to fight through the tears.

No more needed to be said. There was a bit of small talk before leaving the subject where it was. It was getting late but before I went to bed myself, I threw out one message thanking Madam Odette for what she does. She replied with nothing more than "You're welcome". Somehow I think she knows what happened and knows to say no more.