A Conversation With A Fox Spirit

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What do you mean I'm the mother of a child? S-should I tell Yggdra that she's the father? Wait… now that I think about it, who's the father in this relationship? Are we both mothers?

Huh?

"I feel confused…" I could not help but say.

"Ah, well, you see… magical trees have special souls. They resonate with us Elves the most due to our connection with the elements of Life, Light, and Nature. Due to the deep bond you have with Yggdra, your souls shared wavelengths and formed into what's known as a Soul Bond. It could be said that Yggdra is a pseudo-familiar of you, but because she can't move from there due to her being too young to evolve into anything that can really move, the over-accumulation of mana, elemental essence, and spirit energy had given birth to a unique Nature Spirit made from both your soul and Yggdra's soul," mother explained.

"Eh? I… huh? Okay…?"

I think I barely understood that.

"Some of our talented members do this ritual in our homeland where we bond with magical trees through the years. Sometimes they become Dryads or Ents, other times, they instead give birth to a Spirit which is similar to a child between the master and the tree. I didn't do this ritual, however," mother added.

"I see…"

Hold on for just one bit, mom. Ain't this a tad too complex to explain to a 1-year-old girl? Well, I guess she always kind of knew I was pretty intelligent. I think she once told my father that she was as intelligent as I am at almost my same age, Elves seem to develop mentally very quickly.

"Remember to take good care of that little spirit, Sylphy," father told me.

"Indeed. She seems talented. I can clearly feel within her soul… there's something strong in there. She has gifts within her," Nikko said.

"Is that so? If that's true, she could be even more talented!" mother said in response.

"Gifts?"

"Gifts are what we call special types of abilities bestowed upon someone. They lay dormant inside a person's soul and awaken after they hit maturity or do something in specific. They're powers greater than simple magic. Us Heroes are usually born with a few of them, which also makes us Heroes to begin with…" father explained.

So special abilities are catalogued as gifts. Did this fox just see through my System?!

No, I think it couldn't fully detect it, but it did say I have gifts, so it knows there's "something" within me. However, it does not know what it is.

Phew, that's fine… I guess…

"Now, what should I do with the Spirit?" I wondered.

"Raise it and take good care of it," mother replied.

"It will grow stronger and mature as you do. It will probably become pretty useful after you've grown older. Although, as of now, it should be able to help you out on practicing and using Nature magic," father told me.

"I see… what name should I give to it?" I wondered yet again.

"Give it a simple name, so you don't forget it," mother said in response.

"A simple name… let's see… err… Naturia!" I soon blurted out.

"Fooo!"

Naturia liked her name, floating around me excitedly while making cute little noises from time to time.

It was an adorable spirit child. With that, I'm looking forward to seeing it evolve.

Then again, I don't know if I should call Naturia a he or she.

"Gender? We spirits are incorporeal beings. We don't possess physical bodies and reproduction is done through a similar means that your spirit came to be, so we don't require genders. Therefore… we don't really possess them. However, some of our members take on masculine or feminine humanoid shapes. Your creature doesn't seem to have any defying trait, so you can call it whatever you want. Plus, I don't think it would mind," the giant flaming fox told me in response.

"Then… I'll go with both… ah, whatever..." I shrugged, eventually thinking it was useless to mull over it.

"Hmm… you're a strong girl. I can feel your mana overflowing. On top of that, you're just one year old. However, in sharp contrast to that, you act and talk so eloquently and maturely… I wish I could become your spirit," Nikko could not help but say soon after.

"Eh?"

"O-Oi, Nikko, you can't abandon me like that! Even if it's for my daughter…" father said, his tone laced with a hint of worry.

"I'm just joking. You've gotten old if you're not able to take my jokes as they are…" Nikko said in response, letting out a sigh.

"Old? I'm not even 30 yet…" my father could not help but respond.

"See? That was also a joke," Nikko replied.

"Your jokes are just boring," father told Nikko.

"Oh my. Alright then… I better go back to sleep. I suppose my presence is not well liked around here…" Nikko said, letting out a sigh once more.

"No, wait! Don't leave," I cried.

"Huh? You like my presence, little Sylphy?" the fox asked, licking my face. Its fire didn't burn me. In fact, it felt warm and comfortable.

"Don't mind my parents. You're nice," I told it.

"Fufufu. You're a lovely girl, aren't you?"

"Papa, can Nikko stay for a bit longer?" I asked.

"…fine. But don't get too ahead of yourself, Nikko," father said.

"Don't worry, I'm a grown adult now. I can be responsible," Nikko replied.

"I don't know about that one… Nikko is too mischievous," mother could not help but say.

"Look who's talking…"

"What did you say?!"

"I didn't say anything." At this point, Nikko averted mother's gaze.

In the end, I spent some time with the fox while I asked it a few things I didn't know about. Nikko was way better at explaining things, plus it had a higher and more acute spiritual sense than the two.

"Turn a Dragon Soul into a familiar?"

"Yeah, is it possible?" I asked.

"…Hmm, I don't know. Certainly, a dragon is a magic beast. They're not actually monsters, as they're a race of intelligent beings that had existed before then. With that, they can become familiars if they're willing. But only a soul? I don't know about that…"

"I see…"

"Hmm… by any chance, is there a Dragon Soul inside that pendant?" it asked.

Nikko almost guessed it.

"Kind of. It was made from its magic crystal."

"I see… perhaps you could try to tame that grumpy dragon. But if it was killed by your parents, I doubt it'll easily give in to your demands… However, it's already dead. At some point, its will might begin to fade away and crumble. You must be cunning and slowly whittle away at its defenses, devour his mental stability and make him dependent on you!" Nikko soon told me. A malicious smile emerged on the fox's face, showing me its sharp fangs.

"Ohhh… I see… heheh…"

I guess I should try to be more manipulative, then.

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