Aphmau

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There has always been that one thing about a person that has always made me want to curl up into the fetal position and cry. That one thing that reminds me so much of Michael that it hurts.

His smile. His laugh. His kindness.

I would want to look away and forget, to run as far away as I could. But I didn't I stayed because I missed him.

I saw so much of him in the people of Phoenix Drop.

That's why I became their lord. If Phoenix Drop was destroyed, Michael's memory would die forever.

Just like he did.

~.~

"Aphmau," Cadenza said gently. "It's almost time to leave. Are you ready?"

I was sitting in the living room on the red sofa, staring into the flames in the fireplace. It was then and there that I had decided something.

I was going to let Levin be Lord of Phoenix Drop while I did something else.

I nodded. Yeah," I said. "I just need-"

The front door whooshed open. It was Jin and Barney. Something white and furry was tucked safely into the crook of Jin's arm. But before I could fully see it, they raced to the stairs and ran up to their rooms.

"Jin," Cadenza said, concerned. "What is that?"

They were already gone.

Cadenza and I glanced at each other quickly before running up the stairs after them.

Jin's bedroom door was wide open. Inside was Jin and Barney huddled around the bed.

Resting on a wool blanket lay a white fox-like creature with delicate red markings around its eyes and snout. Three furry tails hung limply from its hindquarters. It was shivering slightly, and whimpers came from its tiny snout.

Jin began to stroke the fur on its side. "Hey girl," he murmured gently. "You're gonna be alright. I'll take care of you, I promise."

The creature settled deeper into the blankets and opened its eyes. They were pools of darkness with dots of white, like spilled ink on a piece of parchment paper or a black night sky with tiny stars.

"She's something called a Kitsune," Jin said absentmindedly. "They're Japanese mythological creatures that are said to be messengers of the gods."

Cadenza and I stared at him.

He scratched his head nervously. "Oh geez, I forget you people have no idea what Japan is!" he muttered. "Japan is an oriental country in our world. They have some really cool mythology-"

"What is Mythology?" Cadena asked.

Jin stared at her incredulously. "...Are you being serious?"

She nodded sincerely.

He sighed. "Have you ever heard of a myth?" he asked.

She nodded slowly.

"That's mythology. The study of Myths." He turned back to the Kitsune. "So, by judging how many tails she has, I would say that she is around 300 years old."

I gasped. "300?!"

"Yeah!" he said. "Kitsune get more tails for every 100 years they age. The most a Kitsune can have at once is nine, and then they aren't even considered Kitsune anymore. They're something called a Tenko at that stage. I've...never seen one before. I remember reading about Kitsune when I was a little kid, but..." he trailed off. "They're so much more...breathtaking in person."

"Jin," Barney said. "Kitsune aren't supposed to be real, so how is this here?"

Jin didn't take his eyes off the creature. "Because, Barney," he said. "This world is a place where anything can happen."

"Even people coming back from the dead," an achingly familiar voice said.

We all turned around.

A man with blonde hair with sporadic tufts of green and a neatly trimmed beard stood behind us. He wore a jacket that reached his stomach and traveled no further down. On the right breast pocket of the jacket, a symbol had been stitched on.

Aethera's Coat of Arms.

The Stag represented peace, while the crown represented royalty. Aethera used to be at the very center of the royal family until Lady Irene destroyed the Monarchy. The two stars represented the heavens, while the small symbol just above the crown, the Katrisha, represented life and the future.

I hadn't seen that symbol in over 20 years.

I looked at the man's face and nearly sobbed.

It was Markus.