Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 98 – Why Didn’t You Call For Me?

[Ovia POV]

Should I help her?

I don’t know if I can… but I could try…

…

I watched Kierra on the panel floating just in front of me as she played around with her magic. However, what garnered most of my attention wasn’t her magic, but rather her expression as she used it… It wasn’t a bright smile, or anything of the sort, but it also wasn’t what it used to be.

She was curious, having fun just… enjoying herself a little even if she didn’t show it, even if she didn’t know it herself, but I could tell. After how much time, I had watched her and how many times I had held her in my arms… I just… knew.

If she wanted my help, she would ask.

I don’t want to interrupt her when she’s doing so well.

…

Despite the words in my head, there was still a part of me that really wanted to step in, to say something, even if it was just to congratulate her in the moment, but I was able to hold myself back. Instead, I just made sure to enjoy the moment quietly beside her, in spirit at least.

…

“Sister!” I didn’t even have to look to know who had just entered my domain, “I’m finally free!”

I immediately turned to face her, but before I could actually lay my eyes on her, something fell onto my lap with a thud.

“I could really use some Sister time right now,” Ellaria said as she looked up at me, “And I’m sure you could use some too.”

“I-”

“Hmm? Oh, what’s the little kitsune up to at the moment?” Ellaria asked before I could properly respond to her.

She rolled around lazily on my lap until she was able to see what was happening on the panel. Right as she did, Kierra tried to pull her mana back into herself, before accidentally spreading pollen all over herself and sneezing.

“What?! The little fox is trying magic?!” She shouted, jostling around in my lap a little too much, “But I’ve been waiting for her to ask me… I really wanted to be the first person to see exactly what she was capable of… With how long I’ve been teased with her abilities, it’s the least I deserve.”

I shifted in my seat in an attempt to get comfortable. Thankfully, Aria noticed and moved along with me, quickly settling into a much better position.

“I-I don’t know what to say…” I replied.

“Why didn’t you call for me?” She asked, “Even if she didn’t ask me first, I’d still be able to give her some advice. Much better advice than she would find from anyone down there with her at that.”

“But… you were busy.”

“That was that and this is this,” She said as she moved off my lap, sitting next to me instead, “I’m sure everyone wouldn’t mind waiting on me for a little bit, it’s not like the spirits won’t do their work if I’m not supervising. And if they saw what I did in her mana, I have no doubt that they would agree with my decision to delay their title for an hour or two.”

…

There really wasn’t anything I could say in response… although, even if there was, I already knew it wouldn’t stop her. When she got like that, there was very little that could calm her down.

“Well, I wasn’t the first person she asked… but it’s better late than never,” She said as she reached towards my neck, “I’m sure she has at least some questions that only I could answer for her.”

As soon as I noticed what she was doing, I instantly pulled away, standing up to make sure that the pendant hanging around my neck was out of her reach. The whole thing happened so quickly that I wasn’t sure which one of us was more surprised in the end.

M-My body, it just… moved by itself.

I-I…

“Sister?”

“N-No!” I accidentally shouted before quickly adjusting my volume back down to a more reasonable level, “Not now… Maybe later, but not now.”

Silence took over the room for a brief moment, which only led me to doubt what exactly I was doing.

“But why?” Ellaria asked, the look in her eyes only making me more nervous, “All I want to do is give her a little assistance? Isn’t that what you’re always doing for her? Why shouldn’t I be able to step in every now and then?”

“B-Because… Ellaria, I…” My brain rushed, trying to put things into words, to try and explain why I was doing what I was doing, even if I didn’t really fully understand it, “Just look at her. She’s talking to someone new, someone she doesn’t really know that well… But she chose to do it by herself.”

Ellaria seemed to soften up as I spoke, yet my words didn’t stop there.

“I don’t know if she’s noticed what she’s doing… So I don’t want to interrupt her, not now,” I said while clutching at the pendant, “What I’m trying to say is… I-I don’t want you to interrupt her either.”

“… Alright then,” Ellaria said as she let out a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing just slightly, “Then… can you tell me who she managed to find to teach her magic? There aren’t many options where she is, so I should at least ensure that she chose a good teacher. I’m sure you can let me do that much.”

“Oh, um…”

Fortunately, I didn’t need to answer as she looked over at the panel, just in time to see the teacher in question begin to grow a small pair of fangs before running away.

“Wait, is that… a vampire?” She asked, the excitement from before quickly resurfacing, “Of all the people the little kitsune could run into, she was lucky enough to find a vampire? I’ve always wanted to have a proper conversation with one, but unfortunately, not one of them has ascended up here yet.”

“Really?” Even I was a little surprised at what she had said.

In the grand scheme of the world, vampires were fairly new, but it wasn’t as if they had only just appeared. I was sure there would have been at least a few who had ascended.

“There was one who was more than qualified… I even descended to grant him the title in person, just as an excuse to try to get to know him early. But as soon as I brought up the title, he turned away, simply saying that he was too busy at the moment to take on the responsibility…”

Once again, the room was filled with silence.

In truth, I had never heard of someone deciding not to become a Deity before… but at the same time, I didn’t remember being given a choice in the matter myself, so the idea of someone turning it down had never even occurred to me.

What’s so special about vampires? Is this something I’m supposed to know?

“They’re just such an interesting anomaly when it comes to a living species, although in truth it isn’t entirely correct to refer to them as a species in the typical sense… more a set of people who share the same unique abnormality,” She answered as if she heard the question inside my mind, “It’s a miracle they are even able to survive, let alone live as long as they do… Yet I’ve never been able to get any straight answers as to how any of it works.”

I didn’t have anything to say in response. Admittedly, it was a little hard to get a word in when she became like this, but at the same time, it was nice to see her so excited.

“Oh, I know what we can do,” She said as she stood up and walked over to me, “You said that the little fox was okay with talking to that vampire. When you next talk to her, can you ask her to bring the vampire up with her the next time she’s set to visit? It won’t interrupt whatever the two of you have planned, don’t worry. I just want to pull them aside to ask a few questions.”

“I can’t do that!” I replied immediately.

“Why not?” She asked just as quickly.

“B-Because we’re not supposed to. We already brought someone here accidentally.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be alright.”

“… How do you know?”

“Because John didn’t show up to tell us not to,” She said confidently, “If it was really a big problem, he would step in to stop it before it happened. So it must be fine, at least this one time.”

…

But…

…

“Maybe…” I reluctantly said, not wanting to stop Ellaria again.

“Thank you, that’s more than enough for now,” She said as she took a step back, “Oh, and I’m sorry, but sister time will unfortunately have to wait a little. I need to go and watch exactly what that little kitsune got up to today so I can add it to my notes… It might even be worth my putting together a short list of my findings that I can give to the little kitsune… and probably a few requests as well.”

Before I had the chance to say anything, she left my domain just as quickly as when she had entered it.

…

“Did… I say the right thing?”