The Wolves Ch. 011

"Hi there, Vixa," I said in a soft voice. "You remember me, huh? I'm a lot bigger than I used to be."

She gave a little yip and continued licking me. I found her to be absolutely adorable. She's half the size of Imuna, and is a brilliant snowy white color. I had only seen two Scyftan foxes so far, but I like her coloring more than I do Imuna's gray coloring.

There was a little ball in the room and I threw it around for her to catch. I was expecting her to run after it, but she actually teleported in front of the ball, catching it in mid air. She has amazing control. We played for another twenty minutes or so before the door opened again, and my mom and Imuna walked in.

I didn't know if Vixa and Imuna had met, so I was curious to see their interaction. Vixa immediately ignored me and ran over to Imuna. They were quite affectionate to one another.

"Imuna had a litter of her own when Vixa was discovered on the palace grounds. Your mother brought her to me, to see if Imuna would accept her. She did, and essentially became Vixa's mother. This is their first time seeing each other since we left Scyftan space, too."

"Is that normal coloring for a Scyftan fox? It seems like it would stand out like a sore thumb."

"Actually, Vixa is the only white Scyftan fox ever recorded. If Nedovis had cold weather they would probably be common, but it is summer all year round, no matter where you go. We originally thought that Vixa's mother abandoned her because of the color of her fur, but Imuna took care of her without any issues. It seems like it is just a very, very rare mutation."

'That's pretty damn cool,' I thought to myself. 'She's one of a kind.'

She pulled a chair out of nowhere and sat down, then pulled one out for me. She waited until I sat down.

"Now that you've met Vixa, I'll explain how to get started so you can change your form. Close your eyes."

I did as she asked, and waited for her to continue.

"Next, reach out with your mind and try to sense the mind of Imuna, Vixa and myself. You've sensed my mind before, so focus more on Imuna's and Vixa's minds. Let me know when you've done this, and we'll continue."

I reached out like I did when I added Abi and my mom to my shield earlier. I was easily able to sense her mind. I reached out further, and could detect both Imuna's and Vixa's minds, though they were fuzzy in comparison to my mom's. I spent some time trying to make both of them more distinct. After a while, I had all three of them separated, though the minds of the two foxes were just a little fuzzy. I was still easily able to differentiate between them.

"I think I've got it. Both of their minds are a little fuzzy, but I can easily differentiate between the three of you."

"Perfect. Don't worry about the fuzziness. Now, I want you to reach out further with your mind, towards Vixa. She should draw you in, and will show you how to initiate a scan on your own. Scyftan foxes scan any living thing that comes near them, so they are very good at it. When successful, you'll immediately know how to transform into a Scyftan fox as well."

I ignored the other two minds I could sense, and focused solely on Vixa. I reached out further, and after a few seconds, it felt like I was being pulled towards her. When I got closer, she appeared as a perfect copy of her real form. I reached out with my hand to touch her head, and she stepped into it. When we touched, it was like she downloaded information to my mind, like Abi did with the layout and capabilities of the ship.

I immediately learned how to do a number of things. The first two I was expecting based off what my mom explained to me, but the other was a complete surprise. I think she knew I would learn how to do it, though. Scanning is somewhat different than adding someone to your mind shield. You still reach out with your mind, but you scan your surroundings and everything within it. The best way to explain it would probably be a mix of echo location and extrasensory perception.

When Scyftan foxes rhythmically move their tails, they're essentially sending out rapid pings that let them know what is surrounding them. The pings are around half a second apart, so they can easily tell if something is moving. That allows them to reach out with their minds and scan whatever is moving, to know if they're safe, or they need to teleport away. When they scan something, they instantly know that thing's capabilities, and their mental state.

The capabilities part is what is important for a Scyftan. Now when I scan something, I'll know everything about its body, and its species, allowing me to transform into version of it. This will be particularly useful in dungeons because I'll be able to scan monsters and bosses to determine their weak spots, if they have one. For example, I could have scanned Jihm when we fought it yesterday and been able to tell if it had any weak spots. I also probably would've been able to shapeshift into a massive sandworm in the future.

So in addition to learning how to scan my surroundings, and scan different species, I also learned how to use the Teleport skill I learned earlier. Scyftan foxes are natural teleporters, and they know how to teleport from birth. Part of the information downloaded when we touched, was that baby Scyftan foxes, or kits, will teleport to their mothers teats and latch on when they're hungry. I think that would be pretty cool to see.

I left Vixa's mind and opened my eyes. "Done," I said, looking over to my mom. "Did you not want me to teleport in the hall because I would learn how to do it now?"

"Partially. There was still a small chance of you teleporting into the Scyftan enclosure by accident, and there are animals in there that could take a bite out of you."

"Vixa, c'mere!"

She teleported into my lap and licked my chin once more.

"Thanks, girl," I said, scratching her between the ears with one hand, and petting her back with the other.

She yipped again and then began purring, enjoying the attention.

"How long does she need to remain in quarantine from other animals?"

"She'll be able to leave late Friday night. You'll probably be able to take her up to the main part of the base on Friday after your date with Tessa. There are a lot of empty rooms available that she can stay in, when you're not around. Speaking of which, there is no reason you and your friends can't sleep in the base. Now that you are eighteen, your dad and I are thinking about selling our house and living here again. We bought the house shortly before taking you out of stasis."

"It definitely would be more convenient, for both me and my friends. I'll have a chat with them later and then they can bring it up with their parents. Or maybe you and dad can bring it up with their parents when you meet with them on Friday."

"How about you set Vixa down and try shifting into a Scyftan fox?"

I looked down at Vixa and noticed that her eyes remained closed, even when I stopped petting her.

I looked back up to my mom. "I would, but I think I'll be stuck here for a little bit. She fell asleep and I don't want to disturb her. When she wakes up, I'll give it a shot."