Star Crossed In Time

Why does it feel like he's evading that particular subject? "Wait, can I turn into a fox as well?" I ask with excitement but it's quickly killed when Zhen says "No, don't be silly. Only those who are born as a fox can turn into a fox."

I sigh and truly give up. "How do I hide my hair..." I ask while looking at his fluffy tail. "Why do you only have one tail?" I ask absentmindedly. He turns back to me and says "If I walk around with all my tails, humans will try to cut them off for power!"

My eyes grow large with alarm, why would someone do something so cruel?! My mind suddenly goes back to Zhen's clan that was killed... I guess there are people who would do anything for power. Including killing an entire clan of foxes...

"Focus on what hair color you'd like to have. See the color in your mind, once you have it, will it to come." Zhen says facing me.

"..."

"..."

Is he serious!? Sighing, I close my eyes and picture my long black hair I had before. After a few minutes, I open my eyes and stare at Zhen with a blank look. "There you go! I knew you'd get it." He says with a large smile. Confused, I grab my hair and look down with large eyes.

It was completely black... "How?" I ask in confusion. Zhen chuckles and says "It's a simple illusion. Our kind is known for illusions but it's harder to change more than just hair color. Oh, and be careful. If you get too excited or nervous the illusion can be seen through."

Instantly I feel my heart drop and my hair instantly changes back to its silver color. "This is going to be a lot harder than I originally thought..." I say as the color slowly fades back to black. "Nonsense! It just takes a little discipline and concentration. Our pups were able to do it within five years of being born!"

I give him a weak smile and begin to stand. I shake off all the grass and leaves before I say "We should get going... I think I should look into a hooded cape for the time being." Zhen nods his head with a thoughtful look while saying "What you're saying does make sense. It wouldn't be good if you lost control in front of humans."

I feel my smile twitching at his words... I'm human too you know! I look up to see that it was early morning and say "I want to see about collecting herbs and stuff while we walk to the next town. We need to find a way to make money and I'd like to try this."

Zhen nods and asks "You know herbs? Do you know medicine and poison?" I watch him trotting in front of me with conflicted feelings. "I guess we'll see..." I say quietly as I follow behind him. I really don't know if I know herbs at all but that was the class I chose before I came to this world.

If my selected looks followed me here then perhaps my skill selection has as well. Only one way to find out... We begin traveling again but this time we walk through the woods rather than the well-worn path. In order to find the right plants and herbs, we'll need to walk through the forest.

After an hour or so my hope is slowly fading but what I see next has me on cloud nine. It's fire flowers! The petals of the flowers will instantly warm-up a bath or someone who's suffering from the cold! It can also be used to aid in the cooking process of other medicines!

As soon as I saw the plant the information instantly flooded into my head! It works!! It really works! In my excitement, I run over and begin to carefully pick them. The petals will only be good for a few hours after you pull them off the flower so you had to pick the whole flower to keep them good.

After an hour or so I had at least a dozen of them which is extremely rare! They normally don't go in such large clusters but I wasn't about to complain! I was grateful to stumble across such a find! I get up and look for Zhen but when I find him I have a hard time looking away.

He sleeps on a large rock covered in the bright sun. He looks magical... why would anyone want to kill something so majestic? As if he can feel me looking, he slowly opens his eyes and yawns "Are you done?" He asks with a stretch. I give him a large smile and nod my head.

I need to become stronger... not only to protect myself but to also protect Zhen. I don't want anything to happen to him... My first friend, My first family.