Town with the Fox Spirit

I tried to keep an eye on Becki as she darted through the crowd of market-goers, leaping from stall to stall with foxlike curiosity. Her ears twitched, her tail swayed, and every movement drew stares - the kind of gawking amazement that did nothing to calm my nerves. I still couldn’t decide if it was smarter to trail her at a distance or stay glued to her side to avoid losing her completely.

Thankfully, no one had yet realized she was my spirit. The Obereg gem sat cold and useless in my pocket, a constant reminder of my failure.

The sun blazed overhead, but a light breeze kept the heat tolerable. I squeezed between a cluster of gossiping townsfolk, scanning for a flash of ginger hair. For a second she vanished entirely into the tide of bodies, and only her tall ears gave her away again, bobbing like beacons through the throng.

She was relentless. I hadn’t stopped at a single stall, but I’d already watched her drift through nearly every one. My shoulder clipped something solid, and I stumbled, muttering an apology to a burly man who glared down at me like I was a stray dog.

When I turned back, Becki was suddenly there in front of me - impossibly close, grinning up at me as though she’d appeared out of thin air.

“Aym! Come on, I want to show you something!”

The nickname caught me off-guard almost as much as her hand, which closed around mine and tugged me through the crowd. I dodged elbows and baskets until we broke free at a stall draped in white sheets and glittering with jewellery.

One glance at Becki’s face told me everything. She wanted me to buy her something. More specifically, she wanted me to buy the silver ring embedded with cyan gems - the exact colour of her eyes.

I sighed. Money wasn’t an issue - the college funded spirit-related expenses - but the situation felt absurd. Still, I found myself pointing to the ring and handing over payment information before I could think better of it.

Becki’s tail swished as the vendor passed me the ring. She extended her hand, palm down, ring finger out, smiling like a child about to unwrap a present. I tried not to think about the marriage implication as I slid the ring onto her finger.

Her face lit up as she raised her hand to admire it, eyes shining like the gems themselves.

“Thank you so much! I’m going to treasure this forever!”

I forced a smile, my heart pounding, and nodded. She took my hand again, cheerful as ever, and together we walked back into the market - the weight of everyone’s stares following us.

Then, without warning, she let go.

Her ears twitched, tail streaming behind her as she vanished back into the crowd. I lunged forward, but the press of people slowed me to a crawl. Her ears flicked out of sight. I pushed harder, trying to get some vantage point, but by the time I stumbled into the town square, I was completely disoriented.

The square was almost empty - a ring of thatch-roofed buildings, paved tiles, and a fountain gurgling in the center. No Becki.

With no better plan, I sat on the fountain’s edge, my mind sliding toward panic. I’d been told countless times never to be separated from my spirit. What if she lost control? What if I just… died without knowing why? Or what if she simply vanished? None of those options were good.

Heavy footsteps broke my spiral. I looked up, catching only a flash of ginger hair before I was bowled over - thankfully onto the tiles rather than into the fountain - and crushed in a tight embrace.

Becki’s shoulders shook as she sobbed, tears dampening my collar. For a heartbeat I just stared, then wrapped my arms around her. To a passerby we must have looked like a collapsed sculpture: a fox-eared girl on top of a dazed boy, both clutching each other like lifelines.

“Aym… I’m so sorry…” Her voice cracked. “I-I ran off without thinking… I could’ve killed both of us…”

She broke down completely. All I could do was hold her, ignoring the pressure of her body against mine, and whisper what words I could find.

“It’s… it’s all right. We’re okay. We’re both okay.”

It felt surreal to me, but for her - knowing separation could spiral into catastrophe - the guilt and terror must have been unbearable.

Her sobbing slowed. She lifted her head, eyes red but filled with sudden determination.

“The Obereg. Do you have it?”

I nodded, fumbling the gem out of my pocket. She snatched it from my hands, twisting it over as if weighing a weapon, and then pressed it to her forehead.

It sank in instantly, a flash of cyan light embedding half into her skin.

Her eyes locked onto mine. I started to lean forward, to complete the ritual, but the gem slipped loose again, bouncing off my face and skittering across the tiles.

Becki didn’t move. She lowered her head onto my shoulder, breathing raggedly, and whispered:

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I don’t want to be controlled…”

Then the sobs started again.

And all I could do was hold her tighter. Because what else could I do?