Nora spent the first six months of her life indoors with her mom, whose name was Azealia, and the occasional friend that would come over. All of whom appeared to be either normal looking humans or some kind of animal person like her and her parents. One of the women who came by even had antlers like a deer, which she found odd since female deer didn’t usually have antlers. Her dad usually left the house in the early hours of the morning and didn’t return until late at night, so she didn’t get to spend much time with him.

At around four months she started crawling which she knew was early, her daughter hadn’t started crawling until six and a half months, but she couldn’t stand being unable to go around on her own. So with a bit of effort, she’d managed to learn.

After learning to crawl she explored the entire house. It was surprisingly small. Two bedrooms, a living room kitchen combo with wooden furniture, and a bathroom with an old toilet that was basically just a hole in the ground that fell into a sewer system. She found it surprising that a sewer system even existed based on all the other technology she’d seen so far, which admittedly wasn’t much.

In this time she’d also put a lot of effort into learning as many words as possible and she’d managed to pick up enough to understand basic words like mama, dada, girl, boy, baby, no, yes, stop, bad, ready, go, eat, food, etc., though anytime she tried to speak, it came out as gibberish and made no sense.

One morning her mom got up earlier than usual before her dad had woken up, and pulled a mirror out from a dresser drawer, and started putting on some basic makeup. As she did Nora managed to get a good look at herself in the mirror.

She had brown cat-like ears on her head, a brown cat-like tail coming from the base of her spine, and golden eyes, like her dad. Besides that, she looked pretty much human in every way. She had brown hair that was the same color as her cat ears and tail, a light complexion, and was smaller than she thought she should be at six months old. As far as she could tell she didn’t have any similarities to her mom at all. I bet Anna would love this.

She hadn’t thought about her daughter much since she was reborn and she wasn’t sure why. Normally she would be worried sick if her daughter was missing for even a few minutes, but now, even after six months, she couldn’t muster even an ounce of worry. She didn’t like it, but couldn’t control it.

Her mom reached down and picked her up, she had finished her makeup while Nora was lost in thought. She’d also put on some sort of brown cloth sling thing which she put her in. It was a comfortable and seemingly safe sling resting on her mom’s chest. She was also wearing nicer-looking clothes than usual, a long black dress with a slit down her left leg that fell down to her ankles, stockings that went up to her knees, dark blue nail polish, and she had a katana-like blade strapped to her waist. That’s pretty badass but, since when does she have a sword?

She looked pretty but Nora never thought nail polish would be a thing in this world and even though she’d seen her dad strap daggers onto himself every morning, she didn’t think her mom was the fighting type. With a smile, her mom looked down into her eyes and softly said,

“Ready, piil girl?” It was still hard to make out some words but she was definitely starting to learn more of the language. Nora replied with a random jumble of happy noises. Her mom took that as affirmation and headed for the front door. Nora hadn’t managed to get a good look at the outside world up until now, despite her many efforts. So this turn of events was a pleasant one.

As they stepped outside it was dark and there were only a few lamp posts that kept the entire multi-block street lit. The houses around were all old and seemed to be falling apart, in fact, their house was by far the nicest one in the area. The road was made of old worn-down cobble that was barely even visible under all the mud and dirt. It was different from what she had imagined.

Sitting just outside their house was a dark blue carriage with purple inlay along the roof and around the door, drawn by two horses coached by an older-looking man in a suit. Where are we going, and if we live in such a poor neighborhood how can she afford a carriage?

Her mom and the man didn’t speak as she got into the carriage. The inside of which was just as fine as the outside with cushioned seats and fine gilding all along the roof and walls. As her mom took a seat the carriage jostled into motion bumping along the cobbled streets. She pulled her from the sling and laid her on the cushion next to her. This is weird, why didn’t she tell dad she was leaving? None of this made any sense. She had always seen them talk before doing pretty much anything. Is she having an affair or something? But if that were the case why bring me along and why bring a sword?

While Nora was trying to figure out what was going on her mom had grabbed a box out from under her seat and pulled a small ornate glass vial filled with a slightly glowing purple liquid out of it. The hell is that? Some kind of magic potion? She hadn’t seen anything magical up until now, though she had thought that if there were races besides humans there might be magic. Her mom popped the lid off of the vial and brought it up to her nose sniffing. She reeled back as she caught a whiff but looked satisfied. She then turned to her and said,

“It’s ok Nora, this will help you.” This was the first time she’d understood an entire sentence in her life, it sent a bit of excitement through her. But the contents of that sentence were of more import. That will help me? It’s glowing magic shit! What the hell is it gonna do to me? Her mom brought the bottle over Nora’s chest and started to tilt it. Fuck that! Nora rolled to the side and managed to fall from the seat and land on the floor of the carriage sending a jolt of pain through her arm.

“Nora! Are you ok?” Her mom said as she started reaching out for her. The fall hurt but she didn’t care, she just wanted to get away. She started crawling to the other side of the carriage but her mom was bigger and faster. “Be blikks Nora. You beez’t been hurt.” Her mom said worriedly as she picked her back up and started checking her body from head to toe for injury.

The vial was lying on the cushion where Nora had been before falling. She needed to spill it. She felt like this whole thing was off. Her mom hadn’t told her dad about any of this which meant he probably wouldn’t approve of whatever it is she was doing. That was enough of a reason to not trust any of this.

She flailed trying to get loose but her mom quickly tightened her grip, “Nora.. stop it.” Her mom pulled her in and held her tight with her right arm while reaching to grab the vial with her left. Nora reached out for the vial but her mom was quick and managed to start pouring it on her head. As the glowing liquid poured over her a painless burning started to rage all throughout her body. It was an amazing feeling like she had an endless supply of energy.

“There, not so bad right?” It was great but she wasn’t sure what it actually was. For all she knew, it was some kind of weird drug and she didn’t like the idea of getting hooked on drugs as a baby. Her mom laid Nora back down and pulled another vial from the box. This time she poured it on herself. “Finally. Just, please, try not to fall again ok?” Nora knew there was no point in acting out anymore, so she did as she was told.

She was curious how she understood that entire sentence, she didn’t remember ever learning the word finally. It was weird. Her mom laid back and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, Nora decided to do the same.

A couple of hours later the carriage came to a stop. The burning energy stayed for the entirety of the carriage ride and showed no sign of waning. Her mom put her hand to her chest and took a deep breath in and out. Is she nervous? God, I wish I could just talk! This is so annoying. Her mom gently picked her up and cradled her in her arms. “Ok,” she took another deep breath, “this is ok. We’re gonna be ok.” The door to the carriage swung open. The man in the suit who had been driving the carriage stood there.

“Lady Azealia, come, everyone’s waiting inside.” Nora felt the anxiety welling up inside her. Lady Azealia? Since when was she a lady? She wanted to know what was going on. Her mom stepped out of the carriage giving her a view of where they were.

It was daytime now and the building before them was big, she would classify it as a manor or a mansion. It was easily two stories tall, possibly three, made of fine dark wood, and had a wide stone staircase leading up to a set of massive double doors. There was a fountain behind them in the middle of a cobbled courtyard and the entire property seemed to be surrounded by a tall stone fence.

The coach walked toward the double doors and her mom followed. Nora could feel her mom taking deep breaths as they walked up to the entrance. The man opened the doors and gestured for her mom to go in. She took one final deep breath and walked in.

The inside was more extravagant than the outside, there were decorations all over. Paintings, vases, fine furniture, plants, a grand staircase leading up to the second floor, and more. Her mom quietly headed up the stairs and approached a set of double doors at the top. Nora could hear muffled talking from the other side. She felt her heart pounding at the idea of facing whatever her mom was so scared of.

Her mom grabbed the door handle, took yet another deep breath, and pushed the door open. The room was a nice-looking lounge with several fine couches and chairs, there were fruits laid out on a small table in the middle of the room, and two people were sitting in the room, both of which had black fox-like ears, and tails like her mom.

Thank god, it’s just her family. She had been expecting some cult full of weirdos wearing masks. The man and woman who appeared to be similar in age to her mom, maybe mom’s siblings? stopped their conversation as the door opened and looked over to see them. The woman smiled and started walking over followed by the man.

“Azealia, I’m so glad you came.” The woman said, as soon as she got up to them she immediately started looking Nora over from head to toe. Nora got a better look at the woman while she examined her. She had similar features to her mom, black fox ears, a black tail, and purple eyes. Her left ear did have a scar on it though. Nora decided her name was Scar. The man put a hand on her mom’s shoulder and said,

“You're doing the right thing.” Her mom looked slightly uncomfortable around them and stepped a pace back while saying,

“Alright, no need to start feeling up my daughter. Where is everyone?” The two strangers appeared offended by the step away, “She really doesn’t look anything like us.” Scar said with an air of disbelief.

“Yeah, I already told you that. Do you think the others will be upset?”

“Will they be upset?” The man spoke up, “She looks like a stray cat! Of course they’ll be upset.” Her mom frowned,

“She’s still blood, our blood. Don’t call her a stray.” Her mom’s voice was stern, almost threatening. Stray?! The fucks wrong with these guys? She decided the man was called Stray. Scar stepped forward,

“There’s no need to get upset, he’s right. She’s clearly not a pure-blooded fox like she should be. It’s only natural that we’d be disappointed.” Oh, I wish I could talk right now. I would love to knock these two down a peg. At least I have something to look forward to when I can finally talk. Wait a second? How did I understand all of that? She knew for a fact that she shouldn’t have been able to follow that entire conversation so easily and she definitely shouldn’t have been able to understand every word. How? The man, Stray, looked pleased with Scar’s statement. Her mom however looked ready to explode.

“Who cares if she isn’t a pureblood! She’s stil-”

“Everyone Azealia! Everyone cares.” Interjected Scar. Her mom looked to Stray but before she could speak he said,

“She’s right Azalea, everyone in the family cares. Your lucky mom even agreed to do this for you.” Her mom looked down at Nora, she was frowning and looked ready to cry,

“I knew I shouldn’t have come. This was a mistake.” As her mom turned to start leaving, a set of doors on the other side of the room swung open. It was an older woman with the same fox-like features as the others but with greying hair and fur. Nora assumed it must be their mom, her grandmother.

“Oh good, you’re here. The ritual is set up. Bring the child and let’s get this over with.” She sounded annoyed that any of this was happening. Great, she’s just like the other two… wait. Ritual! The hell are they about to do to me? She didn’t like any of this. Scar and Stray immediately headed into the other room. Her mom just stood there looking at Nora. She seemed worried and sad.

“What should I do?” It was barely a whisper. Nora reached up toward her mom and made some happy noises in hopes of cheering her up. That brought a smile to her face and a slight chuckle. “I love you, baby girl.”

“What’s the matter Azealia?” Asked grandma, “ Come on.” She gestured for her to enter the room. With a deep breath, her mom walked into the room.

The room was dimly lit by little blue glowing orbs in the corners of the room and in the center was some kind of stone table with a weird design on it, kinda like a star being circled in all directions.

Nora thought the glowing orbs were cool but the stone table was a little worrying, were they planning to sacrifice her? She didn’t see any signs of blood on the table or floor so that was slightly reassuring. Her mom laid her down on the center of the stone table while the other four took different places around it. The stone was cold on her back and she could feel the grooves of the design under her. Grandma looked to Nora’s mom,

“Did you use the potions that were in the carriage?”

“Yes.”

“Good, is everyone ready?” The others all nodded. “Alright, let’s get this over with.” With that, they all linked hands in a circle around the table and started whispering a soft melody in unison. Nora couldn’t understand any of it but it sounded beautiful. After a few seconds of this, thick black smoke started pouring from Nora’s right hand and arm. Nora waved the arm around and the smoke followed, she thought it was cool but still very worrying.

Shortly after that, random images, shapes, and objects started appearing all around her. Some of which were from her old world, like a cell phone, a car, and even an image of her daughter. All the people in the circle around her showed disappointment on their faces as they continued to whisper the melody. Well, all except her mother, who had a look that Nora couldn’t quite decipher. Worry? Hope? She wasn’t sure.

After another few seconds, all of the blue lights in the room turned to a deep yellow color, and with that, they all stopped whispering and unlinked hands. The smoke and images disappeared and the lights turned back to their normal blue color. Well, that was awesome. I wonder what that did? Grandma looked to Nora’s mom,

“There you have it. She’s nothing like us and she won’t ever have any similar magics. It would be best for you to have another child. Perhaps this one was just a dud.” Grandma sounded sympathetic and very sad but Nora didn’t like the way she was talking. Calling her a dud and acting like she was better than her, acting like she was just something to be replaced. Nora’s mom looked down at her with a face lost in sadness. Scar spoke up,

“At least you found out now, so you don’t have to worry too much about her anymore and you can just focus on having another kid.” People like this piss me off. Family should love and support each other unconditionally, not pressure and ignore those they deem not family. I really wish I could defend myself and mom right now. Her mom picked her up and replied,

“Yeah, I’ll just do that.” The sarcasm was obvious, “Sorry I wasted your time.” The apology however sounded sincere. She turned and started heading out. The others said and did nothing to stop her. She made her way through the manor down the stairs and started pushing the main doors open when a voice spoke up,

“Azealia.” It was a deeper voice than anyone else in the manor. Her mom turned toward the voice giving Nora a good look at the man it came from. He also had a fox tail and ears but his were completely white, same for his hair. His eyes were a pink color and he looked to be taller than anyone else in the family she’d seen so far.

“Grey, what are you doing here?” Her mom sounded excited to see him,

“I wanted to see Nora.” He stepped closer looking down at Nora with a soft smile on his face, “Can I hold her?”

“Of course.” The tone was much nicer with just those two. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms,

“Hi, I’m Grey.” Nora decided she liked this guy and responded with random happy noises. He smiled even brighter and looked up to her mom, “She’s cute.”

“Thanks. You know you can always come by the house if you want to hang out with her or you could even babysit her when she’s a little older.”

“Really!? I would love to babysit her.” He looked back down at Nora and sadness overtook his face, “So, how did it go up there?” Her mom hesitated for a moment then spoke,

“She doesn’t have any magical similarities to the family. I think my mom was a little upset I wasted her time. Even if she didn’t really show it. And they all seemed to just want me to have another kid.” Grey looked angry,

“That figures, you should just cut them all out of your life. That’s what I’m doing.”

“But they’re family. How could I just cut them off.”

“I know it can be difficult but sometimes it has to be done.”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, whatever you decide to do I’ll still support you.” Nora’s mom smiled at that, Nora liked this guy’s thoughts on the situation and fully agreed with them, she knew very well how hard turning away from family could be but like Grey said sometimes it had to be done.

“I love you.” Her mom said as she hugged him squishing her in the middle of them,

“I love you too, Lia.” Nora thought Lia was a cute nickname for her mom. The hug continued for a few seconds until Grey finally pulled away saying,

“You should get back home, Bora’s probably worried sick.” He held Nora out to her mom, “Here” Her mom cradled her, and looked at gray,

“You wanna come and help me smooth this whole thing over with him.” The smile was obvious in her voice, Grey chuckled,

“Very funny.” Her mom softly chuckled at that reply,

“Alright. Well, I should be going”

“See you later.”

“Bye.” With that, her mom stepped outside where the carriage was waiting for her along with the coach and horses. She hopped in. She seemed to be in a much better mood than before. Nora thought that talk with Grey must have made her feel better. She was glad but still upset that her own family would say those things about her. She didn’t like being called a dud and she didn’t like that they thought she needed to be just like them to be a part of their family. She decided she’d do her best to avoid them, at least until she could talk. Then she could at least defend herself and tell them what she thinks of them.

The burning energy that had been constant until now suddenly vanished and she was overcome with an extreme feeling of fatigue. Her eyes forced themselves closed and within a few seconds, she was asleep.