Chapter 25- Fenrir

Chewing on a reindeer bone I clean my teeth of leftover meet. I lay in the snow outside Alice’s house as the morning sun rises over the snow covered mountains. I seem to have locked myself out. Continuing to chew on my bone I wait. After a few minutes a rustling noise leaks out of the house. I perk up my ears and listen. I can hear little feet pitter and patter across the wooden floor. A high pitched sniffle and Alice saying “Mr. Wolf” follows shortly their after.

I bark once to alert her of my position. The door flings open moments later and an excited Alice screams with joy. “Mr. Wolf I thought you ran away! Hurry and come inside for breakfast!” I pick up my chewing bone and follow her to the kitchen table.

Alice kicks her legs as she sits in a chair at the table. She had quickly finished her meal hoping to be able to play before her father’s morning training she so loved to watch. I lie next to her chewing on the bone of a reindeer. Small tasks such as chewing bones or digging holes are often enough to entertain me in this world. Alice’s father known as Beowulf sits at the wooden table eating his morning porridge.

“Dad, can Mr. Wolf and I go out and play?”

“You know his name isn’t Mr. Wolf right? I asked him yesterday and he told me he didn’t like it. Why don’t you think of a different name for him?”

Alice gives me a wink and says “Ok how about fluffy!”

I immediately shoot up from my bone and make a low whining noise while staring at Beowulf.

“I don’t think he likes that either. What do you think of Fenrir?”

Alice puffs out her cheeks making a sour face. “Why would we call him that?”

“Let me tell you a story.” Beowulf sets down his spoon and leans in toward Alice. Lowering his voice to dramatize the story he says “A long time ago the gods gave birth to a wolf. He grew at a terrifying speed so they were forced to lock him up to prevent him from wreaking havoc on the world. However this wolf was strong enough to escape their grasps twice over. The wolf was known to be both cunning and strong. His name was Fenrir. I believe since this wolf here is so large and cunning Fenrir would be a fitting name. What do you two think?”

I would like it if they could call me Deadra for I want to claim that name as my own through each world, but I have no way of communicating that. I do like Fenrir a lot better than Fluffy though. With that in mind Fenrir is just fine with me.

Wagging my tail I bark in conformation of the name.

Alice thinks for a moment with a hum while putting her finger to her mouth. “(hmmm) I don’t know…”

I rest one paw on her leg and give her the biggest puppy dog eyes I can muster. With a small whine I try to convey my feelings about the names.

Beowulf bellows out with a laugh “Haha, I think he really likes it!”

“Well I had another name in mind, but since he likes Fenrir so much I guess that will do.” She gives me a smile that looks as if she has won some type of debate.

Raising one of his eyebrows he says “Oh, and what name did you have in mind besides Fluffy?”

Alice stops kicking her legs while looking towards the ground with a serious face. Her eyes show a glint of despair for a brief moment before shrugging it off and saying “It’s not important. I don’t want to think about sad things.”

Beowulf drops his head a few inches and with a sad voice says “You’re right. We need to move on from that.”

I want to ask them what happened and why they are sad. I want to know what tragic event sprung this depressing atmosphere. What type of tragedy could cause both father and daughter to hang their heads with the mere mentioning of it? Even if curiosity would overcome me I would have no way to ask the question. The only thing I can do is sooth their pain.

Pushing myself up on her lap I lick Alice’s ear. My massive tongue being many times larger than her ear coats the entire side of her head in saliva. My saliva goes into her shoulder length blonde hair like gel stiffening it into a spiked position. Half her hair stands on end while the other half rests flat against her face. Alice laughs from being tickled by my soft wet tongue. Beowulf looks up from his hunched poster to see why she giggles. A booming laugh escapes from him as he spots her unusual hair style. I think that will help lighten the mood a bit.

“(Hahaha) Fenrir! You’re a good boy aren’t you?” he pats the top of my head with his calloused hands. “Now if I remember correctly you two wanted to go out and play. Right?”

Alice jumps out of her chair shouting “Yes we do!”

“Alright go then, just be back before noon, I have a surprise for you.”

As we leave the house Alice rubs the scruff on my neck. “So what should we do Fenrir?”

Since they already accepted me into their home why don’t I show her mine? I tap the back of her neck with my nose then flick my head toward my back. I repeat this once more.

“Do you want me to ride you?”

I nod my head with a humph.

“Ok!”

I am currently taller than her when I am standing on all four legs. If she was a less agile child I would have to lie down to let her get on top of me, but Alice just uses my fur as hand and foot holds. She nimbly climbs onto my back. I wonder if the people of this world are extremely light and agile like the pyromancers of the last world. That can’t be true because Beowulf is basically like a tank.

After she finishes mounting me she wraps her hands around my neck and yells “Ok go!”

In an explosion of snow I jet off toward the forest. I jump over rocks and weave through trees. The wind flows through my white fur. Alice’s blond hair blows in the wind behind us. As we rush past a group of viper rabbits they scatter in every direction. The trees shake as birds fly away dropping snow from their branches. This snow covered land has an abundance of freedom and natural life.

When we reach my make shift fort I slow my pace to allow Alice to admire it from afar.

“Wow what’s that?”

Staying silent I continue to stride closer to the giant tree surrounded with rocks and sticks.

Alice jumps down from my back and walks over to the outer rock wall. She caresses one of the rocks as she says “Who made this? It looks like something I would make… given enough time.”

I energetically spin around in circles barking as I chase my tail. After several spin I sit down and bow my head.

“Do you know who made it?”

Dam I thought if I made enough of a commotion she would realize it was me. I growl for a split second out of spite. Not sure how to get my point across I walk into the entrance. Turning around I bark and flick my head toward the hole.

“Is the answer inside? Ok I’ll follow you!” she follows closely behind me as I go into my lovely burrow. She follows so close my tail hits her in the face forcing her to pull on it. I make a yelp as she does. “Oh sorry, I didn’t realize it was so sensitive! Hehe” she gives off a devilish smile.

Dozens of shredded furs and pelts lay across the ground on top of dried grass. The floor is soft like a bed. The walls are dirt carved out by wolf claws. A small pile of meet resides in the corner keeping fresh from the cold air.

I lie down in the center of my dwelling and roll around in the plethora of furs. Alice giggles then jumps into the pile rolling around with me. She starts pulling at my hair so I lick and play scratch at her with my claws retracted. We only calm down after several minutes of wrestling around and playing. Due to her small stature and being so young she becomes completely warn out.

“It’s so soft in here!” she leans up against one of the walls completely out of breath. She puts her hands against the wall sliding her fingers between my claw marks. “Hey Fenrir… did you make this place?”

I wag my tail unconsciously from the happiness of her finally understanding my accomplishment. I bark once and lick her face to confirm her question.

“So does that mean your last master helped build the wall around the tree?”

I shake my head with a small growl spraying spit into the air.

Alice continues to trace the marks on the walls as she speaks “Hmmm… do you want to know why Beowulf is so sad sometimes?” I turn my head sideways but stay silent. “The women he loved and the mother of his child died giving birth… The pain still hurts him sometimes but not as bad as it used to. In these past ten years he has been diligently taking care of me. He tells me stories of her all the time. She was kind and giving. She saved him from a dark path and brought him happiness. He often says I look like her. He wants to keep me safe and protect me so he has raised me to become strong. He has taught me many things about life and loss thereof.” She takes a deep sigh before continuing. “If you understand what it is like to lose a loved one then you will understand his sorrow.”

All too well do I know what it is like to have death steal the one you love away. Images of Aarushi flash through my mind. A small moan permeates from my lips as I slouch to the ground.

“I feel bad for him too. I know exactly what it’s like to lose someone you love.”

A quite grunt of confusion escapes me. She sounded as though her mother is not the one she misses or the one she loved. Actually what happened to her usual child like behavior? She never acts like this? I want to ask her so many questions. What is the name that made you sad yet you wished to give me? Who is the person you loved and lost if not your mother?

“I can explain further another time but for now we should head back to father.”

After we exit my home she sluggishly climbs onto my back. Still full of energy I run back to the usual spot for her father’s training. Her father is already there meditating.

“You two are late.”

Looking ashamed as she hops of my back she sheepishly says “Sorry dad Fenrir showed me his home in the woods.” Perking up in a single instant she swings her arms around while shouting “It was so cool! He built a stone wall and sticks were coming from the ground. He even made a bed inside of it under a giant tree!”

Unphased by her words he says “Of course he did honey. Now today will be your first day of official training with me. Let me teach you how to meditate.”

“Really!”

“haha of course! Now come and sit with your legs crossed as I sometimes do.”

Alice drops to her butt on the spot and crosses her legs. She looks up to her father with anticipation. “Ok now what?”

“Patience, let me explain. First fix your positioning.”

Alice tightens her crossed legs and sets her wrists on her knees with her palms toward the sky. Closing her eyes she takes a deep breath. She reminds me of a Buddhist monk.

Sighing deeply before talking Beowulf begins his long winded explanation. “Dei is the living essence of this world. Every living creature has Die running through its veins. Without Dei we would all be dead. A long time ago humans discovered how to manipulate Dei in several different ways. The first and foremost is simple Dei gathering and releasing within your core. Once one masters this they can strengthen their Dei reserves and use stronger forms of it. There are five known branches of Dei. They are Sei Rei Nei Hei and Qei. Sei is the Dei of sight. It allows one to sense the Dei around you and read the flow of it in the world and people. Rei is the Dei of recovery. It can help you heal your body and mind faster through the consumption of Dei. This form of Dei can also be extended outside the body to help heal others, but only slightly.”

Alice releases a small grunt paying attention with all her little might.

Beowulf putting his hand on her shoulder says “we will talk about the rest later, for now let us focus on gathering Dei. The most import one is learning to control Dei.”

Siting in the most formal position I can I listen to every word her says. He may be teaching Alice, but I plan to also learn from him whether he knows it or not.

“Now I want you to breathe in deeply to the pit of your stomach and try to feel the Dei within you. Absorb Dei in the air through your lungs. Concentrate on the power that you feel around you and try to bring it within yourself. You will begin to feel more strength build within yourself. When this happens try to capture the feeling and learn what it feels like. When you finish that we can move onto the next step, Dei wielding. Let me demonstrate while you try to breath in Dei.”

I take several deep breathes trying to feel the Dei around me. At first I assume it to be exactly like the magic from the pyromancer world but I find that to be a foolish idea. Following his words that the energy is in the pit of my stomach I focus there. As I do this Beowulf continues his demonstration.

He stands up from his cross-legged seated position. Walking to a tree he says “Never over use directly controlling and releasing Dei. Over consuming Dei will poison you. Over releasing it will sap the life from your body. Always know your restraints before trying something new.” He places his palm on the tree. He makes a quick shout to the air while releasing Dei directly at the tree. The tree explodes where his palm rests. An entire six inch section of tree is eradicated. Splinters fly in every direction as it slowly tumbles to the ground. He didn’t have to do anything but simply release the Dei from his body to knock over a full grown tree.

Beowulf rubs his belly as it growls. “It may be powerful but it takes a toll on our body. It steals the very life energy you have, thus you must replenish it via food water and air. Now concentrate on breathing and collecting Dei. Excuse me as I go replenish my energy.” He leaves back to his home.

I close my eyes and concentrate on my core. I already know that using magic here is different than the previous world because I have tried to use fire many times but failed. What is it that I could do to find the answer faster?

We both sit in silence for a long time when Alice breaks my concentration along with the silence as she says “Do you want a hint?”

Opening my eyes I nod my head.

“Imagine the air as being saturated with Dei. Imagine that every time you breathe in some of it absorbs into you and when you breathe out your only releasing air without Dei. Imagine the Dei as being little particles that you can actually feel or touch. The stronger you imagine this the more Dei you can absorb.”

I do as she says and few breathes later I can feel a slight strength build up within my body. My tail begins to wag. How did she know that I was trying to learn from Beowulf also?

Alice puts her hand on my back as she sits down next to me.

“Fenrir… did you know I actually mastered how to gather and use Dei a few years ago? I tried learning to use it myself a long time ago while watching father. The only reason I haven’t shown my father is because I’m afraid of what he will think. I am afraid he will get mad that I experimented with it before he thought I was ready. There is a reason he waited tell now to teach me, and that is so I don’t hurt myself. But since I didn’t hurt myself I should be fine right?”

I nod my head while wagging my tail.

She makes a large sigh and says “I am also scared he will look at me differently if he learns I can use it. What if he stops loving me as his daughter? What if he thinks I am some kind of monster? He has said before that people don’t usually master Dei control until they are in their teenage years, and others never learn to use it.” She stands up and walks toward the tree that her father dropped to the ground. She places her hand on the trunk. Without making a noise she destroys part of the tree with an explosion much smaller than yet equally as impressive as her father’s. “I know I haven’t mastered it yet, but what do you think of me?”

I stare at her without a noise thinking within my own head.

How can a girl her age be able to do something like that? Who is this girl?

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AN: So the results are in. I will not make any poles and will transition from world to world as I please. with that said I hope in the future people will tell me when a story starts to get old.

Also If any one want's to help and edit my work please PM me and we can work out a deal where you will receive the works before everyone else does.