Zin-Lu was hesitant to speak up, despite having no bad relationship with his sister even after she was cast out, he still knew in terms of battle power, he was not her match.

“Sister…”

He was under pressure and speaking became difficult. Zin-Li, on other hand, had hugged her father tightly closing her eyes.

In the carriage outside sat a Kitsune who had mixture of gray and white hair his eyes fixed on the floor where the Mizin and the father-daughter were.

“Seem he won’t get anywhere with her being in a bad mood,” he muttered, shaking his head as he stood up.

On exiting the carriage, all the Maxed Foxes knelt before him, outlining a path to the building. Zin and Pom were stunned, as they had not detected his presence until they saw him step out.

He glanced at Zin as he walked past them, going onto the second floor. Standing in front of the door, he noticed that the room was completely silent, red regalia and aura seeping through the spacing in the doorway.

“I hope I don’t make things worse, It’s not like have done anything to avoid crisis.” Knowing he was in a pinch, he just pulled the door opened.

He saw Ephini who had put up a shield around her desk, not minding their feud as she did the paper work. Turning to Mizin, who he noticed, was shocked to see him. Before her stood the grand elder of Tomaria, Lu-Long, Mizin’s father.

Ephini, who now caught sight of him, was equally shocked. She tried to stand and greet but he shook his head waking his hand. Taking a seat beside his son, he patted Zin-Li on her head. By this time all trace of Mizin’s regalia and aura had faded.

He threw her the bag he had in hand, donning a genial smile. With skeptic eyes, she pried open the bag, her pupils dilating at its contents.

“Seems she still likes the fish her mother cooks.” He muttered a few thanks to luck, glad he listened to his wife.

“So what is the grand patriarch doing in Elnor?”

Her expression was still stale but her voice gave a hint of excitement.

“Zin-Li is… a bit special, she has light attribute for healing as well. Few days ago, she was playing in the field when Chu-Chu from the Chu household was bullying her as usual. She had endured and we thought it was growth process. After a while, all the children came running back crying except for Chu-Chu and Zin-Li. We hurried to the field only to find a withered corpse with black fog surrounding Li. I’m sure you can make sense of the rest.”

“So what does that have to do with me?”

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The question stunned all in the room including Ephini, who started paying attention after Tomaria’s elder walked in.

“The family elders held a meeting and you had moved…”

The sight of the missing mountain had shocked the entire tribe, making them traveling to see her.

“So,” she said munching the fish snack with a blank expression.

“We came to a conclusion; we can’t cast out our people because of minor traditions. So we decided all with such ability as yours will become by default, your family kin.

Mizin nearly choked hearing those words, she was saved by Ephini who quickly attended to her.

“She is so hard to please. If I knew she would grow to be like this, I would have cared more for her well-being.”

Keeping his thoughts to himself, he raised Zin-Li and put her on the floor. She looked back at her father hesitant, who calmed her down with a smile. One step at a time, she approached Mizin whose eyes had a faint glow of orange. After what seemed like an eternity to her, she finally reached the towering demon who sat before her. The door suddenly opened up and two Kitsunes stood there, they wore similar Kimonos but each had distinct color and patterns.

“Ariel, Xing good timing, from today Zin-Li will be a member of your house.”\Zin-Lu looked at Xing with watery eyes; they were neighbors and knew how Mizin tempered. He could not interfere with the conflict, he feared Mizin even more than the Grand Elder. Mizin stared at Zin-Li, the room growing eerily silent. Tears welled up in Zin-Li eyes as she struggled to blink them back, knowing she would not be able to go back home. She had seen the expression of the entire village and it was one of disgust and hatred.

Mizin, after a moment of pause, handed the bag she ate from to Zin-Li which she collected. Patting her slightly on the head she looked at Ariel.

“She will be in your care, make sure she is comfortable”.

Ariel bowed and escorted her out, the little girl tearfully munching the snack. She was quite small for her age. She turned back and waved both her father and grandfather. Xing bowed as he closed the door, the conversation taking a turn that sparked fear in him as beads of sweat formed on his face.

“The child who survived the Neather creature was Her”.

Ephini looked up with her expression serious.

“Now it makes sense how she ended up like that. She is an otherworlder now, isn’t she?”

They both nodded with grim expressions written on their faces as their brows furrowed. Mizin took a casual position she laid back on the couch.

“Don’t worry, Harzil escaped so I expect Abil to deal with him soon”. This brought some level of respite for them. The father-son duo got up and proceeded to leave.

“One more thing, tell mother I said hi,” her eyes shutting soon after she sounded those words.

They exited the room. After the door was closed, they both breathed a sigh of relief. They both were skeptical after all, her childhood was not really fun so she had grown to have a short temper. Zin-Lu and Xing chatted as they approached the exit. Zin was still there, Pom being too busy hang to around. Soon after greeting Zin, they both bid their farewell and left Elnor.

“Zin do you know them?”

His expression had been serious, and Xing was curious.

“It’s nothing,” he said as he walked off in the library direction, leaving Xing behind. He paused then walked the other way heading in the direction of the training ground. This movement surprised Xing who followed him closely behind.

The training ground at the top of the hill was free, only Aroelan and Gilly stood face to face with each other. In a flash, Gilly lunged, with Aroelan putting up an earth wall, with a swing she landed a hit but did little damage to the wall. Xing was surprised to see Aroelan, having no idea he too was summoned by their master. Zin observed carefully the spar. Gilly was getting frustrated with her aura was fluctuating showing a sign of elemental change.