Oblivious to the invisible addition, Sophie looked questioningly at her son.

"Are you finished?" She asked.

"Yes, my spell is working again, and I could convince Dino of my wish," Mor replied.

"Great, then we can leave and go home. That Gorn fellow and his wife were kind of nice for Ice-kin, but the rest of them are rather cold," Sophie said.

°Good one.° The human chuckled.

"Could we stay one more night? I would like to say goodbye to everyone and have to tell you something. However, not right here. We still do have a place to stay, right? The chief told me he left a present there for me," Mor said.

°Also, you want more time to go after that mystery. Even though the Ice-kin don't want your help.° The human said.

°I will just ask Elly once. If she says no, then I will leave it at that.° Mor stated.

°Yeah, right. As if.° The human said.

For now, though, Mor had nothing more to do than to return with his mother to the temporary lodging. He dreaded the discussion about Mirage with his mother. Even with Dino accepting it, Sophie was something else. So, the excuse of not wanting anyone to overhear them was very welcome. It also wasn't a complete excuse because talking about Mirage where everyone could hear them might be a problem if words like monstrosity were shouted out in surprise or anger.

However, Mor and Sophie soon arrived at the lodging provided for the Soul-kin traders still in the city. The second lodging provided for the Soul-kin prince had been repurposed for other needs again. At least, that was what Sophie had been told by the Ice-kin guards asking her to relocate to the other Soul-kin group. Luckily for Mor, there was enough room, so he didn't have to share one with his mother.

Mor agreed to meet his mother after he got settled. To his pleasant surprise, all of his belongings, including the present, had already been brought here. Mor stared at the folded leather armor lying on the bed. Instead of the usual monochrome black color of normal armor, this had a slight rainbow sheen.

°Fancy.° The human said, just as Mor picked up the armor to get a closer look.

At the same time, a letter fell out of the folds, and Mor quickly read it. The Snow village had provided this armor as a sign of friendship, and according to the letter, the armor was made out of the first two monstrosities Mor had helped slay. The body armor was made out of the illusory raptor. However, the Ice-kin couldn't check if it had some special effects other than a fancy sheen. However, the gloves, boots, and an added helmet missed the sheen and instead had an ominous feel to them.

As Mor looked over the armor in awe of the craftsmanship, Mirage appeared next to him. Mor looked down at the small monstrosity sniffing at the armor and then stared in surprise as Mirage put a paw on the body armor, and its tails stood upright with a slight quiver. The armor reacted to the magic flowing from the illusory fox, the rainbow sheen getting brighter for a second, and then the armor changed color, adapting to the color of the bedsheet it laid upon.

°Camoflage armor.° The human said, amazed.

°I think the Ice-kin thought they gave us just useful armor with sentimental value. However, according to their letter, it seems they had an inkling that this armor might be more than they could see.° Mor answered.

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°Yup, they probably tried infusing it like a weapon, and it reacted. But without being able to use illusion spells, they wouldn't be able to narrow down the reaction.° The human mused, and Mor agreed.

°However, our little smart Mirage sniffed out the commonality in their powers.° The human said proudly.

Mor put the armor back and petted the little fox on its head, its three tails wagging excitedly.

"You're full of surprises. I think the human was right to bring you along." Mor said, picking up the small fox.

"Can you turn invisible for a moment?" He asked, Mirage looking up at his face.

It took a few more tries to get Mirage to understand what Mor wanted, but it did. Mor was allowed to carry the small one with him to his mother. He believed that bringing Mirage along and showing off the cute thing would help convince his mother about Mirage's harmlessness.

"Mor!" Sophie said, smiling after she opened the door to her room.

"Did you get situated?"

"Yes, mother," Mor answered.

"And you're sure you want your own room?" Sophie asked, and Mor smiled at her.

"Mother, I am old enough to stay on my own. I survived without you in the Ice-kin village." He stated.

"I know, but I was worried about you. You are my little boy, after all." Sophie said.

"Losing you was devastating for your father and me." She added, and Mor nodded.

"I understand, which makes what I want to tell you even harder." He said.

"No matter what you did and say. I won't lose you again." Sophie declared.

"Even if I did something forbidden?" Mor asked, and Sohpie nodded in determination.

Mor took a deep, calming breath before releasing whatever he had in his crossed arms.

"Mirage, " he said softly, and Sophie's eyes grew wide in shock as the creature shook off its invisibility. However, before she could say anything, Mor started his explanation.

"This is Mirage. The human called it a vampire illusion fox. It helped us fight the alpha howler after I healed it. Without Mirage's help, I might not be here now because we wouldn't have been able to kill the howler." Mor said softly, as Sophie's eyes darted between the awkwardly smiling Mor and the monstrosity, which has laid down on the floor next to Mor's feet.

"It saved you?" She asked. "But it's a monstrosity."

"It is." Mor agreed. "However, the monstrosities are changing, and we need to adapt. This is what I told Dino."

Sophie knelt down and held her hand to the little fox, which gave her a sniff, and Mor almost feared Mirage would bite to get a drop of blood. However, to his surprise, Mirage only licked at Sophie's fingers and then nestled its head into the palm of the woman, rubbing against her hand.

"It's strange," Sophie said. "When I see it like that, does it look harmless and even a bit cute?"

"I know. The human said that they have something called pets in their world, animals that are companions." Mor said, relieved.

"Animals are those magicless monstrosities, right?" Sophie asked, and Mor nodded.

Mor sat down on the floor and stroked Mirages' small back, the little monstrosity pulling away from Sophie and curling into his lap. It prodded his hand, and Mor put it close to its snout, feeling the little pinprick of its bite.

"I feel stupid now." He said as Mirage licked the inflicted wound. "I feared that you would be angry or attack Mirage."

"Honestly, I'm overwhelmed by this situation and don't know what to think right now. So I will trust you. You are my smart boy, after all, and if that little monstrosity saved you, I can't feel anything but gratitude toward it," Sophie said.

There was a short pause, after which both Mor and his mother chuckled.

"What is it doing right now?" Sophie asked, looking at the enthusiastically licking fox.

"Eating?" Mor put forward.

"What do you mean eating?" Sophie asked sternly.

"It needs blood to survive. It also must be of something with magic." Mor said.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Sophie asked.

"Not really. It also doesn't drink much." Mor said, and like Mirage wanted to prove Mor right, it stopped licking and curled back into a fluffy ball, satisfied after feeding.

Mor looked at his finger. However, there was only a slightly reddened point left, the needle-like teeth having only inflicted shallow punctures, just enough to draw blood. He held up his hand to show his mother.

"See, it's not bad," Mor stated.

The two of them continued to talk for a long while, and Mor felt closer to his mother since a long time ago. Over their shared "secret" Mirage, the little creature napped peacefully as the mother-son duo reconnected for real, without anyone interrupting them. They worked through the time of their separation again, talking about their feelings and the time apart.