Vulpine (IPI without Pokemon)

Chapter One: A Tail of Transformation

“Bosco! Here, Bosco!” I called into the backyard.

In response, my terrier puppy waggled his tail excitedly, thrilled to have my attention. He still didn’t move from the edge of the yard. Beyond him, tall trees half-visible in the moonlight offered a worrying escape route.

I sighed and slowly made my way across the grass towards him in the warm summer air. “Come on, Bosco, let’s go back inside now.” I kept my movements slow and deliberate, but the dog nevertheless scampered off into the underbrush of the forest beyond.

I cursed and called back to my house, “The stupid dog ran away again! I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t you want a flashlight?” my mother’s voice replied.

“It’s a full moon, and Bosco makes a ton of noise, and I don’t want him to wander away too far!” I ran ahead without waiting for a response.

I had underestimated how much the dark trees would obscure my vision, and my own shoes made so much noise that listening for little paws was impossible. I resolved to stand still and call out the dog’s name in the hopes that he would come to me on his own.

Soft crinkling caught my ear somewhere to my right, but then all was silent. What was Bosco waiting for? Unwilling to let the puppy slip away again, I leapt at the source of the sound. However, I didn’t end up tackling my dog, but something large and very soft and fluffy--some animal’s tail? The owner yelped and slipped out of my grasp, disappearing deeper into the forest.

Then Bosco reappeared and sniffed at me while I lied on the ground. This time he let me scoop him up as he licked my hand. “Welcome back, buddy,” I said with a chuckle. “Were you chasing after that thing back there? Well, whatever it was, you got it!” I patted the dog’s head, then I was suddenly overcome with incredible exhaustion.

My breathing came in ragged gasps as my vision started to go black. Nevertheless, I stayed on my feet and staggered through the underbrush back to the yellow dots of light: my home’s windows. Just as the house came into detail, I started to feel itchy. The skin on my chest quickly went from uncomfortable to irritating, then it spread to cover the skin all over my body. It felt so strange, too; when I scratched it, it felt exactly like… fur. My heart pounding, I quickly set Bosco on the ground, who ran back to the house, before pulling my shirt off and stepping into the moonlight.

Silvery fur sprouted all over my chest, growing thicker and spreading outward to my neck and arms. Stunned and horrified, I could only watch and feel as the fur quickly spread to cover my whole body except for a small patch around my, um… It was thickest on my chest and shoulders, and my normally brown hair had become a long, silvery mane. But the changes to my body wouldn’t stop there. My body heated up like an oven as my nails elongated into sharp, black claws and the skin on my palms and feet became thick and rough like Bosco’s paw pads.

The bones in my feet and skull cracked, the sound echoing back to me through the trees. I wanted so badly to scream in agony, but my jaw had totally shattered. I instead collapsed on my side and writhed in pain as my bones shifted around of their own accord. I managed to literally claw off my shoes as they elongated and my toes became fox paws.

At the same time, my head was being molded very painfully into a new shape. My ears were pulled up to the top of my head where they elongated to look like fox ears, and my face was pulled out into a long, vulpine muzzle, complete with sharp teeth and a black, rough nose. Those senses immediately came sharply into focus: I could smell everything from the dirt to the leaves to the squirrel clawing his way up the tree. I could hear the squirrel’s heartbeat at that, quick and skittish like its owner.

My body temperature had risen far higher than I thought a human could survive, but it had stopped feeling painful, even though I felt like I was well over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. With the pain of the transformation having passed, I sighed in relief through my now canine nostrils.

But then, almost like an afterthought, my tail bone exploded into nine long, fluffy tails coated in the same soft silver fur that covered the rest of me. The feeling of having nine extra appendages was so foreign that I had to take a moment to bring them under control before I got to my feet. Or paws, I guess. These paws made me feel like I was standing on my toes, but when I tried to bring my feet all the way down, they refused; the muscles in the paws weren’t made to stretch all the way down, so I was forced into a digitigrade stance.

“How’re you feeling?” an unfamiliar voice behind me asked.

I yelped like an animal, whirling around only to stumble back to the ground. Before me stood a girl with the head of a fox, golden-yellow eyes, and nine long, silvery tails curled elegantly like a fan behind her. She wore a light pink tank top that showed off her chest over knee-length blue shorts; she had a nice figure, although the fox head and tails made it look a little uncanny. Despite her animal features, I placed her to be about sixteen, like me. Silvery-white fur covered her body from the tips of her pointy ears to her bare four-toed paws. This girl was a hybrid.

Hybrids are… strange. They’re born to completely normal humans, only to come out looking like the father was some kind of animal. The weirdest part is that their DNA says they should be completely regular human offspring of their completely regular human parents, but half-animal they are nonetheless. Beyond that, they can use what can really only be described as elemental magic, like control over water or earth or even darkness, to the bewilderment of scientists. There are hundreds of species of hybrids, and they all face heavy persecution from their worrying powers and uncanny appearance coupled with their recent explosion in numbers over the past few decades.

“What do you mean, how did it go?” I asked, a little cynical. Speaking with a long muzzle was incredibly strange, but at least my words came out well enough. “That was the most excruciating thing I’ve ever felt! Did you do this, hybrid girl?”

The fox girl huffed. She smelled like rosemary-scented firewood with a hint of fox musk—it blended surprisingly well. “I’m not just a hybrid, I’m a person like you, human boy. My name is Kyu, and…” her ears fell back in a sign of shame. “well, yes, this is my fault. You did touch one of my tails, you know.” She said that last statement like it explained everything.

“Your point?” I asked, increasingly irate with this girl.

“Well, when you touch a kitsune’s tails without permission, they curse you. I’m a kitsune, you touched my tails, so I cursed you. Specifically, I cursed you to know what it’s like to be a hybrid… and how it feels to have this happen to you.” With lightning-fast reflexes, she snatched one of my tails in a tight grip. I instinctively growled at her and yanked my tail back, leaping up to claw her face for her impunity in touching my sacred tails. She knocked my hand away with ease. Clearly she wouldn’t learn her lesson. Fury burning within me, I willed her own nine tails to catch fire and so they erupted into supernatural blue light.

And then my senses came back. “Wait, what did I just… why did I think…?”

The fire on her tails went out, but she seemed no worse for wear. She wore a satisfied smile. “Let me guess. You were furious that I had defiled your holy tails with my unclean hands and you had to exact retribution.”

“Yes! Why the hell did I think that? And why aren’t you burned?”

“I didn’t burn because kitsune are very attuned to fire; basically, we’re fireproof and can use fire magic. Kinda lucked out with that curse, I guess. And you attacked me because it’s a kitsune’s instinct: as a species, we’re all immensely proud of our tails. I felt like the best way for you to understand why I cursed you would be for the curse to make you feel that anger firsthand. Also I always feel like it’s a good idea to make you humans understand a little better what we hybrids are like, so this was a win-win!”

“A ‘win-win’?” I repeated scornfully. “You put me through that and cursed me to be a half breed like you, just so I wouldn’t be so prejudiced against hybrids? Well, let me tell you: I was okay with you all before, but now I’m starting to hate your kind!” My fur bristled as I grew angry. How annoying.

“Look look look, this isn’t permanent!” she stammered. “Maybe I didn’t make the best choice in putting you through all of that, but it’s really, really hard to control that anger and I just...!” She sighed. “Look, I can change you back. It won’t be pleasant, but you’ll never have to think about me ever again. But please, only hate me and not my fellow hybrids, okay? We’re honestly nice people, same as you humans, but you just… caught me at a bad moment.”

“Oh, thank god.” I sighed. “I thought I was going to be stuck like this for life.”

“Nope! But seriously, it’s not all that bad.” She reached a tail out towards me.

I immediately jumped back in fright. “Hey, hey, don’t curse me again!”

“I’m not cursing you again!” she snapped. “Sorry, I forgot to explain: all kitsune curses wear off with time, but we can end it early if we intentionally touch the victim with our tails. Because I’ll touch you of my own accord, my instincts won’t overcome me and I can reverse the curse instead.”

I shook my head, looking away. “Fine. Change me back already.”

A luxuriously soft tail brushed over my arm. “It wouldn’t kill you to say please. But I know how upsetting this must have been for you, so I forgive you.” She took a deep breath…

...Nothing happened. I looked back to Kyu. “Well?”

Kyu looked mortified, her heart pounding.“Wait, hold on,” she instructed, wrapping all of her tails around me. A few tense moments passed, but I didn’t feel anything at all. She swore repeatedly and gave me a full embrace, curling her tails around my back (while deftly avoiding my own tails) to surround me as completely as possible. Suddenly she pulled herself away, her eyes darting back and forth, desperate to see some sign of change. All the while I felt nothing but a growing fear.

“Kyu? This will wear off, right?” I asked, my voice strangely calm.

“Um… I… yes! Yes, it’ll wear off. I, um, I guess I can’t end this one early since I made you a kitsune like me and all,” she chuckled, avoiding my gaze, “but hopefully by tomorrow you’ll be all better!”

I set my hands on her shoulders, trying to keep my body from shaking. “Kyu. Please don’t lie to me.”

She finally looked directly at me, her expression distraught. “I don’t know. This has never happened before; no matter what I’ve done to anyone, I’ve always been able to end the curse immediately. I’ve even turned a couple other humans into kitsune, but I changed them back just fine. But you… you might be stuck like this.”

The world became muted. I struggled to comprehend what she had just said. ‘I might be stuck like this.’ What did that mean? Of course it couldn’t mean I was stuck as a hybrid like her, right? It’ll just wear off, just like she said. I’m a human, not some hybrid half-breed. By the time school starts tomorrow, I’ll be a human again. Right?

Right?

Tears leaked from my eyes as I slammed my fist against a tree. The wood splintered beneath my fist. I swore at Kyu, then again, and again. “You can’t leave me like this!” I shouted. “You can’t take away my whole life just like that, just for touching your goddamned tails!”

“I… I… I can still help you! Your life isn’t over!” Her voice quavered; she was crying too.

“Of course it is, you stupid half-breed! Do you have any idea how anti-hybrid my friends are? I’ll be persecuted and hated for the rest of my life!”

“Just shut up, okay?!” Kyu shouted back. “I can still help you. I attend a boarding school exclusively for hybrids like me… like us. You can enroll there; Professor Darck doesn’t turn away anyone in need, regardless of how much you can pay. And besides, maybe he can change you back, or knows someone who can.”

I looked back to her, my expression softening a little. She smiled a little and walked away from my home deeper into the forest. “Follow me; I’ll take you to meet him.”

I frowned again. “And why should I trust you?”

She groaned. “Look, my friends and I are the only hybrid for miles. You said yourself that everyone hates hybrids here, so if you want any help in… adjusting to this, you’re going to have to come with me.”

I hated to admit it, but she was right. I fell into step behind her, awkwardly trying to walk with these paws, and said, “He isn’t too far away, right?”

“Well, technically, he’s in Minnesota right now—”

“What?!”

“But I have a friend who can teleport us there! She’s just a mile away; I can smell her already.”

“Teleport? Really?” I asked skeptically.

She started to jog, but when I stumbled over my paws in an attempt to keep up, she slowed down again. “Yeah; her species is attuned to divine aura and law aura, so she can do a lot of crazy things.”

“Her species handles biblical legal procedures?” I snarked.

Kyu laughed melodiously, exposing many sharp, white teeth in her canine jaws. “No, but that’s funny; she’d love to hear that! Anyway, being attuned to law means you can manipulate the laws of reality to some extent, and having divine aura is like an augmentation to your other powers, but it's extremely rare. I'm jealous of her, really.

"Also, my cursing ability is a combination of law, darkness, and a bit of nature aura, but we kitsune are mostly attuned to fire aura. All species have a unique mix of attunements to the different kinds of aura.”

“Hold on; ‘aura’? That thing that New Age people and psychics talk about?”

“That’s where they got the idea, but trust me when I say that just about everything they say is nonsense; the whole idea of ‘humanistic aura’ is so very, very wrong.”

“And how do you… use aura?” I asked, now genuinely curious.

“I… um… I’ll have to show you later; fire and forests don’t really mix well, you know?” She looked back at me with an apologetic smile. I sighed, but didn’t complain.

We approached a dark figure in a small clearing. The moonlight revealed her to be a cat-like hybrid with short black fur and large ears. She wore a white T-shirt with golden patterns and white shorts that came only to her mid-thigh. A long tail swayed gently behind her, and her hands were slightly raised to either side in a meditative pose.

Additionally, she was levitating about two feet off the ground.

“Ailu!” Kyu called up to the cat.

She opened her narrow eyes to reveal icy-blue irises and cat-like pupils. She looked at Kyu, then me, and her eyes widened. “Oh?” she said, descending to the ground. Her voice was light and soft, with a slight purr to it. She stood about five feet tall--a few inches shorter than Kyu and me. “Who is this, Kyu?”

“What, you weren’t watching us?” Kyu asked in return.

She shook her head with a smile. “My mind was elsewhere, dear. There are two more targets about eight miles to the northeast, by the way.”

Targets? Did they have a hitlist or something? Suddenly, Ailu laughed and turned to me. “No, dear; we’re just playing a game. Those ‘targets’ are our friends, even if they are on the ‘prey’ team tonight.”

Did... she just—

“Yes, I did read your mind. Or rather, I listened in on your thoughts. Try not to shout them so loud if you want privacy around hybrids like me.” She smiled pleasantly. “And if I may ask, what is your name?”

“I’m Eon,” I replied. Then I frowned and shook my head. “Uhh, sorry, my name’s Logan. I don’t even know why I said that, sorry.”

Ailu tilted her head, looking concerned.

Kyu grabbed the cat girl’s arm. “Can we speak in private for a moment, Logan?” I shrugged, then Kyu pulled Ailu across the clearing.

I strained my ears to overhear them, but despite the overwhelming number of things I could hear, their conversation wasn’t one of them. Ailu raised a hand to her muzzle in surprise, but I could only hear her gasp. A few moments later, they returned.

“Kyu told me what happened,” Ailu said, sounding concerned. She put a hand on my fluffy shoulder. “I’m so sorry you have to go through all of this.” I stiffened at her touch, but didn’t pull away.

“Ailu agreed to take us to Professor Darck,” Kyu said. “After you and Darck chat, she’s willing to take you home as well.”

I realized something important and frowned. “Is this some conspiracy?” I said.

“Huh?” Kyu furrowed her brow.

“Are you just doing this all to get my trust, so you can take me away to this ‘academy’ and never let me return? You can’t really promise me that you’ll bring me back home. I don’t think you will, actually!”

Ailu shook her head. “No, no, that’s not it, really!”

“Goodbye, you two,” I said, turning around. “Thanks for ruining my life, Kyu. I hope I never have to see you again.”

The ground before me burst into a huge pillar of flame. I jumped back, startled. By the time I returned to my feet, Kyu was standing before me, looking furious. “Can you stop being so… so rude?!” she shouted. “I’m trying to help you and you keep going on about your life being ruined! Look, the only reason I’m still here is that I feel obligated to clean up after myself, but if you don’t want to see me again, fine! Just let me help you sort out your life and we can part ways.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she interrupted, “Shut up, I don’t want to hear it! Think of it this way: you can come with us, where we promise you’ll feel accepted as a kitsune, or you can go back to your anti-hybrid family and your anti-hybrid friends and see how that goes for you. I think the choice is obvious.”

Damn it, she was right.

“But if it makes you feel better, what if we bring just Professor Darck to you? That way you can walk away anytime you want--your house is that way, right?” She pointed in the direction we came.

I deliberated for a moment, then yielded. “Fine. Bring him here.”

Kyu groaned. “I’m cutting you some slack because you just got transformed and all, but don’t push it. It’s not really all that hard to be polite.”

I sighed. “Okay, I’m sorry. Can you please bring Professor Darck here?”

Kyu smiled, then Ailu turned away from us. A moment passed, after which she slashed at the air before her with her claws, opening a jagged, gold-bordered rift in midair. Through the rift came what was unmistakably a platinum-scaled dragon’s head, followed by the rest of the dragon’s hybrid body.

The tall hybrid stood nearly eight feet tall, with a scaly body and massive white wings. He wore formal attire that was nevertheless torn up by the spikes on his shoulders and back. His black pants and dress shoes were in a similar state of disrepair, despite looking otherwise pressed and clean. His ferocious body belied his kindly expression and gentle words. “So this is the young man you told me about, Ailu.” His voice sounded aged and soft, like a grandfather.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“I’m sorry, Professor Darck, I didn’t mean to do this to him, I—” the dragon raised a hand and Kyu immediately snapped her muzzle shut.

“Young man, what is your name?”

Once again, “Eon” immediately sprang to mind, but I instead said, “I’m Logan. You must be Professor Darck.”

Darck smiled. “Indeed. I am the headmaster of Joseph Darck’s Academy for Hybrids. Now, if I may ask, are you aware that hybrids have true names?”

“Er… no,” I replied. “Honestly, I think I’d prefer Logan either way.”

The dragon laughed in a surprisingly human way. “Well, my name isn’t Professor Joseph Darck, but that’s what I’ve gone by for many years! But I am the exception. For you, that name you sense deep within yourself, the name that always comes to mind first… I believe you will find using it to be relieving.”

“You want me to call myself Eon,” I gathered. Ailu nodded enthusiastically.

I found that was very relieving, thinking of myself as Eon. That made me even more uneasy. “Professor Darck, what’s happened to me?” I asked, desperate. “Am I really stuck looking like some fox half-breed?”

Darck raised a clawed finger. “You may find it prudent not to refer to hybrids as half-breeds. Many of them, Kyu and Ailu included, find it to be an insult. Why not say you look... vulpine or fox-like?”

“Okay, fine,” I nodded. “So am I stuck looking… vulpine forever?”

“I can find out for you,” Darck offered. “Hold still, please.” The dragon placed a scaly hand on my head between my ears. It felt disorienting to be reminded of how my body was so different now. Nevertheless, I held still as Darck took a couple slow breaths. I smelled the smoke on his breath and couldn’t help but think of how cliche that was.

“There is no trace of human aura left in you,” Professor Darck declared. “Trying to reverse the transformation would be fatal.” I immediately sank to my knees. My last hope was gone.

“How many times do I have to tell you, being a hybrid isn’t that bad!” Kyu exclaimed.

“Kyu, be patient with him.” the dragon chided. “Much of his life was taken from him in one night.”

“But his life isn’t over! He’ll be just fine at the academy, right?”

“Yes, child, but he does not yet understand what is to come. Try to show some sympathy, please.”

Kyu huffed. “He doesn’t have to be so rude, though.” she muttered.

Darck knelt down with me. “Now, Eon, I know this must be hard for you, but lashing out at Kyu is not the answer, especially when she has done so much to help you. Rest assured I will work to ensure you transition smoothly to this new life, but I will need your cooperation. Can I count on you?” He gazed at me with his fierce. yellow eyes. I sighed and nodded softly.

Darck smiled. “Thank you, friend. First, where do you live, and with whom?”

“A neighborhood about a mile that way,” I pointed in the direction of my house, “and it’s just me, mom, and my dog.”

“We will have to let her know what has happened to you, then.” Darck said.

My heart thudded in my chest. “What? No, no, no, she can’t see me like this!”

“You would let her keep searching for you in vain?” Ailu asked. “She is calling your human name into the forest as we speak.”

My ears fell back against my skull and I nearly jumped at the unfamiliar feeling. I closed my eyes. “No… there has to be another way. I don’t want her to see me like this.”

Darck grew somber in sympathy. “It will be hard, I know. But I assure you, it will be for the best. Whether or not she accepts you, simply letting her know what has happened will relieve you both immensely.”

I whimpered like a dog. I knew my mother was tolerant of hybrids--in fact, she’s the reason I’ve been fine with them--but will this new, “vulpine” me still be her son?

“Do you need a moment to prepare, or would you like to teleport back now?” Darck asked.

I steeled myself and stood. “Just… just take me there now.” I said in a strained voice.

Ailu embraced me tightly from behind, nuzzling my cheek fur. “We’ll be right behind you; I promise.”

“Ailu, I would prefer it if Eon went alone at first. You will know when to bring the rest of us here.”

Ailu nodded. “Yes, professor.” After taking another moment to concentrate, she tore open a rift in space leading to my lawn. I could feel my blood racing as I stepped through, traveling a mile in an instant back home. The rift closed behind me.

“Logan!” My mom shouted. She sounded desperate.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I faltered. Could I really do this?

“If you’re out there, say something!” she pleaded.

I had to. “I’m here, Mom! Back home!”

She inhaled sharply. “Is that you, Logan?” Mom replied hopefully. I couldn’t see her, but she sounded close as she ran towards me.

“Yeah, it’s me! I’m in the backyard.”

“Where were you, honey?” she said, coming into view. My mom was a bit short, with slightly wrinkled skin and brown eyes and long brown hair. She gasped. Here it came.

“Hi, Mom,” I said softly. I was keenly aware of my gently swaying tails and the ears that lay flat against my skull.

“Logan?” she asked, walking across the lawn. “Is that really you?”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, it really is me.”

She put a hand on my cheek. “Oh, I’d recognize my baby anywhere. What… what happened?”

“You’re not concerned about me being a hybrid?” I asked.

“Of course I’m concerned!” she exclaimed. “My son leaves into the forest, doesn’t come back for an hour, and when he does he’s become a hybrid?! I’m terrified right now!” She must have seen how worried and scared I was myself, because her expression softened and she hugged me. “But of course I still love you, hybrid or not. Just please, tell me what happened.”

And so I told her the story about Kyu and her tails, the transformation and how it felt to change. I told her about Ailu and Professor Darck and Kyu’s offer to take me to the academy, and then mentioned that she can meet them all if she wanted to.

“Sure, I’ll meet them,” she replied. There was something in her voice that I couldn’t place. Before I could give it much more thought, another rift opened beside us, allowing Professor Darck, Ailu, and Kyu through to our yard. Kyu had just stepped through the portal when Mom walked up to her and slapped her across the face. Kyu took the blow without a hint of resistance--I noticed Darck nod solemnly beside her.

“What the hell have you done, you bitch?” Mom said in a cold, low voice.

Kyu held her head bowed, her chest rising and falling. Was she about to cry? But then, after just a second of stillness, she snapped her head up to glare at Mom with a determined expression. “What have I done?” she repeated. She held her hands to either side, palms up. Huge orange flames erupted from her hands, making her expression even more fierce. “For one, I gave him the ability to control fire.”

She curled her hands into fists, making the fire die out. Spreading her tails like peacock feathers, she set them ablaze too. “He’s fire-proof, too. High temperatures will from now until he dies invigorate him, not hurt him! Beyond that, he can create illusions! Bend people to his will! Even without exercise, he’ll be healthier than you ever were, and he’ll live for a thousand years!

“I gave your son overwhelming power with a single touch of my tails, and all you can do is slap me and call me a bitch? Fine, be an ignorant human fool! But Professor Darck, Ailu and I are your son’s only lifeline, so if you don’t want to wake up with your house in flames one day—”

“Kyu!” Darck spoke sharply. He didn’t yell, but it was the loudest I had heard him speak so far. Just like before, Kyu’s muzzle shut immediately. Mom looked stunned by Kyu’s fiery speech, and Ailu seemed somewhat embarrassed, as if setting yourself on fire was merely a faux pas.

“Pardon my student, ma’am. She can be rather hotheaded--sometimes literally.” He chuckled for a moment, then recomposed himself. “Please tell me how you’re feeling. I’m sure that this has been a strenuous night for both of you, so I would like to help you make this change as painlessly as possible.”

“Is… is what she said true? Can Logan really do all of that?” Mom whispered.

“Every word, ma’am. But that brings me to what I really wanted to speak to you about.” The dragon cleared his throat. “I am the founder and headmaster of Joseph Darck’s Academy for Hybrids. Indeed, I am Professor Joseph Darck. I would like to offer your son a full ride to my academy in Minnesota, complete with boarding, food, and tuition. In essence, it would not cost you a penny to send your son here. Furthermore, the campus is populated exclusively with hybrids, up to and including my staff and myself.

“As far as returning home is concerned, the policy is typically to only allow students home over the breaks, but as your situation is rather extraordinary, you and Logan may arrange for him to return home on weekends if you so desire.

“I am well aware that much is being thrust upon you all in one hour, so I encourage you to research my establishment yourself and take the night to become comfortable with your son’s new form. Eon, I advise you to do the same, but do not try to summon fire--you really will burn down your home. May I return at, say, six in the afternoon tomorrow for your decision?”

Mom took a moment to mull over the dragon hybrid’s words. “Okay. I’ll think about it.”

“That is all I ask,” Darck smiled. He turned to Ailu. “Ailu, shall we return?”

“Of course, Professor.” Ailu nodded. She clawed open another rift in space itself and she and Darck passed through. Kyu followed, but not before giving me a bittersweet smile. “You’ll be okay. I promise,” she said, then jumped through the closing rift.