Francis jumped up at the speed of light and flicked his tail, shooting light at Rina. Aria flicked her wrist, and ice encased the squirrel instantly, leaving only enough room for him to breathe.
"There, he was dealt with easily," Aria smirked. "Now don't go bringing random rodents into my house again, please."
Rina put down her hand and rolled her eyes. She was upset at her new friend being called a rodent.
"Yeah, don't call me a rodent! I'm nothing of the sort!"
"Uhh, WHAT!" Rina exclaimed. She turned to Aria, and a look of fear appeared in both of their eyes in the same moment.
"What's wrong?" Francis looked infuriated. "Its not YOU that is trapped in ice!"
Aria sighed and sat down. She seemed to not be affected now that she thought about what the case might be. "A shapeshifter? I haven't heard of one in ages."
"I am NOT a shapeshifter, you old hag." Francis tried shaking loose from the ice block but struggled to even make an expression.
"I am not old either!" Aria stood up and grabbed the squirrel by the ice like it was a weapon.
"Put me down! And do it gently, please!" Francis was panicked. Aria smiled deviously and then let go.
"AHHHH!" Francis let out a high-pitched shriek. Francis had already thought about the times that were good, eating acorns, finding love, eating acorns, and transforming for the first time. Rina quickly jumped and caught Francis before he hit the ground.
Vino woke up, jumped up out of his sleep, and ran to go see the commotion.
Rina looked up and sighed deeply. "Sorry, Vino, I didn't mean to wake you."
Vino pinched the bridge of his nose and helped her up, Francis in hand. They quickly caught up with each other and discovered Vino had recovered more memories. He also learned about the perplexing shapeshifter amongst them.
"Francis, what are you?" Vino asked. He was confused but tried his best with the new knowledge.
"I am a squirrel." Francis rolled his eyes. He had an expressive personality.
Aria looked at Vino with worry, and he looked back with a smile. They both looked back at the squirrel.
"I can also do this." The squirrel started glowing with a bright light, and everyone averted their eyes. When they looked back, a human appeared in front of them; they all had the same thought. With golden hair and white skin, the human yawned and fell asleep on the table. Her aura was gracious.
"Mom, what is going on?" Vino was at a complete loss for words and turned to look at Rina. She just shrugged, and they both looked at Aria.
"A nagual," Aria said quietly. "Its a nagual! Is this real! Maybe it can heal Vino. Maybe." Aria went into deep though, and Vino focused on Frags for a few seconds.
"Frags, is this right? Can the creature heal us?" Vino was met with a silence. Vino seemed concerned yet accepted that the nagual couldn't help their situation.
Rina stepped forward and patted Francis' head. Rina knew that Francis had been through a lot. "Francis. I didn't know you were like this."
Francis opened one eye and stood up on the table. He pointed at Rina and made an angry expression, "My name isn't Francis, and I am not a he!"
Francis changed forms once again, back to the squirrel form and looked up at everyone. They were lost. "Can you see my tail? So elegant, so sparkling! And my eyes—they are so sleek, yet they strike fear in my enemies! I am perfection!"
They were all holding in laughs. A squirrel had such vanity. It was a real shocker. "So mom, can I head back to bed?"
"One second, honey, I have a gift for you." Aria grabbed the amulet off of the table and said, "It was from your father. You can learn more later on. I shouldn't be the one to tell you."
"Thank you, mom. Good night!" Vino ran off to go to sleep, and everyone else in the house felt relieved. They could tell that Vino was already getting better.
"I think its time we talked about ME!" The squirrel screamed. "Aren't I a unique specimen?"
Rina grabbed Francis and began cuddling the poor creature. "Francis is so adorable!"
"Call me Anne! I don't like your puny human names!" Anne was about to bite Rina but got reminded of her parents.
"Put ME down," Anne said in a monotone voice. Rina seemed not to hear Anne the first time. Anne decided to bite Rina and run back under the basket.
"Rina! Are you ok?" Aria rushed over to her. Aria put her hand on Rina's shoulder, but Rina slid it off. "I'm fine..."
Rina shook her head, her thoughts drifting off. "I think I'll stay here tonight," she said quietly, feeling the exhaustion catch up with her. "Thanks, Aria, for everything."
Aria smiled gently. "Of course, Rina. You can use the guest room. Rest well."
Rina gave a small nod and glanced at the basket where Anne had hidden. "I'll check on her tomorrow."
She headed toward the guest room, exhaustion finally settling in. The room was cozy, and she was grateful for a safe place to sleep. As she lay down, her thoughts were still on Anne. The little nagual was mysterious, but Rina felt a connection to her.
Anne had also fallen asleep, reminiscing on how she felt about her father and family, feeling betrayed. She missed the warmth and safety of being with her own kind. Back then, everything felt right. Now, it all seemed so far away.
But here she was, in a house full of strangers. Strangers who, despite everything, had shown her kindness.Anne sighed, closing her eyes. Maybe this was a place she could stay for a while—a place where she could finally find some peace.
Yet, as she drifted to sleep, the memories of her past whispered in the back of her mind, reminding her that some things are hard to leave behind. She didn't know if she could trust again after what her family did to her.
Her heart ached; she couldn't get over the feelings of betrayal. Those feelings ran deep.
She had once felt safe. Her family, her kind, had wrapped her in warmth and security. She had trusted them with everything—her secrets, her fears, her dreams. But that trust had shattered like glass. They had abandoned her when she needed them most.
Anne was a young nagual, with light abilities at that. She was praised for being a saint, but was also protected for having the weak shifting abilities of a squirrel.
Everything was going well; life was as good as it gets. But the Nagual began changing as a society; they got greedy like humans, and they got jealous of her. She was once treated like a princess, yet they switched up so fast. Her father sold her off to a slaver.
Anne jolted awake and began crying ever so quietly in the corner of the home.