Chương 9: Nutty Ambitions

Trigitala I was minding my own business organizing my winter stash. Then the whisper slammed into my skull like a hawk's talon to the brain. The scary part was that I had no idea who the voice belonged to. Protect the inheritor of Azeban. The voice was ancient. With the words also came an image and a location. It caused my tail to bristle. Me? Trigitala, descendant of the great Ratatoskr, messenger of the World Tree? Reduced to babysitting some raccoon?

I'd spent my entire life scampering free, wherever I felt liked. Now some ancient voice wanted me to babysit a trash picker I'd never even met. But the command wasn't asking. It was an order. I didn't even think about saying 'no.' I knew that wouldn't end well for me. I instinctively obeyed. The old pacts and the ancient duties were stirring with the mana tide, whether I liked it or not. I didn't have a choice. Fine, I chittered to the empty air. My tail lashed with annoyance.

But I'm testing this so-called inheritor first. If he's weak, I'm out. Descendant of Azeban or not, I don't waste my time on losers. Of course, even if I hated Azeban's inheritor, I wouldn't be able to back out. However, I did want my objections to be on record. Growling at the indignity, I followed ley lines that were beginning to pulse with energy. Mana was returning after being almost completely absent for many millennia. It made every leaf and branch hum with power.

I did have to admit, the additional power flowing through the ley lines did make it much faster and easier to travel quickly. It also enhanced my senses. Sooner than expected, I ended up at a cabin. That was when I paused. The air crackled with concentrated magic. The only time I'd ever felt so much energy was the time my great-grandfather showed me a branch of the World Tree Yggdrisal. Taken aback, I perched in the oak canopy and watched while trying to figure out what made this place so special.

The scent of pure mana was so thick here it made my whiskers twitch. Whatever lived in that cabin was definitely not ordinary. Then the doggie door flapped open and out waddled the scrawniest raccoon I'd ever seen. He was barely more than a kit. He was tiny but moved with a swagger that screamed human mannerisms rather than raccoon grace. This is supposed to be Azeban's inheritor? He smells like cherries and popcorn, not ancient power. My nose wrinkled in disappointment. Really?

I thought, studying the pathetic creature below. This is what the great trickster spirit amounts to? The little furball was scanning the tree line like he expected trouble. That showed some intelligence at least. But he moved wrong. He definitely didn't act like a normal raccoon. Well, if I'm stuck with babysitting duty, I might as well find out what this alleged inheritor could actually do, I thought as I launched myself from an oak branch.

I slammed into him with enough force to send him tumbling like a fuzzy pinball. Although I knew I was pushing my luck, I couldn't help but smile as I took some of my frustration out on my new charge.

"What the hell, Nutty McRoidRage?" he squeaked. He scrambled to get his paws under him. I had to admit, the nickname was creative. As was his ability to speak. Then again, I would've been disappointed if a trickster spirit wasn't able to speak. He did recover faster than I'd expected for such a tiny kit, though. But still, this is the best he can manage?

"Look, tree rat," he panted. He tried to circle away from me.

"I don't know what your deal is, but squirrels and raccoons usually have an understanding. You stick to the treetops during the day, I own the ground at night. We coexist!" Oh, how precious. He thinks this is about territory. And you'll pay for that tree rat comment. I lunged again, claws extended. I moved with the enhanced speed and strength my bloodline had gifted me. Being a descendant of Ratatoskr had its perks. I was bigger, stronger, and faster than any normal squirrel had a right to be.

This little raccoon kit didn't stand a chance in a straight fight. But that wasn't the point. I wasn't trying to kill him. I just wanted to test his mettle and see what he was made of when pushed to his limits. That and let off some steam, I smirked. My claws raked across his ear. My tail smacked his snout like a furry whip. He dodged, barely. His young body was awkward and uncoordinated compared to my battle-hardened reflexes. Love what you're reading?

Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Look at him, leaving his valuables open, I thought. Let's teach him a lesson. He tried to fight back, but he was totally outmatched. I'd been outrunning hawks and fighting for territory since I was old enough to leave the nest. He was clearly new to having four paws and a tail.

"Targeting the family jewels? Really?" he protested as I aimed low again. He paused when he noticed my lack of said equipment.

"What kind of fight is this?" I barreled into him again. He grunted. Pain flashed in his dark eyes but he didn't give up. Good. Weakness would have been disappointing. I watched him struggle to regain his footing. Come on, inheritor. Show me something impressive. I snapped at his tail. It wasn't to cause an injury. I just wanted to test his reflexes and see if he had the will to fight back. The whisper had said to help him, not to coddle him.

If he was going to survive whatever was coming, he needed to be stronger than this. That's when something shifted. He growled. It should have been laughable coming from such a tiny creature. However, it carried something else. Power erupted from him like a storm breaking. Mana flared in a pulse of green-gold light that made the air itself shimmer. Suddenly, I felt overwhelmed. CHILD OF CHAOS ACTIVATED. Companion bond created. Trigitala, descendant of Ratatoskr, has become Azeban's Inheritor's companion.

MESSAGE FROM GAIA. My condolences. The system notification blazed through my consciousness like a shout from the World Tree itself. My heart hammered. It wasn't from fear or exertion, but from sheer awe. That power... It wasn't just raw strength. Someone had shoved a whole lot of divine power into his pipsqueak body. It carried echoes of something far older and more significant than I'd imagined. This wasn't some random raccoon playing at being a trickster. This was the real thing.

I froze and stared at him with new eyes. The scent rolling off him had changed. It still smelled like cherries and popcorn but underneath was something wild and primal that made my whiskers quiver with recognition. Okay, trash panda, I thought. My tail gave an involuntary flick of admiration. Maybe you're not a complete waste of my time after all. I hopped closer, suddenly curious rather than aggressive. That magnetic pull I felt wasn't just his power. It was calling to something in my Ratatoskr heritage.

Part of me recognized a connection with a fellow trickster spirit. I brushed my tail against his side, just once, testing his reaction. His whiskers twitched. He looked flustered in a way that was oddly endearing.

"Uh, hi?" he managed. He was still panting from the power surge. I chittered softly, not ready to dignify him yet. I was still annoyed about the tree rat comment. Also, being forcibly coerced into becoming his companion wasn't something I had forgotten about yet either. Yep, he needs to suffer a little before I forgive him. Maybe babysitting this inheritor won't be the chore I'd expected. I can probably turn this to my advantage. That's when the burnt-copper scent spiked. My head snapped toward the tree line.

My ears swiveled to track a presence that definitely wasn't natural. A flicker of movement between the oaks. Huge spider eyes blinked into existence. I chittered a warning. My tail puffed to twice its normal size as I positioned myself between Abe and whatever was watching from the shadows. The presence felt old. While it could have been Azeban, I somehow doubted it. Azeban wasn't known for his power. He was known for his cleverness. Whatever was out there, it was evaluating my new inheritor just like I had been.

But its intentions were far less clear. The spider eyes watched for another moment. Then it began to fade back into the forest darkness. It left only that whispered words on the wind, "I'll see you again, soon," My claws dug into the porch boards. This babysitting job is already more complicated than what I signed up for. Abe backed toward the house. I followed, keeping myself between him and the tree line. Whatever else was happening here, my assignment was clear, protect the inheritor.

Even if I still wasn't entirely sure what I was protecting him from. My little ward stumbled into a disturbed cairn. Human footprints led away from it, footprints that reeked of mana. Was it for a memorial, a boundary indicator, or some religious ritual or offering? Whatever it had been meant for, some stupid human had messed it up. I could see footprints walking away from it. What was different was that it reeked of mana. So not a normal human, I decided.

I glanced at the little raccoon, the treeline, and the ruined cairn. Were they all related? Did he make some type of sacrificial offering to summon the spirit who said it would return soon? What did he sacrifice? And why? When the little guy went through the doggie door, I followed. Inside the cabin, the first thing that hit me was several human scents. One was obviously the previous owner of the house. Did the inheritor sacrifice a human? Did the human manage to escape? I was so confused.

I was also worried about the other scents that weren't human. I could smell at least two werewolves in addition to a female human. In fact, the female was still in the house. My nose twitched as I glared at the little furball. What is the relationship between him and whoever is sleeping in the other room? Whoever she was, I could hear snoring even from here. The way his entire posture softened at the sound made my tail twitch with irritation. Idiot, I thought. She's alerting everyone around her about her presence.

She wouldn't last a week in the wild making those types of noises. He's my inheritor, I thought. My tail lashed as I studied the closed bedroom door. My responsibility. What does some woman who doesn't even know how to sleep quietly know about protecting trickster spirits? I curled up near his recliner, pointedly helping myself to a berry from the plate she'd left for him. If this woman thought she could monopolize the inheritor's attention, she had another thing coming.

I settled in for what was clearly going to be a very long and complicated assignment. I was already planning on how to establish my position as the inheritor's primary protector. The woman might have gotten here first, but I had bloodline authority. In fact, he had already bound our lives together. Game on, I thought. I crunched the berry with perhaps more force than necessary. May the best female win.