Proud Of You, Son

Kinbound Lantern in hand, Jaylen ran along the glimmering trail of light that it had made in the twilight. Towards what, he didn’t know. Through the rice paddies and trees, towards the golden glow of a portal to a realm not so unlike his own. It was night there too, the rice abundant among the rich smell of mud. The young kitsune found himself wrapped in arms and tails, embraced as quickly as he was recognized by an older, nine-tailed kitsune holding a lantern quite similar to his own.

“My son,” Xinyi said, hand set upon Jaylen’s shoulders. Her smile was wide, grateful to see the child who’d been left behind on the mortal plane out of necessity. The realization came later that he might not know, and the embarrassing memory of her having assaulted him with a hug was quietly suppressed. “Why have you come here?”

“I’m looking for my mom,” the young kitsune asserted. She wrapped Jaylen up in her arms and tails once more, overjoyed both to see her son and that he’d come seeking her out. He hugged her back, relieved and elated all at once.

“I’m so proud of you,” the saint said, holding onto him far longer than she thought reasonable. “I’ve heard so much about you from Saint Solomon on his visits. I’m so proud of all you’ve done – what you’ve made of yourself, the people you help. You’ve done so much, and I’m so glad to see you.”

Jaylen only nodded, and if he cried a bit, no one back home would be wise to it anyway. He too hugged her far past what was reasonable, but considered it making up for the lost time of all the hugs they hadn’t shared so far. When they eventually separated, Xinyi was still looking down at her son with joy and pride.

“I was going to look for dad too, if you know how to find him,” Jaylen said after a moment, not wanting to make it seem like he’d already had enough of his mom.

“Of course,” Xinyi said, more than happy to help.

“You need only use the lantern,” she continued, holding her own out though its trail led only to Jaylen. He repeated the motion, finding that glimmering gold trail of light jetting out across the rice paddies again.

“I’ll be back – if I can, of course,” the young kitsune said, hopeful.

“You can always come back,” his mom answered, hopeful he’d come visit. Jaylen nodded, running back off through the rice paddies until he’d fallen through the next shimmering portal – this one having been beneath his feet in the mud.

He fell into a realm far further from his own – a battlefield covered in blood and ash and mud, the sounds of the next battle not nearly far enough. In the distance, an older kitsune was happily digging the next grave, burying the dead to let them begin upon their next life.

“Dad?” Jaylen asked, much to the surprise of Daichi who’d not believed his son would ever have an interest in visiting such work.

“Jaylen,” the saint said, tails sweeping the dirt back atop the grave as he turned to see his son. Though less enthusiastic than Xinyi’s, the hug he gave his son felt no less sincere to Jaylen. “What’s brought you here? Haven’t died yet, have you?”

“No, I’m not dead,” his son reassured him. “I just saw mom, I wanted to come see you too.”

“I’m glad you did, I’ve talked to Grimburrow a few times of late. I was glad to hear about what a fine young man you’ve become,” Daichi said, planting the shovel firmly in the earth so he could retrieve his holy book to give to his son. “Here, you should take this with you. Useful for whacking those miscreants you come across.”

“Thanks dad,” Jaylen said laughing, glad to have met both his parents.

“You should be getting back to the land of the living, before it’s too late to be sleeping,” his dad said, peering towards the sky as though it told him the time on the mortal plane.

“I’d like to come visit again, if you’re alright with that,” the younger kitsune said.

“You can visit anytime you’d like to, son” Daichi answered, though he hoped his son had more pressing things to do than wander around the land of the dead to catch up with his old man. Plenty of time for that in the ever after.