Chapter 240: a Minor tail

"Now, the question is, do we travel the same path or pick a new one" said Kat

"At the moment we are just flailing. I say we continue down our old path" said Minor

"Sure thing" said Kat kicking up off the ground. She let her wings spread out and begin to start flapping as Kat aligned herself with the previous path. As she did so she started to feed more energy into her wings.

Kat wasn't quite at full, but it wasn't much of a cost to empower things for a bit, she'd get most of it returned to her. Shooting off, Kat couldn't help but grin at the mess she'd left in her mad dash.

There was a large gash cut through the snow exposing the dirty ground beneath. There didn't seem to be any grass to speak off other than a few small tufts of green that Kat could only just pick out.

While Kat was flying, despite not being so high up, it still gave her a good look at the nearby terrain. Despite Kat's desire for something to stand out it was nothing she hadn't seen from the ground.

*Just a few extra trees, better sightlines and a hell of a lot of snow. It's a shame there really isn't anything else to speak of. *

Shortly after Kat finished examining the unremarkable terrain, Kat managed to make it back to her previous spot. Settling down softly, and making sure Minor's landing was comfortable Kat strode off.

It was not a minute of walking later that Kat decided to speak up. "So, while I have you as a captive audience, and things are as calm as I think they are likely to get. I have to ask, Minor, what is it that you want?" asked Kat

Minor shifted uncomfortably in Kat's arms. She could sense the weight behind the question and the seriousness it entailed. Despite this she replied with "I don't know what you mean"

Kat let a light smile grace her face. *If that's how you want to be* "I want to know your plans for the future Minor. Your hopes and dreams. If you had all the power in the world what would you do with it?

"If you never had to worry about anything else what would you occupy your time with? Who are the people you want to see? And, I suppose most importantly for your situation. What do you want to do once we free Major" said Kat

Minor sighed "I believe I told you before Kat"

Kat grinned, showing her teeth in the process "That you did, when you were a scared little fox desperately trying to escape and struggling to understand the world you thought you'd never see again. Now I'm asking you while you are safe, without anyone to judge you except yourself. I'll even promise never to say anything if you want?"

Minor shook her head "No, no it's fine… I guess… I guess I really don't know"

Kat smiled but didn't say anything for a while. *Take your time Minor, take your time.*

Ten minutes then passed without Minor saying anything. *Ok, maybe I'm giving you too much time. I'm happy to wait, but it seems like it's doing you no good. You've had years trapped in your thoughts, or I guess trapped in Major's. Perhaps I should poke a bit more*

"How about we start with a question that needs answering. Do you still want to stay in Major's head?" asked Kat

Minor winced "Not asking the easy questions are you…"

Kat shrugged "Easy no, but certainly important"

Minor nodded, and took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. Kat watched, as she went through a number of various expression and didn't say anything. She could see that this time it was actually working and Minor was properly considering things.

"That… that question is harder than it once was. I… I don't want this to sound rude but I didn't really think of you as a friend before… I mean I did… sort of…

Kat just nodded along trying to let Minor take her time. "I… ok, how do I put this. So, up to that point, I was used to living through Major, and even then you were just summoned to help her by Mother…

"Don't get me wrong, I loved chatting with you, and I already really cared about what you thought, I don't… when I say I didn't think of you as a friend, I don't mean that I wouldn't treat you as one it's… I guess I just didn't think you'd care about me?

"Is that bad? I mean, it really started to change when Grandma was going off at you… you'd already done so much for me, and then for her to attack you so unfairly just because of what you are…

"That… that's the first time I've ever truly been… well, angry yes, but in a lot of ways… anything" Minor let the silence sit for a little while before she continued. Kat made sure to keep a steady pace and not interrupt the flow of the conversation at all.

"See, it's… it just isn't the same experience emotions first hand. Like… well, you remember how I was… I just… I wasn't ready for the intensity of everything. I like it here, and even now I feel more at home when I'm safe in Major's head, even with the Nightmares attacking but…

"It does lack something, and… I really wasn't prepared for that. So… when you were around I ran the whole gamut from complete despair to endless happiness in just a few days. It felt like the world was trying to compensate for the time I missed or something…

"Anyway, I'm getting off track. What I'm trying to say was, at the time, I sorta thought that was it. Even though you'd said you come back… I didn't really feel like you were talking to me as much as you were talking about Shizuka, if that makes sense…

"Then well… this happened. I ended up back here I guess. Now, don't get me wrong, that brief stint in the real world somehow reinvigorated me. My feelings are clearer and my memories feel stronger, I feel more like a person than I ever had…

"I was… I was trying my best to be my own hero at the time I guess, or Major's hero. To facilitate this, I started making a copy of you to talk to which… well I guess you know that part, but anyway, the reason I did it… well I explained that too but…

"Well, it just helped a lot you know. You knew me more than you knew Major, and as I sat around I started to really understand what that meant… and then… and then you showed up to help"

Minor let out a laugh tinged with tears. Minor hadn't started crying just yet, but it was close Kat could tell. She almost asked Minor to stop but… it felt like she needed to get this off her chest.

"Oh boy when you showed up. I'm stunned quite frankly, that I managed it as well as I did. Oh I handled it poorly don't get me wrong, but that's when it really hit me. That you cared… N-now don't get me wrong, I… I'm not trying to say you didn't I mean"

Kat let her tail stroke Minor's hair and tightened her hands around the kitsune more to let her understand that Kat wasn't upset. Minor recovered enough to keep talking but there were the beginning of tears in her eyes.

"See… I just… I mentioned that I feel like Shizuka, I feel like part of that being… but I never felt like I was a 'Major' part heh, but… now I understand. As much as you are helping Enuko, and the fact that you are saving Major as well… that isn't a favour to them or just a job…

"You are here because I wanted to see you again… and when you heard that something was wrong… you didn't demand payment, or leave or complain or… well, anything else you could have done…

"You said yes. You jumped into our head and… and we set to work. You let me lead, you didn't treat me like a child I surely am and… you know… I just…

"It's hard. When you asked me what I want to do once we get Major back… I… I still don't think I want to be in the real world… or at least not for very long, no more than a few hours at most every week or so but…

"But I'm not sure what I'd do if I never got to hang out with you again… is that… is that bad? That despite all my years with my sister, the thing that worries me the most about slipping back into her head is not being able to see you" said Minor trailing off with sadness.