Meanwhile...
While Storm was having his talk with the old man in the market.
Leyocan was standing in front of a modest cottage, that was built at the fringes of the great forest beside the town.He held the small note with directions in his hand which led him to his place.
His brother Onyx had forced it on him during his time in Kingsport several months ago.
It led to the place where his father had chosen to retire to after he relinquished control of his clan to his younger son.
Leyocan originally had no intention of coming here when his brother first begged him to do so.
But after what happened to his clan in Northburg, Leyocan felt the need to confide in someone.
He considered speaking with Storm, but he always seemed to be so busy with managing his family life as well as the settlement and Leyocan didn't want to add to his burdens.
He had actually confided in Celestial on a few occasions but as she too had lost her clan, all she could do was sympathize.
He took a deep breath, then walked up to the front door and knocked. No noise could be heard from inside and no one opened the door.
He raised his hand to knock again when he heard a chopping noise coming from the backyard. He crouched down and grew wary immediately after hearing the noise.
He kept a hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly snuck around the house towards the back.
He envisioned that he would come across a possible variety of grisly scenes, each more bloody than the last. None of which prepared him for what he saw as he reached the corner of the house.
His father was standing in front of a tree stump with a large woodcutters axe. A single log was placed upright on the stump.
He raised the axe overhead and cut the log cleanly in two, before taking another log and placing it on the stump.
2 large piles of freshly chopped firewood were located on either side of the stump.
Leyocan sighed and released his grip on his sword, before admiring the sight a moment longer.
"Are you just going to gawk, or do you actually intend to help?" Asked his father.
Leyocan stepped out of the shadows and approached him.
Much like Leyocan, his father had black hair, close set red eyes, and a scarred but tanned face.
But that was where the similarities ended.
While Leyocan liked his hair and beard short, his father's was long.
With hair that reached his shoulders, and a full length beard.
Both were filled with streaks of white hair that added to his aged appearance.
He was considerably more muscular than his son however due to chopping wood all day, as well as his own rigorous training regime.
He had a simple leather vest with no sleeves on, leaving his arms completely exposed.
Both upper arms had tattoos on them.
The one on the right depicted his clan's emblem, while the one on the left had an unknown design.
Leyocan was never able to scrape together the courage to ask his father what it's significance was.An iron medallion with his clan insignia and motto, hanged around his neck.
The rest of his clothing consisted of a simple lumberjack's work pants and boots.
"You don't seem suprised to see me?!" Said Leyocan.
"I heard you were in the area and were asking around about me. If you hadn't come in the next day or two, then I would have tracked you down myself!" Explained his father.
He struck the axe into the stump, then walked over and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"It's good to see you again. I've been keeping tabs on you, so you don't have to fill me in on all the details of your exploits."
"Then you know of my fallen clan in Northburg?" Asked Leyocan.
A grim expression crossed his father's face, before he nodded his head.
"Seems you were right after all! As usual!!" Exclaimed Leyocan.
"No! I was not! Come with me!" Replied his father.
Without another word he turned around and walked into the cottage.
Leyocan was baffled. Never in all his life had he seen his father change his opinion like this.
He wordlessly followed his father inside, without an explanation he walked into a storage room and began scratching around until he pulled out a dusty portrait.
He blew off the dust before handing it to Leyocan. It depicted an young Kitsune with autumn red hair and gold eyes in an elegant red dress. Her tails were exposed, 4 of them in total.
After staring at the portrait, he tried to hand it back to his father.
"She's pretty, but who is she?" Asked Leyocan.
"Your mother." His Father replied flatly.
Leyocan stared at the portrait with newfound interest.
"I never realized my mother was a Kitsune!
You never talked about her?" Asked Leyocan.
"She died on a mission centuries ago.
We met when we were younger, older than you and Celestial were.
Like you we fell for each other, but we chose to stay with and continued working with our respective clans.
In between assignments, we would meet up with each other. We tried to make it work, but we rarely saw each other due to always being away on missions all the time.
Eventually I received word that she had died while on a mission. The news broke me.
I hunted down the one responsible, but his death did not heal my wounds.
I fell to dispair for a time, threw myself into my duties while raising you at the same time to avoid thinking about it." Explained his father.
"Why can't I remember any of this!?" Asked Leyocan.
"You were a baby at the time. When you revealed that you had fallen for a Kitsune, I panicked. I thought that by forcing you to end it early, I could protect you from the same heartache I went through.
I didn't realize how deep your feelings for each other had developed, I thought that after a few months, you would have forgotten about her and moved on."
Do you regret choosing to be with my mother?" Asked Leyocan.
His father shook his head.
"If we hadn't gotten together, then I never would have had you!"
"Then what makes you think I would regret being with mine?" Said Leyocan.
His father gave no response and looked away in shame.
"It makes more sense now. I realize you were only trying to protect me, even if I don't agree with you." Said Leyocan.
"There's something else you should know, son.
Your mother was pregnant with you at the time of her mission. She didn't know before hand.
By the time she realized, it was too late for her to pull out. When pregnant, Kitsune's shapeshifting powers become... chaotic... unpredictable...
It was this that led to her being discovered.
She gave birth, then hid her babies with the last of her strength before she was killed.
When her sisterhood searched the area, they didn't find one child. They found two!" Said his father.