Deep in the woods and wilds, where spirits roamed free and undisturbed, it was strange to see a human venture, particularly one so young, particularly so late at night. The fox spirit watched from its perch as the human child ran underneath it. Its breathing was ragged, its clothes even more so, its skin cut and bloody. The wild woods were not kind to human skin and this one was running barefoot through the undergrowth.
It tripped and fell, not far from the fox spirit and, when it continued to simply lie there among the fallen leaves, the spirit floated down to investigate further. A human might cause havoc in its wood. Closer, the spirit could hear broken sobs.
"Child," it breathed, "why do you cry? Why are you running here? This is a dark and wild place; it is not for humans."
The child had startled upright, crouching into a fighting pose at the spirit's first greeting, but her, the fox spirit could see it was a human girl now, her grubby face grew sarcastic. "It's not so dark. The moon is shining." She folded her arms. "And wild? Humans are worse than the wildness here."
The spirit drew closer, until it was nose to nose with the child, baring its fangs in an unsightly grin. The child merely bared its own teeth back in a snarl. The spirit was amused at its attempts to be as terrifying.
"You have spirit. What did the humans do to you that was so wild?"
The defiant expression dropped away, and the child stared at the forest floor. "They don't want me anymore. They can't afford to feed me anymore. They put me in a sack and abandoned me on the road and told me not to come back. As if I would even know the way back. I got free but then I was hungry and stole food. But they caught me and chased me into this forest." She clapped a hand across her mouth.
"It is well for you to tell the truth, even if you did not necessarily mean to." The spirit nodded. "Here, with me, a lie would have had dire consequences. But you will not survive in this wood, or in the world long, if you do not have someone to look after you. Come. I will find you a family."
"I don't want one!" the child spat. "I've had enough of humans!"
"Ah but this one will love and care for you, I promise." The spirit grinned, its fangs not encouraging and yet the child surprised it by following anyway.
Deep in a den in the forest, a foxcrow was suckling her young, feeding them before she would go off hunting for the night. The spirit brought the child to the mouth of the den and passed a paw over the child's head.
"There. A mother that will never abandon you. A mother that would face down a mooselion to protect you."
"But I'm not a foxcrow!" the child protested and then clapped a paw to her mouth in horror at the series of caws and squeaks that had come out of her muzzle instead.
"In spirit, you will always be a human. Even I cannot change that. But I have found a loving home for you, as I said."
"But-"
It was not possible for a foxcrow to cry but the child's expression seemed all the more heart-breaking coming from wide dark eyes. The spirit was surprised at the child hesitating and relented slightly. "If you ever find a human being who will love you, then at this time you can change back. Personally, I'd be satisfied with your new family."
It hopped back up onto a branch and looked down to observe the mother foxcrow appear at the mouth of the den and take the cubchick gently in her mouth before disappearing back underground to introduce her to her new siblings.
Was it a blessing or a curse that had been given? It was a gift and a gift from the spirits could never be described with any surety as one or the other.