9 years later

I could hear my cell phone alarm going off. I instantly woke up and swiped it, turning it off. I yawned and stretched. "Another day, another hundred dollars." I said. I got out of bed and got a fresh set of clothes, then headed to the shower. It was a cold shower, because I like the cold. Correction: I RELISH the cold. Once I got out, I dried off, did my routine, got dressed, and went for breakfast. My sister, Sarah, was down at the dining table, eating an omelet. "Morning, sis!" I said in a chipper manner. She yawned as she said "Morning, bro." Sarah was not a morning fox. "Sleep well, Peter?" "Yep!" I replied, "You?" She sighed. "Same ol'. Same ol'." she said groggily.

Mom (Melissa, I mean) walked down to the table. "Good morning, you two!" she said. "Morning, Mom." we said in unison. "You two sleep, well?" she asked. "Well, I did." I answered, "but I don't know about Lil' Miss Floofy Tail over here." I pointed a thumb at Sarah while grinning teasingly. "Peter. DON'T." my adoptive sister snapped back, clearly starting to wake up due to my snarky comment. You see, Sarah's tail is abnormally large. While she has never been bullied about it and it has special significance, she's shy and insecure about it, and it has long been the target of playful and friendly teasing. Clearly, she was not in the mood for it today.

"Where's dad?" I asked. "Oh, he'll be down in a second. That is if he can GET HIS FUZZBUTT READY IN TIME TO EAT BREAKFAST FOR AMERICA'S SAKE!!!" she called out. Mom was very patriotic about our country, so she would often say things like "for America's sake", "for the love of America", "thank Uncle Sam", "sweet Lady Liberty", "what in Uncle Sam's beard?", "by Washington", "by Lincoln", and of course, the infamous "God bless America". I would usually be amused by these Star-Spangled catchphrases, Dad thought they were a little much, and Sarah thought they were just plain annoying. Eventually, Dad (Ewan) came downstairs. "Melissa, I swear to God, you have the patience of someone in heat." Dad said. "Morning, Sarah. Junior." We greeted back. Then we all dug in.

Now, you think Sarah and I would be going to school or something, right? Wrong. The two of us received advanced education and got our college degrees early. I got mine last year. We'd just chill around the manor, watch movies, watch YouTube, or chill on Xbox or Switch. We get along really well. One thing is for certain, she does NOT share my love of the cold.

Later that afternoon, I was getting ready to have a nice cool swim in the pool when suddenly I slipped in. I stretched my hand out and suddenly, out from it sprouted... ice. I landed on the sheet of ice I had accidentally created, which surprisingly didn't even crack. Did I do that? I thought. I tried again, I made another sheet of ice. Interesting. I wondered, can I make it out of thin air, too? I tried and did so. I noticed the sheet I was on was completely intact, despite the impact. I tried beating on it. Nothing. Maybe, I can just... will it away? I extended my hand out and all the ice dissipated into my hand. I splashed into the water. I got out, dried off, got changed, and headed to my room.

As I lay on my bed, I contemplated my newfound gift. This doesn't make any sense. I thought. Suddenly, my eyes turned to a book on my shelf that I had not checked out in a long time. I brought it down. On the cover was a face with big beady eyes and a sunken nose. The title read, The Man From the Window. This book served as a painful reminder of the night that I lost my biological Mom. I wanted answers. I was convinced that The Man was a supernatural being. I wanted to face supernatural threats and save other mortals from similar or worse fates.

I went to Mom to ask a few things. "Mom?" "Yeah, Junior?" "What do you know about the supernatural?" "Why would you ask something like that?" "Because I'm convinced that The Man From the Window, and his book, are of supernatural origin." "That's an incident I didn't think I'd hear from again. Is it possible? Probably. Can it be proved? I'm not sure. However, I know a scientist who claims to be an expert on these matters. Her name is Dr. Erina Winters. She lives in a cold subsection of Fox Burrow called Arctica. I'll give you the address so you can find her lab." "Thanks, Mom." So I put the book in a bag to bring with, got my phone out, entered the address in Maps, and headed off to find the one person whom I believed could explain everything...