FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

I decided to drop the dash that separates the kitsune's clan name from their given name, since it seemed pointless.

Kitsune: Chapter Seven

History

Ranani awoke to a warm darkness. Wherever she was, it was darker than normal blackness, but she was unafraid. She was naked, but energized. She didn't remember exactly why she was naked, but she was comfortable with it. She felt no shame at her nudity, having decided long ago that being naked was both a good thing, contrary to what her mother told her, and quite relaxing. She rubbed her belly softly, enjoying the feel of her soft hands against her smooth skin. It was a comfort thing she did often, and every time she did it, it made her shiver. This time was no exception. She shivered with the pleasure of such a touch, then reached down to scratch an itch on her thigh.

"Ew!" cried Ranani, feeling something sticky on her leg. She rubbed ineffectually at it, trying to scrape away the sticky substance that was attached to her leg. As she continued trying to get it off her legs, the soft bed she rested on suddenly shifted. She gasped and held onto the individual strands of fur as the 'bed' inflated quite a lot, then deflated quickly.

"Are you awake, Ranani?" asked a deep voice. Ranani instantly recognized it as Hadir's, and she relaxed a little. She felt safe, though she was still wrapped in the velvety darkness.

"Yes," she replied, rubbing her eyes.

"Good. When you are ready, we'll return to my mother's house and get something to eat."

"W-where-haaaaiiiiir," yawned Ranani. "Where are you?" She rubbed her eyes.

Her bed rumbled as Hadir chuckled. "I am all around you. One moment." Suddenly, light poured into Ranani's bedroom, and she was...surprised...to see that she was actually laying atop Hadir's belly, and that they were still within the Bright Queen's bedchamber. She looked up at Hadir, who returned her look with a smile. He then yawned and stretched out, his massive bones cracking, while his stretching caused Ranani to slip off his belly and fall onto the pillows below.

The Bright Queen was absent, as were the blood-stained pillows. In fact, the room was completely empty, save for the pillows in the pit.

"Where did the queen go?" asked Ranani.

Hadir rolled onto his stomach, and shrugged. "She probably had duties to attend to," he said, shaking all along his length. Fur that had previously been flattened from sleep puffed out as Hadir raised his tails. With a quick six-tailed flick, he suddenly began shrinking. Ranani watched in awe as the kitsune became smaller and smaller, until he reached his usual size.

However, Hadir forgot to hide one little detail. A detail that had been revealed earlier, yet had been unnoticed before.

"Where'd that come from?" asked Ranani, pointing to a scar across Hadir's left eyelid. It was long, jagged, and cut down past what could be called his lips, and made his left eye droop a bit.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hadir, puzzled at the girl's question.

"That," replied Ranani, touching the scar. Hadir could feel his blood run cold. He had forgotten to hide his scar. The one imperfection in his beautiful coat. With a wave of a tail, the scar and droop disappeared.

"That," said Hadir in a flat, toneless voice. "That is a long story. And I shall tell you...one of these days. But not today. Now come." His form shivered, and he was suddenly a horse. A small set of stairs appeared next to him.

Though a little disappointed that he wasn't going to share the story with her right away, she felt discretion to be a better part of valor, and chose not to pursue the issue. However, her curiosity was such that she needed to know. And he had said 'one of these days', which could be the next day, or the next week, or twenty years down the line.

"I want your fox-word that you'll tell me this week," she said, her words surprising her. They had simply erupted forth while she was thinking.

Hadir looked taken aback, and frowned. Then he cracked a smile and gave a short chuckle, and waved an invisible tail, clothing Ranani as before and removing the Bright Queen's hardened saliva from the girl's leg. "Fine," he said. "I pledge my fox word that I will tell you about my scar this week. Now will you please mount?" Satisfied for the moment, Ranani climbed the stepstool and mounted the pitch-black horse. The stairs vanished, and so did the Queen's chambers. Ranani looked around in confusion, seeing the blue fog of the sprit realm surrounding them.

"Why are we here?" she asked, looking around at the infinite fog. Visibility was zero, and she could once again just barely make out the shapes of creatures she had never seen before.

"We are where we were: the spirit realm. The Bright Queen simply wishes for visitors to use the door when they come." Hadir began moving at a slow trot

"I see," she replied. Then she remembered something her father had said earlier, and decided to ask. "Umm...who is the Mother?"

"Ah yes, the Mother," said the kitsune, respect plain in his voice. "The Mother is a kitsune of unsurpassed power. She has a million tails."

"A...a million?!" The girl couldn't fathom any creature having so many tails. Ten was a lot, but a million... She suddenly realized something: kitsune seemed to get bigger depending on how many tails they had. And if Hadir and the Bright Queen were so large with their number of tails, just how big was the Mother?

Hadir picked the question up from his daughter's mind. "The Mother is immense. So the legends say."

"Legends?"

"Yes. You see, no kitsune alive now has ever actually seen her. Some don't even believe she exists. But according to the legends, she is so large that upon the tip of each tail rests an entire universe. Stories tell of a time when she used to speak to mortals, drawing them forth from the Earth and placing them before her, where she would impart her infinite wisdom to them. So large and wise is she, that most mortals are driven completely insane."

"Is she a Heaven kitsune?"

Hadir whinnied with laughter. "To attempt to place the Mother into one of our categories is purest folly. She existed before time, before the universe was created. She existed before the gods were even imagined! She belongs in a category all her own. She is THE Divine kitsune. A GODDESS, with all the letters in the upper case."

"But where did she come from?"

"That's a good question, Ranani. The next kitsune to see the Mother will have to ask her, because we don't know. The world as we know it is a byproduct of her immense power. There is no being more powerful than she, yet where did she come from? Kitsune philosophers have researched and fought over that idea from the beginning." Hadir stopped. "Here we are."

Before them, hanging in midair, was a large painting, which depicted a room filled with paintings, and a woman, frozen in time, brush in hand. Hadir changed his shape, taking his man form again. He reached behind his back and gently guided Ranani to what could only be described as the ground. The kitsune took her hand, then waved his free hand across the painting. The image rippled, and suddenly the woman was in motion, painting on a small canvas. Hadir and Ranani stepped through the painting and into the room.

Bao Inori heard the twin clunks of two pairs of feet hitting her wooden floor and she turned with a smile. The paintbrush in her hand had the green paint she had collected earlier upon its bristles, and this paint dripped slowly onto the floor, before she realized it was happening. She quickly cleaned off her brush and set it aside.

"Welcome home, my lord," she said, bowing. Though he was her son, he was also the lord of the land, and even she had to be formal to him, if only for a little while.

"Hello, mother," replied Hadir, waving his hand at the painting behind him. Ranani looked over her shoulder just in time to see the image ripple and become still. "Would you be so kind as to lay out lunch for us?"

"Of course, my son," replied Inori. She waved her hands and a table appeared in the middle of the room. Another wave and plates containing many different styles of sushi appeared.

"I love sushi!" exclaimed Ranani with a smile. The last time she and her family (Aboridah in tow) had visited her grandparents in Japan, her father had treated them all to sushi. Her brothers didn't much like it, but she had eaten every bite on her plate, and from her twin brother's.

Before she could sit down to eat, however, Inori cleared her throat. Hadir looked at her.

"My apologies, my lord," she said, "but one of your servants came here looking for you. He said something about a messenger having arrived at your home."

"A messenger?" he asked of no one in particular. "I'd better head back then." He looked down at Ranani, who, upon hearing what he'd said, became disappointed. He smiled, then said, "Ranani." She looked up at him. "Why don't you stay here and eat? You're probably very hungry, and it will give my mother a chance to paint you." When she heard the word 'paint', Inori perked up.

"I...suppose," said Ranani, a little hesitant.

"Well then, it's settled," said Inori. She knelt behind Ranani and pulled her into a hug. "You go take care of your guest, while I feed and...paint," Hadir could hear the overwhelming eagerness and sensual shiver in her voice, "this child."

Ranani suddenly looked scared. The kitsune behind her sounded insane, and she was shivering in anticipation. The girl's eyes held a plea for help as Hadir watched the comedy act before him. Then, with what could be construed as a sadistic grin, he turned away. "Have fun, you two," he said, then walked out the door.

Inori giggled menacingly, then whispered in Ranani's ear, "Let's paint."

Ranani shivered, then shook her head. "I'm too hungry to be painted. Can we eat first?"

"Awww...Oh pooh. Fine. Eat first, then painting." She released her hold on Ranani and moved to the table. She knelt down and waited for Ranani to come. She did so after a moment's hesitation.

Inori moved quickly, slapping all kinds of food onto Ranani's plate before filling her own. Ranani picked up her chopsticks and began eating. After a few minutes of loud chewing and smacking, Inori decided to break the silence.

"So, Ranani. How did your visit with the Queen go?"

Ranani swallowed her mouthful. "Well..." she replied, thinking back on what had occurred. Her cheeks went bright red. "It went alright. But Abo - I mean Hadir hurt my shoulder."

Inori frowned. "Can you show me?" she asked. Ranani nodded, then pulled her arm out of her shirt and showed Inori where Hadir had hurt her. Sure enough, there was a fingertips-shaped bruise. Inori hissed in appreciation of how it must've hurt. "How did that happen?"

Ranani put her shirt back on. "I don't know. The Queen said I looked like his mate, then he gripped my shoulder until it hurt."

Inori bared her teeth, her lips pulled farther back than was possible on a human, revealing incredibly sharp teeth, the teeth of an animal. "That bitch mentioned Akane?" she asked, fury plain in her tone.

Ranani bit her lip. "Y-yes," she replied, scared.

Seeing Ranani so frightened cooled Inori's anger somewhat. Her lips lowed around her teeth and she sighed. "I suppose you would like to know who Akane was, huh?" Ranani nodded. "Well, you eat and I'll tell you about her." Ranani picked up another morsel of food and began eating.

"This happened about five hundred years ago, back when my son had just two tails. He had yet to choose which side of the war he would reach out to, but he had decided he would indeed reach out to one side. He was living within the territory of my husband, Bao Koan, who was a scholar specializing in the legends of the Mother. We lived on a small rice farm, whose people paid tribute to their lord who, in turn, protected them. For the most part we were happy. The people on the farm paid us little mind, though when they realized they had a family of foxes living on their land, they built a shrine and gave gifts to us every month. We, in turn, protected them from injury, healed their illnesses, and, when a nasty drought came through, we combined our powers to convince the god of rain to feed the crops. It was a simple life, both for us and our worshippers, but it was a good one. But my son, my two-tailed Hadir, he had a bit of a roving eye. He would often travel about the land, searching for women who were willing to bed a spirit. And in those days there were many who would, even an animal spirit. One day, he returned to the farm after being gone several years, and he noticed the farmer's daughter. She was twelve at the time, with long black hair and black eyes.

"The Queen only said you looked like Akane because she believes all humans look alike. Hadir's servant Kojoro is much closer to what Akane looked like. He fell for her at first sight, and immediately began courting her. I'd seen him court women before, but the way he courted her was different. He didn't simply want a bed partner. He was in love. He gave her gifts, filled her dreams with his visions of love, and did so many other things to woo her. And they worked...sort of. She'd been raised to believe that knowingly making love to a spirit animal was a damning sin. Hadir knew this, and disguised himself as a teenage human, a younger version of the man form he takes now. He convinced her to marry him, and they were wed beneath a grove of blooming cherry trees, courtesy of Koan and myself. Hadir and Akane's father worked together to build a home for them upon their land, where they would all continue to work the paddies. They were married for a month before Akane decided she was ready to bed her new husband."

Ranani finished her food, and Inori motioned Ranani onto a stool, which appeared out of nowhere, while she sat before a canvas, her paintbrush and palette appearing before her. She dabbed her brush and began painting.

"If you ask Hadir about that night, he will tell you it was the most pleasurable experience he has ever had. He used the full force of his, at the time, laughable magic to make it the greatest experience she too had ever felt. He told me later that, while they lay in bed, basking in the afterglow, she looked over at him and called him kitsune. He was surprised, and almost fled, but Akane convinced him to stay, saying that she loved him, and that she would never reveal his secret. He was grateful. After that, their marriage was even better. He had no secrets from her, even telling her his real name, which is a dangerous thing for a mortal of that era to know. All that mortal would have to do was go to a monk and tell him the kitsune's name, and that kitsune could be killed or sealed forever. By this time, the war between the Heaven and Void kitsune was heating up. Our land was snatched out from under us by Lady Akomachi. My husband tried to fight, but was captured, delivered to a temple, and sealed into statue form. The monks kept him for a while, guarded by binding tags. When Japan started trading with America, the monks shipped him across the sea, where he was bought as a novelty and later buried beneath the consecrated ground of a Christian church." She sighed. "I cannot reach him now." She was silent a moment, then continued.

"The Heaven kitsune forced most of us out of our land. They made us live in the spirit realm until Hadir created this territory. They allowed him to stay where he was, however. The bonds of marriage are not something Inari likes kitsune to tamper with. By the time Akane turned thirteen, she was pregnant with Hadir's first litter. Hadir was ecstatic. Akane, however, was worried. Since she was a human and he, in essence, was a fox, she wanted to know what their children would be. He went off and consulted with a Time kitsune. Time kitsune can, if they put a good amount of power into it, see into the future. The kitsune Hadir visited looked forward, but, rather than telling Hadir what the children would be, instead spoke out in prophecy, before the court of the Bright Queen. He prophesied that a child would be born of the union of a human and a kitsune, part human and part kitsune, and that child would rule the kitsune. Everyone in the room had heard the prophecy, and Hadir immediately left to tend to Akane. He played doting husband and betrayed no fear, even after the Queen decreed that all children born a mix of human and kitsune were to be put to death. He himself fended off several Heaven kitsune who sought to kill his mate. Then, one day, only a few weeks until Akane was due to deliver her children, the Queen sent a message to Hadir, informing him that she wished to meet with him. The message also said that the Queen had forbidden the Heaven kitsune to kill Akane, and had set her fox-word to it. Even in print, a kitsune cannot lie about that.

"The poor child. He couldn't have known. He visited the Queen, who kept him occupied long enough for an invading army, led by the Void kitsune, to arrive and slaughter their village. The Voids wanted the army to destroy the kitsune shrines and such, which would drive the Heavens away. Everyone else was collateral damage. Hadir, while in the company of the Queen, heard a Heaven kitsune arrive, spouting tales of an army of demons arriving and killing everyone. Hadir immediately left, though the Queen ordered him to stay. He returned to his village, just in time to see one of the invaders finish raping Akane, then slash her throat. Hadir destroyed the man, and tried to heal Akane. But with only two tails and no worship energy, there was nothing he could do. She bled to death in his arms."

Ranani had tears in her eyes, but resisted the urge to wipe them.

"Hadir blamed the Void kitsune for leading the army to his home, and the Heaven kitsune for delaying his return to Akane, and for them not helping her. And he blamed himself for being too weak to save her. From that day on, he denied the overtures of the Heavens and Voids to join them. He became a true nogitsune. He lived wild, hunting and killing like a fox. He used his powers only to gain the life energy he needed to keep going. He fought hard, survived, and became powerful. Every hundred years he gained a new tail, yet his power was more than simply the sum of his tails. He learned how to take power from words, and he specialized in the words of deal-making. Thus, among those humans who study myths, he is referred to as 'the Deal Maker'."

Ranani was surprised. "So he's not just famous with kitsune, but with humans as well?"

Inori nodded. "That's right. He's famous both for his deal making and for his use of seduction."

"Seduction?"

"It's a powerful kitsune art, and one of Bao Clan's specialties. Surely Hadir will explain all in time. Now hold still." Ranani obediently stopped moving and straightened up. Inori smiled softly as she continued to paint.

<==========(xxx)==========>

"...And done," said Inori triumphantly, setting down her brush and wiping the sweat from her brow. Ranani breathed a sigh of relief. Having to hold still for so long was such a pain. Inori picked up the canvas and gave it a satisfied smile. The older woman looked around the painting at her model, smiling softly. "Would you like to see?" she asked.

"Yes please," replied the girl. She stood from the stool and circled around Inori's easel. The kitsune turned the painting so Ranani could see it. Ranani giggled. "That's not me!"

The painting was of a yellow kitsune, whose fur shimmered even as the child looked. But the eyes...those were definitely her eyes. She could understand why so many people stared into her eyes. She looked up at Inori.

The mother kitsune smiled. "Ah, but it is, little one," she said with a smile. "This is what you look like in your other form."

"I don't have another form," protested Ranani.

"But you do! Since you possess kitsune power, you have another form you can take, that of your kitsune form. And if you want, I can show you it." Inori looked down at the child, all joking and laughter aside. "Do you want to BE kitsune?"

Ranani hesitated, chewing her lip and looking up at her, for lack of a better description, grandmother. After a few moments of weighing the consequences, she nodded. Inori smiled, then reached out a hand and laid it on Ranani's head.

Ranani could feel the power building around her, yet she was powerless to stop it. She was terrified at how foreign the power felt. She had felt the Bright Queen's magic earlier, and Hadir's magic before that, but this kind was altogether different. It seemed to surround her, encase her in power. She was about to scream in fear when the power released. A rush of mystical energy swirled around her, stripping away flesh, muscle, and bone quickly and painlessly, before reassembling it into a different combination. Ranani squeezed her eyes shut, but when the power evaporated, she hesitantly opened them again.

The first thing she noticed was that Inori was much taller now. As she pondered why she had shrunk, she felt an itch on her right ear. Her right hind leg came up and scratched it...

YIPE!

Ranani cried out in terror, falling over. She looked down at herself and saw, to her utter amazement, that she was now a fox. A yellow fox, with a metallic shimmer and one tail. The tail itself was yellow, though the tip was the familiar black color of her normal tail. She gazed up at Inori in confusion.

"This is your other form, Ranani," said Inori with a smile. "You can walk and talk and do everything a human can do. But you're a fox. What do you think?"

Ranani tested her new muzzle and tongue, surprised at how foreign yet familiar they felt. "Itrr feelsh weirrrrrd," she said, slurring a bit. She took several shaky steps away from Inori, getting the feel of her new legs, before taking off with a slight bound across the room, suddenly feeling natural in this form.

"You'll get used to talking in time, sweetheart. But you've taken to walking quite readily. Now, why don't you go outside and play for a bit. I daresay you haven't had much time for fun since coming here, right?"

Ranani smiled, baring all her new teeth, then took off out doorway. Inori smiled in a way she hadn't in many centuries, a smile akin to the one a proud mother gives to a favored child. With a contented sigh, she turned back to her painting, trying to decide where best to display it.

<==========(xxx)==========>

Ranani was having fun. At first, she'd had difficulty adjusting to walking on all fours and balancing with a tail, but only minutes after she was moving like she'd been born to it. 'Come to think of it', thought Ranani, 'I probably was born to it.'

She frolicked through the grass, now leaping into a large patch of flowers, now chasing a pretty butterfly, now rolling downhill, giggling the whole way, any trace of awkward speech gone. She never knew being a fox could be such fun! She rolled, flipped, tumbled, and pranced around until...

Splish. Her tail touched water.

Breaking free of her playful state, Ranani realized she was at the edge of the river. All was still as she contemplated the lazily flowing water. Hadir hadn't told her not to go near the river. He had simply made her promise not to ride the kelpie without him there to supervise. She sat back and pondered, tail bobbing gently.

The kelpie was a being to be wary of, she knew. But were there other things in the water? Other creatures that might seek to harm her? Hadir hadn't mentioned it, so it seemed unlikely, but one never knew...

"Well, hello there!"

Ranani yelped and fell backward onto the grass, tail flipping out of the water and slapping wetly on her white belly. She looked around fearfully for the source of the voice, but there was no one there.

"Down here, little fox!"

Ranani gazed down between her legs, past her tail, to the river. There, beneath the river's surface...

A human face.

Ranani gave a human shriek of terror and flipped over, intent on running.

"Wait, wait, little fox! I don't bite!" There was the sound of water cascading, and Ranani turned around quickly to face the speaker.

Rising from the water was a human woman. She was tall and beautiful, with long, lustrous blond hair that seemed to have a slight tint of pale aqua to it. She was dressed in a long sea foam green kimono, with floral patterns and sash done in aqua green. Her feet were bare and dainty, colored the pure white of new-fallen snow, as was the rest of her skin. Her eyes were of a blue-green combination, her teeth a shining white. Her hair was pinned back behind one ear by a single water flower.

Ranani backed up from the person in fright. Normally she wouldn't have been frightened of such a pretty lady, but the fact that she had spoken clearly from beneath the river's surface, combined with the fact that she was now standing on top of the water, led Ranani to believe she was no human. The woman was surely a spirit, and until she knew whether or not the lady in green was a bad one, she would exercise caution.

The woman smiled as she crossed the river, the water's surface rippling with each step she took yet not dampening a single toenail. She stepped onto the grass and knelt, only a few feet from Ranani. She stretched out a hand for Ranani to sniff.

"Come now, little fox," said the woman. "I wish to pet such a lovely creature as yourself. Take in my scent and allow me to touch you."

Ranani, somewhat disarmed by the woman's gentle smile, crept closer. She extended her snout, body braced to flee should the woman turn out to be a foe. But the woman seemed kind, surely she wasn't a bad spirit. Ranani took a deep breath through her nose...

And quickly drew back, gagging. "Eww!" she cried. "You smell like dead fish!"

The woman's radiant smile vanished. "I should not smell thus to you. I should smell of fine perfume and safety! Who are you, that you can dispel my illusion?" The woman seemed to grow with each word she spoke, power radiating from her in dark waves. "Tell me your name!"

"R-Ranani," replied the young girl softly.

"Your clan name!" responded the woman in green as her body began to change.

Ranani struggled to speak it, to say her last name. But it would not come. She put all of her force into speaking.

"BAO!" she cried inadvertently. Somehow, she had been compelled to speak the clan name of her father.

The woman froze mid-transformation. "You are of Bao clan?" she asked softly. Ranani nodded. "Who is your sire?"

"B-Bao Hadir," she replied, shaking. The green woman's half-morphed aspect was frightening. Her body was twisted and malformed, with things internal shown to the world. The woman seemed thoughtful as her transformation continued, no longer the frightening show it had been.

When all was finished, the woman in green was a woman no longer. Instead, she seemed to be something like a green horse, with the same eyes as its woman form. Its front half was in the aspect of a horse, with both the head and a pair of horse legs to complete the look, albeit horses lacked this creature's multitude of sharp teeth. Its hindquarters, however, were more like those of a mermaid, being a large fish tail, the scales of which were colored the many different shades of blue and green that river water took.

The horse/fish shook herself, sending a spray of water off her mane. "Much better," she said, giving a smaller shake, her form rippling like disturbed water from nose to tail tip. More droplets were dislodged from her mane, yet the flower that had pinned her human hair back was still there behind her ear, undisturbed despite her many movements. Ranani identified it as a kind of water lily, a White Water Lily her dad had called it when they last went fishing.

"What ARE you?" asked Ranani, awestruck by the beauty and danger of the creature. Despite her fear of this being, she did admit that the horse/fish was beautiful. Ranani circled widely around her, eyes instinctively taking in every detail of the new creature.

"My name is Straganda," replied the horse/fish in an Irish tone, "and I am a kelpie."

<==========(xxx)==========>

"I wonder if Ranani is ready to change back..." said Inori to nobody. She had finally found the perfect spot to hang her painting ("My masterpiece!" she had cried as she placed it upon the wall, a space where the sun would always shine upon it), and now decided to seek out her granddaughter. She swept out of her home, the many coats of paint upon her clothes and skin dissolving, leaving her in kimono that seemed to glow with its cleanliness.

"Ranani!" she cried, looking around. She saw no sign of her granddaughter. She circled around to the sides of her home, eyes ever-seeking the little girl. Still finding no sign of the child, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then focused her power. She drew it into the core of her body, the power of nine tails, then drew it into her lungs. She exhaled, a wave of power pouring out of her, covering the entirety of her son's realm in seconds, painting everything in it a distinct color in her seventh sense. Instantly she knew where Ranani was, and that there was darker energy near her.

Her eyes snapped open and she ran, as fast as her legs could carry her, for the river.

<==========(xxx)==========>

Ranani sat with her tail curled around her legs as she looked up at the kelpie, Straganda. The kelpie, in turn, lay on her stomach, still towering over the much smaller fox. No longer afraid of the creature, Ranani asked many questions.

"Is the river nice?" she asked.

Straganda nodded her head side to side, in a considering way. "Umm...Kind of. The water's nice and cool, the plants are pretty, and there are many underground waterways to explore. I've lived here for more than seven years and I still have yet to explore them all." She shook a little, coughing to clear her throat. "But it's also a very bad place. I live here by the grace of Lord Bao Hadir, and have sworn oaths to him so I may have his favor. But there are others who have not. The lord is far too kind, allowing many things to live here that should not. They have sworn no oaths, and the only thing keeping them from doing evil is the fear the lord inspires."

"What kind of things live in there?" asked Ranani, nodding toward the river.

"Denizen-wise, there're quite a few. Let's see...There are selkies ('Seal women, very friendly.') , ashrays ('By the way, that's a kind of water faerie.'), a few merfolk ('They aren't as beautiful as humans make them out to be.'), blue men ('Not like those blue-faced percussionists. These are much scarier.'), a fosse grim ('Plays the most beautiful melodies on that violin of his; he loves to play for the people in the village when the sun goes down), a couple of panlong ('Water dragons, sweetie. They're friendly, but they can be pretty scary.'), a trio of rusalka ('Poor dears. They're ghosts, little one. Three sisters, drowned by their father. Lord Hadir took them in because they can't pass on.), and even a kappa. Oh, and there are kelpies. Well, my brother and I are the only kelpies in this river. Well, unless you count the each uisge ('Best stay away from him, he makes my brother and I look like harmless ponies.')."

"How come you and your brother are the only ones living in the river?"

"Well, little one, that's an interesting story." Straganda shuffled, getting herself more comfortable, the fan-like end of her tail submerged in the river. "Right after Lord Hadir created this place, he went traveling. The kitsune the world over were fighting over territory, and the lord, kindhearted fellow that he is, sought out creatures who were caught in the middle and gave them a home. My brother, Malice, and I lived together in a river in Ireland. Well, years and years ago, the humans built a dam just upriver from where we were living. Suddenly, we were caught between a rock and a hard place. Unlike certain other water horses, kelpie like my brother and I can't live in salt water. With the water-flow slowed to barely a trickle of what it used to be, we were wasting away, slowly but surely. We wound up being too weak to hunt for food. We resigned ourselves to die in just a few more years.

"That's when Lord Hadir showed up. He was on a global trek, and when he came to our river, he called out to us. We could barely answer his call, but we managed. Before he said a single word more, he poured power into us, strengthening us right down to our hooves. He asked us what the problem was and we told him. He offered us a place to live, no strings attached. We both leapt at the offer, the chance to save ourselves. We swore oaths to him, to assure him we would listen, and he, in exchange, swore to feed us his foes. That kitsune, Ladia. Delicious." She licked her lips.

"You ate her?"

"Of course. Any enemy of Lord Hadir is food for those of us living in the river. Five tails is a lot of power to feed off of. Lord Hadir has many enemies. Many allies also, but more enemies. He is seen as the head of a wave of change, and most spirits don't like change. But we non-court fae see him as our leader, the one who acts in our best interests, despite how detached he seems."

"What does-" began Ranani, but she was interrupted.

"RANANI!" cried Inori, cresting the hill before the river. "GET AWAY FROM THERE!" She ran down the hill, and as she ran she changed. Her face pushed out into a muzzle, tall fox ears poked out from her hair, her nine tails sprouted from her rear, and she grew orange fur all over. She took a leap and landed beside Ranani, a fireball glowing in one changed hand. "Back away, kelpie, or I shall reduce you to ash."

"It's alright, grandma," said Ranani from below. She stepped out in front of Inori, standing between her and the kelpie. The gesture was more symbolic than anything, since both Inori and Straganda were much taller than she was in fox form. "This is my friend, Straganda. She was telling me about the river." She moved up to the kelpie, then, without a moment's hesitation, slid her body along Straganda's side, from nose to tail tip.

Inori was stunned, but not as much as Straganda. The water horse was used to being feared and respected, but such a gesture of trust shook her to the core. Hesitantly, she leaned down and nuzzled the little yellow fox's head. She was surprised further when the fox ran her head along her moist chin, a gesture of affection.

Inori, seeing the way of it, extinguished her fireball and watched the scene before her. With a sigh, she decided to be civil to the horrid creature. "Straganda, was it?" began Inori. The water horse looked up at her. "Would you like to accompany us to my home? I feel we have much to discuss." Though Inori had spoken politely, her tone said plainly she would brook no argument.

"I would be delighted," replied Straganda, standing carefully so as not to crush the fox beside her. In a moment, she shrank, body changing shape until she resembled the woman form she had previously possessed.

"Come here, Ranani," said Inori, kneeling. Ranani bounded over to her, giggling. As soon as Inori laid a hand upon her, the kyuubi's power flooded her. This time wasn't as scary as before, and Ranani relaxed, letting Inori to change her once more.

When the power dissipated, Ranani was human again, dressed once more in a cotton shirt and pants. Upon seeing Ranani's human form, Straganda smiled. "What a lovely illusion," she remarked, lacking the Irish tone she had in her natural state.

"This is no illusion, kelpie," replied Inori, taking Ranani's hand as they made their way up the hill. "This is Ranani's true form. A child born of human parents, with the tail of a kitsune."

Straganda wanted to remark that it was impossible, as, according to Lord Hadir, there was an absolute sentence of death imposed upon half-breeds. But she could see the black tail swinging behind Ranani as the horse followed the two women up the hill, over the crest, and into the small field that separated the elder kitsune's house and the river.

Inori led the way, silently fuming over the kelpie. 'How could Hadir not warn Ranani about how dangerous kelpie are!' she thought, gritting her teeth. She pulled Ranani along quickly by the hand.

Suddenly, Ranani's hand slipped from hers. Inori turned around, annoyed.

Ranani lay facedown in a patch of flowers. With a small smile, she went back to her and knelt beside her. Straganda came from behind and knelt on Ranani's other side.

"Do those flowers smell nice, Ranani?" asked Inori. Ranani didn't respond. She shook her. No response.

Straganda took hold of Ranani's shoulders and flipped her over.

Ranani was unconscious, taking short, shallow breaths. Straganda touched a hand to her forehead. She kept it there a few moments, then looked up at Inori.

"She has a fever," stated the kelpie

"Let's get her inside. Can you carry her?" responded Inori.

"You trust me not to dive into the river with her?"

"It may well be the best thing for her. Besides, she trusts you."

Straganda had no reply to this. Instead, she swiftly changed forms, becoming a beautiful horse. In this form, she had lead hundreds to their deaths. In this form, she intended to lead one to life. Inori lifted Ranani onto the kelpie's back, then turned and ran for the house, changing shape as she did. Not once did she look back at Straganda.

Straganda followed swiftly, hoping they could help her new friend.