Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 221- New Friends?

[Rafaela POV]

Tiredly stumbling into our home, the door long lost to the bog beneath us, I slumped onto my pile of blankets I called a bed. They’d been really pushing us in potion making recently for some reason. My mana was drained as much as it could be without putting me into a near coma. Kay was lying in her corner, thankfully, asleep, if the slight twitch of her ears were any indication, though I don’t like the look of the potion bottles full of ominously glowing liquid near her.  I normally would have grabbed them and tossed them out, but my exhaustion was too much and I practically passed out.  I didn’t know how long I was out, but when I came to, I was being shaken by a frantic Kay.

“Wha…? Shtap shakin me, Kay.  Yull make te house faall.”

“Rafie, we gotta go! We gotta meet her!  She’s coming in a few days!”

The frantic tone in her voice knocked the sleep out of me and I sat up, grabbing Kay’s shoulders.

“I’m up, so please stop song me.”

“Rafie, we need to go!”

“Ok, ok, calm down. Let me get my stuff.”

I’d lived with Kay long enough to know that trusting her whims like this would turn out for the better. It’s how we managed to snag this house, even if it was hardly more than a ruin.  As I continued to pack my meager belongings, I asked the most pressing question of the day.

“Kay, who are we going to meet?”

She turned to me, her tail wagging so fast it left after images.

“The one who will save us.  A pretty fox!  She’s gonna have cool eyes and she’s hot!”

“Hot?”

“Yep, yep, like the suns!”

I still didn’t understand what she was really saying but decided to stop thinking about it. Kay was never really into explain things very well in the first place. Once I had everything, I stepped out with Kay and looked up. The sky was covered in gray clouds, and it was lightly raining. I pulled the hood of my patchy cloak over my head, and I started following Kay out of town.  Once we passed under the rotting gate, we both stopped as, in the very far distance, a blue beam of light shot into the sky powerful enough to disperse the clouds above us.

“Wooooow.”

“Kay, please tell me that isn’t the direction we’re going.”

“C’mon Rafie, we gotta go meet her!”

Grabbing onto my arm, Kay started pulling me along in the direction of that beam.

[Keeno POV]

Two days after Pram made me realize a lot of things I was still depressed, though I was doing my best not to show it. I know Pram knows and Freya probably does as well, but it doesn’t matter. I’m only acting like this for myself. I know at least a few things I need to change, and I know they’ll take time, but that change will never happen if I mope about it.

Regardless of this, the trip has been quite uneventful. According to Huginn and Muninn, there were no pursuers from the city we left, though there were people sent to investigate what happened. There were no movements from Tamist either, or at least none that the two deemed worthy of reporting.

Speaking of Tamist, we were firmly across the border now, if the horrid humidity and general disgusting smell were any indication. The trees had all become mangrove or similar, with a few yew trees mixed in here and here. The road was more mud than dirt and we were gradually being surrounded by stagnant, brackish water. Wilting yellow reeds poked up from the ground here and there, large dragonfly-like insects flitting about. Massive toads could be seen every now and then, but their croaking was constant.

Another thing I noticed was that some of the water was different. It looked glassy in a way that just felt wrong. Though the area smelled bad already, those patches of water also had a distinct smell that I couldn’t quite place, but I felt like I knew what it was. I was torn between investigating it and ignoring it when my ears twitched. Judging by their reactions, Pram and Freya also heard it.

‘Freya, watch our backs, Pram, between us.  Huginn, Muninn, you know what to do.’

My two feathered companions flew out of my tails and started curling above us. My ears twitched again. It seemed our uninvited guests were approaching from my side. I twitched a tail in signal and Huginn and Muginn flew over in the direction I heard the sounds coming from. Diving from the sky, the two swooped and swatted at the mystery people, driving them further toward us until finally they fell through the thicket next to us.

The fist to fall out was a girl slightly shorter than Pram with disheveled, dirty honey colored hair and wolf ears flattened against her head. Her tail was curled up between her legs, and her ragged clothes were nearly ripped completely to shreds.  The second was hardly any different clothing wise, though she did wear a grey patchy, thick cloak. Her hair was a similar grey with grey and black feathers mixed in here and there. Her eyes were a cold black. Unlike her friend, she landed in a crouch.  Looking at her downed friend, she glared in our direction and threw her hand to the side. In an instant a large scythe slightly larger than her body appeared.

“Don’t you dare hurt Kay.”

Her voice was cold and quiet.

“Huginn, Muninn, back off.  Kid, who are you and what do you want?”

“And why should I answer the question of someone who attacked us out of nowhere?”

The kid and I stared each other down when the second girl immediately sat up.

“Rafie, why are you and the pretty fox we need to meet ready to kill each other?”

“Eh?  This is the bitch we’re supposed to meet?”

“Oi kid! That not nice.”

“Says the one who attacked us out of nowhere!”

Me and the grey girl continued to glare at one another when the clear sound of a bell rang through the area.

“How about we all calm down.  Okami, cool down, and child, we were just on guard.  You never know what to expect in places like this.”

“The silver spot lady is right, Rafie!  No fighting!”

“…Fine, but I don’t want you going near the she-fox Kay. Not until she apologizes.”

“Aww.”

Pram glanced over at me with clear meaning in her eyes. Breathing out a little fire I sighed.

“For the sake of getting things moving, I’m sorry.”

“Li-”

“Rafie, she said sorry.”

Like a tiny honey colored meteor, the girl named Kay shot forward wrapping her surprisingly strong arms around my stomach.  I would have fallen into the mud had I not braced myself at the last second. Looking down at the girl this closely, I noticed something irregular.

“How are you even alive?”

Chaos Realm:

Luna: *breaks a door down* Paytooooooooooo!!!

What!?

Luna: Help me think of a Christmas present from Tamamo!

Just wrap yourself in ribbons and say you’re her present.

Luna: I’ve done that the last few years. It’s getting stale.

Hmm.

Order: How about all day naked service?

Luna: I’ll note that down for later, but in not that slu…I was looking for romantic.

Hmmmm.!!!

Order: !!!

Payto and Order: Fluff Pillow of Absolute Fluffiness.

Luna: Simple and effective. Thanks. *breaks a hole in the wall before hopping through a portal*