Kitsune of the Blue Sun

Chapter 224- The Two’s Home

[Keeno POV]

That night was a very hectic one until Kay finally tired herself out and fell asleep in my tails while she was trying to figure out how Huginn and Muninn, who had nestled themselves inside my tails for the night, completely submerged in the fluff.  Rafaela, who had warmed up to us a little bit after our rough first impressions, gave me an apologetic look as we all set up camp. She also explained that we were about a day and a half from their home and that we could stay with them, though she added the caveat that we needed to help make their home more stable first.  Seeing no real problem with that we easily agreed. After that, the night and the next day and a half passed with little trouble aside from the occasional stops to keep Kay from eating some mushroom or other plant she’d somehow picked up without us noticing.

Once we were in sight of the small town the two lived in, Kay got even more excited than she had been since we first met her. She grabbed me by the hand and, with a beaming smile, started pulling me toward the small doorless gate.  As soon as we passed through it, I thought I saw movement out of the corner of my eye, but Kay pulled me past a building before I could confirm anything with the others not far behind us.

Kay led me through what I could only describe as a slum before we entered an area nearly devoid of livable houses. Soon enough the moldy cobblestones turned into rotting boards as the road transitioned from land to spiderwebbing piers.  Most buildings here were nothing more than ruins, though eventually I saw one building that seemed halfway livable.

“Kay.”

As Kay pulled me closer to that building I’d struggle to even call a hovel, I felt a myriad of emotions ranging from anger to pity.  Once we got to the building, Kay let go of my hand and rushed to the door.  She turned to me beaming.

“This is home!”

Kay threw open the door causing the entire building to shake and the door itself to come off one of the hinges.

“Oops.”

A sad expression crossed Kay’s face for a brief moment before it went back to her usual beaming smile.  She then bolted inside, disappearing into the shadowed interior.  Rafaela, Pram, and Freya walked up behind me a minute later, a saddened, and slightly embarrassed expression painted her face.

“I’m sorry about that, Okami.  And welcome to our home, it’s not much, but it’s all we have.  I’d offer better hospitality, but we don’t really have much to spare.  Oh, and please mind your step, the house will fall if we move too much.”

I glanced over at Pram and Freya, and they clearly shared my sentiments. There was no reason kids should have to live in a place as squalid as this.  Hel, even the water under this rotten pier seemed more stagnant than most places we passed by.

Grabbing Rafaela’s shoulder, I stopped her from walking in.  I then channeled a bit of power, causing my core to flicker brighter for a brief second. On the tip of my finger appeared a spark of blue flame that I used to draw some Runes in the air.  One was a Rune of mending, the second was a Rune of stability, and the third was a Rune of cleansing.

The mending Rune flew up and shattered like glass into countless smaller Runes that sunk into the wood of the pier and house, seemingly rewinding all the damage both visible and invisible to a point where it was in its prime. The stability Rune did the same, though most of the shards flew into the stilts that the house was standing on, making them much sturdier than they should ever be.  Finally, the cleansing Rune flew above the house and flashed in a dull light that created a large dome spreading from directly above the house to a few meters past us and ending under the water.  Looking at Rafaela, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open.  I quietly chuckled at her reaction. She only snapped out of her stupor when a frantic Kay ran out of the house, throwing open the repaired door.

“Rafie, the house doesn’t shake anymore! And the roof isn’t holey!  And, and the funny smell is gone! And…”

Cutting herself off, Kay ran back inside before letting out a distressed groan.  Hearing that we all entered the house.  It was really empty, with the biggest piece of furniture being a somewhat large black cauldron with a single, small stool next to it.  The floor under it burnt black even through the power of my Runes.  Kay was standing in a corner that somehow seemed darker than everything else in the house.

“My snacks are gone.”

Kay’s ears were flattened against her head, and her tail lay limp on the floor.

“What sna…So that was where you were hiding those damn mushrooms!  What did I tell you about mushrooms Kay!?”

“Make them into a potion and make the baldy drink it.”

“Exactly.  Make the…wait, when did I say that?”

“You say it in your sleep a lot.  You also say that he should swallow glass shards and that he should sleep in the water like the swampy dead people.  OH, and that-mmmph hmph hmmmm.”

Rafaela had run up to Kay and shut her mouth with her hands, her ears red from embarrassment.

“That’s enough Kay. I told you not to eat mushrooms that grow in here or outside the house.  They’re poisonous and will hurt you.”

“No, Rafie, you said not to eat those weird ones that were purple or white that grow everywhere.”

“*Sigh*”

Rafaela seemed to give up as Kay seemed to be able to refute her every statement.  She turned back to us while Kay moved over to the cauldron, lay down, and wrapped herself in her tattered cloak before almost instantly falling asleep.

“Since it’s getting late we should sleep.  I know we don’t really have any beds or other furniture, so feel free to find a good spot on the floor and we’ll figure out more tomorrow.  And again, I’m so sorry we can’t do much in the way of hospitality.”

Leaving it at that, Rafaela followed Kay’s example and lay down on the other side of the cauldron before falling asleep.  Pram and Freya picked a corner and Pram pulled out a blanket for the two of them.  I chose the opposite corner and did the same, closing my eyes and slowly fell asleep.

My eyes shot open and my breathing was heavy and irregular. My heart was beating fast and I could feel the ghost of cold sweat. If it wasn’t for the Runes I’d used earlier, I’d have been swimming because I’d have burnt a hole in the floor.

“That was the worst dream, no, nightmare I’ve had in a long time.”

I got up and walked out of the house to try and cool off. The air outside was unpleasantly warm and humid, but it was better than being in an enclosed space. Flashes of the nightmare kept playing in my head and I couldn’t calm down. I felt tears as they evaporated the second they touched my cheeks but they wouldn’t stop.

“A-Ama…please be safe.”

I felt another pang of primal fear that made it feel like my heart was being shredded. The disgusting feeling was so overpowering that I almost missed the quiet sound of footsteps behind me. They didn’t sound like Pram or Freya’s, so it must have been either Kay or Rafaela, but I didn’t turn to confirm. I don’t want anyone seeing me in this state.

“It’s alright, Keeno.”

The voice belonged to Kay. She stopped walking at my back but didn’t move to look at my face. She grabbed my hand and pulled me down so I was sitting on the edge of the pier, after which she placed one of her hands on my head, and, with unpracticed movements, started patting my head.

“I don’t know what happened, but it’ll all be ok.”

“…”

“Mmrrr.”

She started patting me with both hands due to my lack of reaction.

“Pfft.”

“Hehehe. Keeno, don’t let the bad dreams get you. They win if you do.”

She transitioned from pats to hugging my. She moved her head next to mine and started rubbing against my cheek like a cat.  I wanted to say something, but it was lost when I realized something else.

“How did you know my name?  None of us have told either you or Rafaela yet.”

“My dreams.” She said as she let go of me and sat down next to me before laying her head in my lap, her honey colored eyes staring up into mine. “I saw you were sad and I patted you.  Now you’re feeling better!”

“You have funny dreams.”

“Yep!  But they make me and Rafie happy, so I keep doing what I see.”

“Have you ever seen something bad?”

“Uh huh.  But I didn’t like it so I didn’t listen to it.”

She kept staring into my eyes, a bright smile on her face. I smiled back. Kay was too pure for this world in a different sense to the purity of the soul.  I opened my mouth to say something to make Kay laugh, but then I noticed something was off. Despite the late hour, there wasn’t any sound around us. No small creatures or bugs, no sounds of water or even wind. Turning my attention back to Kay, her eyes that were filled with mirth a second ago were wide in fear, her ears were flat against her head and she had her tail tucked up between her legs, the hair bristling.

Chaos Realm:

Luna: I’m gonna smack you.

Oi!

Luna: What’s with you and cliffhangers recently!? If something happens to that adorable cinnamon roll I’m gonna invade that world and delete all the space in that area!

Calm down.

Luna: Don’t test me Payto!