Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 319: Languages, Fashion and Politics

"You can understand her!" I blurted out. Finally, someone who spoke the same language as Nyx!

"Apologies, but no, I do not speak her language." Kotara replied. "I do know a few words but it is a difficult language to learn. I understood her greeting and was able to reply in kind, however she uses a slightly different dialect than I am familiar with. You know, the few words I have learned were from a fascinating winged lion."

My ears drooped at the initial response, then my brain registered the last part. "You know a winged lion who speaks her language?"

"There are a few in Kitara and some are even bonded. Undead ones, of course. The living ones can be kind of rude, sadly." He replied. "Also, since I am not rude, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Kotara, guardian of Lady Nanami."

"I am Garm, part of Koyuki's pack and a good boy." Garm introduced himself.

Kotara gave him a nod, then looked at Nanami. "Why have I not been informed about the locals' way of dress? Should I not wear a bowtie as well?"

"This is not a local way to dress, just one undead. A more important question is, why does your orthos speak normally and your guardian does not?" Nanami inquired.

"All my cats only meow… But the other ones speak normally." I told her.

"All your cats? Other ones?" She asked, looking confused.

I nodded. "I have Hatsumi, a vampire spellblade, Kaito, a dullahan, Garm, an orthos, Nyx, Yoru, Ivy and Kasai are the cats. Only Nyx is a skeleton, Yoru is a draugr, Ivy is a vampiric undead, although with her becoming tier three, is she more of a full vampire? Actually, I should look into her bite… Anyway, there is also Kasai, she has a fire affinity. I am not sure if she is a specific kind of undead, we experimented a bit in her creation."

Erik snorted. "You experiment with every creation."

Nanami just stared.

"We should invite them all here!" Garm suggested with a wagging tail.

I was about to respond when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in." Erik said.

Outside were all of my undead. I wondered if Nyx had already called them earlier, they had arrived way too fast.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Greetings, I am Kaito, Koyuki's butler."

"Greetings, I am Hatsumi, her maid."

"Meow."

"Greetings, I am Kotara, guardian of Lady Nanami." After his introduction Kotara raised his paw and pointed at Yoru. "I would like to point out that there is significant evidence supporting the theory of undead neckwear being a thing around here."

I looked at Yoru's tie, featuring Helena's crest. He wore it proudly but he was the only cat wearing something around their neck.

"Only the males do, except Kaito, but he does not have a neck." Garm added.

"I see, thank you for clarifying." Kotara replied, then looked at Nanami. "I would like some proper neckwear to fit in with the locals. Also, you should introduce yourself. Your silence is unbecoming of your station."

She glared at her guardian, then she addressed us: "Greetings, I am the Necatari Nanami, it is a pleasure meeting you. All of you are undead linked to Necatari Koyuki?"

"Linked and created, except for Nyx, who was bonded." Kaito explained. "Actually, the cats were originally created as tier two but they evolved."

"Tier two do not evolve that quickly, Koyuki is what? 18?" She asked.

"17." I clarified.

"It is a lot more amusing when Koyuki happens to other people." Erik mused with a smile.

Nanami looked at Erik. "You are telling me that a 17 year old student bonded with a guardian and controls 7 tier three undead. Some of them evolved from tier twos in what? A year?"

"Actually a bit shorter than that." Kaito added, helpfully.

"And she has created a full vampire, a dullahan and… Wait, you said…" She looked at the runes on Hatsumi's arms.

"Lady Nanami had quite the laugh when she heard the talks about a vampire spellblade from the conference. I have to admit I was sceptical myself, however, as your fashion shows, we failed at gathering information." Kotara mused.

"Neck fashion is not the issue here!" Nanami said, while still staring at the runes.

Kotara pointed at Hatsumi with his paw. "Clearly you were wrong about the existence of a vampire spellblade, you should accept that you are wrong about fashion."

"It is impossible! Spellblade runes are not compatible with undead! They can only be used to enhance a…" She stopped, looking at us. "I am not permitted to divulge some of our magical secrets, however if you truly succeeded at the impossible there might be an exchange in magical information. I cannot authorise that myself, however."

"So you can't tell me about guardians?" I asked.

"I can tell you some things, but not everything. How did you bond Nyx?" She asked.

"I was trying to raise a skeleton. I had an alchemical solution to strengthen the bones but someone had tampered with it. Not only that, Nyx was not actually a corpse. She was a wild undead, or so we believe right now, who got captured by the adventurers guild. She was sold accidently and they tried to interfere with my magic to have her wake up, break loose and destroy the evidence, or kill me. We have never figured what all of their aims were, or who ordered Nyx in the first place. Somehow my magic adapted and Nyx became mine. I thought she was tier two at first." I admitted. "Oh, and we believe she is related to a devourer."

Nyx jumped from Garm's head and walked a few steps forward. Then she grew to her full size, while her purple eyes glowed brightly. "Meow."

"That is a lot to take in." Nanami replied, while looking at Nyx. "Devourers are quite powerful undead, they would be proper guardian material but I have never heard of a skeletal one. And when she shrinks she is hard to differentiate from a normal cat. That you bonded her in a weakened state is concerning and would explain why she has never learned your language. Also, weakening the undead and bonding them in such a state would be unacceptable, normally. Since it was not your fault you can hardly be blamed, however it might be problematic in Kitara. Perhaps you should avoid mentioning that."

"And you are fine with it?" I asked.

"Honestly, I need more time to process this. You seem to be a natural talent and quite powerful. Your undead seem quite protective of you, that is a good sign. However, your powers do complicate things. It means you might be part of a prestigious clan, a lot will certainly try to claim you." She admitted.

"No, not more politics!" I complained.

"I will certainly need to report this, I apologise." Nanami bowed.

"And you need to buy me proper neckwear. Garm, would you be so kind as to advise me on the matter?" Kotara asked.

Garm's tail wagged. "I would love to!"