Kitsune in the Shadows

[Ava POV]

I’m tired…

But…

It took a lot of effort, but eventually, I managed to get myself out of bed by sliding my whole body onto the cold wooden floor below.

That feels… nice…

…

It took a few more minutes for me to actually sit myself up and open my eyes.

“… What… time is it?…”

It took a while after that, but I managed to get up on my own two feet and make my way over to the window. Pulling the curtains back, I saw that it was still dark outside, though I could see the sun was just starting to poke out on the horizon.

“… I feel… awful…”

Before checking on anything else, I made my way down to the kitchen, hoping to find something to drink.

Luckily, it seemed like someone had planned for my little trip here in advance, as there was already a jug full of water set out, which I happily drank in its entirety, choosing to ignore the cup that had been placed next to it.

…

“What even happened yesterday?” I muttered to myself.

…

I think Kit… said… something…

But…

Why can’t I remember what it was?

…

She panicked… then… she fell…

Then I healed her.

But… what happened after that?

I sat there in silence for a while, just trying to remember whatever I could about the day before, but for some reason, I just couldn’t. It was all just a blur left in my mind.

…

“Was I really that tired yesterday?… Maybe I just used my magic a bit too much…”

…

No matter how much I sat and thought about it, there was only so much I could do just sat there, so I just got up and decided to head over to Kit’s room to check on her.

I carefully opened the door, being careful not to make any noise so that she didn’t wake up. She was once again fast asleep while in her fox form, curled up with the same grey fox from yesterday.

I wonder if they’d let me join them one night?

…

That’s probably asking them for too much.

…

Although… maybe in a week or two…

I made my way into the room, sitting myself down on her bed, just next to the pillow the two foxes were sleeping on, or at least where I thought the two foxes were sleeping. As as soon as I sat down, the grey fox looked up at me.

“So…” I reached my hand out towards them, “Are you protecting her now?”

“*Yip*” They responded, nuzzling up to my hand.

“Ha ha, good.”

Having placated the guardian, I decided to try to move my hand down towards the white fluff it had been so diligently protecting.

I know she is a little bit wary when people try to touch her, but…

Surely, it would be fine to pet her a little… We’re close enough for that, right?

…

I looked at the grey fox again just to check that it wasn’t going to stop me. They looked at my hand for a moment before they just laid their head back down and closed their eyes.

I’ll take that as a go-ahead.

Slowly, I started to run my fingers through the fur, a little anxious that she was going to wake up at any moment. Yet, for some reason, that anxiety made it even more exciting.

As time went on, my motions started to get a little bigger and a little more forceful as I indulged more and more in the sensation running through my hand.

The sun was almost completely above the horizon when I finally decided that I’d had enough for now, but right as I was about to take my hand away, I noticed a low, somewhat quiet, rumbling sound.

…

Is this?

I leaned in towards the two foxes, and the rumbling got just a little bit louder.

It is!

I didn’t know foxes could purr!

It’s absolutely adorable!

Immediately, I stuck my hand back into the pile of fluff, hoping that the more I stroked her, the louder she would purr.

This is bad… This is really bad…

I might get addicted to this…

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, as soon as I ran my fingers through her fur, she started to stir, gently kicking her hind legs.

I pulled my hand back and just watched her haphazardly fumble around while half asleep. At least, that’s what I did until I saw her start to slide off of the pillow.

“Whoa there,” I said, pushing her back up next to the other fox.

She seemingly responded to me simply by lifting her head up and trying to look around, although her eyes were still closed.

My body sprung into action, almost like some kind of dormant instinct. I gently ran my hand over her back and whispered, “Shh, just go back to sleep. It’s still early, alright?”

A quiet whine came from the little fox, but she relented to my calming touch and quickly went back to sleep.

Maybe I’m just naturally good at this.

…

It almost makes me wish I had some fur of my own.

Instead, I’ve just got…

I looked over my wings for the first time since waking up.

“… Some feathers that really need to be cleaned up…”

Ahhh…

…

“… I’ll do it… later… Breakfast comes first.”

I quickly made my way out of her room and back into the kitchen to look over what was available. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.

Guess I’ll have to go shopping later…

…

Maybe I can buy Kit a bigger pillow at the same time…

I decided it would be better to leave that train of thought for later and started pulling out everything needed to put together some sandwiches, in other words, everything that was left.

I know it’s not really a breakfast food per se, but… I missed both lunch and dinner yesterday, so I want something properly filling.

If they don’t like it they can sort themselves out.

…

Maybe not Kit… if she didn’t like it, she would probably just starve herself instead…

“Come on Ava, just don’t think about that. If it’s good food, she will eat it, so you just need to make some damn good sandwiches.”

Immediately, I got to work, pulling together pretty much everything we had left, even frying off the last of the bacon from yesterday.

When finished, I was faced with three heaping sandwiches, although they didn’t quite feel complete yet.

“What else can I?…” I mumbled to myself as I looked around the kitchen, “Oh! Of course, what am I even doing? It was obvious.”

I took the three sandwiches over to the hob to toast them off in the same pan that I had fried the bacon in.

“Now, I could probably eat one of these even if I was full… well, just one… they are a bit big…”

Quickly moving past that, I brought the plates of food over to Kit’s room, where I was surprised to see her both fully awake and sitting at the table.

“So, you’re finally getting used to staying with us Kit?” I asked as I set the plates down, expecting the usual shy reaction of her looking at the floor or maybe even burying her face in her tail.

Instead, however, she seemed a little sad.

“Oh no, oh no, what’s wrong?” I crouched down next to her, “Did I make a mistake? Is it the food? Should I try make something else for you quickly? Y-you don’t have to feel bad about it, I’m sure mom could easily down your whole portion if you don’t want it.”

All of a sudden, her gaze tightened on me, and her mouth started to tremble ever so slightly. My immediate instinct was to bring her into a hug, but what she did next stopped me in my tracks before I could even get an arm around her.

“… My n-n-name…” She squeaked out, “…K-Kierra.”

Her name? Kierra?

…

Oh no, please no.

Is that what she told us yesterday?!

No, no, no, no, no.

How could I forget something as big as that?

“Oh, that’s right, Kierra, I-I didn’t forget,” I tried hard not to fumble my words, “It’s just that… old habits die hard, right?”

She nodded and seemed to perk up a little as well.

Better not ever forget that again…

It would be too much for my heart.

“Alright, then let’s dig in. The food’ll taste better when it’s warm after all.”

As if on cue, Mom came into the room and sat at the table.

“Good morning girls,” Was all she said before she started eating.

That’s as good an invitation as any… I guess.

I joined in, trying my best to fit the sandwich into my mouth… Which I didn’t manage… Instead, I ended up taking my masterpiece apart before digging in.

What happened after that… was admittedly a bit of a blur… I just remember shovelling as much as I could, as fast as I could, into my mouth. And it seemed that I wasn’t the only one who did, as for the first time, the three of us finished eating at the same time.

Seeing the two of them satisfied, I collected up the plates and made my way back into the kitchen, although I wasn’t alone.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” I asked, “Don’t you normally stay with Kit… no, wait, I mean Kierra?”

“I just… need to talk to you about something…” She replied, “It’s about… what we’re going to do going forward.”

I let out a sigh before setting the dirty plates down, “Alright, what’s going on?”

“You remember I said that we weren’t going to stay here that long?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“Well, I think… No…” She looked unsure of herself, “I… want… to stay here a bit longer.”

Is this really what she wanted to talk about?

“Okay… and?”

She just stared at me after I said that, clearly a little confused.

“What? You’re okay with it?” She somehow seemed to be getting even more surprised as she spoke, “I thought you didn’t like this place? If you really wanted to leave, I could-”

“Oh, come on,” I cut her off, “As soon as we took that little fox in, I knew we weren’t going to be leaving any time soon. I know what you’re like.”

“But-”

“Yes, I don’t like this place… at all, to be honest… but I do want to keep helping Kierra out just as much as you do.”

“Then…”

“What can I say?” I couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders and smirk at her, “You’ve rubbed off on me.”

“Heh,” A smile spread across her face, “So, on that note, what I really wanted to talk about was… This inn is a bit… expensive… It’s not a problem at the moment. I mean, I could probably keep us in here for a few months, though after that, I would need to start taking on work in earnest again.”

“So, what are you wanting to do about it? If needed, I could probably take on an odd job or two myself.” I suggested.

“No, that’s not it. I was just thinking about renting out a place, preferably as far from the main street as possible,” She looked down at the floor as she spoke.

“Any reason for the preference? Not that I mind.”

“… She saw a picture of that street…” She struggled to get the words out, “Her eyes… She didn’t say anything and tried not to show it… but that raw fear I saw in her eyes… I just… I can’t…”

“Hey, don’t be like that,” I came up next to her and hugged her with my dishevelled wings, “Treat it as a good thing.”

“How can that be a good thing?!” She put her hands on my shoulders, pushing me away.

“Think of it like this, she’s getting used to living with us. Before, she would’ve just thought of that street and what happened there as part of her daily life. But now, she’s learned that it’s not right! That she doesn’t have to live like that!” I took a moment to calm down a bit, “She’s scared of going back… Even if she doesn’t really show it… She doesn’t look like she’s going to run away the moment someone so much as talks to her anymore.”

Mom didn’t respond and just continued to stand there as I got to work cleaning the dishes.

It was only when I was finished that she spoke again.

“Alright, I’ll try looking for a place. Just… don’t say anything to Kierra… not until I’ve sorted it all out.”

“Sure, sure. You have fun with that,” I walked past her, “For me though, I’m first going to get myself in a bath, then I’m going to sort these feathers out.”