a tale of two vixens [kyuubi]

[Anonymous]

"Late," Selene echoed, glancing up at what sky she could see through the leaf canopy. Part of her wanted to protest and suggest they march onward through the darkness, but there was a reason she was a fox running out in broad daylight. Other predators were fond of coming out at night to hunt, looming shapes with eyes aglow in the moonlight, and if this woman's sister was a shadow entity in a forest draped in night's shadow... She shuddered at the thought.

The vixens entered a small clearing, and Amber immediately gathered twigs and small branches. With a simple snap of her fingers, a small flame burst from the kindle and began to crackle as it devoured the fuel. Selene watched with little interest, knowing the power of foxfire was one most kitsunes had. She found her own tree to lean against, checked the bark for insects, and sprawled on her stomach on the ground instead. She shrugged out of her human shape and curled her tail close to her.

"Of course it's good enough. It's not like I'm some posh princess." She glanced slyly at the fire and sent a small breeze toward it, to dance with the flame and cast orange light on Amber's face. "So are we going to do the old 'take turns keeping watch' thing? Or can you sleep with your eyes open? It wouldn't surprise me."

[Anonymous]

Amber chuckled a little at sleeping with her eyes open. She said, "No, I can't sleep with my eyes open, but I'll keep watch. We don't need to take turns. After all, if anything comes, I'll wake up." She looked into the distance, her eyes catching the light of the fire and making her look rather eerie. She knew that if Shadow came, she would go after Amber so Selene wasn't in much danger. And, as for normal bears and things, Amber could flee or fight them  without a huge lot of trouble. Anyway, it's not like those animals rampaged about constantly, actually hunting for the two of them. She said, "If my sister comes, she will go after me, not you, so you aren't in much danger. Also, I do not think that bears and the like will attack us, for we haven't done anything stupid to piss them off." She nodded to Selene. "Good night.."

[Anonymous]

Selene sighed and rested her head on her paws. Hopefully the other vixen's haughty talk was justified, and there wouldn't be any danger while she tried to sleep. She almost wondered about sneaking off, but that again would admit defeat, and she was safer with Amber than slumbering on her own. She cocked an ear toward the woman's reassurances and huffed about the bears, knowing a hungry one wouldn't mind eating a fox.

"Night," she said distractedly, closing her eyes and tucking her nose in the white tip of her tail.

But sleep wouldn't take her. It usually took her into the soft folds of its arms, even if she was dirty and bedraggled, even if she was already in someone's arms, even if she fought to keep it away with bloodshot eyes and bared teeth. Now, the comfort of unconsciousness she sought would not come. It turned a cold shoulder on her, and she was alone, olive eyes staring out into the shadows of the forest, painfully listening to each rustle of the grass and breath of wind.

[Anonymous]

Shadow watched carefully from the bushes. She didn't really feel like attacking Amber while she was asleep; after all, it was more Amber going after Shadow that Shadow being angry at Amber. She wondered about this companion, Selene. She also wondered why Amber had decided to travel with this woman. Perhaps boredom or lonliness or something. Shadow watched Selene, restless eyes not finding sleep. Shadow wondered what that felt like; trying to sleep but not finding its comfort. She didn't remember. She was one with the darkness, it was different to her. She was the darkness.

Shadow came out of the bushes next to Selene, without a sound. She said quietly, "Greetings. Don't fear me being here; I'm not out to kill this night." It seemed to almost get darker when she appeared.

[Anonymous]

Selene half-shut her eyes and focused on the sensation of the cool air around her. She didn't stir when a breath of wind tickled her long whiskers, nor did she react when the soft glow of firelight began to dim. Her eyes adjusted and she merely blinked before a shape suddenly seemed to materialize beside the curled-up fox, and a woman's soft voice greeted her.

But despite the warning of the dark, would-be killer, the vixen jumped up to her feet, her silvery grey fur bristling and brushy tail lashing once. Her pupils were narrow as a cat's as she opened her mouth to show her teeth. There is something deceptive about a fox's snarl; the fact that their muzzles cannot wrinkle up into a thousand angry folds like a wolf's might account for it. She retained, therefore, a small amount of grace and cunning while managing to flash her small sharp teeth. The growl that rushed up out of her throat was high-pitched but soft as well, involuntarily taking the hushed tone that her potential assailant spoke in.

"That's what the last hungry bear tried to tell me," the kitsune hissed. She turned her head briefly, just a flick of motion, to glance at Amber. Was the woman asleep? Was she honestly slumbering through this attack? The fox flattened her ears closer against her small skull and growled once more. "Besides, you appeared to be in the killing mood earlier."

Selene was in evident panic, for while her words were sharp as a knife and her glare defiant, she quickly looked around from time to time and backed slowly up. The moment an opportunity at flight was open to her, she would flee. This Shadow would see her tail flash its white tip before the night swallowed up the fleeing fox with the same care that it harbored darkness.

[Anonymous]

Shadow sighed, looking a bit annoyed. It seemed when you wanted to be frightening, you were not, and when you didn't want to scare anyone, you scared the shit out of them. She folded her arms across her chest, saying, "If I was in a killing mood, I wouldn't have been so stupid as to have come up and say hello beforehand, giving you an obvious tip that I was there. Plus, I have absolutely no reason to kill you. Remember, after all, that Amber wants to kill me, not I want to kill her." The fire dimmed further, but didn't go out. She said, almost to herself, "Can't I just say something and not have people running in the other direction?"

[Anonymous]

Unlike some of the crueler people out there (Selene included), Shadow did not show self-approval at frightening the small fox. She instead crossed her arms and reprimanded Selene for being startled and accusing the shady figure.

"Some people get their kicks out of scaring their prey before killing them," Selene managed to growl, thinking of the mouse she'd tossed around before Amber had stepped out of the bushes. "And, the way I see it, you attacked Amber first." She remained crouched, fur bristling, thinking frantically of what was going on. It would actually be smarter for Shadow to rid herself of the fox if she wanted a chance at her sister; Selene could rouse her with a few yelps whenever she wanted. However, she remained quiet, out of her own accursed curiosity more than anything else.

"I honestly wouldn't have cared if you hadn't made such a bad first impression," Selene said, answering her frustrated question. Her muscles relaxed slightly, though her loose posture was one ready to spring away. Amusement had entered her voice now. She was still on edge, but more than anything she was poking cruel fun at the once-scary figure talking to her.

[Anonymous]

Shadow's strangely colored eyes glittered with a slight amusement. "A bad impression. Well, when you're an assassin, you tend to make bad first impressions, no? And I guess you could say bad last impressions, also." She chuckled darkly. Then, she glanced over at Amber and back to Selene, looking more annoyed, but not at anyone in particular. "And, please, do not wake her up to kill me. I'm much too tired for that. I don't want to deal with her accusations right now. Blah blah blah." She began to look a bit amused again.

[Anonymous]

Was this demon laughing?

Selene eyed the self-named assassin warily as she chuckled and flattened her ears, unsure of what to say now. Were they both in agreement that Selene had every right to be untrusting? She snorted quietly to herself but leaned back worriedly when Shadow, looking irritated, fixed her in her black and crimson ringed eyes. As if she had read the kitsune's thoughts, she asked her not to wake Amber.

"Why shouldn't I? It's not as if you won't come back anyway." The fox's eyes flashed in the dimming firelight, and she smiled coldly. "What do you want, then, Shadow? Why am I so interesting that you would risk a fight to approach me?"

She appeared thoughtful. She was on the offensive now, though the dark woman might not realize it.

[Anonymous]

Shadow smiled coldly back, with a hint of bitterness and a dangerous look in her dark, crimson eyes. "I was just wondering why you've decided to travel with her for the time being, but now it seems obvious. She's a skilled warrior, and you seem like the type that can protect themselves but feels like having someone else to do it for them." She chuckled a little again. "And, anywho, I wouldn't consider it a fight, I'd consider it Amber having a hissy fit while I deal with it or leave."

[Anonymous]

Selene didn't break the stare with the dark woman and laughed softly when she spoke her reasons for being interested. "You've got me," she remarked in agreement. "I'm not all that complicated." She stretched while thinking about the "honor" Amber had been so surprised and disgusted the fox didn't have. Did Shadow have the same high-and-mighty morals?

Suddenly the fox flicked her ears forward, unpinning them from her head and looking at Shadow in interest. Here was a potential chance to answer a question she'd had brewing in her mind the past half hour or so.

"Amber hates you," she said, stating the obvious. "Obviously shit happened in your family's past. I didn't believe that you were all bad; your motives actually are interesting to me."

She eased back onto her toes, tense. Curiosity killed the cat, after all, and what was a fox other than a cunning mix of canine and feline?

[Anonymous]

Shadow sat up a bit straighter. She didn't look mad, just a bit surprised, really. She looked thoughtful. She simply didn't expect Selene to ask this question, or even know about their family's past either. She said, "Hm. Interesting, you say? Well, I could tell you, but it would take quite a while to explain, and my little sister here is going to attempt to kill me if she awakes. So, would you be alright with it if I said we should move a little further away? I'll compromise so that we will be close enough that if you yell to her, she will wake up. Deal?" She didn't really care if a random stranger knew such things about her; she didn't feel like telling Amber, though. That would cause problems that she wouldn't want to deal with.

[Anonymous]

There cannot be shadows without light.

The thought replayed in her mind, and she could definitely believe it. Selene was not the type of person to believe that there was good in everyone, and generally she was stubborn, but the character of the arguably "light" Amber had irritated her, and here was a chance to get back at her. Or perhaps it was the darkness within herself that was attracted to siding, at least somewhat, with Shadow. The swordswoman had emotions, and though they didn't show clearly, she could sense them underneath. The dark skin of her face shifted when she heard Selene's unexpected question. It was proof that Shadow had never been heard out, had never told her side of the story.

It's sad when a random stranger wants to listen to you more than your family, Selene thought, and she winced slightly upon remembering Pilot. No, she wasn't like him. She wasn't going to try to comfort or use Shadow; she hadn't the strength to do it. Pilot had been lithe and strong, and she had been weak and recently orphaned. There was nothing to gain from doing it, and besides, Shadow might truly be the dark creature Amber claimed she was.

The vixen's mind was jerking around, thoughts and ideas flying every which way, half-formed, like fledglings taking their first leap out of the nest. It took her a moment to comprehend Shadow's words.

"Deal," she agreed. With one last look at the sleeping "warrior," she tucked her ears down again and slunk out of the clearing across the vegetation, her silver brush of a tail sweeping the leaves aside behind her for room for Shadow to talk. "This far enough?" she asked after a short while, taking a seat and curling her tail over her paws. After a few moments, she wrapped herself up in her human shape and sat down, cross-legged, expectant.

[Anonymous]

Shadow entered the little clearing and sat down, staring at the other for a moment. She said, her eyes darkening, "Alright. I must give some background as well, or else it would not make sense to you." She crossed her legs also, sitting across from Selene. "You see, I am an assassin. My father was my boss, as he told me who I needed to get rid of. He had rules; he wouldn't let me do....well, he wouldn't let me do much. I wasn't exactly allowed to go out and talk to people outside, for example, because then they might figure out that I killed someone they know, whatever. Anyway." She paused for a moment. "Well, I found this man, and we had a little chat. I wasn't supposed to be having little chats with said man, so I kept it secret. This happened a few times. So, then, father found out. Father was not happy, since I was basically saying, by rejecting his rules, 'screw you, asshole', so he kicked me out. I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to go travel with that man I had chats with earlier." She looked at Selene expectantly. "Any questions so far?"

[Anonymous]

Selene listened to the tale—or, rather, the precursor to the true tale, the background information. She smirked when Shadow said that she was an assassin; the dark cliché of the role seemed to suit the swordswoman nicely. So far, her story seemed pretty simple: girl goes out and kills who her father says to, girl makes a forbidden "friend," father gets angry, girl runs to forbidden friend.

Yeah. Simple.

"I understand," Selene said when prompted, shaking her head to show she had no questions. She didn't really know what else to say. But, then again, she'd never been told how to sit and listen to the life story of an assassin who was out to kill her traveling companion.

[Anonymous]

Shadow nodded. "Alright." She looked like it was easy to remember all this. "Well, then I kept around this guy, trying to protect him from who I just betrayed, until I realized this guy, the guy I was traveling with, was actually part of a group that I was against and out to kill, but I realized that too late. Well, he stabbed me in the back. I was out of a home, no friends, family was against me. I snuck back to the house, trying to get revenge on my father, and stole a sword within. This sword I had used before, but was only to be given to the best of the people there. I wasn't supposed to have it, but it was my favorite of all of them." She sighed. Now was where things started getting weird.

"So, I went out I kinda killed guy who betrayed me, and well, you can't blame me. I got...a wound. It would have been fatal. Then, the sword started talking. Insane, right? But, then I realized the sword was cursed, having a raging dragon demon's spirit within. I had no choice but to make a deal with him, this spirit, since he was going to save my life. So, he tells me to kill my family. By family he meant those who happened to be staying over that night for a large dinner in celebration for something. So, I go to kill them, yes? I ended up killing most of them, only leaving my father, sister and brother. I knew that my brother left at some point, somewhere, but I don't know when or where. My sister left the family to follow after me to avenge the family." She shrugged. "Well, that's pretty much the end of my rambling. And I do ask that you don't tell Amber this, what I have told you." She took the sword of hers out of its sheath, holding it in her hands. "The deal still stands to this day. If you want proof that he exists within this sword, I could show you." There was a dark glint in her eyes just then. She knew she was leaving out a lot, but it's not like this stranger needed to know. She had never told her that she did love the man she was traveling with, she never told Selene that the injury was only able to be cured by the demon and only within the moment she was asked was she able to agree or decline.

[Anonymous]

Selene kept her eyes on the assassin's crimson-black ones as she told her tale, attempting to take all of the information in. Misunderstanding would be fatal to her interpretation of her. She had started out listening just to get back at Amber (what Amber did to deserve that the kitsune forgot and didn't really care about), but now she judged the words to see if Shadow was the evil entity that her sister claimed she was.

"Betrayal sucks," the silvery-haired woman said, smirking bitterly. She could relate all too well to that. Luckily, Pilot's betrayal of her had not been so drastic as he had not been an enemy. But it still stung. To have a friend or more-than-a-friend who had cared for and taught you so much flee for his own life when you were in danger...

"Revenge on your father for kicking you out after you broke his rules?" Selene spoke slowly to make sure she had this bit right. It seemed a bit extreme, though she knew not everyone had to be pure. She couldn't remember her relationship with her own father and decided it hadn't been out of the ordinary.

Why did the kitsune keep comparing Shadow's past to her own? She shook her head mentally and paid attention to the rest of the tale.

When Shadow spoke of the deal, Selene frowned but could not judge her. Perhaps Selene wouldn't have killed people for petty reasons, but to save one's own life, there was a thinner line between justified and wrong. "You killed several people for yourself, one person, because a talking sword told you to," she growled. Her voice was partially confused, with just a layer of accusation. Really, she hadn't stopped comparing herself to this woman. She would never have killed her family, but a stranger? Yes. Was this so different?

"If I told Amber, she might understand you better. At least, she'd know the truth even if the truth wouldn't save you from the consequences of what you've done." Her olive eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to peer through Shadow. "What would it hurt if she knew?"

When the sword was drawn, Selene couldn't help but lean forward and examine it—for a brief moment. Then she realized she was in the position to get decapitated and jerked back, eyeing Shadow like a suspicious animal. "I believe you. There's probably been stranger in the world."