Den of the Fox Children
| Title: | Den of the Fox Children | |
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| Author: | Solarchos, firefly_1824 | |
| Date Written: | 2008 | |
| Continuity | SSEU Earth 1337-A | |
| Time Placement | Summer, 2008 | |
| Synopsis | The Langister family stays at the Roma Inn, and Miara happens to pay a visit. | |
| Rating | PG | |
| Additional Notes | ||
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One of the perks, of course, was that the workload of cooking for everyone had been significantly lightened, and she got to spend a lot more time with Sali, now several months pregnant and beginning to show. But while Solar and Inu-Kit had packed up a picnic and carted the kids off through the woods, several people who would normally be tending guests and rooms were out and about, enjoying some much-appreciated free time and creeping along after the newcomers, curious to get a better look at their family. Eiry herself was out with Sali, Jake, Tiena, and Miara, collecting edibles that grew wild. It was early in the day, but there were some things that turned out to be worth the extra effort. One particular patch they intended to visit was a fair distance away: a good hour’s walk and back. Although they carried their buckets, no one was above playing, stalking or chasing each other as they proceeded along their not-so-direct route to their destination. Sensing something above her, Eiry reacted just in time to avoid a playful pounce from Miara. Eiry ran towards the stream with Miara in hot pursuit where she grabbed a low-hanging branch and bypassed the prickly thorn bushes on the bank. Miara narrowly missed them, going around by several meters and losing time. Jake came running back towards her, Tiena close on his heels. Sali was busy skipping down the boulder path to lower ground. “This way,” she called to Jake, and the two of them sprang down the path after her. It wasn’t long before all three of them were sitting down, breathless and sharing a bottle of water from Miara's bag. Jake gave Sali a squeeze, his hand on her belly. “How's the baby doing?” he asked. “It's fine,” replied Sali. “I think she’s actually enjoying all of this running around.” They set off again, this time more relaxed and traipsing about like children, pausing occasionally as they picked berries and dug up edible roots. By the time they reached their destination all of their buckets were halfway full. It didn’t take them long to fill up the rest of the space in their buckets. “It's really pretty here, Eiry,” remarked Miara dreamily as she looked around into the forest that surrounded them all. “Not like home, and different, but just as good in its way.” “I suppose it is.” “Everyone's bucket full?” Jake asked. The foraging had been good so far, and his own pail was filled almost to the brim with berries and fruit. “Yeah, but my mouth could use some,” Sali said. “It's been a while since lunch.” “Yeah, she's right,” Miara seconded. Resting for a bit longer, they all snacked on some of the extra treats they’d managed to find, everyone getting in a few mouthfuls of berries before Sali made a bonus discovery. “Look, mushrooms. Edible, too. Who's got room?” They crowded around the patch of mushrooms that Sali had spotted. It only took a few minutes to harvest the majority of them, and everyone was pleased to find that there was plenty of room in their buckets to accommodate them. "It’s getting late,” said Jake eventually, noticing the change in the sunlight streaming through the trees that signified it was now afternoon. “We should start heading back now.” “Gosh, this is nice,” Sali commented. “Sure beats the hot kitchen on a good afternoon like this.” “It's a good break for all of us.” It was a little later when Eiry became aware of a twitch in her back, and realized Sali was reaching to scratch the same place every few minutes. Are you on time, or what? Tell me about it. “See if you can get that, will you?” Eiry grew her claws just a bit and put her hand up the back of her sister's shirt, scratching lightly until the twinge in her own back disappeared. “Better?” “Much, thanks.” Then they both worked on their shielding a bit. It was then that the air began to subtly change around them, and they looked to the west. “Storm's coming,” Miara said. “How bad, do you think?” “The weather was predicting mild storms, nothing drastic,” Tiena offered. “It might do to let Solar and Inu-Kit know, though,” said Miara. “Someone mind carrying my bucket?” “Sure, I'll take it,” Jake said, reaching out for Miara’s bucket. “See you back there later.” “See ya~” and she went off, searching out the family in her map and heading off to find them. Little did she realized what she would encounter upon her arrival.
Moving past the last of the trees surrounding the little clearing, Miara tried not to hurry too much, she didn’t want them to know she was coming. A short time ago, before the storm had started, the children of Solarchos and Inu-Kit had been happily playing amidst the trees of the woods, curiously exploring everything under the watchful eyes of their parents. Others had been watching as well; the playful antics of the four kitsunejin children had drawn the attention of quite a few of the local Lupa, all intrigued by these little bundles of energy and enthusiasm. The children themselves were completely oblivious of their watchers, but Miara knew Solarchos and Inu-Kit well enough to figure that they at least suspected they were being observed. If they knew, however, they weren’t showing any overt signs. Solarchos had yet to show any of his trademark suspicion and paranoia, and Inu-Kit seemed equally at ease. Both of them seemed content to just let their children play to their hearts’ content. Once the storm blew in, Inu-Kit and Solarchos had quickly set up a tent and immediately placed their children inside to escape from the rain. Miara couldn’t help herself any longer; she had to go over and peek in on the children. They were all quite interesting when they were awake. Asleep they would probably be simply irresistible.
The interior of the tent was dark. Some light was coming through the thin fabric, but most of it was being blocked by the tarp, filling the inside of the tent with a comfortable dimness. The sound of the storm had been equally muted, too. With her head inside, all Miara could hear was the gentle patter of the rain and the dull rumble of distant thunder. The air smelled of warming fur, cloth and the forest the kids bad been playing in all day. AnTilZha, Alexianna, Catriona, and Sylvester were all curled up with each other in the center of the tent, happily dozing in a nest of soft, fragrant blankets and numerous plushies. Miara quickly recognized some of the plushies; Suu, Potamos, Scarlet...all of their friends from back at the house. The children themselves were in what Solarchos had once called their “normal” form, that of human children with fox-like ears and tails. Miara smiled in delight. The four of them were sleeping together, clutching each other and draping their tails over one another to share body heat. They’re like Lupa in winter, thought Miara, and adorable! Then she saw pinpoints of light being reflected back at her.
“Ah!” she said, laughing a little, “You’re awake!” Catriona and Sylvester quickly joined in, grabbing hold of her other wrist and tugging. Yipping and baby-babble filled the tent as all four of the children pulling. Alexianna’s beautiful gray eyes peered into Miara’s, gleaming with mischievous intelligence as she grabbed hold of Miara’s nose tugging, giggling all the while. “You want me in there, do you?” Then there were squeals of laughter and giggles as she dived into the pile of plushies and children, tickling and chasing them mercilessly until they all collapsed exhausted in a heap in the middle of the tent. After a few minutes, the children pulled Miara into the center of the pile and surrounded her. AnTilZha hopped up onto Miara’s chest and gave out a long, tiny squeal that was meant to be a victory howl as he and his siblings laid claim to the “spoils” of their hunt. “Surely that’s not the best you can do,” she said, demonstrating a proper announcement, which all four of them mimicked much more loudly. “That’s much better! Remember that. Also, your parents need to take you hunting soon, if you ask me.” They just yipped some more, watching her more curiously. Meanwhile, plushies and blankets surrounded her as Alexianna, Sylvester, and Catriona vigorously piled onto her and curled up with her. Miara couldn’t help but laugh as the little ones snuggled up with her. Their tails felt silky and warm, and the blankets felt entirely too comfortable. She couldn’t help but grow her tail and wrap it around the pile of them. Alexianna stared at her a minute, then trilled happily as she twined her tails around Miara’s, while Sylvester laid his head down on her shoulder. Catriona and AnTilZha broke out into a brief scuffle, both of them wanting to claim the center of Miara’s chest as their snoozing spot. “Oooo-mah!” objected little AnTil as he struggled against his younger sister. “Mah!” cried Catriona, whipping her tiny fox-tails back and forth like whips, poking and thwapping her brother harmlessly with them, “Mah! Mah!” “Like there isn’t enough padding with everything else in here,” she said. A moment later the fight ended as Catriona unexpectedly won, barreling into AnTil and sending him tipping over into a pile of plushies. As Catriona snuggled into Miara’s chest, AnTilZha popped out from the plushie-pile, beaming happily as he hugged his favorite plushie of all: Kirara from “InuYasha”. Trilling gleefully, AnTil snuggled into Miara’s and laid his head down on her stomach. Miara giggled as she felt multiple tails draping over her, as if the little fox-children were covering her in a blanket. With the storm outside, the gentle hypnotic patter of the rain against the tent, and four feisty fox-children curled up around her using her as a pillow, Miara was only too happy to stay there for a long time, warm and relaxed. “Nap time,” she murmured as she slowly felt herself falling asleep. As she nodded off, she giggled once more as she realized something. She had fallen into an ingenious trap set by devious little minds. Few could resist the charms of mischievous children such as these, and fewer still would escape the clutches of their tiny little hands. And they were very much like Lupa children. But put them together… But one thing was certain: no one would be safe from the Den of the fox children.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Ian said. “Miara knows her way around, and this Solar guy doesn’t strike me as the type who can’t handle himself.” “Miara might be anywhere; she gets an idea in her head and does it. She doesn’t stay in one place very long except when she’s at work. And Solar and Inu-Kit may have all kinds of stuff up their sleeves, but there’s nothing that quite counters being in strange land in the dark.” Eiry reminded him. “I suppose we should send someone, just to be safe,” Luke said. “Eiry, you go.” “Yes, sir.” Eiry grabbed an electric lantern from the back entrance, just in cases, and Sali joined her in the garden as they made for where she thought Solar and his family had been headed. “Hey, wait for me,” she said, a basket of food under one arm. “They might be on their way back, you know.” “Maybe. But my intuition says otherwise, and so does yours.” “Heh, true. It’s a good night to stay out, now it’s a little cooler.” “Hopefully people know when and where to stay in skin.” “Yeah.” It wasn’t that far to the spot she thought the pair would have picked, there were rocks at the foot of the mountains for the kids to explore, and decent amount of clear ground for them to be watched on. “Ah, they brought tents,” she said, pointing up on toward higher ground, where two tents were standing a distance apart. “Perhaps we shouldn’t bother them, then.” “Hm...well, even if they’re secluded,” [laughter here], “we should at least check on the children.” “Yeah…” Sali said, looking around at the large cooler, chairs, etc., that had been set up in the area. “I know they didn’t have all this when they left this morning.” “Two words: dimensional pockets. They work wonders.” “Dimensional storage locker is more like it,” she commented, compacting and loading the new food into the cooler. There was a yowling little squeal and barking in the trees behind them, something crashing through the undergrowth, and Erik, Andy and Ilara’s little boy, came rolling toward them like a bowling ball, followed quickly by their family’s dog, Toby. Erik jumped up, clinging to Eiry’s clothing by his claws, and Toby stood on his hind legs and licked her face as Erik made happy “Ha ha I got away” noises. “I wonder if your mother knows you’re out here,” Sali said, snatching the child from Eiry’s shirt and tickling him. “Now get that skin on.” “Mama said go play,” he said when he’d done so, his pull-ups fitting properly again. “An’ I good boy!” She made a face at him, thinking of all the messes he made in her kitchen. “What did Mama say about out guests?” “That they’re like us!” “Not quite. Now keep that skin on, okay?” “Yes Sali.” Eiry kept an eye on Toby, who was going around smelling everything. He wasn't an overly curious dog, though, and he soon turned his attention to other things. Sali finished up with the cooler, and Eiry had set the lantern on the table for them when one of the tents unzipped and Solar stepped out. “It's so weird to see him in normal clothes,” she commented as he saw them and waved. “You didn't have to come out,” he said, coming to meet them. “I'm sorry if we worried anyone.” “I figured we'd check; plus, we brought food.” “Well, that's always good. We were thinking about coming back in a bit, and Inu suggested I hunt something, but I didn't know if that was appropriate.” “It's fine if you want to, we do it all the time.” “Ah. And who's this?” “Erik!!” he said, thrilled at the attention. “You like us, right?” “Um...I don't know,” he said, looking between the twins, who just kind of shook their heads. “Who are you talking to, sweety?” Inu-Kit called, head in the opening of the tent. “Eiry and Sali. And Erik,” he added as the boy swatted him impertinently for leaving him out.” “Oh! I'll be out in a minute.” “It's going to be a nice night, there will probably be a lot of people about,” Eiry said. “I wouldn't be surprised if you met up with anyone.” “That wouldn't be a problem. Is there any place around that we should see by night?” “For star viewing, you could take them all the way up the ridge here,” Sali said. “Watch the kids closely and carry the younger two after about thirty minutes, there's some good sharp drops. The top's wide and flat, though.” “Good to know.” “Miara was coming to tell you about the rain, did she make it?” “We haven't seen her.” “Well, it is likely the rain made it before she did. In which case she may have done something else entirely.” Sali had put Erik down with Toby again, and he had followed the dog up to the second tent, where Toby was sniffing around quite thoroughly. They all watched curiously as Erik crept up to the tent and very slowly unzipped a few inches of the opening and peered in. All was silent as he opened it enough to crawl in, and then there was a kind of questioning sound, a collective contented sigh, and then everything was quiet again. They waited a few minutes before anyone spoke. “Well, that was rather...” “Anticlimactic.” “Yes, they're usually all over anyone new,” Inu-Kit said. “Maybe they can tell he's a friend,” Sali suggested. “Why don't we find out?” Inu-Kit said, and went quietly up to the tent and looked in. She immediately stifled a laugh and waved the others over. At first, Solar could only see darkness, while the twins immediately smiled and joined in Inu-Kit's laughter. Then his eyes adjusted and he saw the sleep-heap was centered on Miara, all the young ones nestled into her amidst blankets and plushies; each of them, including Miara, clutching a plushie, blanket, or pillow in a similar manner. “No wonder,” Eiry said. “They're in her bubble thingy—not sure what it's called.” “What do you mean?” “Miara sleeps so well because her astral covers the area and wakes her up if something's wrong. You know your kids are at lest sensitive to each other, it might have extended to them in some way.” “So that's what I'm feeling,” Inu-Kit said. “So it's not magic, then?” “Nope, astral.” Five small pairs of eyes looking back at them, and then Eiry realized another eye was looking at them, and the bubble diminished. Suddenly, the children surged forward, and hands grabbed at her, then Sali, and the found themselves clinging to each other in the tent before being pounced on. Solar and Inu-Kit stepped away before they could be claimed as well, lest the tent split open from too many occupants.
“Look at that sky, all black purple and red,” she murmured to herself in Lupa. “Evening,” Solar called, waving from the table. Inu-kit was laying out some of the food and drinks for a snack, knowing that if the children weren't hungry now, they sure would be soon. She waved, and lay there on the grass a the base of the rocks a minute longer. “You alright?” “Mhm~” “So you've been here the whole time?” “Since the rain. Do they do that to you, too?” “Not so often; we are with them quite a bit,” Inu-Kit said, “but they can sure sense when we're going to leave.” “Hehe. I'll bet.” Miara rolled over onto to stomach, picking a flower and looking at it with concentration. “Uh, Miara?” “Hm?” “Since when did you have a tail?” “Since always,” she said, not really paying attention to the question. “Oh, I got it! This is flax! Annual, five overlapping blue petals on eight to twenty two inch stems with linear leaves. Blooms mid to late summer, makes oil and linen, used for irritation, cancers, general respiratory symptoms, fevers, laxative, poultice for burns inflammation, etc. Contains a compound similar to cyanide.” She was obviously reciting, and Solar and Inu-Kit looked at each other. “Okay...” “Wait, what?” Solar pointed just as Erik sprang, latching onto the end of her tail with his teeth, which jerked from side to side, shaking him like a mop with all the fur in a very strange tug of war. “Owwww, off, get off!” she yelled at him, finally succeeding in dragging him up to where she could pry his teeth apart and threw him back into the tent. There was an “oof!” and some alarmed squealing, at which Inu-Kit and Solar paid close attention, and then a curious silence. Then five furry forms—one distinctly larger than the rest—burst out the tent and chased each other around the clearing. Miara sat cross legged, nursing her tail, two bewildered parents looking at her. “Is that...” “Erik. He is Lupa.” “So you're werewolves,” Inu-Kit said. “Does that look like a wolf?” “Not really.” “Any resemblance is purely coincidental,” Eiry said, she and Sali having come out as well. “As Aescapulus could tell you, our DNA in fur is quite different than that of a wolf. Or anything else it's got on file, really.” “He is kinda cute.” Erik struck a fierce pose at that remark. “Only because he's young. We don't look like that, I assure you.” “And this is why you've always...gah, it all makes sense now.” “Yes, Solar has told me of several occasions where you understood or spoke to him about something.” “Or the star-vampire thing. That's what Hunters think you are, isn't it? They make you into something you're not.” “Sometimes, though...it can be just as easy to believe it,” “As to believe we're human.” “In the Terran sense of the word.” “What do you mean?” Miara asked. “It's different for you, you were born and have lived all your life at Home, in another place, another time.” “We were born here. Our parents and theirs for generations were born here.” “We live among Terrans, as Terrans, mostly. And we've had to choose to be Terran. And you will too, if you stay here long enough.” “Elie āan, I hope not.” “And then there's the furry jokes,” Inu-Kit said. “You'd never hear the end of it.” The three of them shuddered at that. “Ew.” “What? I thought you'd be more understanding of furs.” “We don't hate them. They're just not very...they bug me ~_~. But it's so much more convenient having separate forms, you can do so much more!” “I suppose so.” The pack of children swarmed up around the table, sitting in skin and watching Inu-Kit and Solar expectantly. “I suppose we'd better leave you to it,” Eiry said. “See you later, maybe.” “Erik, let's go,” Sali called, and he rather disappointedly joined them. “There's still food available, right?” Miara asked. “Always.” “Me too, then. See you guys later.” Toby followed them out as well, saying with his charge. “Well, that was interesting.” “And informative. So that's their secret. No wonder they're so sensitive about it. They may not be werewolves, but people hate them. Much more than vampires or other things. But I've seen actual werewolves, they're not the same. Hm...I wonder if Rai knows...” “You've got to be kidding.” “Heh, you're right.” They got to the business of feeding hungry mouths, and soon it was truly dark and a good night for star viewing.
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