Foxside: The Temple of Inari 54 - Ten Years of Foxes

[Rebonack]

[Pokecenter]

"Oh yeah, there are lots and lots of pokemon. They have all sorts of names just like animals and humans do," Khannie replies. "I think there's only supposed to be one Zapdos. But the Nexus is kind of weird and rules like that don't always work the way they're supposed to."

For example, if you ever meet 'THE primordial incarnation of fire' then there's a pretty good chance that there's another one lurking around the Nexus with a totally different backstory and origin.

Why?

Because the Nexus is weird.

"But the magic I got from my dad isn't like the magic that all pokemon use. Pokemon magic is sorta different," she explains, turning toward the punching bag again. She hauls back, her fist suddenly awash in shadow, before lashing out at the bag from a good ten feet away. She doesn't hit it. But her shadow does. Right in the center of mass!

*thud*

"Kangaskhans don't learn very many techniques that are magic-y, though."

[Fenric]

[School]

Jian laughs and shakes her head, vanishing her ball away

I did, actually: we're fairly close on immune to each other... especially when we're close in age. But fair warning: males are far more susceptible to female charming than the other way around.

She giggles

Though little enough of that is magic! Of course, to balance that out, you get to have a fairly steady and predictable life... we have things change rather dramatically twice a year.

Now she's trying to fluster him. Such a teasing little vixen!

---

[Yard]

The guards shake their head

Wouldn't help... once it's started, it doesn't matter which mirror. At the worst of it, any reflective surface was working.

---

[Ruined Temple of Darkness]

The threshold is right where Plum saw it last... there are even marks from the scuffle still on the stone on the far side. The reflection is still just as disturbing and worse... now the reflection doesn't mirror her movements quite exactly. The differences are subtle, but hard to ignore.

[Recaiden]

"Well look at you."

Plum moves this way and that in front of the mirror, watching it not quire follow along. Or is she the one failing to keep up?
Well, better see how things are. She puts a hand up, against the mirror, and casts Relocate, the smallest little teleportation effect they know. If all is well, there will be some pain as she's shunted out of the solid space. But if not, she'll be a few feet away from the mirror on the other side. And probably facing the opposite direction, but you never know with mirrors.

[deleteman900]

[Pokecenter]

"Oh yeah, there are lots and lots of pokemon. They have all sorts of names just like animals and humans do," Khannie replies. "I think there's only supposed to be one Zapdos. But the Nexus is kind of weird and rules like that don't always work the way they're supposed to."

For example, if you ever meet 'THE primordial incarnation of fire' then there's a pretty good chance that there's another one lurking around the Nexus with a totally different backstory and origin.

Why?

Because the Nexus is weird.

"But the magic I got from my dad isn't like the magic that all pokemon use. Pokemon magic is sorta different," she explains, turning toward the punching bag again. She hauls back, her fist suddenly awash in shadow, before lashing out at the bag from a good ten feet away. She doesn't hit it. But her shadow does. Right in the center of mass!

*thud*

"Kangaskhans don't learn very many techniques that are magic-y, though."

Genji takes a moment to applaud the display, amazed that she was able to make her shadow reach out and do that kind of damage at such a surprising distance, "Brava! Brava!" he clearly wouldn't mind seeing some more, marveling at it as he tries to figure out how it works.

[School]

Jian laughs and shakes her head, vanishing her ball away

I did, actually: we're fairly close on immune to each other... especially when we're close in age. But fair warning: males are far more susceptible to female charming than the other way around.

She giggles

Though little enough of that is magic! Of course, to balance that out, you get to have a fairly steady and predictable life... we have things change rather dramatically twice a year.

Now she's trying to fluster him. Such a teasing little vixen!

---

He remains thoroughly unflappable at first, "Yeah, I've heard a little bit about that, so does it work kind of like estrus does for horses, then?" This was actually surprisingly relatable to growing up on a farm, so Genji doesn't seem as embarrassed as she might've been hoping for, though a spike in his scent shows that he's thinking things through a little more than he lets on, and eventually does manage to fluster himself purely on the thoughts alone, ;p

"How do y'all deal with it? Without... y'know? Do you just lock yourself up in your room and throw away the key for however long?"

[Fenric]

[School]

Jian's ears fold a bit as the tables are turned!

I don't know about horses... but the overall idea's the same, I guess: we're not like humans.

And it's not that strong unless there's somebody you really, really like...

She looks around

Tea! I brought tea! My favorite kind: would you like some?

[deleteman900]

[School]

Jian's ears fold a bit as the tables are turned!

I don't know about horses... but the overall idea's the same, I guess: we're not like humans.

And it's not that strong unless there's somebody you really, really like...

She looks around

Tea! I brought tea! My favorite kind: would you like some?

Genji almost feels bad for giving her such a hard time, before he remembers that she was the one who started that particular game and squashing any pity he might be feeling. He nods carefully, interested in what kind of tea she likes, "I think humans are just 'in season' all the time, and are probably somewhat numbed to the effect, given that their brains are always experiencing that stimulus, so I don't know that they're really so different..." He tries to explain, though he's still just a bit distracted, tail swishing absentmindedly in the chair as he tries to multitask a bit more than he's used to.

[Fenric]

Jian nods, already back in control of her own brief distraction

Yes, must be something like that... Now try this.

The tea she pours into the small, gently purplish earthenware cups is a very light brew with a rich maroon color. It smells surprisingly fruity, reminiscent of dates or dried sour plums but not quite the precise match that would indicate a flavored tea.

And unlike "flavored" teas that frequently have little or no actual flavor, this tea has a distinct taste of its own. Not really fruit, but different from either black or green tea.

[Morty]

[Pokemon Center]

Batu does seem to be cheered up a bit.

"Thanks, Genji. We all do our best with what we're given," he says. He then starts walking around Khannie, also trying to figure out how the shadow trick worked. Then something hits him. "But... isn't your dad a pokemon too?"

[deleteman900]

Jian nods, already back in control of her own brief distraction

Yes, must be something like that... Now try this.

The tea she pours into the small, gently purplish earthenware cups is a very light brew with a rich maroon color. It smells surprisingly fruity, reminiscent of dates or dried sour plums but not quite the precise match that would indicate a flavored tea.

And unlike "flavored" teas that frequently have little or no actual flavor, this tea has a distinct taste of its own. Not really fruit, but different from either black or green tea.

Genji waits patiently while she pours, "Thank you very much, Jian. Testing is surprisingly thirsty work...~" He sips at the tea slowly, taking a moment to enjoy the flavor, and note that while it was familiar, something about it was just a little bit different somehow... "What uhh... what flavor is this, if you don't mind me asking? I don't think I've ever had it before..."

[deleteman900]

[Pokemon Center]

Batu does seem to be cheered up a bit.

"Thanks, Genji. We all do our best with what we're given," he says. He then starts walking around Khannie, also trying to figure out how the shadow trick worked. Then something hits him. "But... isn't your dad a pokemon too?"

Genji smiles at the hobgoblin, tail waving happily, "Of course! I know that I've got loads of potential, but without good training, there's no way to know if I'll ever become a truly powerful mage..." He nodnods solemnly, "Not that I'm too worried about that, I've got tons of other stuff that I'm working on, like becoming a top-notch priest, and seeing and experiencing all kinds of cool stuff."

[Fenric]

Jian smiles

It is called pu-erh. It is a specialty of the Human province adjacent to our kingdom, and takes years to make.

It starts with carefully cultivated but otherwise "wild" tea bushes high in the hills. They are pruned and the cuttings are carefully prepared: wood and stems and all. It is fermented and aged in a very slow process that takes years.

There aren't any flavorings added: that is natural flavor of the tea itself.

[deleteman900]

Jian smiles

It is called pu-erh. It is a specialty of the Human province adjacent to our kingdom, and takes years to make.

It starts with carefully cultivated but otherwise "wild" tea bushes high in the hills. They are pruned and the cuttings are carefully prepared: wood and stems and all. It is fermented and aged in a very slow process that takes years.

There aren't any flavorings added: that is natural flavor of the tea itself.

The kitsune grins, "I like it, thank you for sharing this with me, Jian. It reminds me in a way of you, wild, and yet surprisingly refined..." He compliments, quite enjoying the flavor of the tea as he reads the book he'd swiped from her earlier, "Are you sure that you've got enough time to help me out with my foxfire?"

[Fenric]

Jian's ears flick down at the compliment: being wild is a point of pride among the Nogitsune, after all.

Thank you... I'm glad you like it.

then a chuckle

It's not like it takes all that long to grade first-year math homework! And my essay is due on Friday, not tomorrow. I can spare a bit of time to help you out.

[deleteman900]

Jian's ears flick down at the compliment: being wild is a point of pride among the Nogitsune, after all.

Thank you... I'm glad you like it.

then a chuckle

It's not like it takes all that long to grade first-year math homework! And my essay is due on Friday, not tomorrow. I can spare a bit of time to help you out.

Genji is happy that it came across well, since he honestly wasn't sure how she'd react, and his grin shows it, "Well I certainly appreciate it! From the practice I was able to get in class, I can manifest the ball, but only just barely, I was hoping I could show you what I can do, and maybe you can give me a few pointers on it, maybe show me what, if anything, I'm doing wrong?" He asked hopefully, summoning his foxfire fall and doing just that, looking at her hopefully.

[Fenric]

Jian nods

Sure... but not here - school isn't really the best place to learn how to use natural abilities: come on.

She packs up the tea and cups into her bag and gets up

There's some nice, fairly untouched areas in the compound: not everything's all built up and tamed.

[deleteman900]

Jian nods

Sure... but not here - school isn't really the best place to learn how to use natural abilities: come on.

She packs up the tea and cups into her bag and gets up

There's some nice, fairly untouched areas in the compound: not everything's all built up and tamed.

Genji mourns the loss of the delicious tea, but shrugs with a small smile, "Heh, yeah... practicing how to summon fire in a library might not be a great idea..." he agreed, standing and preparing to depart, "Where did you have in mind, then?" In particular, something that Katrina said the night before comes to mind, and suddenly his throat feels incredibly dry, now missing the tea even more, ;p

[Fenric]

Jian leads Genji through the school, down a small hallway past the faculty apartments, and out the back door into a part of the Temple Compound that, as promised, has not been touched in years. The brush is heavily overgrown, and the trees of a young forest poke through the large bushes in many places. On the ground is a network of small clearings and thick plant life...

For a human, getting through would promise a long day of slow progress

For a fox, it is a veritable paradise.

Jian sets her bag down carefully and nestles it in a small bush, rubbing her hands around to get her scent well in place. Then she flashes down into a fox, and with a flick of her tail darts into the underbrush.

You have to earn it first, Genji! Catch me!

[deleteman900]

Jian leads Genji through the school, down a small hallway past the faculty apartments, and out the back door into a part of the Temple Compound that, as promised, has not been touched in years. The brush is heavily overgrown, and the trees of a young forest poke through the large bushes in many places. On the ground is a network of small clearings and thick plant life...

For a human, getting through would promise a long day of slow progress

For a fox, it is a veritable paradise.

Jian sets her bag down carefully and nestles it in a small bush, rubbing her hands around to get her scent well in place. Then she flashes down into a fox, and with a flick of her tail darts into the underbrush.

You have to earn it first, Genji! Catch me!

He jumped in surprise, but did remember her doing the same thing just a few hours earlier in the hallway. He didn't have the first idea on how to dart through the underbrush like that, but as he thought about it, he was surprised to realize that for him at least, taking foxshape was purely intent-based, and by simply wanting to be a fox, he was one, a bit cliche to suddenly figure it out like that, sure, but if it's a natural ability, it probably shouldn't be TOO hard to figure it out on his own. He was, unfortunately, not skilled at walking on all fours just yet, and Jian made excellent headway while he tried to get used to suddenly having twice as many legs to work at the same time to move properly. By the time that he was decently steady, if a bit on the slower side, the only thing allowing him to follow after her properly was the still lingering scent where she'd squirmed through the underbrush, which he followed all too eagerly.

[Fenric]

Jian isn't trying too hard to lose Genji, so he shouldn't have any trouble following. And she's only keeping a little ahead: just teasingly mostly out of view with just the tip of her tail teasing Genji as he follows.

But as he gets more sure of his footing, her path becomes more difficult to follow and she runs just a little bit faster.

[deleteman900]

Jian isn't trying too hard to lose Genji, so he shouldn't have any trouble following. And she's only keeping a little ahead: just teasingly mostly out of view with just the tip of her tail teasing Genji as he follows.

But as he gets more sure of his footing, her path becomes more difficult to follow and she runs just a little bit faster.

Genji finally figures out how to use his tail to help with his balance, and is able to devote more energy to moving more quickly, rather than constantly trying to fight himself to stay on his feet. Despite this, he doesn't seem to be making noticeable headway, that flashy, dark-colored tail (I think it's black?) always seeming just out of reach, egging him on to try to catch up, to push himself harder and harder. In a way though, the chase is absolutely exhilarating, the clean, fresh scent of untamed growth filling his lungs as he felt somehow unchained, set free to frolic in the undergrowth, :D

[Fenric]

Blasting into a wider clearing, Genji finds Jian no longer running away in front of him, but is instead standing off to the left with a huge grin and a waving tail.

Not bad, not bad: you started to act more like a fox by the end, there. You're a fox: created by the goddess Inari to run free!

Now... curl your tail up and light the end on fire!

She curls her tail up and there is immediately a dancing purple flame on the end. The light is dim, and shows it's illusory nature in that it doesn't actually illuminate anything.

[deleteman900]

Blasting into a wider clearing, Genji finds Jian no longer running away in front of him, but is instead standing off to the left with a huge grin and a waving tail.

Not bad, not bad: you started to act more like a fox by the end, there. You're a fox: created by the goddess Inari to run free!

Now... curl your tail up and light the end on fire!

She curls her tail up and there is immediately a dancing purple flame on the end. The light is dim, and shows it's illusory nature in that it doesn't actually illuminate anything.

His blood was too up by this point to calmly drop foxshape, the feeling of having a new form was too new, too entrancing to him, to want it to end so soon, and seeing the purple flame flickering about so enchantingly, he for some reason thought it was a good idea to try and pounce at it, ;p It was pretty obvious what he was planning, and he couldn't quite jump high enough to reach it, but that didn't stop him from trying, short little fox-legs trying to walk on air as if that would help him jump higher, :D

[Fenric]

Jian (who is still in fox-form, btw) dodges with a giggle

Oooh: frisky little Todd, are you?

She zigs and zags across the dim clearing, leaving trails of purple light as she goes

Ah, ah, ah: you've got to make your own pretty little fire!

[Rebonack]

[Pokemon Center]

Khannie can't help but laugh at that silliest of questions. "No way! My daddy's human. That's why Grandpa Koi was able to teach me how to be human, too. Otherwise I don't think that's something a pokemon can do unless they're a mew or a ditto or maybe a zarua." Obviously. "I asked Zebes how come I'm a pokemon and daddy's a human and he laughed a whole bunch and said that it's a really funny story." Which it is. "I think it was kind of an accident? 'cuz someone named Libra who's really weird made it so daddy could turn into a haunter but he really didn't like being a haunter so one of his friends was trying to swap out the haunter for some other pokemon he would like more since she couldn't just remove the thing that Libra had done. But when she was doing that she accidentally swapped out the haunter for a kangaskhan by mistake but maybe not by mistake because daddy got turned into a werekangaroo once and I think that was maybe Libra's fault too? Anyway an adult kangaskhan always has a baby and that was me but when daddy stopped being a kangakhan I would have stopped existing too but instead I was grabbed by Giratina and pulled into a pokemon village so that eventually daddy and his friends would be pulled there, too so that we would stop some really bad pokemon from stealing Giratina's power and doing bad stuff with it. It was an adventure!"

It sure was.

She got to punch things.

And then came home with Jace to the Nexus.

The end.

Likely, Batu and Genji are now more confused than they were before Khannie answered the question.

[deleteman900]

Jian (who is still in fox-form, btw) dodges with a giggle

Oooh: frisky little Todd, are you?

She zigs and zags across the dim clearing, leaving trails of purple light as she goes

Ah, ah, ah: you've got to make your own pretty little fire!

Oh but Genji was sorely vexed by the way she juked and jived, he just wanted to play with the pretty fox-fire, that wasn't so bad, was it? Eventually he gave up on capturing the incredibly elusive, pretty lights, and settled for trying to summon his own, comparatively pathetic, guttering ball of flame. When viewed next to hers it might as well have been an ember, for despite the brilliant yellow/orange glow, it was TINY! He was almost ashamed to show her, but knew that he had to if they were going to get anywhere... Just as he had her distracted with his own foxfire, he attempted to pounce on her tail, wanting the silly thing to hold still so he could play with it, and compare it to his own, try to figure out how a nogitsune might be different from a kitsune.

[Pokemon Center]

Khannie can't help but laugh at that silliest of questions. "No way! My daddy's human. That's why Grandpa Koi was able to teach me how to be human, too. Otherwise I don't think that's something a pokemon can do unless they're a mew or a ditto or maybe a zarua." Obviously. "I asked Zebes how come I'm a pokemon and daddy's a human and he laughed a whole bunch and said that it's a really funny story." Which it is. "I think it was kind of an accident? 'cuz someone named Libra who's really weird made it so daddy could turn into a haunter but he really didn't like being a haunter so one of his friends was trying to swap out the haunter for some other pokemon he would like more since she couldn't just remove the thing that Libra had done. But when she was doing that she accidentally swapped out the haunter for a kangaskhan by mistake but maybe not by mistake because daddy got turned into a werekangaroo once and I think that was maybe Libra's fault too? Anyway an adult kangaskhan always has a baby and that was me but when daddy stopped being a kangakhan I would have stopped existing too but instead I was grabbed by Giratina and pulled into a pokemon village so that eventually daddy and his friends would be pulled there, too so that we would stop some really bad pokemon from stealing Giratina's power and doing bad stuff with it. It was an adventure!"

It sure was.

She got to punch things.

And then came home with Jace to the Nexus.

The end.

Likely, Batu and Genji are now more confused than they were before Khannie answered the question.

Genji was caught completely off-guard by this sudden information dump, and simply tried to store it away for later processing, "So... in summary, things happened, your dad isn't a pokemon, but got turned into a pokemon that comes with a baby pokemon, then got turned back into a human, but one of his friends saved you from poofing when he turned back? That... sounds pretty intense, actually. So... you don't have a mom then?" Genji asked, empathizing with only having one parent from his own experiences, and prepared to do his best to comfort her in case she took the question poorly.

[Morty]

[Pokemon Center]

Batu opens his mouth. Closes it again. He stays silent for a few moments.

"Okay, you uh... lost me a bit there. But I get the gist of it. I think." If only because Genji is more on top of it than he is. "I count at least five things that I thought would be impossible."

[Deathkeeper]

Sanctuary

Silly Geneva, of course Nick knows the plan. Even if he's not a huge fan of the plan because that means having shoes on. Ew. Lame human feet. But he does poof into human shape anyway, wearing a nice suit that would be wholly unnecessary if he could just be a griffin, but you do crazy things for love.
Smooch!

And at that exact moment, or perhaps an instant before, several members of the audience poof! to reveal several grinning little folks, numering several imps, goblins, kobolds, and people of similar heights. All holding musical instruments?
All with the sole intent of starting at the exact moment of their kiss. Music to make the moment special. Nick grins like an idiot, of course.

[Rebonack]

[Pokecenter]

"My daddy is also my mommy," Khannie points out.

Well.

There you go.

That makes perfect sense, right?

Technically speaking, Jace's haunter form was the father and the kangaskhan form was the mother. Because these things are really odd. It's why Khannie knows a few ghost techniques that a kangaskhan would otherwise not have any access to.

"And Zebes told me that it's important to kick reason to the curb and go beyond the impossible. Then he said 'Row row, fight the powah,'" Khannie replies. She wrinkles her nose after doing her best to mimic Zebes' voice. "I'm not totally sure what that means."

[Fenric]

[Ruined Temple of Darkness]

With a fairly disorienting lurch, Plum finds herself in a smooth, clean hallway of polished white marble. There is a palpable sense of menace in the air, and the sounds of quite a bit of activity all around.

---

[Unimproved Lot]

Poor Genji: if he had been one of her own kits, or perhaps her brother, that would have been ok, but now he gets a demonstration of what happens when a vixen says "no".

Her ears pin back aggressively and her lips peel back to show her pointy, pointy fox teeth. Already a solid twenty percent larger than Genji, the size difference seems to increase as her fur all fluffs out. The strange, high-pitch snarl of a fox is followed by a warning gekker as she hops up onto her hind legs, balanced by her tails.

Genji ought to be of two highly conflicted minds: the human side wants "fight or flight" (with a fairly solid "you gonna lose - get outta here!"); but the fox side should be oddly thrilled with this turn of events and wants him to fold his ears down submissively, squinch his eyes shut, and crouch down on the ground...

[deleteman900]

[Ruined Temple of Darkness]

With a fairly disorienting lurch, Plum finds herself in a smooth, clean hallway of polished white marble. There is a palpable sense of menace in the air, and the sounds of quite a bit of activity all around.

---

[Unimproved Lot]

Poor Genji: if he had been one of her own kits, or perhaps her brother, that would have been ok, but now he gets a demonstration of what happens when a vixen says "no".

Her ears pin back aggressively and her lips peel back to show her pointy, pointy fox teeth. Already a solid twenty percent larger than Genji, the size difference seems to increase as her fur all fluffs out. The strange, high-pitch snarl of a fox is followed by a warning gekker as she hops up onto her hind legs, balanced by her tails.

Genji ought to be of two highly conflicted minds: the human side wants "fight or flight" (with a fairly solid "you gonna lose - get outta here!"); but the fox side should be oddly thrilled with this turn of events and wants him to fold his ears down submissively, squinch his eyes shut, and crouch down on the ground...

It has already been established that being in foxshape makes him act a bit differently, and where Genji would ordinarily run without a second thought, he instead acts closer to how a fox might, and crouches down, almost laying his belly on the floor of the clearing, and tail going flat against the ground. He didn't particularly WANT to submit, but he was already doing it before he even consciously thought about it. A low-pitched whine built in the back of his throat as he looked at the ground, ears folded back flat against his skull in placation.