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

[Shadowcaller]

[Pond]

Kenji's appearance reminded Ambrosia of old days, had it really been such a long time? "I don't think we should assume that Kenji knows everything about other species of dragons simply since he is one, Steve." She reminds the paladin before turning to the little dragon. "How do you do? I am Ambrosia Ithil. Scholar of dragons."

[8BitNinja]

[Pond]

Kenji's appearance reminded Ambrosia of old days, had it really been such a long time? "I don't think we should assume that Kenji knows everything about other species of dragons simply since he is one, Steve." She reminds the paladin before turning to the little dragon. "How do you do? I am Ambrosia Ithil. Scholar of dragons."

"Okay, but the priestess said that he may know something" said Steve. "I was just taking her advice, priests and priestesses are usually very wise and knowing." He turns to Kenji "sorry for bombarding you with questions."

[Fenric]

Kenji swims over and slides gracefully from the water before rising up on his hind legs and coiled tail.

Sure, no problem! The kids are taking a nap right now, so it's a good time.

Hi, Steve and Ambrosia! She kinda gave my name away already: but I'm Kenji, son of Ayame and Ilias. I'm eighteen years old, and I'm the guardian dragon of this pond. Not that it really needs much guarding, to be honest... the worst crimes I deal with are littering and public indecency.

Here he stifles a small giggle before looking more serious

I'm sorry, but I don't really know much about goings-on out in the big city. Between looking after my kids and tending to Grandfather Koi, I haven't left the Temple grounds in months. That sounds pretty dreadful, though... I certainly wouldn't want to meet a big, mean dragon like that!

[Shadowcaller]

[Pond]

Ambrosia smiles at the dragons joke, though it was curious that this temple had a problems with public decency. "I would honestly, so far I've actually only met friendly types of dragons despite at what seem to be a general agreement that they're quite nasty. So I'd like to see these "nasty" dragons with my own eyes. Tell me though, are dragons of your kind usually this small at your age? The dragons in my homeworld could change size at will."

[Recaiden]

"I'd like to think so, but we have to work at the wisdom and the knowledge both."

The acolyte bows and heads off to find other people who might be able to help. First stop - the pokemon center! There's plenty of Dragon Types there, right?

[8BitNinja]

"You guys hail from great worlds, where most dragons are nice, where I'm from, most dragons kidnap princesses and destroy towns." Says Steve. He looks down at the dragon "I never knew that dragons could be as small as three feet, no offense, but many of the whelps I've encountered are at least as big as a human adult. Eighteen too? I've also never met a dragon so young." This world is crazy, this dragon is but a smart lizard, not a massive beast born in past millenia Steve thought to himself.

[Fenric]

Kenji waves politely to the acolyte as she heads off, then smiles at Ambrosia and Steve

Doesn't really help that such dramatically different creatures all get lumped together under the one word... so, let's see...

All of my overall sort of Water Dragons are pretty much always friendly... or at least not actively hostile unless someone threatens them or their homes.

then he looks just a little crestfallen and nods slowly

I'm the right size for my age for my kind of dragon... yes... I'm just a pond dragon. I'll get a little bigger... maybe as big as Keiko someday... but that's about all. I can change size a bit, but it takes a lot of effort and I can't keep it up for very long yet.

Kenji sighs

Well... yeah... it's not entirely normal that I'm here by myself, and usually you'd be talking to my parents if anything, not me. But I was only five inches long when I hatched: how big do you think eggs are, anyway?

Since he would rather talk about most anything other than how small he is, he changes the subject

I don't know any mean dragons, and they wouldn't do very well here anyway.

The biggest dragon I know personally is Keiko's sister, Yumiko: she beats Grandfather Koi by a couple feet. The biggest dragon I know of is The Great King Under the Sea, but Keiko's Dad is supposed to be pretty huge, too.

[The Alexandrian]

Spoiler

Show

[Full Moon Party]

Ow. But the pain, unusually, brings clarity. This is who he is, exactly Arlem. The false kitsune smiles. Still, that thing was troubling. And it's being denied. He'll have to come up with some mantras and baffles and ways to stop this repeating.

Now, he's rarely been anything but polite. This bit of Clarissa in a panic, flailing around trying to close up her mind - could she get someone out with a handle and instructions? - should still be given her foolish privacy. So he withdraws and stops paying attention to her.

He could use a drink.

[Full Moon Party]

Melina nods

<Than makes a lot of sense... Mom. And uh... sure>

The Clarissa's anonymous scolding makes Melina giggle, Felina blink, Caroline tilt her head, and Keiko grin. Two of them can guess the guilty party. None of them respond any more substantially than they do to Keiko's frequent declarations of intent to devour someone.

Meanwhile, Katrina grins appreciatively at Nicole's display, the brazen vixen staring quite openly now that she's clearly been invited to do so.

Sure!

Keiko isn't quite sure what's going on at first as Nicole walks over, but she catches on fast

Oh, man! Nicole, I totally didn't recognize you. Yeah, that was me! You're right, though, it's awful to have to do something like that... even if it's the daughter of an evil sorcerer. But that was so long ago, I hardly remember all the details anymore.

The children, of course, now flip completely to the other side and excitedly want to know if Keiko ate the evil sorcerer, too. This earns a chuckle from Noriko

Nope: that was my job. But Keiko was very brave and faced the black-hearted warrior and her troops out in the open all alone, which left the sorcerer's tower unguarded. If it wasn't for her, I couldn't have got to him.

As fun as mobbing your dragon-friend is, though, kids: it's time for you to be getting to bed.

Caroline looks over from the drink table

Yes, listen to Lady Noriko!

embarrassed parents realize their free babysitting has come to an end and now scurry to collect their children and it's not long before Keiko has breathing room once more.

Thanks, Nicole: owe ya one.

[Full Moon Party]

Arlem is in luck, then; his newfound aunt/cousin-in-law has personally seen to it that tonight liquor (namely brandy) shall flow like water through a rivulet. He should easily find more than enough free alcohol to slake his thirst a hundred times over!

Now that the connection between Arlem's mind and Clarissa's mind has been severed, Clarissa wastes no time in resuming doting on her beloved...

Waaaait...

An increasingly perplexed Clarissa visually examines Melina. After she has verified that her eyes are not playing tricks on her, she glances over her shoulder at a nearby foxperson. She repeats this process twice more, looking all the more confused by the second. All in all, it's a comical display, if a touch worrying.

"Um, Melina, why don't you look like -"

"Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokemon. Gardevoir will use all of its psychic energy to protect a trainer it had made a deep connection with."

What in the world? Did someone just use a Pokedex on Melina?

Well, there isn't a Pokedex in sight, so your guess is as good as mine. Chances are Clarissa isn't responsible for what just happened as she has yet to put two and two together, so to speak.

For the time being, she has but two very important, very embarrassing questions to ask Melina.

"Why aren't you a vixen anymore, and why aren't you wearing any clothes besides a scarf?"

Try as she might, Nicole is powerless to resist her unyielding urge to shamelessly ogle Lady Noriko as she suavely approaches. Noriko is... Wow. For a straight minute, Nicole is rendered absolutely speechless by the nogitsune standing before her. She cartoonishly mouths the word "gah" a half a dozen times as her cheeks take on a ruddy tint. Her heart pounds in her chest, and she begins to nervously fidget with the zipper on her leather jacket.

I shall now endeavor to describe how Noriko makes Nicole feel in one word, a word that I reserve exclusively for moments when my characters are stricken by the allure of another:

Va-va-voom!

Noriko is a bright star on a moonless night, a heavenly body radiating confidence and sublime grace as it dances upon a pitch black sky. Noriko is a lioness stalking its prey across the Savannah, ferocious, majestic, and untamed. Noriko is a port in a storm, someone you can rely on through thick and thin. Noriko is all of these things and more, Nicole would insist, perhaps mistakenly...

Nicole's tail excitedly waves behind her. If Noriko approaches her, the frequency of the tail's oscillations will dramatically increase.

When at long last Nicole recovers from her flattering faux pas, her eyelids flutter open and shut before she clumsily stammers,

"I, I hope that you were richly rewarded. I couldn't, um..."

"Um..."

"You made me forget what I was gonna say with your hotness!"

-------

Spoiler

Show

[Tamamo, Morgana, and Saeed]

Tamamo nods after a moment

Actually, there is. If you would go to Karzad's Jewlery down on Champlain Avenue and pick up a parcel for me: I had a gift for my sister commissioned from the dwarves there. It will need a gold chain to accompany it, suitably enchanted for a shape-changer.

There: face saving all around... hopefully the brash fennec and volatile vixen won't come to blows along the way.

[Morgana]

Well, like Saeed said, the ears aren't for show. Neither is the nose, the sense of taste or the sense of touch. ‎"There are a lot of ways to 'see', oh troubled one." Speaking of sight, he's mostly looking in each lady's general direction, as opposed to directly at them.‎
‎
He smiles as she silently contemplates what to do with him. Decisions made while in an emotional state are rarely rational.‎

‎When both women voice out their acceptance of Morgana's plan, no doubt meant to expose him as a liar, he simply smiles and nods. "It shall be an honor, esteemed ladies. I shall help as best as I can. I hope we can get to know each other better as time passes, Lady Morgana. Shall we?" He offers her his arm.‎

[Morgana, Saeed, and Tamamo]

Morgana sighs.

"I suppose we shall. Thank you for your time and your patience, Lady Tamamo. We will return with your gifts before-"

Morgana's right ear twitches ever so slightly. Her fur, principally the fur on her tail, bristles as it strikes her that Prince Saeed just addressed her as-

"Oh troubled one?!"

The troubled one has a name! It's not even a difficult name to pronounce or remember! In fact, an infamous sorceress from Arthurian lore is her namesake, so Saeed should have no trouble whatsoever with the troubled one's name!

"Good gods, you're condescending!"

Morgana snarls, crosses her arms, and storms off at a brisk pace, making it as clear as day that she doesn't care whether Saeed can keep up with her or not.

Next Stop: Mallside

[8BitNinja]

Kenji waves politely to the acolyte as she heads off, then smiles at Ambrosia and Steve

Doesn't really help that such dramatically different creatures all get lumped together under the one word... so, let's see...

All of my overall sort of Water Dragons are pretty much always friendly... or at least not actively hostile unless someone threatens them or their homes.

then he looks just a little crestfallen and nods slowly

I'm the right size for my age for my kind of dragon... yes... I'm just a pond dragon. I'll get a little bigger... maybe as big as Keiko someday... but that's about all. I can change size a bit, but it takes a lot of effort and I can't keep it up for very long yet.

Kenji sighs

Well... yeah... it's not entirely normal that I'm here by myself, and usually you'd be talking to my parents if anything, not me. But I was only five inches long when I hatched: how big do you think eggs are, anyway?

Since he would rather talk about most anything other than how small he is, he changes the subject

I don't know any mean dragons, and they wouldn't do very well here anyway.

The biggest dragon I know personally is Keiko's sister, Yumiko: she beats Grandfather Koi by a couple feet. The biggest dragon I know of is The Great King Under the Sea, but Keiko's Dad is supposed to be pretty huge, too.

"Oh" says Steve "so you don't know any dragons that might've attacked me. That's okay, at least I met a new creature of this insane world, and learned that dragons here are very different from the world I am from." Steve thinks for a moment "You are more like a friendly Leviathan. Besides, the small amount you have told me has told me a small bit about this world, and for that, I am grateful." Steve looks around "so you just kind of sit in the pond all day?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Pond]

"Even dragons tend to be rather small when they are born." Ambrosia tells Steve before looking back at Kenji. "You have to forgive me Kenji but I don't actually know any of these names, are they your family? Or are there other dragons living around here too?"

[8BitNinja]

[Pond]

"Even dragons tend to be rather small when they are born." Ambrosia tells Steve before looking back at Kenji. "You have to forgive me Kenji but I don't actually know any of these names, are they your family? Or are there other dragons living around here too?"

"That is true" says Steve in reply "but dragon eggs are pretty big where I am from"

[Fenric]

Questions, questions!

Kenji shakes his head

Nobody I know acts like you described.

Then a smile

Sorry! I'm so used to everyone knowing the famous folks. Keiko and Yumiko no Mae: two of the daughters of the great eight-forked demon serpent Yamata no Orochi and the Vulpan sorceress Chiyoko no Mae. When they grew to adulthood, those two learned that they could take the form of ink-black dragons! There's a whole cult around their family, but you'd be best served talking to their priests - the black-furred foxes wandering around - I don't keep track of mammals and their histories.

The other I mentioned is Ōwatatsumi no Kami, the King Under the Sea; Ruler of Tide and Storm, Greatest of all Dragons! You can get to his palace from the Nexus, but that can be somewhat dangerous.

Grandfather Koi is a dragon-carp who lives here! He is very, very old now... and getting a bit sick.

Then a grin

If you'd like to meet him, I can take you... it might help explain more of "what I do here", as well.

---

[Full Moon Party]

Noriko chuckles gently at Nicole, and grins

Well enough, Nicole... certainly helped me forget the taste of his thin, cowardly blood.

She glances at the shocked look Caroline is giving her, and the raspberry Keiko's blowing her way, and laughs softly

We'll have to talk sometime among those of less sensitive dispositions. And I'm flattered. You are certainly quite a pleasant sight yourself.

Meanwhile, Melina is abruptly faced with something she thought she'd dodged: MOM just asked "what did you do?!". She blinks a couple of times, and fidgets with her scarf...

Well...

um...

I sort of...

uh...

reconstituted an ancient evil psioniscist devil dragon that everyone thought was dead and tried to enslave him...

It um...

didn't go so well, and he was kinda kidnapping me... but then we both got kidnapped by these guys in grey suits. But the police shot at them and made some weird thing explode and cause a huge wild-magic surge. I got turned into ... this ... and the dragon got turned into an army of evil gummi-bears, and Arlem and the police officer and the goddess Izanagi fought him until there was only one left, and I ate him.

I've been practicing so I can change back myself, and I was just coming to ... um ... show off.

By the end of Melina's story, she has the undivided attention of nearly everyone... except perhaps Noriko and Nicole.

[Cyber Punk]

[Morgana, Saeed, and Tamamo]

"Oh, dear." Saeed quickly says, and then follows her to mallside, trying to stop her, and if that fails, patiently following until they get to their destination.

[Recaiden]

One could say it's another visitor arriving. Anima, a girl in a Zafflebrod's uniform with a witch hat sitting jauntily atop her head, walking happily inside. She gives a polite restrained wave to whoever's on duty.

"Hi! This is the temple of Tamamo, right? Could I talk to her?"

[8BitNinja]

"It would be an honor to meet him" says Steve. "I might be able to heal him of his disease too, provided that he wants to be healed. I also would love to learn more about what you do."

[Fenric]

Mei is here!

Greetings, neighbor! The blessings of Tamamo be upon you.

Yes, we share this space... I can ask... generally, it is one of her Messengers who will answer unless she is not busy.

[Recaiden]

"Greetings, yay!"

Anima straightens her hat as she comes up to Mei.

"Great! Busy would be fine. I'm a little bit here to thank you for the healing and raising of the dead you guys do. But mostly I'm here as a messenger for my god. So it would be corresponding and all."

That is a lowercase messenger she's using there.

[Shadowcaller]

[Pond]

Cult? That word had some... negative associations. Nevertheless...
"I shall take up on that offer Kenji, please let me see him." The scholar asks.

[8BitNinja]

[Pond]

Cult? That word had some... negative associations. Nevertheless...
"I shall take up on that offer Kenji, please let me see him." The scholar asks.

Steve turns to Ambrosia "There are cultists in this building. Should we do anything about it?" Steve grows far more concerned than he was a while ago. He is wondering whether he should still trust this place. What is the course of action they should take? If there really was a demon-worshiping cult, there was no way they could just let them go on with their vile deeds.

[Fenric]

Kenji blinks

Uh... not here! And "cult" as in small, only loosely organized, informal religion. Not all of them are crazy weirdos.... you just never get to hear about the reasonable ones.

Eh... Keiko can explain later if she needs to: for now, Koi World awaits!

You can talk to Keko later if you want. Anyway, let's go!

And with that, he will stretch out and attempt to circle around the pair and take them into the magical underwater world...

[Koi World]

The transition is at once sudden and very difficult to place: one moment they were standing next to a pond, the next they are on a white marble pathway in a wonderland of greenish-blue. Strange patterns of light flicker all around, and fantastic woodlands of treelike plants stretch to either side. There are people wandering around, dressed in amazing clothes of many colors, and some of the robes are incredibly elaborate. Strange birds flit through the sky, and far above a glimmering firmament provides an endless glowing, sparkling display of light.

And Kenji? The little dragon is nowhere to be seen: in his place, an eighteen year old young man of distinctly Japanese appearance dressed in kimono and hakima of the same color scheme as his scales, fins, and whiskers. He bows with a giant grin, never tiring of showing off his home.

Welcome to the Koi Pond of the Temple of Inari!

---

[Sanctuary, Nighttime]

Mei blinks

Oh! I shall let her know you're here!

she bows her head. It is only a moment before Tamamo herself appears

It's no trouble, Mei: there are some advantages to having relatively few worshippers on only two worlds.

she turns to Anima

Greetings.

[Recaiden]

"Hi!"

Anima blinks, that was just a sort of automatic response. A real goddess, right here! She curtsies and clasps her hands together. Something subtle changes about the young woman. Her soul is paying attention.

"You can pay close attention to them. Was there also a time for you when you were very new and simply having a second worshiper was overwhelming?"
"Ehm. Our Ineffable Lord of Fire greets you, Holy Tamamo, and gives thanks for your house giving this-"

Unfolds one hand, and a little candle-light of cryofire dances from one finger to the next.

[The Alexandrian]

[Full Moon Party]

Clarissa's reaction to Melina's riveting tale of fire and folly is likely not quite what Melina had anticipated it would be. As Melina makes her sinister machinations and embarrassing missteps known not only to Clarissa but to everybody in the room by the looks of it, a prideful smile creeps across Clarissa's scarlet lips. The edges of her mouth gradually rise and rise and rise as her lips inch themselves apart. By the end of Melina's story, Clarissa is beaming at her ambitious child, unabashedly expressing her approval of Melina's actions and how pleased she is to be Melina's mother.

"She's my daughter!"

Clarissa enthusiastically informs the crowd. A few seconds later, she scoots away from Melina slightly and sits down cross-legged on the floor.

"Go ahead! Show me your power!"

...

On the side of the room opposite Melina and Clarissa, Nicole softly lands on cloud nine. She has met the woman of her dreams and that woman, that wonderful woman, has proven to be more than receptive to her advances! It's safe to say that Tamamo and Inari have earned at least one very powerful worshiper today (at least) for obvious reasons.

"Sometime, eh? Heh-how about tomorrow morning? I'll treat you to breakfast at the Roost, and maybe you can remind me of what I did to take your mind off your spell-casting snack." *Wink.*

Nicole will have to prep a costume for that date stat! Once the party is over, she'll hit Mallside's specialty shoppes hard. It's not like she was planning on turning in right after the party was over anyway.

[Fenric]

[Full Moon Party]

Noriko nods to Nicole with a grin of her own

Sounds like a plan... we'll be there.

That didn't sound like a "royal 'we'"... that sounded like a "more than one person 'we'". Keiko peers at her fairly recently married sister... what odd sort of a thing is going on here? She looks around, only to catch Katrina's eye. From over by the drinks, the Temple's most notorious vixen gives Keiko a saucy grin and winks at the befuddled dragoness.

Caroline becomes quite busy watching Melina.

The young girl, meanwhile, nods and closes her eyes in concentration. There's a lot of distraction now, though... her form blurs and flows, growing larger and longer, and after a moment there is a dragon identical in shape to the fifteen foot long eastern dragon that is Keiko - but shimmering white with a rainbow opalescent sheen. Her voice is now melodic and musical - quite pleasant to hear, really.

That wasn't quite what I had in mind...

---

[Sanctuary, Night]

Tamamo smiles and nods

Yes, I started with one. Her name was Lirian... she was a challenge, but fortunately I had the opportunity to work with her directly for several weeks before it expanded at all. Still, it was quite the struggle for a while and it gave me more reasons to be glad that I took Inari up on her offer to be subordinate.

She smiles, then blinks at the cryofire

Oh! We did that? Well... um... I'm glad you like it...

[Recaiden]

"Yes, it was your angel...Nory? Apologies if the name is not said correctly. It does not match the conventions we are accustomed to."

Anima has the cryofire flicker and disappear. Seems not to be something Tamamo expcted.

"In this case, it was a matter of having only a single follower for many years before the following grew suddenly. But. What we're most here about. He is looking into what might happen to us if he is gone. Especially anyone who is not currently alive."

[Fenric]

Tamamo nods

Ah, Noriko. Yes, we had some trouble adjusting to this world at first, and we don't know what all of the side effects may have been.

I am glad it has worked out for you.

She looks thoughtful at the question

In our universe, if I were somehow destroyed, my followers would lose my services, but the changes I made in the Celestial Plane to house those dwelling in my domain would remain and they would be there... In my case, they would be safe: I am subordinate to Inari and she would take over the duty of watching over them.

If I had no superior, then they would be left defenseless and would likely be claimed by the first powerful entity to find them.

[8BitNinja]

Kenji blinks

Uh... not here! And "cult" as in small, only loosely organized, informal religion. Not all of them are crazy weirdos.... you just never get to hear about the reasonable ones.

Eh... Keiko can explain later if she needs to: for now, Koi World awaits!

You can talk to Keko later if you want. Anyway, let's go!

And with that, he will stretch out and attempt to circle around the pair and take them into the magical underwater world...

[Koi World]

The transition is at once sudden and very difficult to place: one moment they were standing next to a pond, the next they are on a white marble pathway in a wonderland of greenish-blue. Strange patterns of light flicker all around, and fantastic woodlands of treelike plants stretch to either side. There are people wandering around, dressed in amazing clothes of many colors, and some of the robes are incredibly elaborate. Strange birds flit through the sky, and far above a glimmering firmament provides an endless glowing, sparkling display of light.

And Kenji? The little dragon is nowhere to be seen: in his place, an eighteen year old young man of distinctly Japanese appearance dressed in kimono and hakima of the same color scheme as his scales, fins, and whiskers. He bows with a giant grin, never tiring of showing off his home.

Welcome to the Koi Pond of the Temple of Inari!

[Koi World]

"I've never seen a place like this, fascinating" says Steve as he looks around in wonder "and I've seen some crazy stuff in my adventures." Steve walks towards the Temple "May I have the honor to go inside?" asks Steve. He awaits at the door for an answer, still awe-struck by the world which he entered. And I thought Koi were just fish thought Steve.

[Recaiden]

Anima nod.

"Left defenseless...that's no good. But it is clear what He could do to prepare for that. Ensure that they're found by a proper entity, or that they're never there at all. Do you think things are different in this universe?"

"It is a, a different place than where we expected to be, or used to be. Perhaps the planes here have space for us."

[Fenric]

Tamamo shakes her head

So far things seem to be working the way I expect, but we are not discussing a common occurrence so I don't have a lot to go by...

She trails off and tilts her head, her eyes widening slightly as she realizes something:

But I can find out: there has been a divine death quite recently!

Tamamo looks off into space and addresses someone not immediately visible

Hoshiko! Go at once to the Heart of the Burning Storm and see what has become of that wretched Tenjin's domain and followers.

she looks back at Anima

One data point hardly constitutes proof, but it is vastly preferable to pure conjecture.

[The Alexandrian]

[Full Moon Party]

I sincerely hope that Melina isn't quite identical in shape to Keiko because Keiko is clearly a pregnant dragon!

After a theatrical pause for the crowd to gasp, gawk, and act shocked and amazed in general, Clarissa springs to her feet and begins to energetically applaud and cheer for Melina! Clarissa doesn't care if that was intentional or not - that was damn impressive, doubly so for someone lacking any formal training in the art of shapeshifting!

"Woohoo! You did well, you dragon you!"

Maybe, just maybe, Melina will gain her own cult now! Wouldn't that be fantastic? She'll certainly be a hit with the little kids - if she can stomach their company, that is (preferably not literally)!

Now that nigh on everyone is clapping and cheering for Melina (hopefully), let's turn our attention back to Nicole. Poor, oblivious Nicole.

Nicole fails (miserably) to understand what Lady Noriko is implying when she uses the word "we" where the word "I" ought to be. Maybe she wishes to or will be forced to bring someone along with her to chaperone the date?

"Perfect!"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave of you for now."

Nicole whips out her phone and snaps a few pictures of Melina before joyously returning to Katrina.

"Shall we dance?"

[Recaiden]

"Thank you, Tamamo."
Anima nods carefully.
"If nothing else, this will show a way things can turn out."

"This is not likely to be good news, is it?"