heavy with magic, and then it said, "Sorry about this, but I've got no choice," in a voice that wasn't spoken out loud but was in my head.
"There's always a choice, and why don't you make the sensible one and leave me alone? I'll go, no need for any trouble."
"Ah, if only I could", came the whisper, words but more of a meaning than in a language.
"Look, it's been a long day, long life. I just want to go home, have a rest."
"I too would like to rest, but my spirit ball is stolen. Kimiko-san has it and so I am beholden. I must protect this place, her sanctuary."
It made no sense. Where would Kimiko sleep if this was one of her homes? Maybe there was more to the place than I'd thought. But no matter, she wasn't here, I was sure of that, and neither was anyone else now. Just me and a creature that held all its power in a tiny ball of golden magic and was unable to resist orders by the one that had stolen it. God, what I wouldn't have given for a straight up fight with a creature from home at this point, at least they made sense—sort of.
"I'm really not in the mood," I said eyeing it carefully, tails swishing, fur bristling as it got ready for action.
"Neither am I, but you killed Kimiko's men, now I have to kill you." The fox crouched low and its tails lifted high, white tips angled towards me. I wasn't sure how you went about killing a supernatural fox that had nine tails, we don't get a lot of that type of thing in Cardiff. Before it could strike again something clicked, an old memory of reading of such creatures long ago when I'd been in Japan. That was it, the tails. You had to chop off the tails to stop it.
Sharp magic shot from my hand as I swept it from left to right like I held a sword, the silver thin and as dangerous as Intus' scythe. It crackled as it arced at the last minute, slicing clean through the top of a tail that erupted like a cork from a shaken champagne bottle, magic spilling out from the shortened tail fast and dangerous.
The kitsune howled loud, the cry of an animal in distress, and it shot red fire at me in return. Nine bolts of death came right at me, the shortened tail still seemingly functioning perfectly. Nine ways to kill me and end the pain, but I wasn't having any of it.
I forced the shield back around my body, reluctant and slow, felt my clothes burn as strange magic hit, and then I was saved from the full blast by my draining will. I patted at my jacket in panic but no sooner had I felt the flames than they were gone. Was it real? Yes, and no.
Magical flames that burned and would act like fire but weren't genuine. Spirit flame that needed no dousing as the magic waned seconds after it was released.
Tail docking it would have to be.
Some Compassion
Maybe it's a British thing, maybe it's a Western thing, but no sooner had the thought come to me than I changed my mind. This was a fox. Sure, it was trying to kill me, and sure, it had a lot of tails, but the thought of slicing them off, harming what felt like an innocent creature, made me feel like the worst kind of nasty.
It wasn't a cruel creature, was acting contrary to its nature because of the power Kimiko held over it, so was killing it justified? Yeah, if a puppy tried to kill me I'd feel the same way, and look what trouble I'd got into already on that front.
The fox attacked again, strong lines of fire tearing through the air at my head, the protection weakening as my hold over the magic waned. I had to act, and fast, or I'd be all crunchy and very dead. With hands still sore from the chewing incident, I decided on another approach and blasted over our heads.
Again, and again, and again, I shot black balls of damage at the timber-clad ceiling, pieces raining down on the fox as it tried to jump to safety. It was fast, and nimble, but there was nowhere to go. As the vampires and money were buried, I stepped back into the doorway. The fox screeched it's frustration as an avalanche of wood and then furniture
"There's always a choice, and why don't you make the sensible one and leave me alone? I'll go, no need for any trouble."
"Ah, if only I could", came the whisper, words but more of a meaning than in a language.
"Look, it's been a long day, long life. I just want to go home, have a rest."
"I too would like to rest, but my spirit ball is stolen. Kimiko-san has it and so I am beholden. I must protect this place, her sanctuary."
It made no sense. Where would Kimiko sleep if this was one of her homes? Maybe there was more to the place than I'd thought. But no matter, she wasn't here, I was sure of that, and neither was anyone else now. Just me and a creature that held all its power in a tiny ball of golden magic and was unable to resist orders by the one that had stolen it. God, what I wouldn't have given for a straight up fight with a creature from home at this point, at least they made sense—sort of.
"I'm really not in the mood," I said eyeing it carefully, tails swishing, fur bristling as it got ready for action.
"Neither am I, but you killed Kimiko's men, now I have to kill you." The fox crouched low and its tails lifted high, white tips angled towards me. I wasn't sure how you went about killing a supernatural fox that had nine tails, we don't get a lot of that type of thing in Cardiff. Before it could strike again something clicked, an old memory of reading of such creatures long ago when I'd been in Japan. That was it, the tails. You had to chop off the tails to stop it.
Sharp magic shot from my hand as I swept it from left to right like I held a sword, the silver thin and as dangerous as Intus' scythe. It crackled as it arced at the last minute, slicing clean through the top of a tail that erupted like a cork from a shaken champagne bottle, magic spilling out from the shortened tail fast and dangerous.
The kitsune howled loud, the cry of an animal in distress, and it shot red fire at me in return. Nine bolts of death came right at me, the shortened tail still seemingly functioning perfectly. Nine ways to kill me and end the pain, but I wasn't having any of it.
I forced the shield back around my body, reluctant and slow, felt my clothes burn as strange magic hit, and then I was saved from the full blast by my draining will. I patted at my jacket in panic but no sooner had I felt the flames than they were gone. Was it real? Yes, and no.
Magical flames that burned and would act like fire but weren't genuine. Spirit flame that needed no dousing as the magic waned seconds after it was released.
Tail docking it would have to be.
Some Compassion
Maybe it's a British thing, maybe it's a Western thing, but no sooner had the thought come to me than I changed my mind. This was a fox. Sure, it was trying to kill me, and sure, it had a lot of tails, but the thought of slicing them off, harming what felt like an innocent creature, made me feel like the worst kind of nasty.
It wasn't a cruel creature, was acting contrary to its nature because of the power Kimiko held over it, so was killing it justified? Yeah, if a puppy tried to kill me I'd feel the same way, and look what trouble I'd got into already on that front.
The fox attacked again, strong lines of fire tearing through the air at my head, the protection weakening as my hold over the magic waned. I had to act, and fast, or I'd be all crunchy and very dead. With hands still sore from the chewing incident, I decided on another approach and blasted over our heads.
Again, and again, and again, I shot black balls of damage at the timber-clad ceiling, pieces raining down on the fox as it tried to jump to safety. It was fast, and nimble, but there was nowhere to go. As the vampires and money were buried, I stepped back into the doorway. The fox screeched it's frustration as an avalanche of wood and then furniture
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