It took some work to get Iho back to his little den, and patched up. Now the Ashen girl lay beside him, ignoring the lateness of the hour. She didn’t want to make her way back home in the dark alone. It wasn’t that she was scared or anything, it was being practical. Things were going on out there that couldn’t be explained. She was a Princess, she had a duty to get home in one piece.

She bumped a horn gently against the side of his head, and looked outside with a huff. “Do you think our friend the Coyote is still out there?” she asked wearily. At least he definitely believed her now. He had seen it for himself, whatever ‘it’ was. And those fireflies were still out there! Taunting them with frolicking patterns against the silver sky. A sky that should be dark, but was lit by an eerie glow from the moon. “Do you think it's in cohorts with the fireflies?” she muttered darkly.

"Speech"

Kumiho could never say how grateful he was that Kitsune had some healing knowledge. She'd put those medical skills to good use on him more than once, each time making the arctic wolf seem more and more injury prone, but it just came with the territory. One didn't explore new lands and sail vast seas or do battle with ghost canines without getting a few bumps and scrapes—or pieces of driftwood lodged through his thigh. Kit had patched him up swiftly, the wound on his leg little more than a stinging memory now. He lay in the quiet warmth of his den, inspecting the tiny glowing crystal she had extracted from his injury. The mystifying blue-green glow of the stone was enthralling yet also disconcerting. He'd never seen anything quite like it before, but the fact that it glowed the same color as those fireflies and the moon outside didnt inspire confidence that it was a good thing.

Kitsune's horn bumping to his head caught his attention, and he glanced down at the small pup cuddled up with his body curled around her protectively. To her question about the wraith they'd seen, he also glanced outside, seeing flickers of fireflies drifting around aimlessly in the dark night. The sky looked a sickly blue-green from the moon, and a thin, eerie mist had begun to creep over the swamplands. Yeah, there was no way he was letting Kitsune go outside again, even if it meant risking being torn apart by an angry dad.

"I don't know," he muttered, honestly yet uncertainly. Up until tonight Iho hadn't even believed ghosts existed! He lifted a paw and draped it over Kitsune's side, making sure she was protected at all times. He knew she probably didn't need him fretting over her, but she was his responsibility now, and he wouldn't let any strange ghosts or ghouls harm the Ashen princess. "Whatever that... thing was, I don't wanna go looking for it again." Iho might have been reckless, but he wasn't stupid. "What were you doing out here so late at night anyway?" he asked, turning prying icy eyes down to the fiery jewels set in her pretty face.

"Speech"

She looked over at Iho and saw his close inspection of the crystal. She screwed up her nose at the little shiny thing in his paw. How it got into his leg, she didn’t want to know. Maybe one of those funny fireflies had stuck it there, or it was something the coyote had done… Either way, it was messed up and she wasn’t sure she wanted to mess with whatever forces were at play any longer.

Not that she was so worried now. Not as she had been. Here, she was curled up against Iho, feeling safe and warm. The bad feelings that had driven her from her den were kept at bay by the familiar blue of his eyes. They hadn’t dared sleep over before now, but Kitsune couldn’t imagine leaving…

She snuggled against the paw he draped over her, rubbing her growing horn against it, before leaning her cheek against the part of his arm that she could reach. “Yeah, me neither.” Which was why she was going to stay here until the sun rose, and hope she didn’t get into trouble. “I couldn’t sleep, I just had this weird feeling in my gut.” She explained.


"Speech"

Iho watched while Kitsune snuggled herself in closer to him, both of them tucked up under the mammoth fur she'd brought for him all those months ago. He'd supplemented the rest of his bed with furs from his own hunts since then, but he always used that mammoth fur as a blanket. It was his special gift from the princess, and he couldn't imagine parting with it. Watching her get comfortable brought a small smile to Iho's face, having developed a fondness for the young girl in the seasons they'd spent together. Never in all his life would he have expected to make friends with royalty, let alone a princess so young, but sometimes life was funny that way.

Kit explained how she couldn't sleep, how she'd had a weird gut feeling. As if on cue, some sort of strange, haunting howl wailed from somewhere out in the swamp, causing Iho to tear his gaze from her to the dark night just outside the entrance of his den. He'd never heard a sound like that before in his life and he certainly didn't want to meet whatever had made it. He clutched Kitsune tighter, his heart racing from the thrill of fear, ready to grab the girl and run if need be. It's just noises... Just sounds... They're not real... he told himself. "Well, hopefully your parents won't mind you having a sleepover with a friend," said Kumiho with a smile he wore mostly for her benefit.

A cold chill began to creep into the air, seeming to seep its way into his bones. The fog outside grew denser, white mist turning an ethereal blue in the moonlight. Nope! He didn't like this one bit. Rising from bed, Iho stepped over to the entryway and grabbed the piece of bark he used as a door from just outside, wedging it securely in the entrance of the den to seal the creepy world out and keep them safe inside. Iho stayed near the door for a minute longer, peering through a gap to the moonlit world outside. He saw silhouettes moving in the fog, creeping around with jerky, shambling movements, the creatures following the glow of the fireflies through the swamp. Frowning and trying to ignore the ice in his veins, Iho slipped silently from the door and crawled back into bed, finding Kitsune in the dark and curling around her again as he held her protectively. "I've got you," he whispered, knowing how scared she had been and hoping to soothe some of that fear. "Thank you for coming to check on me, Kit. Y'know, with your gut feeling and all..."

"Speech"

It was easy to get comfortable beside Iho, if a little drafty. On some days a puppy pile was exactly what she wanted, on others it was suffocating. Iho made a good medium between the two differences. Warm, but not overbearing. She fit easily against his side, with her friend wrapped around her. Too well, really. Considering how much taller she should be by now.

It was almost easy to forget the weird world outside. She was warm, comfortable, and Iho was looking at her like she mattered. Perhaps the indifferent gaze of her father and the noble bearing of her mother made the sincerity and friendship of Iho’s warm eyes so much more alluring.
“It’ll be fine” she said, knowing that if her parents did catch her, it mostly likely would not be. Besides, she was far too distracted by the weird noise that rattled the world outside.

Her breath might have caught just a little, but she did her best to downplay it. When Iho got up she opened her mouth to protest, where was he - no! Not towards the door? Iho!” she barked wearily at him. Realising after she spoke that he was blocking off the entrance. Hopefully, put up some barriers against whatever was out there.

Then he was back at her side again, curling up with her. She clutched her friend, feeling the frantic beat of his heart. His words were distracting, and she gave a short nod. “of course.” she murmured, but she would not be distracted so easily from the world beyond. “What did you see?”


"Speech"

Kumiho didn't dare take his eyes off of Kitsune while she clung onto him in the dark of the quiet den. She gave him a nonchalant response when he thanked her, clearly still focused on what sort of horrors were going on with the world right now. Not that he could blame her. Right now, it felt like the two of them were locked in a desperate struggle to stay alive until dawn with a host of dangerous paranormal demons waiting to break down the door and devour them alive. Kit asked him what he had seen outside, and for a brief moment Iho grappled with the decision of telling her the truth or lying to make her feel better. As much as he wanted to protect the princess, she was a clever girl, and he knew she'd sniff out his white lies in an instant.

"I think our coyote friend is still out there," he whispered back, not detailing the ghoulish sight he'd seen in the fog, but still conveying enough of a message for Kitsune to understand. She didn't need to know about those undead looking freaks shuffling around like reanimated corpses. So long as they stayed safe in here, that was all that mattered. "Don't worry, he can't get us in here." Of course, Iho didn't know that for a fact. He was just trying to help keep Kit calm.

As if fate was conspiring to make him seem like a liar, the sound of heavy paws stomping the moist ground outside the den broke the silence. Kumiho sucked in a sharp breath through gritted teeth and froze, blue eyes widened with terror as he stared at the door. His paw instinctively moved to try and cover Kitsune's muzzle in case she let out any involuntary sounds of fear. His heartbeat pounded in his chest, racing through his icy blood. Iho held his breath, his ears erect and strained to focus on every little sound outside the door. There was no sound of breathing, but the shuffling footsteps continued, pacing slow circles around the entrance of the den. His forelegs squeezed tighter around Kit, keeping her form held tight and protective against his body. Go away... Please go away... he thought in silent prayer.

The shuffling paws moved away from the door, stomping over top of the den as whatever it was walked on the roof above them. Iho bit his lip to keep himself quiet, scarcely breathing for fear of making a single sound. His lungs ached and his heart felt fit to burst it was beating so fast! Then, from above them on the roof, that fiendish howl came again, louder than before and booming in his ears so loud it made them ring. Iho squeezed his eyes shut, doing everything he could to keep himself and Kit quiet and undetected. Just as he was mentally preparing himself to make a break for it with Kit, the paws moved on, stomping off into the swamp until the world was quiet once more. A few minutes after that, the sounds of crickets and croaking frogs returned. Iho waited until he was sure nothing was outside anymore, then he relaxed his hold on Kitsune, breathing a heavy sigh of relief while he looked down at the almost yearling. "You okay...?"

"Speech"

Kitsune set her muzzle in a grim line at Iho’s words. Ghosts weren’t supposed to be real. Things like what was happening this night should only take place in stories told by her family around the fire. Where delicious goosebumps could run down her paws at the thought. This… this was reality, not a delicious story. It wasn’t anywhere near as fun.

But, she was a Princess, and reality making sense or no, she wouldn’t let herself give in to the fear she could feel swirling around her stomach. Of course, as through to test her mettle, the sound of heavy steps approached. Squelching in the damp soil, and approaching their hideaway. Iho’s sucked in breath did more to frighten her than the creature outside. Even her well-travelled friend was afraid.

Then Iho was grabbing her, his paw holding down her muzzle - the indignity! - but fear won out over any slights, and she found herself huddling into Iho’s coat. Her little body shaking, and her ears back to her skull. How did you fight a ghost? How did you fight something that shouldn’t even be real?

The howl chilled her to her bones, and she might indeed have made a noise if Iho wasn’t holding her so tightly. Her breaths, forced through her nose, were harsh little things. In fact, by the time the creature moved on, and Ido released her there were spots in her vision. She sucked in deep breaths, gasping. “What on earth was that? that was no coyote!” she hissed.


"Speech"

Had he not been so terrified and certain they'd been on the precipice of some horrific death, Iho might have felt bad for how he'd handled the young princess. It was definitely not the way he would have normally, but this was a survival scenario, and the rules of court decorum and propriety were all but damned to hell at this point. Listening to her gasp for breath, Iho realized just how tight he'd been holding her mouth and that he'd unintentionally been smothering her. "Sorry," he apologized in a sheepish whisper, ears folding to his head. "I..." He paused. How the hell did he answer that question?! He knew it was no coyote, but he couldn't lie to her and pretend it was something that it wasn't. Nothing about this made any sense!

"...I don't know," he eventually admitted, afraid to say exactly how scared he actually was. He had to be the brave and tough one for Kit when she was relying on him to make things better, even when he was ready to piss himself out of fright. "But whatever it is, I'm going to protect you from it. Cross my heart, Princess." Giving the little fireborne girl a crooked smile, Iho crossed his heart with his paw, the same way he had done when they'd first met and she made him promise to stay and be her subject. He hoped the little gesture meant as much to her as it did to him.

With the night seeming to grow calmer, Iho sank further down into the furs and tugged the blanket of mammoth fur snug over them to keep them sheltered from the dark. He didn't know if sleep would be a luxury he'd be afforded tonight, but he wanted to make sure that little Kitsune got her rest at least. Snuggling close with her, Iho dipped his snout to nuzzle the girl's forehead right behind her budding antlers, keeping her wrapped up in his forelegs with his body curled around hers so she could lie cuddled up into him. With their sizes, Kit fit perfectly against his body, and he quite liked being her security pillow. In one last attempt to drive the fear of the night away, Iho began to sing a hushed lullaby beneath his breath, the lyrics of which were in the tongue of his homeland—the same homeland as Kitsune's father.

"Speech"

She was still catching her breath, but she didn’t blame Iho. he had kept her quiet and kept her down. Otherwise, she definitely would have charged out there and started a fight. Really. And then who knows how much trouble they would be in? “I forgive you” she whispered back. She didn’t want to move from his side any time soon, there was a measure of safety to be found right here.

A part of her warred with the desire to show bravado and claim she didn’t need protecting, but a much larger part of her knew that if he left her alone without his circle of protection she would be horrified, petrified and likely dead of a heart attack about now. He belonged to her, pledged to her. She wouldn’t give him up for the world. She giggled a little when he gestured over his heart. The motions reminding her of that first promise. She swiped his paw and brought it to her own heart. “I know, Iho. We’re in this together.”

Iho dragged a blanket over them, the familiar plush warmth of it settling over her. Reminding her that the outside world had resumed its familiar noises. The strange happening seemed over, for now. She leaned back against him, content to at least catnap if not fully sleep. Then Iho’s voice whispered gently out between them. Her ears perked up in surprise at the unexpectedly familiar words. Softly, whispering, she began to sing along with him.


"Speech"

Kitsune

Out of the corner of your eye, you see a small mouse scampering by. Wait - is it glowing? You also find 4 crystals. Maybe these are worth keeping…

Kumiho

A small cluster of frilly mushrooms bobs slightly in the breeze, releasing faint glowing spores to settle on the ground beneath it. You also find 1 mushroom. Maybe these are worth keeping…