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 Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 5:04 pm
 Seppen had woken up early. Neyuki and Fubuki were still sleeping beside her. She walked a few paces, stretching, then plopped down on her rear and looked at the sky. She looked hard, searching for any trace of snow. Fubuki had told her before that it was useless, it was still early for snow, but she couldn't wait. She stared and stared, slowly focusing less on the sky and more on her own thoughts.
Suddenly, a big fat snowflake landed on her nose. Laughing uproariously, she went to wake up Neyuki and Fubuki, pouncing on both of them.
"Wake up, wake up, it's snowing!" Other snowflakes were following the first. Fubuki sat up immediately, staring wide-mouthed at the sky, and accidentally catching a snowflake on his tongue. He grinned, snowballs already flying through his mind. It took a little for Neyuki to properly wake up. She lay rubbing her eyes until a snowflake caught her tail. She brought her tail to her face, staring at the wet spot where the snowflake had landed. Suddenly she giggled, leaping up for joy.
"The snow is here early! It must be a good sign, more kits will join our family this Winter!""Hey, the more the merrier for snowball fights!" Fubuki cackled with glee."You'll probably just scare them off, Buki!" Seppen gently rubbed Neyuki's head, smiling at her. "But yes, let's hope we make lots of new friends this winter! Hateshiganai can become a proper pack!
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:04 pm
 It was cold here, colder than Nagareboshi had ever known in his life. Or what little he remembered of it. It would seem to him that he had just "woken" up one day and came into being. He had no memory of his past, no memory of who he was. Just a word that he had heard someone else say as they had approached him on that day. They had said Nagareboshi. He hadn't the slightest idea of what that meant at the time and he had not stuck around to find out because the fear had gripped his heart and he ran. As fast as he could. Running blindly away, fast as a shooting star. Nagareboshi. He had reflected on it for some time now and had settled on the thought that it might just be his name. And since he had no other. It was.
That had been a while ago now, and he had been wandering for quite a bit. He had come across many different animals on his travels. Most of which had been kind to him, even if they were a bit cross by his lack of information on the things that surrounded him. One day he had been about to take a large bite of some delicious looking berries that were on a bush when a grouchy old badger had startled him out of his skin. "What you doing?!" Snapped the badger, waddling in front of him and herding him away from the bush by taking several steps toward him. "Those stop the breath! Dumb kit! Dumb!" And she had served as one of his greatest teachers from that day forth. They went their separate ways after a while, not because he was ungrateful or she found him to be a nuisance, but because she had things that she had to do this winter and he had things that he had to do. After spending so much time with her, and hearing so many of her stories, he had learned that there were others like him out there in the world. "Great!" He had exclaimed. "Maybe they'll know who I am, and where I came from!" That was how he had ended up wandering into the mountains really. The badger had told him that she had seen others, like him, not too terribly far up along the mountains crests.
His fur bristled as he made his way along the rocky cliff sides of the mountains, slipping here and there, when the most peculiar thing started to happen. It started to snow. Now, this wasn't so very peculiar because he was in the mountains after all, but what made it very odd to him were two things. One: He had never seen snow before. Of course the old badger had warned him about it, and warned him against staying out too long like some other foolish animals she knew because that also stopped the breath and heart. And two: He could hear talking. Very faint talking that was carried on the wind. Shaking the flurries that had accumulated on his coat, he pushed on for a few more paces before daring to call out. "H-Hello? Is there anyone out here?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:34 pm
Seppen had noticed that Neyuki had gone stiff, her ears perked and quivering. She followed suit, listening carefully. She threw a quick "Shut up!" at Fubuki, who was jumping around and cackling. When he quit moving, she heard it.
Someone was calling.
"Hey! Hello?" she called back. "Hey guys, let's go see who's there!"
The three shot off in the direction Seppen had heard the call, and quickly bumped into a beautiful white Kitsune. Grinning and placing a paw on her chest, she introduced them.
"Hi! I'm Seppen, this is Neyuki, and this-""You don't have a tail! What happened to your tail?" Fubuki had circled around behind the new Kitsune, and was hopping around his rear."Fubuki! You're being rude! Get back over here!"Fubuki stuck his tongue out at her, but did as she said."And this is Fubuki," she finished, glaring at him. She returned her look to the Kitsune standing in front of them, her expression changing back into an excited smile. "We don't see many other Kitsune around here. Who are you? Where do you come from? What brings you here?""Stay and play, stay and play!" Fubuki added, hopping around again.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 8:51 pm
He had been startled to see so many kitsune all at once, especially since they had bumped in to him so suddenly. He skittered back a few steps, his nails slipping across the snowy rocks, but he did not lose his balance. Nagareboshi counted that as a blessing, because it was a long way to roll should he lose his balance entirely. Not because it was so far up, but because there were so many rocks to roll over. "H...hello." He said again, sounding almost out of breath. Barely did he manage to catch the first two introductions before he was aware of a third little kit behind him. He turned to look at the little one, before side stepping his hind quarters away a little to the opposite direction of the overzealous kitsune. "I don't know... I've never had one, was I suppose to?" Concern was clear in his voice before he turned his face back toward Sekpen. For a moment he simply pawed at the ground after the introductions were made, he felt quite shy now. Even though he had been so excited to get here and meet others like him in the first place. Now that he was here, he really didn't know just where to begin. Of course he would have to start with the little ones questions. Rude not answer. Nagareboshi could hear the grumpy old she badger grumbling in his head. Just as she had when he had first met her. "I-it's really nice to meet you all." Smiled the white kitsune shyly. "My name is Nagareboshi. I don't know where I came from and I'm here because I heard that there were other Kitsune like me that could maybe help me."
He was a little surprised by how excited the little kit called Fubuki was. Wasn't he worried at all that he would try and eat these three little kits? Or chase them out of their home? Or something? Of course he wouldn't do that, but Big Mama, that was the she badger that had looked after him, had always told him stories about children that were taken advantage of because they were too trusting. In other words, or Big Mama's words rather, they were stupid.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:36 pm
"You don't know where you're from? Did you hit your head and forget, or something? Is that what you need help with?" Seppen ceased her questions when she heard what Fubuki was chanting."Shy and stu-pid, shy and stu-pid."Shut UP!" As she yelled the last word, she kicked her back paws and sent a spray of dirt directly into his face. She gave a satisfied snort as he began sneezing and spitting and rubbing dirt from his eyes, before turning once more back to Nagareboshi.
"Sorry about that, Buki can be a real jerk sometimes. Good face full of dirt does him wonders sometimes. Fubuki! Apologize!"Fubuki hung his head. "Sorr-kkh! Sorry."There we go. He just gets a little carried away sometimes. Where were we? Oh right, you don't know where you're from. Well, since you're here, you gotta be from Kyoto somewhere. I'm sure sooner or later you'll find someone who knows you." She paused and turned her head toward Neyuki when she heard her give a little cough. "Yeah, Neyuki here is really smart, if anyone can help, she can!"Neyuki gave a shy smile, turning her face toward the ground and pawing at a stone.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 9:54 pm
"I just... woke up like that one day..." As he spoke the small kit called Fubuki was chanting something about him that made his stomach drop. He looked away, back toward the direction that he had come in, wondering if it was such a good idea to be here after all. Maybe it would have been better for him to just have waited for Big Mama back in the badger hole this winter. Nagareboshi hung his head. It was the first time since he had "woken" up that he had felt this way. He was embarrassed and a little bit disheartened. When Big Mama told him that he was being stupid, there was something of a warmth behind it. She cared about what happened to him because he reminded her, for some strange reason, of someone that she had known. A foolish pup that had lost his way, not listened to his Big Mama and lost his life along the way. "It's alright." The white kitsune smiled weakly. "I'm sure that I must seem rather stupid to you all. Hehe... A fully grown kit with no idea about anything. I really just have no reelection of anything before I woke up this summer."
He settled himself down, not really minding that the ground was dirty and and cold, or the fact that his nice white coat was bound to get dirty. Silently he pawed at the ground, digging a small hole and then filling it back up. "Kyoto? You think that I came from Kyoto? Is that where we are?" And do you really think that there is someone out there that knows me?" He raised his steely gray eyes full of excitement toward Sekpen before he looked to Neyuki. The kitsune jumped to his paws abruptly. "Really?! Could you help me?" He asked the shy looking kit, happiness oozing into his every word.
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Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 10:35 pm
Neyuki smiled back at Nagareboshi, sending every ounce of happiness he showed her right back at him. She trotted up to him and briefly nuzzled up against him before shooting off.Seppen laughed at Neyuki's display of affection. "You're lucky, she rarely takes onto anyone that quickly. Come back to our den, and we can talk more." She watched as Fubuki shot off after Neyuki before turning seriously to Nagareboshi. "Listen, don't take Buki too seriously. He doesn't like to use that thing we call a brain. So don't let him get to you, alright? Not being able to remember anything isn't your fault, there's nothing wrong with that." She flashed him a bright smile before starting to trot off.
"And to answer your questions, yes, we're in Kyoto, northernmost of one of the mountain ranges, and yes, we'd love to help you. And if we can't, well, you can make a new home here, with us!"
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Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 5:58 pm
Nagareboshi bristled in a way that was not at all unpleasant from the younger kits affection. It had been a very kind gesture, one that he was not entirely used and he watched her go with wide eyes before a grin spread across his face. In these last couple of months before winter had rolled around, he had met so many kind animals, and he was more than happy to be able to add another few to the list. Just under Big Mama of course, because she had taken care of him the best. "I'll count it as a blessing then." Smiled the white kit, feeling more warm and fuzzy on the inside than he was on the outside. Slowly he followed behind Sekpen, shaking snow from his coat before he sprinted up to her side and kept her pace. "Thank you. I'll try and remember that if it happens again. He doesn't seem like a bad kit, really. Then again, I wouldn't know. You're all the first ones I've met! But call it a gut feeling." He leaped forward on his front paws and snapped at a large snowflake, surprised at the taste of it on his tongue. It was just like water. Freezing cold water. "Kyoto... I never knew!" He laughed as he followed them home.
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Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 7:48 pm
It took them a little to reach the den, the trio of kits had camped out away from it the previous night so it was farther north than where they started out. Their den turned out to be a fairly big cave in a cliffside with oddly smooth walls and a giant pile of dried moss in one corner.
When they got there, Neyuki was sitting outside and staring at the snowing sky, with Fubuki sneaking up behind her.
"Ne-Ne!""I know." Her tail reached up to hit Fubuki in the face right as he was about to pounce, making him stumble off.Seppen snorted a laugh before heading into the den, the other two following her.
"Ah crap, we'll have to start gathering wood soon. Well, this is our den, welcome home!" she said to Nagareboshi, flashing him a quick grin. "Now, do you remember anything at all? Do you remember the direction you came from, how long you were running? Neyuki can probably figure out a general area if you give her the math."Heads up!" Fubuki shot between them, batting a circular rock ahead of him."Buki, can you not hold still for more than five seconds? We're trying to talk here." She grabbed the rock the next time Fubuki shot past, holding it firmly under her paw. Fubuki slunk over to roll around in the moss bed. When Seppen looked back from watching Fubuki, she noticed that Neyuki had grabbed a piece of charcoal and was roughly sketching out a map of Kyoto on the rock floor.
"See, there you go, Ne-Ne's already at it! She's drawing you a map of Kyoto, see, that X is where we are, and if you can give her a little more she can get us a nice line to follow!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 12:40 pm
 Just then, a head popped into view, upside-down, at the entrance to the den. The female Kitsune was standing on top of it. She looked soaked. "Sorry to intrude, but might there be room for one more?" she asked pleasantly. "I'm kind of all wet...I had a bit of a creek accident."
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Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 1:39 pm
Neyuki yelped in surprise, dropping her charcoal and diving into the moss bed.Seppen grinned at the newcomer. "Sure, always room for one more! We'll get you a fire started, so you can dry off. No good being wet when it's snowing. Nagareboshi, you and Neyuki can hash things out while me and Fubuki start the fire." Seppen gathered the rest of their wood and piled it together close to the entrance, so that the smoke would waft out.Fubuki trotted over, excited at the chance to use his foxfire. He shot a small ball of it into the center of the wood, like one would shoot a marble. "Though I don't think Ne-Ne's gonna come out anytime soon," he snickered.
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 12:30 pm
"Hey, thanks!...Waaoh!" Nijibana yelped as she slipped and fell off the den into the snowy-ness. "Ow." She shook the snow off her head and went on inside. "I have really got to stop doing things like that."
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 6:56 pm
The white Ktisune yelped loudly as another Kitsune popped their head into the den. It might not have scared him quite as much as it had if it weren't for the fact that he had been standing right in the doorway more or less. He jumped and quick as a flash turned around to face the new comer. She was a pleasant shade of violet. Sort of like the cross between a cherry and a grape. Shuffling his paws, Nagareboshi slid along the wall toward the moss bed where Neyuki had gone to hide. "S-sure Sekpen." His voice shook when he spoke and he took off rather quickly toward the sleeping area after that, feeling a little nervous. Never in his life, or what he could remember of it, had he met so many Kitsune.
With great care he nudged at the moss aside with his nose and paws. "Neyuki...?" He whispered nervously. "I... The answers to the questions that Sekpen asked me?" There was a pause as he thought about it. He could feel his own disappointment starting to surface. He knew that he was going to be useless to her. After all, he had panicked and fled with such zeal that not even a cheetah could have caught him. He swallowed hard. "I don't remember anything from before I woke up on that day in the summer... nor do I really know in what direction I ran. All I do know is that there were many strange smells in the air when I woke up." Once more he nudged at the moss with his muzzle, pushing it aside gently. "I'm sorry... I guess I'm not much help to you or myself, huh?" Laughed the white Kitsune. Nagareboshi sat down and scratched at his neck thoughtfully. "Well... there is one more thing." It was something he had not thought about right away, though it probably would not make much of a difference anyway. "There was a strange creature watching me and coming toward me when I came to. Big Mama called them Two Leggers. She said they were no good... and it was good that I ran. This one, or so she told me, was strange. Big Mama said she was old."
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:55 pm
Neyuki poked her head out of the moss, her nose briefly touching Nagareboshi's nose. She cocked an ear toward Fubuki and Seppen, hearing them giggle at the newcome purple Kitsune before turning her attention back to Nagareboshi.
"Hrm, strange smells don't really help, there's lots of smells in the cities that can be defined as strange. Ha ha, Big Mama never liked humans much. Then again, she never liked anyone much. ...She said the human was strange because she was old? That's not so very strange at all. Hrm, what could she have meant by that?" Neyuki paused for a moment to ponder what she had just heard.
"Is that all Big Mama said?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 7:51 pm
Slowly Nagareboshi cocked his head. Was that all she said, indeed? Even though he had been around her since this summer, he couldn't quite recall if she had said anything else specific about his story. "What doesn't Big Mama say?" Asked the kitsune rather cheerfully. While she would not seem it because she was such a hermit, Big Mama talked quite often to anyone, or sometimes no one at all. Just wind... just wind... Muttered the badger if he caught something that she had not meant for his ears, but rather for the ears of the universe. That was another thing that she often spoke of. The universe having ears. He didn't understand it, not even in the least bit, but he still had enjoyed her company. He enjoyed the way she spoke to no one at all, and how she curled herself comfortably around him when they went to sleep. And how every evening they would pray to the "Universe" for all its blessings and for safety. It dawned on him then. "Oh!" He jumped to his feet, his claws clicking loudly against the floor. "That's it! She said that the creature was the caretaker of a shrine!" She had most definitely thought that, from the strange clothes that she had been wearing as Nagareboshi described them. Though what exactly a shrine was, he wasn't too sure. But if Big Mama said that she was, then she must be.
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