“Ator, huh? And you say I am far from home?” the man asked, chug softly as he sipped the tea. Kiko gave a thread of mana through hers, to make sure there was nothing untowards in it. The man seemed to approve of such a…caution.

  “I was born in Herenia, I heard of Jomsburg like two months ago. Dad alked of his home and Mum left a long time ago because Dad wanted me to grow up like a normal person rather than a Kitsune and Mum knew she was never moving him from that stance. So she left, rather than drag the two of them down into a pit of stant flict” Kiko expined, drinkiea now it was nid safe. Tasted pretty good.

  “Ahh. A on story, you know? The Jom are adventerous beyond most, and stride farther than their peers because of their merary work. Many find homes elsewhere and that is that. Even those as pced as the Ator” the man was very versational now that he wasn’t trying to kill her. It retty nibsp;

  “But that aside! It is a pleasure to meet you, Kiko Ator. I am Quan Andri da Astor” he started, and Kiko choking oea cut off his tinued ent.

  “Astor?! The Flower Of The Border?!” she asked after the spluttering died. The man would give a proud smile, puffing up his chest as he nodded.

  “Indeed! Few pces are as beautiful as is, as well known as it! Ohh, but hearing about it is just not the same as seeing it in persos loud when it rains properly though, the Equi-drains are fine, but they really gurgle under load. An artist tried oo add in these veins to the wall that would make music wheer rolled over them, but it never got off the ground” he would shake his head softly.

  After this nice versation, Kiko would sigh softly and address the elephant in the room.

  “So, you were waiting for me” she stated, looking up at him.

  “Indeed. I sulted our oracle, aold me that what I sort would be within the wind. Transting their words be a work sometimes, but we mao get what topographical maps we could, and check for winding things. Here was the closest to the city where he got killed. It was like a 60% ce we were going to find something that was worth finding. Such is augary, holy. But it was more than wandering around blindly, asking them maka what happened. I would take the shame of unknowledge over dealing with them” he would spit on the ground as if ing his mouth out of the dirt of talking about it. Kiko got the idea that it was quite the curse word, which further highlighted the pristine and upper-css tone he had so far.

  “Not a fan then?” Kiko asked, with a thick sardonie.

  “Astor has the skull of a Balor in it’s museum. The Beasts and their panions will fear us. Our stalwart arms shall never waiver while they remain” he would reply, his tone vibrating with fervour. It was quite the excmation, and so she would stand and nod.

  “Well, now we have solved the problem of me killing your friend, I o get back to what I was doing in the first pce” she’d state, settling her sword in case there was a sed guy who wao kill her because Ele was his betrothed before she ran away or something.

  “Please, allow me to escort you to your destination as way of apology” Quan asked, standing himself.

  “I dunno, it’s a whole Blood Moon ritual thing. I don’t know if you’ll explode or spawn ara head or something” Kiko would reply, scratg his head. One of the butlers looked up for a few moments, before fog ba his work. It was quite the rare thing, maybe he wanted a versation? She’d ask him on the way babsp;

  “Fear not, the Song of Eruda shall guide and guard my soul against what might go against it” he would reply, with such fidehat Kiko could only nod. The stroll up the mountain was nice, with Quan giving her some trivia about the Plum Blossom Style. It wasn’t super esoteric, more like what someone had picked up from the outside, but it was still o hear about.

  ---

  “Blood Moon. Three tails, but what’s the differeween three and four, ehh? Now’s the ce” One of the butlers told the other, rummaging for his signaller. “We finally get out from under Quan’s thumb and be what we are meant to be”

  The other Butler, did not share his enthusiasm, and simply gave a stare.

  “We are servants of Eruda. The years under Maestro Quao prepare you for that, you knobhead. You go in without proper prep and-”

  “Yea, yea. Danger, bh bh bh. I’ve never seen it, myself”

  “Because everyone does as they are meant to! You’ve never seen it because nobody has gone against the rules while you were watg!”“Tsk, you are such a daddy’s boy and he’s not even your father”

  The first Butler hit the button ahe bea, while the sed glowered and crossed his arms. Subvocalizing a harmony so as to guide him to the Kitsunes ed nearby just in case the whole situatio really downhill…

  ---

  “That’s a big rock” Kiko muttered, staring at the huge Megalith that formed in a cavern within the cave.

  “A Megalith, an anchor of the p’s leylihat’s some real magic routing through there. You, sure that’s where you o go?” Quan asked, ed for Kiko. The fact that this was what caused him , and not a potential fight to the death with someone who had already killed his brother-in-arms, did give her some trepidation. So she pulled out her map, and it zoomed in on and to show her that yes, this was exactly where she was meant to be.

  “Apparently” Kiko would reply, exhaling and taking her neckce off.

  “Fine runesmanship” Quan ented, looking at it as Kiko ha to him to hold.

  “Kitsunes adapt pretty well to their issues. I only know about this pce because the progenitor of the whole issue came by and told me” Kiko stated, stepping forward into it.

  “You really going to drop that bombshell right now?” Quan asked, ughing.

  “Ha. How’s this for a bombshell? She knew a guy that was around at the beginning of the Universe”

  And then, before he could do anything more than splutter or question the validity of such a cim, she stepped up to the stone, and put her hand on it. A few seds passed, and she frowned.

  “Am I meant to-” she started before the stohrumbed, and stuck her to the rock like a mag. Sheer, unbridled ped through her, showihe ework it was ected to. She was everything, she was the p. She was infinite, she was divine. Her body roiled and twisted, shifting as the energy oozed into her, took note of the old but familiar work within her soul, and corrected it so that it would shine in perfe once again. Imperfe was an affront to the Queen Of Blood, after all.

  And then it was over, and she staggered away from the rock, gasping and staggering. Her head swum with a vision that refused to bee coherent, but was led there like a warm, happy duck. Her heart thumped in her chest, Quan’s heart thumbed in her ears, and the world roared in suoise she was going to go insane before a jolt from inside her shed out, and adjusted the volume knob to a more bearable level.

  “Woo!” She excimed, holding out her hands and bzing fire into life with nothing but i. Soul Speech fuckers!

  “It won’t st, so don’t get used to it, but yes. You’ve got power to burn right now” Quan replied, handing the neckce back to her.

  “Y-yeah! Yea, I, see that. Woo” she gasped, shaking head head and flourishiails. She’d grown another one in the process, which reinforced that bit that she read about them beiernal ste capacitors for your Mana. “I think, I walk” she stated, staggering a little before making for the mouth of the cave to get some fresh air. Quan followed, humor on his face falling away as two dozen soldiers were waiting outside. Assault Rifles and body armour, they were not here for the sight seeing.

  “La trei. We wish no flict with you or the Orchestra. If you would allow us to simply fufill our tract, we will be on our way” one of the men at the front stated. Quan’s face harde that, though Kiko was still buzzed.

  “What’s your tract? I’m full of energy right now! Magnaomouse Kiko!” she excimed, letting out a ugh and staggering a bit as her leg seemed to shorten three inches.

  “Capture and deliver a four tail Blood Moon Kitsuhe man would reply, with such icy fidehat Kiko just stared.

  “Ahh. Cool” Kiko would state, before snapping out her hand aing out an overfed Aeros. Taking a deep breath as Quan shifted and put a hand over his sword, she felt the roiling beloulled it to the surface. One of the soldiers shot at her, and she just drifted out of the way, a leaf on the wind.

  Her body was so fast right now, it flowed at thought itself. And so, while her new friend inted ‘Sword’s Symphony, Third Verse’ she would think to kill the foe in front of her. And her beautiful new body obeyed.