A long walk home, a whole lot of grilling from her parents on why she ran off, more warnings about meddling with spirits, and then dinner. All in all, it has been a really long day. By nine pm, Niamh is ready for bed and has fallen, metaphorically speaking, onto her stiff and sturdy futon. Sleep comes all too quickly too, and what with those talismans in place, her underwear doesn't leap up and attack her in the middle of the night, either.
But, it is all not peaceful as Niamh finds herself waking up, probably sometime around three am. It's deathly quiet, and the air is a bit cool. As to why she wakes up, she isn't even sure at first. Then, she hears it, whispers of her name flowing along the air currents from somewhere outside.
"Not again.." the girls moans, wondering if she's ever going to get a full night's sleep. She sits up and looks towards the window to at least see if the moon is out.
The moon is out, yes, bright and full. The call comes again. Unlike before, this sound isn't coming from the forest, but much closer; the courtyard garden.
Getting up, Niamh remembers to grab her sickle - no matter what is going on outside, she may as well purify it in the moonlight. She doesn't have to open the window for that. But she does press her face as close to the glass as possible to look down into the garden.
No gaslights here, so shadows run deep in the garden below, cast long and cold by the moonlight. She cannot make much out, unfortunately.
So, she goes ahead and lights the room's candle and holds it up so that at least anything outside can see her, and take the hint to come out of the shadows.
Maybe the caller has no manners? Or maybe something else? Whatever the reason, no one steps into the moonlit areas, and she hears her name called again.
Niamh makes a come-hither gesture through the window. If the caller isn't going to show themselves, she'll just assume it's one of the spirits haunting the place.
Again, nothing happens, other than she hears her name called, again. If it is a ghost, it may have a lot more patience than Niamh does, being dead and all.
The girl sits back down with her back to the window, sets the candle down, and holds her sickle up to the moonlight. There's no spell or ritual to work, just the interaction of silver and moonlight to disperse the spirit she imbued it with earlier. It takes a few minutes, but she also wants to collect enough soft wax from burning the candle to plug her ears with.
The moonlight offers no advice as it dances across the metal instrument. As for collecting enough wax, it's a good thirty minutes before she has enough ... and that leaves her listening to something calling out her name, over and over.
"I never expected to be this popular," the girl notes, and stuffs the wax into her ears. Then she blows out the candle and tries to get back to sleep.
Nope, doesn't work. She can still hear her name being called, even through the wax. Her room is starting to get colder, too.
Pulling out the wax, Niamh goes to her chest and gets her robe out to wear over her nightgown. She then makes a slow circuit of her room to see if she can tell where the chill is coming from the strongest.
It seems to be coming from everywhere. Even her robe feels cold.
"I see I'm going to have to ask Miyuki if I can sleep at the shrine," Niamh mutters, and refuses to concede her robe.. for now. "There is a flaw in the wards.. or.. maybe there isn't.." If no outside Yokai energy can get through them, the chill must be coming from her energy somehow.
To go along with the call of her name, she starts feeling a tug at the core of her very being, to leave the room and come to the garden. IT's a disconcerting sort of feeling, really. Like the sort you get from falling out of a tree, and your stomach wanting to remain in the tree.
"Nooo, that's not me," she says, rubbing her arms now as she paces. "Miyuki said only higher Yokai like Noboru could get through the wards. So this must be something big. Would they have had something like that imprisoned here, or is it another predator?" She keeps working to try and warm herself up.
No answer, other than the pull getting worse and insistent, and her fingers are starting to go numb from the cold.
Now that her teeth are chattering, Niamh has stopped talking her herself out loud. She thinks back to cold nights outside under the moon, but this moon isn't very warming. Why does it want me to come to it though? she still tries to reason in her head. If it's strong enough to affect her through Miyuki's wards, couldn't it just come and get her? So, either it isn't strong enough, or has some sort of rules.. or it's not really getting cold. Just to test, Niamh stands near the shaft of moonlight streaming through the window, and exhales into it to see if her breath is fogging.
Not only does her breath fog, she can see twinkles of light reflecting in ice that forms in her breath. And dangit, there's that voice again, calling her name. It sounds ... plaintive?
"Grrrr," Niamh says through gritted teeth. She's really going to freeze in here.. but if she steps outside of the wards she might not be able resist the compulsion to go to the garden. But.. she has to see if it's cold out in the hallway at least. So she slides the door open and tentatively sticks out her left hand.
Mmmm, the hallway is nice and warm.
She lets her hand linger while she tries to think. If she can't leave the wards.. she has to try and bring them with her. Pulling back from the doorway (wow that is hard to do) she fumbles around for her circlet of yew branches, determined to stick the paper charms to it so she can wear them around her head.
It takes some doing, but turns out melted candle wax does a good job getting the wards stuck to the circlet. So, in short order she's able to wear her little paper crown. It looks ridiculous, really.
Feeling as prepared as she's likely to get, Niamh steps out into the hallway.
Oh, saints be praised, warmth! The cold numbness is replaced by pins and needles as feeling starts to return. Unfortunately, so does that feeling of being pulled, and Nimah soon finds herself walking without even thinking about it. And yes, she's going down the stairs, and ... likely to the garden.
"Not good," she mutters. So she tries to call out for help!
And so she calls out, and nothing replies. The world is dead-silent, and she lumbers on like some sort of demented zombie. At the bottom of the stairs she stops, then haltingly turns and heads out the back door and into the garden.
"Whoever is out there, I'm supposed to be training with a kitsune in the morning, so.. if I'm late he might wonder why!" she tries to warn whatever is out there calling her name. She can't even try to add her own energy to the warding charms without risking an explosion!
It doesn't seem to help as she lumbers out into the darkness, then in spite of any fighting, lumbers into the shadows. Up ahead, there is a great hole in the ground where a tree once stood. At least she's sort of sure a tree once stood there. Well, whatever it was, it's now a hole with a stairwell going down into pitch darkness.
"A way down to the evil basement," Niamh bemoans. "I'm still asleep. I'm still asleep.. I should have brought the candle.."
And she lumbers down the stairs and into darkness. Complete darkness. whack! ... oh yay, there are low beams down here and her head just found one. And sadly, even with a throbbing head, she lumbers on, deep into the bowels of whatever this place is.
To see if she can at least get some control she tries to hold her arms up to protect her head and face.
"No good, her arms just won't really listen. So, her forehead finds a few new beams as she goes. It smells ... wet down here. And musty. She can hear the dripping of water all around, too. And just when it seems like she may walk forever, she stops. And there she stands in the darkness...
"Hello?" she calls into the darkness, and now that she's stopped she tests her control (or lack thereof) again.
After minutes of darkness Niamh's eyes seem to adjust a little and she can make out shapes down here, misshapen and broken statue shadows are all around her, and she stands before a particularly large one with somewhat canine features.
"What do you want from me?" she asks, trying not to sound scared.
"Freedom," the answer echoes all around her. "Freedom from this prison which I was unjustly placed by those ... foxes that prance and preen at the Midori temple."
"I don't know how to undo whatever was done to hold you here," Niamh claims. "I really can't help you. I haven't even seen them prance or preen."
"Break the prison, the state that holds me," the voice claims, "And I will be free. I can reward you, of course, but is not righting such an injustice perpetrated by those ... creatures, a reward on its own? You cannot trust a fox, ever."
"I can't really trust someone who treats me like a puppet after trying to freeze me to death either," Niamh points out. If it needs her to break the prison.. and hasn't forced her to do it.. then it probably needs her actual cooperation. "You know my name, but haven't introduced yourself."
"I needed you to answer, and those foxes have convinced you not to listen to voices that need your help," the voice claims. "I have not harmed you. As for who I am, I am Koma-Inu, I used to guard this temple until the foxes became jealous and sealed us all away."
"That didn't have anything to do with the Heralds' daughter did it?" Niamh has to ask.
"Perhaps indirectly," the voice concedes. "But we had nothing to do with it."
"You say we.. how many of you are there?" Niamh asks. "And what manner of yokai are you?"
"/I am what my name says,/" the voice answers, "/There is myself, and my brothers, of course."
"I don't know what your name means," Niamh admits. "Are you dog spirits?"
"And you claim you do not know what my name means," the voice replies. "Since you know, then you know we are loyal to humans, unlike those tricksters. You can trust us. Help us and become our new Priestess; take the gifts we can give."
"I'm really trying to move away from the priestess thing," Niamh says. "How did the foxes trap you?"
"They live in illusions and lured us in here, then sealed us away," the voice claims. "And there is much honor in being hour Priestess, and much power. No one to tell you what to do anymore, or chide you for following your heart."
"That sounds suspicious," Niamh says. "Why did they do this? And don't tell me it was out of jealousy. Nobody ever wants to give me important details. I need to know in order to decide."
"But it was, simple as that. Out temple was worshipped more, and they disliked it. So, they got rid of us," the voice claims. "Have you ever known a dog to lie to a human?"
"Of course dogs lie to humans," Niamh claims. "They just look ashamed when they're caught is all. Are you going to release me, or hold me here until I agree to help you?"
"Why would I hold you? I want you to help us, I just needed for you to meet us first," the voice claims, softly. Then there's a growl; it starts off slow at first and the room gets darker, and darker and that growl gets louder, and louder ... until Niamh realizes she's hearing hersel snore, and she's all wrapped up in her blanket!
"Is it morning at least?" she mutters, and unravels herself enough to look at the window.
It's bright, warm, and birds are chirping! So, yes, it's morning. Seems it was a dream, as her wards are were she first put them, and are not glued to her head.
"I shall tell Miyuki of your flaw," she tells the wards, and even wags a finger at them. She then tries to put herself into some kind of order, but decides to just wear her 'gardening' clothes instead: baggy trousers that are probably older than she is, a plain shapeless blouse and some flat-soled boots that actually fit. And a ponytail hides many hair sins. She also remembers to grab her brush before heading down to see if there's anything to eat yet.
There's some rice, er, gruel, ready to eat. Her father is face down on the table, snoring, and her mother is nowhere to be seen. Mr. Tanaka is there too and informs her that her parents were kept up late due to some loud noise coming from a room nearby. Horrible snoring, they called it.
"Yes.. kept me up too.." Niamh mutters, then shovels gruel into her mouth to try and finish before her father wakes up. "Can you tell my father to look into whether the old shrine had Koma-inu as guardians?" she asks Mr. Tanaka. "I have to meet the Miko this morning." It's not exactly a lie.. she'll probably run into Miyuki.
"Of course," Mr. Tanaka replies and bows to Niamh. "Do be careful and do not pester those at the temple too much."
"Oh, they'll barely know I'm there, sir," Niamh promises before hurrying out of the inn. She doesn't run, but does set a brisk pace, keeping an eye out for old women trying to throw water at her. It hasn't happened yet but she respects the random maliciousness of old women.
There is no accosting of old women on the way to the Temple; mostly just glares and muttering amongst the locals. Even going up the stairs doesn't make her seem to tingle as much as it did the first time. As per current 'tradition' so far, Noboru is lounging on top of the last Torii gate, completely flopped on his belly, legs and tails hanging down on each sides of the gate.
"Hey, I'm here!" Niamh calls to the fox. "What do you know about the Koma-inu at the old shrine?"
One of Noboru's eyes open. "Not a name I have heard in a long time," he remarks without even lifting his head. "Dog demons. There is no love lost between the Kitsune and those filthy beasts."
"Yes, they despise you as well," Niamh points out. "And you haven't answered my question about what you know about them. Did your family imprison them there?"
"The issues between my family and theirs are not your concern or problem," Noboru notes, still laying like a slug upon the Torii gate. "We drove them out a long time ago; the few that remained were sealed away for the protection of all."
"Not sealed very well, since they got to me last night," Niamh says, and taps the side of her head. "In my dreams, Noboru! It was horrible! So it is my concern since they seem to want me to release them!"
Noboru lifts his head this time to actually look directly at Niamh for an uncomfortably long and quiet time. "That should not be possible," he notes, ears flicking. "Did you release them?"
"What? No!" Niamh says and actually flaps her arms. "They're underground! The passage is under one of the garden trees, I think. But that's not the issue. How am I supposed to get any sleep there now? What did they do?"
"You get sleep by closing your eyes and sleeping?" Noboru suggests. "And ignore weird dreams? They did ... inu things, which are unpleasant and unspeakable."
"What.. wait, what do you consider unpleasant and unspeakable?" Niamh asks. "Did they treat humans with respect?"
"To the point of twisting humans to obey them. It was unnatural," Noboru notes with disgust. "Among other things. They started horrors of fox hunts, too."
"So.. you admit that they could actually catch foxes?" Niamh asks, wide-eyed. "I asked if they had anything to do with your sister, and got 'indirectly' as an answer."
"Fox hunt," Noboru remarks, and his tails start to twitch agitatedly.
"I'm confused," Niamh admits. "You are kitsunes. Masters of illusion, deception and mischief! It is inconceivable to me that you could be hunted by mere humans. Or were the Koma-inu doing the hunting? They claimed you tricked them into being trapped, so.."
"It is not a topic I wish to discuss," Noboru comments. "Now, other matters, have you decided upon our discussion from yesterday?"
"If I agree to be taught by you, will you be able to help me defend or hide myself from all these things that want to eat me or make me do things?" Niamh asks.
"Mmmm, probably," Noboru notes. "It depends on your own skill, and that which is hunting you."
"At this exact moment you are the only one I am confident is not hunting me," Niamh says, and produces her brush. "I brought my brush, so.. I suppose that is my answer."
"Mmm, is Miyuki hunting you then? Or my parents'?" Noboru inquires. The fox-creature then looks at the brush, and manages a smile ... which should not be possible for muzzles.
"I am uncertain about Miyuki," Niamh admits. "I need to ask her a really big favor too. Is there any advice.. you.. can.. give.. uh.." She trails off when she notices the smile.
"Uncertain about what? What is the favor?" Noboru inquires.
"I was hoping I could sleep over at the shrine tonight," Niamh says. "That is.. does anyone actually live here? I know Miyuki had a room where she makes the charms, but I figured she lived with her family."
"She lives here," Noboru notes. "And I sleep here too. So do the heralds. Generally, though, unless you serve here, you cannot sleep here over night."
"But.. I'm your student now, aren't I?" Niamh asks. "Where do you sleep?"
"Right here," the lounging kitsune notes. "You can ask Miyuki if she will let you stay, but I would not get your hopes up."
"Well.. I'll just have to ask her then," Niamh says. "Now, why did you have bring a brush?"
"Because your first duty to learn from me is you have to brush me completely," Noboru comments as he stretches out, then hops off the gate. "And I do mean completely. All tails, back, belly, butt, everything."
"This.. is the brush I have to use for my own hair," Niamh notes with a sinking feeling. "How will this help me, exactly? Do wild yokai brush each other?"
"Why is it a problem it's the same brush you use on your own hair?" Noboru has to ask. "As for why, because I want you to. Simple as that."
"Is this how all of my training is going to be?" Niamh says, before sighing and kneeling next to the kitsune. "Where do I start?" she asks.
Noboru flops onto his side, then rolls onto his back. "You can start on my belly," the kitsune notes and chuckles. Er, everything is now on display.
Is very careful with the brush. There could be bizarre nipples hidden under that fluff. She also brushes towards his neck. Which direction is belly fur supposed to go? "So.. is there a special use for kitsune fur?" she asks, wondering how much is getting stuck in her brush.
Fluff is going everywhere as Niamh brushes, and well, all she can smell right now is fox. And somehow, Noboru is even purring and looking rather pleased with himself. After a bit of brushing it seems it probably should go from neck to rump in direction, lest it gets even puffier. HEr brush is also quite full of white fluff too. "You should feel honored to be touching it," the kitsune claims. Right when she has the brush lower down on Noboru, Miyuki comes out. She starts to say something in Japanese, it sounds like a question, then she stops and stares at Niamh and Noboru ... and where it looks like her hand is. "Excuse me!" Miyuki practically squeaks, turns, and runs back inside!
Noboru breaks out into barking laughter!
Niamh just looks confused, then suddenly realizes.. "I'm not riding him!" she blurts to Miyuki, and holds up the brush. "This.. is my first lesson.."
Miyuki is long gone by the time Niamh says anything, and Noboru is shaking because he's laughing so hard. "That couldn't have worked better if I had planned it!" he wheezes out. Four fluffy tails come up and wrap around Niamh, then pulls her down and against him, pitting her eye to eye with him. "Lesson one, have a sense of humor," he notes, then licks her nose.
"Does Miyuki have one?" Niamh asks hopefully.. before she tries to tickle Noboru's ribs.
Tickling through fluff proves difficult! "You will have to find the answer out to that yourself," the yokai notes as he shimmers. A minute later, Niamh finds herself pulled against a very naked, humanoid, Noboru.
"Hah, I'm wearing clothes this time," Niamh says triumphantly. It's not like she can see anything if she's pressed against him. "Has Miyuki seen you like this?" she then asks.
"Often?" Noboru says and looks a little confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, I was going to call her over to spank you if she hadn't.." Niamh claims.
This makes Noboru snort. "I outrank her here," he points out. "She wouldn't dare."
"Do you outrank me?" Niamh asks, turning the brush front-to-back in her hand.
"Of course," Noboru comments. "Miyuki outranks you, and I outrank her. Simple hierarchy."
"So I can't do this?" Niamh asks, and 'lightly' spanks Noboru with the back of the brush.
Noboru actually growls. My, what sharp teeth he has, even when being human-ish. "You shouldn't do that, no," he notes.
"Don't you have a sense of humor?" Niamh asks with a big grin of her own.
This makes Noboru snort, and shift back to his natural form. He also lets her go and rolls on his belly now. "Back and tails," he instructs.
"Miyuki will come back eventually won't she?" Niamh asks, brushing back to rump this time. She isn't sure how to handle the tails.. her arms aren't long enough. "Was she upset with me or with you?"
"You will have to ask her. And I doubt she will come back anytime soon. She usually takes a bath in about an hour from now, after her morning chores are complete," Noboru notes.
"You have a bath here?" Niamh asks. Maybe if she tackles a tail in sections...
"Of course we have a bath here. We are not barbarians," Noboru mutters.
"Do you ever use it?" the girl asks, and quickly ammends, "When you're in human-ish form, I mean. Can you wash your tails though, or do you have to use your magic trick to dry them?" She definitely decides to work in sections, rather than try to do a continuous stroke over the full length of a tail.
"I have used it, and of course I have washed my tails. You wash your head do you not? It is not that different, just more of them," Noboru notes as he actually keeps his tails still. "And yes, I use magic to dry them."
"So do you bathe with your family?" Niamh asks, looking for something to talk about while she brushes.. and brushes.. and brushes. "Do you brush Miyuki's hair?"
"Sometimes," Noboru answers, and leaves it at that. "Why all the questions about what I do?"
"Because you live with humans," Niamh says. "Where I come from, the forest spirits don't really associate with mortals, except under very special circumstances involving crossroads and challenges.. and me. I'm a special circumstance. Do they feed you?"
"They leave me offerings, yes," Noboru notes, emphasis on offerings. "Such is common in these lands, were were are worshipped, as is proper."
"And what do you do for your worshipers?" the girl asks, switching to the next tail.
"Honor them with my presence," Noboru answers as if that should be plainly obvious. "And negotiate for them with the heralds."
"Negotiate what, for example?" Niamh asks, and pauses to shake out her wrist. "My arm is getting tired."
"You're not even half done," Noboru notes, opening one eye. "For various things. Inari is the Goddess of the fields, and saki, so sometimes people wish her favor upon their fields. Or they wish their children to be blessed and protected. Then there are times they wish forgiveness for breaking celestial law."
"I'm not used to brushing tails as long as I am tall," Niamh claims. "What are the celestial laws? Are they written down?"
"The laws are the laws," Noboru notes, as if that should be completely obvious and answer the question.
"That.. doesn't help me to know what they are, you know," Niamh points out. "Does Miyuki know them all?"
"Of course. She in young, but she has known them since birth," Noboru answers and closes his eyes. And errant tail wraps all about Niamh. Mmm, fox smell.
"I don't see how that could be possible," Niamh notes, and doesn't fight the tail-wrapping. If they're wrapped around he, she can't be expected to also brush them. "When can I go talk to her?" she asks her teacher.
"Mmm, that depends on when you'll feel comfortable trying to explain you weren't trying to give me a happy ending," Noboru remarks with huffing laughter.
"A what? I wasn't telling you a fairy tale," Niamh notes. "I was grooming you!"
"You aren't that innocent," Noboru notes, "Amusing try, though."
"Oh.. your idioms are.. different, is all," Niamh says as she blushes. "Fairies don't call it that."
"Why are you so obsessed over Miyuki-chan?" Noboru has to ask. "I am far more regal."
"Because I like having human friends when I can manage it," Niamh claims. "Which isn't very often. She's used to weird things, so shouldn't find me weird."
Noboru lifts his head and just looks at Niamh for a bit. When he lowers his head, he just mutters something in Japanese.
"That's rather rude," Niamh says. "If I said something wrong you should say so instead of insult me when I can't understand it."
"Why do you assume it is an insult?" Noboru asks. "Your language is awkward and lacks nuance."
"Give me your paw then," Niamh says, holding out her hand. "Do not resist, and I will be able to speak your language for a time."
"That's cheating," Noboru notes, "You should take effort and time to learn to speak with another, not ... this." Grumbling, he still lifts one paw anyway.
Taking the kitsune's paw, Niamh tries her little spirit-trick to temporarily learn Japanese.
There's a twitch, then a rush! Touching someone that, well, old, and reading them makes Niamh see stars and her mind swirls! It's almost as bad as when she tried a small cup of grog on the long voyage over, only this time she at least hasn't thrown up.
"Ugh," the girl says as she swoons. "You are figuratively intoxicating," she tries saying in Japanese. Her accent can't be any worse than the one she has when speaking English, she hopes.
Noboru winces a little. "Terrible inflection," he replies, "But, adequate."
"I'm just a fairy, you must excuse me some things," Niamh says. "But now you can properly recite poetry to me."
That makes Noboru laugh. "/Should you not go see about sleeping arrangements?" he remarks a bit dryly.
"Yes, before Miyuki takes her bath!" Niamh agrees, and tries to extricate herself from Noboru's tails. "I do not think she will want to see me once she starts.."