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Chapter 3

Sun and Moon sneak out of the castle well before sunrise the next day. They booth dress in darkest monochrome rob to help them hide from the shogun and his footmen in the front yard. Moon climbs the wall on the west end of the fortress and helps her brother over in turn. Once outside the two of them find their way back to Wind's home in short order. The need for adventure having overtaken them the two feel a need to see Shinto Valley for themselves just as Wind new that they would.

Sun jumps in through Wind's window as Moon stands watch "No funny stuff, get Wind and let's get going, I want to be at the church before dawn bell rings." Moon whispers scolding.

"What do you mean 'funny stuff'?" Sun ask as he drops down into the room.

Winds is sound asleep laying on her back. in the warm summer night she has kicked her blanket down so it only covers her feet and has pulled open her nightgown unintentionally showing off her bright white fur from breast to knee to anyone that happens to be looking at her.

Sun stares at his childhood friend for a short time admiring her newly formed feminine traits. Sun reaches down and in a childish gesture places one finger on the meat of her noise and flicks it down. Wind gasp and pushes herself upright and back into the wall at the head of her bed. Her heart is racing from the shock of waking and it takes her a moment to piece together that she is in her room and that Sun is standing over her. Once Wind knows where she is and what is going on she picks up her pillow and slaps Sun with it.

Sun pulls one hand before his face to stop the attack, and then speaks up "we are going to Shinto Valley."

Wind pulls her nightgown shut and smiles "I thought we might be" she stands up and walks around her less then tidy room searching for an outfit "I have a rope and some hooks in the shed alongside my house, we will need that and..." she picks up a three peace rod and the shoulder-sling she keeps it in "I hope I don't need this." Wind throws the staff on her bed.

Wind quickly strips out of her nightgown and puts on the same green robe she war yesterday, plus a pair of armguards and laggings.

In short order the kids are back on the road, Sun with the 100 yards of rope tied to his chest and Wind with the climbing tools stuffed into a satchel on her hip. Before sunrise but as the blue-black sky is starting to show the first whisper of red the three adventures find their way up the steps to the church and start to walk the thin walkway around the outside there of.

The three kids look down in wonder at the pit below and marvel at the idea that there are trees at the bottom that look so tiny from there vantage, moon is the one to break the silence "you would think that the river would have flooded this place years ago."

Wind responds as Sun is untying the rope form his chest "maybe some sort of honeycomb network of caves has been displacing the water to other sides of the island."

Moons ears lower as she looks up "you mean that this is the sources of all the rivers around here?"

Sun hands part of the rope off to Wind and she stats beading the climbing hooks into it "maybe?" Sun adds. "how fare down do you think it is?"

Wind looks at Sun and with a touch of uncertainty in her voice clames "170 paws"

Moon looks round on the ground and picks up a rock "someone once told me a rock falls at 100 paws per second so, if we drop a stone and start counting in 'High Shoguns' we can guess the depth of a hole by waiting for the thud."

The three nod in understanding to one another, Moon drops the rock and the three start counting aloud.

"One, High Shogun"

"Two, High Shogun"

"Three, High Shogun"

"Four..." *ting*

Moon watches the others waiting for their longer sharper ears to count the distance, "Do we need more rope?" Moon ask.

Sun looks at wind "how many times did the rock bounce?"

"five times I think." Wind looks at him

Sun nods "then it started rolling. There is in incline part way down the bluff."

Wind looks at Moon "you once bragged about being the best climber in the land. prove it." Wind hands over the tools and pats her on the back.

Moon feeling hotheaded picks up the rope and gets down on all fours, she grabs onto the side of the bluff and starts to crawl down the wall head first. Moon's dexterity is exceptional. Within an hour she has done as told scaling the wall and nailing spicks into it creating a path for the other to fallow. Sun reaches down to pick up Moon by the hips and spins around hugging her "amazing, no one is more nibble then my twin sister."

Looking about the three adventurers find that at the base of the bluff plants are not like they are in the sun soaked world above, yes some of the larger plants are the same, trees and shrubs but tiny flowers are not. The flowers cut around trees highlighting roads with some form of bioluminescents. Moon seems hypnotized by the glowing flowers fallows them into the deep.

The teem fallows Moon to a cave mouth that has a wood and metal door covering it with a key hole in the shape of a hand, two small for any rabbit, but looks like Moon with her child like body may be able to us it.

Pulled by a higher power Moon outstretches a hand reaching for the door, Sun grabs her. "No!" sun proclaims. "Doors like this are 'Shinto' only to be opened by priest."

Moon looks up at her brother "Do you see any priest around?"

Wind looks over "what do you think is in hear" she kneels down looking at the door.

"Shinto hide secrets from other worlds. Whatever is here is here because it is to frightful to let roam free" Sun turns to walk away. "we have seen enough of this world. It is time to go back to our own."

A dark wind blows by seemingly making the trees and flowers turn to face the children. A voice whispers to them from the trees, that of a woman, older and soft, "Come children, I have such stories to tell."

Possessed by the voice Moon slides her hand into the door and unlocks it. the door opining is surprisingly unceremonious, no lights, no wind, no unholy sound. The room hidden by the door is clearly a home, lite by candles and a fire place. There is a rack of stretched leather, a chest, a chair and a book case, there is a spice table with over a dozen unmarked bottles resting on it, and what looks like nine ringed bo propped on one wall with a birds' head cast in bronze atop it.

A women that looks much lick Moon steps into sight from a back room. She has tan fur and short sharp ears, a long noise and a long tail, she is wrapped in a red robe with a green cummerbund like sash tied around her waist, and she has a bronze chain around her neck and a pendant gold with a red stone in it, atop her noise sits a par of spectacles, her soft smooth features tell she can't be but a hand full of years older than Moon but something about her speaks of ages, possible grater then that of the shogun.

The woman in red speaks to them "Sun, the only child of Kuro, Wind the stoneworker, and Moon the Weever. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jessica the Weever."

"Majo Akuma!" Sun proclaims as he reaches for his sword "Demon witch." Sun rushes forth to smite the monster.

With a flick of her hand Jessica pushes Sun back with a supernatural force, Jessica whispers to herself "why does that happen to me so often." Jessica looks to Wind "would you like to try also?"

Wind asks Jessica "what are you?"

"Now that is not simple of a question at all. I am A: gnostic theist, A Kobolt, a women, a mother, a bard, an enchantress,... Homo Vermina would be my name in Tenshi, I'm a martial artist of sorts, a Buddha. Which of these things interest you?"

Moon cuts in "Kobolt! What is this word? What does it mean?"

Jessica lowers her eyes "that is what you and I are called. That is our race."

Moon stands strong "I am a Usagi, daughter of the Shogun"

"Look at your ears my child, your tail, your noise. Do they look like the noise tail and ears of any of the other Usagi?"

"no."

"you can walk up shear walls and pick up things with your tail can you not?"

"I can"

"you can smell the blood of the people around you, you know when they are ill days before they do and you know if food is spoiled without needing to taste it."

"yes."

"can you identify a coin by touch alone?"

"yes."

"and you stand eye to eye with me at only three paws tall. These are all things that a Kobolt is and a Usagi is not. Do you also have a spot on your backside where hear will not grow that looks like a swallow?"

"I am not going to answer that."

Sun finds his way back to his feet "Jessica the Weever, are you Moons mother?"

"no, only the women that gave birth to her."

Sun tips his head "then that is yes?"

"the word 'mother' means more than just the womb that carries. Her mother is your mother."

Sun rubs his neck "and who fathered Moon."

"emaculate. She has not father."

Wind rolls her eyes "asexual reproduction? Is that common?"

Jessica clarifies "unheard of."

"how?" Moon ask

"I was impregnated by golden sand."

There is a strange uneasy gaze that last for a long moment before Sun speaks up "you will forgive me if I find it hard to believe that my twin sister was born to a mother that is not my own and via magical conception."

"your twin? No, your twin is dead. The girl that stands next to you was on the other hand." Sun starts to reach for his sword again in frustration. Jessica looks to him "please don't."

Sun lowers his head "the purging. The year I was born my father had ordered a mass killing. Mother told me, Moon is my sister, and she escaped the purging."

Jessica waves to her chair. "come children, we have much to talk about."