Welcome To The Society: Journey To The Unknown
"Stop it!" the small human girl shrieked as her three elder brother taunted a fox caught in one of the many bear traps that littered the forest. The males children only chuckled and continued their taunting, even going as far as to get sticks to poke the poor creature. The twelve year old female began to cry as the red furred creature whimpered in pain. She charged at the younger of her brothers, hoping to shove him out of the way to at least put herself between the animal and her siblings, even though she knew that the blows would continue even if they fell upon her. But the male turned just in time to catch her by the wrists and shove her into a tree quite roughly.
She searched for something to help her and found a sturdy branch that had fallen upon the ground and been forgotten by it's former owner that grew only a few feet away. She raised her makeshift cudgel and charged once again, hitting the youngest of her sibling in the base of the neck, eliciting a short gasp of pain and a sickening crunch as the vertebrae in his spine crunched and broke, killing him almost instantaneously. The two other children stopped and stared at her before they began backing away slowly, only hurrying their step as she brandished the club at them as if she would do the same to them.
After the boys had left she began her work on releasing the fox, who stopped squirming and even held still as she ever so slowly opened the tightly clamped iron that kept the animal trapped. Finally with a groan the metal opened enough for the fox to squeeze it's leg out of the trap. The fox stared at her with brilliant storm grey eyes, eyes that seemed to intelligent to belong to a feral animal like it. It walked up to her, licked her hand and bolted off into the darkness of the forest that it had came from.
_-_-_-_
She walked through the forest with an exhausted gait, knowing that since she had killed her brother that she could not go home, where most likely her other brothers had already told them of the events that had transpired, of the death of their youngest son and of how he had died. So she had followed the fox that she had freed, having a feeling that somehow there would be safety somewhere deep in the forest that nobody knew how far it went. Most people didn't even come within the shadows of the forest out of fear of what tales the people of her small village told, of creatures that could go from man to animal, of birds whose siren cries led males to their untimely death, and of creature who captured females to keep them as a bride for their kind never could find one another.
She slumped against a large tree, the smooth bark cool against her hot skin. She looked up into the dark canopy of the trees that surrounded her, trees that looked almost exactly like the ones that she had passed earlier, only having a vague feeling that she was headed in the direction she wished, away. She turned her gaze back to the path, her eyes going wide as she saw something that did not belong in a place so forbidden, so forgotten as this. She walked into a glade that held only a large, flat boulder made of black and grey speckled rock. On top of the 'stone table' sat a red dress, made of what looked like fox fur. She walked slowly and cautiously towards the rock over the trimmed grass, though she didn't even realize that the grass looked anything other then normal as she was enamored by the dress that looked to be just the right size for her.
As she reached the rock she took another cautious look around the clearing, finding much to her surpries the same fox that she had saved only a few hours before. The animal stared at her before it tilted it's head quizzically, as though it was asking her whether she would take the clothing that lay just within her reach. She watched the fox for a few more moments before she reached over an touched the stone almost reverently before she picked up the dress and slipped it on, sighing contently as the furry dress fit her form almost perfectly. She closed her eyes and smiled for a few minuets before she opened her eyes, finding that the fox had disappeared from her sight once more.
The young female yawned as she felt her exhaustion wash over her like a wave of water, washing any other thought out of her mind other then to sleep. She climbed up onto the table and curled up, hugging her knees to her chest as she felt the cold, dark, numbness of sleep wash away the events of the day.
_-_-_-_
She awoke to the sun settling it's warm rays down on her body, warming her already warm body to the point of uncomfortableness. She rolled over and opened her eyes, letting her mind catch up with what had happened the past day. She stiffened as she heard voices talking only a few feet away, hearing quite distinctly. "Shhh, she wakes." from her right. Opened her eyes further and gasped at what she saw. She raised what used to be her hand and found a paw, a red furred paw. She looked down further and was met with similar sights, the red furred body of a fox and a bristling, red and white tail that lashed in agitation, or rather surprise as she realized that she was no longer a human, but a fox!
She attempted to stand on her four legs, to at least be able to move but only managed to fall back on her side, after a few tries she managed to stand up somewhat steadily on the smooth rock surface before she lifted her right forepaw and placed it warily before she made the rest of her first step as a fox. After she practiced walking in circles she jumped down off of the table, landing with a very ungraceful thud as she hit the soft dirt. She looked on more time around the lit clearing before she made her way into the forest, only that she was stopped by a creature that formerly resided only in fairy tales, an animal that walked on two legs, though this particular Were-Man was in the form of a fox. The former human sniffed the air, getting a scent that smelled tantilizingly familiar. She continued her survey of the unmoving creature before her eyes rested on brilliant storm grey eyes that looked just as intelligent as they had the day before.
The Fox-man reached towards her feral muzzle and scratched the fur there, sending shivers down her spine. But as she watched the hand-paw draw away she felt the shiver spread through her body, turning into a burning sensation that made her give out a yip of pain before she felt her four legs give out beneath her as she became wracked with the pain. As soon as the pain was there it left, leaving her on the ground sobbing. She didn't even notice as she stood back up on two legs until she felt cool air go over her face with no fur covering it.
She opened her eyes and gasped as she saw herself once more as a human, her hands small, wearing the red furred dress. But she realized that her body had undergone changes. Her formerly raven black hair was now flaming red. She was slightly shorter and her sight was sharper. She could now smell the things that made the forest a forest. The growing trees and ferns, the earthy scent of the dirt and decaying leaves and other plant life. She also heard small mammals running through the forest, as well as the barking of dogs that reminded her once more that she was running from the people she had once called friends.
"Come." the Fox-Man growled out rather then said as he motioned her to follow, dispelling any thoughts that she had about the creature. She followed closely behind him as they walked back under dark confines of the canopies that she had walked under for what felt like endless hours. He glanced back without breaking his slow stride. "So what is your name?" it asked before it turned it's gaze back to the path that only it seemed to see. After a few minuets of her silence it glanced back curiously at her. "There's no need to be afraid, you saved me so now I'm saving You."
"Aellai." the small female girl said rather quietly as she continued walking, keeping her gaze on the forest floor as though she expected it to open up and swallow her for what she had done. The Were-man sighed.
"My name's Aaron, when we get where we're going, I'm going to have to explain the situation to the elders, no doubt they won't have any problems with you being there. After this is explained they will tell you the rest of what you will need to know, they will also test where you will be put in The Society, be smart, be quick, and be intelligent and you will be fine." He said before he picked her up and dashed off, heading further into the endless darkness of the forest that hid them from pursuers that were closer then was healthy.
_-_-_-_
The young girl writhed on the stone floor of her cell, hitting the back of her head on the wall and scraping her skin raw for what felt like the umpteenth time. She hated what had been done to her, hated the transformations that she couldn't even control, hated the damned dress that caused all of the problems that she couldn't take off. And even if she could the elders had said that the magic that had been imbued into the dress that caused the magical transitions was permanent and couldn't be undone unless the maker of the dress did, and as far as they knew he was dead.
Finally she felt the pain and the burning caused by the juvenile transitions subside. She opened her eyes only to reveal herself as the feral fox once more. She looked behind her and sighed at the twin tails that had given her the position in the clan that was feared by all, Kitsune, Soul Stealer, Magic User, all of these was what she had been called by those who had condemned her to this cell until she became used to the shape shifting and learned to control it. The twin tails and fox ears now haunted all of her forms, the feral fox, the anthromorphic half-human, and the full human form. It was the sign of the position that she couldn't escape. They had said that a Kitsune was one of the highest ranking positions in The Society, but she knew what it was really. She was going to be a tool, a multiple tailed fox who dealt death with the spells passed down from ages of her rare kind that were meant for all things, healing and hurting.
In the end there was nothing she could do for now but accept that which had been thrust upon her. But all she could do was think about what would be left for her after she was out of here. Years of training, years that would do nothing other then make her forget what she had once been and learn that which she was now, something that she didn't want to be. She heaved a sigh and closed her now blood red eyes, eyes that were also the sign of a Kitsune. She growled as the name went through her head once more. She needed to stop thinking about this otherwise she was going to drive herself insane with her own constant irate rambling that went through her head. Aellai let her mind wander, back to when she had been just human, when the only thing expected of her was to be a child and grow up. But times changed faster then she thought.
There was the tell tale grinding of stone being released from the solid wall as the door into her cell became a door once more, turning from a solid grey wall into a wooden door, transformed by the key that only two people had. She let her eyes open to slits as a plate of food was slid in before the door closed with a resounding thud, before the grinding of stone was returned to the cell, quickly turning into silence. The Fox-Girl sighed once more before glared at the plate of raw meat, not even moving to eat the tantalizing treat before she let herself drift into the oblivion of sleep that was the only place that seemed to be kind to her.
*There you go guys, a short story that, if given a good reception, may turn into a decent series. Until then I hope you guys enjoy the read.