FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter -2- Bound by Emotions

Saturday, July 29, 2049 - 10am CEST Paris, France ...

"Reno," said Karla, the blond-haired, green-eyed succubus."Yes, you, Mister. Stop zapping my house with lightning bolts. Every day this week, I swear to God."

"Hey," said Reno Nevada. He had short dark hair and wore brand name gym clothes with sweat stains beneath the arms and around his collar. "Wednesday doesn't count. That's the day some 'god' apparently zapped me awake - still a little foggy on the details, there. Thursday afternoon was definitely me. Sorry."

"And yesterday. And just a few minutes ago. I haven't asked why, but I'd sure like to know why you keep zapping my house and scaring Kuda."

"I can't believe you still have that little weasel pet after all these years," Reno said. He slinked off an elliptical and dropped onto a chair adjacent to a weight bench. "God this sucks. I used to be in good shape."

"First of all, Kuda is a Shinto spirit messenger fox, not a weasel."

"Whatever. He looks like some sort of ferret with a long tail." A tired grin crept across Reno Nevada's face. He leaned back in the chair, sighed and said, "I need to keep busy and heal. That psycho," he said, referring to Aris Falcon, "has done something to Nicky's head. I can't even think straight. All I can do is focus on getting back in shape. I'm angry. I think about everything that happened and then..."

"...My house pays the price for it, Reno. Stop zapping my house and causing the lights to flicker. You're getting all emotional when that stuff wasn't your fault."

"I know you acted like we were your team, Karla. But I acted like you guys were_my_ team. I let everyone down. Nichole attacked me and I just stood there. Like an idiot. I let everyone down," he repeated. "I didn't even try to fight."

Karla opened her mouth to protest but couldn't bring herself to say something that might cause further upset. She offered Reno a sad expression. The succubus pinched her nose gently at the bridge between her eyes. It was bad enough Topaz hated her, now; Karla decided to think before speaking this time around. After a moment, she simply said, "Stop blaming yourself. There were a lot of us. We all failed."

"So now what?"

"I found you some good ole fashion steak and potatoes. They're in the fridge for later."

"That's what I'm talking about. What else? We can't just sit here and sulk. What's the plan - what's next?"

She offered him a shrug and waved her hand at a chair on the other end of the gym. It vanished then appeared adjacent to his chair. She dropped into it and put her legs up across his lap, ankles crossed. "It's time you meet everyone else."

"You've been a little vague about that, Karla. Who else is involved right now? Yesterday you mentioned Conner but then you said he's missing."

"He left the same day he arrived - Wednesday. He's on a plane."

"Where?"

"Well, they had a lot of things on their list. They wanted to go to Europe and find some artifact. They also wanted to go to Japan."

"Who, Karla? Stop being vague."

"Sorry. I'm just emotionally tired. I'm _not_trying to keep things from you, okay?"

"Okay," Reno said with a sigh. "Then who is our team this time?"

"Conner is headed to Europe and Japan with Sinopa, James Parker, and some girl named Dawn..." Karla trailed off with a frown. "Come to think of it, I didn't get Dawn's last name. All I know is that Tamamo currently possesses her body."

Reno replied with a blank stare. "I'm not really following all this Days of Our Lives shit. I need to meet this people in order to know who is who. I mean, of course I remember Sinopa. She was the Japanese Shinto spirit fox chick, right? The one with fire, yeah?"

"A kitsune," Karla said, pronouncing the word, 'Keet-s'nay.'

"Right. That's right, I remember now. A kitsune," he replied, mispronouncing the word, 'kit-soon.'

"If you're going to say it, say it right. Anyway, Tamamo-no-Mae was her spiritual sensei. Tamamo was stuck in the Celestial Realm because her physical body was slain here on Earth back in the mid-1150's. She's got to possess a body in order to stay here. The Celestial Realm came under attack. She bailed out and is hiding in Dawn's body. Dawn is James' betrothed. James is Conner's uncle. Conner is dating Tamamo."

"Stop with the General Hospital, Karla."

"Ugh," she said, throwing her hands up. "You remember me telling you Conner is a fifteen year old boy, right?"

"Yeah."

Karla folded her arms. "Well, Tamamo is hiding in the body of the his uncle's girlfriend."

"Now I think we're getting somewhere. Damn. Was that so hard? Just keep the details simple."

Karla smirked. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Achy. But I'm glad my hair is growing back. It's the little things, y'know?"

"I know, babe." Karla reached forward and put her hands on his knees. "Have you had a good cry about Nichole yet?"

"What?!" Reno stood up and walked back to the elliptical.

Karla's legs dropped to the empty chair. She sighed in frustration.

REno pulled himself up onto the workout machine, set the tension lower and started churning the large footboards again.

Karla rolled her eyes. "Did you cry or not? Don't be a jerk. Did you?"

"Cry? What the hell, Karla. She betrayed me. But it wasn't her fault. Why would I cry?"

"Uh, because of what happened, duh?"

Reno scoffed, working the footboards of the elliptical hard. "Don't you get it, Karla? I thought Nichole was dead. I got to see her alive. Maybe she's got some sort of severe Stockholm Syndrome or something. There's therapy for that. She's alive, Karla. Jesus." He shook his head and gazed upwards, annoyed. "Cry. Shit. I don't cry. I bottle up my emotions and save it for when I need to fry people's asses."

Karla unfolded her arms, amused by his banter. She shifted her weight and re-folded them beneath the expanse of her bust.

Reno remained silent.

A smile spread across Karla's lips. "Felt good to get it off your chest huh? It's okay. I won't tell anyone you cried. I cried when Chance died in my arms. I cried when Eric left me, and cried again when I found out he didn't actually leave me - he was murdered."

"Jesus Christ. Can you get me anything on the case file of his homicide?"

"Stop being a cop, Reno. He was killed by Falcon. He disappeared off the face off the goddamn planet. He's gone. They used him, then forced him to kill himself then disposed of..." she trailed off, licked her lips and lowered her gaze to the floor. "Let's change the subject. I saw Nichole in Maryland a few days ago. We fought each other. She's impressive. She has a lot of different powers. She threw me around with shadows then deflated my lungs with a thought. It, uh," Karla frowned. "It was terrifying. She's a twisted psychopath. No empathy. All she wants is more power."

Reno pedaled harder on the elliptical, angry and frustrated by the news. "Maybe she's a clone. Maybe the real Nichole is in stasis. Falcon is capable of that shit."

"Maybe." Karla shrugged. "But you should mourn..."

"No. Goddamn, I said I don't need to cry."

"It's healthy, you ass."

"How I handle my shit is up to me. Let's stop talking about her."

The succubus stood up and approached the elliptical. "Reno, I need to know if you're going to be able to fight next time we face her."

Reno ducked his head down a bit and continued to pump his legs. Beads of sweat ran down his face. "That bitch isn't my girl. She can't be the real Nichole. I won't let her get in my head a second time."

Karla nodded and sighed. "Sorry I brought this up."

"I just need to get my body back in shape."

"Are you good to have company tomorrow?"

"Karla ... it's your house. You invite whoever you want."

"Okay, okay, Jesus. We've been waiting for _months_for you to wake up like some sort of goddamn savior. But you're just as broken and beaten as the rest of us. You're just as fucked up and upset about a lost lover as the rest of us." She paused, smirked, and then, as an afterthought, said, "You'll fit in perfectly with the rest of my new team."

"Nichole died in 2023. I saw an adult clone of her. She was killed in this upstairs bedroom of some house in the suburbs, slumped down by the bed. Falcon makes clones of people. My Nichole is still out there, or in stasis. Okay? I'm not mourning shit. Falcon's M.O. is to have trophies. Lucky for us, his trophies can be woken up. I'm living proof of that."

"Reno, you have healing abilities. The others don't."

"God, okay whatever. I can't cry right now."

"I'm sorry." She frowned, watching him strain his body up on the exercise equipment. "Do you need anything?"

"A target would be nice."

"How about a visitor?"

"Whatever, Karla." He continued to pump his legs until his body ached too much to keep it up. He turned to face the chair and then, all at once, his body demolecularized into a flash of light.

Reno appeared slumped over the chair, his hands on the armrests. "Holy shit, did you see that?" He turned about and dropped into the chair. "You saw that right?"

"Yeah, babe." Karla offered a weak smile. "It was impressive. You teleported. You were doing that twenty-five years ago."

"Yeah but..." his tone changed. "Look, I'm sorry."

"For?"

Reno pulled up the V-neck collar of his shirt and wiped his face with the inside of the fabric. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I had months to mourn Nichole. And then you got me drunk, and we fooled around. You and I have been together more recently than I was with her. I'm not over her. I love her, and you're a succubus. So the way I figure, we were helping each other out."

Karla frowned, feeling awkward by how he worded himself. It sounded more like an accusation than recanting history.

Reno continued. "But things are complicated right now, and I don't need any more complications in my life at the moment. I don't need to worry about sex, drama, or anything other than getting myself back in shape. One thing at a time. I need to get this next first down before I can make a play for a touchdown, you get me?"

Karla approached his chair, cupped his face and kissed his lips. It was a gentle, chaste kiss. Something to show she cared. "You're under a lot of stress. You were rooted in your life, your schedule, your apartment and your big TV. You were happy with your job, your muscle cars ... and now all that has been stripped away from you."

"Glad you understand."

The succubus smiled somewhat. "Actually, I expected you to react this way."

"What way?"

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I've been preparing myself for the day you wake up. The blast of lightning, rather the blasts of lighting that hit my house in the last few days ... that was from a panic attack wasn't it? You come in here and you work yourself to the bone on these machines, and overthink everything that's happened."

"Karla..."

She held a hand up to stop him. "You do. I can tell. You've been in here dwelling on the bad stuff. Well don't. You don't need to put yourself through that pain day after day."

"I like my pain. I want my pain. I need my..."

"Okay, Captain Kirk. I saw the _Star Trek_movies, too. Don't throw that crap at me. I'm supposed to be the theatrical one. You're supposed to be the suave cop."

Reno rubbed his face. Two-day stubble felt prickly against his fingertips. "A suave cop, heh. That was apparently a long time ago. I have a long way to go before I'm suave again."

"Shit. What's your definition of suave, Nevada?"

"Put together. A nice suit. A nice car."

"You have a visitor. He's staying in the guest wing. I told him you'd need a few days. But if you decide you want your visitor sooner rather than later, you can go visit him. He'll help with getting yourself put together, and maybe the car, too. So far as the threads?" She grinned. "I'll find you the suit. You liked my choices all those other times."

"Your choices?"

"Remember the day you went in to go toe-to-toe with Frank Sanders?"

Reno eyed Karla for a moment. "After the blow job. The next day, I woke up on the sofa with a blanket from my bed draped across me. You sent me a text message. I went into the bathroom and found a cologne and suit waiting for me. That was you?"

"Good job, Top Cop. You figured it out."

"I'll be damned, he mused.

"Yup." She smiled triumphantly. "So ... leave the suit to me. You'll feel like a man again in no time."

He stood up from the chair and warbled towards the door. "Thanks."

"All that abuse you're doing to your body and you still can't walk across a room yet?"

"Just shut up," he said with a wry smile. "And hey."

"Yeah?"

Reno ran his hand up through his hair, glad to feel it between his fingers. "Thanks, Karla. We'll get everyone else soon enough."

"Good. I have a six-year-old son down there. And he may never survive the cryogenic thing. And if he didn't ... then everything I've become has been taken away from me. You know what that means?" Karla narrowed her eyes. "It means Falcon has to pay. But you keep telling me we'll rescue them, and maybe I'll believe it."

"I watched a lot of Sci-Fi, Karla. The body heals. Everyone's body heals. That's what skin cells do. It's the brain that needs to be preserved. Mine survived. I was preserved."

"What do you mean?"

Reno shrugged. "Everyone else is alive, Karla. That asshole, Falcon, brought Vincent back from the dead. Falcon is down there with technology we don't understand. But that doesn't mean we can't get our hands on it and have your math-buddy use it or something. We'll get through this." His voice was calm, collected, and sure of himself.

A wan smile found her lips. She nodded. "I almost believe you."

"I'm standing here without brain damage, right? Other than a few months of being in a coma, I'm still the same Reno Nevada I was in February of 2024."

"Yeah, babe. Yeah, you are. So that means you were born that way."

"Wait, what? Hey!" He picked up a sweat towel, wiped his face, then threw it at her. "Where's this visitor?"

"Guest wing, babe. Go shower first. You smell like a goddamn moose."

"Yeah, yeah." Reno walked out of the gym. "Maybe I'll eat something, too. I was probably getting h'angry."

Karla shook her head. "Nobody says that anymore." Her smile broadened a bit.

X

X

Meanwhile, 5pm JST Tokyo, Japan ...

Sinopa Guillot, a mid-twenties looking redheaded woman appeared out of place in Tokyo, Japan. She had Irish facial features, yet she dressed the part and spoke eloquent Japanese. Sinopa wore a violet silk dress with butterflies.

At her side, and equally out of place, was Dawn - twenty-six years old, average but pretty, and shoulder-length brunette hair. She, like Sinopa, wore a traditional Japanese kimono - white with cherry blossoms.

Sinopa looked up to the late afternoon sky. "Was it wise to let Conner and James Parker work on finding the headdress of Sekhmet alone?" She spoke calm, relaxed Japanese.

Dawn, possessed by Tamamo, folded her arms. "It is better this way. They can focus on preperations. We can focus on finding a body for me, so that I can release James-san's betrothed. The sooner Dawn is returned to her love, the better things will be for Conner's uncle. Dawn is an intelligent woman, though. I confess a curiosity for all the things she knows about computers and technology."

"Sensei, did you really need to possess Dawn Razin's body?"

Dawn cut a sidelong gaze to Sinopa. "Are you upset?" For an American girl, Dawn now spoke eloquent Japanese, controlled by the essence of an ancient nine-tailed kitsune.

Sinopa crossed her eyes in frustration then closed her eyelids for a moment. "Am I upset?? That you possessed the body of your lover's nephew? I suppose I have little reason to be upset. Keep her alive, sensei."

"I will, Sinopa-chan. I noticed you have been speaking Japanese with a mature flourish. Your errant need to say 'desu' and show unnecessary politeness has waned.

"Hai." Sinopa sighed. "Forgive me, Tamamo-sama. I feel foolish walking the streets of Edo. Also, I cannot help but notice you have been adapting Dawn's speaking style of Americanized English. You speak contractions more often."

"It was suggested to me that I should do it more often. But being inside of Dawn Razin's body, inside of her mind, has helped me to bridge the gap more easily. I promise I will guard her life, Sinopa-chan. I confess, however, that Dawn is uncomfortable with all that she's learned. Scared. She hides a great many things."

"Those secrets are hers to possess. Do not out them, please."

"There are secrets of mine that she is now privileged to, Sinopa-chan."

"Hai, then you are both even." Sinopa gazed up at a hospital at the end of the block. "There it is. The one with the girl who was traumatized by a Yakuza man."

Tamamo, as Dawn, frowned and nodded. "The Yakuza are not always so dishonorable as this."

"You are correct, sensei. Someone high up in their ranks felt the rape of this woman was extremely dishonorable. The man who did the deed was put to death by his peers. Tamamo, she is also traumatized by the sight of her family being put to death. This girl watched everyone she loved killed over money. It was very tragic. Her mind is fragile. And any action you take with Conner may hurt the subconscious mind of this woman."

"Her mind will be dormant," said Tamamo. "I can heal her and ease her emotional suffering. I need the body of a woman who has seen the worst the world has to offer and survived. Only such a mind can be prepared to accept what she will see in the days and weeks ahead. She may be scared, but she will be stronger because of what she has overcome. And, most importantly, she will not be alone. She will have me. She will have Conner. She will have you, as well as everyone I consider family here on this plane."

Sinopa sighed. "Why this broken shell of a woman? The report says she is nearly catatonic."

Tamamo smiled. "Because she has nothing left of her normal existence. Her occupation was a history teacher with a second degree in philosophy. She is intelligent. She has lost everything in this world. So, it is therefore time to give her new meaning. I wish to help her heal her heart. No, Sinopa - have faith in my decision. This woman is the one. I will possess her body, I will heal her mind, and I will give her purpose."

"Very well, Sensei. I only hope that she will meet the necessary requirements, physically."

Tamamo approached the hospital doors and opened them for Sinopa. "My first husband was emotionally abusive. I was taken as a spoil of war. I saw things that will be forever seared into my mind. I can relate to what this woman has seen and felt. I can help her."

Sinopa crossed the lobby, filled out a visitor's log and took a visitor's badge for herself and for Dawn. The two made their way to an elevator and stepped on. The doors slid shut. Sinopa turned to Dawn and said, "Tamamo-sama, I've noticed you look at me differently now..."

"Ah, a contraction! Very good, Sinopa-chan!"

"I've been trying to incorporate their use. I, too, was told to use them in order to blend in with modern society. So, are you going to tell me why you look at me differently than before?"

Tamamo looked away. Dawn's lips tugged into a smile of embarrassment.

"Please, just tell me."

"I've discovered from Omoikane that I knew your mother and father. I was tasked with helping them to procreate. They were so obsessed with scholarly pursuits, that I was ordered, by Inari, to initiate romance with each, and bring them together as spouses. This resulted in the birth of your litter. Later, the Huli Jing attacked the kitsune tribes, and your mother and father died, along with their litter. You were the only survivor. I adopted you until Kiko separated us. We were later reunited but not until after Lady Kiko repressed my memories of you. I ... I am very sorry I did not tell you. I did not know how to approach such a sensitive subject."

Sinopa turned to Dawn and eyed her. The elevator doors opened. Sinopa stepped off the elevator then turned to Dawn and hugged her. "Domo arigato, Tamamo-sama."

Tamamo paused, sighed, and wrapped her arms around Sinopa, returning the hug. "I have loved you as if you were my own since you were born. I found you when you were a nogitsune. I was reunited with you to train you as your sensei. But you have always been a daughter to me."

Silence. After a moment, Sinopa kissed Dawn's forehead. "Come. Let us find this girl so that Dawn may have her identity back."

The two women made their way down the hallway, counting rooms. "Sinopa, the newspaper journalist said it was the eighth room on the right. It should be just up ahead."

"Hai, sensei." Sinopa approached the door first and opened it for Tamamo.

Dawn walked through with a confident stride. She approached a woman restrained to the bars on the side of the hospital bed. There was a look of fear in the woman's gaze.

"If you're here to kill me and finish this, then do it. Make it quick." The woman's voice was somewhat musical sounding but with fear in her tone. "I never told them what he did. I never told the police his identity. But if this is how the Yakuza treat their women and teachers, then..."

Dawn placed her hand on the woman's wrist with a gentle touch. "Stop. We are not here to kill you. The Yakuza killed the man who hurt you and murdered your family. I am here to help you. My name is Tamamo-no-Mae."

The woman snorted with amusement. "_You_are the 'beautiful witch' from the old stories? You aren't even Japanese."

Tamamo paused with a frown. "Why are there scratches on your face? They appear to be fresh. Too fresh for your attacker to have caused them."

"Why do you think I am restrained? You speak Japanese far too well to be Gaijin. Are you a military child?"

"No. I am Dawn Razin, and I am possessed by the beautiful elder kitsune, Tamamo-no-Mae. I have come to help you."

"You cannot help me," said the woman. "You can finish what I attempted to do with my own hands. You can take my life so the images stop. You can give me a blade and I will do it myself. I watched my children slain. I watched my husband cry my name with his last breath. And then I was ... they performed the gravest act of humiliation on my body." She looked down with cold eyes. "I cannot live with such shame. I cannot live as an object used and dishonored. I cannot..." The woman began to grow frustrated and upset as she relived the memories. "I cannot! I am disgusted by my body and how it reacted during that awful intrusion. I would be better off dead." She writhed wildly, causing bruises around her wrists, where she was restrained.

"Tamamo-sama, please. Perhaps it would be better to honor her wishes and..."

"Iie, Sinopa-chan." Tamamo knelt adjacent to the woman's bed. "You are perfect. Let no man make you feel as though you are less than perfect. No man has the right to break your heart or your spirit in such a nature. A man exists to provide protection, financial support, and to bring honor to your home. Your husband and your children may be gone, but you cannot abandon their memory. They live on as a memory, and if you cease to remember them, they cease to exist in this world. Instead, dedicate a shrine to them."

"They are gone, and I am broken! I am a shell of a woman, created in the image of a broken man with no honor! I am disgusting and I am disgusted! Let me die with honor and dignity!"

"I can give you far greater honor and dignity than death."

"You cannot give me what I seek. I need a release of this emotional ruin."

"Iie, you cannot take the easy way out." Tamamo hiked the bottom of her kimono and showed the woman the ghostly outline of her nine bushy foxtails. "You see? I am here as a messenger of Inari so that your heart and spirit can be reborn."

The woman remained silent.

Sinopa looked from Dawn to the woman and asked, "It was very difficult to track you down. The hospital has you listed under a fake name incase someone comes looking for you."

"And it will stay that way," said the woman. "My name is tarnished. Who I was is gone; that was defiled by the man that attacked my home, and took away my happiness. How did the man die?"

Tamamo glanced at Sinopa then back to the woman. "His body was found yesterday evening. He died during torture. It wasn't the Yakuza's normal style but they were the only ones who knew where to find him." She paused then stood up again and took the woman's hand in her own. "Do you accept my offer?"

"I don't have the heart to live. I'm weak. I'm unworthy of..."

Tamamo placed her free hand to the woman's lips and offered a gentle smile. "Shh, shh. We need one another. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to date an American?"

"Excuse me?"

Tamamo grinned. "Just humor me, miss."

"I've always been curious. But I don't know any. What does that matter??"

Tamamo rubbed her fingertips against the woman's fingernails. "I will bring you peace, and we will heal one another." Dawn's eyes dilated, becoming round. The amber hue faded from her gaze. She slumped back into Sinopa's arms.

Sinopa guided Dawn to a chair and took her hand, rubbing her thumb over the girl's knuckles.

The woman in the bed gasped softly and arched her back. Her simple brown eyes became lighter in coloration. More ... golden. She curled her toes and immediately began sobbing hysterically.

Sinopa, alarmed, turned to face the woman on the bed. "Tamamo-sama? What is wrong?"

"I ... forgive me, Sinopa-chan, perhaps you were correct." Tamamo took a deep breath to try and control her sobbing but, instead, went into another round of uncontrollable crying. "It was awful. They brought her so much grief. How can anyone endure such pain as this?"

Sinopa placed her hands on the woman's arms, hugging the possessed body of her sensei. "Tamamo-sama, it is fresh and will fade with your help. You are strong of mind and will help..."

"I wish I could kill that man myself. Whoever killed him has cheated me of my..."

"Tamamo! Stop! Get ahold of yourself!" Sinopa drew Tamamo into her arms and hugged her firmly until the woman stopped thrashing.

Dawn opened her eyes, dazed and confused. She looked around the hospital room. Signs and equipment were labeled in a foreign language. She stood up, gazed at the two women, hugging, then walked to the window. It wasn't Hawaii. She swallowed. "James?" She looked around then headed for the door to the hallway. "James? Where are you?"

"Dawn," Sinopa said with a sigh. "Please, come back over here and I will explain everything."

"I don't know who the hell you are." Dawn rubbed her face and looked around the room again, standing in the doorway. "How the hell do you know my name?"

"Dawn, please. I am Sinopa. I was married to Jonathan Parker before he died. What is the last thing you remember?"

"Arguing that I don't want to be possessed by some spirit woman. Everything else is blurry. I ... I remember some Chinese asshole. I was afraid of him. And ... I remember ... Jesus Christ, I remember an arrow in my heart."

"Those are Tamamo's memories," Sinopa said, trying to keep the woman from flailing in her arms. "We came here to find a proper body. Tamamo has chosen a woman who was too traumatized to live, in order to help heal her. But she is now experiencing this woman's traumatic memories, which are still fresh."

"This is too much. I can't handle this shit," Dawn said. "Take me back to Chicago. Now."

"It would take time to book a flight. But first, please, I needs must deal with Tamamo, and the traumatic..."

"Fuck this, I'll find my own way. This is way too much. You people are goddamn freaks or demons or something." Dawn headed for the door and into the hallway.

Sinopa groaned softly. She looked at her sensei, still tethered to the hospital bed, and kissed her forehead. "Forgive me. You have been restrained and cannot leave. I must go and help this girl before she gets away. I will come back for you. Do not be rash. You are loved, Tamamo. Stay put, please." Sinopa cupped Tamamo's cheeks and kissed her softly.

Tamamo calmed a bit. Tears ran down her cheeks. "I ... go, Sinopa. Find her. My deepest apologies. I was in error to think I could handle such a transition. Go, hurry."

Sinopa turned about and left the room. She hurried down the hall after Dawn. "Wait, please! At least let me explain what happened to you! Then I can help you return to Chicago!" Sinopa dashed through the crowded hallway, after the young woman with the head start.

She saw Dawn duck into a stairwell and followed her through. Sinopa peered over the rail, seeing Dawn two flights down, taking the steps two and three at a time. Sinopa sighed. She stripped down to undergarments and folded the kimono into a bow of sorts. Then she transitioned into her fox form - a red fox with four lengthy tails. She wiggled herself into the bowed kimono so that it was tied around herself. She leaned down and used her teeth to tug at the bottom of the sash to make it tight around herself. Finally, Sinopa took off down the stairs, leaving her undergarments on the stairwell. She hurried down the steps on all-fours, following Dawn's scent.

X

X

Next chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/732041