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31

Writer's Guild / F.E.W.: Fox Empire Wars

« on: September 10, 2016, 07:48:29 PM »

F.E.W.: Fox Empire Wars takes place on the world of Inari. Inari is a world of magical, anthropomorphic Foxes. Centuries ago, the Black Fox Empire was driven to extinction after declaring war on the White Fox Empire. After the eradication of the Blacks, the Whites took it upon themselves to act as the general peacekeepers and dominant force in the world, resulting in hundreds of years of peace. But as history would have it, peace cannot last. A rebel sector seeks to overthrow the White Fox Empire from within and a botched assassination attempt leads to sanctions that threaten the livelihood of various kingdoms. In the midst of it, a young Grey vixen discovers a Black Fox child in the depths of the White Fox kingdom. Fearing his life is in danger, she takes it upon herself to look after the fox and try to raise him to become someone the White Foxes would come to adore. They are discovered, but thanks to her pleading, the White Foxes decide to give him one chance to make it up for the crimes of his clan. News breaks out that a Black Fox exists, and with amity toward the White Fox Empire growing, a Black Fox ally could prove to be the very tool needed to take them down. A battle soon breaks out on what should be done with the Black Fox and who should get him. But one question remains... What does the Black Fox child want to do?


This a story idea I recently had that I thought I would try posting every now and then between my other priorities. Look for infrequent updates. Hope you all enjoy it!



Prologue

   
These days, the world of Inari is enjoying a fragile, but long-lasting peace, but that was rarely a common sight in the days of old. Ask any scholar and they'll recant the stories of wars that lasted for ages. One could rarely go ten years without two of the vast empires declaring war on each other. They say it takes a common enemy to unite kingdoms, and that enemy came in the form of the Black Fox Empire. Although, if one were ask about them, they would simply be described as the Black Empire.
   
Inari is a world of Foxes, but though the kind of fox that walk on four legs exists, the dominant species are those that walk upright like man. These Foxes identify themselves by the color of their fur: Black, Blue, Brown, Green, Grey, Red, Silver, and White. Although they all look alike in some manner, to them it would be like comparing cats to dogs.
   
To each's credit, there is one thing each can do differently that the other Fox tribes cannot: magic. The Blues can manipulate water, but they cannot create it. These Foxes live on islands distant from the quarrels of the others. Brown Foxes are known for their terra-based magic, able to shape the ground beneath their feet and create vast underground networks. Green Foxes live in forests, possessing the ability to communicate with nature and create elixirs and potions with supernatural power. The Red Foxes control fire with the precision of an archer with true marksmanship, perhaps one of the most dangers Fox tribes to be around. The Silver Foxes are masters of air, but these nomads are secluded to the point that there are reports that their numbers are not what they once were.
   
Among the types of Foxes that exist on Inari, there are three special cases: The Blacks, the Greys, and the Whites. Grey Foxes are the most common of all on Inari, the only tribe that freely interacts with all of the others. It is said that Grey Foxes can learn to use any magic that does not come from the Black or White Foxes, but to a much lesser degree. As a result, Greys hoping to learn magic tend to dedicate their craft to one specific type, while others handle the manual labor that others don't appreciate the value of.
   
White Foxes consider themselves to be the most special of all Foxes, believing themselves to be the direct descendants of the gods that watch over the land. Their reasoning is their magic. Using the power of holy magic, the Whites call upon a blessed light to cast judgment on all those who defy them, bathing their white fur in a golden aura that makes them look absolutely divine. Finally, there are the Black Foxes.
   
Foxes with Black fur have never been viewed as highly as the others. They cloak themselves in shadows and move mainly at night, their eyes piercing with the blue light of the moon. By surrendering to the shadows, this vulpine tribe transforms into giant, monstrous beasts capable of wreaking havoc and destruction upon all those who oppose them. For this reason, the Black Foxes have long since been feared as harbingers of death.
   
As the Foxes grew in number and the lands changed, they began to interact. However, they were all so different from one another. Intrigue soon turned to fear, and fear brings about hatred. War was quick to break out as the Foxes vied for land and territory, until the formation of the first empires arose. As the Foxes learned about one another, alliances and friendships were formed, as well as mortal enemies that would never get along.
   
The one empire nobody dared to pick a fight was the White Fox Empire. Sitting in the northern center between all existing territories, they kept balance and decreed themselves as regulators between all of the empires. When wars finally came to an end, it was the Whites who helped divide territory, though often making sure they got a cut for their efforts of being “peacekeepers”. But there was one empire that had had enough of their shenanigans and high-and-mighty attitudes: the Black Fox Empire.
   
In the year X1387 of the Unified Inarian Calendar, the Black Foxes declared all-out war on Whites. The Black Fox Empire's territory was shrinking decade by decade as the Whites continued encroaching upon them. The tribe that was feared and therefore rarely messed with had done its best to avoid conflict with the others after the formation of their empire, but no longer would they stand by and allow the Whites to suppress them. Every male and child, and several female capable of battle, embraced the shadows and turned into the monsters everyone had always believed them to be, attacking the White Fox Empire. At night, the Black Foxes pushed inward and forced the Whites into retreat, but as the sun peaked over the horizon, the tides of battle turned and the Whites went on the offensive. Though their fierceness in battle could not be matched, the White Foxes' ability to heal their wounded gave them the slight edge they needed to push the Black Foxes back. Seeing an opportunity to rid themselves of the scariest beings in existence, the Brown, Green, and Red Foxes allied with the Whites and drove them back.
   
Outraged that the Black Foxes would dare to attack the “descendants of gods,” the White Foxes massacred every Black Fox they could find. Leaving no stone unturned, the White Foxes committed a full-scale genocide and purged the Black Empire off of the map. Those empires harboring Black Foxes would be deemed enemies of the White Fox Empire. With the Black Foxes eliminated, the Whites annexed 75% of the the territory that had belongs to the Blacks, and divided the remaining 25% among the tribes that aided them.
   
Now possessing the greatest territory of all Foxes, the Whites took it upon themselves to ensure that none of the Fox tribes would come to war ever again. They wedged their territory into every crevice they could find and separated the tribes so that the majority of the kingdoms could not interact without passing through the territories belonging to the Whites. Thanks to the Whites, peace had finally been achieved.
   
The year is X1903, and there is little needed for the intervention of the White Foxes. The kingdoms are all at peace with one another, constantly intermingling and trading goods and knowledge. The Grey Foxes, lacking a kingdom of their own, have been spread across all of the territories, creating prospering towns and villages in each and becoming part of the various inner circles. To this day, not a single Black Fox had been seen since the wars ended. It was firmly believed they had become extinct.
   
Yet, despite everything, the scholars who study the past are left to ponder. What would happen if the Black Foxes returned?

32

Art Gallery / Re: Mass Exchange -- VOTE

« on: July 31, 2016, 02:02:21 AM »

1) Remove 2 lbs from Virmir.
2) Transfer 2 lbs from Virmir to Sierra.

33

Writer's Guild / Re: The Kamaitachi's Sibling

« on: April 19, 2016, 02:35:01 AM »

This is good!  Somewhat predictable (although partially because you talked about this idea in the chat some years ago, he he he).  Quite like the strange exotic mythology surrounding these things.  Totally called (and very much approve!) the direction hinted at the end.

Heh. Thanks! I do like the mythology behind them myself. Glad that ending has the

Yeah, I based it on the idea I mentioned in chat previously, though in the original idea the human was merely close friends with the Kamaitachi. The Kamaitachi twins would have been closer to his age and had much more interaction with the school. I thought this was a better way to go. 

Glad the ending has the Virmir seal of approval. 

34

Art Gallery / Re: DST-Starting-Sketch-a-thon: 2 (closed)

« on: April 17, 2016, 01:39:57 PM »

What's with the sudden fascination of having Virmir eat me? Ha ha.

Thanks! These all look good.

35

Writer's Guild / The Kamaitachi's Sibling

« on: April 15, 2016, 02:31:47 AM »

A story I wrote in order to help me get back into the swing of writing.

In this story, a boy is raised by his half-brother and half-sister after his father is killed in an accident 11 years ago. However, an encounter with an angry kitsune causes him to come to terms with a horrifying truth involving the mythical youkai known as the Kamaitachi.


FA Link:  http://www.furaffinity.net/view/19686214/

I've also attached my original formatted document so you can see what it looks like in my usual style.

I hope you enjoy!


The Kamaitachi's Sibling

Story By: Airafox




"Stop! Right there!" spoke the foreman as he motioned toward the mirror of the truck driver's driver-side mirror to stop. It was one of those large, longer trucks designed to carry heavy pieces of machinery across long distances. It was ferrying a bulldozer to the construction site of the latest urban development project. A part of the forest needed to be cleared out for a new series of high-rise apartments capable of housing a thousand families. There also needed to be room for convenience stores, a small shopping outlet full of basic needs, and a grocery store.
   
"What do you think, Itama? This is where your daddy works every day," said the driver as he unbuckled his seat belt. He was a tall, well-built man with a rugged chin possible after not shaving for three days. He looked like somebody who would be more suited to wearing a dress shirt or suit than a construction worker's outfit, but this was the only job he could get with his background. A foreign man who married a Japanese woman, this was the perfect job for him.
   
Itama unbuckled his seatbelt and slid over the seat toward the driver's side. Because of the height of the truck, he sat with his legs dangled over the side next to the door. A mere 4 years of age, he was set to spend the summer days coming to work with his father. The man was unable to afford a babysitter, and his wife had died to illness over the spring. Itama was still getting over that.
   
The man smiled and ruffled the hardhat-covered scalp of his son, causing Itama to bat at the hand holding him. A single tuft of black hair was visible from the front of the hat. "Cheer up, son!" the man laughed. "I promise we're going to have some fun here! Tonight we'll stop at that sushi place by the house for dinner, and this weekend we can go see a movie or something!"
   
"Still giving you the silent treatment, huh?" the foreman chuckled as he approached the door.
   
"Yeah," replied the boy's father. "He wanted to go to camp with his friends, but his birthday's not for another month, and they are really strict on being at least 5 before being admitted. I assured them he'd turn 5 while camp was still in session, but they said rules are rules."
   
"We have rules for a reason: safety and all," the foreman said with a smile. "Otherwise I'd hire the young man here alongside his father. Your father is the only man I trust to operate some of these vehicles! Take pride in that."
   
The foreman gave Itama a gentle pat on the head before ushering his father over to help him unhook the bulldozer from the back of the truck. The boy's dad assured him he'd be right back to help him out once they got the dozer down from the truck.
   
"Sit tight, kiddo!" the man said. They were the last words Itama would ever hear from his father.
   
A gush of warm wind and the sound of an explosion going off were all Itama could make out before he blacked-out. When he came to, he could barely see anything. Flames surrounded the construction site and the thick smoke enshrouded his field of vision. He felt weak, and he could swear something heavy was on his back. He couldn't feel his legs and could barely breathe. As his eyelids closed and his body prepared to pass out once again, he could just barely make out the shape of two creatures standing over his body. They were tall and imposing, and it almost looked like they had swords coming out of their butts. He managed to blink once, swearing he saw glowing amber and blue eyes staring back at him, before the darkness took hold of him once more.

==============================================================


Itama gasped as he woke up in a hot sweat, panting heavily with a hand covering his face as his other hand held the sheets of his bed over his body. He took hard and deep breaths, but avoided crying or screaming. "A dream..." he told himself. "It was only a dream."
   
Not just any dream, the one that plagued Itama's nights was the memory of the day of his father's death nearly 11 years ago. He didn't remember much about it, being both young and unconscious, but he swore there were two monstrous creatures there. They were the ones who killed his father! He was sure of it! The cause had been ruled as an accident, mismanaged explosives that set off a chain reaction resulting in the gruesome deaths of everyone at the construction site that day. Everyone except for Itama. Itama had escaped relatively unscathed, nothing more than a few bruises and burns. It was by all accounts a miracle. His body was bandaged unneededly heavily when he was transported to the hospital, but that seemed to have been out of overabundant caution.
   
Itama glanced over to the clock on his desk, the time reading 7:23 AM. He had beaten his alarm by 7 minutes, though on most days he hit the snooze and slept in another 30. After a nightmare like that, though, he wasn't going to be getting any additional sleep this morning. He got dressed and headed out toward the kitchen, yawning and scratching his back.
   
"Oh! Good morning, little bro! You're up early!" greeted a young woman from beyond the countertop. Her name was Maka, Itama's older sister. It was difficult to believe she was actually 12 years older than he was. Her hair was a beautiful long brown tied into a single ponytail with the aid of some nearly invisible string. She wore a dark pink, almost red kimono held together by a blue bow.
   
Itama questioned how his mother could had produced an older sibling such as her while still married to his father, but apparently she and her younger brother by a few hours had been born before Itama's father even met her. The twins were given to family to raise because his mother was too young and poor to raise them at the time.
   
"I couldn't sleep," Itama groaned, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
   
"Never fear! A healthy breakfast should perk you right up!" Maka grinned, flashily holding out a shining silver knife in front of her. Itama glanced over to see her mincing vegetables from the garden into fine bits to mix in with the eggs already cooking beside her. It always impressed Itama to see his sister's skills with a knife. He always wondered if she attended a school swordsmanship at some point in her life with how she was able to handle a blade. There was nothing she couldn't cut with speed greater than some of the best chefs in the world. Had it not been for the taste of some of her dishes, she might have been able to get a job in some of Japan's best restaurants.
   
"Order up!" Maka chuckled, sliding an omelet into view.
   
"Thanks, Maka," Itama told her before he grabbed his chopsticks to dig in. It looked great from his viewpoint, but the taste of the first bite had his face scrunching up. His cheeks flashed red before he opened his mouth steaming. Peppers?! She had to put such a hot pepper in her dish?
   
"Woke you up, didn't it?" she smirked, seemingly reading his mind.
   
"How have you not killed Taichi yet?" Itama snapped at her, diving for the water placed in front of him and gulping it down.
   
"Brother isn't a weakling," Maka snickered with a sinister grin.
   
"Speaking of Taichi, where is he?" wondered the young male.
   
"Out on his morning stroll," answered Maka. "You'd be aware of this if you woke up earlier more often."
   
"Yeah, yeah..." Itama heaved a sigh and finished his omelet. Despite the hot peppers, it was more tolerable than some of the other breakfasts she'd made in the past. Still, he was grateful that she took the time to prepare something for him. "Anyway, it's the last day of school and we've already finished all of our tests. It's not like it'd be a problem if I did oversleep. If I join you here at the shrine, I wouldn't even need to attend high school."

Maka's head perked up at Itama's words. Though they only offered to let him become a shrine's keeper once, Itama had a feeling his half-siblings really wanted him to accept the position. At first he thought it'd be boring, but as somebody who loved nature, he was starting to realize that another three years of school would be even more boring. It wasn't like he'd never see his friends again.
   
"Are you seriously considering it?" inquired Maka. This was not a subject she liked be teased about.
   
"Maybe," replied Itama, scratching the back of his head. "It's not like my grades will allow me a job to make video games or something. I can't program. I can't draw. And my ability to write a decent story is lacking at best. I mean, it's not like this would be the top of my list, but there's nothing I really want to do that I feel like I could actually do at this point in time."
   
"Well, if there is something else you want to do, don't feel like you have to stay here."
   
Itama smiled at her words, though he knew she did want him to stay with them. He wasn't sure why, though. Maybe they'd just grown fond of him after taking care of him for the past decade. He wasn't sure how they were able to gain custody of him living on their own at around the age of 16, but Maka and Taichi were able to take good care of him on their own. The two were keepers of the shrine he now stayed at in the mountains just outside the city. He commuted 30 minutes by bus and 20 minutes by train to get to school, but he didn't mind it. The mountains were a tranquil place to live.
   
Thinking of the time, Itama figured he should probably get going. He had to walk to the bus stop, after all. Itama said his good-byes to Maka and began walking down the stairs that led up to the shrine from the main road, book bag hanging over his shoulder. About halfway down the stairs, a rustle in the bushes caught his attention. "Huh?" He stopped to see what it was, not that he wasn't used to such things. A tall, gorgeous man stepped out from the bushes, brushing away a few dangling branch. He had short black hair and wore a loose-fitting blue robe. The resemblance to Maka was unmistakable.
   
"Oh! Itama! Is it that time already?" asked Taichi.
   
"Yeah. Last day of school. Figured I'd head out now," the boy replied.
   
"All right! See you when you get home. I'll see if I can't convince your sister to come out to celebrate your last day in middle school, but since your graduation is being held next week, she may wish to hold off until then," the man responded with a pleasant smile. He glanced off toward the road as the wind began to pick up. "It's a nice day right now, but I bet it'll rain by the time you get home. That's always expected this time of year."
   
One only needed to look at the local weather reports to figure that out, but Maka and Taichi didn't exactly do that. They had a radio a small television set that picked up some broadcast signals, but they got even less channels than most homes. They didn't even use what they had, at least not very often. If they had a proper computer, he might've been able to learn some coding. Most of his gaming related to handhelds and what he could get on his cheap, pre-paid phone.
   
Yet, even if they did listen to the weather reports, the reports weren't always correct, but Maka and Taichi were. They knew exactly how bad the weather be and even if there'd be a simple shower that could easily be overlooked by radar. Itama realized that dwelling on the thoughts would make him late.
   
True to Taichi's words, the sky opened up to a torrent of rain by the middle of the day. The final period of Physical Education was cancelled and the students were given the chance to mingle and say their farewells to classmates that would be attending different high schools from themselves. They didn't even have to wear their P.E. uniforms, allowing instead to remain in their blue shirts. Itama used the free period to hang out with his friend. Three boys and one girl, it was a small group that enjoyed hanging out at the arcade and hiking in the woods, a rare combination.
   
"So what high school are you guys going to?" asked Yamato, one of Itama's friends.
   
"I'm going to North High," replied the girl. "My parents said they'd disown me if my grades weren't good enough to at least get in there. Obviously they were kidding, but I still don't want to imagine how ticked they'd be if I hadn't passed the Entrance Exams."
   
"East High here!" said another boy. "Couldn't get into that preppy North."
   
"Same!" added both Yamato and the last boy simultaneously, though Yamato added "Although my folks are trying to get me into one the next town over. Agh! I really don't want to go there! What about you, Itama?"
   
"Well, uh, probably East as well," Itama answered with a bit of a shuffle. He didn't want to tell them that he was thinking about not going to high school. He hadn't ultimately decided not to go yet, so he didn't want to spread any rumors before a decision had been made.
   
"Cool! Erina, you better not turn in a preppy snoot on us!" Yamato laughed, nudging toward the girl in the group.
   
Soon the class ended, and the last couple class periods began and finished. The day ended and it was time for the kids to go home. Graduation would be the last time many of them would see each other.
   
The rain came down hard as Itama got off the train and boarded the bus. The roads were slick, and some of them were pooling with water. Fortunately it wasn't enough that it was impassable, but all vehicles would need to exhibit caution when going through roads like that. Itama had seen much worse days, so the bus skidding along the road was among the least of his concerns. The sky began to flash as lightning and thunder finally joined the fray. Itama realized he hadn't brought his umbrella like he should have and was dreading how soaked he was going to get when he got off the bus.
   
They were passing along the woods at the base of the mountains now, meaning that it had been about ten minutes since he first got on the bus.

"20 minutes until I have to walk in this," Itama sighed softly. Glancing around, there only seemed to be one other person on the bus besides the driver. There was nothing out of the ordinary about them, though they wore a heavy rain-proof trench coat. Itama ignored them beyond the initial observation and continued gazing outside the window as the bus drove along the road. Another 15 minutes passed and Itama began to shuffle in his seat to get a better reach for the cord looming above the window. A couple minutes later, he reached up to get ready to pull when a flash of lightning brought something into view. A pair of glowing eyes from a wild beast was illuminated alongside the road.
   
"Huh. That was kind of cool," Itama admitted to himself, though something about it sent a shiver down his spine. Another flash followed almost immediately after, and the mysterious creature was gone. From the very brief glimpse Itama got of it, it must have been a fox. Seconds later, a third flash followed suit.
   
The driver of the bus slammed on the breaks as the fox appeared in the center of the directly in front of the vehicles, forcing the driver to swerve. The slick roads caused the bus to skid along the asphalt, but they were going slow enough that anything serious was averted. Itama found himself tightly gripping the handle above the seat in front of him, taking a deep breath.
   
"What was that?!" he exclaimed.
   
"Sorry about that, folks," the driver apologized over the intercom, even though only two others were on the bus. "There appears to be an animal on the road and--"
   
Glass from the windshield shattered with a loud bang, sharp leaves protruding through the bus and embedding themselves in the seat in front of Itama. Itama glanced above the seat once it was all over. His eyes widened in horror at the bloody mess that was the bus driver and the individual in the trench coat that was sitting in the seat that were position sideways in the center of the bus. The fox used a paw to pressed through the splintered window and step onto the bus. The creature ignored the driver and approached the other passenger. Only now could Itama see the true beauty of the creature. It was a gorgeous silver fox with the most beautiful silver fur Itama had ever seen. Five tails fluttered in the wind that now tore through the bus.
   
"Thought you could desecrate my shrine and flee, did you?" the fox scoffed. Itama couldn't believe what he was hearing. The fox was talking! And in a rather alluring male voice, too! It reminded him of one of the famous pop idols girls liked to swoon over. "Thanks to you, an innocent human was killed. How does that make you feel? Well? Answer me!"
   
The kitsune issued a stern warning and back-handed the passenger with his left set of claws, bring his face into view. Sharp leaves were lodged in his face and the rest of his body. The passenger groaned weekly, body covered in blood.
   
"Well? I'm waiting! Are you going to apologize?" the fox demanded, digging a claw in the young man's cheek. They couldn't have been more than four years older than Itama, likely a university student. "Are you going to tell me it was a prank? Kneeling and kissing my paws wouldn't begin to repay me for the crimes you've committed!"
   
The passenger gasped and coughed. A cut to his throat made it difficult to speak. The kitsune's brow rose as it heard the shuffling of Itama in the back of the of the boss. There was a brief stare-down as the two's eyes met. The vulpine seemed to be assessing the situation. It hadn't expected anybody to be on the bus this far out.
   
"You! Human! Get over here! Now!" it ordered. Itama pointed to himself, only for the fox to growl. It was obvious that he didn't want to anger the creature further. Itama slowly rose from his seat and began approaching the fox.
   
"Bow!" the fox hissed. Itama meeped loudly and quickly dropped his hands to his side, respectfully bowing to the kitsune. The fox nodded, pleased by the behavior it witnessed. "Human, this disrespectful brat desecrated my shrine and caused me to accidentally kill a human! This is a grave offense, wouldn't you agree?"
   
Itama couldn't say he believed in youkai spirits before now, though the appearance of the fox made him remember the two beasts he vaguely recalled the day his father died. Were they spirits too? Itama didn't have time to think about that as the fox growled. Having lived with his half-brother and half-sister for over a decade, he could only imagine how ticked off the fox truly was. He didn't speak and nodded.
   
"Glad you agree!" the kitsune smirked. "I'm going to make him pay for what he's done! And you... You're going to help me!"
   
"Wh-What?" Itama gasped.
   
"It's his own fault. Or is it that you want to die?" the fox questioned.
   
"I... I refuse!" Itama exclaimed. He didn't want to hurt another human, even with his own life at stake.
   
"You... refuse?" the kitsune queried, removing its claws form the other passenger. It casually approached the boy, sniffing him once. "That's funny. You smell kind of like me. You the son of a shrine maiden or something? If that's the case, you should be honored to help a guardian deity like me!"
   
"I... I... I can't!" Itama responded. "If... If you really are the guardian spirit of a shrine, then you are well within your right to administer punishment! But I... I just can't do it. I'm not a god! And I didn't see him do anything! I can't do something to him for something I have no proof of him doing. I'm sorry!"
   
"I see..." the kitsune replied disheartened. "You have a point. I respect your decision. Therefore..." The fox flashed its claws, raising them high above the boy. "I expect you to respect my decision that a shrine maiden that won't obey the shrine's deity isn't needed!"
   
Itama closed his eyes, fearing the worst to come. He was going to die! He was going to die here and nobody would know why. His life flashed before his eyes. His time with Maka and Taichi, his time with his friends, his mother on her deathbed... and the day his father died. The two creatures were at the front of his mind. He could picture them clearly now. They were weasel-like creatures, sharp blades in place of their tails. They had sharp claws and teeth, and their eyes could pierce one straight to their soul. It was strange that Itama could remember them, that he had had the time to think about them this much.
   
He opened his eyes.
   
The fox's eyes were twitching, a look of sheer terror plastered upon its face. The arm it had raised was missing its paw, cut off just below the elbow. There was no blood, the wound having been covered with a patch that was sewn to the kitsune's flesh. Itama looked to his left, where the kitsune had been looking there. Itama's eyes joined the fox's in horror.
   
Two weasel-like creatures--one with faded blue fur and another with pinkish-red fur--stood before the two of them. Sword-like blades for tails, retractable claws that could reach the length of daggers, there was no doubt about it. These monsters, they were the ones that Itama had seen before. The pink one had its claws extended, holding the severed paw of the fox in its right fore-claws. The blue one was holding a small clay pot and what appeared to be needle and thread. Itama fell back, his hand the only think keeping his body propped up.
   
"Get away from him!" hissed the pink creature in a feminine voice.

"Get away from our little brother!" the blue one joined in, their voice more masculine.
   
Itama fell deathly silent. Those voices... They were rough-sounding, as expected of monsters, but they were so familiar.
   
"Little... brother?" repeated the kitsune.
   
Itama's eyes shook in their sockets so violently it wouldn't have surprised him if they popped right out. He couldn't bring himself to deny it any longer. "M-Maka? Taichi?"
   
The kitsune ignored Itama now, its eyes narrowed upon the two that had come to the human's rescue. "Since when did the Kamaitachi care about a lowly human?"
   
"He's our brother!" snarled the female. "It you attempted to lay another claw on him, I swear I will not hesitate to sharpen my blades with your pelt."
   
"If you think a couple Kamaitachi can take out a kitsune as renowned as me, then..." the fox started to say, only for the male weasel to speak up over him.
   
"Do you really want to risk it?" he rumbled.
   
The kitunse looked between them. The passenger it came to punish was unconscious, and Itama had seen everything. It didn't know why the Kamaitachi twins were coming to the rescue of a human, but even if it could defeat them, having lost a paw already it knew it wouldn't escape without accruing injuries. And if the two of them were willing to risk their lives just to save Itama, the kitsune judged the situation to be even more dangerous to its own well-being.
   
"Very well!" it announced. "For the time being, I will overlook this incident. If you agree to restore my paw, I swear on my starball I will let you all leave with no further provocation."
   
The two weasel demons looked to one another. With a nod, they agreed to the terms presented to them. Anything to avoid further escalation was a win in their book. The male Kamaitachi approached the kitsune and set down the pot he held. The pink one tossed him the fox's severed limb. The male caught it and dipped the cut-off edge of it in the pot. He gently placed it against the patched nub previously created and whisked the needle and thread across it. The kitsune gripped the air in his paw to form a tiny fist, pleased with the maneuverability he had regained.
   
"It was a clean cut," informed the male weasel. "Avoid applying too much pressure and it'll be healed in a couple days."
   
"That'll suffice," the kitsune replied. With those last words, the fox took its leave, disappearing into the rain. With another flash of lightning, the fox was gone.
   
"Well then, guess I better fix up this guy," the blue-furred Kamaitachi stated as he approached the unconscious passenger. "A few stitches and he'll survive. I doubt anybody will believe him. The driver, on the other hand..."
   
As the male talked to himself, the female began to approach Itama. Itama tried to back up, only for his finger to stub themselves against one of the seats.
   
"Itama, are you okay?" she asked him, holding out a paw with retract claws to the human. Now that he could hear it clearly, he was certain it was Maka's voice that was coming from her lips. His world started spinning. The creatures that killed his father, his half-siblings, the two that had raised him for that past 11 years, they were all one in the same. His brain couldn't cope with the idea of all of it and shut down. He could hear Maka's voice shouting his name before it all went dark.



Itama woke up on his bed. The worst of the rain had passed into a light drizzle, but based on the amount of light that the clouds allowed through, at least a day had passed. The events of the previous evening were fresh in his mind, but it all seemed like a dream. He could hear footsteps approaching his room. "Maka? Taichi?" He prayed that he saw his siblings enter through the door, that they'd tell him everything he saw was the result of trauma brought upon the bus crash.
   
Maka and Taichi walked in, but it wasn't the beautiful woman and man that Itama had come to know and love that stood under the door frame. The very creatures he now remembered clearly of the back then were there. Out of fear, he clenched the sheets.
   
"Itama, are you okay?" Taichi's voice asked him.
   
"Taichi?" Itama wondered. He gulped. "So then, it's true. You guys... You're..."
   
"We're Kamaitachi," Maka confirmed.
   
"Kama...itachi?" questioned Itama. He'd heard the term before, aside from the kitsune from the previous day, but he couldn't put his finger on where he'd heard it.
   
The two weasels surrounded Itama. If he wanted to escape, he wouldn't be able to. Based on what he had seen, there was little doubt that they could make sure work of him if he fled. It was Taichi, the blue Kamaitachi, that spoke next.
   
"Yes, Itama," he began. "We are Kamaitachi, youkai, and we're not related to your mother by any means. It was all a lie; it was a lie we've been feeding you for the past 11 years."
   
"Then you..." Itama started to say.
   
"Yes, we killed your father, and nearly killed you too!" Maka confirmed again. Itama felt his grip on his sheets loosen, the harsh truth now piercing his heart to point it ached.
   
"Let me explain. You see, like most Kamaitachi, we were once three," explained Taichi. "A tripper, a cutter, and a healer. Our job is to preserve the forest from the over-encroachment of mankind. We push them down, cut off a limb, and heal them before they know what hit them." His words weren't making Itama feel any safer, though he now had the faintest idea why his father was targeted. It didn't explain why they felt the need to kill him. Taichi got to that soon enough. "However, it seems that fate had other plans. We kept chasing humans off with our usual tactics, but they continued to invade our territory. Then, it happened! After tripping a human, our older brother was run over and killed alongside the human."
   
"We were outraged," added Maka. "Our brother loved the forest and mountains more than anyone else. To honor his memory, we swore we would save them by any means necessary."
   
"We're sorry about your father, but things just got out of hand," Taichi continued. "You were the only one who survived, but it's only thanks to us as well."
   
"And you expect me to believe that?!" Itama snapped.
   
"Tell me, Itama, what do you remember feeling back then? Do you remember anything?" Maka asked him.
   
Itama thought back about then. He didn't remember much, only that prior to meeting the kitsune, he could barely make out their form. Everything was all blurry, and he couldn't feel anything. Wait! He couldn't feel anything back then. "I..."
   
"You were pinned beneath the construction equipment," Taichi revealed. "Half of your organs were crushed. Left alone, you would have died. We felt guilty about that; that's the truth. Adults are one thing, but someone as young as you were... You didn't deserve to die! So we did the only thing we could think of. We operated on you, using the spare organs we could provide from our brother. With my special salve and my sister's ability to make clean cuts, we were certain we could save your life. And then we did everything we could to make it up to you! We took you in ourselves."
   
Itama remained silent throughout the explanation. He wanted to hate them. He wanted to hate Maka and Taichi so much. They killed his father! Who knows what kind of life he could have had had they not been around? And yet, he couldn't. They were as much his family as his father and mother were. No, perhaps even more. They had raised him for almost 11 years, over twice the amount of time his father had. Could he really hate them?
   
"Then... was everything else you said to me? Wanting me to stay with you? Was that all a lie too?" Itama finally asked, dreading the answer. It took every ounce of his strength to stop himself from plugging his own ears. The answer came in the form of a hug. Maka and Taichi wrapped their arms around his body, nuzzling him affectionately and rubbing their cheeks against him.
   
"You're our brother! Our family!" Maka told him. "That is the truth!"
   
Itama started to tear up around his eyes. Why? Why was he crying? Why did he care? They ruined his life! No, now that he thought about it, his life with them had been pretty good. Even if he never forgave them, he'd still love them. They were the only family he could say he knew. Though he remembered a little about his father and mother, he was too young to really recall anything about them. He doubted he could picture all their details correctly if he wanted too, whereas he knew just about everything about the human forms of the Kamaitachi twins.
   
"I... am?" he sniffled.
   
"Of course," Taichi assured him. "No matter what happens, you will always be our little brother. If you want to leave, we won't stop you. We won't blame you. But if you want to stay with us, I swear on our lives that we will do everything in our power to make you happy. We will take care of you like Kamaitachi siblings do."
   
"I... I don't want to leave," Itama murmured, finally raising his arms and hugging Maka and Taichi, his sister and brother. "I don't know if I want to stay, but I don't want to leave. So can I... Can I stay until I figure out what I want to do?"
   
The two released him.
   
"Of course!" they both said to him. Maka gently raised the back of her paw and wiped the tears from Itama's cheeks. As her brother had said, they would do everything they could to make him feel like he belonged. They wanted him to be happy no matter what he decided to do. "We'll be just outside if you need us. You just rest and come out when you're ready. Your brother and I will prepare a nice breakfast for you."
   
Itama replied with a nod. Maka helped lower him back into his bed, allowing him the chance to relax. For the first time in years, Itama felt like if he fell asleep, he wouldn't be bothered by anything. He didn't know if he'd fall asleep, but he was going to relax as they suggested. Once he was lying back down, the twins left the room.
   
Though it was still lightly raining, they were going to harvest some vegetables from their garden. Maka looked up toward the sky as the raindrops landed on her face.
   
"Despite all we said, we still couldn't bring ourselves to tell him everything," she spoke aloud to the sky, saying her thoughts.
   
"We'll tell him when he's ready to hear it," said Taichi. "That with our brother's heart, Kamitachi blood flows through his veins. That kitsune was only the beginning. Itama's body will begin experiencing changes soon. Now that he's accepted us, he'll need to accept himself. As his siblings, we need to be there for him."
   
"We will be, brother. We will be!"

36

Art Gallery / Re: DST-Starting-Sketch-a-thon: 2 (open)

« on: March 16, 2016, 11:18:27 PM »

#19
How about Aira as chocolate bunny?

Ref: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/836107/

37

Crimson Flag Comic / Re: Comic 359

« on: March 11, 2016, 09:45:36 PM »

I expected worse. 

38

Crimson Flag Comic / Re: Comic 358

« on: March 04, 2016, 09:43:56 PM »

Backing up from eyes in the shadows never ends well.

39

Random Topics / Re: Dragyn's most recent absence

« on: November 29, 2015, 01:23:52 PM »

Congratulations! Hope everything turns out well. 

40

Art Gallery / Re: Halloween-Sketch-a-thon 5 (open!)

« on: October 02, 2015, 03:56:02 AM »

#12

Aira's head attached to a Virmirberus. A Virmir head is saying something along the lines of "Now you can help collect and destroy unhealthy candy." and Aira's head replying "When I agreed to go trick-or-treating with you, I didn't mean like this."

Aira ref: http://art.by.virmir.com/art/snake_addition

41

Art Gallery / Re: Sunday Stream Request Raffle - 9/13 (Open!)

« on: September 10, 2015, 10:40:38 PM »

12

42

Art Gallery / Re: Sunday Stream Request Raffle - 9/6 (Open!)

« on: September 04, 2015, 02:04:01 PM »

23

43

Art Gallery / Re: Sunday Stream Request Raffle - 8/30 (Open!)

« on: August 28, 2015, 09:43:02 PM »

20

44

Art Gallery / Re: Sunday Stream Request Raffle - 8/23 (Open!)

« on: August 21, 2015, 09:57:34 PM »

36

45

Writer's Guild / Virmori and the Grumpy Forest

« on: August 17, 2015, 12:55:25 AM »

I wrote a quick story featuring Virmir as he's transformed into a forest spirit. I've included a copy of the original format I wrote the story in.

In "Virmori and the Grumpy Forest", Sein is found not by Ori, but instead winds up in Virmir's tower. After discovering that Virmir can understand them, Sein decides that Virmir is the one who needs to save the forest, but Virmir doesn't feel that's very productive. Sein, however, isn't willing to take no for an answer.



Virmori and the Grumpy Forest
Story By: Airafox
Virmir is owned by Virmir
Ori & Sein are copyright Moon Studios


It was a dark and rainy night. Virmir sat at his desk, tablet pen in hand, as the wind howled and banged on window. The grey fox was unfazed by the storm outside, too focused on drawing foxes. He was kept warm by the flames of a nearby fireplace, though his fur insulated him well enough. Summer was on its way out, and though the cold storm was a freak work of nature, Virmir didn't mind as long as he didn't have to go outside in it.
   
A loud crash came across his window as the sky unleashed its first crack of lightning and thunder. The bang was loud enough to rattle his window, but that's not what broke the fox's concentration. His window had blown open from the latest blast of wind at the same time, allowing light to emanate throughout the room. Virmir probably wouldn't have moved from his spot if the rain blowing in and getting on his equipment.
   
"Trees!" cursed the fox, hating the fact that he had to get up. "Blasted window! I'll have to add fixing it to the schedule tomorrow." As he slammed the window closed and turned back to his desk, a strange light caught his attention. It was flickering on the ground, and for a moment Virmir mistook it for a fallen lamp. He bent over to to pick it up, his cape riding up his back, when a voice rang out in his ear.
   
"H-Help..." it called.
   
Virmir stopped and blinked twice. Was somebody in his tower? Lucile was out and it was too high-pitched to be VirBot. He looked down at the light again, noticing that it looked more like an orb.
   
"Nngh... Help... Please..." the voice called again. This time there was no mistaking the source of the mysterious voice. It was coming from the glowing orb on the ground. Virmir blinked again, reaching down to examine it more closely. As soon as his finger made contact with the orb, it sprang into the air and began floating around Virmir curiously.
   
"Gah!" Virmir gasped in surprise, stumbling back. His eyes trailed along the luminescent sphere's path as it flew circles around him, until he became dizzy and forced to stop. He clapped at it like it were a fly, trapping it between his palms. "What are you? A fairy of some sort? What are you doing barging into my tower and breaking my window?"
   
"The forest!" it cried.
   
"What about the forest? What about my window, curses?!" he replied.
   
The light began dragging him along as it tried to escape, stopping only after appearing to think back on something. "Wait... You can hear me? But... You're not Ori. You're not even a child of the Spirit Tree!"
   
"How can a tree be a spirit?" Virmir questioned. "Never mind that. Anyway, what about my window? I trust you'll pay for the repair. Or you can at least repair it on your own."
   
"Forget about the window!" the light exclaimed. Virmir released the orb and covered his ears. The light was speaking directly into his brain, and the echoing of its yelling was giving him a migraine. "You can hear me, can't you? I don't know how, but that doesn't matter right now.  What matters is that the forest is in trouble! It needs your help!"
   
"And what kind of help could the forest need from me?" Virmir scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. He decided to leave the light alone and return to his desk. He was losing valuable drawing time talking to this thing. He turned back one last time to ask the light a final question. "By the way, what kind of fairy are you?"
   
Virmir didn't really care too much, but he was a little curious and he thought he could potentially include something like it in a drawing sometime.
   
"You can call me Sein," the light answered. Though Virmir hadn't asked for the explicit details, Sein began explaining what happened to Virmir. The Spirit Tree was attacked by a giant bird known as Kuro for a reason that Sein didn't understand. It slaughtered hundred of innocent forest spirits along the way and removed the core from the tree. As a result, the forest began to decay, the spirits began to disappear, and the weather also became more violent. Sein didn't remember what happened after that, only that they came flying through Virmir's window.
   
The toon fox had long since returned his attention to his drawing. He normally had some lyric-less music playing in the background, but it wasn't something he needed. Sein became
 agitated at the sight of Virmir ignoring their story.
   
"YOU'RE DRAWING?!" Sein shouted again. Virmir nearly dropped his tablet pen as he covered his ears again. It wasn't like it helped, but it was a typical reaction. "DID YOU EVEN HEAR ANYTHING I HAD TO SAY?!"
   
Virmir held out his left hand, opening and closing his fingers in the manner of making a handpuppet speak. "Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, forest is in trouble. Blah, blah, giant bird. Blah, blah, tree. I still don't see what that has to do with me."
   
"What it has to do with you is everything!" Sein snapped. Though Sein lacked a face, it was clear how annoyed the being was with Virmir's attitude. "I was looking for Ori, but I found you instead. You can understand me! That means YOU can help!"
   
"That doesn't sound very productive," replied Virmir, shrugging his shoulders again. "You should probably find this Ori person if it's that important." He waved his hand without looking back at Sein. "You're injured, right? You can stay here tonight if you agree to fix the window in the morning, but I suggest you find somebody else to help you save the forest."
   
"So... you really don't care what happens to the forest?" Sein asked, almost sniffling.
   
"It's not that I don't care what happens to the forest," Virmir admitted. "I just have more productive things to do. You said you were looking for somebody named Ori, right? That means I'm not the only one who can help. I just don't see why I should do it if I'm not the one who is supposed to save it. It's just not productive to have two people doing a job that one person can do."
   
"Productive? That's why you won't help?!" Sein growled.
   
"If I'm not needed, then yes," Virmir answered calmly.
   
"I see..." Sein sighed. Though one couldn't tell, an idea was brewing in Sein's mind. "What if it meant you could gain a bunch of cool powers and abilities?"
   
"Powers?" questioned Virmir, slightly intrigued. "Like what?"
   
"Shooting fireballs, climbing walls, the power to destroy walls around you, the power to breathe underwater..." Sein explained, feeling they were finally getting the fox's attention. "I bet the Spirit Tree could even help you float in the air for a really long time! I bet that could help you when you need to work outside!"
   
"I can already shoot fireballs, but stuff like breathing underwater and climbing walls does sound useful..." Virmir pondered, a finger placed beneath his chin. "Could this Spirit Tree or whatever fix my arms so that I can draw without interruption and get me a new tablet?" He didn't need a new tablet, but he wanted some kind of compensation for taking time away from his drawing.
   
"I don't see why not," answered Sein.
   
"Fine. I guessssss I can help... at least until you find this Ori," Virmir finally decided. "But I'm not getting wet. We'll go tomorrow if the rain stops."
   
Sein had had just about enough of Virmir's attitude. Sein was already making lots of concessions. The light wasn't about to let Virmir just casually go about things and risk the whole forest's destruction. "No! We're going now!"
   
Sein crashed into Virmir's side, flinging him out the window with a powerful shove. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Virmir screamed as he crashed through the window and plummeted toward the ground below. Fortunately Virmir was resilient, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Virmir splatted against the ground, his body stretching as he picked his body off the ground. His fur was already getting matted down by the rain. Sein floated idly behind him.
   
"Now let's go!" Sein ordered.
   
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine," Virmir scowled, frowning as he stomped his way into the forest. It didn't help that Sein was constantly bumping into him and nagging him along the way. He wondered if this is what Link felt like when he was adventuring through Hyrule in Ocarina of Time.
   
Nearly three hours had passed since they left the tower. The rain had finally let up, but Vimir was tired and hungry and hadn't gotten a single power yet.
   
"How much farther is it? You haven't even told me what I'm supposed to do!" Virmir frowned. "We need to revive the Ginso Tree, then it should purify the water in the forest and we'll be on our way to restoring the forest."
   
Virmir harumphed and crossed his arms. He stopped as something snorted behind him, a pair of eyes falling upon his form. Virmir turned his head to see a large, stone-covered rhinoceros-like creature barreling toward him. Virmir yelped and jumped to the side as the creature rammed its way past him into a nearby cavern and into a boulder, shattering it in the process.
   
"Gah! What is that?" said Virmir.
   
"It's a creature of the forest corrupted due to the waning power of the Spirit Tree," informed Sein.
   
"You didn't say anything about stuff like this," Virmir groaned, clasping his hands together to create a fireball. The creature began charging back in Virmir's direction. It suddenly stopped as a noise echoed around it. The creature glanced upward as a boulder came crashing down atop it. Virmir blinked in surprise, releasing his flames. He shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands up in the air.
   
"Am I supposed to go in there?" he asked Sein. Sein bobbed, the closest thing to a nod. Virmir sighed softly and headed into the cavern. Water dripped along the moss-covered cave walls, illuminated by strange glowing plants and mysterious purple bulbs that Virmir felt he shouldn't touch. As Virmir progressed further and further into the cave, hopping across logs and stones to avoid touching the polluted underground lake water, he finally arrived at what appeared to be a large open cavern. On the side of the lake was a lone tree that stood, long dead by the state of its decayed branches. In the center of it was looked almost like a pedestal with a glowing orb.
   
"That looks kind of important," Virmir observed.
   
"That light will provide you with knowledge of the past. If you absorb it, you'll be granted power unlike anything you've seen before," Sein explained to Virmir. "Normally you need to be a forest spirit to gain such power, but if it's you, I have a feeling you'll be able to gain something from it."
   
Virmir grumbled, but it was just a tree. He'd come this far, so what did he have to lose? And if he gained one of the abilities that Sein mentioned earlier, then it would have finally made leaving in the rain worth it. He wasn't sure what to do or how to absorb it, so he did the first thing that came to his mind. He reached out to the touch the orb in front of the tree.
   
Virmir's body began to levitate in the air as the light began to envelop him. The light entwined around his body and began to spread. It was warm. Even Virmir cracked a smile for but a moment as he felt the power enter his body. It felt great! Finally they were getting somewhere. Virmir could only imagine what kind of power he was being bestowed by this light.
   
The light entered his body, and made his head start to tingle. The good feeling from before suddenly dissipated and his migraine from Sein's earlier yelling returned. His forehead pushed out and throbbed, pounding outward. The pain repeated at the top of his head, once again feeling as if somebody was pounding away at the inside of his head with a  hammer. "Gaaaah!" Virmir cried out, the pounding lasting for much longer than Sein's yelling. Two antennae, these ones much longer than his three, pointy antennae hair and looking far more natural, sprouted out from his head. The looked almost, almost like additional ears, but lacked many of the distinct features of them. One could almost mistake them for horns if they weren't so flexible.
   
His ears began to burn as they were pulled by an invisible force, becoming longer. Virmir could almost swear he saw the light embracing his body take on the form of hands that began rounding out his ears. His ears were lowered in the process, becoming thinner, but much longer. They were kind of like bunny ears, but much lower on the sides of his head.
   
The light began pushing at his muzzle, pushing it inward. His snout was no longer quite so pointy, pushed in and rounder than it had been previously. It was about the length of a rabbit's, give or take an inch. Virmir gritted his teeth as his teeth adjusted. His entire head no longer had that vulpine figure to it.
   
The light then moved to his tail, pinching it. List if Virmir's tail has been quickly shoved through a small hole, much of the fur and fluff fell off, leaving his with a not-so-fluffy tail, but as long as ever. Without all that fur on it, Virmir found it much more prehensile, similar to what one would find on a cat, but thicker.
   
As the light continued to enter his body, his fur became much lighter in color. The grey fur he prized so much began to fade into a whiteness like what was found on his belly. By the time Virmir's body stopped twirling about in the air and was placed gently back down, his fur was completely white. It had a strange, almost creepy glow to it.
   
Virmir's arms and legs felt stronger. They weren't more muscular, per se, but they felt that way. Virmir's feet were a bit longer, but not too much. Virmir looked over his body, then back to Sein. He frowned and crossed his arms.
   
"Well... that was unexpected," stated Sein. If Sein hand arms, they'd probably be scratching the back of their head.
   
"You didn't tell me this would happen!" Virmir grumbled.
   
"I didn't say it wouldn't," Sein retorted. "I admit it's not what I expected. It looks like the light turned you into a forest spirit."
   
"What does that mean?" queried Virmir.
   
"It means that now you don't have a choice," Sein snickered. Sein didn't really find humor in anything, but even they thought that the situation was amusing. "You're just like Ori! You are destined to save the forest!"
   
"I didn't sign up for this!" mumbled Virmir, warily shifting his eyes.
   
The snap of a twig alerted both Sein and Virmir to the presence of three beasts encroaching upon their space. They resembled monkeys of some sort, but they were glowing with the strange eerie purple light that Virmir noticed coming from the bulbs back in the cave. Although the space was wide and open, Virmir didn't exactly want to fight. He didn't even know what he could do.
   
"We have to get out of here!" Sein warned.
   
For once, Virmir agreed with Sein. The only way out was the same way that they came in. Virmir waited for the creatures to draw closer, then made a break for it. He leapt off the ground with as much force as he could exert. To his surprise, he was launched high in the air and toward the cave opening. He hadn't made it all the way, but he certainly jumped much farther and higher than he ever could have before. Maybe this change wasn't so bad after all.
   
Virmir crafted a fireball in his palm and flung it back at the pursuing creatures. They collapsed to the ground in pain, fading into darkness. Virmir panted as he escaped from the cave. Light was already descending onto the forest, giving Virmir and Sein an idea of just how much time they'd spent in the cave. Only now could Virmir see what Sein was talking about. The forest around them really was dying.
   
"Now do you understand why I need your help?" Sein said to Virmir.
   
"I already said I'd help you," Virmir grumbled in response. "Might as well see what other powers I can get out of this. Just tell me next time a tree's going to transform me! I hate it when that happens."
   
And so began Virmir's adventure to save the forest. Teamed up with what he viewed as an annoying fairy, Virmir had been force to take on the role of Ori and take up the hero's mantle.