Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 24 – Back At The Inn

As soon as we got back to the inn, Raynelle sat me down at the table in my room.

“Alright, just… uh… wait here for a second. I have something I need to try.” Raynelle ran out of the room, leaving me alone.

Wha-

Before I even had the time to think about what she could have been talking about, she was already back, carrying a notebook and some pencils in her hands.

“Anna told me this would be a good idea, and she definitely seemed to know what she was talking about.” Raynelle laid the notebook and pencils in front of me before sitting down at the other side of the table.

“…”

We sat there for a few minutes, just staring at each other in complete silence, until Raynelle suddenly buried her face in her hands.

“This isn’t working,” She muttered, “But… I’m not supposed to force you… Am I doing this wrong?”

Force me to do what?

I looked down at the notebook and pencils again, trying to figure out what she was expecting me to do.

…

I picked up one of the pencils, and immediately, it felt comfortable in my hand. But, more than that… there was this urge clawing away at me all of a sudden.

Once Raynelle noticed that I had taken one of the pencils, she lifted her head out of her hands and started staring at me, still not saying anything. But my mind was too busy for me to be bothered by it.

This is…

Why…

Why is this familiar?

…

Looking down at the notebook, my mind was filled with one thing. My memory of Ovia, each and every individual moment, flashed past until they all came together into a single image.

As soon as that image was clear in my mind, I just instinctively knew what to do. I put the pencil against the page, and my hand just started moving, gracefully sliding over the page.

It was like being in a trance; nothing else mattered. For just a few brief moments, what was in front of me was all that existed in the world.

Until, all of a sudden, it was over.

I looked up, but Raynelle wasn’t there anymore. I immediately looked around the room and found her standing over me, looking down at the notebook.

“So, who’s this?” Raynelle asked, having noticed that I’d come out of my trance.

“…”

I looked down at the notebook, at my drawing of Ovia kneeling down, with her arms outstretched and an expectant look on her face. I started to reach my hand out but pulled back.

“So, how many tails is that? 1, 2, 4, 6, 8… 9!” She shouted when she reached the last number.

Huh?

Why does that matter?

“Is it a Goddess?…” Raynelle started muttering to herself, “But, I don’t recognise them… Is there a nine-tailed kitsune out there that isn’t a Goddess?”

Raynelle moved around me and leaned on the table to get a better look at the drawing.

“Is this someone you’ve met?” She pointed at the drawing.

“…”

I nodded.

“…If only you’d talk to me, this would be so much easier to figure out…”

You don’t need to know…

This… This is for me.

“Maybe someone else can help… Celica would probably know; even if she doesn’t, she can probably ask her Goddess about it. I doubt that there’s a nine-tailed kitsune out there that even the gods don’t know about.” Raynelle reached out for the drawing.

NO!

I snatched the notebook off the table, knocking all the pencils onto the floor.

It’s mine!

Don’t take her away from me!

Raynelle took a step back, almost slipping on one of the pencils.

“Alright, alright, it’s yours,” She said, putting her hands up, “I won’t take it away from you.”

Right as she finished speaking, the door flew open, and Ava came into the room with a basket on her arm.

“Did I… interrupt something?” Ava asked, looking back and forth between us.

“Um…” Raynelle responded, “Did you know that our little Kit can draw?”

“Can she now?” Ava locked her gaze on me.

“Go on, show her,” Raynelle said, pointing at the notebook I had held against my chest.

Do I… have to?

…

…

She did help me…

I guess she can see…

I turned the notebook around while still holding onto it tightly, just in case they tried to take it from me.

“Oh, let’s have a look then,” Ava said, coming closer and setting the basket down on the table, “This… is very good, actually. Where did you learn to do this?”

“…”

I… don’t know…

“You know what? I can worry about that later. I’ve managed to get you something that you might be interested in,” Ava said, pulling various bottles and brushes out of the basket she brought with her, “I offered to help teach you how to care for your tail yourself, so we might as well do it properly from the beginning. That’s if you’re willing, of course… I don’t want to force you.”

There’s… a lot…

What did that all cost?…

…

Why are you going so far?

…

I nodded my head while looking her in the eyes.

I-I’ll do it.

“Good,” Ava clapped her hands together, “Then, to start, let’s get you into a bath. I’m sure it’s been a while since you’ve had one.”

Immediately after hearing her say that, my enthusiasm plummeted.

But… that scar…

…

“Okay then, I guess I’ll have to leave you two to it. I need to go pick something up anyway,” Raynelle said, walking over to the door, “And Ava, when I get back, you really need to teach me all of this stuff as well. I don’t like being on the back foot like this all of a sudden.”

“That’s your own fault. I didn’t do anything you couldn’t,” Ava said before turning to face me again, “I called in a favour and managed to get the bath in this inn all to ourselves.”

Raynelle left the room without saying anything else, although I heard what I thought was a sigh coming from the other side of the door.

Ava then packed up all of the bottles and brushes she had just taken out before heading over to the door and gesturing over to me.

“Well, come on then, the sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll finish.”

…

It will make me look better…

You have to.

But…

…

No.

Y-you can do this.

It’s all for her.

…

It’s Ava…

She seems…

…

She did already help me before… a-and nothing happened…

I slid myself off the chair and walked up next to Ava.

“Don’t be so nervous,” Ava said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, “Haven’t I already proven myself to you? I know what I’m doing.”

“…”

“I just can’t wait to see what you look like at the end.”

…

Neither can I.

My tail started gently swaying back and forth involuntarily, and Ava let out a small chuckle.

“Let’s hurry and get you in the bath then,” Ava said, pushing me out the door, “I don’t want you changing your mind on me.”

I-I won’t

This… This is for her… so I can’t.

Ava then guided me down through the inn to where the bath was before helping me to take off my dress.

“Good thing your tail came out easier than it went in,” Ava said as she folded the dress up, “Hopefully, it will be easier to put back on after we get your tail all clean. It definitely shouldn’t catch as easily… I think.”

Really?

…

I quickly slipped past Ava and slid myself into the bath, being careful not to splash water all over the room.

My tail instantly became heavier, now needing a surprising amount of effort to move around. I’ve been rained on before, but even then, my tail never absorbed this much water.

As I was playing around with my tail, Ava came into the room. She was wearing a large shirt with the sleeves rolled up and trousers that seemed way too big for her. I couldn’t help but stare at her for a moment.

“Hmm? What- Oh, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so I ‘borrowed’ some of Mom’s clothes and cut some holes in the back for my wings.” Ava did a quick twirl, “What do you think? Does it look good on me?”

“…”

“I do wish you would play along a bit. But for now, let’s get to work,” Ava came up to the side of the bath, “To start, can you go back to the white tail? It’ll be easier to see if anything is stuck in there that way.”

…

Fine…

I did as she asked.

If it will make it easier… I can do it…

Ava then pulled out one of the bottles from the basket.

“This is a speciality shampoo I managed to find in the market. It’s supposed to be better for this kind of thing.” Ava then gestured for my tail in the water.

But…

That scar…

“Is there something wrong?”

“…”

I made sure that I was facing Ava directly so that she couldn’t see my back.

“Oh, I see,” Ava sighed, “Look… there’s nothing there I haven’t seen before. After all, I was the one who wiped you down and healed you up when we first found you.”

That’s not the problem.

She… Ovia… blames herself for it…

I-I don’t want you looking at it.

“Okay then, how’s this?” Ava threw a brown shirt at me, “You can put that on. Would that be better?”

“…”

I quickly put on the shirt before turning around and lifting my tail out of the water and onto the side of the bath.

Ava then got to work, lathering the shampoo all over my tail. She gently massaged my soapy tail for a while before gently laying it back in the water.

“Just run your fingers through the fur, make sure it’s all gone, alright?”

I did as she asked and immediately felt a difference. My fingers could glide through easily and didn’t get caught anywhere near as often as before.

I looked at Ava and saw her flipping through a book. After only a few seconds, she closed the book and looked back up at me.

“Okay, next, I’m going to use this,” Ava said, pulling a comb out of the basket, “You’re not supposed to brush your tail while it’s like this, as the fur is weaker when wet, so instead, I’m going to use this wide-tooth comb, which should be fine. It should help get out anything that’s gotten stuck in there.”

Okay.

Ava did exactly as she said she would and started running the comb through my tail, each time going from base to tip. After a few minutes of this, Ava once again laid my tail back in the water.

“Run your fingers through there again, just to get rid of the loose bits.”

Once again, I was surprised at just how different it felt. It was almost like she was using some kind of magic.

“Pretty good, right?” Ava put her hands on my shoulders, “Now, get yourself out of there. We need to dry your tail off before getting to the rest.”

I pulled myself out of the bath, with my wet tail drooping down behind me.

“Pat your tail down with this,” Ava threw a towel at me, “Then we just need to run that wide-toothed comb through it until it’s dry.”

I followed her instructions exactly, and I was completely amazed. Each time I ran the comb through my tail, it somehow didn’t catch a single time.

After what felt like only a little while, my tail was completely dry and softer than ever; in fact, I couldn’t even remember my tail ever feeling quite as soft.

“That… actually didn’t take as long as I thought it would…” Ava said, “Well then, let’s get you dressed so we can get to the good part, alright?”

Once again, I nodded.

She…

…

Doesn’t seem that bad…

…