"Wanna grab a bite to eat? My treat?" Kenta grabbed some leaves off a tree, and in a poof turned into a wad of cash.
"No thank you Kenta," Kiko said politely.
"Well, pull up a seat." Kenta reached down between his legs, and pulled, and his package turned into a round table with a set of three chairs which he sat down in one.
Kiko sat down without so much as blinking. Kellie shivered a bit, but not wanting to be rude, followed suit.
It hadn't occurred to Kellie before now just how many of these kitsune were lax in what would be called human modesty she'd been so in awe at the modern conveniences mixed with traditional architecture.
"So babe," Kenta said looking at Kellie.
'Oh God, did he really just say 'babe?'" Kellie thought with a groan. "Yes?"
"Our eyes and ears say ya came here to sucker in Kiko's family to helping fight your war? And playin' to do the same with the other Great Families? Good luck. There are a bajillion of 'em. Spread across countless universes, planets, etc. Existence is a big place babe, it's why all those 'conquer all that is' are nuts ... even conquering one entire universe is nuts unless you built it as yours from the ground up like the Great Families did... Of course that doesn't matter the least bit to you: the self-righteous psychopaths after everyone you love, and everyone they love, and everything those guys and gals love, etc, will still wipe out everyone and everything YOU know and then some, so it might as well be the end of everything."
"Do you have a point?" Kellie asked.
"Oh! Right! Sorry babe! Got off track there! You're a friend of Kiko's apparently, I swear she could walk into a bus, and by the next bus stop having made friends everyone on board. Great ambassador material... but not necessarily leader material."
"AHEM!"
"Sorry sorry babe! For reals! The point is this! One, if yer goin' to fairy-land, Never Land, Avalon, whatever ya wanna call it. If a fairy asks for your name, DON'T give it! Instead say 'you may call me' or 'I am called' or 'the word you may know me by' etc. "
"Why?" Kellie asked.
"I was right that Merlin didn't teach you. Ya know how humans can bind demons to their will by knowing their real name? Which is why demons always use pseudonyms? Fairies can bind HUMANS to their will by humans quote, unquote, 'giving' their name. Under fairy law, if you give your name, that person owns your name, and that means they own you!"
"Oh!... Thanks." Kellie said with a shiver.
"Also, fairy act all care free and whimsical like a buncha hippies... but if they give their word about something, they CAN'T break it, anymore than your average human can break the law of gravity. They might try to side-step giving their word, DON'T let'em! They'll then have to follow through on any promise they make to you or die trying."
"I understand." Kellie nodded. "Thank you."
"Also, fun little bonus fact, calling a fairy 'it' in their culture isn't considered rude. It's just a little quirk of their nature."
"Oh. How do you know all this?" Kellie asked.
"Well babe, I have a little grand-cousin who ended up the adopted sister of a fairy, Terumi." Kenta dropped his cocky attitude for a second, his eyes narrowed. "Her dad's a real piece of work, gambled her to try and win the child of a fairy... he didn't think he'd lose. Both ended up duel custody with some humans and the fae, don't ask me. Kid is smart, became part of this multicultural after-school-special circle of friends. Kid's got a future. Gonna have connections all over the Great Families as they grow up and rise in the ranks. Promote friendship and all that malarkey."
"... So Kenta, about the alliance between OUR clans," Kiko said.
"Go on a date with me and I'll say it's a done deal?"
"No."
Kenta shrugged. "Was worth a shot." Kenta pulled out a leaf that in a puff of smoked into a long scroll. "Here's the first draft of the contract for our alliance. Feel free to submit any revisions for review before signing."
Kellie's eyes widened at the legal jargon in said contract... Kiko had her work cut out for her!
"Here's a little something extra babe." Kenta tossed a rock with a hole in it to Kellie. "Adder stone, look through it, and you can pierce the illusions fairies use. Chain it to your wrist if you know what's good for you when visiting their pocket world. Use iron."
Kellie nodded. "Thank you."
She looked around. Where had Mika gotten to? She remembered Kiko's warning about kitsune not being able to help themselves in tricking humans. She shrugged. Hopefully when Mika transformed back their friends, they accepted it was a cultural misunderstanding and NOT done out of malevolence. Though Kellie did wonder how well the job of a brainwashed fox-woman-maid in this place paid!