One thing that Keiko realized only two rounds into the game that was, quite simply, there
was no way she could beat Julio at this game. He had centuries experience she didn't, true,
the game had only existed for about ninety nine years give or take, but Julio clearly had
more experience at it than Keiko did, more than any other human being alive. This was not
good. The temptation did occur to Keiko to cheat, but not only did it just not feel right,
and was dishonorable, there was the fact she wondered if she pass it by Julio at all. Only
Kyriel and Jasmine had a real picture of what Julio could and could not do.
'I can't beat him directly. And there's no way I'm cheating. So how do I win?' While Keiko
wasn't revolted at the idea of looking for hidden truths for Julio for a year, in particular
since she was now going to live for about a nine hundred or so years (she wasn't
immortal), she did want to have Julio with her if push can to shove. Only she did pray to
her own god that she wouldn't need to. Keiko thought of everything she knew of her new
race, both myth and truths (not that the kitesune actually minded the myths). 'Think
about what he wants.' The idea popped into Keiko furry and deceptively clever brain.
"You know it's a shame if you lose." She said perfectly casually.
"How do you figure?" Julio said keeping his poker face.
"Simple. You'll never find out what form I've thought up for you to assume that Jasmine
won't notice you in."
"I'm guessing either flea, or something that involve fox tails and a really big chest."
"Maybe. Maybe not. Point is that you don't know. And you'll never know if you win."
"And why should I care weather I know or not? With a kitesune, sometimes you're better off
-not- knowing."
"Granted. But you're the curious type Julio, Janice told us about your quest, you wouldn't
-be- on this quest of yours if you weren't will to embrace that curiosity with all of your
being."
"I've also learned curiosity should be tempered with caution."
"Wise words. Make the choice, adventurous stranger; strike the bell and bide the danger.
Or wonder, until it drives you mad, what would have followed if you had. C.S.Lewis."
"You KNOW C.S. Lewis? I though you were Japanese."
"The movie got me curious."
"As I recall, when the lad DID strike the bell, he unleashed the first wicked witch into
Narnia."
"You're good. Then again I guess you have a lot of experiences. But wouldn't the
experiences in a new form be hard to pass up?"
"Wouldn't do as much for me as others. My spirit is hardwired so I don't get the new
instincts for whatever form my body assumes. That includes urges and subconscious
actions. Species that are slaves to their cursed instincts likes werewolves and vampires
-really- didn't like me for that one. But it also means that if I assumed a form with wings,
I'd have to learn to fly without even the instinctual muscle control to help me along."
"That certainly makes it a challenge, er, interesting."
"You're trying to distract me aren't you?"
"Trust me. Don't give me that look, yes trust me. If I was trying to distract you, you'd know
it. But seriously Julio, if you win, I plan to never reveal to you what form I had figured out
to help me out without Jasmine identifying your true self."
"And I'm supposed to turn down a work hand for a year who might be able to get into
places I can't for a year for that?"
"I've been transformed into, nay, -reborn- as a trickster animal spirit, not a sadism animal
spirit. -Don't- tell me you're not the least bit curious."
"Oh I -am- curious. I am. But you gave me a good offer girlie. And I'm not about to turn it
down."
"How sure are you? When's the next time you could be transformed by a kitesune, and
aren't likely to be left in some random place never to see that kitesune again, or some
other prank that you'd remember till the end of your days but the kitesune would forget
about after their next bottle of Saki?"
"You have such a high opinion of your new people."
"Just realistic. I'll admit, myself and Anna are the only kitesune either of us know so far,
well, japanese kitesune at any rate, whose to say there's more of us in the world? If there
is, maybe we can change the reputation a little."
"I'm good at 'hacking' as the modern term is, kitesune wouldn't like me much either for
being able to 'undo' their fun and games."
"Then you should have little to worry about, you have pieces of knowledge of Kami-Sama,
after all, and can undo any transformation I do to you, what are you afraid of?"
"Whose to say I'm afraid?"
"No one. Oh wait, I did. I apologize. Maybe I've been picking apart your strategies as we've
been chatting, maybe I've been learning your body language as we've spoken, maybe my
kitesune eyes are seeing the reflection of your cards in your eyes... "
Julio shuddered, "Psychological warfare won't work on me that easily."
"Oh I know. But I want to win just as badly as your do, or do you?"
Julio shook his head slightly clearing his mind, Keiko had only been a kitesune for a few
days. A few at most! He wouldn't let her get to him. Right?
++++++++++++++++
"Say -- say what?" The guard stuttered.
Shaykh Abu Isa placed a paw on the guard's furry shoulder, the guard tensed, a sheik was
touching him! "Just as I said! The shayks of the gulf have an alliance for your king!"
The gate guardians all looked at each other, none of them had been instructions for
anything even remotely like this. The two of them had actually been part of opposing
extremist groups, though they were now perfectly willing and happy to work together in
the service of their king. To be fair, everyone in the group was surprised to see a
cellphone at all. When the vixens had fled, Karther's city had been purely out of the
arabian nights with nothing to collect it with the 20th century onward. Apparently Tamthis
was making a number of improvements and upgrades that would have Karther in
conniptions.
"Er, is that you, you wish to speak with King Tamthis then?" The guardian said playing it
totally by ear his tail laying low.
Jasmine herself was rather stunned to hear King -Tamthis- rather than Karther. Yes
Alexandra had said only a dozen times that Karther was no longer in control, but she had
not trusted the word of one of Karther's puppets.
"Yes I wish to see your king." Shaykh Abu Isa, not tripping up and saying 'we' and thus
including his 'wives' in such important 'men's concerns.'
The two fox men looked at each other again. Shaykh Abu Isa then launched into a fanciful
tale of economics, geopolitical situations, and the price of oil and how it related to
fennecs. Pretty much all of it went over the guard's heads, nearly everything Shaykh Abu
Isa was saying was fiction, but lucky none of the guards present had majored in
economics, and everything Shaykh Abu Isa was saying sounded so reasonable, so rational,
so logical, and so complex they were worried what might happen if those chose to ignore
him over a hunch that they couldn't pin down.
"You-you may entered honor sheik." The humanoid desert fox bowed his head. "May you
be able to aid our king in his heroic defense against the evil djinn!"
And of course, since the sheik was allowed to enter, it went without saying his wives were
as well. The main gates did open to allow in what for all appearance was the the latest
party of arabs to willingly and knowingly accept the transformation into desert foxes
(manipulated by utter and complete lies or not).
Once inside, Jasmine was speechless. While at first glance the only difference between this
as some middle eastern cities was the fact everyone there was a fennec or a wolf, only
Jasmine's eyes picked up the sublime sights of various arab customs and traditions being
bent, others perfectly observed, while others flat out ignored. And every single person
there taking it perfectly and utterly in stride without so much as one muscle twitching in
defiance. Jasmine so wanted to kill Karther.
The deceptively newborn angel meanwhile, look at this city, -truely- looked at it, looking
at the mana and spiritual forces that flowed through it. That was when the truth hit Kyriel.
'The more people the city acquires, the larger it becomes. Wait, 'the city' acquires?
Shouldn't that be 'Tamthis acquires?' Oh right, they're one and the same.' She
remembered, such a short time ago chronologically, but felt like years. Tamthis and the
city were one and the same, Queen Tammia had assimilated the castle, and along with it
all of the traits of Karther even Karther shrunk from: notably his phobia of wolves and his
insanity.
Shaykh Abu Isa meanwhile felt like he was walking through a town full of NPCs from
World of Warcraft with bits of SimCity thrown into the mix. There wasn't even the slightest
hint of conflict going on, everyone simply was doing what they were doing without a
second thought on the subject. They weren't acting quite like he had when he was one of
Karther's robots. But at the same time, these people should have been taking the idea they
were surrounded by members of opposing clans, and that there was supposed an army of
genies out there ready to wipe them with a lot more attention.
Jasmine whispered in Kyriel's ear, "Can you smell it?"
"Yes. I can." Kyriel whispered back. Kyriel whispered in turn to her four elder sisters, and
then to her once removed brother, "Don't talk to anyone unless you absolutely have to,
keep the discussions as short as possible if you have to, don't get distracted or involved in
anything, or you'll get pulled along and into this place and become just another citizen,
the flow of this place, it has a undertow."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Shaykh Abu Isa said, "This place is a clam, watch out or
you'll turn into a pearl. And I don't like pearls." Shaykh Abu Isa shuddered remembering
when Karther had him dress in a all pearl necklace, anklet, bracelet, well everything, while
enjoying the brainwashed and puppetfied Anna for the first time.
The four sisters stepped in a bit closer to each other. Lisa and Vicki kept an eye on their
companions to make sure they didn't stop something that lured them away and absorb
them into this city's story. Luna and Erica kept their minds focused on what weapons to
summon on a moment's notice they were confronted by Lucy or Natalie.
Alexandra whispered, "It is beautiful. I can't wait till it's returned to master Karther who it
rightfully belongs to." But to do that, she decided needed the aid of her sisters and the
angel. Otherwise she could not hope to dethrone the usurper Tamthis!
"Alexandra look around you," Kyriel whispered, "Can't you tell these people are -frozen?-"
Alexandra blinked at Kyriel confused.
"They're like parts in a machine now, they haven't been given new lives, they're just
fixtures in a setting!" Kyriel continued.
Alexandra shook her head, "No, that isn't true, they live, they exist, we all simply exist for,
rather, they -should- exist for their king, not a pretender..."
Kyriel felt the emotions pity and sympathy for the first time, "Alexandra... think... when
you met me, my mother... you helped her... is that what you were supposed to do?"
Shaykh Abu Isa whispered harshly, "Not the time!" The last thing they needed was a
heated emotional debate that would get everyone's attention!
Kyriel sighed, but then gentle took hold of Alexandra shoulder, and ever so slightly
pointed (so not to draw attention herself) at Samir's family, the process of them being
asborbed into the city's story only having just begun.
"Look at them Alexandra." Kyriel whispered as lowly as she could, "Look at them, you don't
have a spiritual sight, but tell me, what do you see?"
Luna thought, 'In case guide is possessed by evil city, knock her unconscious.' Readily to
will a sap into existence if Alexandra was accident enslaved by the city.
Every step that Vicki took inside this city was one full of revulsion. It stank of the king of
desert kitsune, a smell that was sickening to foursome in no small measure.
Alexandra looked upon Samir's and his two sons and wife as the assimilation of them into
the city's story began. First time she would behold anyone transmuted by her master's
magic (not counting her short time as Tammia's inferior clone) who was already a fennec.