Surprisingly, Keru's palace was underwhelming. It was impressive, but nothing a human couldn't build.
Even more surprising was the absence of Keru's parents. We searched high and low for them, but they were nowhere to be found.
We had been searching for well over an hour when Keru passed a large ornament on a pedestal in the hallway.
"What is it?" I asked. "It's a shrine to my family. My ancestors." She approached it and softly rubbed her hand against it, like she was strokng it.
"I can hear them."
"What?"
Keru faced me, tears in her eyes. "When I was born, I had 4 brothers and sisters who were born at the same time." Facing the decoration again, she continued "But they were taken away from us. I will never know what they were like, what would become of them..."
"Single children are rare for Kitsune. We usually have 5 or 4 children, all in one go. I always had the full attention of my parentd. I had to face their discipline alone. So I ran away."
Keru had never told me about this before. It was interesting to hear about her past. "I was raised by a human woman named Victoria." As she said this name she smiled. "She was the sweetest person i've ever met. She always took care of me, and when she was dying, I took care of her. That's why I use so many human words and phrases, and why I am what I am. I'm a human, trapped in a kitsune body."
Then she collapsed to the ground. "My parents... They're calling out to me..." She glanxed upwards and said "I think they're dead."