Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 9 – The Crow and The Fox

[Ava POV]

Mom decided to leave me alone with this cute little kitsune, but I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. What I did know was that whenever I looked at her, only one thought came to mind.

I want to touch that tail.

Well, that’s not entirely true; there was one other thought.

Those ears look pretty fluffy too…

You would think that makes things quite simple, right? Go up, brush the tail, play with the ears, and everyone has a good time.

Well, unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Kit was doing everything she possibly could to avoid me.

Even when I just tried going for it and jumped at her when she was distracted, they simply leapt off the bed out of my reach. Mom even scolded me for doing it. It was rather unjust, in my opinion. Like, come on, I didn’t even get anything out of it.

Now, if I could at least talk to her, maybe we could have a conversation and work something out, y’know?. But that also seems to be a no-go. This little fox has refused to talk the whole time she’s been awake.

I know you can talk! I heard you mumbling in your sleep.

Well, I didn’t exactly hear what she said, but there was definitely some noise coming from that tiny mouth of hers.

…

Ahh, I’ve gotta try something!

I got off the bed and sat down on the floor a small distance in front of Kit.

“So. Let’s start over. You’re Kit, I’m Ava.”

“…”

She stared back at me in silence.

Come on, you’ve gotta give me something.

“Age… what about age? I’m 16, and you are?…”

“…”

No response.

Should I just guess? Surely, she’ll correct me if I’m wrong.

“12?”

Kit just continued to stare back at me, so I was about to try and change tactics. But right as I was about to move on, something unexpected happened. Kit shook her head from side to side catching me off guard.

“No?… No! Then how old are you?”

“…”

Come on! You almost had something there.

“11?”

Another head shake.

“Lower?”

She shook her head again.

“So higher then… 13?”

Another no.

Do you only know how to shake your head?

“14?”

There was a short pause… followed by a nod.

“Wait, so you’re 14?… Are you sure?”

I thought a 14-year-old would be taller.

“Wait, was that a rude thing to say?”

“…”

“Sorry!” I said while dramatically throwing my body to the floor.

“…”

Seriously? Still nothing.

The only times this girl has shown any real reaction was when Mom burst into the room, when she got food and when I jumped at her…

I could just try that again…

Surely, she wouldn’t expect it the second time.

…

Maybe not; I’d rather not have her hate me.

But I didn’t exactly have many more conversation topics I could use. Maybe if I had more food, I could try and sort out some kind of trade, but that loaf of bread we gave her was the last of what we had on hand…

While I was sitting there trying to come up with a new angle of attack, I noticed Kit’s eyes started to wander around the room, at least until they eventually settled, looking at something just above my head.

“Huh? What’ve you found?”

I turned around to try to find what she was looking at, but there wasn’t anything there, so I turned back to face Kit, but she was still looking above me. So I tried looking up instead, and that’s when I realised what was going on.

“Ohhh, you’re interested in my wings.”

“…”

I brought one of my wings in front of me and rested it on my lap, Kit’s eyes following the wing the whole time. That’s when a great idea hit me.

“So… do you want to try touching them?”

“…”

She once again responded by staring in silence; however, this time, her eyes were firmly locked on my hand as I gently ran my fingers through my feathers. I continued to taunt her, watching as she slowly started to inch forward.

It was only a couple of minutes before she finally broke and nodded her head.

“Well, I could let you do that… but… I would need something in return.”

As soon as those words left my mouth, she started to move away from me.

“Wait! It’s something simple!”

“…”

Kit stopped moving away, clearly still interested.

“You can touch my wings… If I can touch your ta-”

Before I had even finished my sentence, she violently shook her head and retreated all the way back into the corner of the room, clutching her tail to her chest.

My arms fell to my side in defeat as I let out a sigh, frustrated at already being sent back to square one.

“What’s it going to take?”

“…”

“Come on, anything!”

“…”

At that point, I got up off the floor and started to pace back and forth, trying to come up with anything else that could work.

What do kids even like these days?

…

Magic is pretty popular. But I only have Healing Magic, and that doesn’t make for a good show…

Unless I cut myself, then heal it? That’d be pretty impressive…

But should you do that in front of kids?

…

Probably not… Right?

Kit just sat there and watched me walk back and forth in silence.

There is that one thing I can do, but it doesn’t usually impress beastkin…

I stopped walking and looked back at Kit.

But maybe here…

Deciding not to think and just do, I tried to start a conversation again.

“So, how do you feel about magic?”

“…”

Silence again, although this time, there seemed to be something of a glint in Kit’s eye.

I’ve got you.

“Well, I happen to know a pretty good trick.”

“…”

“Do you want to see it?”

“…”

A tentative nod.

“Alright then, check this out!”

In that instant, I changed into my crow form. Most beastkin are able to do something similar, so I’m just kinda hoping that Kit is too young to know about it.

“…”

Come, do something.

She just stared at me silently, although she did seem a little bit more relaxed than before. It wasn’t a big change, more just that she gave off a different vibe.

I decided to try my luck and began to slowly approach her while in my crow form.

…

She didn’t move away.

This might actually work.

I continued to walk towards her until I was so close that I could just jump up into her lap.

…

Maybe I should.

…

So I did. Or at least, I tried to.

As soon as I had left the ground, Kit had already scampered all the way to the opposite corner, leaving me sprawled out on the floor.

Seriously?

I couldn’t help but stare at her in disbelief.

…

How can you be this difficult?

…

I’ll get you one day.

…

It just seems that day is not today…