DEAR FELLOW TRAVELER ♦ private

She could scarcely remember her mother’s face. She only remembered the warm brown pelt of the she-tanuki, and how thick and fluffy it was, even in the summertime. Izayuki had been born in the autumn, out of season for most of her kind. Her siblings had all died, unable to survive the winter in that frosty den. Somehow, she had survived, despite being the runt of the litter, and her mother tenderly raised her. The she-tanuki had taught her how to hunt, fish, make a den, and avoid predators. Izayuki had grown slowly, not even full grown or mature by the time she reached four moons, like most raccoon dogs. Her mother had not taken notice, however, and continued to raise the tiny tanuki and teach her the three very important things to know in the wild; surviving, living, and thriving. The two had never spoken a word, but despite their limited animal minds, felt a deep connection and a strong bond.

Only later did she find her mother caught up in a snare set by man, unable to get free. Slowly and painfully, she watched her mother die, and stood vigil by her side until the warmth left her body. After a few more moons of living on her own, the young tanuki had encountered the art of shapeshifting. Finally, upon stumbling into the shape of the most mysterious of the natural beings, man, did she come to know words. From the snow on the night of the sixteenth moon, she named herself, and moved away from the forest she had known all her life. She had not returned since.

Izayuki heeded Oras’ next questions, carefully piecing together in her mind just how much she wanted to say. “Indirectly, yes,” she replied. “But the removal of my mother’s spirit and the seal made all the effects of those memories come racing back to me. I would’ve broken long ago from when they took place, but only slowly. When they came rushing back, it broke my mind all at once.”

The aftermath of that fact had been a tragedy, but just how much would Oras ask for? She was a mass murderer after that event, against her will, of course, but not against her instinct. The Bakedanuki pieced it together carefully. She suspected that if he did decide to hate her right then and there, she could not blame him and would let him choose to leave if he wanted- with a few conditions- but a better part of her wanted him to stay. It was difficult for her to admit it or even contemplate the feeling, but she knew him already better than many of her guildmates, and naturally, he knew more about her than many did.

~~~

“Now now, ma’am,” the tiger purred with his arms lifted in a shrug. “People do what works. Surely you can’t blame them.”
Boldly, Inteus circled around again and stopped boldly before her in close proximity. “Now will you quit the stalling and answer the question I asked moments ago? Why are you here to see me~?” the ayakashi asked with a wink, his tail waving curiously behind him.




[527 / 8,256 // 10,000]

She should have expected the question to come, but quietly had not been anticipating it. It was so easy for her to talk about her past without giving too much detail. Fortunately, the story to come was nothing too secretive. Even a few of her guildmates knew of her traumatic childhood. “As you know, I’m a Glacier God Slayer. Slayers are trained by the beings of which their titles state they slay. I was trained by the Ice Goddess, Yukionna. She found me after she laid waste to the village I grew up in, took me in after I survived her winter curse, and trained me to be a tool for her will,” Izayuki said, smiling slightly as if to reassure him that it was something she was past as she kept her crimson eyes on the horizon. “There’s a reason my fur is stained silver. She not only shared her power but isolated and tortured me-- tormenting me time and time again through brutal training sessions and tests.”

If she had done something that displeased the goddess of the glaciers, she would often find herself isolated for days on end in dark, frozen corridors, left with only ice to eat. The smallest thing could set off the cold, but hot-tempered deity. The tests always were life threatening and more than once did the small tanuki barely pass and escape with her life. “And, that’s assuming I’ve not always been insane,” she joked with a lighthearted giggle. “It was the day I stumbled into that form you saw back in Nazo for the first time. I was left without any logic, emotion, or reason. Only instinct. Whenever I break or die, I usually revert to that form,” Izayuki explained gently, eyes still focused more on where she was walking than her guildmate.

~~~

The tiger only could chuckle at the statement of the goddess. She pushed her face close to his, but would be met with a light stroke of his clawed hands on her chin in a flirtatious manner. “Why do you care so much about the child?” he asked, voice calm and even, a serious smile on his face. His eyes reflected amusement and questioning, whereas hers reflected carnage. He wondered why this was so important to her as to stop and give him a warning. Inteus had a rough idea of what it could be, of course, but she would have no way of guessing. He had nothing else to add until she answered his question.



[420 blaze it / 8,676 // 10,000]

The Bakedanuki shot a sympathetic glance at her guildmate. She nodded in understanding, not too surprised that his hometown had met a bad end. The world was a cruel one and the destruction of homes and families was far too common for comfort. In Izayuki’s case, her home had been a tiny community within a village; no grand or glorious small town. They got by with humble farming, hunting, and providing their own clothes and building their own shelters. The young yokai had learned to assist them in their daily chores and duties, seeing it as a means to an end for survival. Nevertheless, it was comfortable. Everyone was happy. Because of that, of course it would come to an unfortunate end.

Before she could continue speaking, however, the atmosphere around them began to twist and haze slightly. Suddenly the entire air was covered in smoke, with the nearby civilians and buildings blocked out by blinding plumes of smoke. The smoke was thick enough to fill and harm natural and unnatural lungs alike. Coughing from being unable to breathe for the few seconds they were trapped in the smoke, crimson eyes narrowed. She recognized this smoke almost instantly… why had her father suggested they come here, if not for some sick joke? She bitterly remembered the deal that Inteus had struck with the being that made this realm their home, as well as her countless other ‘deals’ that had been made.

Eventually the smoke cleared away, leaving the surroundings to be none other than a huge “hallway”. The floor was like polished smoky quartz and mirrored the ceiling in a frosty and misty fashion. The walls were branches of trees, suggesting that they must be high up, and the hallway was upheld by golden vine-like arches. There was a median that ran down it with polished stone fencing in a rushing stream. Izayuki’s expression only grew more bitter. At the very least, they had cleaned the blood off of the floor from where she had roughed up that one nekomata.

Up ahead, two silver and golden vine doors opened to a room that was hazed with smoke enough so they could not see the figure able to be casually sensed from within. The Bakedanuki’s silver fur stood on end. The owner of the smokes had made it clear that she did not wish to see Izayuki’s face again. What would it mean for her being here? Unfortunately, it was too late to run or hide. They were in the realm, and the Enenra knew that they were there. “Let’s go,” she grunted, not giving rhyme or reason to her reaction of frustration. Silence would prove to aid her in this situation.

~~~

Her insults and response to his mock flirting tickled the tiger. Yes, she was going in the direction he wanted her to go, playing right into his hands. “That’s a funny thing to say,” Inteus stated, turning with her as she brushed past him. His eyes darkened slightly but his smile remained. “What is that child to you? What do you feel for him? How do you see him?” a flick of his long tail dotted each question.



[531 / 9,207 // 10,000]

At the red-haired man’s words, the duo would find themselves somehow transported to the middle of the room. The smoke would be circling them, filling the room in every corner except for the place where they stood. Through the thick screen of smoke they would be able to see a pale glimmer of light-- the setting sun on the horizon. The duo was up high in a castle or tower and the room contained a large opening to a balcony that faced the west where the sun was setting. As Izayuki remembered, the sun never rose in this place, and it never fully set. The sunset lingered on the horizon for eternity, painting the sky with vast hues of gold, orange, red, and pink, with violets and blues to the east.

“If you do not talk to smoke, you should leave this place. You came here to talk to smoke, did you not? You have a wish and you seek answers,” a feminine voice protruded from the cloud, whispering in a mature tone from all directions. “I am the Smoke of Lightweight Fabric-- Kemuira Enraenra.”

Izayuki flinched at Oras’ words. Angering a powerful yokai was never a good idea. And of course, she knew that Kemuira was something more than an ordinary yokai. She grimly recalled the words the Enenra left her upon their last meeting and parting: “No more questions; no more requests. If I catch you in my realm again without me summoning you, I will kill you myself. No person with Riyoshi blood is permitted here unless they are chosen by me.” Recalling it, the Bakedanuki found herself feeling queasy in the stomach with mild fear. She did not allow any of it to be seen on the outside, however, with a fairly keen control of her emotions at least for the moment. She did, however, revert back to her tiny raccoon dog form in the blink of an eye. Upon doing so, the silver tanuki would leap up onto Oras to perch on his shoulders. The physical contact did make her feel safer, as did being in her primary form. She chose to not speak right away. The person who spoke first always lost, as she had seen it.

She wished she could note any recognition from Kemuira, but the Enenra had assumed her true form. As such, there would be no emotion to detect-- not that she ever did show much in the first place.

“I suppose I can take a shape that you will find more comfortable to talk to, if you find no point in conversing with me in my true form,” the voice said with mild contempt. Fortunately, the smoke was used to such narrow-minded beings in her presence. Finally, the smoke began to shrivel back to a couch lined against the branch walls. The large couch was lined with mahogany and seated with velvet red cushions of the highest quality. As the smoke recoiled, a woman with long raven-black hair and dull crimson eyes could be seen seated on the large sofa. She wore a black silk kimono that had bold and intricate blue and white designs. In her hand she carried a large red pipe for smoking. “Is this better?” the woman asked, her voice and face protruding little emotion.

~~~

That was the remaining proof he needed. Much like his wife, he did not completely trust the dodgy sentences of gods, godlike beings, demons, and yokai. They would imply one thing, then say they meant something else later on. It was the oldest trick in the book, but was something the tiger was used to and knew how to counter. Of course, she understood him wrong. He had not been wearing a mask the entire time-- he had felt sincere amusement at the situation and acted in his usual behavior. It was a cautious pattern, but by no means a mask. However, he would let her believe what she wanted to; it did not matter to him what she thought.

“Yes, you should run along to your beloved ‘science experiment’,” the tiger sneered. “It would be a shame if something happened to a little project you loved.” Please. A child? She was by far one of the most naive gods, but it did not surprise him too much. Deities lacked knowledge on the first thing about true parenting. They would see and do one thing, but label it as something else to make it sound more endearing. Honestly, it made him sick. The fact that she did not recognize her sickening behavior made Inteus pity Oras, the child he saw with Izayuki, even more.

[776 / 9,983 // 10,000]

The woman sat in silence as the man proceeded to speak. With a subtle nod, she accepted his apology but said nothing further. There was no need and she was not fond of sugarcoating or any silliness. Fortunately, this was also a human that did not feel the need to grovel in her presence as many had. It was a refreshing thing to see, while not uncommon. Pale red orbs peered at his soul, eyeing and observing the tumultic and chaotic nature it had to offer. There were many aspects of it that she recognized. Thus, with a nod, the enenra responded. “There is much to your soul I can tell you-- that I am sure you do not already know,” the smoke yokai replied formally. “My ‘price’ has yet to be determined. In most circumstances, you will simply owe me a favor. Rest assured, however, that I will not be making any demands on your life, soul, or power.”

Izayuki was not scared of the Enenra, but highly wary and cautious. She barely knew the extent of the smoke yokai’s power, but of what she had experienced, the woman was a force to be reckoned with. She did not anticipate Oras being able to protect them if something went wrong; she was not huddled on his shoulder out of pure fear. Naturally, the physical contact did make her feel safer, but it was not out of sole concern for her well being. At close proximity, she could protect her guildmate better than she could when only standing nearby. She knew the Enenra’s tricks-- how she could change the space and separate them with a blink of her eyes if she wanted to. Feeling partly responsible for her guildmate even though it was his choice to be here, Izayuki wanted to reduce that risk. She did not know the extent of the ‘debt’ Kemuira would ask for, but she bitterly remembered her father’s own price to get what he wanted. Keeping her muzzle shut, the tanuki chose to allow Oras to speak and think for himself.

The Enenra recognized the shift just outside her dimension. Her realm was not in Nazo. It was completely secluded from other planes, both physical and spiritual. Nobody could just casually watch on without her being aware of it, but she made no notion to elude to the fact that she noticed the chaos being. For now, watching would be permitted, perhaps with a mild cost. Anything else would be much more expensive unless she was invited in.

~~~

Inteus only growled at the deity’s words, taking a step towards her as he slipped into his massive, unnaturally large white tiger form. He had no reason to stop her-- surely she would take it from an unintentionally negligent parent that she was intentionally being negligent and abusive. What sort of parent forced their child to go through life on their own, while the parent looked on and marveled at certain things in amusement and only bothered to intervene when it came to their ‘toy’ being taken from them or locked up permanently? The tiger himself had been captured and imprisoned, forced to live away from his children and to never hold them like a real father should. This goddess had the option to but chose to just toy with her child's emotions, mental state, and how he lived his life just for her own sick entertainment. Even if he had a part of her in him, she did not love him, nor was she a real mother. Irritated, the tiger merely stalked away, having had enough of the evil goddess.


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The Enenra nodded slightly, her face still portraying no solid emotion. “With every restriction on the favor, the gravity of it becomes heavier. No matter-- you seem to accept the conditions of this exchange,” Kemuira observed, her dull crimson eyes slowly casting a sideways glance at the edge of her realm. She saw the chaotic being vividly, and without even moving a muscle, the walls and fabric of her realm would begin to peel away. To Izayuki and Oras, this would look like the physical surroundings where they once had stood had faded into thick smoke. The smoke instantly cleared to leave the duo in a void of sorts, surrounded by the wispy element. It was just them in there, with sight, sound, and perception of Kemuira gone for the present moment. The only one who stood there besides the man and the tanuki was the chaotic deity, Atia.

As if she already had not been on edge, the silver bakedanuki’s fur stood on end. She readied herself on Oras’ shoulder to spring into action if she needed to be. Suspicious, her muzzle wrinkled into a skeptical and untrusting snarl with a growl rising from the back of her throat. She recognized the shadow of a trick that the Enenra had to offer, but realized that they were not in the confines of their minds this time. This was reality and a different part in space. The next thing to grow wary of would be the woman standing before them, her essence ever so familiar, similar to Oras, and her presence wafting of the stench of powerful chaos. All in all, every aspect put the ayakashi at unrest, chary at the new and unidentifiable situation.