How to be a Parent for Dummies

“But… I am an animal,” the bakedanuki said softly, flicking her silver-furred tail before narrowing her crimson gaze at the raven-haired woman. “Is there a problem with me just being an animal?”
She was a humble tanuki yokai, nothing grand or fantastic. But of course, humans were often uneasy around persons that did not share their image. It was a shame, really, but Izayuki had an alternate remedy for that if needed, that did not include her forcing herself into a human shape just to please somebody who was not fond of conversing with animals. Narrowed eyes slipping out of their glare and her maw curling into a sly grin, the bakedanuki continued. “Would you prefer that you see something akin to what you are in front of you? I can oblige~” she offered, folding one paw on top of the other comfortably on Oras’ head.

She mentioned blood being a treat, but the tanuki gave no further response. Many yokai enjoyed human flesh, but Izayuki specifically did not quite enjoy their muscle and meat, but did find their blood fairly delicious. Unfortunately, such a fact was something she rarely broadcasted, for the stigma it could carry with it. “Takes a stubborn person to know a stubborn person,” she muttered to Oras in a lighthearted manner, a silver-furred paw slipping down off of his head to flick his ear playfully. Turning her head back towards Amora, the canine thought about what she had said-- they were here over a baby tiger? “So, you want me to help you build a pen for your new pet?” she asked, confused. Did they need the Silver Moon Inn garden specifically, or just a pretty scenic venue?

Izayuki only nodded in halfhearted agreement at Oras’ philosophical speech, something she noted he was certainly passionate about. He then began to mention them buying some land from the guild in order to train their new pet. However, there was something about their words that seemed fairly off putting to the young ayakashi. An in between state-- they were not going to raise it like an animal, but also were not going to raise it like a child. What were they even expecting?

The tanuki was prepared to give a displeased response when the raven-haired woman spoke again, pretty much insulting who and what the guild master was. “Is that so?” she grunted, before vanishing suddenly from Oras’ head. She instantly reappeared on Amora’s head, and in the heartbeat that she did so, the bakedanuki attempted to channel some of her mononoke magic to the Takeover mage. The result of the sudden use of her yokai abilities would turn Amora into a small animal, preferably another eastern raccoon dog just like her, only with natural and unstained fur colors. The effect rarely lasted too long with the small dose of magic the guild master had used, but Izayuki was not about to tell the two other mages that.

With no head left to sit on, the silver-furred canine would land on the ground, likely a little tinier than a tanuki that Amora would become. If such the attempt were successful, the bakedanuki would speak again, a defiant and taunting look in her eyes as she peered at the other canine. “How does it feel being in the form of a creature you’re not?” Izayuki would ask matter of factly, a slight growl in her tone. Her crimson eyes darted up at Oras for a moment, a signal to not try and interrupt as she attempted to teach his apprentice a lesson of her own. “That’s how it feels for me to remain in the form of a human for so long. I was born in this body, so don’t talk to me or any self-aware or talking animal as if we’re a being that’s lesser than you humans.”

“Trying to insult or not, any decent being has enough sense to not--” the bakedanuki’s response to Oras was cut off by further insulting words from the now-tanuki Amora.

Even an idiot could see that there was no point in continuing to lecture or correct the haughty girl-now-tanuki. She clearly saw animals as lesser than herself, stating that humans could do more than “animals”. In regards to unintelligent animals, perhaps it rang true, but that was hardly the case here. “So because you’re human and I’m not, you’re saying you can do more than me?” the tanuki growled, silver-furred tail lashing in irritation. She certainly would have liked to test that theory. She saw humans and animal yokai like herself as equals, but it was not too expected to see yet another human that looked down on her kind. Humans looked down on yokai and animals and yokai looked down on humans. It was the way of things. But did the foolish human really believe she could act in such a ‘racist’ manner and still get help from the bakedanuki?

“It lasts as long as I want it to,” the ayakashi said coolly, knowing the statement to be half true. It really only boiled down to the amount of magic she wished to bother expending to retain the temporary effects. Of course, she could always morph the soul of Amora into something it was not and reflect the physical appearance to match it. Really, the only reason she did not choose to permanently change Amora into some beast was because the brat was her guildmate’s apprentice. “You trespass in the library meant only for Black Rose members, waltz in here placing your own kind above another without a shred of human decency or courtesy, and still expect me to help you build a pen for your pet?” the bakedanuki scoffed, standing up straight. Within the blink of an eye, she had returned to sitting on Oras’ head by use of a teleport. “Why should I help you?”

There was no longer a favor to be granted. Amora had overstayed her welcome and the only “favor” the ayakashi intended on giving her was letting her leave the library with her memories, and life, intact-- the latter so being more for Oras than the girl. If the raven-haired mage wanted land or anything from her for the small tiger, she would have to sell the yokai on why she was worth helping, or at the very least, pay up.