A Fox's Tails

Elowyn

word weaver
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~Stories of The Black Fox, that Dream-Walker, that Cursed Lover~

*warning, some spoilers!*

H E R . P R O M I S E : 3RD TIME'S A CURSE

The sun was setting and burning up the horizon. In the ruddy light her silhouette stood stark against the flaming colors. He didn't know if it was the location, but the sunset in the elven glade looked even more beautiful than he had ever seen it elsewhere. The strong curve of her thigh, the stretch of neck and shoulder were made distinct. He rose to meet her, lifting himself a few inches in the air, hovering. The black kitsune met her and her escort of similarly dressed hunters halfway in the field of dune lillies. He made the customary salute of the elvenkind which she returned heartily. Her brow was radiant and her smile just as brilliant. So the hunt had gone well. His conclusion was further supported by the large bristle-hide boar the last two hunters carried between them skewered on a sharpened stick. Pride and joy for her good hunt welled in his chest. She dismounted her animal and seemingly flew into his arms. They wrapped each other in an impassioned embrace.

"Kthalia, I had wondered if I would ever see you again since the forest may have swallowed you whole for envy of your beauty," he murmured into her hair.

"I had thought of you as I pierced his scoury hide. There is nothing to fear, my sweet love. The forest watches over us." Her delicate perfume, like that of a flower in bloom, drifted about her.
***
Later that night as the bonfire leapt high into the air, spitting sparks that could have been stars except for their falling back to earth and into nothingness, Shuugo Izuru was unaware that his heart would be torn, mangled by the very source of his current joy. Another elf, a broad-shouldered warrior, had taken his elven maid to his abode. She had been laughing, her cheeks reddened with the heat of alder-wine. His teeth had flashed bright in the night. When the black fox drew closer to investigate, a fury took his mind.

This is what he heard:
"... that foxy rat. Your line deserves better than to be a half-mongrel!" came the deeper bass of the male.
"I understand you Hound-Heart, still, I must admit he has his finer points. I am proud and prouder still to call the Black Fox my own. If nothing else, he does well to gain us an in-way with the kitsune tribes. Let him be, Du-Drenes. It is good for us to be more open to the vast world beyond the Falls."
"I see you have chosen your path. Never mind this matter, then, my aspen-tree."
"By the Holy Elder! I have not told him yet of our customs..."
"Forget the foreigner, dove," came the deep purr.
He heard a girlish giggle from Kthalia he had never heard before and he wished never to have heard. Izuru shifted away from the area, his countenance dark.
***
Later that night after all was silent, when all were sleeping off the stiff drink, he decided to leave. His body felt heavy, and he struggled to keep his posture straight and sure. There was little he could do... but spend time away to be healed by time. His dreams were shattered. The elven maiden hadn't loved him in earnest, merely wanted to use him. Again, he had been used by more powerful females for their own games. Again, distrust settled close to his breast. It dug its claws in deep to his heart, and he thought that perhaps it would never let go.

Not sooner than he had thought that did he hear from the undergrowth a rustling.
"Who goes beneath the moon when all is still?" he queried, already flowing into a posture ready to fight. No response except shadows melting from deeper shadow. They had him surrounded.
"Your vigilant master, O wily fox. Did you not wish to stay longer in these beautiful glades?" Kthalia's voice taunted him and seemed to echo from a dozen voices. Danger lay behind a thin guise of politeness. "Perhaps our food was not tasteful to you? Perhaps the pollen too thick? Did we slight you in any way?"
"Kthalia! I know of your infidelity. When I generously loved you with all of my heart, you tear it to pieces with other men? What am I to do?" said he. "I wish to leave, and I wish to leave tonight before the sun rises again. I do not wish to see your face again. Not for many moons."
Her laugh, a low and rasping sound. "I shall decline. I have other plans for you, my dear." They rushed at him from all sides.
***
Half an hour later:
"This is the end, arrow-maiden," Izuru growled low and furious. "You know I have the night on my side."
The elf bared her teeth in a vicious grin. "Not quite, Shuugo. I took something from you the last time we shared the depths of night together. Something most important to you."
His pupils narrowed. Without hesitation, he checked his pouch, fumbling in his rush. "You didn't--!" he growled.
"I swear an oath to the High Goddess Shu'aa that if you let me go and maintain our network that I will return it to you and let you on your way," she hissed between heaving breaths, beads of sweat on her brow.

A moment of hesitation. "Fine, it's a promise. I do promise to spare you your life and keep contact between the kitsune tribe of Inari and the elven kingdoms if and only if you return my Hoshi no Tama." He leapt back, retracting his claws that were now stained red.
Kthalia coughed, a wracking cough. "Now leave. I will return to you your star ball in due time to keep you to your word."
"You--!" Anger kept words from forming in his mouth. Betrayal poisoned his mind.
"When you find another woman to love, I will come and return it to you. And I will come also to curse that woman." She was already melting back into the shadows. "It's a promise, my dark fox, for we elves are proud as you outsiders like to say. We don't like it when what's ours is taken away." Her raspy laugh echoed in his mind for a long time after, when distance from his source of power made his memory diminish like a falling ember.
 
A note on elvish names:
Elves have three names. The first which describes the role they hold in their clan. The second informs which clan they belong to. And the third which is indicative of the individual.

Shuugo's third lover has a name of Caelzaria Aeranith'dre Kthalia with the meanings:
Caelzaria "Royal Arrow-hunter" (position)
Aeranith-dre "of the Ancient walkers of light" (clan)
Kthalia "vigilant dragon master" (individual)

While Du-Drenes means "Crescent Hound Heart," a bit of a play since foxes and hounds are naturally at odds.
 

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