The realm fell in deep agony as the current ruler, the Kyuubi of his kind. He watched as Lapis emerged from the temple beaming and hurried towards Augustus as soon as he saw his majesty.
"What's so funny Lapis?" He asked as they began to stroll away from the temple and onto the meadow, into the open air.
"Nikita, her birthdate is only a few days away, my Lord, and you know what that means..." Lapis smiled and looked over at the view from the cliff of their oddly shaped topographic land. There was always a flow of water from the mountains and almost constant darkness. The sun never showed on the land completely. The view made it seem like they lived in a lifeless world. He missed the mortal realm, the countless times he and that fox princess had snack out just to witness the colourful world the humans lived in.
"Lapis she needs to come home."
"You know that is possible. But you banished her, she killed, massacred hundreds and still wanted your head. But I still love her like she were my sister, I would want her to choose."
The man scoffed and turned to Lapis with a death glare that had the young priest shivering.
"Choose? She is a celestial, she has to perform, there's no discussion on her having choices, it's all I ever trained her how to do."
"Kanojo wa Anata ni araba semashita," Lapis said ignoring the bad eye the king was giving him.
"What?"
"She let you choose, what makes it any easier when you deny the girl what she wants to do for the first time in a thousand years," Lapis shouted making the trees of the forest shake against his voice.
"You children seem to forget your places. She is my blood I do with her what I please. Set up the necessary arrangements, I don't want any more delay, and the marriage will ease forward, and all of it should be done on the rising monsoon."
"That's not enough time your majesty!"
"Then I suggest you get started immediately then."
* * * * *
"You're in heat aren't you?" Kingsley asked as the heat in the room began decreasing, he couldn't hear her sharp intakes of breath, instead, it sounded normal and slower. I stood there waiting and waiting for her to say something.
"I'm not a dog, please. No did I ever mention that I have a birthday?" She sounded better, much better.
"Not quite, actually. What do you need birthdays for? Is there like a cake and confetti? Oh, do foxes go for a hunt or something to celebrate?" I asked hoping to pump up her mood and it worked. He heard her chuckle and slid down the door when his feet gave in.
"Those all sound wonderful, but no. I am sure I mentioned that I was nine hundred and ninety-nine?" She asked and I rolled my eyes was she being for real right now?
"Just to remind you, you never did tell me much about yourself, Nikita. I'm always the one blabbering which is very unlike me by the way. You are just a really good listener."
"You always seemed like you needed someone to hear you out and I'm glad I could be of help, Kingsley." I smiled I couldn't help it, but most of all I could feel the burns I got on my arm ragging on. She jumped at his slight groan and opened the door hurriedly to find him sitting on the ground and clenching his arm.
"Finally decided to reveal yourself?" But he stopped to stare at her, and his jaw unknowingly fell on his face. He was wearing one of his shirts which had reached up to her thighs but it was almost half burnt, and her hair colour had changed again, it was a flaming gold-red, and it was longer, she looked flushed and partly amused by his sudden urge to sit on the floor.
"Dear God you're beautiful." He said still in a daze, but she didn't say anything and just smiled. Turning back to the scar on his arm, and her stare snapped him back from his world of immoral fantasies. She stepped closer to him, took his burned arm, and dragged him to her room, slamming the door behind her. She was strong and he was outnumbered with that one. He landed on the soft bed behind him as she sat beside him and stretched out her hand to him.
"Let me have a look." She said softly, but he flinched and moved away in an instant.
"It's nothing serious, it'll be okay by tomorrow." He said but the look on her face nearly gave him a heart attack. Scary.
"Don't give me that crap for male ego, I can't watch you hurting." She said and took his arm anyway. His eyes were on her face the whole time, he hadn't even noticed what she was doing until she said...
"Much better, does it still hurt?"
"N-no, how did you do that? Healing abilities?"
"One of the perks of being supernatural, are you hurt anywhere else?" He stopped and stared at her. Her face showed concern, but it changed when he put his hand over hers and came closer...