The Cù-sìth was close, I could smell him, the taste of fear and the scent of the dirt that littered its body. Everything about it led me forwards.
However even through my tracking, it still evaded me, I had to give it that at least. That its wits were far from ordinary.
Despite the heavy injuries that I had inflicted upon him in the first rounds of combat, he was still able to evade. I snarled as I tracked him down further into the forest. It would not do for me to keep myself away from my lord for so long.
However the wits of this here beast evaded me, the tracks that it placed were strategically placed so that even if I could still follow him it was a long and arduous path. One that seemed to be filled with twists and turns purposefully made.
My eyes widened in sudden alarm. It had happened after I had cleared the most recent tracks and started to dash towards the next.
An indescribable sense of fear washed over me, the hairs on my body raising in alarm. I couldn't help the slight snarl that came from my mouth as I looked towards where the Cù-sìth had disappeared.
I had hunted my whole life and was no stranger to danger nor to fear but the feeling that this cave gave off. It was something that I had never experienced. Overwhelming fear.
It felt more dangerous than any prey that I had ever hunted, more dangerous than even all of them combined. Just the thought of that made me shiver.
"What… what should we do?"
One of my subordinates asked, her voice coming from behind me. A whisper was all it was but it was heard by the rest of us as clear as day. I looked back for a moment and through the invisibility that had been cast upon us by me I saw her fur. It was raised just as mine was, fear was evident in her eyes.
"Do you remember how we got here, the route and location?" I asked, my voice unusually cold as I stared into my subordinates eyes.
"Yes…" A subdued voice replied, it was not the same one that had asked me the question. It was another, this one male. His voice was shy even more than he usually was.
I just huffed at him and gestured with my tail to move towards the Lord's territory. We could find prey somewhere else.
…
I found myself waiting for Tama and her subordinates to return. Earlier I had ordered them to find some food but now that they were gone. On my order, I was bored.
I had nothing to do. Not right now at least.
"Wait…" I thought out loud.
I could summon, it had been a day since Tama's summoning which would allow for me to summon again.
It was with those thoughts that I found myself before the summoning pool.
I reached my hand out a thought on my mind as I command it to [Summon]
With barely any fanfare the summons appeared. Though there was a little light show I was used to it by now. The excitement had worn off.
What appeared before me were six humanoids.
The one that caught my eye the most was the one in the middle.
It was her figure that caught my eye compared to the others that seemed to be more… filled out. She was petite. Her green hair was even longer than the others. Whereas the ones to the left and right if her had short hair that seemed to be styled to be wild hers was perfectly cut and ordered so as to appear more elegant.
The other thing that I had noticed was that she was shorter than me. Of course I was sort of tall but she couldn't be taller than 5'1.
A motherly aura hit me as the eyes of the one in the middle stared into me. The stress of the situation around me just melted away. I could bask in this all day.
I frowned slightly as the aura slid off of me after a second, it was like the aura had just been acknowledged before being pushed off of me.
[Name: Melia]
[Species: Meliae]
[Tier: 4]
[Level: 2]
[Born from the blood of a god, the Meliae are a subspecies of nymphs with no combat power. They however make up for this fact by their ability to grow ash trees which give birth to humans skilled in craftsmanship. It is said that the bronze age was started when a Meliae planted the first ash tree giving birth to a genius unparalleled in the art of craftmanship]
Just as I had observed her, she observed me. A gaze of intense curiosity? Or some other emotion was held by her eyes.
A moment, where both of us stood still, our eyes never moving from their gaze. It was broken by a squeal.
One that was not characteristic of the aura I had felt from her. It was uncharacteristic enough of the read in her that I had observed that I stood paralyzed for a second.
Careful strides opened into a full on sprint wherein I was picked up, my body thrown into her grip as she held me to the ground.
"OH! you are just too cute!"
A hand felt up my cheek as an intense stare was placed on me.
"My name is Melia but you can just call me Mom, Mother, Mommy? Whatever you feel most comfortable with"
"I… what?" I eventually drawled out, giving her my most blank stare kn the process of answering.
Though seeing my blank stare and confusion she coughed into her hand before lifting me back to my feet stood back a couple feet.
"Ah, how presumptuous of me," she begins hiding her amused smile behind her hand. "You are my new king, seeing the lack of subjects I expect that you will have me populate your kingdom."
"Yeah… that would be nice. It'll also help in the competition." I replied, trying to give her my most blank stare and voice.
Though it probably wasn't working. When I looked up while talking to her I could still see her slight smile that seemed to be of amusement.
"Competition?" Melia asked, her voice revealing that she already knew and was just humoring me.
Though I still replied either way, it helped me in ridding myself of the embarrassment she had caused.
"Yes, us humans have been selected to compete for sovereignty of all realms and again your help will be much appreciated."
"Oh, you poor thing to be selected for something as bloody as this," Melia said, using the competition as an excuse to scoop me up again.
…
It took some time but after a while I was able to shoo Amelia off. Promising that I would come visit and check on her progress later.
Once I had promised that she finally albeit reluctantly let me go.
With my freedom from her ensured I walked myself back to the campfire. It was still being sustained, wood occasionally placed in it by one of the Kitsuenes that had been left behind.
I sat down at one of the logs that had been placed around the fire and closed my eyes, enjoying the atmosphere and heat that the fire brought.
Eventually though I was disturbed from my rest by Tama and the Kitsunes that had followed her.
She was currently in her fox form which made it a bit comical when I saw that she had a whole boar tucked in her mouth.
How she was able to carry something that was most likely three times her body size with just her mouth was a mystery but I wasn't going to complain.
She had brought back food just as I had asked though when she transformed back into her human or as human as one could look with those fluffy tails and ears.
I was digressing though, what I really meant to say was that she looked disturbed as if she had seen a ghost or something.
It wasn't something I would expect from the rock like figure that she had presented herself as.
"I'm sorry"
She began, her ears flattening against her head as her eyes flickered to the ground.
"We were unable to secure more than this meager amount."
I furled my brows, she had foregone the 'my lord' that she would end or preface our conversations with.
"It's fine" I sigh out standing up and walking towards her.
I pat her head, the tension in her muscles fading as it's replaced by confusion.
"Just tell me… what happened?"
A deep breath, a calming one.
"It was during our hunt. We had cornered and injured a Cù-sìth, a creature known for their speed and stealth. However it had gone into hiding in this cave of sorts. I dared not enter it though, even to me it felt eerie and disturbing."
I just reached out again, the hand that had stopped petting her and fell back to my waist back on her head again.
A silent purr, one felt in her chest. She relaxed against my grip and fell back into her kitsune form.
I took her into my lap and sat down. Petting her as I lull her to sleep.
…
Tama's eyes opened, a panic in them when she realized the position that she found herself in.
"My lord!" She almost yelled, her voice mortified.
"I forgot to make dinner and… and…"
I stopped her, my hand up as I gestured for her to be silent.
"It's fine, though I should have done this sooner. Now's better than never"
"Wha-"
…
[Species: Kitsune(Can be evolved)]
[Name: Tama]
[Tier/Level: 5/1]
[Tier: 1]
[Level: 5]
[The Kitsune are characterized by the number of tails one possesses with 9 being the utmost. A new tail is only gained after sufficient growth in either power or age. Usually 100 years for every tail is the general rule. After having gained their ninth tail the Kitsunes fur will turn white or golden color and ascend the heavens. Kitsune are known for their illusions powerful enough to be indistinguishable from reality and their ability to transform into humanoids. Other notable abilities are their ability to take on a ghost like form, possession of others, invisibility, and their control over lightning and fire]