It did not feel like very long since I had closed my eyes until I opened them again and found myself lying down on the bed, my head resting on Raina's lap. The sun was starting to rise from what I was able to tell from the sky visible through the glass-covered roof slowly lighting up. I was also able to feel her petting both my hair and tail. When I was not thinking hard about this, I thought that this was a very comfortable situation. Sadly, I could not help but think deeper about this and come to the conclusion that this was starting to feel weird, but I also did not want her to stop and let her continue. If she truly wanted to become my mother, then I would let her try and see how it goes.
This decision might have been made because of the emotions and memories that I relived yesterday, but I did not care at this point. I just wanted to have someone that I could have as my mother again, regardless of whether they were trying to trick me or not.
Sitting there, I just let her pet me, immersing myself in the warmth it gave me. This did not last long, though, as she stopped and started speaking. "Since you're awake, you should get ready for the day."
I did not want to move, though, so I snuggled into her lap and did not move. When I did this, I could hear her laughter from above me. She petted me a few more times before she got up and pulled me off the bed. So I would not fall to the floor, I put my feet below me and stood up.
I was then pulled into the bathroom, where the tub was filled with steaming water with soap bubbles on top. Raina did not stop pulling me as she went right up to the tub and threw me in. I tried to stop myself from falling into the water while still wearing my clothes, but I was not fast enough. I hit the water, falling to the bottom of the tub, allowing me to stand up. When I was standing, I could feel a cold air on my skin, and I noticed the absence of any clothes. Looking down, I saw that the robe I was wearing was missing.
Sitting back down in the tub, I started to wash my body and tail, with a small amount of embarrassment coloring my face. I heard Raina laughing at me again, and my embarrassment just got worse. I chose to escape this by submerging myself deeper in the water. With only my head from the nose up, stay above the water. My head was then attacked with a pair of soapy hands that combed through my hair and massaged my ears. They were then doused with water, causing some to get in my ears. The feeling of pressure and the unpleasantness of water trapped in my ears caused me to jump out of the water and shake my head.
Raina stood there laughing at my situation. This made me take some of the water from the tub and throw it into her ears in retaliation. Her expression changed at this, and she immediately started shaking her head and preparing a spell. When the spell went off, the water in our ears vanished, and the unpleasantness faded. The look she gave me after the spell went off was not entirely friendly, but she did not say anything.
A second spell was cast, and I was instantly dried off. This surprised me for a moment. The spells being cast caught my interest and made me think that I needed to take that as my next area of research. When I came back to the world, I focused back on Raina, and my mind finally registered something that I should have noticed earlier. Asking her in shock, "Since when were you a Kitsune?"
Raina looked at me momentarily before laughing and asking, "Did you only realize this now?"
Her question made me embarrassed again, but she still explained what happened: "When you messed with my cultivation mat, you made a small change to the formation that is engrained into it. This caused my race to change, and I was unaware of it until it happened due to me not knowing how Kitsunes affect the world around them. So thank you, dear. You have changed my life permanently because it is now engrained in my cultivation."
This made me feel horrible as when I messed with the mat, I did not think that it would have such consequences. I only wanted to mess with her in a harmless manner. I never wanted to hurt her. I kept going down this path of thought, and my mood started to drop rapidly along with my tail.
I heard Raina sputter for a moment before she said, "It's good that you understand that what you did was not right. However, I don't care as much about my situation. In fact, I like this outcome as Kitsune's are more powerful, so don't worry that much."
I did not feel better that much, but I still had some of the guilt relieved. However, that was not all she had to say. "But if you want to make it up to me, you could wear this." She said, taking out a dress from her spatial storage device.
The dress was made of a red fabric that faded to white at the bottom, with the hem resting around my ankles. The skirt of the dress was made into a wave pattern from the excess fabric. The design featured an embroidered scene of a Phoenix fighting against a western dragon over a sea of flames. This dress did not flare out at all either and even featured an opening for my tail to fit through. The last thing of note about the dress is that it was strapless and looked to hug the upper body closely.
Wanting to make up for my mistake, I agreed and put on the dress. The process of wearing this dress was like I thought it would be, though I have never had experience wearing dresses besides the one that I was given from my reincarnation. However, with the dress now worn, I was ready to do anything else that I needed to do to make up for that. This thought was interrupted when my stomach decided to make the fact that I had not eaten anything yesterday known.
Raina, at the side, started laughing again and pulled me back out of the bathroom. She pulled me all the way over to the door to the bedroom when she finally let me go. But letting me go was not her ultimate goal. She opened the door, revealing Silica standing on the other side, about to open it. Silica was fast to catch on, though, and quickly bowed to Raina, saying that the morning meal was ready so we could follow her. Raina just waved her hand at this, saying that she knew the way and did not need a guide. I still asked her to escort us, though, and we made our way to the dining room.
Entering the dining room, Raina walked all the way up to the head of the table and sat in the chair that I usually sit in. Sitting next to Raina instead, I then notice everyone in the room watching me with some level of concern. I did not think that I had that much of an effect on everyone in the house as all I did was make some conversation with people I was around every now and then, as well as only talking at dinner. I mean, some of the things I talked to people about were asking if there were some medical issues plaguing them and giving them a possible treatment. There were also some times I would talk about how the different functions of the bodywork or some of the science-based things I learned from the techs I unlocked. Although, now that I think of it, some of the maids have said that the things that I talk about or have done for them have helped with their daily lives in a great way. There were even a couple that said I helped them with their cultivation.
The more I think of it, the more it seems that I have done for them without realizing or even taking much note of it. My mood dropped again at the realization that I was missing something important again.
Nonetheless, even without the food here, I take a small moment to pray, saying a few things that I hope Elinaria hears even though there is far more that I want to say. I am saving that for when I pray at the shrine outside. Though from the looks of things, it will be some time until that happens.