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 Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 5:06 pm
There was no surprise as to why Tomoko was filled with all the energy in the world after seeing her home and just how long it took to actually get to her front door.
Tomoko had blathered a good portion of the trip about how she wasn't actually sure how much of it actually existed and how much of it was fabricated, as it was heavily formed of illusions from her clan...mostly to keep the children of her clan from meeting the enemy clan when they were at risk (So why was Remi so nice?).
The pair had been let off in a small fishing-town with various types of sea and flying monsters living in it. Tomoko had greeted each and every one of them.
By name. She'd asked about children, spouses, where people were, how other people were doing, and what gossip had come up while she was gone. It seemed like a motion she'd gone through several times before. It was probably fascinating to watch. A couple of people had given her a basket or two to carry. How Tomoko carried them on top of the stuff she'd brought home with her and her ball of stars was a miracle...
But it also seemed like she'd done it many times before.
The air in the town was much fresher, smelling of salt and trees, than that at Amityville. Tomoko walked the streets with certainty, heading off towards a large cove of trees in the distance. Or rather, a large forested mountain. It almost seemed like there were frees in those trees. It was vast and it was dark.
The forest itself seemed alive, immediately reacting as the kitsune stepped inside of it. A small circle of fox fire formed, glowing ominously, a deep blue which flickered to purple, then gold, on occasion, illuminating the trees. Tomoko offered it a reverent bow. "Chichiue." she spoke simply, before continuing to walk as it accompanied the pair along.
It was when the stairs came it was obvious it was still a long walk.
But the fire moved along with them anyways. But from what Tomoko had said, that flame was not made by her, but, from the sound of things, her father. More small flames slowly formed and gathered as the steps went on. Sometimes it looked like there were no stairs at all until Tomoko stepped on them.
Illusions to keep the enemy clans away from each other, perhaps.
It would be nearly half an hour until the top of the stairs and a large shrine gate came into view. Tomoko stepped underneath it and into the small courtyard. It was possibly the brightest area in the forest. A large pit filled with fox fire was gathered in the center of the area and several figures flitted about between buildings. It was possible that the space alone was an illusion that led to other bigger illusions within it. An easy 15 kitsunes, all natural in color, passed by as Tomoko continued walking. She looked to Junko, "I'm sorry the walk is so long, Junko-chan. We're almost to my home though." she offered with a smile, still balancing the many items she had in her arms, before she walked to one of the gates and then through it, as though the gate itself was simply there for appearances.
It was.
Three more similar courtyards followed and each time Tomoko picked a gate, walked through it, and continued on.
She greeted nobody in that space.
Finally the cycle-a-la-Lost-Woods came to a stop and there was another building. It wasn't a large building and by no means was it ornate, though it did feel like the house was quite old, based on it's traditional design. It was a house with sliding paper doors and bamboo mats for flooring. It was raised several feet off of the ground and Tomoko actually had to pile stuff onto the raised outer front porch before she climbed onto her knees after it, pulling her shoes off as she did, calling inside.
"WE'RE HERE."
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Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:15 am
The ghoul could only watch as her dear Tomo-chan blossomed into a delightful social butterfly as they travelled through the fishing town. She knew every single monster. Every. Single. Monster. Their stories, their lives, their histories, their families and just...how did..when did her little Tomo-chan become so social she knew everything about everyone? This was impressive! Junko giggled, carrying her own bags with her as she followed along. It wasn't until Tomoko began accepting baskets to carry along with them that she grew concerned, offering to help her time and time again but to no avail. Tomo-chan insisted she was fine carrying it herself even as they continued along through the town. It was so much different from the academy, from Amityville, it was refreshing! But she still worried for Tomoko and those baskets as well as her precious ball of stars.
And then they reached the endless forest of...forest. Junko's eyes widened. Tomoko didn't live in the town? She lived..here? Wow! She had wondered how far in the house was, somewhat dismayed when she laid eyes on the stairs as she followed Tomoko. She didn't see an end to the stairs, she just hoped it wasn't..too many. She perked up a bit as a circle of glowing flame formed and glowed around them. What was this? It was so beautiful! She gasped and gave it a bow when she heard Tomoko regard it, only straightening when Tomoko began to walk.
She walked right up the stairs and Junko swallowed hard, hitching her bags into a more secure hold and following the ghoul up the stairs. Where did they end? She couldn't see...
Nevertheless Junko was excited. More than excited. There weren't enough words in all the languages combined to properly express just how happy she was. She was staying with Tomoko for break, with her beloved little sister and her family. A family of kitsunes. So cuddly and cute and..ugh! She was so excited! She couldn't wait to get there! And listening to Tomoko go on and on and on about her home and how amazing it was and all the illusions and just..it sounded so amazing! She couldn't wait to see it; Junko already had all kinds of assumption and ideas and fantasies of what this place must look like. But what was this about an enemy clan? There were bad kitsunes? Were they bad kitsunes? Oh dear. Thank Jack for the illusions then. Every now and then she cast a curious glance toward the glowing fox fire following alongside them, and when she wasn't looking at the flame she was looking all around. The ground, the trees, the stairs as they appeared from underneath Tomoko's dainty little steps. Everything. But these stairs...they were so long. Every so often she asked if they could pause a moment, trying not to make it seem too often; she needed to suck it up, she could do this. She could do this. She could make it. It was so hard not to sound out of breath. Maybe the length of the stairs were an illusion as well? M-maybe that was it. They weren't nearly as high as they seemed. Every time she saw the steps end she got excited, but then Tomoko would step up and more stairs would appear. It made her wonder if kitsunes had ever heard of escalators.
So tiiiiiiired!
When she finally saw the top her eyes widened and her hair lifted with joy, finding some kind of renewed energy at the prospect of finally being able to leave these stairs. Now she could see what her home was actually like. The shrine was a good sign; it was one of the things she imagined Tomoko's home to have. Did it have anything else? She hoped it did! She really, truly hoped it did! They reached the top. The top. For real this time! It was so wonderful. It was beautiful. Junko was so happy just being at the top, and now seeing the area just made her even happier. It was so nice! Was it real? She had no idea. But it was wonderful! The kitsunes definitely got her attention, following close by Tomoko with wide eyes. This was so cool! "Huh? Oh! It's alright! You said it was all necessary, right? I don't know what it's like to have an enemy clan or anything like that so...it's really lovely here, though!" She was even more excited now. They were almost there.
It was almost strange seeing Tomoko not greet anyone after seeing her chat up everyone they had come across. But Junko wouldn't question it, she was sure Tomoko had her reasons.
Finally they made it to Tomoko's house. Her bags were put on the porch before she climbed up onto it after Tomoko, helping her up if she needed it before picking up her bags. "Tomo-chan! I love your house!" It was so nice! She was grinning as she followed Tomoko in, sliding her sandals off her feet and looking all around at what she could see. Wow!
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:22 am
Tomoko had failed to mention that even within the new illusion, some of those existing within it were also illusions. It was an elaborate maze of confusion meant to keep children from Remi's clan out; not that Remi was a bad kitsune by any means. The whole 'enemy' thing was confusing more or less to her. It made enough sense that not all members within a race got along, especially one with as long of a history as this pair, but Tomoko didn't understand the pointless grudge.
Which was probably why she would never be the Clan leader. She wasn't even in line for it as far as she knew. There wasn't a head 'family', but rather the most esteemed members of the clan would be voted on to take up the reigns.
Tomoko was sure her Father was up for the position if the current head were to pass on, however....
"Isn't it? The other clan lives on his Mountain too so we can't be too safe." she explained as she righted herself, picking up her ball of stars from one of the baskets she had tucked it away. However, Tomoko barely took two steps in before a pair of excited running footsteps came bounding across the house.
"TOMOMOMOMOMOMOMOMO"
"TOMO-CHAAAANNNNNN!!!"
Tomoko squealed right back at the pair who came running out of the house towards her; It was one boil and one ghoul, about 10 years old, each sporting two tails of their own. The boil had dark hair, nearly pitch black, his tails boasting the same dark color and the ghoul had a sandy color of hair and fur, not as golden and blonde as Tomoko's was. Both wore light yukata's that were proper for playing in, the boil in green and the ghoul in red.
It was a squeal fest as the two younger kitsunes latched onto their older sister.
"Rinne! Touya!" she beamed, hugging them both back before she looked to Junko. "Rinne, Touya, this is my friend, Junko!" she introduced with a bright smile. The twins regarded her curiously and Touya seemed to shrink back behind Tomoko a little bit. Rinne was eager to greet the stranger and grabbed her brother's hand, marching over to Junko with him in tow.
"Hello Miss Junko!" she spoke as politely as Tomoko did, bowing to the older ghoul. "It is very nice to meet you. I'm Rinne." she gestured to herself then nudged her brother who bowed himself and mumbled a meek 'hullo'. Rinne seemed content with this. "This is Touya. He doesn't like talking much." she explained.
Tomoko just beamed in the background as the pair introduced themselves before looking around, seemingly for her parents.
"Ne, Rinne. Where are Chichiue and Hahaue?" she inquired. Rinne looked at her sister, ears alert. "They went to talk with the Clan Head about something." she explained, before looking at all the stuff that was gathering on their porch, walking over and picking up one of the lighter baskets she passed off to Touya who immediately walked off with it.
Tomoko looked at Junko.
"I see.... well, we'll just put things away before they get home. Do you mind helping or do you want to sit and rest for a bit while we do it?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:34 am
Junko barely had time to adjust to their new surroundings before she heard the tell-tale footsteps and squeals of joy coming their way, happy little voices calling Tomoko's name. She blinked and looked toward where the sources of the sounds were coming from, her hair lifting with surprise and curiosity. Whoa! Who was that?! The two small kitsunes appeared before she could even ask who was coming. They. Were. So. CUTE! And small! And little! And cute! And adorable! And these words all meant the same thing but Junko didn't care! It took everything Junko had not to start squealing about them herself, instead pursing her lips around a huge smile to keep herself from becoming vocal of just how excited she was for this. Rinne and Touya? What precious names! She was alright with waiting as long as it would take for her to get reacquainted with her siblings. It'd been months since they'd seen each other, so Junko wasn't going to intrude on their reunion.
Luckily it wasn't long before she was introduced, her smile growing and her eyes widening a little with her excitement. "It's very nice to meet the two of you!" She said to them both, tilting her head a bit as one of the twins seemed to hide behind the other. Oh? Was everything alright? So Touya was the shy one? Well, she couldn't fault him for that. She was a strange ghoul he had never seen before, and she most certainly was not a kitsune in the slightest. She gave him a soft smile and bent at her knees so she was more level with the two small kitsune children; she would have offered them a bow at this point but it was rather awkward in this position. She didn't quite think this through. "It's alright, Touya. I won't be offended." She told him honestly with a warm smile, looking from the twins to Tomoko as she asked about their parents.
Oh! Right! Hadn't her father guided them here? Was it strange that they weren't here to greet them? Junko was unused to how parents behaved, her own being so emotionally distant. But if they were busy that was fine. She could meet them later and thank them endlessly for their hospitality and for letting her stay. But Tomoko's question made her eyes widen. Her? Not do anything while they did everything?! Nonsense! "I could never! Of course I'll help!" Junko stood up again, reaching down to pick up as many bags as she could possibly carry. She was helping~! "Where're we taking these?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 11:36 am
"We'll be heading to the kitchen." Tomoko smiled, finally shifting another basket into Junko's care before picking up one herself. That left Rinne picking up the last one. It was a kitsune-parade off to the kitchen, it seemed. Tails, fluff, and siblings everywhere, if nothing else. Entering the kitchen, Tomoko looked back to Junko warily; "There's a step down here, watch your step." she warned carefully, shifting the basket in her arms before stepping down onto a small step, then down again. At standing height, the difference between the floor for the kitchen and the floor for the rest of the house came up to about Tomoko's waist. It was a rather hefty one. Was there a purpose behind it?
Probably something to do with piping and moving gas through the house to use things like the stove. Tomoko wouldn't have been able to answer, however.
Once she was clear of the doorway, Tomoko set the basket down. Touya was already busy at work by an ice chest, taking several jars out of his basket and setting them inside of the box. Tomoko looked at her own, then dragged it over to join in the ice-box-party that was going on, taking out several large fish to put them on top of the ice as well.
Rinne looked up at Junko, then nodded.
"We'll be on pantry duty! It should be pretty obvious where things are going for you..." Rinne noted, looking into the basket of jarred spices that Tomoko had passed off to the Futakuchi-onna. "We label everything. Hahaue says it's good practice." The little kitsune then set her own basket down and began to put various containers of grain away in the pantry, each above the labelled spaces with their names on them.
Tomoko glanced over.
"When we're done here, we can go up to our room and get settled in." she offered. From the way she said 'we', it sounded like it was possible the twins would have been staying with them as well.
It was going to be an interesting fit. Junko might have found herself smothered in Kitsunes.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 12:31 pm
The kitchen? Well, okay! It made sense, really. Put the food away before it spoils and all that. And it would look nice to Tomoko's family if Junko showed just how responsible she was and how willing she was to help out with tasks and chores even though she was the guest, right? She hoped so. Junko loved doing chores! She would be more than happy to help with absolutely anything around the house! It would make her feel better, honestly. She didn't want to feel like a free-loader or something. But she was quite distracted from the walking and all that by...tails.
Fluffy.
Puffy.
Tails.
They were so cuuuuute! Even if her hands were full she was just so tempted to reach out and try to pet them. She wanted to pet them. Pretty please? Pleasepleasepleaseplease? She didn't want to be patient! But it was Tomoko's voice that pulled her from her thoughts and reminded her they were talking somewhere. Junko blinked and shook her head to get herself back to reality, looking down at the step that Tomoko was pointing out to her. Wow. That? That was not a step, that was a cliff. It was a perilous fall to her death, that's what that was. "W-Wow. Um. Okay." She took that step very, very carefully. The only thing going through her head was 'don't fall don't fall don't fall don't fall!' Which seemed to work because the ghoul didn't fall. She did land quite heavily though and stumble a bit, obviously not used to such a high step. She'd get used to it eventually...surely this wouldn't be her only time in the kitchen during her stay here. She was looking around while Tomoko and Touya busied themselves with the basket and some jars, eyes wide. This was so nice! She was going to like living here the coming weeks. Oh yes.
Rinne got her attention and she looked down at the little kitsune, smiling and giving a nod. "Alright! I'm happy to help." Junko reached into the basket to dig through and check out the spices she was offered, humming thoughtfully. Yes, labeling things was very good practice! "Your hahaue is very wise then~!" She giggled, checking each jar before placing them in its appropriately labeled space. This was great! She'd never get lost in this kitchen. Junko nodded at Tomoko as she mentioned their room, smiling toward her again.
"Sounds good to me! So..am I sleeping with you then?" By 'you' she only assumed Tomoko. She didn't know if she had her own room or not. Not that she would mind! Who would say no to sleeping in a pile of soft, fluffy tails?!
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 11:12 am
"Yes. It's a decently sized room, so all four of us will fit in there." Tomoko answered as she pointed at the twins to emphasize just where the extra two numbers came from. As the family didn't have much 'room time' during the day, it made enough sense that only basic belongings were kept in the room and thus the siblings were able to share the space.
"We're small, I just hope you don't mind." she added, doing a quick check of the baskets she'd brought home with her to make sure everything had been put away by her younger siblings, before she piled them together as though they were a Russian doll. She'd be taking them back to the costal town the next day. If not herself, then her mother would go.
Either way, the twins would be taken along so they could learn the route and get things going in their elder sister's absence from the household for school. They would learn. It would be fabulous. And then one of them would get nine tails. She was sure it would be one of those two. If not them, one of their children.
That'd be nice for her family.
Rinne went through all of the jars that had been placed in the pantry, turning them so they all faced the exact same way in an almost OCD manner, pouting as she worked to line them all up perfectly. Touya loomed behind Tomoko, watching Rinne, then looking at Junko warily. He was highly suspicious.
There was some strange ghoul in their house and he wasn't sure what he thought of them.
At all.
Tomoko just pat his head. "I'll show you around the house!" she beamed as she walked over to the 'cliff' again, climbing up onto it with a certain ease that came with probably having done it for years. "We have an outdoor bath, I hope you don't mind that, Junko-chan. A lot of things are outside, actually."
Everything was outside, technically.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:09 pm
All four of them? Really? Junko's eyes widened as she turned to look at the twins, her hair lifting much like their own little kitsune ears would perk when they themselves were excited. Oh. My. Jack. She got to sleep in a room with four adorably fluffy kitsunes? She could faint! Not that she would but oh wow. This was going to be the best vacation ever! When Tomoko was unsure if Junko would mind or not she laughed and waved a hand, smiling brightly. If her eyes could glow with excitement they would. "Oh, no! It's perfectly alright! The more the merrier, right?" Snuggly fluffy soft kitsuuuuuunes. Ohohohoh! Did they sleep in humanoid or natural kitsune forms? Oh man! She hoped it was the latter! She would be overjoyed to sleep in a pile of furry kitsunes! She was way too excited for this. She watched as Rinne went throught and checked the jars and began turning them around this way and that, giggling at this little bit of OCD behavior before she felt eyes on her back. She glanced back at Touya and saw him looking at her, and it was clear he was still unsure of her. Junko flashed him a sweet smile. She meant no harm! Really! Even if her hair did travel down her own arm and twist around her like a snake. It was just hair! She'd been sure to put it up so that She wouldn't be babbling on and on and on in Her usual rude manner and making Tomoko's family wish they had never allowed Junko to stay with them.
That would be terrible.
"Okay! We could put our things away while we do that." Junko pointed out, waiting at the bottom of the high step to offer Rinne and Touya help up if they wanted it before climbing up it herself. She was tired from walking up the mountain as long as they had been, and it was such a high step! Admittedly Junko lacked a lot of grace...she looked more like a beached mermaid trying to pull herself up onto land without the use of her legs; Junko's legs were so tired they felt as heavy as lead weights. Owwwww she was going to be feeling this in the morning. At the mention of an outdoor bath Junko did pause a moment, biting nervously on her lip as she pushed herself up to stand again. An...outdoor bath? Not that she had any right to complain but the ghoul did feel rather..awkward at the idea of being in a bath out in the open. "Ah..that's fine! There's, like, a wall or something around it...right?" Obviously she would be using it wall or no wall since the ghoul was not about to just not bathe for her stay here (gross!) but it would be nice to know if there was at least some privacy.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 6:49 pm
Tomoko pointed outside at the wall that surrounded the yard, she then pointed to a covered space. It was of note that said covered space specifically lacked anything like a curtain, but Tomoko gave Junko a knowing look. It was likely that the family used bath time as a time to brush up on visual illusions to allow for privacy while doing menial tasks. Tomoko had done it many a time as a child, though now it would likely be something Rinne and Touya did to keep up their own studies.
Rinne accepted Junko's hand when it was offered to her, using it to pull herself up, before turning to watch Touya. Touya looked between the two, his ears perking, then drooping unsurely. He made an awkward huffing chirp noise, Tomoko looking back at him and chirping back, before he hesitantly took Junko's hand as well to get up the step. Tomoko just smiled. "He's shy. It'll take a couple of days." the eldest said, nodding to her friend before starting off towards the siblings' room. Touya ran ahead of her and ducked into the room before the three girls got there, pulling the paper door closed on them as though it would keep them out.
Tomoko looked at the door for a moment, smiling a bit as she reached out to touch it gently. The entire door seemed to vanish under her touch, as though she'd absorbed the illusion used by her sibling. She'd mostly just dispelled it by knowing it was there.
"You're getting better, Touya." she grinned, patting the boy on the head before stepping into the room.
It was a modest sized room, two desks (one for each of the twins) set out in it, along with several large dressers. Tomoko patted one of them. "This one is mine. Feel free to use whatever space that is free for you." she offered as Rinne hobbled into the room, rolling along a large bedroll. One bedroll. Tomoko stretched out.
"We'll get you a few more blankets, but make sure this bedroll is big enough for you to fit into. We'll...fit into whatever space. We're rather compact most of the time." she grinned. Rinne and Touya grinned as well, Rinne popping off a small bracelet her brother was wearing before taking her own off.
Squee fit was imminent. Two tiny kitsunes were now sitting on the floor, barely the size of a puppy. Junko could probably hold them both with one arm, and they stared up adoringly.
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