Tails of a Kitsune - Life or Love

Chapter One

"Kitsune Types and What to Do if You Discover That You are One," Iris read out loud. She sighed. She had read this pamphlet about a million times, and it was forever branded in her memory. She was certain she could recite it verbatim for as long as she lived. Still, with almost no other books or stories around since the Great Division, this would have to do. She curled her tail around her dark chocolate paws, letting herself be consumed by the words.

A kitsune, as you should know, is a fox born with magical power. This could be anyone, your neighbor, your best friend, your arch-enemy, and even YOU! Despite the inane rumors being passed around about kitsunes gaining an extra eight tails when they embrace their power, kitsunes will only always have one tail. Those rumors are ridiculous. If you are indeed a kitsune, you will instead gain a special power that is uniquely yours when you turn twelve.

Do not be upset if you are not one. Kitsunes were always rare, and they have become even more so ever since the Great Division. If you are not a kitsune, you can help your community in other ways. To do so, see the Helping the Community pamphlet at your local pamphletion.

If you are one, congratulations! Now you can help the Den Council, your friends, and many others! You will become a Guardian of the Den and Border after special training. To help the Den, if you discover that you or anyone else is a kitsune, tell the Den Council immediately so that the kitsune can help the community.

Iris sighed. Help the community? More like becoming mindless zombies that attack anyone leaving the Dens. She had seen what had happened to Rose. She would never want to do that. She wouldn't even want to be a kitsune, especially since they were taken from their homes to be a mindless guard.

Of course, she would never tell anyone what she thought. She would keep that secret bundled up in the back of her head, where it belonged, so no one would ever know about it, and she could keep on living a normal life. She would always be the Good Fox, the Scroll Nerd.

She glanced at the babbling stream next to the pale gray, speckled rock she sat on. This was her favorite reading nook, where she relaxed and hid her snout in a scroll. She loved the way the scent of rare flowers perfumed the air, the way the brook helped her to relax, the way the sun on her russet pelt calmed her tense muscles. She loved this place, just not the boring pamphlets issued by the Den Council that she always brought here to read.

She flicked her paw, sending the scroll flying into a bed of wildflowers. Every time she came here, she always ended up daydreaming about stories instead of reading the trite pamphlets about dangerous things, like wolves and kitsunes. Except these stories she dreamed of were different from the ones she used to read before the Great Division. These were about her.

Iris the Brave, she was called. The beloved princess. The heroic slayer of demons or wolves. The fox everyone admired. The legend that was told about in stories and songs. The friend to all except her enemies. The one everyone loved.

Alas, these were just stories. Iris would never actually do anything heroic or brave, even if she wanted to. She would make a plan to do something, going through every step in her head, then never finish the task. Still, or maybe because of that, she loved her stories.

They made her feel powerful, strong, kind, outgoing, and especially brave - essentially whatever skills she was lacking in real life. She could be brave enough to face an evil dragon, smart enough (even though everyone already called her Nerdy Birdy and Scroll Nerd) to outwit it, strong enough to win the fight, and kind enough to be willing to give the dragon another chance. That's why she loved this place. Whenever she left, she was in the real world again, full of pesky problems, but here, she could relax, and be whoever she wanted to be. Iris felt happy and peaceful inside, as if she had warm rays of sunshine inside of her. Iris felt a calm, peaceful smile form on her snout.