Okay guys, this is a new story about Krystal's time on Cerinia. I had the inspiration for this from a song on my mp3 player, but I assure you it's not a song fic. The words of the song do not dictate the story. So enjoy!
Chapter 1: Something Special
The eveming sun smiled serenely down on Cerinia, bathing it in it's warm glow. The green grass sparkled and bent in the breeze that ruffled the fur of a certain blue female kit as she ran laughing through a large field with her friends. They were playing tag, and a blue male fox cub was chasing Krystal through the tall grass, breathing heavily unable to keep up with his blue furred prey. As he chased her, his loin cloth caught on a weed stem, and he tripped face first into the dirt.
Still laughing, Krystal brushed her bangs out of her eyes and jogged a safe distance away from the boy, who was picking himself up of the ground. "You giving up so soon?" Krystal taunted him smiling wickedly. Her friends gathered around her to join in the bear poking.
"Yeah, Symin! You can't let Krystal beat you! Get up!" Symin dusted himself off and pouted frustratedly at his friends.
"It's not fair!" he complained pointing an accusing finger at Krystal. "I'm only 7 and Krystal is 8! I can't keep up with her!" Krystal gave him a pitying look.
"Oh, I'm sorry." she fake sobbed into her hands. "I didn't know a big, strong 7 year old couldn't handle a girl only a year older than him!" Symin glared childishly at Krystal. Taking the initiative, he darted forwards running straight at her. She smiled beneath her hands, sensing his frustration and dirty tactics. Krystal laughed and somersaulted away as Symin's hand tried to tag her. The other children scattered about laughing as Symin continued his pursuit of the elusive blue furred female kit.
"I'm...going...to...get....you!" Symin screamed swiping desperately at Krystal. Krystal giggled and continued dodging his unfocused attacks. The other children laughed at the pitiful scene, as a slash just missed Krystal.
After a few minutes of this, Symin was getting tired. Taking one last swat, which Krystal dodged easily, he plopped down in the grass and began to cry. The other children laughed harder at the pathetic looking fox cub, blocking out the sorrowful emotions with their telepathy.
Krystal, being of a kinder nature, smiled sympathetically down at her friends weeping form. She knelt down beside him and placed a delicate hand on the crying boy's shoulder. Her mother had always taught her to apologize when she hurt someone's feelings. "Sorry, Symin. I thought it would be funny." Krystal apologized trying to look her friend in the face. "Are you alright?" Symin razed his gaze to meet Krystal's. There were tears sparkling in his eyes but he wiped them quickly away on his arm.
"Yeah. Thanks Krystal." She helped him to his feet and smilingly sadly she turn to shout at her friends. "Sorry guys! I'm going to walk Symin home!" There were groans from the group and calls of "goodbye!" as the two blue foxes walked side by side across the field and into the forest.
As they emerged into the large area where their tribe's village was located, the two friends smelled the scent of roasting fish. All around them people in loin cloths hustled and bustled carrying large red colored fish to their houses. Krystal sensed the excitement of her fellow tribesmen as they disappeared inside their mortar houses with their dinner. The fishermen had obviously had a good catch! She turned to her friend with an eager impatience. "Come on! Let's go before all the fish is taken!" Symin nodded and rushed after Krystal into the sea of hungry Cerinians. Dodging incoming feet, the two foxes slipped between the bodies of their kinsmen in the direction of Symin's hut. As the unimpressive living structure came into view, the friends saw Symin's mother disappear into it, carrying 3 large fish in her arms. Her friend licked his lips with a greedy hunger. He sprinted towards his family's hut.
"See you later, Krystal!" Symin yipped back over his shoulder. "Thanks for walking me home!"
"Bye!" Krystal waved, watching her friend disappear behind his curtain door. She knew her mother would be so proud of her when she heard! She might even give Krystal a whole fish for herself as a reward! It made her excited just thinking about it! Krystal ducked back into the crowd and headed for home. As she wove her way through the tangles of legs that blocked the clearing, she thought how lucky she was that she hadn't horn that awful chest cloth! It would have restricted her movement, and in this crowd, agility was a necessity!
Doing a quick sidestep to avoid an oncoming pair of legs, Krystal ducked into her own home. As she pulled aside the curtain separating the hut from the rest of the village, she scanned the room cautiously for any sign of her mother. She'd be furious if she found out Krystal had been outside without proper covering! The coast seemed to be clear on the physical front, but Krystal could sense her mother's presence in the open roofed room where food was prepared. She appeared to be seasoning a fish. Judging that her mother was well and truly too occupied to notice her arrival, Krystal began tip-toeing across the dirt floor to the foot of the stairs. Apprehension showed on the girl's face, her jade eyes darting back and forth between the stairs and the curtain into the preparatory on her left. Her muzzle was parted and her teeth showed under the white face fur. Not far now. If she could only make it up the stairs to her—
"Krystal? Is that you?" Krystal flinched at her mother's silvery voice.
"Yes, Mamma!" she responded, hoping her mother would stay where she was. Her prayers were answered because her mother didn't appear, but even this faint salvation instantly damned her.
"Would you please come here for a moment? I need your help with something!" Krystal gulped. Normally, she would have loved the opportunity to help with dinner, It made her feel like a real vixen for a change, but not when she was trying to cover up a transgression.
"May I run up to my room first?" She called tentatively.
"No. Now if you please!" Came her mother's answer. Krystal tried to mask her feelings of guilty fear, but she knew her mother's telepathy was much stronger than hers. The 8 year old kit couldn't hope to conceal anything from the 28 year old vixen. Feeling like a girl condemned, Krystal walked slowly over to the curtain and held it open while she slipped through.
The preparatory was warmly lit by the throws of a cooking fire. Two large fish roasted over the dancing flames and smoking embers, gathering a dark brown texture to their red skin. Krystal's mother Kayryn was leaning against the right wall, arms folded, fingers drumming on her upper arm like storm rain, her lazuline fur tinted with orange from the fire's glow. Her dark blue eyes pierced Krystal with a look of disapproval and her mouth was scrunched to one side.
Krystal quailed under her mother's gaze, giving a defiant pouting stare to the ground. She folded her arms too, and her fluffy tail swished nervously behind her. Neither mother or daughter said anything for several minutes. Finally, Kayryn began in a quiet, stony voice, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" Krystal didn't answer. She feared to open her mouth lest she say something that could get her into even more trouble.
When no answer was forthcoming, Kayryn began again. "How many times do I have to tell you before you'll wear it?" Krystal remained silent. "Krystal, why won't you wear the chest cloth?" Kayryn asked her daughter exasperatedly.
"Because," Krystal muttered uncooperatively. "It's stupid."
Her mother rolled her eyes and looked down at Krystal. "Sorry. "It's stupid" isn't a valid answer!" She took the cloth her daughter had neglected from a table to her left and bent down to begin tying it around Krystal's exposed front. "You must wear this now, at all times!"
"Why?" Krystal whined defiantly. "It's uncomfortable, it stops me moving right, and it's down right ugly!" The fox cub squirmed as her mother finished fastening it around her.
"Well, you'll have to get used to it." Kayryn straightened and took a few steps towards the roasting fish, checking to make sure they had not burned. "Your nearly 9 years old now. A girl your age needs proper covering."
"But," Krystal protested. "Joly's 8 and she doesn't have to wear one of these!"
Kayryn went on poking the fish and sprinkling different seasonings onto their scales. "Joly hasn't begun her metamorphosis yet. Her breasts haven't begun their transition. Yours however," Kayryn paused to glance at her daughter's chest, "have."
"But they only stick out a little bit!" Krystal whined feeling her breasts through the cloth. "It's hardly even noticeable!"
Kayryn chuckled at her daughter's resistance. She walked over and took Krystal by the shoulders, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. "You know Krystal, you're always talking about how you're ready to be a vixen! How you want to be beautiful, and you want to want to grow up lean and strong and be a huntress! But you still complain about wearing something as basic as a chest cloth!" the blue vixen smiled and continued. "I'm sure you'll get your wish Krystal! Your metamorphosis has already begun, even though your still a year or so early for it. You'll probably grow up to be the most beautiful vixen in the village! But in order to get there, you'll have to grow up! Everyone has to, eventually."
As she talked, Kayryn began the process of taking the fish off the spit, sliding the sharp stakes out the fishes' mouths, and placing each on the table. "All vixen's have to wear chest covering! You can't just walk around with your breasts hanging out all over the place!" Krystal began following her mother around the room, hanging on her every word, and helping prepare the fish for eating. "You'll find you get a lot of strange looks that way!"
"But momma, I can't run as fast when I'm wearing this! It makes it hard to breathe!" Krystal complained. "And I can't do flips or somersaults either!"
Using a large knife, Kayryn began cutting the fish up into small pieces, picking through the white meat and removing any bones she could find. "I had the same trouble when I was your age!" Her eyes took on a nostalgic glint as she thought of her own transition. "I didn't like the feel of the cloth either! I wasn't used to the restriction, and it rubbed my back and nipples raw! I wanted to throw it away, but my mother wouldn't let me!" Kayryn finished her cutting and began scooping the meat into stone bowls. "But you know what?"
"What?" Krystal prompted.
Her mother smiled a kind smile. "I got over it. After a while the cloth stopped hurting me, and I got used to the feel of it, and I could do all the things I normally would again! I could do somersaults, handstands, back flips, you name it!" Kayryn smile widened and she handed a smaller bowl to her daughter. "My point is you will, too. No matter how uncomfortable it is for you now, soon you won't even notice it!"
Krystal wasn't entirely convinced. "I still don't want to wear it." She said sulkily, popping a piece of fish into her mouth.
Her mother smiled at her and picked up her own bowl. "Tell you what, your father hasn't come home yet so we'll eat on the roof and watch the sun go down." Kayryn tempted her daughter. "Sound good?" Krystal chewed on her fish quietly. She had to admit, that did sound good. The roof was one of Krystal's favorite places to eat, especially at night, when she could watch the stars come out. Her mother poked her teasingly. "Huh? Huh? What do you say?"
Putting down her bowl, Kayryn began tickling her daughter's stomach. Krystal giggled at her mother's attack, and tried only half heartedly to get away, clutching her bowl tightly so as not to drop it. In spite of her efforts, she collapsed into her mother's lap, relinquishing the bowl of fish to Kayryn. The two began rolling on the ground, laughing in happy enjoyment of the tickle fight. Finally, in a breathless voice Krystal managed to say something like: "Okay! Okay! I give up!" Kayryn laughed and ceased her assault, rolling onto her back and panting to catch her breath. After a few moments of rest, mother and daughter both got up and retrieved their respective bowls, and ducked out of the room, heading up the stairs to the sleeping rooms and the ladder to the roof.
"Momma, guess what I did today?" Krystal said excitedly. In all the fuss she'd forgotten about her selfless deed, and now intended to boast thoroughly about it.
Krystal and Kayryn lay sprawled out next to each other on the roof of their hut. Both vulpine were full to the brim with well cooked fish, and now watched as the pink sky turned dark blue and stars began winking into view. Krystal felt the cool evening air caress her all over and cuddled closer to her mother for warmth. Kayryn placed a blue furred arm around her daughter's shoulder and hugged her close. The two enjoyed these little moments. For a kit as active as Krystal, and a vixen as busy as Kayryn, times like these came very seldom, but when they did, both Kayryn and Krystal relished them. It made them feel a since of emotional intimacy with each other, made them feel connected by some unspoken bond.
Krystal gazed into the ever darkening heavens above her. To her left the moon was climbing into the sky as the night crept ever closer and darker. It was only a slight scratch on the blackening canvas, but it still glowed with a fierce brilliance. Krystal found herself wondering what might be up there. Was there anything besides these twinkles in the sky? And if so, was there anyone or anything looking up at the same stars, wondering the exact same thing she was?
"What are you thinking about?" Kayryn asked her daughter. Krystal became aware that she'd let her emotions run wild and her mother had sensed them. Still, it was nothing to be ashamed of.
"Space." Krystal said quietly. "I was wondering if there's anyone out there among the stars!"
Kayryn smiled and scanned the night sky too. "If there is, they probably wouldn't even look like us."
"Do you ever wonder, Momma?" Krystal asked.
Kayryn sighed and thought for a moment. "Not really, no."
"Why?"
"I suppose I just don't think about it that often." Kayryn said meeting her daughter's eyes. "I have such a good life here. Why should I worry about what goes on out there?"
Krystal was a little disappointed. She had been hoping it wasn't just her that was curious, that she had someone to relate to. She'd asked all her friends at one time or another, and they had either never wondered or they didn't care that much. No one shared her fascination with the unknown. It depressed her slightly.
She lay back down and settled herself in her mother's arms, looking up at the stars again. She hoped someday, she could get answers to that question she'd just been wondering. Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the sky. Krystal sat up, eyes widened. She pointed at the place the star had just been. "Look, Momma! A shooting star!"
Kayryn sat up too, clasping her daughter about the shoulders. "Oh good for you! Quick make a wish!" Krystal nodded excitedly and squeezed her eyes shut. She thought about what to wish for: A new loin cloth? No. A fancy huntress's staff? Maybe. She had to make this count, she couldn't let this chance go to waste! She screwed up her eyes and thought hard. Better hut? Gold? To be beautiful? World peace? No! Krystal thought and thought and finally whispered.
"I wish for....something special!" She didn't know how to state it better. Her mind was being indecisive, and she had decided to just let the universe handle the details. Krystal looked out over the dark landscape of her homeland. The forest beyond the village torch light was sheer darkness, and she couldn't make out any recognizable sounds. The only things she heard was the wind blowing and night bugs chirping. Nothing out of the ordinary here.
Feeling let down, Krystal lay down again and looked up at the stars. "What did you wish for, Krystal?" Her mother asked. Krystal gave her a sad look.
"Something special."
Kayryn looked confused. "Like what?" Krystal shook her head.
"Just something," She sighed.
Mother and daughter lay on the roof for several more minutes, enjoying the night air and each other's company. But finally, Kayryn stretched and sat up. "Krystal, I think it's time to we go inside and prepare for sleep." Krystal yawned. She was tired, but being the classic 8 year old, wanted to stay up.
"But Momma, I'm not----tired!" Kayryn smiled and began lifting the kit to her feet.
"Come on, little one! Down we go!" She began pushing Krystal back towards the ladder that led to the lower areas.
As Krystal began climbing down, the sky started to brighten rapidly. Kayryn stared in wonderment at the sky, bewilderment and awe flooding her emotions and face. Krystal leaped back up onto the roof, standing beside her mother. She too, gazed in fearful awe of the amazing sight above them. The sky was bright like morning, and a thousand different colors swirled above her head, like a whirlpool. The light spiraled down into a large dark hole, which Krystal's gaze couldn't penetrate. The earth trembled, rocking the back and forth throwing the two female foxes to the rooftop. Krystal clutched at her mother's loin cloth, who in turn grabbed the edge of the roof. Everything shook and Krystal began feeling nauseous, but she didn't relinquish her grip on her mother's cloth. "What's going on, Momma?" Krystal screamed over the roar of the earthquake. She didn't get a verbal reply, but instead received a mental message so weak that she wouldn't have believed it possible it could come from her mother. Don't worry Krystal! Everything will be alright! Just don't let go! Krystal, of course, had no intention to let go.
Hanging on for dear life, Krystal watched the light show in the sky. The light swirled ever faster and faster, spinning in a never ending circle around the black hole. Krystal thought that it was shaped like a giant golden eye, evil and menacing, tearing the home she loved apart stone by stone. Without warning, from out of the pupil of the eye, several fireballs began flying straight for ground. They came faster than lightning bolts, and hit the ground with a loud boom, skidding across the surface and coming to a halt several miles away. With the release of these flaming projectiles the vortex faded into nothingness, taking with it the awful shaking. Kayryn released her grip on the roof's edge and reached down to comfort a sobbing Krystal, who was still clutching her mother's loin cloth. The two embraced trembling all over with fear, shock and relief. They lay there sobbing for at least 10 minutes, shaken by the cataclysm that had befallen them. Calls began coming from all around the village, asking for aid and an explanation of what had just occurred.
Far away, several miles from the village, one of the fireballs, now revealed to be an angular starfighter, hissed and steamed in the long skid mark it'd made on crash landing. After a few moments, the cockpit was pushed open and a chestnut colored animal stumbled out. He was so lucky just to be alive! He thought the black hole would have been the end of him, but, somehow, he'd survived. He thanked his lucky stars for G-diffusion technology! Without the G-diffusers to cushion the impact of the fall, he probably wouldn't be here now! Still, where was here? He knew he was in some kind of forest, but that was about it. His shoulder hurt pretty bad, and he was sore all over! He wondered if the crash had dealt with the Venom forces that had been chasing him. It seemed almost certain, seeing as Venom ships didn't use the pioneer G-diffusion technology. As far as he knew, Arwings were the only ship period that used G-diffusers.
That being said it was dark and he was tired. Not wanting to risk radiation poisoning by staying close to the Arwing, (he didn't know what the black hole had done in terms of radiation) he decided to try a small cave that he could just make out close by. Climbing back up into the cockpit, he reached into a recess under the dashboard and withdrew a blaster pistol. Closing the cockpit behind him, he jumped down and slowly began making his way towards the cave.
Interesting No? Leave a review! Hope you enjoyed it!