I loved my mother. She was a wonderful dotting woman who couldn't be more attached to her baby girl if she'd tried. My father was also really nice and if the dopey look of pride and affection was anything to go by, he clearly loved me deeply, even if he was almost never home.

And what a home it was.

Can you say manor? I couldn't at first, my body hadn't been developed enough for it, but I didn't need to be able to say it to understand that my home was one. It was my dream house made real. The kind of tasteful opulence that came with being old money. I was really, really okay with it. Given this, and the way the world in general seemed to be such a bright and amazing place, I was of the opinion that I could be forgiven for not realizing that wand waving magic was actually a thing. I would be the first to agree that I wasn't the most observant of people, but I really wasn't sure how it took me so long to notice Father waving his wand around.

Yeah.

I don't think I'd ever be able to forget the moment when it truly sank in that the wooden stick in Father's hand was indeed a wand and the source of the bouquet of flowers he gave Mama. It was probably a good thing he took her out for a date that night, because Mama might have grown concerned at my continued unresponsiveness. Shocked was an understatement when describing how I felt. The maniacal laughter that followed once I got past the shock would have probably also worried her.

For the record, that was why the family manor's library suddenly became my second second home within the dwelling. Also for the record, the first home was Mama's room because I really loved her to an extent I didn't think was possible and sleeping alone was… difficult. I wasn't sure I could remember the last time I'd actually stepped foot in my own room. I even slept in her room when Father came home. Admittedly, Mama didn't and I was pretty sure they simply used a different room to have some alone time with each other, but I was not ever going to think about that. Ever.

Yes, Father was fucking Mama into a puddle of bliss such that the days following his visits home had her in such a state of relaxation and happiness. No, I didn't want to even let the concept cross my mind, but it was difficult not to when the morning after always had her behaving like the most relaxed, most satisfied kitten ever.

Yeah.

Incidentally, that was how I realized I was not a fully human. Mama always had this extremely exotic air to her, but it was only on the days after Father came home that she allowed her inhuman features to show. I didn't need her to explain to me what the eight bushy tails behind her meant, nor the slitted bloody red eyes, or the sharp canines, or the fox ears on top of her head. Again, yeah.

Honestly, I laughed for a solid few minutes when I first realized what those features meant for me. Yes, I would be horribly discriminated against by the majority of wizarding Britain, a society of which we were indeed members (Father's accent was noticeable, as were those of the people we interacted with on the extremely rare times that my parents took me out of the manor), but who the fuck gave a shit about that when it meant that I had magic, a measure of bias thanks to laws protecting old wizarding families (of which I was a member, despite being haffie, thanks to Father), Mama's looks whenever I grew up, and at least a portion of her natural talent for magic.

Honestly, it was almost unfair.

After all, toddlers weren't supposed to be capable of reading.

I was.

Predictably, I found as many books on magical theory as I could find, with Arithmancy and Runes close behind. Finding the book on mind magic was the real catch though. After all, depending on what version of the world I was in, mind fuckery could range from extremely dangerous to extremely fucking dangerous. I'd honestly have to be lucky for it to only be an information security danger.

Hopefully my kitsune blood made me an unappealing target for predators. I'd read far too many stories where girls were raped and obliviated. Usually by people in position of authority, teachers at Hogwarts included, and not exclusively enough to not be fucking terrified of the world I now lived in.

Ugh.

So I read everything I could get my hands on about magic. Everything. Well, everything except history that wasn't referenced by other books. I literally couldn't give a fuck about the history of a bunch of self-important inbred hicks who didn't know what fucking electricity was.

That's how I ended up practicing Occlumency and Legilimency before I could even speak well, and that's how Mama discovered there was something out of the ordinary with me around the same time. Apparently practicing Legilimency on your own mother was a bad idea. Not because it was liable to get me punished, but because Mama had mental defenses despite not being a witch, and she noticed what I was doing the instant I tried it.

The resultant panic when she turned the mental invasion around on me was something I never wanted to ever experience again, but the explosion of affection, pride, and love from Mama even after she saw the extras inside of me made me love her even more.

"Silly girl. We kitsune are not like the close-minded people of your father's kind," she said when she pulled back from my mind. Her hands caressed me even as she planted a kiss on my forehead. "I cannot see what you've seen with any degree of clarity, my love, but I do not care. Even though my blood within you is dormant, you are still my beloved daughter, and that is all that matters to me."

It made sense really. Mama had to be very old, even by wizarding standards. I'd seen memories of ancient Japan in her head. Even if I didn't recall the details clearly, I understood that her having memories of a Mongolian invasion of Japan likely made her one of the oldest living beings on the British Isles, possibly the world. Father must have done something truly marvelously remarkable when he won her heart.

The end result was that I ended up playing mind magic games with Mama, and she ended up exercising her own mental abilities. Honestly, it was for the best. Who knew what a stray legilimens could gleam from her mind if she ever met one. This way she'd be prepared and capable of defending herself.

I was the heiress to the Ancient and Noble House of Alstreim and Mama the consort to the head of the family. That gave both of us a certain degree of protection, even if we weren't as well known as other old families. Given that up until my birth we as a family apparently kept to either the colonies or Britain's Asian territories and rarely spent any time in our British holdings, there was a possibility that my family would be considered enough of an unknown factor for any potential threat to be too scared to attempt anything against us.

Yeah. I know. Fat fucking chance.

So yeah. I was now a member of a noble family in a magical society.

Somehow, the sheer amount of privilege at my back wasn't enough to reassure me I was safe.

This lead back to my thirst for power and knowledge. Magic was… amazing didn't begin to describe the wonders that were my birthright. This, combined with my, let's be honest and call it what it is, near lack of self-preservation instincts levels of curiosity and my admittedly unhealthy fear of the world, made for a drive to learn, practice, and experiment that had me foregoing quite a bit of sleep just to do even a little bit more.

Still, stealing Father's wand to practice magic was difficult on account of him keeping it in a wrist holster and how rarely he was home, but I managed it. I'd cuddled against him and Mama while they were spending time together and used the comfortable atmosphere to snag the thin, beautifully carved piece of wood and hid it with my body as best I could. I'm not sure how I made it out of the room without getting caught, but before long I was in Mama's room with an old copy of the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 I'd found in the library.

Wand looking extremely oversized for my toddler self but nevertheless firmly in hand, I let that warm feeling I'd grown to recognize as my magic surge through me and make contact with the wand. It caused an odd feeling to resonate through me. It was… warm and affectionate, reminiscent to a degree of Father's feelings towards me, almost like an echo. I could feel the wand's acceptance, its eagerness to help its master's daughter explore the wonders of magic.

"Lumos."

It was a very simple spell, with a simple wand movement but I still felt my magic bottleneck at the wand despite its willingness. It seemed we were not very compatible. A flickering reddish light sprang forth from the tip despite the mismatch though. It was such an amazing rush. Giggles burst from a place of joy deep within me.

I was doing magic.

I was fucking doing magic and would get to do even more in my very long, possibly immortal life.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

I felt the spell connect with the bed, felt the sudden intense rush of magic flowing towards the wand in an attempt to fuel the effect, felt the weight of the bed through the spell, all of it in a sudden instant of knowing and then the bed lifted from the floor.

I would live my life for the wonders of magic.

I was startled from staring at our bed just floating in the middle of the air by said bed crashing hard back to the floor. I may or may not have squeaked.

What had happened though?

"Wingardium… Levio… sa…"

The words were slurred, thick and difficult, and my arm refused to move like I wanted it to. I was puzzled. I looked down and then I was more or less face down on the fluffy carpet Mama insisted on for her rooms.

I could see why she liked the carpet. It was very comfortable.

I woke up warm and safe in Mama's arms arms, a cocoon of fluffy tails around us.

"Ah, my silly baby. You're finally awake."

I responded by cuddling into her, an action to which she responded by lightly biting an ear and pulling my head back by it. I couldn't help a small whimper of pain and surprise. How had she done that? My hair covered my ears! Did she have like a mom superpower for ear pulling or something? That was totally not fair. Would I get a mom power of my own? Or did I get a child power that grew up as I did and would evolve into a mom power when I became one? Truly, a mystery of the ages.

And not to bury the lead with speculation about secret powers and obliviousness, but why was my ear on top of my head instead of, you know, where it'd always been before.

"No, baby. You don't get to act cute or make eyes at me and get away with stealing your father's wand and hurting yourself using it."

I still tried making eyes at her. I must have been doing something right, because I could see her resolve weakening for a little bit before she glared at me and oh fuck she's really scary I'm sorry please stop glaring at me I'll be good.

"That's better," And just like that, she went back to being utterly dedicated loving mother I adored instead of the terrifying harbinger of doom she'd briefly appeared to be. "Now, my beloved, please tell me how you managed to strain yourself so extremely that you Awakened my Blood within you. And then fainted. Your sisters were either born Awake or had to go through extreme trials to Awaken, if they ever managed."

"I have sisters?!"

Sisters! They could play with me, and they would pet me and cuddle with me and show me magic and Mama was glaring at me again and it was terrifying and, "I cast a spell and the wand liked me but still didn't fit so my magic got stuck and then we cast another spell and it used a lot of magic because a lot got stuck too so we needed to use even more then the bed fell and then the carpet was really comfy."

Now I was blushing.

"There now, was that so hard?" She rubbed the mysterious top of the head ear and oh, oh my, "That's a good girl."

"She's purring." Father's voice came from somewhere far away. "How come you don't purr when I do that to you?"

"Husband, I do more than just purr at other times you touch me, but no, by all means, focus on this."

"Yes, well," He coughed, "At least we know she's got a real talent for magic. Though I suppose with our blood in her veins that was to be expected even before she Awakened yours."

"She will need training, but it is good she is so young. She will grow up complete," She hugged me tightly to her with the arm not occupied doing delicious things to my probably new ear. "I will take her with me for a time. There are things to be done, things we must do, and things she alone needs to do."

"You've got mysterious foxy things to do, huh?" He laughed, "Don't look at me like that, love. What else am I supposed to say?"

"The sacred traditions and rituals of my kind are more than just "mysterious foxy things," you barbarian," Mana sounded very miffed with Father. "They are truths and secrets of the world passed down from mother to daughter since time immemorial. Not… trivialities to mock."

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry, okay? Didn't mean anything bad by it," Father said, and he came into my field of vision, leaning over me to kiss Mama. "I was just teasing."

Mama huffed and leaned away from him, but gave in after some pleading.

Before long, I stood near the forest behind our home, my new super fluffy tail of fluffiness and (according to Mama) magical power wiggling around behind me, nothing at all like Mama's own super calm and regal fluffy tails of ultimate fluffiness and power beside me, which were, like, just floating around all regal and fluffy and stuff. We journeyed into the forest, and it felt like coming home, perhaps only a second home, but home nonetheless. I could feel the trees around me. There was so much energy, so much life. It was overwhelming.

I felt Mama's arms around me, picking me up from where I'd sat down on the ground, felt her wipe away tears I didn't realize I was crying.

"Shh, shh, baby. It's okay. It's just the forest. This is natural," She kissed my forehead. "I must admit, it's been a very long time since I've had a daughter react so strongly to their heritage. You will be very strong, my love."

She carried me further and further into the forest, and before long the only thing I could feel was Mama and the trees.

It took me some time to calm down, but eventually my mind adapted to the endless assault of sensation and fell asleep, exhausted, in Mama's arms. It wasn't until much later that I finally woke up.

When I did wake up, I spotted a bunny from where Mama held me in her arms. She'd apparently gone to sleep in a clearing, with her leaning against a tree and my body cradled against her chest, her tails covering my body. Both were really quite amazing, and I couldn't believe that one day mine would ever be like hers. At least my one tail was already super ultra fluffy. I just needed seven more, and as for the other thing, it was only a matter of time. Hopefully.

Stil, fluffy bunny. It was just hopping around, probably looking for something to eat. I needed to pet it and cuddle it and, and…. We would have a fluff off! Yes! A fluff off that I would totally win. After all, my tail was very fluffy.

I wiggled in Mama's grasp, trying to get loose so I could catch the bunny, but my movement caused her arms and tails to wrap tighter around me. It wasn't until she finally woke up and realized I wanted to get down that she loosened her hold on me enough that my wiggling got me out of my comfy confinement.

Catching the bunny wasn't as difficult as I was expecting, but it still took me a few minutes of running around before I managed to get my arms around it. It was scared and it took a bit for it to calm down, likely not helped by the fact that I was sorta kinda probably fox enough to be recognized by it as as a predator. The moment it did I ran back to where I could still feel Mama in the clearing, and broke into a sprint when I saw her still leaning against the tree, an amused expression on her face.

"Look Mama! I caught a bunny! It's so cute and fluffy and I just had to catch it and pet it and hug it!"

"Ah, what a considerate daughter you are, my beloved," she smiled her perfect beatific smile. "I didn't feel like catching breakfast this morning."

I couldn't help the gasp even though I was fairly certain she was only joking. Probably. Hopefully.

"Noooo! Mama we can't eat the bunny! Bunnies aren't for eating, they're for cuddles!" I also did my very best to ignore the newly awakened part of me that not only very much wanted to eat the bunny, but wanted the chance to hunt it down again. The part that wanted to use my teeth and claws and nothing else to do so.

"Nonsense. Rabbit is delicious. Here, I'll show you," she reached for it, her hand inching towards me and the bunny, and I had to save it, had to run. As I darted back out of the clearing, a part of me couldn't help wondering if I was saving it from Mama or from myself. "Crazy girl."

"Run bunny! Run!" I said as I released Mama's intended breakfast once I was far enough.

I ran back to Mama and did my best to jump on her. She caught me midair with her tails before I could even make contact.

"Come here, my crazy girl. You must eat," she said and took out jerky and dried fruit chips from the charmed bag she was carrying.

We ate our delicious jerky in silence, and I curled into my mother for warmth. The forest was surprisingly cold. My fluffy tail of awesome fluffy power curled around one of hers, and her seven others curled around us. I ate until I was full to bursting, because apparently Mama believed in eating well before important events. Not to mention that according to her, my Awakening had taken a significant amount of energy to kickstart at a time I had already been drained and would still require quite a bit as I finished fully becoming one of Mama's blood.

"We are the blessed children of Inari, my beloved. Our line descends directly from our goddess and this means we are held to a higher standard than any other of our kind. We are not royalty, no, nothing so mundane," she said, and here my beloved mother got this look in her eyes that was a tad… disconcerting. "We are greater than that, for divine blood runs through our veins. My grandmother was born to our goddess, and so that makes our goddess your great-great-grandmother."

Okay, what? What the utter fuck? Like, okay. I could buy Mama was sorta kinda Shinto and believed in Inari Okami, since, you know, she was sorta kinda Japanese. I could also buy that Inari Okami was a real enough being to beget progeny and that with how we were pretty close to immortal some direct descendants might actually still be alive. I could even buy that maybe this being that was possibly the progenitor of my kind was actually more than just an overpowered run of the mill immortal and was, even if perhaps only in some small way, actually in some way divine.

But all of it?

Fuck me.

I had some thinking to do. Thinking that was pretty difficult to actually get done in light of how the wonder and feeling of home was slowly turning more and more sinister. Okay, so to be specific, the forest still felt like home, but I had a really bad feeling about things.

We ventured further into the forest after eating, and the further in we went the more I could feel nature, the unrestrained power of the wild. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying. I didn't know how long we'd been walking when we entered the heart of the forest. I could feel it in my very core, in my soul, in my magic.

It was a clearing, covered by the canopies of trees. There was a huge tree in the center, easily twice, maybe three times larger than any other in the forest. I didn't know what the fuck the deal was with that tree, but I didn't want anything to do with it. Not that Mama seemed like she was going to allow me much choice in the matter. She was pulling me to the freaky super tree and didn't seem to care about my desperate attempts to get the fuck away. She just maintained her grip on my wrist and dragged me before it.

"Stop that, beloved. There is nothing to fear. This is your destiny and birthright as my daughter, as a Daughter of Inari. Your great-grandmother is one of the three great spirits. You may even be lucky enough to meet our goddess."

Her words were sharp and angry. It stung. She'd never spoken like that to me before and I felt tears drip down my cheeks. Surprise had robbed me of my energy, an opportunity which she took to pull my hand to the tree.

And the world fell away.