Chapter 1
"We'll be moving on from these lands now, to visit the Wolf Clan by the base of the mountains," Marashi explained. "You are welcome to join us, my friends."
"Appreciate the offer, but we're fine where we are." Sam reached up to grasp the centaur's hand, smiling as he did so. "It was a distinct pleasure to share our woodlands with you, Marashi."
"And we hope you return someday," his wife Anne added, with a glance to where her children were still saying goodbye to one of the younger centaurs. "We kitsune might like to keep our families small, but friends are gifts to be treasured."
Several yards away, young Takashi grinned as he clapped Matt on the shoulder. "Maybe next time we visit, you'll actually be able to beat me in a race, Holt."
"Ha! Just you wait, Shirogane, I'll be so fast you'll only be able to see my tail disappearing into the distance." The kitsune chuckled.
"I can't wait. And as for you, little one," he bent down to look more fully in tiny Katie's eyes. "Keep your brother in line for me, yeah?"
The little girl giggled, reaching up to tug on his long tufts of black hair.
"Her keep me in line? Pretty sure you got that backwards, Shiro."
"Nah, I can tell already she's gonna be the responsible one in this family." Takashi winked at the six year old, prompting her to jump forward and hug his forelegs. "Take care, guys."
"Bye bye, Shiro!"
"So long, you dork."
With that, the centaur returned to his father Marashi's side, and then the herd leader called out to his people. Within moments, all fifty of the massive beings were starting off, galloping away from the woodlands and across the plains. Matt stayed put for a long while, watching one particular figure for as long as he could, and spotting a final wave just before his friend vanished over a rise.
"Mattie? We go play now?"
"Yeah, Katie, we can go play.
-WM-
The trolls had come out of nowhere.
"Matthew, take your sister and run!"
It had been just another evening for the Holt family, enjoying their meal, letting Katie play with whoever's tail caught her attention. Then the birdsong faded away, and the wind seemed to die.
"Don't let any of the fox-folk escape! I want them alive!"
Sam had been the first to note something wrong, and shifted to his animal form in order to better sniff their surroundings. He suddenly changed back, ordering the children to run just as a group of massive, violet skinned monsters leapt out of the brush.
"You pathetic creatures are now the property of the Galra Horde."
Matt had grabbed Katie and fled. They dashed first into the den, slipping out the rear exit just in time to hear their parents' furious snarls die away, and the leader of the trolls pronounce them to be 'property'. Knowing better than to stick around, the two disappeared into the woods as silently as they knew how.
Which resulted in the pair finding themselves in an unfamiliar section of forest, alone, with no idea of what to do without their mother and father.
"M-matt?"
"Shh, it's okay, Katie. It'll be okay, I promise. I'll take care of you."
-WM-
"Ugh." Stomping into camp, Katie deposited her pair of rabbits by the fire ring, before flopping down across her brother. The sleeping kitsune awoke with a start, flailing for a moment before realizing that the sudden weight on his back was, in fact, his twelve year old sister.
"Would it be too much to ask that you wake me up in a normal manner?" Matt asked with amusement.
Katie thought about it for a few seconds. "Yes."
"Ah. Then I won't ask."
-WM-
"What was the name of that centaur we played with when we were kids?" Startled by the question, Matt glanced up to where his sister lounged on a tree branch.
"Takashi Shirogane. But I usually called him Shiro."
"Whatever happened to him and his herd?"
"Dunno. They left for the mountains when I was fifteen, and you were six, and we never did hear from them again."
"Do you think the Galra got them?"
Stiffening, Matt tried to avoid thinking about his old friend being captured by the horrible trolls. Within the span seven years, the Galra Horde had expanded their territory by many dozens of miles, enslaving any and all beings in their way. The last two Holts had been forced to move further and further away from the woodlands where they'd been born, always keeping a step ahead of the raiding parties. "I- I don't know. But, it would be a lot harder for those monsters to take on a herd of fifty centaurs then a family of four kitsune."
Katie studied him for a few minutes as Matt prepared their dinner. "Maybe we should go looking."
"Looking? What, for the centaurs?"
"Yeah. I mean, I might not remember much about them, but Mom and Dad were friends with the leader, right?"
"Right... He was Shiro's father."
"Well, all the more reason to go find them. If their herd is still free and fighting off the Galra, then maybe they'd accept us. We could help with hunting, act as scouts, and in exchange we wouldn't be alone anymore. And," she added with a sly grin. "You'd get to hang out with Shiro again."
Which, admittedly, all sounded wonderful.
"...I'll think about it. Now, are you going to help me with these pheasants or not?"
"I'm just fine up here."
"Hm. Maybe you should have been born with a squirrel tail instead of a fox's..."
"Hey!"
-WM-
Fighting back tears, Katie crouched underneath the bushes in her animal form. Only a few yards away, Galra trolls were dropping her bound and beaten brother into a cage on wheels, laughing about the 'pitiful' struggle that he put up.
The fight had already ended by the time Katie returned to camp, and sadly, she knew she was no match for the half a dozen trolls present. Forcing herself to remain calm, the girl began silently following the Galra, biting back growls whenever they were too rough with Matt. Then they reached the cage, and left the forest behind. Still, with her small form, Katie was able to continue tracking them, remaining in the tall grasses of the plains the raiding party traveled through. Eventually they reached a road, joining up with several other trolls who were all headed south. Katie kept as close as she dared to the cage containing her brother, but it got harder and harder the further they went.
And then, the young kitsune was forced to stop.
Spanning the entire width of a river canyon, the fortress was a massive assortment of walls, watchtowers, barracks buildings and storehouses, all crafted from beaten metal and piled earth. Several mine entrances dotted the cliffs, along with factories powered by the flowing water. Thousands of trolls filled the place, along with more slaves that Katie could count.
There was no way she'd be able to sneak inside.
The girl slipped away, back into the fields until she was utterly alone, and sobbed until she collapsed from exhaustion.
