(( AN: I'll be going on a semi-hiatus until next weekend. Might be an update, but might not. Sorry. :) ))

4.

Do we get to play now?

Toby glanced over at the little white fox perched on her shoulder, one eyebrow arching slightly. "Demora, I don't exactly think they're here to play nice games." The Kitsune tilted her head, her ears perking up as she studied Toby as if she wasn't entirely sure who she was.

My name's Ramode...

"Sure it is," Toby replied. "Julie, can you take care of Jenny?"

"Huh?" Julie blinked, looking away from the tailless white fox who was balancing on Toby's shoulder with a confused expression. "Why?"

"Do not mock us!" came the angry cry from in front of Toby, accented by the soft hiss of the commanding Fairy's blade swiping through the air. Toby looked back towards the group of Fairies, but didn't address them. Instead, she turned her head slightly towards Julie.

"Just.. please. Get them inside."

Julie stared at Toby for a moment, but then shrugged one shoulder. "Fine," she replied. Casting one more glance at Toby, she turned and strode towards Jenny.

Which left Toby with the rather large problem of a dozen Fairies all staring back at her. At least she didn't have babbling blondes to try and protect to. Just herself and the cute little tailless fox on her shoulder.

"Look, whatever Rosepink has told you, she's wrong," Toby said.

"I doubt it," the blue Fairy responded with a faint smirk. "She warned us you would try to convince us otherwise."

They're not playing very nice. There're lots of them and not lots of us... Demora observed, her head canting to the side. Oh, hey, a pretty! She sprung from Toby's shoulder, bouncing through the tall grass after a flitting butterfly.

"Demora, where are you--" Toby began, but then dropped it with a sigh. Probably better that she was off frolicking instead of being in the way. Down to Toby versus a dozen Fairies -- not odds that she was very keen on. She inhaled slowly, gripping Kjavaeos's hilt in her hands. "Fine. You want me? Come and get me."

"Happily," the blue Fairy replied, then tilted his head to one side. On cue, the three Fairies immediately to his right drew their weapons and lunged forward.

Toby swung hard, stumbling back at the same time, barely dodging the swing of one of the Fairies's spear. There was the soft ping! as Kjavaeos's broken blade made contact with another, but Toby didn't have time to be satisfied. She scrambled back, throwing her the stump of a blade up to block the last Fairy's swing, a blow that made her entire arm ring with the force of it. There were too many to keep track of; she could barely keep up with one, much less two of them.

Another sharp blow knocked the sword from her hand and her off her feet, leaving her staring up the lengths of a sword and a spear at the Fairies hovering above her.

Toby swallowed hard. "She's lying to you. She's been lying to you for years!"

"Execute her, sir Wizzyglit?"

The commanding Fairy fluttered forward, hand on his sword. He regarded Toby for a moment, then turned around. "Do it."

The Fairy drew her sword back. Toby's breath caught in her throat. Now would be a really good time for that defensive Princess magic to work...

Bad flutteries! Bad!

A sudden, blinding light coursed like a lightning bolt from over Toby's head, striking the Fairies and sending them flying back. Wizzyglit threw his acorn-shield up, blocking the light on it. When he lowered it, however, it was smoking, evidence of the white-hot nature of the light.

The little white fox leaped over Toby's shoulder to land in front of her, black-tipped ears back in an expression of annoyance. You should be nice to the Princess!

"Stand aside, Kitsune, or you will be executed as well," Wizzyglit ordered, flicking his shield as if to shake the smoking residue of the fox-fire off of it. "Your kitsune-bi cannot pierce our armor. Do you really think a tailless Kitsune such as yourself can defeat nearly a dozen of the Fairy Queen's fin--"

Hey, the pretty is back! Off Demora went again, bounding through the grass after another butterfly, this one a pretty array of orange and yellow.

Toby and the Fairies stared after her, then looked back at each other. Toby smiled faintly. "Can we just call a truce?"

Wizzyglit's eyes narrowed. "No."

"Drat," Toby muttered, scrambling to her feet. She hopped back just in time to avoid getting pincushioned by the half dozen or so arrows loosed at her by the other Fairies. Wizzyglit gestured Fairies on the other side forward with his blade, and Toby cast about almost desperately for Kjavaeos. She could almost feel where the blade was, like a slight itching in the corner of her mind.

"Toby!"

Toby tried to ignore the irritation that rose up at the panic in Julie's voice. The girl couldn't even see the Fairies and she was freaking out? Besides, she was supposed to be keeping Jenny busy, not providing the Fairies with another target to hone their already overly impressive skills on.

"Where's Kjavaeos?!"

"What?" Julie replied.

Toby toppled to the side even as a Fairy's sword dug into the grass where the brunette had just been. Another fierce swipe made her fling herself back again, kicking out at the first Fairy. Her foot connected soundly, and Toby used the distraction to get to her feet, her fingers finding the cool hilt of Kjavaeos as she did.

Too late! she thought, her eyes filling with the sight of the swords coursing towards her, too fast to block.

A silver arc coursed through her sight even as white fox-fire errupted again. Dominic slammed his shoulder into the two Fairies, knocking them back out of the way. Past him, Demora sneezed, tendrils of smoke still leaking from the edges of her mouth and her nostrils.

Got kitsune-bi up my nose... she complained, sneezing again.

"You all right, Tobes?" Dominic reached behind him, offering a hand to Toby to haul her to her feet. She brushed her jeans off, finally locating Kjavaeos's hilt in the grass. Fetching up the sword, she hefted it in one hand.

"Fine," she replied. "Took you long enough to get here."

"History essay, sorry," Dominic replied, shrugging one shoulder. "Nine left. Not bad --"

"Nine? Where?" Julie drew even on Toby's other side, holding the yardstick like a sword again. She was mostly staring at the little white fox who was sneezing, little curls of kitsune-bi occasionally shooting from her nose. Totally missing the Fairies that were regrouping about ten feet in front of them.

Silly human! Right in front of you! The Kitsune hopped to her feet, peering up at Julie. Her ears perked forward, brilliant emerald colored eyes brightening to the point of them glowing. Kitsune fire and Kitsune might, grant the gift of magic sight!

Then she -- for lack of a better description -- spat a little glowing ball of fire at Julie's eyes.

"Demora!" Toby exclaimed, even as Julie shrieked and covered her face with her hands. Toby rounded on the little fox. "What do you think you're doing?! She's on our side!"

The fox's ears lowered. But...

"It's okay," Julie said, dropping her hands. She blinked the fire from her eyes, though some of it had curled in her blue eyes, turning them the deep red of smouldering embers. "It doesn't hurt--ohmygosh!" She was staring at the Fairies now, not past them omr through them as she had been before. She pointed at them. "They're-- They're--"

"Fairies, yes," Toby replied calmly. "And they're trying to kill me so we should probably--"

I'm bored of this game. Can we go now?Demora hopped onto Toby's shoulder, looking up at the brunette's empty tiara skeptically.

"I don't think they're going to just let us walk away," Dominic pointed out, twisting his sword into a ready position. The Fairies had tended to their fallen, and were now regrouped, framing Wizzyglit as they readied swords and spears and everything in between.

"Chat time is over," Wizzyglit called. "Your reinforcements cannot help you. Surrender, Princess!"

Yep, I'm bored. Let's go!

Demora leaped from Toby's shoulder, darting in a circle around them. Mist rose up in her path, welling up around them. Toby grabbed Dominic's shoulder, watching as the mist curled around them in a slow circle. "Demora, what are you--?" The fox was suddenly teettering on Toby's shoulder again, her ears perked up.

Home!

"Stop, now--!" Wizzyglit waved his Fairies forward, but already they were fading, the mist becoming thick around the trio. The Kitsune, very smugly, sat down on Toby's shoulder and Toby swore that if she'd had a tail, it would have been curling back and forth just like a cat's.

Bye-bye! the Kitsune chimed cheerily, and then the Fairies were gone.

When the mist dropped, they were standing on Toby's porch.

"You couldn't have done that in the very beginning?" Toby stared at Demora. The Kitsune hopped off of Toby's shoulder, nosing the door open and slipping inside -- basically, ignoring Toby. Toby stared after the Kitsune, then turned to Dominic and Julie.

"Great," Julie said. "We don't have permission to leave school early."