Important: This has been posted under the 'Announcements' bit on my profile, but I wanna put it here, too.
Due to the fact that I have recently adopted a furry, fur-legged puppy, and that she's not even three months old yet. All fics, including the ones listed under the 'Focusing' section, will be delayed. Yes, there will be updates, but they will just take longer.
A/N: Sakura is still imprisoned. Ryoma lost the duel and Keaton took Hinoka in exchange for letting the rest of the humans leave. Hana had her chance to blow off all of that steam. So… now what?
And whew, on the topic of nicknames. I know I haven't ever brought this up in terms of PoV, but... remember that for some characters, they only know some by their specific nicknames. For example, Keaton only knows Kaden by Ka-da. Kaden only knows Hinoka by Hina. So, like when I am going from, say, Hana's PoV. The only nicknames Hana will use are Keaty, Vella, Ka-da, and Silky.
Canon Name = Nickname: Corrin = Lupus. Velouria = Vella. Keaton = Keaty. Setsuna = Seta. Hinoka = Hina. Sakura = Saku. Subaki = Superman. Ryoma = Red. Selkie = Silky. Kaden = Ka-da. Orochi = Viper. Takumi = Tako. Lastly, only Selkie/Silky refers to Corrin/Lupus as Lu-pu.
Consort: Setsuna… here to deliver the truths and her first scene of being legitimately angry. Still, it's clear that she loves Lupus… lining up with the AU canon of 'Struggles of Raising Hybrids', in which Setsuna never married due to her love for Lupus.
I think it's more a recognition of strength and need. Keaty realizes how much help the Hoshidan army could do. So, he lets them walk, as long as they fight the Nohrians. Besides, if Ryoma was killed, there's no telling if the others would have actually respected the terms of the duel. He is still the High Prince of Hoshido, after all.
There's simply not enough time to go for litters of pups right now. Having pregnancies will only hinder the pack. Keaty won't make any advances…
As long as the war goes on and his pack is being specifically targeted.
Besides, Hinoka and Corrin are still princesses, regardless if they are 'in the pack' or not. Doing anything extreme will still result in heavy consequences.
Hana just needed a good, long, and angry rant to vent off all of that steam building up since Hinoka took Sakura to the pack. I'm sure she would have calmed down by the following morning after a good sleep.
Impostor, hm? Like Zola's disguise with the Archduke of Izumo? Sure, Lupus might be able to sniff him out… but there is one person who would be very susceptible to a fake Sakura right now… Hana. Her need, her dedication to get back with her liege could easily blind her to small faults that a disguised Nohrian might miss. She'd be too relieved to have 'Sakura' back.
Good job, I just got a whole new arc for this war.
ZygardeFusion: Might wanna reboot the Hana executable file before she ends up trying to delete or modify the organic system32 folders from the programs.
Hey, at least I'm trying to not make Leo come off as 'cartoonishly' evil! However! Don't take that as an assumption that he'll live, nobody is safe from the grip of death. Sakura just happened to have 'Miracle' proc.
J-Dawg (Guest): Ah, the retainers… canon. As for the 'Awakening Trio', due to the fact that there ain't gonna be Valla shite here. They're born Nohrian.
Glad you liked the duel. Ryoma's more skilled in hand to hand combat than you might think at first. The amount of time he stayed in can be attributed from: His high-quality armor, the innate stat boosts from being a Swordmaster, and his willingness to wait out about a minute of attacks so he could figure out Keaty's fighting style. If he had charged in like Hana, the duel wouldn't last long.
Oh, and sure, if Ryoma had his foot down on say… Hana, then yeah, the duel would have ended there, but he wasn't fighting a human, but a Wolfskin. Keaty has more than enough strength to overturn what would normally be the 'yielding point'. So, when Keaty held Ryoma in the same position, Ryoma had to yield.
*nods* Keaty understands that having the Hoshidan army alive would be a considerable boost to the pack's survivability.
Well yes, but don't forget that Ryoma willingly fought on Keaty's terms. That he willingly worked with Wolfskin tradition. Sure, it was a dangerous call to challenge the alpha like that… but it also shows that there are humans willing to do these things to mend gaps. Geez, Hinoka and Ryoma alone could mend the gap themselves. The Wolfskin won't accept traditional diplomacy.
Heck, even Chrom from Awakening would be one superb 'diplomat' for the Wolfskin.
Guest (Ch. 34, 6/21/2019 5:38 PM EST): Yep, he still has his morals, which is something I'm trying to expand on. Yes, he's in control of Sakura's captivity, but he isn't being… unreasonable.
Maybe Leo is going easy on Sakura because she is so similar to Elise. Maybe he is going easy on her to be the 'good cop'. Maybe he's actually being moved by her sincerity and kindness? Who knows? Well, I do, but I ain't telling… it'd ruin surprises.
And the same applies here, Sakura had less than a week's worth of proper Priestess training, but she was already up and ready to use a bow by then… sure, she wasn't as strong as her Conquest appearance in-game, but the fact that she can use a bow that well is still something to praise. It's just a shame she's going to lose all of that progress.
I am going to slightly adjust what Azama said from the previous chapter, "I have absolutely nothing to say that will contribute towards this specific topic!"
*nods* I did, but that doesn't mean I would eat whatever comes off of magical tree that can sprout from nearly anywhere. I'd have to be starving before I start eating Tomato Man's Magical Fruit.
Sakura's eyes were half-lidded as she heard footsteps approaching again. It has surely been over a week now, and she's really starting to feel the lack of proper food, she hasn't been doing much more than lying down on the 'cot'... The 'blanket' and 'pillow' are obviously not doing much for her ability to sleep, but something is better than nothing.
And the second the smell of a freshly cooked meal was wafting into the cell was the same second her body regained some vigor.
"Leave." Leo's voice. The cell's gate opens and in walks Prince Leo, a tray of some meats, fruits, tea and… he hands her a napkin. It seems a trail of drool has made its way out of her mouth.
She flushes from the embarrassment and cleans her face off. "U-Um…"
"Elise's latest visit concluded you are becoming malnourished." He supplies. "Your next few meals will contain more nutrients than normal, after that, it will be more like what you have been receiving from the start.
"Th-th-thank you!" She eyes the food as he gently pushes the tray towards her… which first? For once, she wants to discard refinery and just eat. Her stomach agrees with that line of thought… so she plucks a thin slice of chicken and practically shoves it in her mouth. Sure, it's lacking in spices, but it's far more than she's been getting.
Prince Leo chuckles, "Don't get yourself sick, it would be a waste to vomit up what you eat because you're trying to shove it all down." Sakura only nods in response, frankly far too hungry to care. The only thing that could be heard for the next several minutes was Sakura, for the lack of a better phrase, devouring the meal like a starving animal. Somehow… somehow the small-framed and fragile Princess made room for all of it without feeling the need to 'push' it right back out. Then, she finally goes to wash it all down with a cup of tea… and…
"...!" Sakura gasps, and ends up missing another one of Prince Leo's smirks.
"Is it to your liking?"
"...You remembered?" Green tea, a few drops of honey and some mint. "It's… wonderful!"
"It happened to cross my mind when getting your meal together." He brushes it off.
"Gods… no, wait. Prince Leo… thank you." Sakura bows from her sitting position.
He nods, "Now, it's time for the less… desired portion of my visit." Instead of a notepad, he pulls out several folded up papers. "Any information you are about to hear has been finished and is public knowledge, so there is no reasonable harm for you to hear it."
Sakura gulps and nods… she's been, quite literally, left in the dark about the war. But… she is starting to understand. "O-okay."
"The… 'pack' that you were with is alive." He simply starts off with.
"...big sisters." She breathes a sigh of relief.
"A total of six conduits have fallen and a portion of the army has already broken through and claimed a village for Nohr."
"...wh-what?" But… Mother's barrier? Mother!
"The main army remains put." He flips the page, then takes a breath and… lowers his voice? "This is from a single scout's report, but he claimed he saw the alpha of 'your' pack and High Prince Ryoma fighting."
"Big brother?!" She squeals. "Did…?"
"He turned around and left the second he 'claimed' what he saw." He cuts her off.
"A-anything else?"
Prince Leo heaved a heavy sigh, furrowed his brows, and rubbed his temples… "Lady Corrin has completely resisted my last attempt at distant magical control. It's… she had nothing in terms of magical resistance when Camilla had fought this… pack. But now, all of the sudden, she overcomes my designed curse?!"
…
He wove that curse just for her?
Wait, so the fact that he failed to control Corrin is… public knowledge? Something isn't adding up again. "What aren't you telling me, Prince Leo?"
"I told you everything that I'm allowed to tell you, Princess Sakura. I hope your meal was enjoyable." Prince Leo turns to leave… bothered. Something else is bothering him.
"Please, I'm still a healer… what's wrong?" She reaches out.
"Princess Sakura, you do understand I am controlling how your captivity goes, that I'm Nohrian Royalty, that I nearly killed Princess Corrin, and through extent, you… yet you still wish to 'help' me?" He looks over his shoulder, and for what she can see, he seems surprised.
"There's enough fighting as it is! We can't keep having war after war! There needs to be peacetime, we need to be able to come together and accept each other for their differences. I-I think anyone can be that good person. You're… you're just following your orders from the King, I-I-I don't think th-that you want to do any of this!"
He raises an eyebrow. "Thank you, Princess Sakura. That has helped me more than you can ever imagine… have a good day." He finally leaves.
"...huh?" Sakura tilts her head as she hears the guards return. "So… was I right? He… doesn't want this war, either?"
Lupus wasn't sure when it happened, but she… or rather, Vella noticed that the glow on her side has faded. Was one day of working with Hina really that effective? Was it just a 'low level' curse? Lupus finds that hard to believe.
Hina, Hina… Lupus can't figure out why Keaty wanted her to stay. Well, she can understand if he wanted her for her Pegasus skills, or maybe her ability to use Festals? Her… spicy scent? Scents... Lupus is also still very much in heat.
Did Keaty get Hina so he would have less reason to be around her heat? That… makes sense, considering that her scent could distract him so easily… and being constantly hunted is not the time to try and get more pups. Still, it's irritating not being able to mate, as the burning feeling in her core won't leave her. She groans, frankly tired of that constant 'need' in her.
"There ya go…" She picks up Hina saying. "Thankfully Subaki and Azama left a number of Festals with me." She and Keaty walks out of his den, a Festal in her hand.
...So, he did take her for her healing. "Hmph…" He huffs, then adds in a lower tone, "Uh, thanks." He both turns and looks away, as if ashamed to admit it.
"Not a problem… even if it took me almost all of this Festal to heal what was there." She also looks away and… "Oh, hey, little sister!"
"Big sister!" Lupus greets in kind, hugging her, "How are you?"
"Kinda magically spent, but other than that, I'm good. How about you?"
"...Warm, hot even. Kinda bothered." She shamelessly admits, "But… glad everyone's alive. Hey, Hina? What did Keaty tell you?"
Her face reddens again, "It's nothing, really. Just telling me I'm a part of the pack now."
"Well yeah, I heard that part, but I meant when he got up close and growled."
"...I wasn't expecting him to growl at me, that's all."
"You're a terrible liar."
"It's none of your concern, Lupus." Keaty walks over. "It's my order. She won't tell, I won't tell, you won't know."
Well then, "Understood." She nods. "What's going to happen next, then?"
"I've already have a few scouting, I want to know how far our borders go. I want routes planned ahead of time."
"I've also suggested…" Hina starts.
"We're changing our fighting styles a bit." Keaty interrupts. "Won't be able to prepare for it often, but…" He now looks over at Hina.
"After seeing how strong the Wolfskin can be in their… 'human' forms, I thought maybe if the pack climbed some trees and hid out in the branches, then they could drop down on a group at the same time, taking out some Nohrians before shifting and using both the surprise from the attack and the subsequent fear as a means to kill the rest."
Lupus nods, "Yeah… most of my kills before leaving were made with my hands. I could kill bears from on high or sneaking behind." That's… actually a really good idea. So, Keaty kept her for a different viewpoint? "Anything else?"
Hina and Keaty share a look. "Train." Keaty answers. "Come." He tells Hina.
"See ya later, little sister." Hina waves, if a bit stiffly.
What is going on? Lupus looks around and… "Lupus." And now there's Dadaan.
"Keaty wants us to train." She says, not exactly looking at him.
He shrugs, "Do you know how to fight in your dragon form, yet?"
"...Not as good as I probably could." She admits, then touches her Dragonstone. "Dadaan… wanna play rough and fast with me?"
He smirks, "Last time you wanted that, I had to go on the defensive so you could actually…!" Lupus did the next logical thing from a statement like that…
She slapped him. "I don't care this time! We got Hina, Hina has healing rod things. I wanna play rough and fast!" She shifts.
He shifts. "Well, let's see how you…" She lashes out before he finishes, but his skill allowed him to react before getting slammed by one of her horns. "Heh, too slow." She follows up, only for him to grab her by the horn and slammed her to the ground. "Still wanna go rough and fast?"
"Grr… I'm not gonna be outdone again." She growls as she stands and barely dodges a swipe from Dadaan. She then lands her first… her first hit on him, it's not much more than a scratch, but she did it.
Then staggered back as she failed to avoid a punch. "Focus." He growls… if a bit husky.
Oh right, she's in heat.
Wait, she's in heat…
Lupus internally smiles as she swings her body around to slam him with her tail, he does manage to dodge it, but fails to avoid the following hind leg kick. "Yeah, focus Dadaan…" She mocks. "But whether that means the fight or me is up to you."
He merely growls, going for another blow and missing. Oh, he's worked up now, she can catch his musk coming off pretty heavily. It's… actually making her feel a lot more heated.
Okay, maybe this wasn't a really good idea.
"Hey, hey!" Keaty calls them out. "Dadaan, hunt. Lupus, shift."
"On it." Dadaan walks off.
"Keaty…" Lupus whimpers as she shifts back. "I need to train more."
"Do that without spreading your scent across the den." He growls.
"I'm in heat, Keaty! That's kinda hard not to do!" He knows that! "Whaddya want me to do? Hide out in my cave for a week?"
"...Heat?" Keaty sniffs, "Lupus, your heat cycle has been over by the time we got over here." A pause, "There's something wrong with you again, isn't there?"
"It's always something, isn't it? If I'm not learning how to prance around in my dragon form, I'm in heat, or I've been mangled by some magical tree! Or maybe I'm even going out stabbing my family!" She growls.
…
But it is always something happening, isn't it?
"Hina!" Keaty calls out.
"Yeah?" She jogs over from… wherever she was, it's not like Lupus was paying attention. But, considering the fact that she's taking somewhat heavy breaths and that her skin is slick with sweat, she must have been training.
"Something's wrong with Lupus's core, she isn't in heat but it's causing her scent to get stronger."
Hina only tilts her head, "Uh… what? I don't know all of the terms yet… and it's not like I can smell it."
Keaty sighs, "Lupus's core…" He gestures to the dip in between her legs, "isn't sending out a… 'signal' that she's ready to mate, er… wanting to bear pups, and whatever scent is coming out of her isn't… 'normal'."
"What do you expect me to do? I'm not a healer." Yet, before he could respond, "Yes, I can heal, but I haven't studied the medicinal arts. I can't figure out illnesses on my own."
"It's always something…" He huffs.
"Kinda hurts, too… and I just got angry at Keaty but… then I was fine." Lupus adds.
Hina scrunches her face, "You told me you didn't get those."
"...huh?"
"Gods, Lupus… are you bleeding right now?" Hina sighs.
"I dunno… where?"
"Your… 'core'."
"Why would that be bleeding?" She pulls her shorts away from her waist. "...Um, Hina?"
"Yes, sister?" Hina resists the urge to sigh again.
"It's bleeding…" A pause, "Why is my core bleeding!?"
"It's that time of the month… c''mon, let's clean you up and I'll explain."
"Should I take off my…?"
"No! Not now!" Hina shouts.
"You're right, they're already ruined. So… does this happen to you, too?"
Another sigh, "Yes, sister. This is normal for humans."
"...huh, well this is my first time."
Keaty shakes his head as the two walk away, "Lupus goes into heat like a beast-shifter, but she also apparently has a 'monthly human' thing going on."
While Hana has next to no ability when it comes to tactics, she attends the meetings regardless, if just to make sure she at least sorta knows what's going on. It's also a nice break from training every now and then. Still, 'break' is being taken lightly, Hana doesn't like taking breaks. However, there is an exception this time…
And that exception is when her chest armor was crushed by a single Wolfskin's foot and her actual body almost suffered the same fate. Hana shivers as she recalls the pure murder in 'Keaty's' eyes. Part of her wonders why he even bothered drawing it out for that long, considering the amount of spite he held. Part of her doesn't care why he did, and is simply thankful she's alive…
The third part of her wishes he just did… this third part of her rose up when she found out that Lady Sakura has been taken away. Her… her liege has been abducted! And they are… no, just breathe.
Hana can't afford to make another rash action like trying to get answers out of the Wolfskin alpha. If… if Lord Ryoma was even a few moments later, she believes she would have been crushed.
"Move it!" Someone yells from outside, "Healer!" Hana waits until the others leave the tent before she follows, and what stood outside?
Orange-yellow fur, stained with large amounts of red. She… sort of recognizes it. "Hold your mortal…" Azama starts to quip.
"Just help her!" The man, no wait…
Kitsune.
"Ka-da~!" Setsuna greets, "S-Silky?" Her initial surprise turns to a look of horror. "Oh no…"
"Beast Killer, wielded by some… insane woman." 'Ka-da' states. "She managed to strike Selkie and just… laughed as the blood poured out. I shifted so I could get Selkie to a healer." He nods to himself, "Hamlet first, revenge later."
"I don't have the proper anti-venoms, but I can keep her in this plane of existence." Azama concludes.
"She'll live, then?" Ka-da asks, "Good, I…" He gets up, before Lord Ryoma steps up.
"You're the Kitsune that my little sister, uh…" He pauses, suddenly nervous.
"As much as I would normally appreciate talking, I need to hunt down this woman."
"We can help." He offers. "Even if it's just keeping watch."
"Light-blue hair, red tips, horse-rider. Has a Beast Killer and some… design of a sword I never saw before. She was getting… aroused from the scent of blood and… and…"
"Sh-she said something about Lord…" Selkie adds. "Sender? Lord Sender?"
"Xander?" Lord Ryoma asks. "Crown Prince Xander?!" And now Lord Ryoma is on edge, "He's in Hoshido!? Where?"
"We were just outside our temporary Hamlet, I can't really give directions." Ka-da taps into his Beaststone and shifts, "Doesn't matter, I'm out for that woman." He runs off before Lord Ryoma could even get another word in.
Geez, and they called Hana rash.
"Lord Ryoma?" Kagero asks. "I'd advise against moving any significant number of troops right now. There's bound to be a secondary group around here somewhere."
"This 'woman' could have spared the Kitsunes only to have us lured in." Saizo adds. "I agree, we should stay put."
"We should be pooling our resources for our next attack." Hana nods, "And finding Lady Sakura."
"It… would be for the best if we didn't interfere anymore with the beastfolk than we have to." Lord Ryoma finally speaks up. "Don't worry, Selkie, we'll keep you alive and we'll get that toxin out of your body… Subaki!"
"Head towards the nearest fort and gather the anti-venom? Is that correct, Lord Ryoma?" Subaki guesses.
"Yes, it is." He nods. "Azama, make sure Selkie remains stable. I'll pick out a group to prepare a strike team, the remainder will remain here."
With a speed that can only be matched by another Kitsune who has mastered the Nine-Tails form, Kaden sprints along the ground, weaving through the area and even managing to work around any tree or root that comes along his path. All the while, he is moving at such a speed that most people would only see an white blur… and maybe his Foxfire orbs if they could really focus. Kaden normally doesn't approve of excessive violence, but he's willing to make an exception this time.
That bloodthirsty woman was laughing like a child after she sliced into Selkie and… he wasn't joking what he told Lupus's human family… that insane woman was actually getting sexually excited from it.
Picking up on the scent trail, he continues to…
Stop in place. A sudden uncertainty hits him as he realizes exactly where she's headed. Three humans, two horses, heading towards the hamlet he and Selkie picked out… before Lupus brought her pack with her.
He said he wouldn't get involved with those humans.
But she tried to kill Selkie!
They're after that one pack, if he walks, neither he or Selkie will probably be bothered with again.
...But he still considers Lupus a friend, all things considered.
…
Lupus is willing to make amends with the Kitsunes. It was truly only an unfortunate set of events that forced the pack into Kaden's previous hamlet. Besides, Lupus's family is willingly taking care of Selkie, despite Kaden literally charging in.
And Kaden never lets a debt go unpaid. "Hold on, I'm on my way…" He restarts his run and hits his top speed within seconds, even with the nearby trees. A mastered Nine-Tails is unmatched in speed and agility. In the near distance he can hear the sound of fighting and that already oh-so distinct laughter. "Foxfire… replicate." He growls, causing the three bright blue orbs hovering around him to land on the ground and form into… copies of him. A unique skill for a Nine-Tails, and most are unable to tell the copy from the original. The difference?
It's all in the fur. Copies are not as… vivid. They look just a bit more bland when compared to the original.
"Hee, hee… die, die, die!" One second, the insane woman is slashing into a Wolfskin, the next second one of Kaden's copies rips into her horse's neck, the second leaps to her lance-wielding arm and snaps down with enough momentum to crack it, the third tackles her off of the now dead horse, and the original pins her to the ground.
All of this happened in the span of about three seconds.
"Spread." He commands his copies as he stares the still-giggling woman down.
"Oh… I recognize you… I think."
Not wanting to spare a chance with her, he move to snap down on her neck, only to jump back as a sword slices through the air he was just at. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." A man tells Kaden.
"...Ka-da?" Lupus asks in her dragon form fighting… some other man on a horse, before suffering a terrible wound on her side.
"Focus!" Keaty growls as he attempts to slam a fist onto that same man.
"Two on him, one with me." Kaden quietly states. "Let's go." He sprints forward, but without the added distance like before, he's unable to reach that 'blur' point, cutting off one of his best chances at killing anything quickly.
"Lemme at him! I wanna make him bleed!" She wields the dreaded Beast Killer. Focus, just focus, he can dodge just fine. Kaden barrels to the right as one other copy slams into the woman. "Ooo, there's more!" She giggles as the copy leaves and the original has already pivoted to swipe at her.
"Peri!" The man without a horse shouts. "Get…"
"Kill." Kaden growls, then jumps back as another copy leaps from on high and clamps its jaw around her neck.
Drip, drop… crunch.
"L-Lord X…"
"Damn… retreat!" 'Lord Xander' rears his horse and swoops up Laslow with a rather impressive show of 'human' strength.
"Foxfire, return." Kaden huffs as he collapses, too long… his copies were out for too long, he's spent.
"Ka-da?" Lupus, back in her human form, touches his fur. "You… returned?"
"She tried to kill Selkie, I…" Kaden starts.
"Ka-da…" Keaty states and Kaden tenses. It doesn't need to be spoken...
It doesn't change the fact that Kaden crossed the boundary and entered the now-Wolfskin's den.
"I know."
"Keaty, please, he's…" Lupus starts, before she hisses in pain and doubles over… whatever cut she suffered is causing a serious bleed to go on. Hina, without saying a word, pulls out a Festal off of her back and starts healing Lupus.
"And how many more times am I going to spare someone just because you asked?" Keaty cuts her off.
"There's also no need to just kill because of bad blood, Keaty." Hina intervenes. "What will killing Ka-da get you? Satisfaction that an 'enemy Kitsune' is dead? How long will that last? Revenge is an empty path to follow… one isn't going to be enough, you're just going to end up wanting to kill more and more until there's none left, and even then you will remain 'unfulfilled'." This woman, this female is… standing face to face with Keaty. "He just saved us!"
And she doesn't even flinch at the fact that he's in his Wolfsegger form right now.
"I've made my choice…" Kaden speaks, "I didn't come to just kill that woman… I also came because it's only right." He takes a breath, "She is a threat to anyone, she needed to be killed."
Keaty shifts back into his human form. "Ka-da." Keaty starts.
"I understand…"
"Leave." Kaden startles and tilts his head, "Don't get me wrong, just seeing a Kitsune is enough to make want to rip you apart, there's the part of me that wants you to bleed out by my own claws, but… things are changing. You and Silky could have killed us last time… we were weakened and you both were strong, but you spared us. And now you've turned around and killed a threat to us…"
"Keaty!" Lupus exclaims.
"So, just leave. If you really want to help, then do what I had Lupus's human family do...out of my boundaries. When these 'Nohrians' are slaughtered, when this war is over, then… then I'll consider talking about the future." Keaty finishes, "Hina, heal who you can. Dadaan, scouting party. Lupus, Vella, lookouts."
Lupus shares one smile with Kaden before walking off with Vella. Hina gives him an approving nod, and… even 'Dadaan' seems to approve of Kaden's actions. "Keaty. Good hunting." Is all Kaden said before he dashes off.
Keaty… Keaty. Does Lupus really have that much of an effect on him? It confused Kaden enough that Hina was there, but… to hear that Keaty also spared Lupus's family, and now Keaty just let Kaden walk.
…
Kaden shakes his head, no, right now he has to focus on making sure Selkie is properly taken care of, then… he'll help out Lupus's human family, then… Well, he'll figure that out when he gets that far. Still, one thing is for certain, and he agrees with Keaty on this.
Things are changing.
A/N: Leo… seriously. What teh flook are you planning? You went from an initial threat, to maaaaybe being a 'good cop', to looking after her well-being, and now you gave her a piece of information that is clearly not public. You… don't have a, y'know.
Crush on her? Better watch it there, 'Prince'...
Honestly, how did Lupus 'lose' the curse? Or maybe it's just gone 'dormant'? Well, all I can say for certain is that events and what is being told is not lining up.
Alright, gotta admit something here, too… I was going to end on Lupus's bit, that, for once, it would end with a more 'goofy' piece. Lupus going into heat and can get periods? Then, well... actually, you all can thank Consort for kicking off a set of ideas, and I knew... I knew I had to add more.
Oh, so first death... Peri! Such a shame, but... hey. At least y'all got to see Kaden when he is ready to kill. So, how about that 'Foxfire' bit? I think that's gonna be the canon of this fic. Those sphere near the Nine-Tails are called 'Foxfire' and a Nine-Tails can sort of... cast spells with them. Yeah.
Lastly…
I was not expecting this to go on as long as it is. I didn't think I would be getting this into the war. I thought I was just gonna glance over the war every now and then, but…
I like this the way it is now, versus what I had originally imagined.