Damn, spoke too soon about the server. Che, maybe I'll get it to work right ONE of these fricken days. -,.,-x

Arano Honou: A one-shot for Atsuko? Now I'm curious. But Yukina's a pretty good actor, ne? And Goki was an idiot and deserved what he got. Good luck on 'Hunted'—and no story hates their author, some just like being more stubborn than others. As for acting 'young', hell, I know a couple of older teens that really are immature little pricks. Glad I'm not that age anymore, although people keep telling me I never really act young. Meh, go fig.

Chirishman: Ah, but please note the spelling. I used 'senpai', not 'sempai'. The two words really are quite different. Okazaki-sensei has explained that in class, and she should know, since she's a native Japanese. She's really cool, too!

KuramaIsFine: He had more tails to start out with, but that's what happens when you're stuck in Reikai prison for almost a century. So he's been busted back to the rank of one-tail, but it won't stay that way for long. Jessica Simpson? I vote eaten, just because.

Shadowkitsuneonna: Hiei's still not that much of a party animal. Knowing him, he took up a perch outside or some quiet corner and just watched the thieves slosh around. Kohaku will be brought back in soon, but not today.

Kohaku: Aww…

As for the reason Yoko went slightly berserk (or at least quietly psychotic) is because it was a very large shock to find Ivory robbing from a Ningenkai art museum. So far, the Silver Thief had been the only one known to pull off a successful and complete soul-transfer, and by the accounts of Koenma's records, Ivory had done no such thing. Circumstances are such that it should have been impossible for the true Ivory to have made a reappearance after her death, and the shock of finding that impossibility disproved unbalanced him. You'll find out the other reason why in a few chapters, so remember, kay? Now the reason for Koenma to be so anxious to have Obsidian recaptured is a vital plot point that I'm not telling. Nyah. 'n,.,n'

Silverwing013: Koenma has a pretty good idea of where Obsidian went. His only problem is that despite all the agents he's got hunting for the place, he has yet to find the Lair. Makes things a bit difficult for the child-prince and more fun for me!

Starling: Stick Kuwabaka in Makai? I wouldn't wish that kind of death on anyone but politicians and bad lawyers. Maybe annoying people like 'beautiful' Suzuka (gag).

Kitsune Kit: Ivory: Not on purpose, yanno. It's really hard to do something when you've only got half the buttons for body-control. And I'm not a great thief—not yet, anyway. I was only about twenty when I died. That's like six or seven in human years. —Kurama and Hiei hide while Aislin goes on a sugar-high—

Magus784: Hiei and Aislin: A little far? More like not far enough.

Niana: It's weird when you two do that in tandem. Like some spooky stereo thing.

Hiei: Hn. My reasons are my own, and short of killing the toddler, nothing is too far. —considers implications of last statement— Then again…

Kohako: Remember, he helped me paint Koenma's bedroom pink?

Asilin Kheldarson: Ivory: I'm more aware than you are, brother?

Obsidian: Dunno about that. You spaced out way more than I did in between lessons.

—————————————————————————————————

Zephyr rouses to the sounds of cheering echoing faintly through the ground that her head rests on, wondering at the odd vision brought on by the trance Aislin had dropped her into. It had been as though she'd stood among the stars…

"Wha's all th' yellin' fer?" mumbles a drowsy voice from her left that snaps her out of her daydream. The silver-haired girl looks over to find a yawning Obsidian sitting up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Ohayou, Obsidian. I have no idea what all the shouting is for but do you want to find out?"

"Well, duh." A wicked if somewhat sleepy smile is flashed at her from within a tanned face. "Wake Kizi up, I c'n ride 'er."

Zephyr does exactly that by the simple expedient of gently poking the giant feline's side until the cat whuffs and turns a reproachful gaze upon her masters. But when Kizi understands that Obsidian wishes a ride, the striped feline is quite happy to oblige, kneeling beside the unsteady black fox to allow him easy access to her back.

Even astride Kizi as Obsidian is, his head is still even with Zephyr's when the human girl walks beside the pair to keep the kitsune in place while they traverse the dizzying corridors. When they arrive in the main cavern the pair finds most of the gang already gathered there around a young man with long crimson hair lightly spiked at bangs and the nape of his neck.

Emerald eyes spot them upon entrance, the red-head conversing briefly with those around him before he starts walking towards the young pair. The crowd parts into an easy path for him, revealing that Aislin walks beside him with her hand resting in the crook of the male's arm.

Zephyr looks to the ebony-maned boy beside her when he chuckles weakly, both hands employed keeping him upright and steady. "Ano, ohayou, Boss-sama. I don't like that smile of yours."

Instantly 'that smile', which had carried overtones of displeasure and annoyance, dissolves into a cheerier expression; the regal head is inclined slightly towards them. "Blunt as always, Obsidian. And just as foolish as you were a hundred years ago. Where did your sense run off to, bringing a human girl to the Demon World when you have barely the strength to walk?"

"Like I told Aislin-sama last night, I don't know the reason, I just knew I had to before Solstice. But I'm still glad you're here. Now it's like the old days, only you and Ivory-chan look different."

A gentle hip-bump from Aislin to her companion—it is with a start that Zephyr recognizes him as Shuichi Minamino-Hatakana, the prodigy from Meiou High School—accompanies an admonishing smile. "The former can be changed, youngling. Show us your silver side, beloved, it's been too long since I've seen it."

Shuichi steps away with a courtly bow to Aislin, one hand resting over his heart. "As my lady wishes." And he is enveloped in a cloud of rose-scented mist. When is clears, Zephyr tilts her head back as her mouth falls open.

Straightening from the bow is a seven-foot tall man with luxurious silver hair cascading down to his hips where it blends with a silken tail made from the same living silk. His fanged smile is very white in a tanned face, set off by rich amber eyes while fox ears of a darker silver than his hair swivel playfully about.

The smile turns to dumfounded surprise when a soft, clear voice says wonderingly, "You're Yoko."

Everyone twists around to blink at Zephyr, eyes locked on the transformed male several feet in front of her. Regaining his composure, Yoko grins and once again inclines his head in a brief approximation of a bow. "Indeed, Ivory Zephyr Avalon-Uotani, I am." That utterly enigmatic smile gets a little bigger. "You know, should you take up the career of thief again, 'Ivory Zephyr' could very well be your new thief-name."

"I have no intention of becoming a thief as things stand now, whether my previous life intercedes or not. Zephyr Uotani does not steal."

"I stand rebuked."

"As do you, Obsidian," Aislin adds sternly from beside her life-mate, her expression just as firm as her voice. "So far luck has been with you in your current Game, but 'ware; Fate has a habit of changing the rules to suit her own plans."

"Yes'm."

Ikazuchi just sighs in his usual theatrical fashion and slings his arms around his retired commanders with his brindle-blonde ears tilting crazily. "So serious! You'd think people were dying instead of just worn out! Come on, Aislin-sama, Yoko-sama, have a little fun! With the exception of Kuro-kun, wherever the hell his reincarnation is, the whole gang from the old days is back together!"

"What," Aislin turns amazed eyes to the thunder-wolf, "there haven't been any deaths recently? Truly?"

"Truly!" several thieves chorus happily. "Nary a one!"

Gambit, the older youkai with all of the scars and rust-colored hair, nods solemnly from where he leans against the cavern wall by the outer exit. "Some close calls, a few body-parts lost, but nothin' too life threatenin'," he confirms. "The cub here," a jerk of his whiskered chin at a grinning Ikazuchi, "ain't a half-bad leader."

Obsidian relaxes beside Zephyr when his teachers' faces shift from stern to amazed joy, their hair fluffing up in pleasure around their faces and shoulders. It reminds Zephyr of the birds she's studied in parks and on the streets; whenever those creatures were relaxed or happy, their feathers would fluff much the same way. It's a cute trait, actually.

"I think we're safe for the moment," the black fox mutters to his companion in a low voice while the others converse around them. "They don't look like they're about ready to spit nails anymore."

"I don't call being stuck in the middle of a bunch of party animals safe," retorts Zephyr in a voice just as low as his. "I'd rather be outside, where it's quieter."

"Okay." Startled by the nonchalant answer, the girl with silver hair trails after the ebony-maned boy riding the huge cat through the chattering, laughing crowd, through the outer tunnel, and into the front clearing flooded with sunlight.

Taking the time to actually look around, Zephyr gazes upward at the unusual sky. "Is this world's sky always such a red color?"

"Huh?" Obsidian cranes his head back and nearly falls off Kizi-chan—he saves himself by grabbing two handfuls of flowing mane, much to Kizi's discomfort. "Oh. Yeah, pretty much. There's a legend that says the ancestor to King Enma Yama-Daioh fought with a huge, really powerful demon when the worlds were forming, and the demon's blood stained the sky that color, making the Makai the home for all youkai."

The trio has wandered into the boundary forest now, Zephyr drinking in the sights of trees so big that it would take a dozen of her to wrap arms around it, ferns that sing as they drink up moisture from streak-banks, and myriads of small creatures that she's never seen before. Obsidian plays the tour-guide, pointing out landmarks or some of the creatures and telling her what they are.

"See that big rock over there?" He points to a boulder the size of a station wagon half-submerged in water and covered in moss. "That's the Emerald Throne; it's where the territory's fair-folk gather on full moons. I hope you stay long enough to attend one of their meetings, Zephyr-chan. It's a beautiful thing to see. Oh! And there goes a meremia!" A catlike creature with wings glides over their heads through the canopy. "Those are really rare! You only get to see them around the Lair 'cause they get hunted almost everywhere else!"

"How come?"

"They're really smart quasi-youkai. They can talk and do some tricks with youki. I think some of them caused the stories about will'o'wisps 'cause that's one of the tricks. They can make themselves look like little globes of light just like what we have back in the Lair and a group of them is called a wing. A lot of people like to try and make them into pets or they eat the meremia to get their tricks, but we don't do that here."

"Ivory!" a small voice peeps in excitement, a small, lithe body tumbling from the lowest branch of a tree onto her head. A silky, fluffy tail waves past her nose as well as a coppery wingtip—at a guess, a meremia just landed on top of her. "Ivory! You're back!" Judging by the feel of movement the small creature sits up, letting out a warbling, cheery call. Instantly, more than a half-dozen of the winged beings converge on her, chittering gaily at the tops of their diminutive lungs.

"Where have you been, Ivy-ivy?"

"We missed you!"

"It's been sooo boring without you to talk to!"

"Were you off doing thief-stuff?"

"Or fox-stuff?"

"Come on, Ivy-ivy, tell us!"

"Yeah, tell us!"

"Pretty please!"

"'Cause you love us and we're so cute that you can't resist us!"

"I'm the cutest!"

"No way, I am!"

"No, me!"

"You' re all wrong, I'm the cutest! Tell 'em, Ivy-ivy!"

Obsidian is torn between laughing and staring at the odd sight his reincarnated sister makes, with cat-like animals hanging from her head, her shoulders, and her arms, each voice overriding the others in an effort to be heard. They sound like nothing but young children pestering a favorite relative after a long absence. In the end, he decides that laughing would be appropriate and nearly falls off Kizi again.

"It's not that funny, Haru," Zephyr growls at him, face nearly lost behind fluttery, furry wings, long ears, and long tails.

"Yes, yes it is!"

"'Dian!" several more meremia chorus, dropping on him from nowhere and following much the same conversational pattern. Questions, demands for answers, a verbal battle over who's the cutest. It's Zephyr's turn to smirk while she tries to calm down her wing and answer at least some of their questions. Wisely, though, she avoids the matter of who is cutest.

"Hn. You two look like statues in a park. You've even got the pigeons." All of the meremia take flight at the amused, almost-mocking comment from behind the young foxes. Kizi just flicks her tail as Hiei walks up with his usual half-smirk firmly in place beneath hooded crimson eyes.

"Ohayou, Jaganshi-san."

"Good morning, Jaganshi-san," Zephyr echoes uneasily. The sheer presence this dark male forces onto her awareness is mind-numbing if she's not careful to block as much as she can out, though so far he has offered her no violence at all. It's the subtle aura that hangs around him, promising violence sooner or later, that makes her untrusting of him.

"Hello, kitsune. What are you doing so far from the Lair?" Obsidian twists around to look back the way they had come with startled golden eyes.

"Oops! That's a good bit farther than I meant to—ow!" He tumbles off of Kizi's broad back when something whizzes past the trio, his hands clapped to his side. In a flash Hiei is on the defensive, his katana out and gleaming in the ruddy sunlight. Zephyr has dropped into a crouch, ears having followed the path of the object to find what looks like a dart sunk into a tree behind them. "Bloody slime-crawling sheep-loving hemlock-sucking prick!"

"Taught you her language, for sure," a male voice drawls. "Though the plant comment's new." The human girl watches with wide eyes as a man seems to melt from the shadows of a trunk several yards ahead of them, his arms crossed and kunai sprouting from between his fingers.

Hiei growls under his breath at the intruder. "Shao. What's a flunky like you doing here, as if I couldn't guess?"

"Capturing Avalon, like you were unable to do, Jaganshi," the male replies comfortably. "Not to mention I was supposed to see if you were up to your old tricks again, which it looks like you are."

"Moron." The breathy epithet is spoken by Obsidian, his hands still pressed against his side while a thin trickle of blood flows between his graceful fingers. His mouth twists up into a pained smile. "Think Jaganshi-san came here 'cause he wanted to? He was chasin' me. And damned near caught me, too, before you interrupted."

One ebony eyebrow rises towards spiky bangs at the effort made by the fox to keep Hiei's own reputation intact even with whatever concoction was undoubtedly on that dart burning in the boy's bloodstream. "You are a fool, kitsune."

"Knew that already," is the faint laugh. Zephyr has one hand hovering near her hip, ready to reach for a talisman, but a higher power than she intervenes. The tall man's face goes slack without warning, a barely-perceptible aura of blue-green light flickering at his body's outline. The black-clad arms drop to his sides, the kunai dropping with dull thuds to the mossy ground.

"Then you should be taking steps to correct it instead of making things worse," a female's voice informs him tartly as Aislin walks into view, a sapphire Jagan open and blazing on her forehead. There is a faint shimmer of violet light beneath Hiei's white bandanna, his own Jagan calling to a sibling with its power. "Feh. Worthless boot-licker coming into my territory without permission and thinking he goes unnoticed. All of you lackeys are the same, I swear."

"I had the situation in hand, snowflake."

"Not fast enough to suit me, porcupine head. Koshou, be so kind as to aid my young pupil over there, would you?" The command is phrased as a light-hearted request, but that it is still an order is perfectly clear. From behind the koorime woman comes a mouse apparition garbed in green velvet robes strung with bandoleers and a broad leather belt.

The slender female easily wrenches the dart out of the tree, the tip of her tongue delicately touching the dark metal. "Monkshood, mixed with Red-cap mushroom spoors. Designed to incapacitate, not kill. The antidote is simple enough." Walking over to Obsidian, the petite youkai quickly has a draught of bright blue liquid steaming faintly within a small stone bowl, and it is without mercy that every drop is poured down the young fox's throat.

Zephyr hides a smile behind her hand while Obsidian splutters at the horrid taste flooding his mouth, that flavor distracting him while Koshou cleans the shallow slash with a darker, brown fluid before taping a bandage over it.

Obsidian tended to, all attention is laid upon the foolish human who has wandered far out of his safe-zone. Aislin is the one who does the talking, her Jagan glaring coldly at this worthless scrap of existence. "All right, Shao, you wanted to go fox hunting? Then go to England and take up the mortal sport. That is where you went after you left Spirit World, because you received information that the ragged Avalon could be hiding there in disguise. You did not come to Demon World, you did not stumble upon the Lair of Thieves, you did not see a human girl consorting with demons. What did I just say, Shao?"

"I went to England because I received information that the ragged Avalon could be hiding there in disguise."

"And did you find anything?" A stronger blaze of icy light from the sapphire Jagan.

"I found nothing."

"And where did you not go?"

Puzzlement crosses the slack face. "I didn't go anywhere except to England."

"Very good. Say bye-bye, Shao."

"Bye-bye." And with a sharp snap of Aislin's fingers, the man disappears in a cloud of platinum powder that vanishes before it hits the ground. The koorime woman dusts off her hands with a satisfied, tight smile while the Jagan on her head closes and seals, leaving behind a single mark. It is her demon-sigil, a teardrop the color of diamond dust mixed with peacock blue.

"That takes care of that little problem. Now, winsome kit, you still have the rest of the day and a night before the solstice, and you are in no shape to be giving guided tours whether or not you walk them. Kindly get your ass back to the Lair before another one of the toddler's flunkies finds you."

"Yes'm!" Obsidian barks before he gets hauled to his feet by a miffed fire apparition and propped back onto Kizi's back.

"Hn. Next time, snowflake, let me deal with the rabble."

The smile turns to a mocking, chiding frown. "Ah, but porcupine head, why should I let you have all the fun?"

——

She trots through endless tunnels with feet that know the way better than her eyes, with a feeling of being called growing stronger and stronger as she goes. Lights color the air in soft pastels but do little to alleviate the darkness pooled on the ground. But given the texture beneath her bare feet it is worked stone, sanded smooth but not slick.

"Come on, slowpoke! We don't have all night!" echoes a voice around her, making her legs move faster.

"It would help if I knew where I was going!"

"Your feet know the way, silly! Let the rest be a surprise!" She's running now, impatient to reach the end if only to swat the illogical voice. The lights pass faster, quick flashes of color that fade rapidly behind her. Then the darkness is gone, swallowed by the brilliance that floods her eyes and makes her arms rise in a futile attempt to shield them.

"It's about time. The sun is close to rising." Startled, she blinks over her sleeve at the person standing in the middle of a perfect half-spherical room. The lithe body is clad in a mint-green kimono wrapped with a violet obi, setting off the long silver hair, the paler furry ears, and the almost-white tail swishing behind the long legs. The eyes, set beneath gracefully arched eyebrows, are the color of pigeon-blood rubies. "Hello, self."

Zephyr steps gingerly into the room, finding that she, too, is clad in a kimono. But hers is a lilac color with an emerald green sash, both kimonos splashed with light pink cherry blossoms. "Are you Ivory?"

"Dead in the black! You're Ivory, too, you know. It's just that something went wrong when we were placed in our body. We're kind of like split personalities, what Yoko-sama pretends to have with the Spirit Detective and that carrot-top."

"So why am I here?"

A cheery grin. "Because we're going to try and fix it! We're not supposed to be separate, we're supposed to be one whole soul and notsplit into a couple of pieces."

The two are standing only a foot or two apart now, a wind springing from nowhere and transforming the stone chamber into a grassy meadow beneath a starlit sky dotted with a silvery cloud or two. The moonlight hits their hair and turns the tresses into banners of gleaming star-silk.

Zephyr tilts her head to one side, feeling her unbound locks slide over her shoulder as her hands raise of their own accord. "So what now, then? How do we repair things?"

One milk-pale hand stretches out in an unmistakable gesture as pink lips curve into a knowing smile. "Take my hand, and we'll go from there."

——

When Aislin passes the room where her young pupils sleep in the dreams of the young, her attention is caught by a faint misty light curling beneath the door-curtain, shading a deep rose-pink tinted with lavender. It is an energy she hasn't seen for a hundred years. Walking past and watching the wind of her passage stir the mist into fantastic abstract shapes, the Queen of Thieves murmurs four simple words; "Welcome back, misted Avalon."

——

Obsidian wakes just before sunrise, already feeling his strength returning, eager to reach the entrance before the sun touches the rocks. Excited as a human child at Christmas, he reaches over to the lump just a few feet away and shakes it, eagerly whispering, "Come on, sister! It's almost Solstice!"

"Oh, go dunk your head, brother." Obsidian freezes at the familiar words, then pulls back the fur blankets hiding Zephyr from his view. Then gapes. For there on the futon lies curled a wondrous sight. Hair the color of white gold spills around a lithe body clad in a pair of jeans and a violet tank-top, with four silken tails draped over one sprawled leg. Furry ears droop against the silvery head in drowsy relaxation.

"Ivory!"

"Mh? Whaaat?" A hand gropes blindly for the stolen blankets, only to be grabbed and used as a lever to haul her along with Obsidian to their feet. "'Dian, I wanna sleep. Go 'way."

"Ivory! Ivory, wake up right now! I mean it!"

"Fine," comes the growl, ridiculously long lashes parting to reveal a cinnamon eye with an elliptical pupil dilated in the darkness. "I'm awake. Happy now?"

"That is you, isn't it?"

The hand is freed and stretches towards the ceiling with her other hand, several pops signaling the realignment of her spine. "Yes, it's me. Zephyr and Ivory both. I'm back to what I'm supposed to be and it wasn't as easy as Ivory thought so I'm very tired. If you keep bugging me, I'm going to bite you."

A jubilant smile accompanies a startled squeak and a cranky growl from Kizi as two foxes abruptly land on her back, but the giant cat obediently rises and lopes into the hallway. Several other youkai are trotting through the passages in the direction of the entrance in order to welcome the Solstice.

No one pays too much attention to the twins as they ride Kizi out into the clearing, leaving the feline to sprawl on her favorite boulder as they scramble up the cave-side to the top of the small mountain that houses the Lair. Only a few other youkai have gathered up there; the rest remain down in the clearing, facing east as the first rays of the orange sun spill over the horizon.

Everyone claps their hands twice as one before flinging their arms wide in welcome of the light, staggering when the beams and a flood of energy slams into them. A sweet chorus of glad cries pour into the air as reserves are replenished and grown, manes lengthening, eyes glowing, fur fluffing, feathers and scales glossing to a near-mirror shine. The platinum tumble of Ivory's hair that had brushed her hips fluffs itself until it reaches her mid-thighs, where it twines around itself like a living thing.

She turns laughing eyes to her brother to find him crowing gleefully while he soaks up the light and strength, his own cropped mane of ebony now swinging to his hips over a set of five glorious tails, one of which is tipped with snow white fur. He flexes one hand before his face before flashing a wicked smile at his restored sister, letting the muscles of his arms roll under tanned skin while he stands there in an open vest and loose white trews.

"The Avalons cry a welcome!" he howls to the crowd below, faces turning up and grinning in jubilant surprise to find the kits standing there in full glory.

"The Thieves cry a welcome!" is the roar back, as Obsidian snatches up Ivory's hand and they leap down to the ground far below with a couple of mid-air somersaults. Everyone is laughing, bursting with energy thanks to the Solstice, a good half of the gathered crowd disappearing among the trees to repair damage done to it in the months since Spring Solstice as a way to vent the over-flowing power coursing through their bodies.

Others bring out crystals and gemstones, storing that power as a failsafe in case it will be needed later. The whole clearing and beyond is filled with colored lights as auras manifest around the pulsing stones held by so many, the youki-signatures clear to anyone with a better-than-human sense of smell. Obsidian casts his awareness out around him, seeking two very specific energies buried in the jumble of blending auras from numerous youkai.

A smile blooms again on his face as one of those signatures approaches, returning to himself to find a beaming Yoko walking towards them with rose vines tangled in his long silver mane bearing deep scarlet blooms. "Welcome back, Obsidian, Ivory. It's good to see you so restored."

"Good morning!" both chirp back. Obsidian adds, "Where's Aislin-sama?"

A distant expression takes hold of the kitsune a moment before the grin returns. "She's down in her Crystal Chamber, recharging all of her stones like she does every year. We'll be seeing her after she's finished, I'm sure." He ruffles their hair affectionately. "I doubt anyone will recognize my young shadow anymore, nor the winsome kit now that he doesn't look like something the cat dragged in. Go on, enjoy the Solstice. I hear there's a festival going on in Pridesholt; you're strong enough now by just living to keep yourselves out of deep trouble if you go. Besides," a conspiratorial wink, "I may convince Aisuhana to go there with me, as well! Ikazuchi and several others have already gone, so no fear of another ambush." And the tall fox strides off, mingling with the other thieves who are nearly drunk on energy as they sing the songs the plants sing.

Obsidian looks over at Ivory with a lifted eyebrow in query. She rolls her eyes and gives him a 'duh' look, grabbing his hand and pulling them back into the Lair to change into suitable clothes. "Come on, brother! The last festival I went to was a disaster! Let's erase that memory with one of pleasure, ne?"

"Okay!"

——

"Slow down, you two!" Ikazuchi calls as two young foxes barely old enough to be out from their mother's shadow dart past him, giggling happily as they play with a pair of white fox masks and weave through the crowd. "You'll run into someone!"

"Haii!" they call back in high spirits, before grinning at each other and bursting into laughter. The lightning-wolf just rolls his butter-yellow eyes and continues chatting amiably with one of the local mercenary-police that keeps justice in the town of Pridesholt. The Captain of the Mercenary Guild is a brown tabby-cat youkai named Mizu, and the man also happens to be an old friend of Aislin's, from when he was a broken-down soldier looking for work.

In return for the kindness she'd shown him, he has made it abundantly clear that as long as they keep their light-finger habits to themselves, no one of the Thieves will be arrested here, no matter what the bounty. It makes life a great deal simpler to have another bolt-hole besides the Lair where one can seek sanctuary.

Many of the older youkai smile indulgently at the young kitsune out for a day of fun, the solstice lightening everyone's mood. On a day as beautiful as this, it is impossible to be gloomy. As the pair approaches the gold-fish booth, Ivory looks over at her brother with a thoughtful expression. "I forgot to ask, 'Dian; what ever happened to the fish we got that day?"

A brief flash of sadness at the reminder of her death before Obsidian sighs. "They let me keep the fish in my cell, but they were mortal and only lasted for about a decade."

"From a human perspective, that's a long time for a goldfish." Pause. "A really long time." Another pause. "Come to think of it, that's a really, really long time for a goldfish."

Obsidian chokes down a bark of laughter and his face turns red with the effort while Ivory pays the booth-owner with a copper coin from the stash that had still been in their room from a hundred years ago. Whoever said there's no honor among thieves obviously never met this bunch, the silvery vixen thinks to herself in wry humor. Else I'd have never seen half the stuff again if and when I came back unless they were being worn by whoever took them. Obsidian is still coughing from swallowing his laugh when his sister is handed a paddle and a clay bowl.

"Mind your fingers, lassie," the man warns cheerfully. "They ain't been fed yet an' they likes a bit o' fresh meat now an' agin."

A slow blink at the fish swimming lazily just below the surface. "Are they piranha or demon fish or something?"

"A long-cousin o' demon-kin," the roguish man agrees with no less cheer, gesturing at what appears to be a tankful of normal gold-fish coming in a rainbow of colors. "Ain't got much more brains'n a ningen dog, but they's got a good bite to 'em. If'n ye still wanta fish, no plant-tricks, lassie."

"Ooooh," both young foxes breathe in appreciation. Obsidian watches over Ivory's shoulder as she pushes up the sleeves of her forget-me-not blue kimono and dips a bowlful of water from the tank, careful to keep her fingers out of the liquid and fish out of the bowl. Switching the bowl to her other hand, she readies the paddle, and waits.

Splash! Flick! Plop! Ecstatic smiles blooms on both youthful faces at the sight of a pearly double-fin marked with a ruby patch around the dorsal fin sulking in the clay vessel, thwarted in its attempt to nip a bit of flesh from the lovely hand that had been just an inch or two away. "You got a nice one, Ivory-chan! It's gorgeous!"

"Not bad, lassie. Try yer luck again, eh?" The girl accepts the new bowl while the stall-owner takes the first and pours both fish and water into a small glass globe, the bottom flattened for purchase and balance; cinnamon eyes turn up to the dark male behind her.

"'Dian, which one to you want?"

The renard takes the same time to answer as he would as though someone had asked him whether he wanted riches or the best foods in the world as his last request, studying each fish carefully before deciding. "Try for that one, sister? The red one with the gold marking?" Said fish immediately sinks, wishing no part in this stupid game, while the paddle flashes in, dipping out the fish that had been pointed out with a merry glance. It lands in the bowl with a splash, a splendid creature of calico marking, white beneath patches of red and gold. "Hey, that worked! Fantastic!"

"A century of no practice hasn't dulled my senses or reflexes that badly," protests Ivory as the second fish is added to the bowl, her hands taking the fragile bubble while her eyes watch the resigned creatures within. "Sir, besides meat, what do these pretties eat? And what kind of environment do they live best in?"

"Now, lassie, they likes red meat or bugs when they can catch 'em," the brown-haired man tells her seriously, pleased that someone actually bothers asking him intelligent questions instead of just skipping off willy-nilly. "And the bes' place for 'em's in a good big tank, lotsa light, wi' a bit o' water-plant growin' surface-side. Once they figure out yer the place they get their food from, they might warm up a bit, but don' hold yer breath."

"Got it. Thank you!"

"Thanks fer bein' smart about those liddle tykes! Enjoy the Solstice!" The man waves a merry farewell at them, flashing the pearly webbing stretched between his fingers, then turns his attention to a new customer in time to keep them from getting bitten.

"Where to next, sister?" Obsidian asks absently as they walk away, the renard nibbling at the berry crepe he'd been savoring for the past five minutes.

Ivory looks around curiously to find their next activity…then freezes at the sight of a very familiar midnight-blue tent pitched at the end of the lane they're walking. "To visit a piece of our past, methinks."

—————————————————————————————————

Dun-dun-dun! (hides from reviewers while enjoying her cliffhanger)

ohayou: good morning

meremia: take a cat, a bird, and a rabbit and mix them together, only without body feathers and beaks, and you get a general idea. Built more like felines than their cousin the cabbit.

Shao: means 'small' or 'laughter' (And here I thought I'd just made it up. Silly me. n,.,n )

Koshou: pepper