It was late, and the Fire Festival would be starting soon. The sun was sinking low in the sky, a burning orb that tinged the world shades of orange. The fox girl stepped out of the shower, steam still rising from her body. It was beautifully tiled in tones of brown, and the girl had never seen the like.
She recalled the wonder she had felt upon seeing it for the first time.
"I'm surprised you haven't seen one before," She'd said with a laugh. "They're not all that rare, anymore. Jarod made this one. So handy when he wanted to be, that man."
The girl was amazed at the way water poured out of the small spout above her head. Before, she had bathed in the occasional stream or river, but this was something totally new.
She tied her still-wet hair back in its usual braid, which had grown longer in the months since her transformation so that now it hung around her thighs.
She dressed quickly in clothes that were far finer than she had ever hoped to own. She remembered her conversation with Ahri not long ago.
"They're well stitched, don't get me wrong," She'd said. "But they lack flair! They're so dull. The Festival of Fire is in a few weeks, and we can't have you going in these rags, dear!"
She had shrugged. "What can I do with them?"
Ahri had smiled roguishly. "I made all of Anna's clothes when she was your age, I'm sure I can spruce them up just fine."
And so she had. Ahri had taken the plain white skirt, cut it shorter, and stitched a second layer under it that came to a point at the outer sides of the thighs, and embroidered red and gold designs around the edges of both layers. The girl had told her that she was fond of the low cut red shirt, so she created an entire new one out of silk, but this one with long sleeves with gold designs that flared out at the wrist and came to points at the shoulder.
When she had presented them to the girl after days of keeping them out of her sight, she had been nearly speechless.
"I don't know what to say." She'd said.
"How about 'thank you'?" Ahri said with a grin.
"Yes, of course. But you've done so much for a complete stranger, it doesn't seem enough. How can I repay you for all you've done?"
"It's no trouble dear. In truth, it's been nice having you around. Like I said before, you remind me so much of Anna." Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
The girl felt uncomfortable then. Nobody had ever enjoyed her company, nor had she ever really felt the need for another's companionship. It was odd.
But she had smiled and nodded assent all the same.
She finished dressing, and used the mirror to heavily outline her eyes in black before leaving the bathroom. Hanging on a coat rack just outside the door was yet another gift from Ahri, one of her old cloaks. Though aged, it was still every bit as fine as her new clothes. The calf-length cape was pure white and tied at the shoulder with a red gem. She pulled the wide hood low over her face before she stepped out into the failing afternoon sun.
Ahri was in the garden, pulling at some flat, green plants. She turned when she heard the girl approach.
"Ah, those clothes suit you," She remarked. "You wear white well."
"Thank you," The girl replied with a swirl of the cape. "Are you ready to go?"
"In a minute or two, dear. Go inside and get me the basket on the kitchen table, will you?"
"Alright." She replied with a nod.
She spun on a heel and stepped into the house and out of the heat of the afternoon. With a smile , she spotted the old woven basket, and with a spring in her step, she took it off the table and swung around to return to the garden. But she froze in her tracks when she looked through the window that looked out into the garden.
Ahri was on her knees, surrounded by black hooded figures, most carrying large, menacing crossbows. A man, apart from all the rest, was pointing a familiar looking, curved sword at her throat.
She couldn't hear what they were saying from here. As quickly as she was able without making any noise, she crept over to the still-open doorway and crouched to one side of it.
"Now I'm going to ask again, woman." The man with the sword was saying. "Where is the girl?" To the girl's shock and horror, the voice belonged to the selfsame thief she had torched and left for dead a little over two weeks ago. He was still alive! But how? She had seen him go up in flames, she was sure of it.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Attacking an old woman, alone in her house? Pah! Some man you are." Ahri said back.
The girl marveled at her courage. But maybe she shouldn't have been surprised. The woman had nothing left to lose, after all.
Except her, maybe.
She had to be careful about this. Going out there now would only get them both killed.
"Black hair. Nine fuckin' tails," The thief said, bringing the point of the sabre closer to her neck. "Ring any bells?"
"No."
"Search the house."
A few of his cronies nodded and moved towards the house. The girl cursed and quietly moved away from the door, moments before three hooded thieves passed through it. She moved like a cat through the house, towards the back door. She froze, breath held behind a narrow column as one of them passed by the other side. She peered at him from under her hood as he surveyed the kitchen. After looking around for a few seconds, he moved around the pillar to get a look at the living room. He scanned the small table and the couch where she had been sleeping. This must have piqued his interest, because he moved over to it. The girl moved silently around the column to avoid being seen.
Heart thudding in her chest, she moved towards the back door again, and with trembling hands, managed to turn the handle. With relief, she stepped outside.
She was free. But she couldn't leave, not yet. Ahri was in danger, and despite what her instincts told her, she had no choice but to go back. But how to avoid being seen?
Her gaze turned back to the house with climbing vines and the low fence that ran up near the squat building. There was her answer.
The girl nimbly climbed up onto the fence and walked along it until she was up against the house's stone wall. She leapt high and clung to some of the vines on the side and hung there for a few seconds while her feet scrambled to find footholds.
Satisfied that the vines would take her weight, for the time being at least, she began to climb. Her way was made easier by grooves in the stone of the wall, and she found herself atop the roof in short order. She carefully picked her way across the shingled surface to the side of the house where the garden lay. She crouched at the edge and gazed downward.
Ahri was so far unharmed, but still under close supervision by the man she had burned. He wore completely new black leather armor and dull gray cloak, and at this angle, she was able to catch a glimpse of his face, and could see that he now wore a mask of some sort. Beneath the cloak, she caught a glimpse of a singed red bandanna.
Gathered around the two in a rough ring were several more thieves, dressed in ragged leather armor of various colors, and one girl that hung back and to the right of the masked thief. She was almost more imposing than he was, despite her obvious youth. She could be no older than eighteen or nineteen years, and was dressed all in flawless black leather armor. The only diversions were the silver glint off her metal shoulder guard, a dirt-stained burgundy cloak, and a mane of midnight blue hair.
The three thieves filed out of the house below, drawing the fox girl's attention away from the female thief.
"Anything?" The head thief demanded of them.
"No, nothing," The front most one replied. It looked like someone else might've been living there recently, but I couldn't be sure."
Chills ran up the girl's spine despite the sun and thick cloak. "Ah, so she was here. That means you lied to me, old woman." His tone was bemused, and the girl got the impression that he was smiling beneath the mask. He raised the sabre at Ahri again. "Now why would you do a thing like that?"
"If you haven't found her by now, she'll be miles away. Good luck finding her."
"Oh I will. After all, I owe for this." He pointed at his face, which she now saw was covered in bandages, only leaving space for two bloodshot eyes.
"You let that sweet little girl do that to you? I'd laugh if it wasn't so pathetic." Ahri was saying.
He delivered a wicked backhand to the woman. "That 'sweet little girl' isn't what you think she is. Truth is, she played you, old woman. She's a killer. I've seen it with my own eyes.
Ahri remained silent. The girl's heart sank. The man's words rang true, and for some reason, the girl was upset by that.
Below, the female thief stalked over to the lead thief. "We're wasting too much time here. If she's gone, we'll need to move quickly to catch her."
"There's nothing left to see here," the burned thief grunted. He turned back to Ahri, adding almost casually. "Kill her."
Gripped with shock and terror, the fox girl almost fell from her position on the roof. One of the henchmen stepped forward, dagger raised.
"No!" The female thief cried, stopping the henchman in his tracks. "In broad daylight? We're running the risk of being seen as it is!"
"Don't argue with me, Jihl!" He snapped. "I'll do it myself."
The fox girl tensed, ready to jump into action.
"No!" the blue haired girl shouted, grabbing onto the man's sword arm. Above their heads, the fox girl's eyes widened in horror. There was too many of them, and those crossbows would turn her into a pincushion in seconds. She was utterly powerless to help.
"Damn it, Jihl!" He shouted as he yanked his arm. But the girl called Jihl did not release her grip. Fed up at last, he drew a pistol from a holster beneath his cloak with his free hand and leveled it at Ahri. The fox girl's eyes widened as she saw that she was too late.
A gunshot cracked the air as the bullet tore through her chest.
The fox girl let a small, choked cry slip from her lips, stopping her just short of screaming in anguish. She felt like she'd been poleaxed. This had to be a nightmare, right? There was no way that woman, who had already lived through so much could die now! The world reeled, and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. She clutched the edge of the roof until her knuckles were white to keep herself from plummeting to the garden below. Through eyes blurry with welling tears, she looked at Ahri. She thought she could see her chest rising, though faintly.
"Isaya, you fool!" The girl heard Jihl snap at the man as she shoved him away with one hand, making to leave the garden. "I'm getting out of here. If you don't want to end up at the end of a noose, I suggest you do the same."
Isaya re-holstered his still-smoking weapon. "Don't be so paranoid," He called after her. "No one cares what happens to the peasants living out here in the sticks, not even those peace loving freaks up in the Placidium."
"See you at the Festival, Isaya," She responding, holding up a single finger over her shoulder. "Maybe."
"One of these days, I'm going to get tired of her shit," Isaya grumbled to himself as he watched her stalk away. Then, to his men he said, "Get out of here. Leave the body."
They silently left the garden as the sun finally gave up its fight and sank below the horizon. The girl would follow them. She'd track them down and kill them, all of them, for what they'd done. But right now, there was someone who needed her.
She leapt off the roof down to the ground, cloak and tails trailing after her.
Ahri was lying in a pool of blood, thankfully still breathing, albeit shallowly. The girl's heart fell into her stomach as she saw the extent of the wound. She knelt next to Ahri and gently took the woman's head in her hands.
"I'm sorry," She whispered.
Ahri smiled. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault."
The girl's heart lurched. It was. She had fought the thieves, made them angry. Made them search for her. "I didn't know they'd come after me…"
"Don't worry about that now, girl." She cut in softly, through shallow breaths and mouthfuls of blood.
"Don't talk, please." The girl said with a sob. "I'll get you to a healer, a doctor, anything. You'll be fine, I promise."
"I know a lie when I hear one."
"You can't die, not after all you've done! I-I…"
"You made a woman who had nothing left happy again, happy for the first time in many years. You've done far more for me than I for you,"
Tears dripped to the blood stained grass below the girl. "They'll pay for this, I swear it."
"Don't try to avenge me, I beg you. I couldn't bear it if you were hurt. Please, leave here, start a life of your own. Perhaps one that ends a little happier than mine did." She coughed up blood.
The girl couldn't speak; sadness gripped her heart, and she had never known the like. This was the downside of emotion then. But she could never have known that anything could feel so terrible. Everything good that came into her life brought with it such pain! Happiness had again and again been taken from her. It wasn't fair.
The woman put a shaky hand at the girl's face, her thumb lightly brushing the whisker marks on her cheeks.
"Don't cry," She said. "I'm happy now."
The girl took Ahri's hand in her own as it went limp. She was gone.
The girl reached up and gently closed the woman's eyes before lifting the slight frame in her arms with a small effort.
She returned to the house and laid her on the couch where she herself had lain not long before. She covered her motionless body with a blanket. Looking down at her, it looked as if she were just sleeping and might rise at any moment.
She cast one last look behind her as she stepped through the open door, at the woman who had saved her life and sheltered her, who had given her own life for her at the last. She would not be forgotten. She would find some way to honor her and keep her memory alive. She swore it.
She turned to go.