A/N Shadow Stalked
Alt title: Kitsu needs a win.
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Also, while Kitsu may seem like it's short for Kitsune, the mythical creature she heavily resembles, its actual inspiration was from the lesser translations of kitsu meaning joy, good fortune, and hope. Originally Kitsu was going to be a sort of chimeric, humanoid beast creature that was a mix of a harpy and a snake. She would take more of a humanoid little girl Quetzalcoatl look. With taloned birdlike legs, a whip like lizard tail with feathers, harpy like wing arms with feathered claws for hands, snake eyes, retractable fangs and blue feathers mixed with her red hair.
Her self biokinesis was originally going to play a bigger part in her tactics. Reworking venoms, hardening and shooting out scales or feathers, morphing parts of herself and the like.
Then I saw the lucky mutations part of the CYOA I used, saw Kitsune, and completely reworked her appearance and fighting style.
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And just to be clear, I didn't forget about Scarecrow, the merchants, Ben, or any of that. It's just that Kitsu is not in a position to really know about them and doesn't really care to find out.
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Casanova5424: no, she's just naturally hyperactive. It was her coming down from a near 72 hr hormone high.
There is bs tied to her immortality, but that's not it.
Her trigger was to be pushed to the point of fighting back. To stop allowing others to take from her, and to start taking from them.
SonicTundra: She eats more than just pizza and mushrooms. It's just that those are her favorite foods. She also likes steak, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, lasagna, bananas, soda, milkshakes, ect. She hates salad though.
T4ndoris: okay, you're at an 8, we need you at a 4. And what I mean is I won't spoil in the A/N.
Yusrilugman: That was my intention, glad you like it.
Gogmazios: You're welcome, and I try, I believe that little things add up. Small things here and there that mix and come together to form a larger picture. Mark drinking coffee with his meds to wash out the taste, Vergil doing chores for his overworked aunt. The fact Carol keeps all the lights in home on. It all just adds. The tricky part is fitting them in, making sure they don't distract or stand out from the narrative too much.
Fun fact: Kitsu keeps her light off, preferring to keep it lit with the light that shines in through the curtain and her star light projector. Making a calming dim lit atmosphere.
Tfuinsah: Assuming it goes off? She'd absorb ALL of the energy released. If not? That's going to be an awkward case of constipation and bowel blockage.
DancingLeaf: Thank you, My main goal here, is to write a story that I would want to read. I love three dimensional characters, and I hate when minor things are passed over. And I take inspiration from the X-men series as well as Worm itself when it comes to those with unusual biology dealing with everyday life. I truly try and put myself into the daily lives of my characters. My friend, I'll call them M, is left-handed. The way they described it fits best.
"Everything is inconvenient because the modern world is not built for me. Everything is made with right handedness in mind."
And I put that into practice here. Kitsus' Case 53 biology, while seemingly minor in comparison to say, Gregor, comes with as many advantages as it does disadvantages, if not more for the simple fact that everyday life is more inconvenient. Chairs and couches are not made with tails in mind, TV, radio, and phones are not intended for enhanced ears, most lights are not made for those with sensitive eyes.
I'll list all her Case 53 pros and cons at the end.
And I love interesting and realistic characters, it's why Kitsu has downsides, a character who has no downside is boring. Because no downsides lead to them not being able to fail. At that point why read on? You know they'll just succeed. That and it just isn't relatable.
RadChaos897: Drug aye? Well then, step into my... Office.
Ah, old clone high reference, need to rewatch that soon.
Kitsu doesn't actively see Carol as a mother, but subconsciously recognizes her as such. With Carol falling into the mental check boxes of, provider, supporter, caretaker, loved one. Kitsu does see Carol as a mother figure, and Mark as a father figure. If asked she would openly admit they are her closest thing to parents.
And Kitsu looks enough like Vicky that Carol finds herself projecting onto Kitsu her wishes for a daughter who relies on her and trusts her. And Kitsu is unconsciously enabling that with her desire for validation and love.
And again, Carol finds Kitsu safer because she recognizes Kitsu as a broken individual, and doesn't even see Kitsu as being fully human. Not that she'd ever consciously admit it. But that helps her find it easier to trust Kitsu.
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While Kitsu is naturally hyper, her everyday hyperactivity is one part a coping mechanism and one part just her being herself. She uses her hyperactivity to distract herself.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or any other characters in this work, other than my OC. All other characters belong to their respective properties.
-Date, Time-
'Thoughts'
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[Shard]
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*Sounds/Actions*
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-Dallon House 6:38pm-
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Kitsu POV
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Waking up for the, third, fourth time? Whatever. I wake up.
Feeling much better now that all the stages of my estrus are over, and my body has recovered from the hormone overload. Well, less my body recovering and more my mind.
Looking around I see I'm in my room, light flooding in from the hallway as my door was left open.
'What time is it?'
Looking for my phone, finding it on the charger next to my starlight projector, I see it's almost a quarter till seven.
This morning was a bit of a haze after I put my blanket and sheets in the washer. I remember, taking a nap with Carol, watching a show about plague doctors or something, and Mark ordered pizza. That's about it.
Everything is fuzzy.
I remember I planned to head put and hunt down Shadow Stalker at least. Though I'd planned to do that for a while now.
Stepping out of my room and into the hall, I take sniff of the air to try and see if I can get anything.
Acrid and fruity, cleaner. Gonna have to get used to that. Cleaners now smell more like chemicals than the other, nicer smelling stuff they put in them.
Lint, cleaner, and a slight hint of coffee. Mark.
Rosy deodorant, covering a base of sweat. Vicky.
Paper, ink, sandalwood, and me? I think that's Carol.
'Why would Carol smell like me?' I think in confusion.
Then I remember.
'Right, we took a nap together.'
Okay, one mystery solved. What else do I smell.
"Are you just going to stand there sniffing the air the rest of the day?" Vicky says from the end of the hall, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
Looking at her, I get an evil idea.
"Your deodorant is wearing off." I say.
She blushes, lifts an armpit and sniffs.
"No it's not." She replies looking offended.
I cover my nose and back away towards the living room.
"That's what you think."
I keep backing away into the living room. Turning around I see Mark and Carol sitting next to each other on the couch. Watching TV.
Mark has an arm around Carols shoulder as they lean into each other.
'Ooooooh~ that is soooo sweet!' I coo internally.
I wanna join in the picture!
Sneaking around, I make my way to the side of the couch where Mark is. Hiding behind the arm I get ready to-
"Kitsu, we can see your ears." Carol says.
'Uh, oops?'
"No you can't." I say in an exaggerated whisper. "You are blissfully ignorant of the danger in your midst!"
"Oh no. We are so blissfully ignorant of danger. What ever could happen to us." Mark says in the flattest tone possible.
Jumping over the arm of the couch I land stomach first on their laps.
"SNEAK ATTACK!"
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After getting no reaction.
"RAAAGHH." I shout out as I flail a bit.
After again getting no reaction, I'm staring at the couch so I can't see them, I slap my tail in Marks face.
"Pfft. Okay that's it." He grabs my sides and lifts me up. "You really are light, huh."
Smiling at him I throw my arms up.
"I'm fun sized!"
"Well, fun sized. You've fallen into my trap." He says menacingly.
Crossing my arms and tilting my head back, I stare down at him.
"And just what, pray tell is that?" I say darkly.
He smirks and turns me around, pulls me against him and whispers into my ears.
"You've fallen into the cage, OF THE TICKLE MONSTER!"
He then begins a merciless assault on my sides.
"NO! NO! AH! AYEEEaAha, STOP! UNCLE! UNCLE! BLOODY MARRyYEEEhHEEee! AHAaAHhhHA, StOP!"
"NEVER! Feel the wrath you have incurred."
"BLeE-pLEEEASE, I, I'M gONNA pEEe! I'M GONNA PEEE!"
He stops and I slouch over the arm of the couch, panting and struggling for air. My legs and tail draped over his lap.
"You, ha, are evil! To assault a young maiden as, ha, such. For shame!" I pant out.
"Tis but the nature of the scorpion to sting, you cannot blame the tickle monster for doing what comes naturally to him." He says sagely.
"Aesop, really?" I say, finally catching my breath.
"That's not Aesop." Carol says, she moved a seat down to avoid becoming collateral in our grand game of, I dunno, monster and victim?
"Then what is it?" I ask looking back at her.
She just shrugs.
'I'll google it later. For now though.'
"Hey Mark."
"Hmm?"
I turn around and latch onto him.
"RETALIATION!" I shout as I begin tickling his side.
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No reaction.
Looking up at him, I'm starting to see what Carol means when she says he has a 'Damnable Smirk'
"Sorry kiddo, I'm not ticklish." He says with mirth.
"That's not fair!" I whine.
Carol just leans over and jabs his armpit. He flinches away at the contact.
"You just need to find the right spot. His armpits are very ticklish." She says with a smirk and leans back into her spot on the other end of the couch and watches with interest.
He looks at me wide eyed.
"Don't you dare." He says pointing a finger at me.
I just smile and assault him with the same ferocity as he did to me before.
Or I would've if he didn't grab me, stand up, and turn me around so I couldn't reach him.
I just dangle there as I contemplate my position.
'They're watching march of the penguins, neat.'
"The mighty Endstopper Child herself, stopped by being picked up."
"That title is stupid!" I shout.
I really hate that title, it's so lazy. Couldn't people come up with something more unique?
I thrash about trying to try and wriggle out of his grip. But his strength combined with his height, and my natural lack of both, lend to an inescapable hold. After a good minute of me trying, and failing, to escape. I just dangle.
"You done?" He asks.
I smack him with my tail.
"Pfft, really?"
"One must use all resources at their disposal." I say with a nod, as though agreeing with myself.
I smack him again.
"Pfft, alright if that's how it is." He says deviously.
He pulls me into him and holds me tight, locking my arms to my sides and forcing my tail down.
"RAAaaggh, No! You cannot keep me contained-" I start.
*rrrRRRMMM*
"What's that?" I ask, stopping my theatrics.
"What's what?" Carol asks, looking at me in confusion.
*RRRMMMmmmnn*
"That, it sounds like a car just pulled up."
*Thunk*
That must be the car door.
"Must be the pizza." Mark says.
'PIZZA!'
"Let me down! I want pizza!" I shout.
He just shifts me over to carry me under his arm like one would hold a basketball in one arm. And moves to the door.
Opening it just time for the delivery guy to step up to the door. The guy just stares at me with a hard to place look, a mix of concern, confusion, and apprehension.
I'm used to it.
"Gimme gimme gimme!" I say quickly, reaching out towards the red cloth bag he's holding up. "Haaaaaaa, pizzzaaaaaaaa."
"Uh, One, mushroom, one pepperoni, and one cheese?" He says, not taking his eyes off me.
"Yep, that's for us. How much?" Mark asks, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet.
"Uh, twenty three, ninety seven." he says, looking from his phone to me.
"Here's thirty, keep the change. Just hand it to the munchkin, she'll try to take it either way." he says and puts me down.
The guy pulls the pizzas out of the bag and hands them to me. I grab them and run off towards the kitchen, holding them above my head.
"Pizzzzzaaaaa!"
"Don't run!" Carol shouts.
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-7:20pm-
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I refused to relinquish the pizza without Amy being here. So, after a lengthy talk between Mark and Amy on the phone, Vicky rushed off to get her.
My Pavlovian conditioning at work. Not that I'm proud of it, but Amy eventually agreed to come home from the hospital early when she heard it was me who wanted her here.
Vicky rushed off to go get her and we are now all sitting at the table eating.
"So, were you serious about patrolling tonight?" Carol asks.
Swallowing my slice I answer.
"Yeah, I mean I could just walk over to her school and knock her out there. Catch her off guard in her civvies, but unwritten rules and all that." I say and take another bite.
That gets a round of silence and stares.
"What?" I ask through a bite of food.
"You know who Shadow Stalker is? How? Is it your thinker power?" Vicky asks.
"Pretty much, don't know where she lives. But I know her first and last name, what school she goes to, and her general looks." I say through my pizza.
"First, don't talk with your mouth full. Second, how will you fight her? She can turn into mist and is adept at escaping." Carol says.
Swallowing my slice of pizza, I continue.
"Electricity shorts out her breaker state. Not only that she has a scent, everything does, and she uses crossbows. They make a very distinct sound. Finding her will be easy enough, she hardly ever leaves the docks area." I list off.
Again, silence and stares.
"Kitsu, how much do you know?" Mark asks.
"Ask me a question. I'll let you know if I remember anything." I say and grab another slice of pizza.
The rest of dinner went on like that. Amy left for her room when Mark and Carol started flirting. It started with Carol giving me the rest of her pizza, saying about how she needed to stop, or it'll all go to her thighs.
Mark took that as an incentive to mention how he loved her thighs, and it went from there.
It was one of the sweetest, cheesiest things I'd seen. Vicky left when they started kissing. With Mark leaning back against the counter, Carol in his arms.
Which brings us to now. They're in the same position just smiling at each other, talking and giving the occasional kiss.
'It's just so CUTE!' I think, watching with wide eyes.
Mark glances over, sees I'm still here, blushes and nods his head towards me.
Carol looks over, sees me. And goes back to resting bitch face.
"Aren't you heading out? I thought you wanted to catch Shadow Stalker." She says.
"Vicky already went to bed and I'm out of energy. She usually punches me a bunch to fill up my stores." I say.
Her eyes widen.
"She what?" She asks incredulously.
"I ask her to, it's not as though she can hurt me." I answer with a shrug.
"I thought you said you still feel it?" Mark says with concern.
"You'd be surprised what the body can get used to. Heat doesn't even hurt anymore, electricity still does though. And photon based energy gets absorbed almost an inch before it reaches me, so they don't hurt." I explain.
Carol cocks a brow at that.
"Could you absorb heated hard light?" She asks.
"Kinetic and heat energy are the forms of energy I absorb most efficiently." I say with nod.
"Okay then, heads up." She forms a yellow glowing spear and tosses it at me.
It gets absorbed as it reaches me and HOLY SHIT! That is easily top five energy absorbs I ever had. That was more energy than what Vicky dishes out in several punches!
"Kitsu?!" Carol shouts.
"Huh?" I say, shaking my head a bit.
"Are you alright? You went quiet and had a dazed look." Mark says.
"Yeah, just decompressing, going from near empty to that much. Well, it's like just getting, yeah."
After a few seconds of me staring at my pizza, I eat it and get up. Going to change into my Irida outfit and head out.
"Hey Kitsu." Carol says and I stop, turning to look at her.
"Out of curiosity, what's the limit on how much energy you can store?"
"There is none, there are soft limits to how much I can enhance though. Strength doesn't seem to have one, my illusions are only limited by my imagination, my speed gets less effective at a certain point, though that's more due to wind resistance and physics than anything on my part. And I can think faster and process images faster when I use the energy to enhance my brain. But that gets disorientating if I do it too much. That's the basic stuff." I explain and head off to change.
As I head to my room I hear Mark in the kitchen say.
"We are casually housing a little girl who can fight an Endbringer one on one, win, and come out unscathed. It's easy to forget that sometimes."
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-Docks 8:36pm-
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Kitsu POV
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Looking out over the apartment building I'm on, sitting on the ledge of the building, listening for any sounds. Normally in the city there'd be endless amounts of background noise to distract me. But the docks are always eerily quiet at night. The poverty, lack of commerce, and overall unsafe environment led to people not being out at night. I wonder how this looks to normal people. Maybe something like a Batman Gotham poster. Dark cloudy sky and quiet streets, lit up only by streetlamps.
My night vision lets me see about just as well now as it does in the day. I have a secondary lens under retina that bounces light back in my eyes, allows me to essentially see light twice as much when active. Also gives a slight glow in the dark.
This place smells mostly of urine, stagnant water, nicotine, rotting matter, and mildew. I don't actually mind the mildew smell, it's pleasant in comparison to the rest.
Taking another sniff, I get something new. Closing my eyes I try and focus on it.
'It's, like when lightning hits metal, oxidized? No, ozone! That's it, it smells like ozone and lint mixed with the abhorrent smell of cleaner. There's another, sweat mixed with, peaches? No, it's something subtly sweet, but I can't place it.' turning my ears to the direction of the scent I listen in.
"Alright, but I ain't getting console duty again. You go ahead while I call it in." A younger male's voice says. Accent places him, midwestern, city. Think St. Louis or something similar.
'Wait, I know that voice, It's Vergil!'
"Kay." A younger, smooth voice says.
'Missy?'
In a few seconds, after only hearing three steps, each louder than the last. That smell of sweat and sweet is right behind me. I'd turn to greet her, but I'm rooted in place out of anxiety.
'Oh god, the last time we saw each other was the mall! I can't talk to her now! Much less even face her!'
I can hear and smell her behind me, her breathing, the sweat that's slowly increasing. And heart which is beating a powerful but slow rhythm. The subtle rubbing sounds and tiny clicking let me know she's fidgeting with her hands.
"I uh, know you're there, Vista." I say softly.
A sharp intake of breath and her heart beats a little faster.
"Uh, how'd you know?" She asks.
"I, heard you coming." I say.
A little more silence and she walks up next to me.
"So uh, what are you doing?" She asks, sitting down next to me.
"Um, looking for Shadow Stalker." I reply plainly.
'God this is so awkward!'
"Um, about what I said at the mall." I start.
"It's okay, you and Dennis were having a bad date and you were looking for a way out. I don't blame you, you don't have to talk about it." She answers before I continue.
'That's what she thought had happened?' I think in relief. 'Oh thank God, I thought I'd have to explain the whole heat cycle thing.'
If she's willing to forget it and ignore that it ever happened, then so am I.
"But if you do, want to talk about it that is. I here for you, if you want." She says gingerly.
"Uh, right. Thanks, though, I'd rather not." I reply, not knowing what else to say. "It's nothing against you just, yeah, don't wanna talk about it."
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Missy "Vista" Biron POV
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'Oh god she's right here!' I think nervously. 'What do I say? Talk about what she said at the mall? No, she clearly doesn't want to talk about that. I wanna start out as friends first but I don't know how!'
I spent so long agonizing over getting to this point that I didn't think about what came after!
'Just go for it!'
"Hey Kitsu? Um, do you maybe. Want to hang out sometime?" I ask.
Her ears shoot up and her tail twitches slightly.
"As friends, get to know each other and all, we both patrol the same city and it would be a good idea to get to know each other I mean." I add quickly. "I am the only other Ward you don't see regularly, seeing as you go to Arcadia and I'm still in middle school. I was just thinking, it would be good to know another girl my age who is also a cape and we could relate better and, I'll stop rambling." I mutter out.
Taking a breath, I continue.
"What I'm saying is, wanna be friends and hang out?" I ask hopefully.
I watch her ears perk up and her tail resumes its gentle sway.
'It looks so soft, would it be rude to pet it?'
"Uh, sure? I think that'd be fun. I don't have many friends, and none that are really my age. What did you have in mind?" She asks happily, looking over to me with absolutely beautiful glowing eyes.
'Glowing?'
"Uh, what's with your eyes?" I ask.
'That's the best you could come up with?! Why did you say that?!' I chastise myself.
She blushes and looks away. Ears going down slightly.
'Nooooo, keep looking at me! I didn't mean it like that! They're pretty! Now look what you did idiot.' I whine at myself.
"Oh, uh, I see in the dark. The result is my eyes reflect more light, so they appear to glow in dim lighting." She explains.
"That's cool!" I say.
Her ears perk up a bit more and her tail starts to wag a little bit.
'Oh god my heart won't stop! I feel sick.' At this rate I'm going to throw up.
"So, back to before, how about the movies?" I ask hopefully, trying to steer away from my earlier blunder.
She thinks a bit before answering.
"Movies, don't really work for me. Too loud, too many smells." She replies, ears drooping a bit.
"Um, the pool? I have a pass and I'm allowed a guest." I say.
'Wait, can she swim? I didn't just shoot myself in the foot did I?'
She shakes her head. "I don't have a swimsuit, and I'd need one custom made because of my tail. And I'd need a swim cap for my ears."
'Damnit! Think! Picnic? No! I'd basically be asking her out! Mall? No, no, bad idea. She just got over a bad date there and I want to take her mind off it, not remind her.' I think to myself.
I'm drawing a blank here!
"Oh, uh. Well what do you want to do?" I ask.
She takes a second, fidgeting with her hands before her ears shoot up along with her tail.
"Well, I've never had a sleepover with a friend before." She says cheerfully.
Looking back at me with those bright, blue green eyes. Her tail now wagging excitedly.
"Um, I uh."
'Please don't ask to come over to my house.'
She leans over, looking up at me with a bright smile.
"Mark is a stay at home house husband, and Carol is off on Thursdays and Fridays! You can come over then! We can play board games, watch TV and order food! We can do each others makeup and nails!" She says happily. Her tail wagging behind her like crazy.
She stops slightly.
"Though I don't know how to do either really." She says quietly. "But we can still make each other look silly and laugh about it later! And if you can't spend the night you can still come over and play games with us!" She continues, returning to her earlier jubilance.
'Oh god, why do you have to be so cute and bubbly!' She's just so adorable like this, I just want to scream when she smiles!
"Um sure, I'll have to let my mom know, but it shouldn't be an issue." I say.
'I'll just say I'm trying to build connections with the Dallons. She'll accept that and it's not exactly false.' I think.
"Oh! I need to ask Carol first!" She says excitedly.
Leaning back to her earlier seated position, she pulls a pink phone out of her pocket and dials a number. She holds it in front of her like one would if it was on speaker.
"Kitsu? Is something wrong? You just left not an hour ago." I barely hear.
It's not on speaker.
"Yeah I'm fine, I just wanted to know if I could have a friend over!" She says.
"I have, several, questions as to why you decided to ask now of all times, and who this friend is. It's not Lung, is it?" She asks.
'LUNG?!'
"I met Vista on patrol and she wants to hang out, I was wondering if I could have a sleep over with her! This Friday of course, so you can be there." She says in that same happy go lucky tone.
There's a bit of a pause before she replies.
"Give me a minute, I need to talk to Mark."
"Kay!"
After waiting for a bit before Vergil pops over on his saucer, drops down and collapses it to latch onto his back.
"Alright, got the go ahead from MM. We good to do a joint patrol." He says.
"Shh!" I hush him, not wanting to miss the answer.
'Why couldn't he have taken longer? I wanted to talk to Kitsu alone for a bit more!'
He puts his arms up in a mock surrender, a mix of confusion and indignation marring his face.
"I'll need to talk to her mother first, but it should be fine." She says.
'YES!' I think, and I have to stop myself from doing a fist pump.
"Thank you! Love you! Bye!"
"I need her mother's number first Kitsu." Carol says.
"Oh, right. Sorry." She says.
Typing a few things into her phone, she then hands it to me. Looking down and seeing it's open to messages with the text line labeled, Carol, I get the hint and take it. Typing my mother's phone number and giving it back to Kitsu.
"Did ya get it?" Kitsu asks.
"Yes, I'll try and talk to her tomorrow. Have a good night Kitsu."
*Click*
Kitsu puts the phone in her pocket. Clenches her eyes and starts shaking in what I can only assume is barely restrained excitement.
"MmmmmAAAaaaah!" She squeals and launches herself at me.
Holding me in a bear hug as she nuzzles me just under my collar bone, she continues to squeal. Her tail wagging hard enough that it's causing her lower back and butt to shake with it. It reminds me of those corgi videos on YouTube.
"I can't believe I'm having my first sleepover!" She squeals.
'Ooooohh.' I groan internally. 'Why do have to have that adorable golden retriever energy? And why do I have to love it so much?'
I want to be friends but at this rate I'll melt worse than when Dean smiles at me.
'Oh god I am bisexual' I realize.
"Ahem!" Vergil says.
He actually said, ahem. I kinda already forgot he was here.
"Oh, hi Static! Do you want to come over too?" She asks, looking over to him.
'Nooooo. Please don't.' I think anxiously.
I shoot him a pleading look, putting a thumbs down just outside Kitsus' line of sight. Hoping he gets the hint.
He cocks an eyebrow at me before addressing Kitsu.
"I'm good, sides, we're on the clock right now. We gotta find Shadow Stalker 'fore she nails a guy to the wall through his throat." He says.
'Oh, right.' I had completely forgotten about that.
'Come on! Fawn over the cute girl later! You have to be professional, you're the most senior member of the Wards!' I remind myself.
"Hmm, oh yeah, that's what I've been doing." Kitsu says. "I've been listening out for her, crossbows make a distinct sound, somewhere between a mix of twang and thunk. And they're not quiet, not unless modified which considering she's solo with zero connections, I highly doubt it is. I mean, she wears sports equipment armor." Kitsu explains.
That's, actually a good point.
"Can ya really hear all the docks from here?" Vergil questions.
"No, but I can hear a good fourth of them with how quiet they are at night, a third if I try hard enough. She's known to be extremely mobile. I'm smack in the middle of the district. So unless she decides to stay in a single area for the entire night." She lets the rest hang in the air.
"So, have you heard anything so far?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"Aside from prostitutes practicing their trade, the occasional car, and a few arguments? Not much."
'Eww.'
"Well, seeing as we got all night, and our own personal radar. How about we chill here for now?" I suggest to Vergil.
Vergil seems to consider it for a minute before shrugging and sitting on the ledge next to me.
"Sure, better than hover'n around. Sides I doubt I'd find her. I'm rather showy when I move." He says.
'Yes!'
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Kitsu POV
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Sitting here with Missy and Vergil. Glad that Missy hasn't brought up the incident at the mall. We just give idle chatter while we wait for me to hear something.
"Aren't you hot in that trench coat? It's April and like, sixty something degrees out." Missy asks Vergil.
"Not really, my body is more made up of electromagnetic energy than anything."
"Really? How's that work?" I ask.
"Basically? Everything other than my bones, skin, organs and nervous system is electricity. You cut me? You'll see a bunch of sparks instead of blood." He explains.
"Really?" Missy asks.
"It's why I don't do sports. I don't sweat and it'd be rather noticeable that the kid who don't stop moving ain't worn out." He shrugs.
'Is that why he smells like ozone?' I wonder.
"Any way, what 'bout you Kitsu? You ain't never wear anything that ain't meant for warm weather." He asks.
I just shrug.
"Personal preference. I don't sweat, heat doesn't bother me. And when I don't use my powers I heat up so the cold is usually a non issue for me." I say.
I don't sweat because I don't want to
"Am I the only normal one?" Missy asks.
"Of us three? Physically? Think so." Vergil says.
"Normal's overrated." I say and stick my tongue out at her.
.
.
-9:08 pm-
.
.
"I tried to join a gang. I accidentally trashed my house with static cling once. And my first saucer was a hub cap." Vergil says.
We're playing two truths one lie.
"You never tried to join a gang. I just can't see it." Missy says.
"Your first saucer was a trash can lid, not a hub cap." I say.
Meta knowledge be broken.
"Kitsu's right." He says.
"You tried to join a gang!" Missy says, whipping her head to him.
"Different times." He shrugs. "Got powers an, well decided I should lead by example."
'Didn't the gang he was with get wiped out?' I think to myself.
"My turn!" I say. Trying to take us off a possibly very touchy subject.
"I once stole a car for Faultline's crew. My favorite color is pink. Aaaannd, I once beat up a cape who tried to copyright my name for themselves."
"I can totally see you doing that last one. So I'mma say you never stole a car." Vergil answers.
"I don't think you know how to drive. So I'll say the same." Missy aswers.
I just smirk.
"My favorite color is cerulean, it's a shade of blue." I say smugly.
There's an awkward silence.
"You know how to drive a car?" Vergil asks.
"Yup, Thinker power. I hopped in and just, remembered how to drive. Not to say I do it well. But I can." I answer.
I cannot drive in reverse.
I actually stole the car for Newter and his brother Nightcrawler but, details.
They're not really brothers but everyone calls them such so they just roll with it.
"Your turn Mis-Vista." I say.
"Okay, uh." She takes a second. "I like dogs. My favorite color is green. And I know calligraphy."
'I know for a fact she likes dogs.'
"You don't know calligraphy." I say.
"You don't like dogs." Vergil says.
"My favorite color is purple." She answers.
"You totally just copied me." I point out.
Vergil looks over in slight surprise.
"Then why all the green?" He asks.
She puts her head in her hand.
"Because PR bull, that's why." She grumbles.
"Oh, well. I didn't take you for someone who likes dogs, you got any?" He says, trying steer clear of that particular sore spot.
'Wrong thing to say man.' I wince internally.
"I don't want to talk about it." She says sadly.
Seeing her sad frown, I get a devious idea to cheer her up. Or at least take her mind off of her, possibly, dead dogs.
"You know, come to think of it, foxes are more closely related to dogs than anything else." I say absentmindedly.
"Hmm?"
I give a gasp of realization.
"Is that it? Is that why you wanted to be my friend? Because I'm house broken and know a lot of tricks!" I accuse with a pout.
"I uh, huh. Y-you d-don't um."
"You just want to scratch my ears and pet my tail don't you! You're just like all the others! I thought you would be different!" I say in mock anguish. Crossing my arms and looking away from her with a huff.
"What? No! I really want to be your friend and get close to you, I mean get to know you and-" She starts frantically.
She's interrupted by my laughing as I lean over and hug her shoulders, nuzzling the side of my cheek against her shoulder.
"I'm just messing with you!"
Her heart is pounding like crazy, I probably scared her more than embarrassed her. She must really want to be my friend if the thought of offending me is causing her heart to race that much.
"What am I watching?" Vergil says quietly, though I ignore him.
.
.
-9:45 pm-
.
.
"Is it, a dolphin?" Vergil asks.
"Nope." I answer. "That's twenty. You lose."
"Well what was it?" Missy asks.
"A narwhal." I answer.
"Oh, come on! Close enough!" Vergil complains.
*Thwunk*
Standing up and looking to my right. I hold up a finger to shush them.
*Chk*
Focusing on the direction, I hear faint footsteps echoing on metal.
'Someone is running.' I think giddily.
"Found her!" I say, hopping up to a crouch. "Follow me!"
I take off running towards the sound. Making sure I can still hear Missy and Vergil following.
Running over several rooftops, jumping across the street, I stop as I no longer hear anything.
We're closer to the waterfront now. The spray-painted M's on a few derelict warehouses let me know it's Merchant territory.
'The metal on the warehouse's roofs must have been what I was hearing. She was probably on top of them pursuing someone.'
I hear Vergil and Missy catch up and stay behind me. Vergil had forgone using his saucer to avoid the light it produces and giving us away, instead relying on Missy's powers to keep up.
I hold a finger up to let them know to be quiet.
'C'mon. Where are you?'
The sound of the water is masking a lot of what I would normally hear. So unless she starts running on metal again, or makes a lot of noise, then I've lost her.
*Thwunk*
"Fuck!" I hear a distant masculine voice shout.
'Found you!'
I head forward, leaping across the street to one of the warehouses, landing on its sheet metal roof with a clang. I turn and head in the direction, north, closer towards the trainyard. Jumping between warehouses and the occasional brick building.
Finally being close enough to hear the footsteps of someone running on the concrete. I jump over to the apartments back on the other side of the street, not wanting to alert them with the sound of me running across the metal roofing.
Making it to a spot overlooking an alley on the other side of the street between two warehouses, I see a thin man, white, in a dirty wife beater and cargo jeans. Wearing a blue bandana on his arm.
'Merchant. Now where is-'
*Thwunk*
*Squelch*
"DAMNIT!"
I'm interrupted from my thoughts as a cross bow bolt gets stuck in his calf and the man falls over.
I watch as a cloud of smoke coalesces through the bricks to his left, just behind him.
Taking in a whiff I detect the scent of, blood, sweat, and, it's the same cleaner that's on Vergil.
'Bleugh'
She forms together, steps on the mans calf with a wet crunch as he screams in pain.
Just as I'm about to jump down and engage, I feel a gloved hand on my shoulder stop me.
Looking to the side I see it's Vergil.
"We gotta call it in first, wait for backup or the go ahead." He says.
I glare at him and shrug his hand off me.
"You have to call it in. I don't." I say and jump off the ledge turning invisible before landing.
'I haven't had a decent exercise in a while, not since the hospital really.' I think excitedly.
.
.
Sophia "Shadow Stalker" Hess POV
.
I needed this, after another day of dragging through that shit stain of a school. Dealing with the bullshit of everything?
*Crack*
"Bitch! Scarecrow won't let you get away with this! Targeting his men! He'll have you-"
I stomp his knee to get him to shut up.
*Pop*
"Aaargh, Fuck! At least let me finish!"
"I don't give two shits about a piss stain who only took over a gang because the last guy kicked the bucket."
If he was really worth something, he would've been leader when Skidmark was still alive. Instead he just stepped in like a scavenger, at least Skidmark was a real predator.
"Wow, you both need to learn some manners. My poor ears are practically bleeding at the profanity."
Swinging around I see a small girl leaning on the rail of the fire escape to the right of me.
I can't make her out clearly, but I think she's wearing a tail coat and a large cat ear headband.
"Fuck off, this ain't got nothing to do with a twerp like you!" I shout out.
Little kids really shouldn't poke their noses in others shit.
"Twerp? Huh, that's a new one." She says and then, disappears in a shimmer?
'A cape?!'
"Though it kinda is my business, seeing as I'm here to arrest you and all." The same voice says from behind me.
Swinging around I aim my crossbow at the voice.
She dodges to the side as I pull the trigger. Launching a bolt into the junkie's shoulder.
"Aaagh! Bitch!" The thug shouts in pain.
She looks behind her and I take that as my chance to run. Dispersing and going through the brick wall I had just come from.
"The fuck was that?" I say quietly to myself.
'A new member of the Wards? Doesn't matter. I'll just run like always.' I start to take off.
Running through and around the containers of the warehouse and phasing through a brick wall. Landing in the alley on the other side of the building. I look around to see if any other Wards are nearby. They always patrol in pairs.
Not seeing them up or down the alley, I walk towards the street.
"Y'know, if you wanted to lose me. The smart tactic would be to head up towards the roof."
Looking behind me I see the same little girl. Still partially obscured by the shadows cast onto the alley by the streetlights.
"Or at least not go in a straight line through the building."
'Is she a teleporter?' That could make this tricky.
"The fuck you even want? Shouldn't you be attending to the piss stain bleeding out over there?" I say, nodding my head in the direction.
She just shrugs.
"Eh, he's not going anywhere. You on the hand? Well let's just say I'm in the mood for a game of cat and mouse." She says happily.
'This midget bitch thinks she's the predator here?' I think with a slowly growing rage.
Raising my crossbow I fire a bolt at her, aiming to hit her leg and show her that little girls shouldn't mess with big dogs.
*Shatter*
Only for her to break into little pieces of glass that fade from view.
"The fuck?" I say in confusion.
"Do you, not know who I am?" Her confused voice rings out behind me.
Swinging around, again. I see the same little girl now blocking my path to the street.
"Should I? What, you the new Ward mascot or some shit? Got your own figurines and plushies?" I say with a mocking shake of my head.
I don't keep track of news outside what I need to know. And new Wards are not on the list of need to know. The streets are where I get my info.
She seems to think for a bit before responding.
"I think I'm going to enjoy this a bit more than I thought I would." She says plainly.
"And why the hell is that. You're just some guard dog from the PRT trying to hunt a wolf. I think you should show some more concern." I ask. Everyone knows the Wards are kept out of any real fights.
'Does this rug rat really think she's hot shit? Sure, teleporters are rare, and tricky to deal with. But a bolt to the gut is still a bolt to the gut.' I think to myself.
Though her confidence is getting me to worry.
The image of her shimmers and fades away.
A tap on the top of my head makes me flinch and look up. Only to fall on my ass as I stare into the glowing cat like eyes and fanged Cheshire grin of the girl. She's standing on the wall of the building. Horizontally.
"Hi, I'm Kitsu!"
.
.
Kitsu POV
.
Holy crap, is this fun!
I enjoy messing with people, that goes doubly so for people who give the best reactions or those I feel deserve being knocked down a peg.
By the way, I already healed the guy who got shot. He's fine. I don't really care what happens to him. But Carol and Mark would be upset with me if they found out I let him die.
Back to now, I watch as she scrambles up and runs to the street.
I'm currently holding myself up with invisible illusions.
She makes it to the sidewalk before she trips over an illusionary bar. Rolling with the fall she keeps her momentum and continues running.
'Okay, that was cool.' I think at the display of athleticism.
Turning invisible again I jump over to the warehouse across from the one I'm on. Using platforms to course correct my jump so I land on the brick ledge instead of the sheet metal roofing. Touching down I run along to follow her.
She ducks around the corner to the side of another building. Pressing herself against the wall of the warehouse as she peeks around the corner to the street where she came from.
I can hear Missy and Vergil arguing about what to do in the background, but I'm not focusing on them.
Enhancing my strength I break off a piece of the brick ledge. Tossing it up in my hand a few times. Watching in amusement at the seemingly floating rock. I aim at a trash can not ten feet away from Sophia.
*Tang*
I watch in further amusement as she, turns, jumps, and shifts into mist to carry her further. She goes to about halfway across the street before she starts to descend.
Landing on the other side of the street just before the sidewalk. Reforming and loading a bolt, she aims at the alleyway she previously occupied.
I make an auditory illusion of my voice behind her.
"Boo."
She swings around and fires her bolt a the base of a street lamp. Imbedding the bolt in it.
'Someone's jumpy.'
I watch as she looks around everywhere. Not seeing anything she races further down the street. For my part, I continue to follow after her from the rooftops. Still invisible.
This continued for several minutes, her dodging through alleyways and buildings. Constantly looking behind corners she passes. With me making random sounds here and there to keep her on her toes.
I stopped after about twenty minutes. Content to just tail her to what I presume is one of her stashes.
I expected her to do more or be smarter. But all she's been doing is running, phasing through buildings, making odd turns and that's it. If she were smart she'd have smoke bombs, or flashbangs. Or she would roof jumping.
Before too long she made it to the east slums, making her way up a condemned apartments fire escape. She phases through the window and I hear her rummage around before going quiet.
Checking my phone I see it's 10:40
"Whelp." I say. Popping the p at the end.
"It was entertaining at least."
Making my way from the rooftop I had situated myself at, down to the rusty fire escape. Careful not to make too much noise and alert the batman wannabe.
Standing outside the boarded up window, I make an illusion of the boarded window, over the window. Then make the sound of a thunder clap and rain to mask the sound of me ripping the boards off.
Passing through the illusionary boards, still invisible myself. I see her there in the dark. Mask off, she was aiming her crossbow at the window. I stalk around to the side and watch as she relaxes. Putting the crossbow down and sitting back in a chair behind her.
I keep the sound of rain hitting the building going, just to sell the act.
If she were smart, she'd notice there weren't any storm clouds a bit ago when she was running.
Oh well.
I lean against the wall next her and watch as she rubs her eyes of the sleep gathering in them.
"Least I got away from the teleporting bitch."
Not being able to resist, I lean in close next to her ear.
"You really didn't." I say and turn off, all of my illusions. The window, the rain sounds, my invisibility.
Enhancing my perception and speed, I grab her exposed face and shut off her motor neurons.
I watch as she slumps over and drops out of the chair.
She's awake and fully conscious, she just can't move a single voluntary muscle.
"Looks like you lose." I say, knowing how much that one line would piss her off.
.
.
Meanwhile
.
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Missy "Vista" Biron POV
.
"This is soooo many levels of BULL!" I say to no one in particular.
Me and Vergil are stuck watching over the merchant grunt. I'm sat on a the ground, knees up to my chest, resting my arms and head. While Vergil is leaning against the wall, arms crossed and staring towards the street.
"I know, but I ain't being put on console duty for two weeks, a second time." Vergil courses out.
I know he hates this as much as I do. But we were told to wait with the unconscious guy until Armsmaster showed up.
Protocol for crime? Call in and await instruction. If it's violent? Call in and intervene. If there's a parahuman involved? Stay back, call in, monitor the situation from a safe distance and await instruction.
"This is how she got away the last three times!" I say.
"I know! Alright, I know. But if we go after her and we mess up. It's our heads. And if I mess up bad nuff, they might just send me back to the Midwest." Vergil explains.
"This sucks."
*RRRrrrrmmmmnn*
"Finally!" I say, throwing my hands up in exasperation and stand up.
'Almost thirty, damn, minutes!'
Pulling up in his cobalt Armscycle.
Dumb name.
Armsmaster parks and dismounts. Walking towards us he gives a curt nod.
"Vista, Static Shock, status report."
I respond before Vergil can get the chance.
"Kitsu chased after the vigilante while we babysat the tweaker."
"I assume this was when the report was made?" He asks.
"Give or take a minute, yeah." Vergil says.
"Have you gotten any word?"
"No, we haven't." I say.
"Why not? To my understanding you've been with each other all night. None of you thought to establish a line of communication?" He intone.
"I forgot." Vergil admits sheepishly.
"I couldn't just ask her for her number!" I defend.
"Why not?" Armsmaster asks.
"Uh, because."
'I can't just come out and say it's because I have a maybe crush on her and was too shy!'
"Because I forgot."
"Don't lie to me Vista."
'Damn lie detector.'
"Well, I, it personal." I say and look away from him.
"I don't care if-" He starts but stops and stares directly behind us.
"Kitsu, I have thermal detectors in my visor now. I can see you."
"You're no fun!"
Turning around I watch as Kitsu shimmers into existence. Crossed arms and an adorable pout. Tail swaying and ears down, she glares at Armsmaster.
"I'm not here to be fun. Did you catch Shadow Stalker?"
"Yep." She says. Though she's still pouting and glaring.
"Where is she?"
Kitsu turns away.
"I don't wanna say! I found her, she's mine now!"
"Kitsu, if you don't turn her over, you'll be charged with either housing a criminal, or kidnapping."
"I'll just drop her off at the police station then." She says defiantly.
"Kitsu?" I say gently.
"Yes?" She replies and looks at me with a tilt of her head.
"Can you please hand over Shadow Stalker, wherever she is?"
She stares at me and sighs.
"Fine, you're lucky you're cute." She says and jumps up towards the roof.
I feel my face heat up rapidly at that, and I take a few seconds to regain my composure.
She returns with the cloaked figure over her shoulder and tosses them up and over to Armsmaster.
He catches them and their hood falls off. Revealing a young African American girl. Armsmaster quickly throws her hood back over her face and looks up towards Kitsu.
"Why did you unmask her?" He asks sternly.
She shrugs.
"I didn't, I was tailing her to her hideout and when I approached her, she was already unmasked. I grabbed her face when she let her guard down and I shut off her motor neurons. I left the involuntary ones on, couldn't have her suffocating because she wouldn't breathe." She explains.
"How do we bring her in if she is effectively in a vegetative state?" Armsmaster asks.
"Just have Static Shock keep ahold of her. Electricity shorts out her breaker state, causes massive pain and all that." She says nonchalantly.
"Wait, this whole time we had a hard counter to her, and we just didn't know?" I ask.
"Pretty much, yeah." Kitsu says.
Vergil stands up from leaning on the wall, turns around, and starts hitting his head against the bricks.
"Why did you not inform us of this? We could have had her apprehended a week ago." Armsmaster asks.
There's a bit of a silence before Kitsu blushes.
"I didn't think about it." Kitsu says quietly.
Armsmaster seems to take in the information before turning to Vergil.
"Static Shock, you will be handling Shadow Stalker for now. Kitsu, can you reactivate her motor neurons?"
"Sure." She rushes over and slaps Shadow Stalker in the face.
"Fuck! God Damn Bitch!" She says as she falls out of Armsmasters arms.
She tries to get up and phase but Vergil just shocks her with a small line of electricity.
"AAAaAAaAAaaggggh!"
She drops down convulsing on the ground, heaving in pain.
Vergil throws his hands up in surrender.
"I didn't but that much juice in it, swear!"
"Fuck, VERGIL!?" Shadow Stalker shouts, looking up, tossing her hood to the side.
"SOPHIA?" Vergil exclaims in surprise.
"KITSU!" Says Kitsu, jumping up in between the two.
"FUCK OFF!/Not now!"
"Sorry." She says, ears flat and tail down. "I'll uh, just go, over here, yeah." She says and shuffles over to stand next to me.
With her ears down, the top of her head only comes up to just about my lips.
She shuffles on her feet a bit, looking between Vergil, the now named Sophia, and Armsmaster. Who are all either arguing or hashing things out. I'm not really paying attention
"Did you have to smack her?" I ask.
"No." She says.
"Why did you?"
"She called me a twerp."
'I mean, fair enough I suppose.' I think with a shrug.
Glancing down at her I find my mind wandering to the sleepover we'll be having. Hopefully.
Still need to convince my mother.
'What will I wear? Should I show up in a dress or would that be too much? Maybe just casuals? It is a sleepover between two friends.' I think. 'Oh god, Vicky will be there, will she see through me? Or-'
"I'm just, gonna go home now. See you Friday Vista." She says and quickly walks away before jumping over a roof.
Watching her disappear into the distance, I'm brought back to the current situation.
"Some hero you are dumbass. Couldn't even tell the target you were looking for was in the room over from where you sleep!" Sophia jabs.
"Like you got room to talk! You couldn't figure out I was a cape! Heck Static Shock shows up any time I ain't in the house, and he only popped into the bay when I got here!" Vergil shoots back.
"Wait what?" I ask.
'Damnit, every time she's around I just zone out!'
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Bonus
.
.
-Dallon house 8:35 pm-
.
.
Mark "Flashbang" Dallon POV
.
.
Walking back into the kitchen after checking in on the girls.
"Alright, Vicky and Amy are asleep, Kitsu's out. What did you want to talk-" I stop as I notice she has the bottle of expensive wine out.
Which means one of two things.
Date night, or serious talk.
With Vicky and Amy still in the house, it's an easy guess.
Taking a seat, I mentally prepare myself. She always sits at the head of the table, and I sit adjacent to her at the corner.
"Okay, what's this about?"
She takes a breath, pours a glass and downs it. After a second, still staring at the empty glass, she speaks.
"Mark, did, did we have Vicky too early?" She says softly.
'Holy shit, serious talk indeed.'
"Well, what do you mean?" I ask uncertainly. Not sure where this is going.
"I mean just what I said, I was eighteen, you were undiagnosed, I was still in therapy. Do you think we should've waited?" She says.
That, that. I don't know what to think about that.
"I don't regret having her, I'm proud of her and who she's becoming despite her faults, but would it have been better if we had her later on when we could've provided better emotional support for her? I love her and trust her with all my heart. But you can't deny she didn't exactly get the best home life with us and how we were."
She's not wrong. And it's no one in particulars fault. We both had issues that kept us from being proper parents. While I
"I, maybe. Maybe we should've waited. And that's my fault, I shouldn't have pressured you so hard. Especially when I wasn't ready to be father myself." I say softly. Taking the bottle from her and pouring my own glass.
"That's not entirely on you. Neither of us knew about your depression. And when we found out I should've done better to make sure you remembered to take your pills." She replies.
"That's not your fault, I should be responsible for my own actions."
"We vowed in sickness and in health. And I clearly failed. It took a complete stranger just popping in to show me how badly I failed." She says with a morose laugh.
"I failed just as much as you. I should've helped with raising Victoria like I promised. Even then I should have taken Amy stepping into the picture as incentive to start making good on my promise." I say.
I really did just completely fail to help out. And I can't help but feel as though that's partially why Carols trust issues are still so bad.
If she can't trust her own husband to keep a promise, who can she trust?
The fact that she isn't saying anything to refute me just proves my point.
We both sit there in silence, neither of us knowing how to proceed the conversation.
*Riiinnnggg*
Carol reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone.
"It's Kitsu." She says softly.
Answering it she speaks.
"Kitsu? Is something wrong? You just left not an hour ago." She asks.
…
"I have, several, questions as to why you decided to ask now of all times, and who is this friend. It's not Lung, is it?" She asks.
…
She looks to me for a second before saying anything further.
"Give me a minute, I need to talk to Mark."
She puts the phone on mute and sets it down.
"She wants to have a friend over Friday for a sleepover, one of the Wards. Vista." She says.
Vista? Which one is that? Oh!
"Little V, that's what Vicky calls her." I inform her.
A look of recognition crosses her face.
"Oh? Okay now I remember. Do you know her name?" Carol asks.
I shrug my shoulders and shake my head a little.
"I've only heard Victoria refer to her as that. But she's about the same age as Kitsu, makes sense that they'd want to spend time together." I say going to sip my glass of wine.
"She said Friday, so we'll both be here. I don't see a problem with it so long as you don't." She says.
We would both be here to supervise. I doubt Kitsu would allow anything to happen, but that wouldn't be enough for Carol. Not until she knew the girl personally.
"She has been well behaved, I don't see a problem with it. We can make a game night of it." I say hopefully.
"Alright." She says and picks the phone back up, unmuting.
"I'll need to talk to her mother first, but it should be fine." She says.
…
"I need her mother's number first Kitsu." Carol says with a roll of her eyes.
"She got excited and almost hung up didn't she." I say with a smile.
She looks at me with a smile and a quick nod.
'Heh, hyperactive little fox.'
…
"Yes, I'll try and talk to her tomorrow. Have a good night Kitsu."
*Click*
She sets the phone down and takes another sip.
*Creaak*
Both of us to look the hall where our rooms are.
Amy walks into the kitchen, dressed in her cape robes. She stops and stares at us wide eyed.
"Where are you going?" Carol asks.
"Uh, the hospital?" She says.
"Now? You've been there all day. I think you could use some rest." I say.
"I'm fine." She says and continues her way across the kitchen.
"Amy, please go back to bed." Carol says.
That got both me and Amy to stare at her.
"What?" She asks.
"Since when did you care?" Amy asks. A look of genuine confusion on her face.
"Look I, just, please? I'm sure you helped enough people today." Carol asks.
Amy just stares, before turning around and slowly making her way back to her room. Pausing only once to look behind her, as though to make sure we were real.
After we hear her door close I look back to Carol.
"So, what was that about?" I ask.
"Being nice worked with Kitsu, I was trying to see if it worked with Amy." She said.
She takes the bottle and pours another glass.
I sip my glass and go to speak.
"You know, Vicky brought up therapy for Kitsu the other day. Thought you should know."
She looks at me with concern.
"Did she say why? That's, rather out of the blue." She says.
"I asked, she wouldn't tell. Just danced around the subject." I say. "Maybe you could get more out of her on the subject."
She nods before downing the rest of her glass.
Getting up she takes the wine and places it back in the fridge.
"I've got work in the morning, if I drink anymore I'll get a hangover. Are you coming to bed?" She asks.
"Yeah, let me just finish my glass."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A/N I was going to extend the bonus further. But felt it would just get repetitive and that things stated in it can be parsed out throughout the story.
.
Is it any surprise that after almost half a week of people refusing to say what happened, that Missy would come to her own conclusion? Remember, she was in her own little world while Dean, Dennis, and Vicky were talking about Kitsu. Only snapping out when addressed directly.
At which point she left.
She wants to be friends with Kitsu first. Then see where that leads. And with how cagey everyone is being about the mall incident she doesn't want to ruin any chances with Kitsu by bringing it up. For now.
.
Apparently Brandish's weapons are so hot, or vibrate at such a frequency that they cauterize wounds instantly.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH ENERGY THAT REQUIRES!?
Seriously though. It's a lot. The best estimate I could find online comes from an overview of electrical fires. And the temperature is around 500 C. that's 932 F.
And that's on the low end. She can cut through steel with ease. Steel has an average melting point of 1510 C. That's 2750 F.
Yeah, Kitsu found her new favorite supplier of energy.
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Like I said before. Kitsu lacks social awareness and is kinda dumb when it comes to relationships. Unless someone is being blatant, her mind will always resort to other ideas before it assumes romance when it comes to her.
This primarily stems from her lack of social interaction for most of five years, and a lack of confidence in herself when it comes to such things.
And she was glad that Vista had seemingly all but disregarded what happened at the mall and wanted to be her friend.
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Shadow stalker thought she was dealing with a teleporter, that's why she was zigzagging everyhere and through buildings rather than taking to the rooftops.
Even then I can't think of a scenario where Sophia gets away from Kitsu without help or Kitsu getting overconfident and making a mistake.
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The secondary lens behind Kitsus' retina is called tapetum lucidum, it's a real thing nocturnal animals have.
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All Kitsus' Case 53 aspects, at least the noticeable ones.
Large fox tail-
Pro: It's cute, soft, warm, fluffy, and helps give her an extreme sense of balance second only to Circus. It's also part of her involuntary nerve system. She doesn't need to think about it when moving as it adjusts itself. Brushing it feels good.
Con: It's very sensitive and is mostly part of her involuntary system, she HAS to think about it when walking through doors, sitting down, getting dressed, ect. Or she'll hurt herself. It also gives others a VERY clear view of her mood, as well as needing dedicated time to keep groomed. And the part connecting to her spine is very sensitive, in a bad way as well. It can be a pressure point to exploit and having it grabbed or yanked can be extremely painful. Enough to make her cry in pain.
Wagging, excitement/happiness. Swaying, content/relaxed. Twitching, nervous/anticipation. Drooping, tired/sad. Stiff, tense/on guard/aggressive. Tucked, scared/fearful. And it occasionally curls around others she shows affection for.
She can control it, but for the most part her tail moves on its own.
Her large ears-
Pro: Again, cute, soft. And when scratched just right, feels heavenly to her. She has a sense of hearing better than any human could hope to reasonably understand. Giving her near auditory omniscience of her immediate surroundings. Not echolocation but still good.
Con: They are VERY sensitive. And she has to actively tune things out otherwise she'll hear more than she really ever wants. It's easy to temporarily incapacitate her with quick, loud sounds. Or just a lot of noises at once. And she has to be extra careful bathing or water will get in and it is NOT a fun experience. Not to mention it limits her ability to listen to music. And like her tail, acts as a massive tell into her thoughts to those who pay attention.
Ears down, embarrassed, nervous, anxious, aggressive. Ears up, excited, happy, attentive, or on guard. Ears twitching, distracted or unfocused. Ears relaxed at an angel, content, relaxed, tired, bored.
Her vulpine eyes-
Pro: she can see in the dark and they produce a slight glow in low lights.
Con: She requires more time to adjust to brighter lights, making it easy to blind her.
Her extended canines-
Pro: they're cute, she can give a nasty bite if she wanted.
Con: there isn't really any. Though if the could be hurt, the amount of times she'd have bitten her togue or lip would be insane.
Her developing nose-
Pro: A sense of smell that will be on par with nature's best trackers.
Con: There is a reason humans don't have that. She can smell the chemicals in cleaners, making the things they add to cover those smells pointless and she can be overwhelmed by throwing multiple smells in a single area at once.
There are other features that will start appearing later on as she finishes developing, but to put them in here would spoil it.
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Oddly enough, thanks to her new developing sense of smell, she's starting to prefer natural smells. Cologne, perfume, deodorant, and air fresheners have so many things mixed into them that it's both distracting and unappealing, they're the olfactory equivalent of playing seven dubstep songs at once and trying to follow along.
Adrenaline helps her deal with the sensory issues when in a fight, but it doesn't negate them. Someone taking a picture with the flash on will blind her in every day life, leave her seeing spots. But in the middle of a fight or an intense situation? It'll wear off much quicker, or seemingly have no effect as she switches to other senses as unlike most who rely almost entirely on sight. Kitsu uses her senses of sight and sound in almost equal measure, with her sense of smell growing stronger it'll be even more spread out.
Ironically enough, a flashbang is her weakness XD