Chapter Four Hundred and Fifty-Eight - Tails from a Faraway Land

With Calamity running ahead to warn everyone in Port Royal, that left the rest of us to escort our prisoners.

Jean-Pierre took charge of that. He had those of us with ranged weapons at the back, then spread the rest out around the line of prisoners. The threat was implicit. If one of them tried to run, then Awen or Gus might let loose with bolt or shot. The rest were mostly there to keep the formation moving

Our pace was slow, so, it would take a while before we reached Rockstack, which was where we were heading. Port Royal might have been better suited to taking care of prisoners, but the city was a long walk away at such a slow pace. So we'd go to Rockstack, then teleport back up to the city.

We'd have to hope that the outpost could handle a dozen very naughty people in their cells.

In the meantime, I had a friend and a... maybe new friend, to comfort.

"I'm sorry about what happened," I said as I kept an arm wrapped around Booksie's back. She didn't seem to mind, and was walking while leaning into me. It wasn't the ideal hug, but it was the best we could manage while walking.

"It's hardly your fault," Booksie said.

"Indeed!" Desiree said. "It's undoubtedly the fault of these brainless scoundrelous fools that you've come to suffer!" She gestured grandly to the prisoners. "Are you certain that I cannot inflict some pain unto them? I will leave them alive to suffer the legal consequences of their vile actions!"

"I'm sure," I said, trying to be simultaneously firm and understanding.

I wasn't sure if Desiree was acting this way because she was trying to help distract Booksie, but if she was, she was doing a pretty good job of it.

"Were you, ah, there when Booksie arrived?" I asked.

Desiree sniffed. "I have been their captive for long eons! Time immemorial!"

One of the guys we'd captured near the back of the formation twisted his head around. "Three days," he corrected with a dull voice.

"Long days and longer nights! Left without food or drink!" she continued.

"We fed her. At least until she bit some guy's finger clean off. We had to use potions to reattach it," he corrected again.

"My treatment was most horrendous! The very material of nightmares! I suspect they wished to experiment upon my person, perhaps cut off my luxurious tails and use them as fanciful scarves!"

"I legitimately don't know what she's on about," the guy said.

"Tails?" I asked.

Desiree blinked, then looked at me. "Ah, yes, you're one of those pitiful tail-less beings. Observe the fluffiness of my tails! The lustre of my fur, even abused and untended for days, it is magnificent!" She swished her tail at me, then her tail suddenly split.

"Whoa!" I said as I was smothered in fluff. "You do have two tails!"

Desiree pulled her tails back, then they started wagging in counterpoint to each other. "Of course. I'm not some young one-tailed kit."

"Is two tails... normal for your, uh, species?" I asked.

"As long as one is powerful enough, yes," she said. "My grandfather had three tails on reaching his third class, and I have an ancestor that is rumoured to have had five spectacular tails!"

Oh, so she grew a new tail with every new class? That would mean that she had two classes, just like my friends and I! That must have been an interesting culture to be part of, where one's strength was measured in tails.

"We have tails too, you know," Booksie said.

"You... do?" Desiree asked. She squinted at us, slowing her walk down so that she fell back a little and twisting her head to the side as she observed our behinds. I almost felt like covering myself with my hands. "Oh! That pitiful nub! Did some foul monster chop your tail off?"

"No, buns just have small tails," I said with a wiggle of mine. I was still not used to it, even less than the ears. My tail was more of an afterthought, really. I kept it clean, of course, but it was just a small bundle of fluff at the base of my spine. "I don't think we get extra tails as we level up."

"Not that I'm aware," Booksie agreed. "I think some buns grow bigger and longer ears, but that's very class-dependent."

"Ears?" Desiree said. She squinted up at the tops of our heads, then reached up and tugged on one of her own triangular ears. They were kinda big, but not nearly as big as bun ears could be. "I suppose that's an acceptable replacement, if somewhat inferior to a good tail."

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"So, are you like a nine-tailed kitsune, then?" I asked. "I vaguely remember stories about nine-tailed foxes."

"N-nine tails?" Desiree repeated. "Do not exaggerate so much, long-eared bun! Nine is far too many. Observe my well-earned pride over two graceful tails. Nine is a far greater number and would only be acceptable for the most powerful of beings!"

"Oh, sorry," I said.

Desiree dismissed my apology with a wave of her hand. "Nonsense. You're merely speaking from ignorance. We are not kitsune, we are kitsu. A simple mistake to make."

"Where are you from?" Booksie asked. "I don't recall hearing much about fox-people... you are fox-people?"

"I am!" Desiree said with obvious pride. "I am from the south."

"We are... about as far south on the continent as you can be," Booksie said. "There's Fort Tempete on the southern coast, I guess. If you travel all the way down along the Darkwoods."

"No no, I came across the ocean," Desiree said. "It was a harrowing journey, with many risks and great dangers!"

"Oh! Are you an explorer then?"

"Hmph! As if one needs such a title to wish to see the wider world! I am a proud wanderer. My home is the world itself. I will grow powerful, defeat many monsters, explore and plunder many dungeons, and return to my home with many tails and tales of my great exploits!"

That did sound like a lot of fun, actually. I could hardly wait. "How did you end up captured?"

"Duplicity and vile trickery!" Desiree seethed.

"The boss heard about her," the guy at the back of the line of prisoners said. "Then all we had to do was offer her some food... in our hidden cave, away from the city."

"As I said, vile trickery and deceitful double-dealing!" Desiree said. Her tails swished angrily behind her. She flipped one of them around and hugged it close, the way someone might hug a pillow, or a soft teddy bear. "How cruel the people of this continent are, to trick innocent, beautiful, intelligent, majestic foxgirls just minding their own business."

"Uh, that does sound awful," I said. "But you're free now. I'm sure we can bring you to Port Royal, at the very least. Have you been there before?"

"I have not," she said primly. "I like the name. Are there many ships there?"

"Yup! Mostly... all airships"

"Ah, those massive flying contraptions! There are no such things in my home. No one there is fool enough to surrender the safety of their solid footing upon the earth. What sort of incompetent would try to make a ship fly in the skies rather than flow through the waters as it ought?"

"I'm an airship captain," I said.

Desiree blinked, and one of her tails moved over and patted me on the shoulder. "And a very brave and glorious captain you are. Though I wonder, do buns fly?"

"I can fall very well," I said.

Booksie giggled, and I grinned. She'd laughed! That was a fantastic first step towards restoring her good mood, plus it was just a nice sound to hear.

"Ah, sorry," Booksie said as she placed a hand over her mouth. "That caught me off guard."

"Don't apologise," I said. "It's okay. Are you feeling any better?"

She nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Booksie shrugged. "There's not too much to talk about. I was woken up by the door splintering open. I was barely awake when someone shoved a sack over my head, then I was tied up. I kicked over a few things, and I think I sent someone crashing into some stuff... oh, my house will be a mess... anyway, the next thing I knew I was outside and tossed into a cart and my hands were tied. Then we were moving out of the city. The only change was when I left the lower gates. I was picked up and carried on someone's shoulders then."

"Oh no," I said as she touched her tummy.

"It's fine. Bruises will fade. But..."

"But?" I asked leadingly.

"But I think I'll be taking Rhawr up on his offer to become stronger. He mentioned me joining him on a few hunts. The sort of thing that would give me enough experience, even shared, to catapult myself up a few levels. I think being stronger might not hurt."

***