“I’m not just some package to be car-” Kurt complained, but fell into a wide eyed silence. He had realized they were not on the small red bridge mid sentence. Eva turned her head to watch his eyes flick every which way, trying to see every Torii around them at once.

“Welcome to what I call the foxroad.” Eva said before setting her friend down from her shoulders. “Now come, we need to go this way.” Eva said before tugging on Kurts wrist.

“How do you even know where to go?” Kurt wondered aloud, his head turning left and right as quickly as his neck allowed. “I can’t even tell most of these gates appart.”[1]

“I wasn’t joking when I said I am delivering live cargo.” The Kitsune offered with a shrug of her shoulders. “Well not entirely.”

“That is not an explanation.” He stated, arms crossed before his chest.

“It’s the best I got.” Eva sighed, shoulders and ears drooping down. “Not like all this came with a manual.” She continued, waiving a hand to each of her tails.

“Can’t you ask someone else for instructions though?”

“Whom? Ratatoskr only shares with others what helps him. Or if he finds it funny. I had to figure out, on my own, how dangerous breaking a promise could be... before Komaki confirmed as much."

“And what about other Kitsune? Surely you can’t be the only one?” Kurt suggested, stroking his beard.

"As far as I know, I might well be. I've yet to meet another." She grumbled with a shake of her head.

“That’s. Unfortunate.” He muttered, finally stopping looking at all the shrine gates around them. “You tried asking Ratatoskr for an introduction yet?”

“Nope, didn’t think of it.” Eva confessed as she stopped next to a stone torii. “And I’m not going to ask him any favors any time soon.”

At that Kurt shrugged. ”Suit yourself Fuchs. Just thought it would be the easiest solution.” Stopping next to the Kitsune, brow furrowed, he continued. “And why are we stopping? This the one you’ve been looking for?”

“I think so.” Eva stated, her hand brushing over the moss at the base of a pillar.

“Do you need to carry me out again?”

“Unless you know how to step through a torii the right way.” The Kitsune replied with a light smile on her lips.

“Well here we go again.”Kurt mumbled as he climbed onto Eva’s back.

Stepping through the time worn stone gate, the pair was greeted by the breathtaking view of a wooded mountain side. The dark brown tree trunks in front of them gave way to a narrow valley. The opposing slope was as tightly packed with trees as the mountain they had found themselves on. The small dirt path down the mountain before them took a sharp turn to the left, and presumably continued down the mountain slope in a serpentine fashion out of sight.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Turning around they saw a massive, ancient looking pagoda. Its walls seemed to be made from the same stone as the gate they had stepped through. While it was not as noticeable, there were still batches of moss growing all over it. Behind it the Forest was remarkably sparse, allowing them to see a hint of the pacific ocean between the trees and the mountains before them.

As Eva enjoyed this breathtaking glimpse of nature, she could faintly make out the full moon rising. But just a few seconds later the sound of rustling leaves and falling fabric demanded her attention. Turning around again, she noticed Kurt had stepped behind a few trees, and was getting naked for whatever reason as the Sun started to slowly set behind him.[2]

“What are you doing?” She shouted, eyes wide and tails twitching.

“Not all of us can just make new clothes appear from thin air or leaves.”[3] Kurt replied as if that was a helpful answer.

“Why would you need new clothes in the middle of nowhere?”

“Just give it a few more moments and you’ll see.” Kurt said enigmaticly, staying mostly out of sight behind the trees.

The Kitsune stepped closer to the Torii if she needed to get away quickly, even being stranded at a random shrine anywhere else might do for that. But still she waited for whatever it would be the other German thought would explain his strange behaviour.

Soon the sounds of rustling leaves, breaking twigs and cracking bones could be heard from Kurt’s position. Between the trees she could only get glimpses of his body twisting. What looked like a tail was visible for only a blink before flicking out of sight again. A muzzle seemed to push forward the one moment she could see his head.

While it seemed to have taken an eternity, the fact that the sun had yet to sink even halfway below the western horizon indicated it had only been minutes. Stepping out of the shadows of the tree was a canine about the same size as her family's dog. The pointed ears stood at attention as the black and grey furred animal stepped onto the path. With the orange rays of the setting sun playing over it’s fur, and the tree’s shadows stretching besides it, the wolf had become the centerpiece of a majestic scenery.

But as it opened it’s jaws, as if to let out a fearsome howl to enhance the image, the impression was shattered for Eva. “So surprise I guess?”