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Chapter 21

Surprisingly, for what looked like a place that could pack up and vanish in two days, There was a library in one of the tents. The shelves and chairs looked segmented, as if they could be pulled apart and packed away, further reinforcing the idea that this place was nomadic. Would she move further from her home, in time? What event could cause such a massive group of people to uproot themselves and move?

That was for later though, and depressing to boot, so she would turn to the shelf and glance the the titles. The dictionary was found and taken to a chair to start reading through.

"So do you have a romantic partner yet?" the other Kiko asked, having picked her own book off the shelf and sitting on another chair. Kiko, who had barely gotten into the first page before she dropped that one on her. Spluttering a little, Kiko found her words eventually.

"I don't even know your name. What kind of a question is that?!" Kiko asked with a strained squawk of a voice.

"Ohh, right. It's Ele. So do you?" Ele pressed, as if not seeing the inherent problems at all.

"N-No. N-not that it even matters to you!" She stammered, glaring defensively at Ele.

"Of course it matters to me. You are new and thus very interesting. You are a beautiful woman, and you share my interests in life. That is three things, so I want you as my partner. If you can think of three reasons to do something, then do it, regardless of what might stand in your way" Ele spoke with such determination that Kiko was stunned. It, was a very good principle to have but...to be so forthright and forward about the whole thing...well, it made Kiko's cheeks light up in a shade to match her top.

"I....hardly even know you. But..." Kiko would brush some hair out of her face and behind her ear as a tactic to stall for time and get her thoughts in some kind of order. "I...can't just ignore or dismiss something said with such determination. There are no promises I can make, but I will not stand in the way of your attempts. Maybe you can win me over after all" Kiko replied, with stalls, stutters and deliberation. And then, after a few seconds, she got back to the book.

"So that's a no on the kissing, then?" Ele asked after Kiko was in the book again. The dictionary was slammed shut and Kiko glared at the woman irritably, to Ele's great amusement. It was obviously just a joke from the coy grin instead of any kind of disappointment, so Kiko took it as such and just glared for a few more seconds before finally, for the third time, getting back to the book.

This time, she had no interruptions, and could finally get to reading. She'd not read the whole thing because that'd just confuse her, but she had three specific terms to look up. First was in the B, so she'd flip there and go down to Borrower

'Borrower - A Kitsune who's main source of magic comes from Borrowing'

"Fuck you, book" she grumbled, looking for Borrowing this time and getting much more luck.

'Borrowing - A hereditary form of magic exclusive to Kitsunes, Borrowing is calling upon your past incarnation to use magic that they learned. Generally not considered True Magic, and is often looked down on by Magus'

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

That was...cool, actually. She was connected to people she used to be and could use what they had learned. How could that not be cool? She'd definitely have to look into true magic before going for the easier of the two though.

Next, was Sei-Bushi, which was found deeper into the book, and solidified what she had assumed about Kitsune society.

'Sei-Bushi - A Warrior who spends their life developing a connection to Vanaet, Agnaet, or Inari. For most, this is merely a personal vow, but the rare and exceptional Canid can often become connected to the God directly'

"Ohh, wow. You've got quite the aspiration, huh?" Kiko said to Ele, looking up at her.

"There we go. Finally got to that part. Yes, I want to be connected to Vanaet herself, as her very claw, to protect her children. Because Vanaet made us and supported us, and I want to return the favour to such a great woman" Ele spoke, for the first time, without that playful and half-serious tone in her voice.

'Thank you darling. I love all my children, but especially ones who love me back' the head voice spoke

'You stay out of this, head voice...who, saved me life probably but also are still just a head voice' Kiko replied. She didn't get anything back or even any assurance that the head voice had heard her. Which...made her even more mad than if the voice spoke back, no doubt.

To focus on the physical world she knew existed, Kiko found the last entry in the Z, and read that.

'Zeldi - A spear-like weapon designed by the Blood Moon Reiana Dana, it incorporates a point for thrusting, that can be flicked into a curved blade for slashing when required. It requires a certain degree of manual dexterity and is harder to train than a simple spear, so is uncommon on the battlefield'

That last one was awesome. A frigging sword spear could be really good to use. Though, it raised a good question.

"How do people view Blood Moons?" Kiko asked, a slight tinge of trepedation but not something Ele picked up. She was focused on something else.

"How do you not know basic stuff like Fox-Fire and Sei-Bushis, but you know something as old as Blood Moons?" Ele asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm...sorta...one, of them" Kiko replied in a staggered, awkward tone. Ele would stare at her for a few moments and then drive her nails into her own palm, spilling the blood.

Kiko was immediately hit like a truck with the smell and resulting desire, though it didn't sweep her away like last time and she managed to keep hold of herself.

"D-dick....move...." she growled, resisting the urge to act at the slightest provocation.

"Huh, wow. Come on then, we'll go see Yeni about this" Ele exclaimed, closing the book and standing up, the cut in her palm closing up and the blood evaporating. Kiko jolted as Ele stood up, a war between a furious need for action, and a furious leash on restraint.

"I can't...go out there...Too many people" Kiko told Ele, through fractured sentences.

"Ohh, wow your self-control is low. Culture or not, that's kind of poor" Ele muttered. Kiko didn't take such provocation laying down and exploded from the chair, taking a step towards Ele before getting in control of herself.

"If I had low self-control, I wouldn't just be standing here!" Kiko snarled in a furious manner. Her every thought baying for blood, and only held back by a hair's breadth.

"Please. You city-dwellers are soft like silk. You'd make me a fine wife, but you aren't remotely good for anything else" Ele continued. And that, was too much. Kiko snapped her frayed leash and lunged at the woman, clawed hand swinging for her. Didn't do anything, because Ele deployed a well-trained block and then struck Kiko in the gut a moment afterwards. Her exhale was cloudy, as if her temperature had just dropped radically in a moment. Seemingly not to be out done, Kiko felt her body freeze from the blow, her entire frame shuddering as it was wracked with intense shivers. The fire in her blood vanished instantly from this sudden influx of cold, and she would have collapsed if she wasn't caught by Ele.

"Nice try, darling. But, don't do it again" she warned, taking the shivering furry bundle out of the tent and to Yeni.