For what was surely the thousandth time that week, Jared stood sulking at the shoreline watching the fabulously ornate junks and sampans passing each other in the harbor

It is nearly impossible to try to locate which authors and pieces of literature contribute the most to another author's personal style and subject matter, but I would like to thank the following people:

Allen Kitchen, who's six-tailed tutor was my first encounter with the kitsune

Kit LaHaise (aka Foxtrot), who's brief research into kitsune lore I drew upon for some ideas

And now the story. . . .

DISILLUSIONMENT

For what was surely the thousandth time that week, Jared stood sulking at the shoreline watching the fabulously ornate junks and sampans passing each other in the harbor. No human eye had ever beheld ships such as these, but then Jared wasn't human - at least not anymore. Amber eyes peered out from under coal-black fur, looking but not really seeing as he sat lost in his own dark reflection. These past couple of centuries had been difficult for him and the splendor of the land in which he now resided had long since lost it's luster. "A prison really," he thought to himself, his two tails twitching in irritation as he silently cursed himself for being so naive as to accept a 'gift' from a Kitsune. At the time it had seemed like such a golden opportunity....

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As a young man nearing his 17th birthday, Jared was smitten with the wanderlust spirit. Born to a middle-class British couple, he lived a fairly comfortable life and had a promising future in his father's far-east trading company. He had even been offered a place at Oxford by the graces of an anonymous patron, an offer he had accepted but secretly disdained. He wanted to travel the world, to see the country where the wonders that his father traded were made, to *live* life instead of reading about it in books or trading pieces of it in exchange for a comfortable yet lackluster existence. Secretly Jared planned what he considered his 'escape' from the life preordained for him. Through working with his father's trading business he was frequently at the docks to check for new shipments, and during one such trip he secured a deal with the captain of a merchant ship headed for India to be taken aboard as part of the crew when the ship set sail in two days. Needless to say those two days of waiting were a delicious torment and though he did his best to hide his excitement his mother was concerned about his strange behavior and threatened to have him seen by the doctor. He quickly assured her that nothing was wrong and that in fact he had recently begun courting a young lady from across town and was very much smitten with her. This both relieved and delighted his mother of course and as a side benefit gained him more privacy for his preparations.

Under the guise of checking on shipments, Jared took his leave from his father and boarded The Eastern Shore as a member of the crew. It was a grueling couple of months at sea for Jared who was unused to hard physical labor, but to his delight he did not suffer from the sea sickness that afflicted some of the other younger crewmates and he was accepted by the more experienced crew members as a very promising seaman. The journey was mostly uneventful with favorable weather and brief stops at a few minor ports along the way to replenish supplies and do some minor trading. Shortly after they rounded the southern tip of Africa, the lookout reported a ship in trouble and the captain ordered the ship brought about to see if there was anything that could be done to save the crew. As they got nearer, it was plain that the ship had been at sea a long time and was succumbing to age and weather. Jared had never seen a ship of this design before and discovered through another crewman that this was a Japanese vessel. The ship rode low in the water while the tattered remains of the fan-shaped sails fluttered uselessly in the wind and strange red pennants with faded black symbols were attached to various parts of the ship. To everyone's amazement a young English woman in a torn dress appeared on the deck and began waving her arms and shouting for help. The captain's face hardened and he ordered the helmsman to resume course and the rest of the crew went back to their duties. Amazed at the crew's reaction to the situation he inquired of the nearest experienced crewman why they were not going to save the girl? "The ship is cursed," he replied, "those symbols are a ward against evil spirits and it is likely that woman is a devil rather than flesh and blood; may she rot with the ship". Jared went to the captain and pleaded with him to change his mind. "Perhaps she was shipwrecked and took refuge on the cursed ship rather than drown!" he suggested. But the captain's mind would not be changed and he ordered Jared back to his duty station. In a fit of righteous indignation he jumped overboard and swam to the stricken vessel determined to save the girl if he had to do it alone.

As Jared swam closer to the ship he could see the girl more clearly. She was exceedingly beautiful and he barely felt the weariness in his limbs from the swim when he finally reached the vessel so light was his heart from the visage before him. Long red tresses flowed carelessly over her pale shoulders and framed a face that the finest of artists could not begin to portray suitably. As he heaved himself over the deck and stood dripping before her she curtsied gracefully and awarded him a small smile, regarding him with brilliant green eyes.

"May I ask the name of the man who would abandon ship and crew to save a forlorn soul?" she asked.

"I am Jared Cornwall my lady, only son of Richard Cornwall, a British merchant of note", he replied with a small bow.

"My lord," she said, "I am Amanda Blackstone. My ship was lost in a storm 5 days ago with all hands lost including my family. I alone have survived and that only because I happened upon this abandoned vessel before I lost all strength and hope to swim".

'As I thought', Jared thought to himself smugly.

"Several ships have sighted me and then passed by since that time and I began to wonder if I am yet still doomed," she continued her voice slightly cracking and eyes beginning to well up with tears.

"My lady," Jared replied, moved greatly that such beauty should be brought to tears, "the doom is upon this ship. The markings on these red pennants are wards against evil spirits and ships traveling this way that recognize them will pass it by. My ship and crewmates have likewise abandoned this ship to its fate. Let us remove these emblems and toss them into the sea and perhaps the next ship that sails by will have pity on us and deliver us to a friendly port".

"You have my gratitude sir," she smiled. "This being my first trip to sea I knew naught of such things. Please, do as you have said and remove these wards from the ship and I shall prepare the midday meal. There are plentiful stores on board the ship and surely you are hungry from your efforts?"

He nodded dumbly and she shyly lowered her eyes, a faint blush touching her cheeks before she hurried below decks.

Jared smiled and thanked Providence for the strange occurrence that led him to this ship and to the lady Blackstone, then set to work removing all the wards from the ship. He had a couple of anxious moments trying to remove some of them that were hanging from more rotten portions of the vessel, but after about 45 minutes the last one was finally on its way to the bottom of the ocean. Returning to the deck, he straightened his now dry clothes and called out to Amanda below, "It is done my lady."

"And all is ready for our meal," her voice drifted up to him, "come below and let us eat".

Jared brushed his shirt once more and stepped down the stairs into the galley below.

The meal set on the table was a banquet fit for a visiting sovereign. A large table designed to accommodate many burly seamen was completely full of richly spiced meats, rare fruits and cheeses, and other extravagant delicacies that were unfamiliar to him. Looking up from the amazing spread before him, he stepped back with a yelp and nearly fell over backward tripping over the steps. There at the far end of the table and wearing Amanda's clothing was a large fox. Well, not exactly a fox his rational mind told him as he regained his balance. It looked more like a mix between a man and a fox (woman he corrected himself noticing the swell of breasts under the fabric of the dress) and it's strangely familiar green eyes regarded him with amusement.

"I am in your debt young Jared Cornwall," the creature replied with Amanda's voice. It stood and started toward him, tails swishing gently behind it as it came. One, two, three, four... nine tails Jared counted and backed against the far wall of the galley.

"Do not be afraid", it said again in that familiar voice, "I am Amanda though this form is a little different than what I revealed to you originally. I am a kitsune and can change my form at will, though this one is that I find most comfortable. Do you like it?" she said lightly rubbing her paws down her sides. She looked into his eyes and smiled at him. Jared couldn't help but notice that she looked positively seductive in her mannerisms now. Something about the fox-woman form was even more appealing than the red-haired maiden had been and he was beginning to feel aroused despite his fright.

He nodded dumbly as she sidled up closer to him.

"I owe you a great debt," she purred, "many years ago a priest summoned me to rid his precinct of a bothersome spirit that was blighting the crops and when I had completed the task he imprisoned me on this ship rather than pay my price for the service. You have removed the talismans that have kept me prisoner here and I can now return to the magical and nameless paradise that is home to my kind." She reached out and embraced Jared, nuzzling his neck and rubbing her paw on his chest. For his part, Jared simply stood rigid with his back against the wall, numb with fright. "Kitsune are generous to their benefactors," she whispered in his ear nipping playfully, "for a lesser deed I would have shown you a day and a night of pleasure such as is unparalleled in human experience". Suddenly she released him and stepped back to look him over critically. "Yes," she mumbled introspectively her gaze scrutinizing every part of him.

"But for such a great service," she finally said after several minutes, "I will offer you a much greater reward, if you have the courage to accept it". Jared's blood was singing in his veins with suppressed desire and raw fear, but as he looked up to hear what great reward she might bestow upon him he saw none of the playful desire that was there only moments before.

"I offer you a gift, Jared Cornwall," she said. "I am among the most powerful of my kind and am one of the few who have the power to grant what I am willing to give to you - the power to make you a kitsune like myself. Kitsune are powerful magical creatures and we can live for 1000 years. The world is ours to roam freely and our home is a paradise that is beautiful beyond your imagination". She looked at Jared with tenderness in her eyes; "will you accept my gift"?

Jared looked at her regarding the softness in her eyes and he heard himself answer without a moments hesitation; "I would be honored to receive your gift Amanda". Part of him realized that this would be the fulfilment of his dream to travel the world in a way far beyond his imagination, yet still somewhere deep down he did not trust this fox-woman.

Amanda smiled widely, perhaps mischievously? and her eyes began to glow as she reached into her dress revealing a small ivory and silver butterfly pendant on a necklace, now glowing and pulsing. The light became steadily brighter and Jared soon had to shield his eyes from the glare.

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Jared slowly returned to consciousness through endless swirling images of foxes, ships, and fire. He felt a soft paw rub slowly down his fur and a familiar voice gently call his name. He turned his ears toward the sound and twitched his tail. Twitched his tail?!? His eyes flew open and he practically jumped off of the cot he had been laying on, only to end up on the floor because his legs wouldn't support his weight properly. He felt weak and oddly off-balance.

"I certainly hope you don't always wake up like that," said Amanda. Jared rolled over and looked up at her, smelling her amusement. Then he looked down at his now naked body, so absorbed in examining himself that he didn't really notice his lack of clothes. He now wore a dark coat of black fur with a patch of white fur extending from between his thighs covering most of his belly and chest and then continuing up, presumably ending under his chin. Around his neck was now a small ivory and silver butterfly similar to the one Amanda now wore openly. She helped him to sit on the cot and as strength rapidly returned he looked himself over. He felt stronger, lighter, more powerful and his musculature which had increased noticeably during his employ as a ships hand was even greater defined in this body, even through the fur. His hearing and eyesight were much improved and he could turn his ears in the direction of sounds for even better reception, and oh, what smells he was able to detect now. The meal was still on the table and the aromas from it were almost overpowering; he could differentiate every single item and spice now. And the subtler smells of the ship, the sea, himself, and Amanda were as plain as print now. At least one of the scents coming from Amanda was very clear and he was suddenly very aware of his lack of clothing and quickly covered his lap with his paws in hopes that she had not noticed the effect she was having on him.

She had indeed noticed and her eyes seemed to gleam in amusement as she reached down and removed his paws, letting her paw linger in his lap. "I've been alone on this ship a long time," she whispered hoarsely laying him down on his back and crushing her furred breasts against his chest. Only now he noticed that she also was nude and his paw reached up seemingly of it's own accord to caress the novel softness of her breasts. To his delight, Jared received also received a day and a night of pleasure from his eager shipmate and he discovered some other senses that were heightened in his new form.

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Despite his sour mood, Jared smiled to himself as he thought back to that time; those were truly the happiest days of his life and he thought he'd found paradise. Unfortunately moments such as those cannot last forever. Amanda did indeed turn out to be an important kitsune. Because of this a lowly one-tail such as himself was far below her station and no sooner had she brought him to the magical home of the kitsune and presented him to The Lady, the mother of all kitsune and the only 10-tail, she left him. Word about his origin spread among the other kitsune and most looked on him with derision as being not a 'true' kitsune, only some lucky mortal that Amanda had elevated after relieving her of her long chastity (snicker, snicker, nudge, nudge). Despite this, he had no lack of 'companions'; his black pelt was truly unusual and considered very attractive. But he found that kitsune are fickle in many ways and do not form long-term relationships except to have and raise kits, and most are unwilling to make that kind of commitment until after they have attained six tails or more.

So despite intimate companionship, Jared had no real friends. Moreover, the kitsune live by their own code of honor that made no sense to him. In fact, they seemed nothing more than hedonists at times and as a race were as unpredictable and dangerous in their dealings with humans as a djinni. Jared tried to be a good kitsune and found living by his wits to be much to his liking, but the general lack of concern for consequences among the kitsune disturbed him and he began to long for human companionship.

Therein lay the greatest problem for him. For the lower ranking kitsune such as himself, maintaining their presence in the material plane took a toll on them, their weaker magic unable to sustain their presence for more than short periods of time before needing to be replenished. Some younger kitsune who remained for longer periods would feed on energies of the surrounding countryside or worse would derive the needed sustenance from sexual relations with humans, draining them terribly sometimes fatally in order to support their continued presence in the material realm. This was considered acceptable behavior and Jared found it abhorrent.

After nearly 300 years, the paradise that Jared called home felt more like a prison. He had two tails now and a little more power and prestige behind him, but it only served as a reminder of his separation from humanity.

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Shaking his head to clear his dark thoughts, Jared resolved to visit The Lady and see what could be done to allow him to become human, or at the least to be able to stay on the material plane without vampirising the people or countryside to do it. The Lady was reputably more powerful by far than all the Kitsune combined and perhaps she alone could help him. He grinned wryly to himself; he'd found yet another way in which he was different from 'natural' kitsune. The Lady kept her own council and saw others but rarely and then only when she summoned them. No one had requested an audience with The Lady memory or recorded history except to present newborn kitsune to her for her blessing. She was recognized as the empress of the kitsune, but none could recall her ever delivering an edict or directly influencing the affairs of her people; all administrative tasks were handled by the Council of the 9-tails. The thought of himself, a mere two-tail having the audacity to approach The Lady nearly made him laugh and yet tremble at the same time. He didn't know what to expect, but he knew what he had to do.

To be continued...

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